The Interview (1)
The lobby on the first floor of the broadcasting station was nothing short of pure pandemonium.
“Your Majesty, please, for the sake of my merchant guild, just let our new product appear on screen for once!”
“Director, we’ll offer double the amount proposed by any other guild! Just give us some time, please!”
The empire’s most powerful merchant lords were swirling their purses with bloodshot eyes, their voices rising in a chaotic chorus that filled the lobby.
Yes. That’s exactly it.
The future of the empire looked bright. Even though this was their first time seeing an advertisement screen, they had already grasped the influence and value this broadcast could exert in a single day.
As a merchant who operated a guild, how could I not be excited after seeing a golden goose that lays eggs? They had no eyes left for anything else.
And with the rumor that the Ian Merchant Guild had pulled in a year’s worth of sales from a single commercial slot, it was only natural for them to be going mad.
I stared at the surging crowd from afar and gave Sylvia’s shoulder a light tap.
“See? No need to worry about paying the staff anymore, right?”
“You’re right…”
“Alright, now it’s your turn. Go max it out—rip them dry.”
At that, Sylvia pushed up her glasses. The exhaustion in her eyes flashed with pure greed.
In the face of such massive wealth, fatigue simply vanished.
“Leave it to me, Director. I’ll empty the pockets of these roughnecks—er, excellent partners—down to their very souls. We’ll break the pricing into units and auction it off.”
“Good. Do your worst. I have something else to handle.”
I had other matters to attend to.
“Are you really going alone?”
“Yeah. Since there are high-ranking nobles involved, no one else is qualified.”
“Handle the security yourself.”
“…You’re too much.”
“Come to think of it, wasn’t this all your personal request as Director?”
“…”
I had nothing to say. It was the truth.
“Tch. Fine, I’ll do it.”
I left Sylvia behind in the lobby and traced a space-movement magic circle in the air with my fingers.
Whoosh—
Voices from the merchant lords, who had confirmed my disappearance through the magic, rose sharply.
“W-Where did His Majesty go?!”
“Talk to my secretary over there!”
I had other, far more important business to attend to.
It was the pre-interview.
In Earth’s romance-reality programs, before the main camping phase began, individual interview videos of the contestants always aired first.
It was a clever way to present the contestants’ personalities and charms to the viewers and show their mindset as they arrived here, ramping up expectations.
These people in this world probably haven’t learned to act in front of cameras yet, so we’ll get the raw, unfiltered interview.
Ah… I couldn’t wait for the interview to start.
Flash—
The magic circle flared, and my body vanished in an instant.
***
The northernmost front of the empire, the Valter Margraviate.
Standing alone in the training grounds whipped by fierce winds, I buttoned my coat and shivered.
“Ugh! It’s freezing! I should’ve worn warmer clothes.”
But it didn’t matter.
I was a fairly skilled magician.
I cast a spell to keep my body heat from dropping and scanned the surroundings.
There, below the massive wall defending the north against monsters, the northern knights swung their swords tirelessly, shouting battle cries.
“Haaap!!”
Oh, so much power. The future of the empire really was bright.
At that moment.
“Who goes there?! How dare you perform spatial movement at the center of the margraviate—! Ah! His Majesty!”
The knights who spotted me drew back in shock, sheathed their weapons, and dropped to one knee.
“W-Well, everyone’s been working hard.”
And from far away, a strikingly handsome young man—someone who looked like a prince—came running at full speed.
“Un-Uncle?!”
The Northern Margrave,
Aaron Valter
The empire’s shield and the man holding the scars of the Century War—the northern lands that still bore its wounds.
Aaron, now twenty-three, had become margrave at eighteen and rolled through the north’s stabilization without rest.
And his appearance clashed strangely with that rough title.
Hair that shimmered silver in sunlight fell neatly to his nape, and beneath it, sky-blue eyes as clear as winter skies gazed steadily.
A straight nose, sharp jawline, and perfectly refined features screamed noble blood from a glance.
When he wasn’t smiling, his face was so beautiful it could make a woman mistake him for one.
But upon closer look, traces of something other than greenhouse-grown nobility appeared: hands hardened with calluses from gripping a sword, a faint scar on his nape, and an unusually calm gaze for his age.
A face carrying a weight that should have been too heavy for twenty-three.
I patted the broad shoulder of the young man bowing before me.
“Long time no see, Aaron. How have you been? The northern monster hunts have settled down?”
“Thanks to Uncle’s concern, it’s become quite stable. Well, what brings you here to this remote place?”
Aaron’s father, Gerard Valter, had been my wartime comrade who fell fighting back-to-back during the Century War.
His son.
Though our blood wasn’t mixed, the young man called me “Uncle” with such formality and respect.
Even as a child burdened with heavy responsibility, he was praiseworthy, and I never withheld support to the extent of the northern budget.
“Uncle coming to visit his nephew has its reasons… but today, I have something I must discuss with you.”
“Is that so? Then allow me to escort you inside. We can speak there.”
***
I followed Aaron into his office, the study of the margrave.
The study of the Northern Margrave was modest at best, almost shabby.
It showed he didn’t waste money on unnecessary things, just like his father.
I pulled a high-end video recording magic tool from the air and projected Aaron’s face toward it.
Blue mana flickered like a lens, beginning to capture his handsome features.
Oh, the visuals are excellent.
Aaron offered me a cup. It was cheap liquor anyone could drink anywhere.
“What is this?”
“It smells good, right? This is called a camera. It records videos. Did you receive the summoning letter I sent?”
“Ah, yes. It said it was a secret project called Imperial Men and Women. I packed my things after receiving Uncle’s letter urging me to participate for the future of the north and the empire’s security. I wonder what kind of mission requires such secrecy…”
Aaron’s expression grew solemn.
I bit back my laughter. The young man still thought this was a military operation or political summit.
Adorable. Even among high nobles, he was still a child.
“That’s right. It’s an extremely important mission. Now, answer the camera questions comfortably. This is a pre-interview.”
“Interview… you mean?”
“Yeah. Male Contestant #1, Aaron Valter. Became margrave at eighteen and ruled the land harshly for five years. You’ve finally gained some freedom. Now you should take on the mission the nation is offering.”
“You’re right, but it’s still far off. Of course I intend to take on any mission the nation gives.”
Aaron stared at the camera with military discipline.
“I have one question: when you go there, what will you do?”
I smiled and gave a short answer.
“Dating.”
Aaron asked in disbelief.
“What?”
“Don’t you know what dating is? Eating meals, going on dates, holding hands. That sort of thing.”
Aaron’s sky-blue eyes began to waver wildly.
Even in the fierce blizzards of the north, the tip of his ears turned bright red in an instant.
“Un-Uncle. I… I haven’t been with a woman alone… my priority is raising my forces first.”
“Then do exactly that. Your brother Gerard wouldn’t want you to live only gripping a sword and fighting alone your whole life. You’re still too free, young one.”
Aaron hesitated for a moment, then gave the answer I expected.
“Even if… even if that’s what Uncle says… it seems difficult…”
The reason I had come to Aaron first was exactly this.
He was the kind of person who would refuse to participate no matter how much I blackmailed him if he thought it wasn’t him.
Direct persuasion was necessary.
“Why?”
“The north is not yet stable. We’re barely holding back monsters with the empire’s and Uncle’s help, but it’s not fully stabilized yet… I have many things to do, Uncle.”
Aaron’s clear eyes met mine without flinching.
Noblesse oblige.
Aaron was carrying on his father’s will exactly as it was meant to be executed.
“Then do exactly that.”
“…What?”
“Think about everything you’ve done so far. Repairing the northern walls, reorganizing the knight orders, strengthening the monster hunt squads, and starting to collect taxes again. You’re restoring one by one what collapsed in your father’s time.”
“That’s exactly what I should be doing.”
“Exactly. But the northern recovery has been a bit slower than you thought, hasn’t it? Why is that?”
Aaron’s expression hardened slightly.
“I… am weak and still young…”
As expected. The boy was too upright.
“No, Aaron. You’ve been doing very well. Your problem is elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere…?”
Aaron looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“What you’re handling now isn’t a small margraviate. It’s the entire north’s defense and the Valter Margraviate, which faces monsters and borders at the same time. There are endless tasks you must handle yourself. Military, diplomacy, taxation, food, commerce, noble relations… and you have to wield a sword as well.”
“……”
Aaron listened in silence.
“That’s why progress is slow. You’re trying to handle everything with your own hands.”
“Capable vassals are working diligently…”
I cut him off.
“But you can’t assign all the important matters to others, right?”
High-noble matters are things that family members should handle. No matter how much you trust vassals, there are limits.
“And if you’re holding onto everything like that, there will come a limit someday. Right now, you’re young and can endure, but you’re soon going to hit that wall, aren’t you?”
“……”
Aaron’s eyes wavered. I went straight to the main point.
“But if you obtain a wise wife, everything changes.”
Aaron’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Imagine if your wife took on the margraviate’s internal affairs. Collecting reports from vassals, overseeing taxes and finances, managing transactions with guilds, gathering information in high society… you could assign tasks you don’t need to do yourself.”
Aaron’s interest began to show.
“Is it possible to find such a woman?”
“That’s exactly why you should go out and look.”
Aaron fell silent for a moment.
I didn’t miss my chance.
“Do you know why your father, Brother Gerard, could endure so long?”
“……Because he was strong.”
“You’re right. But he didn’t endure by being strong alone.”
Aaron’s voice grew lower.
“By his side were people who handled what he couldn’t. The knights held swords, the vassals governed the lands, the merchants supplied supplies. He stood in the most dangerous place so they could do their own jobs. But among them, the most important was your mother.”
His mother, who had passed away with his father, brought a shadow of sorrow to Aaron’s face.
“……”
No matter how strong, one needs a place to lean on. Even if he was the strongest in the north, your mother was that kind of existence to Brother Gerard.”
I patted Aaron’s shoulder.
“And the north is still very unstable in many important areas.”
“Yes…? What is that?”
“No successor.”
“……?”
“If you die now, the Valter family line ends. Brother Gerard could sacrifice himself because he had a successor like you. Without one, everything you’ve built would collapse the moment you die. Do you want that?”
The playfulness vanished from Aaron’s face.
“Then dating and marriage are not your personal matters. They are the responsibility of the margrave. How does that sound? Doesn’t it sound quite plausible?”
There was a brief silence, and Aaron slowly opened his mouth.
“…That’s disgusting.”
“What?”
“Dragging in father and mother.”
I chuckled at Aaron’s words.
“It’s easy to persuade a filial son.”
I laughed and pointed at the camera.
“So, shall we do it?”
Finally, Aaron sighed and nodded.
“…Understood.”
Son, I’m above you. High nobles are weak to such excuses, you know.
“I’ll ask. Answer looking at the camera.”
Aaron looked at the camera with a resigned face.
“What kind of woman do you like?”
“…Kind of woman?”
The young man spent a long time considering it seriously, as if deciding a national crisis.
“A woman who can withstand the harsh cold of the north. Who won’t flee in front of monsters. And who keeps her judgment sharp in crises…”
“No, man…? Are you picking a knight commander? No, go romantic. Appearance, personality, whatever.”
“R-Romantic…?”
Ah, this cute guy… I wonder if he’s thinking about the villainous acts he’ll pull out when he goes to the engagement party. Already that’s entertaining to me.
It’s the noble daughters who will react to his question: ‘If I face the blizzard of the north and monsters, what will I think?’
The dopamine level will be through the roof.
Male Contestant #1 confirmed—!!