How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 1

Now, how will the people react? Will the people he wants come? she wondered. Here’s hoping lots of people come…

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In history, there are some scenes which are easily dramatized by later generations. There are some conditions for this:

First, it must be the turning point of an era.

Second, it must have a certain flair when dramatized.

These are the two conditions.

In the Sengoku Period, it would be the scene where Oda Nobunaga performs part of the Noh play Atsumori before the Battle of Okehazama.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it would be the scene where Liu Bei recruits Zhuge Liang after paying three personal visits to him.

In Roman history, it would be the scene where Caesar says “The die is cast,” as he crosses the Rubicon.

Then, if one were to ask which scene from the era in which the throne was abdicated to Souma was most often dramatized in later years, the answer would likely be this gathering of capable people.

Before Souma, who had sought those with gifts, five gifted young people were summoned. Of them, the king would welcome just one with wholehearted joy.

Seen from Souma’s perspective, this was one of his greatest accomplishments. From one other person’s perspective, it was the turning point in the Cinderella story of their life. And from the perspective of “one who watched that scene through eyes unlike those of others,” it was to become “the turning point of an era.”

Yes. In this scene, there were three main characters.

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I had worried about how many people would come, but the response was far greater than I had anticipated. Not placing any limits on the type of gift and offering a cash prize had probably helped.

Now the capital was packed so full of people, we’d had to place restrictions on the number of people allowed access to the palace. The situation was so overwhelming that the officials, including Marx, had been running around like mad since morning.

It felt to me like way too many people had turned up, but apparently, since I had put out such a wide call, the masses had rushed to the capital to see what kind of people would catch the king’s attention.

When people move, things move, too.

Merchants who sensed a business opportunity had gathered to set up shop, so the castle town looked like there was a festival going on. It was an unexpected shot in the arm for our economy, but, at the same time, it also meant more work for the officials.

Now, as for the all-important recruitment drive, the response to that was massive, as well.

A multitude of diverse gifts, some immediately useful, some of no apparent use at all upon first glance, were on display at the judging station. There, five officials judged whether the participants’ gifts were unique. If they were acknowledged to be, prize money was awarded, no matter what that gift was. Liscia and I were in a separate room, reading the reports from the judges and picking out any people we liked.

There really were a lot of applicants, but that also meant a considerable amount of overlap in their gifts. The competition was particularly fierce for the “Gift of Martial Ability,” “Gift of Talent,” and “Gift of Beauty,” so they were deciding on a number one for each category at another site.

At each of these sites, named “Best in the Kingdom Martial Arts Tournament,” “Kingdom of Talent,” and “Elfrieden Pretty Girl Grand Prix,” spectators enjoyed watching the proceedings.

…By the way, after this, by request of the merchant’s guild, these tournaments became a yearly event in the capital Parnam and attracted a large number of tourists.

Also, the Elfrieden Pretty Girl Grand Prix invited rumors that it was actually being held by the king to choose his mistresses. As a result, all of the nobles who wanted to tie their own lines to the royal family sent their relatives to participate, but that’s not relevant at the moment, so I’ll skip over it. Though, when Liscia heard the rumors, I did get some cold looks for it later…

The judging process had originally been planned to last for one day, but instead it lasted for three. Those with gifts that made me think, “This is what I’m looking for” were brought before me on the fourth day.

I was seated on the throne, with Liscia standing at my side. (Technically, while we were betrothed, the marriage hadn’t been held yet, so she wasn’t allowed to touch the queen’s throne.) One step down from us, Prime Minister Marx stood to the right of us, Captain of the Royal Guard Ludwin to the left.

By the way, we had hauled the jewel from the Jewel Voice Room into the throne room, so this scene was being broadcast around the kingdom.

Five young people were brought before us:

One had silver hair and elven ears, a girl who looked like a warrior with some muscle showing through her brown skin.

One wore a black robe which covered his whole body, a thin young man with a somehow listless look on his face.