Infiltration! The Broadcast as Seen from the Holy Kingdom

I came to the Holy Kingdom to investigate.

I wanted to see firsthand how the public was reacting to the dungeon exploration.

It's not that I doubt Narikin or anything, but if public demand really is that strong, I figured I could blend in over here and put in some requests to nudge the dungeon exploration along.

This is the central plaza where Narikin broadcasts from. Apparently several other locations are showing the same footage too, using some kind of short-range video transfer tech the Holy Kingdom threw together in a hurry.

… You just whipped up that kind of tech on the spot? I thought, but surprisingly, once you have a working example that shows "oh, so that's possible!", copying it is way easier than building something from scratch.

The Holy Kingdom has its own talented engineers. That's all there is to it.

It's wired, guzzles magic stones and mana, only works one-way, and has a short effective range, though.

… Hook up two of them and you'd have bidirectional communication, add relays and you could extend the range even further. Yeah, definitely a talented magic tool craftsman.

…

This doesn't have anything to do with Soto and the others going on that date the other day, right?

I promised Leona I wouldn't let them do anything unnecessary… Soto is keeping her promise, right?

Let me check who made it, just to be safe.

Since I'm disguised as a regular Holy Kingdom citizen with [Super Transformation], asking around is easy.

"Hey, who made that broadcasting magic tool? Not the one Narikin… -sama provided."

"Hm? Some top-notch magic tool craftsman employed by the Light God Church… Though if they were human, they'd be out front advertising themselves like crazy, so the rumor is it might be a beastfolk."

Oh, just a beastfolk. Then it's not something Soto arranged.

The central plaza is the only place you can interact with Narikin and make requests, and since it's insanely popular, you apparently need a hard-to-get admission ticket just to get in.

Naturally I don't have one, so I also used [Teleport] to slip in quietly.

… Hmm, originally it was too dangerous for me to go to the Holy Kingdom, so I sent Narikin instead, but now Narikin's over there and I'm here in the Holy Kingdom. What a weird feeling.

Well, that's partly thanks to Narikin scouting things out for us, and partly because he ended up being weirdly successful.

Oh, Narikin's broadcast is starting.

Narikin's figure appeared on the front monitor and was mirrored on the screens set up around the plaza.

"Oh, it's on. Can you all see me?"

"WOOOOOOOOH!!!! IT'S STARTIIIIING!!!!"

"NARIKIN-SAMAAAA!! WE CAN SEE YOUUU!!!"

"WE CAN HEAR YOUUU!!!!"

Whoa, don't just start screaming out of nowhere! Scared the crap out of me!

And every single one of them is so damn loud…! At this rate, no matter how much I yell, my voice might not even reach Narikin…

"Good grief, none of them understand…"

Some guy next to me stood there with his arms folded and a smug look on his face.

"Uh, what is it they don't understand?"

"Hmm. You didn't raise your voice either. Heh, you've got some skill."

"… Thanks?"

I'm being praised, but I have absolutely no idea why.

"First of all, shouting now makes you third-rate. You'll have no voice left when it actually matters."

"When it actually matters…?"

"Yeah. It doesn't hurt to do some vocal warmups, but…"

"No, that's not what I'm asking — what do you mean 'when it matters'?"

"… Is this your first time at one of Narikin-sama's broadcasts? How'd you even get into this plaza?"

The man snorted dismissively.

"Narikin-sama sometimes asks the audience for strategy input during broadcasts. Shouting at that moment, that's what makes you second-rate."

"I see… Wait, second-rate? So what makes someone first-rate?"

"A first-rate viewer stays quiet so everyone can hear Narikin-sama's and the Saintess-sama's voices."

Huh. I see?

Since this isn't the internet, but a plaza where everyone's packed together using their actual voices, I can see how that kind of value system would develop.

… But this guy radiates major "arms-folded boyfriend standing in the back at a concert" energy, so I'll take what he says with a grain of salt.

"Today we're tackling the forest. We can't afford any more schedule delays! Right, Alka-dono?"

"Yes. We've explored the cave pretty thoroughly at this point. Let's go, Narikin-sama."

"Indeed. Then let us proceed."

And on screen, Narikin and Saintess Alka stepped into the forest area.

"Oho… they went right in."

"It's not really 'right in,' they were in the cave for about a week, right?"

"What are you talking about? It hasn't even been five minutes since the broadcast started. Heh, the rapid developments are getting my heart racing…"

What is this guy even saying? I thought, turning my attention back to the screen.

"Oh! A monster! It's a fight! Don't look away, it'll be over in an instant…"

"O-oh."

A lizardman I'd placed in the forest area appeared in front of Narikin.

For this area it's just small fry, and I didn't think it'd be much of a highlight, but…

"Hmm. A lizardman, eh… hah!"

"As expected of Narikin-sama. A mere lizardman is no match for you."

"They're dangerous in numbers, so I'm just taking them out quickly."

Just as expected, Narikin smacked the lizardman down with a single punch.

Say what you will about him, Narikin's been training like crazy, so this much is a cakewalk.

But the crowd erupted into applause and cheers.

"YEAAAH!! One-punched it without even drawing his sword!! NARIKIN-SAMA SO COOL!!!"

"Him protecting the Saintess-sama is so precious!"

"WHEEEEW! Narikin-sama is the strongest! YOU should be the Pope!!"

"Ah, y-yes. Thank you, everyone. Er, just so you know, lizardmen are a real threat to untrained people, so please don't try to imitate this, alright?"

"YEEEES!!!!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!!"

"I'LL TRAIN SO I CAN DO THE SAME THING!!"

S-so noisy! Way too noisy!

These are the type of people who'd go "that sneeze was clutch!" if someone sneezed… Well, as far as audiences go, they're the best kind you could ask for, but still.

Having those screams blasting right next to my ears is killing me…!

As for the back-row arms-folded guy, he smugly remarked, "Heh, as expected of Narikin-sama. He struck the precise point."

… So he's the back-row arms-folded "I'm basically his mentor" type, huh.

Actually, looking around, there were a few others who deliberately held back during that hype moment too… and they all had similar reactions. There are quite a few of these back-row mentors.