Bringing Culture to a Different World

Pluk’s brassy voice crossed through countless miles to resound inside Farucci’s Highest Parliamentary Chamber.

Klund III and his ministers all raised their heads to look toward the image floating in the air.

“That’s the performer playing Leon in ‘Leon: The Demon.’ Is this a new movie?”

Klund III only looked at the image in mid-air for a brief moment before he recognized the man reading the script with a cozy brassy voice was none other than the slow-speeched demon hitman Leon from ‘Leon: The Demon.’

“Your Majesty, this is not a movie. It’s a television program called ‘news,’” explained Joshua.

“Television program? News? I’ve heard of that!” Klund III became excited upon hearing the term ‘news.’ “The Voice of Norland! Joshua… this ‘news’ program, it’s something that can be heard by tapping on the symbol called ‘The Voice of Norland,’ right?!”

Neither Joshua or the ministers were expecting the king of Farucci to become suddenly excited.

“Your Majesty, you are correct. Norland Today has always aired on the Voice of Norland,” immediately responded Joshua.

“Then do you know about the storytelling program that would air on the Voice of Norland every night? I remember that it’s a young woman who narrates it!”

The king of Farucci stood up from his seat. Joshua felt that if the flight of steps wasn’t between Klund III and him, Klund III would run up to him, place both hands on his shoulders and start asking questions.

A night-time story-telling program, that must be the program hosted by the elf Tylene.

Joshua would localize some of the famous fairy tales and stories from Earth and have Tylene narrate them. Among the stories, the one that was most popular in Norland was ‘Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.’

The broadcasting of ‘Aladdin and the Magic Lamp,’ even managed to spark a period of interest in adventuring among the listeners from Norland.

Mercenaries and mages attempted to seek out the Magic Lamp in the desert and the Genie that would grant them three wishes. That led to quite a wave on the Mage Forum too.

Seeing Klund III’s excitement, Joshua pondered if he had fallen for Tylene.

That was quite possible. After all, even among elves, Tylene’s voice was extremely pleasant to the ears. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Frost Elf could make any man fall for her head over heels just by whispering to and then blowing at their ear.

“Your Majesty, why are you asking about this?”

Joshua has never publicized his identity as the owner of the Voice of Norland. Nevertheless, anyone with half a brain was able to guess that he must be the owner. The only issue was that there was no way for them to confirm their guesses.

“The Merchant of Venice!” said Klund III all of a sudden. “I remember that was a week ago! I opened that Voice of Norland symbol by accident and heard the story being narrated by that lady. It’s the story of the Merchant of Venice! Due to the lack of time, she ended the story halfway…”

Joshua noticed that the surrounding ministers had strange expressions on their faces. It seemed as if it was not the first time they’ve seen Klund III losing control of his emotions.

“And then, my teacher had to leave Farucci and ended up taking the leaf of the World Tree with him! I was only able to hear half of the Merchant of Venice…”

“To only be able to hear half of one’s beloved story, that is indeed a feeling capable of driving one insane,” said Joshua. “But Your Majesty need not worry. I will tell her to tell the story of the ‘Merchant of Venice’ again today.”

“Tell her to tell it again? So my guess is correct, you are the creator of the Voice of Norland?”

Klund III immediately regained control over his emotions. He sat back down on his throne and began to quietly size up the young demon before him.

“I would say I’m one of the founders,” Joshua shrugged his shoulders. He did not refute Klund III’s hypothesis. “Your Majesty, I think we should shift the topic of our conversation back to ‘television.’”

“Of course.” Klund III turned his gaze back to the projection. He made the connection to his experience with the Voice of Norland, “I can imagine what you mean by ‘television program.’ Back on the Voice of Norland, I felt saddened by the fact that I can only hear and not see the scenes being played out. I would imagine various marvelous scenes just by closing my eyes. But, when I open my eyes, my room is all that appears before them. It would seem that your ‘television’ could make up for my regret.”

The King of Farucci possessed an astonishing comprehensive ability. Of course, it was mainly because he had interacted with the magic network. His ministers, a bunch who didn’t even know what the magic network was, were completely baffled by comparison.

“Your Majesty! Please forgive my ignorance…”

General Rockmond served under Klund III for many years and knew that Klund III, with his eccentric personality, would agree to any request made by the demon if he was happy. The issue at hand was that he doesn’t even know what the demon was here for!

“Your Majesty, I earnestly request that you educate us, your ignorant subjects. We are unable to understand the uses of this arcanotech device called ‘television.’”

“What General Rockmond said is correct. Your Majesty, in my opinion, the person being projected is merely reading a script emotionlessly,” said another minister.

“Let me think…” Klund III soon thought of a suitable description for ‘television.’ “Simederin, General Rockmond, the two of you can think of it as your private theater – hiring a theatrical troupe to perform for you and only you.”

After saying those words, Klund III turned his gaze to Joshua. It seemed as if he was asking Joshua if his explanation was correct.

Seeing that, Joshua smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He had heard of private theaters before. The major nobles of Farucci would at times hire an entire theatrical troupe to perform for them or their families privately.

The cost of doing that was something that cannot be described with the term ‘expensive.’ The more famous a theatrical troupe was, the more expensive it was to hire them. Furthermore, not all theatrical troupes were willing to be hired for private performances.

“Everyone, it is my regret to say that television programs are not as private or expensive as a private theater. On the contrary, they exist purely so that everyone, including the commoners, are able to view them.”

Joshua received the arcanotech device from Zenarth. The television was a bit heavy and required him to use both hands to carry it.

At this moment, the midair projection suddenly disappeared. When Joshua imbued the arcanotech device with magic power again, the projection appeared once more.

“Allow me to explain ”television’ in a direct manner. As long as you possess this originium crystal, you will be able to, in any place and any time, whether you might be lying on your bed or exploring the deep jungle, see the contents inside it by imbuing it with your magic power. You can consider what I’m holding to be a ‘mobile theater.’ The only downside to this device is that what’s being played might not necessarily be something that you’re into. But, don’t we all need some pleasant surprises from time to time?”