He Did It!
A few days later, the Minister of Finance arrived at my office first thing in the morning, clutching a thick project proposal. Dark hollows bruised the skin beneath his eyes, making it painfully obvious he had pulled several consecutive all-nighters.
"S-So, what do you think?!"
I flipped through the pages he handed me, and to my genuine surprise, a flash of admiration stirred in my chest. Wait a second. This is actually good?
"Gwahahaha! Quite something, isn't it? Who understands Your Excellency the Chancellor's vision better than I? How many years did we roll through the mud and blood of the front lines together, after all?!"
He wasn't exaggerating. The Minister of Finance was one of the very few high nobles of the old guard who had weathered the Hundred Years' War alongside me and survived.
"Action, epic stakes, camaraderie, brotherhood, romance—we weave it all into a single tapestry!"
"Oho... not bad," I murmured. "Let's toss in outdoor cooking, mukbangs, penalty games, and competitive challenges while we're at it."
"Pardon?"
Reaching into my desk drawer, I pulled out a project proposal I had drafted long ago.
The minister's draft overlapped with my own concept in nearly every crucial aspect.
"Look at that. You and I are surprisingly on the same wavelength, aren't we, Minister?"
"Gwahahaha! I knew it! I knew you had already drawn up plans! Indeed! What did we do during the war? It was all precisely this! Naturally, because it's entertainment, it won't be as grim or tragic as actual warfare, but it will deliver more than enough spectacle to keep the viewers on the edges of their seats!"
Standing beside us, Sylvia listened to our exchange with growing horror until she could no longer contain herself.
"Wait! Hold on! Both of you, what on earth are you talking about?! Mukbangs and romance in the Demon Realm?! Have you completely lost your minds?! Are you honestly planning to broadcast blood spraying everywhere and people slaughtering monsters on television?!"
The Minister of Finance turned to her with a predatory grin.
"That's precisely why it'll be thrilling, young lady."
I nodded in wholehearted agreement.
"Think about it carefully, Sylvia. The citizens of this Empire are accustomed to war. The people alive today have witnessed every horrific sight imaginable with their own eyes. Their threshold for action is astronomically high."
"Even so, that's--!"
"We give them a clear enemy to despise," I continued smoothly. "Remind them that we are comrades who once faced a singular existential threat and overcame it together. Besides, there won't actually be that much visceral bloodshed on screen. We can trim it in post-production. What we're really presenting leans closer to survival."
"Survival...?" she echoed weakly.
"Exactly. Holding their breath as they creep past a sleeping cyclops, snatching cockatrice eggs to fry over an open campfire for breakfast—the tear-jerking brotherhood of seasoned warriors! Forging unbreakable bonds through extreme adversity, and the delicate spark of romance kindling amidst mortal danger! Tell me, doesn't your heart race just picturing it?"
"......Not in the slightest."
I gave a light chuckle. "You'll change your tune once you actually watch it. Mark my words, this program will play a major role in uniting the Empire."
The Minister of Finance slammed his palm onto the desk and sprang to his feet.
"As expected of Your Excellency! A truly flawless blueprint!"
Being a master-class swordsman with an undeniable taste for violence, the old general was practically vibrating with excitement over this raw, blood-pumping survival concept.
"Leave the casting entirely to me! I'll round up bored mercenary kings with nothing better to do in retirement, maybe drag out some ancient elven recluses rotting away in the deep woods. High-caliber combatants only, of course!"
I smirked and signed my approval across the cover sheet.
"Splendid. I have high hopes. I'll entrust this project to you, Minister. However, since it is effectively a military expedition, make sure you coordinate closely with the Minister of National Defense."
"Understood! I'll put my very life into it!"
As the minister practically skipped out of the office humming a martial tune, Sylvia pressed a palm against her forehead in utter defeat.
"Director... didn't you mention you were preparing a scripted drama as well? How are we supposed to manage all of this at once?"
"It's far more manageable than you think. Infinite Demon Realm can essentially be classified as a state military maneuver. Once our camera crews are deployed, IBS barely needs to lift a finger for day-to-day logistics. The magic happens in the editing room."
"Pardon?"
"Think of it as a double victory. An expedition like this shatters civilian complacency regarding post-war security, while transforming an otherwise perilous scouting mission into prime-time mass entertainment. We kill two birds with one stone."
I shrugged with shameless nonchalance and glanced at my pocket watch.
"Haaah... You always have an excuse for everything..."
Chuckling, I reached over and tapped her lightly on the crown of her head.
"Heheh. The Demon Realm can wait. Tonight is the premiere of Episode 2 of Imperial Men and Women. Come on, let's head down to the control booth. I heard through the grapevine that you deliberately avoided watching the rough cut?"
"......Well, it spoils the fun if I know what happens in advance."
"Bwahaha! Now that's the proper viewer mindset! You've really fallen for Imperial Men and Women, haven't you, Sylvia?"
"Hmph... I hate to admit it, but it's infuriatingly addictive..."
"Heheheh. Let's move. Let's see what kind of numbers we crush tonight."
After a grueling week of anticipation, the second episode of Imperial Men and Women finally hit the airwaves.
The public squares and taverns across the capital were packed to bursting with crowds easily twice the size of the premiere's audience. Over on the magical network, the Forest of the Empire was groaning under unprecedented traffic, teetering on the verge of server collapse despite several emergency capacity expansions.
Up on the broadcast feed, the studio panel was buzzing with electric energy from the very first second.
"I haven't been able to keep a single meal down all week, dying to know what was hidden inside those blasted boxes!" Damon declared, clutching his chest theatrically.
"The feeling is entirely mutual, Lord Damon!" Countess Verna chimed in, lightly fanning herself. "Every high-society salon and tea party has spent the past seven days doing nothing but frantically debating which lady bestowed her favor upon which gentleman!"
Aedus seized the cue, his voice booming through the broadcast speakers.
"Hahahaha! Then let us put an end to the agonizing wait right this second!"
"Ahhh! Please, show us quickly!"
With Madame Verna's eager plea, the crystal projection flashed, seamlessly cutting away to the opulent living quarters of the Signal House.
The male and female housemates had all retreated into their respective private chambers, leaving the vast salon completely deserted. One by one, as their designated numbers were called, each female contestant would slip into the room alone to deposit a personal keepsake into the box of her chosen partner.
Rosalyn emerged, dressed in elegant casualwear, holding a delicate ribbon between her manicured fingers.
"Oh! Female 1 has selected a ribbon. A classic, orthodox maneuver."
"A keen eye might have noticed," Madame Verna observed with a knowing smirk, "that ribbon was originally an ornament adorning Female 1's gown earlier in the evening."
"Ah?! Really?" Damon gasped, blinking in genuine astonishment. "I didn't notice that at all!"
Madame Verna chuckled behind her fan.
"You see? Men are dreadfully oblivious creatures. Out of all the gentlemen present, who among them might actually recognize that as Female 1's ribbon? By my reckoning... perhaps Male 6, Julius? The rest wouldn't have the faintest clue."
"Now then, let us see whose box receives Female 1's ribbon!"
Yet the devilish art of IBS editing was absolute.
The broadcast meticulously revealed the tokens clutched in each lady's hands, yet every camera angle framing the numbered boxes was deliberately cropped out.
"Aaargh! They're stringing us along! This is downright demonic editing!" Damon howled. "They intend to conceal the recipients until the gentlemen open the boxes themselves!"
One after another, the women glided through the hall, slipping their chosen tokens into the mystery boxes. Finally, Female 6, Marie, stepped into the light to cast her vote.
"Hold on! Rewind that! Look closely!" Aedus shouted, practically leaning through the studio desk. "Didn't the box Female 6 just opened already contain another object?!"
As if answering his command, the footage rewound a few seconds.
It was true.
Though the carved number remained artfully blurred, the interior of the box Marie opened was undeniably occupied by another lady's token.
"Ahhh! A collision! What on earth is happening?!"
"That means at least one gentleman is guaranteed to walk away with zero votes tonight!"
"Wait, could that box belong to Male 4, the unstoppable bulldozer?!"
Madame Verna narrowed her eyes, cutting through the panic with razor-sharp conviction.
"No. That is definitely not Male 4's box. I would stake my reputation on it."
"Eh?" Damon stared at her, flabbergasted. "Why not? Male 4 openly declared his unwavering devotion to her from the very start..."
"Precisely because he made his intentions so painfully blatant!" she retorted. "If Male 4 declared to the entire house that he has eyes only for Female 6, what other woman in her right mind would waste her favor by dropping a token into his box?!"
Aedus and Damon froze, their jaws dropping in synchronized, exaggerated astonishment.
"...Ah!! Of course! That makes total sense!" Aedus roared, slapping the desk. "Madame Verna is entirely correct, ladies and gentlemen! Female 6's heart has wavered!"
"No, let us be accurate," Madame Verna corrected dryly. "Female 6's heart was never revealed in the first place."
"Aaaah! Right! You're completely right! We jumped to conclusions entirely!"
Down in the comments of the Forest of the Empire, the forum erupted into absolute mayhem.
A few moments later, the voice of the production team resonated through the manor.
The six male contestants stepped out into the courtyard, their faces tight with nerves as they lined up before the row of plain wooden boxes.
Aaron stiffened his shoulders and bellowed back with rigid, parade-ground discipline.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Kuh... Regrettably, I expect none at all, sir!"
The instant his stiff, earnest reply aired, the magical network flooded with an avalanche of sympathetic cheers.
With trembling fingers, Aaron reached forward and slowly lifted the wooden lid.
"Uh......?"
His eyes widened until they were as huge and round as an ox's.
Sitting inside the velvet-lined base of his box were not zero, but two distinct tokens.
A delicate handkerchief embroidered with blooming blossoms, and a weathered yet meticulously polished wooden flute.
The commentary studio instantly erupted into absolute pandemonium.
"Good heavens! Two whole items! The very first box opens, and he's already secured two votes!!"
"His steadfast, rugged sincerity struck straight through the ladies' hearts!"
"Yes! Exactly!! Didn't I tell you all that farmers are secretly wealthy and reliable?! Take that, you bastards!! He did it!!"