Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: 9. Mecha God Chronicle - Festival (4)
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To sum it up, the Mecha God Chronicle Festival was a resounding success.
The main event—riding full-scale Mecha God replicas—kicked things off, and everything from there to the voice actor fan meet-and-greets wrapped up perfectly.
But to me, "success" didn't mean any of that.
All the merch and prizes I prepared for this festival sold out completely!
In other words, every single item I'd stocked up on to squeeze money out of the otakus had flown off the shelves.
I figured the nobles would snap up the Mecha God figures, but I never expected the related merch to sell out too.
For the festival, I'd prepared two main categories of goods.
One was the ultra-detailed 1:44 scale alloy Mecha God figures aimed at the filthy rich nobles.
The other was smaller stuff like posters, keychains, lighters, and mugs modeled after items from the show—designed to pick the pockets of commoners without much cash to spare.
Back on 21st-century Earth, the latter would actually rake in more money than the former.
Those little trinkets might seem trivial—"Will they even make any profit?"—but they're cheap, accessible, and impulse buys, so the margins are surprisingly high.
High-end figures, on the other hand, are so pricey they don't move as fast, keeping profits modest.
But that's just Earth, where anime culture is everywhere.
Even though Mecha God Chronicle was a massive hit across the Empire, I couldn't be sure people would buy the merch or figures.
My worries turned out to be for nothing. All the goods I'd mass-produced before the show even aired sold out. What better news could there be?
This one festival blew past all the profits from Eli and Hamel's Disappearance!
Of course, I wasn't hogging it all like a pig—I had to split it with others—but even after that, it was a massive haul.
Now if I can just botch the ending of Mecha God Chronicle perfectly, it'll be flawless.
Lost in thoughts of how to subtly smack viewers upside the head with the finale, I stepped into the palace conference room.
"Ah, Director. You're here."
Kaya, already waiting, greeted me warmly.
"Our guest arrived a bit ago."
"Am I late?"
"No, if anything, I got here early."
A man sitting across from her stood and extended a hand toward me.
He was a face even I hadn't seen, despite my frequent palace visits for Mecha God Chronicle business.
The standout feature? He was so handsome it made you shrink a little just looking at him.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Kaisel von Richardt, here from the Kingdom of Richardt for cultural exchange."
"...von Richardt?"
I couldn't hide my surprise at his name.
Because, as far as I knew, "Richardt" was a surname reserved for the kingdom's royals.
Which meant the man before me was none other than—
"Y-Your Highness, Prince of Richardt Kingdom?"
"Yes, that's right."
"...I greet Your Highness, the Prince."
He confirmed it so casually that I dropped to my knees in a hurry.
Sure, I'd been hanging with emperors and dukes lately, but I was still just a baron's second son—the bottom rung of noble society.
This was a status gap where even eye contact might be forbidden, so bowing my head was the smart move.
But...
"N-No! Please stand, Director! How could someone like you bow to me? Speak casually to me, I insist."
"...Pardon?"
"Ever since I learned about animation, I've used every resource at my disposal to watch everything you've made. From Nymph and Goblin to Eli and Hamel's Disappearance, all the way to Mecha God Chronicle!"
"....."
That caught me off guard.
The others, maybe, but Nymph and Goblin was only shown to those kids who visited the studio. How did he even see it?
"That's not all. I bought every spirit doll from Eli and Hamel's Disappearance, plus all the Mecha God Chronicle figures and merch from the festival! Everything I could get my hands on. Though it's still nowhere near enough."
"....."
His eyes sparkled at me as he said it, like a kid's.
Honestly, it was a bit much.
"I truly believe you're a genius for the ages, Raguna. Creating a whole new genre that never existed before, then pushing storytelling and techniques to their limits... Do you know how blown away I was by Eli and Hamel's Disappearance and Mecha God Chronicle?"
"....."
"Take Eli and Hamel's Disappearance, for instance. The common take is Eli symbolizes purity, while Hamel represents human arrogance. But I see it differently. In the climax, Hamel's true feelings are even more innocent than Eli's—"
Only then did it click.
Ah.
The prince was just a hardcore otaku.
Knowing that bumped my fondness for him up a notch.
Otakus bond fast over shared tastes, after all.
Back in school, we'd end up in the library after the cool kids stole our classroom at lunch, and that's how those bonds formed.
Anyway, I was happily listening to his ramblings with a newfound affinity when...
"Oh, and in Mecha God Chronicle, it hit me—Saya might be a clone of Kai's little sister. If it's not too rude, could you confirm if that's true?"
"Ah, well..."
"And why does Unit Zero go berserk while the others don't? Is it the materials used to build the Mecha Gods, or something in the core?"
"Uh, that's..."
"In episode 25, when Unit Zero awakens, Dr. Rachel mutters about the Genesis Ritual beginning. She says all false creations will perish as a result. Doesn't that mean the world—Earth in the show—hasn't truly begun Genesis yet? Which implies the Outer Gods are actually—"
"....."
"And one more thing—"
I knew otakus get twice as chatty when obsessed, but this barrage was next-level.
And every question hit critical plot threads I couldn't spoil easily.
Right as I was sweating bullets trying to dodge them...
"Sigh..."
The prince, who'd been grilling me nonstop, suddenly let out a deep breath.
"Mecha God Chronicle truly deserves to be called this era's masterpiece. But sadly, officially importing it to our kingdom will be tough."
"What do you mean?"
"As you know, our people harbor ill feelings toward the Empire. Regardless of reason, anything from there faces knee-jerk backlash, and plenty share that view."
I was well aware the Empire and Kingdom weren't on great terms.
"His Majesty wants to import Mecha God Chronicle officially, but with public opposition so fierce, he can't push it. Considering this masterpiece should spread worldwide, it's a huge loss for humanity."
"....."
So that's how it was.
No wonder the Emperor suddenly sent me here.
If the Kingdom officially imported Mecha God Chronicle, it'd be great for me too—some kickbacks were bound to trickle down.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to meddle in diplomacy.
I'm already swamped retrofitting those Mecha God replicas for combat.
For some reason, the Emperor had ordered me to turn them into real weapons via the Giant Soldier Project.
Not that I minded manifesting giant robots with magic.
Between making anime and modding Mecha Gods, I was slammed—no bandwidth for politics...
Wait.
A brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
The perfect way to solve all my problems at once.
"...Your Highness."
"Yes, Raguna?"
"Not long ago, your kingdom mistook my Mecha God replicas for secret Empire weapons, right?"
He gave an awkward smile at the reminder.
"...Yes. Our envoy knew nothing about Mecha God Chronicle, so it was a mix-up. But the misunderstanding's cleared up now, so no need to wor—"
"Why not make it real this time?"
"...Pardon?"
Importing Mecha God Chronicle from the Empire might spark backlash?
Then let's see them complain when a Mecha God springs to life right in front of them, badassly defending humanity.
