Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: 10. Mecha God Chronicle - Cultural Propagation (3)
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📰 Breaking News [Miracle in the Great Beast Forest... Exclusive Interview with that Survivor...] 📰 Breaking News [The Colossal Steel Giant Crushes Monsters Threatening Humanity.] 📰 Breaking News [The True Identity of the Steel Giant is None Other Than the 'Mecha God'?] 📰 Breaking News [What Exactly is a 'Mecha God'? A Deep Dive into the Mecha God's True Nature.] Recently, there was one rumor that had the entire Rihart Kingdom buzzing.
It was the tale that the Imperial Princess, piloting a steel giant, had single-handedly subdued all the monsters pouring out from the Great Beast Forest.
No, it wasn't just subduing them—it was said to have created craters with a single punch, or even displayed ferocious movements reminiscent of wild beasts.
Frankly, there was a limit to how exaggerated rumors could get, and these were so absurd and outlandish that most of the kingdom's citizens dismissed them outright.
After all, where in this world would you find a steel giant tens of meters tall, and what reason could a noble Imperial Princess possibly have for boarding such a thing?
The people of the kingdom thought the rumors about the steel giant were nonsense and tried to let them go in one ear and out the other.
[That is not the case. All rumors regarding the steel giant—the Mecha God—are entirely true.]
Surprisingly, the situation flipped completely on its head.
The King of Rihart Kingdom had personally vouched that the rumors were indeed factual events.
Not only that, but the royal family went so far as to publicly release an image artifact sent from the Empire, capturing the Mecha God's exploits.
And upon seeing that footage, people naturally went wild.
[Rooooaaar-!] The sight alone of a giant tens of meters tall moving as naturally as a human was astonishing enough.
But to top it off, it possessed destructive power capable of cratering the ground with one punch?
And what was with those eyes glowing red, rampaging like a beast that had lost all reason?
"My god... The Empire has created a truly terrifying weapon."
"If war breaks out with the Empire, we'd have no choice but to lose. How on earth do you defeat a monstrous slaughter machine like that?"
Some people eyed the Mecha God warily, wary of its dangers.
"No, that Mecha God saved our soldiers' lives—what's there to complain about?"
"Exactly. If the Mecha God hadn't shown up at that moment, our soldiers might have died right there!"
But the majority felt great affection upon learning that the Mecha God hadn't been used to attack the kingdom's soldiers, but rather to protect them.
And most decisively...
"Doesn't watching this make your heart race for some reason?"
"Yeah. I know I shouldn't say it, but honestly, isn't the Mecha God kinda cool?"
"Gotta admit, when its eyes glowed red and it went berserk like a warrior in a frenzy—that was awesome."
Raguna—no, the designs of mechs crafted by Earth's mecha anime creators pouring their souls into them.
The Mecha God, distilled to the essence of those designs, perfectly hit the sweet spot for the men of the kingdom.
After all, across time, space, and dimensions, men's DNA inherently carried the gene for geeking out over giant robots.
In any case, even after word spread that the Mecha God was an Empire-made weapon, public opinion remained favorable, so the royal family decided to take the next step.
That step was...
📰 Breaking News ['Mecha God' Actually a Weapon from the Empire's Anime 'Mecha God Chronicle'?] 📰 Breaking News [What Exactly is the Anime Sweeping the Entire Empire?] 📰 Breaking News [Anime 'Mecha God Chronicle'—Free for All Empire Citizens... Why Can't Rihart Kingdom Citizens Enjoy This Benefit...?] They announced through the press that the Mecha God was actually a weapon featured in an anime called Mecha God Chronicle.
Of course, upon learning this, people literally lost their minds.
"I hear Mecha God Chronicle, the work centered on the Mecha God, is hugely popular in the Empire."
"A few soldiers have seen Mecha God Chronicle, and they say it's insanely good."
"And the Empire lets their people watch something that fun for free, without paying a dime? Damn, that's so unfair!"
The moment the kingdom's citizens heard the news, they started complaining that they wanted to watch Mecha God Chronicle too.
With interest in the Mecha God already abnormally heightened, the fact that an anime about it was available for free drove them over the edge.
"Why won't our country import Mecha God Chronicle from the Empire?"
"Mecha God Chronicle is taking so looong... At this rate, I'll be a grandpa before it gets here?"
Demands to import Mecha God Chronicle from the Empire grew louder by the day.
In the end, the kingdom had no choice but to "reluctantly" import Mecha God Chronicle from the Empire and broadcast it nationwide.
And then...
"...!"
Just as it had in the Empire, Mecha God Chronicle unleashed a massive box office storm across the entire Rihart Kingdom.
However...
"Mecha God Chronicle is a god! And I've binged it all the way to the latest episode—I'm invincible!"
"Mecha God Chronicle. The light of my life, the flame of my soul, my sin, my everything."
"The me who didn't know Mecha God Chronicle until yesterday is dead. The current me has been reborn as a devoted fan!"
The royal family had anticipated that Mecha God Chronicle would be hugely popular among the people.
But it exceeded their expectations by leaps and bounds, with a shockingly high number of people showing fanatical, cult-like devotion.
The reason was simple.
Rihart Kingdom already had a booming manga culture, with tons of avid enthusiasts.
But honestly, manga was a medium with lower accessibility and immersion compared to anime.
Unlike manga, which required reading text, anime let you follow the story effortlessly without much thought.
So all the former manga addicts had switched en masse to anime binging.
Thus, the cult worshiping Mecha God Chronicle spread through Rihart Kingdom like a rampant plague.
However, where there is light, there must inevitably be shadow.
As the number of Mecha God Chronicle fans in Rihart Kingdom exploded, so did the side effects.
And that side effect was...
"...How much for that Saya merch?"
"10 gold."
"What? 10 gold? For this tiny keychain? That's way too expensive!"
"But it's not just any keychain. This is the real deal, sold at the recent Mecha God Chronicle Festival in the Empire. And you know how insanely popular Saya merch is—it's super rare."
"...!"
"So if you don't wanna buy it, fine. There are plenty of others dying to snap it up."
"B-but I heard the production cost for that merch is only 1 gold...!"
"Then go buy it yourself in the Empire. Though it'll cost you at least 50 gold round-trip, so I won't stop you."
"Grrgh!"
Unscrupulous merchants had flooded the market, exploiting the fact that official Mecha God Chronicle merch hadn't been imported to Rihart Kingdom yet.
They had bulk-bought the cheap merch Raguna dumped at the festival and were marking it up several times over—at worst, tenfold.
Of course, the kingdom's Mecha God Chronicle fans were furious at the merchants' gouging, but they had no real recourse.
Besides, how many could resist the temptation of waifu merch dangling right in front of them?
Just as the fans were gritting their teeth to buy from the merchants...
"...Hold it right there."
A man whose face was concealed by a mask appeared before them like a savior.
"10 gold for a single Saya keychain? There's a limit to ripping people off—how can you sell merch at that price? You people have no business ethics."
With that, the man began laying out his own wares before the crowd.
"The fork Eirin used in the show, a Saya keychain, the mug Rinoa sipped coffee from, the fountain pen Rachel used for documents. And for those seeking pricier items, 1:44 scale figures of Mecha God Units 0 through 3."
"....."
"I'm not like those other shady merchants. So I declare here and now: all these items will be sold at the festival's original price!"
As the man clenched his fist and proclaimed this, every Mecha God Chronicle fan could only weep tears of gratitude and worship him.
Meanwhile, the unscrupulous merchants ground their teeth and retreated.
"Get lost, you losers."
Not satisfied, the man mocked them as they fled.
Watching him, the Mecha God Chronicle fans—almost in unison—hurled a question his way.
"Wh-who are you, exactly? And what do you do for a living that lets you sell these precious items at cost?"
To that, the man replied in a remarkably subdued tone.
"...My name? My name is Kai—"
"...Kai?"
For a moment, the man seemed to hesitate, then shook his head.
"...My name is Kaizer. Just your average... part-time worker at a snack bar...."
In the past, Prince Kaisel von Rihart of Rihart Kingdom, who had once conversed with Raguna.
Today, too, he was zealously proselytizing Mecha God Chronicle while hiding his identity.
He was already a full-fledged otaku.