CH 36

On that day, the front of the castle was very lively.

People of all ages, men and women… No, there were mostly young people and some older people gathered.

Some were well dressed, others were not, and it seemed that both nobles and commoners had gathered there equally.

“Thank you all for coming here,” said a church sister, standing before them.

Then, many soldiers lined up with baskets, and seeing them arrive, people cheered as if they had been waiting for them.

So what was all the fuss? It was that thing, it got completed, and today was the day it was on sale.

“Everyone, please line up in order so that no one gets hurt. Alright? Those who cause unnecessary commotion will get removed, so please understand.”

Finally, the Haishin-sama badge showed itself.

“Oh, this!”

“Haishin-sama!”

“Father! I want it!”

“Hold on! I’ll buy enough for the whole family!”

As the excitement in the square grew even more, in the corner, Kanata muttered, “Is this for real?”

“Is it really that good? Do you people really want it that much?”

He had half-listened to Maria and Alphana when they said it would definitely sell out, and it seemed they were right.

“Fufu, this is the power of Haishin-sama,”

“Yes, as expected.”

Maria and Alphana were also close by.

With badges on their chests, they looked like girls completely lost to some religious cult.

When he took his eyes off them and looked at the square, he saw that the people who had bought were all wearing badges and, in the worst cases, rubbing their cheeks against them. It was an amazing sight.

“…”

Among the crowd were high-class courtesans like Kanna and many faces that Kanata recognized from school. He felt a strange mix of emotions about this.

But there was no denying that this commotion and sales were definitely due to Haishin’s popularity, and it would definitely serve as motivation for them to continue their activities in the future.

“From the looks of it, there are people from the Principality and even the Empire.”

“Really?”

Maria was looking at a group of people dressed differently from what you would normally see in the Kingdom.

They must be from a different country, and that’s why Maria assumed they were foreigners.

They were also waiting patiently in line, and it was a peaceful scene.

“… Well, thank goodness everything seems to be okay?”

During these festival commotions, anything could happen, but nothing did.

With the sisters belonging to the church and soldiers serving in the Capital, the order was in place.

“…?”

As he watched the event unfold, Alphana quietly pulled Kanata into the shadows.

“Alphana?”

“Please be quiet.”

Being pulled into the shadows by a beautiful girl and being stared at made it hard not to get strange ideas.

He felt his heart beating wildly in response to Alphana’s perfect proportions, pretty face, and eyes which were pure yet powerful.

“Maria.”

A cool voice echoed through the place.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar to Kanata, but he remembered its identity when he turned his eyes toward Maria while hiding.

“Dear Brother?”

Yes, it was Maria’s elder brother who came.

He had the same golden hair and beautiful blue eyes as Maria and was even more handsome than Kanata. 

He was wearing a plain local costume. However, his face was too perfect, and it couldn’t hide his aura as a royal.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I just bought one too.”

The handsome prince, Julius, had a Haishin badge pinned on his chest.

“You wanted one too?”

“I am also a follower and a fan of his. Being favoured just because I’m a royal doesn’t suit me.”

Julius laughed as he said this and began to engage Maria in conversation.

Incidentally, Maria also noticed that Alphana had hidden Kanata when Julius approached, as she gave off a vibe that seemed to say not to interfere with Julius.

“Oh yeah, that time was just a self-introduction.”

“Do you want to talk to him now?”

“No, let’s just leave it… I’m not Haishin at this moment.”

“Understood.”

Although he had recently been greeting others as Haishin, it was becoming a problem. Without the mask and the black clothes, Kanata was just a commoner, and if he greeted Julius casually, he would be looked at strangely. If he was not careful, he might even get charged with lèse-majesté.

“Well, I suppose not.”

Kanata laughed, wondering if that was possible since he was also Maria’s brother.

“But then again, that’s the prestige of Haishin-sama.”

“Of course.”

“Father and Mother asked me to buy three of each, and I made sure to get them.”

“Three, but why?”

“One to wear, one for preservation, and one for display, they said.”

“I see.”

It seemed that not even the King and Queen could resist the allure of Haishin. 

He wanted to say that it was not right for the highest power in the country to do this, but if they were buying merchandise, he can’t do anything about it.

“Kanata-sama’s prestige is truly amazing. I respect you even more.”

“Stop it, Alphana. Don’t talk about respect for such things.”

At that moment, Kanata relaxed a little too much and accidentally kicked a bucket nearby.

“Who’s there?”

Of course, Julius noticed the sound.

As Kanata was wondering what to do, the commotion in the square became even louder, and angry shouts could be heard. 

Not only Kanata and Alphana but also Maria and Julius turned their attention in that direction.

Apparently, there was a side-taking and an interruption, and they were angry about it.

“Brother, since you’re here, why don’t you go stop them?”

“… Aren’t you cold to me lately?”

“I don’t think so.”

“… You used to chase after me calling me big brother all the time.”

With a bit of melancholy, Julius ran off toward the commotion.

As for Kanata, he got saved by the people who made a commotion, and although it was strange to thank them, he muttered ‘good job’ in his heart.

“That was close. I mean, it’s not like anything would happen if we got found, but still.”

“Yeah.”

It would probably just be him asking who we are, and that’ll be the end of it, but better safe than sorry.

Kanata then watched in the shadows until the badges ran out, and finally, all the badges produced this time around got sold out without incident.

It seems they plan on launching more Haishin merchandise, and Maria and Alphana will lead the discussion.

“Yeah, these two are really big sponsors of mine.”

Being the Princess and Saint, their presence was enormous.

For now, they were still staying within the Kingdom, but if they could later expand to the Empire and the Principality in various ways, it could be a further leap forward.

“… Well, as for me, I just want to be able to stream freely.”

Ultimately, that was where the roots of Kanata’s passion lay.

He was satisfied just being able to talk and do whatever he wanted.

“Well, I do want to become big, though…”

‘Becoming big and returning home’ was what he told his family when he left the village.

Even now, Kanata was definitely a huge presence, but he was not done yet.

He clenched his fist and renewed his determination.

“Speaking of which, Kanata-sama…”

“Hmm?”

“Actually, I saw Mira this morning. What did you do to her?”

“Huh? Oh, it must be because of ASMR.”

“… Heh, what is that?”

He had yet to tell Alphana about the ASMR.

Although he properly recorded the results of the experiments with Mira, he was still short on samples, so Alphana agreed to cooperate.

“What are you two doing?”

“Maria, you should come too.”

And since Maria had also returned, it’d be great to get her cooperation.

Not knowing what was going on, she went to the church with them, and Alphana made arrangements to ensure that no one entered the room.

“So it’s ASMR… right? That’s what we’re doing.”

“Yeah, for now, just relax, both of you.”

Both of them sat on chairs and took relaxed positions as Kanata instructed.

Then, Kanata placed the devices close to their ears and adjusted the magic wavelength just like he did with Mira.

After several minutes passed, Kanata heard from both of them that it was amazing and not something that could be expressed in words.

He left the church with happiness in his heart.

“… Haan!”

“… Not good.”

As soon as Kanata left the room, they both sat down on the ground without hesitation, not caring if they got dirty.

Their faces turned red, and they stood dazed for a while, but as they started to recover, Alphana whispered.

“Maria… thought I could have a child with just his voice.”

Maria shook her head vigorously in response.

However, a common understanding formed between Maria and Alphana about if it would be appropriate to release this ASMR genre to the world.

“… This will drive anyone crazy, for sure.”

“Agreed. As a saint, I have resistance against all mental attacks, but if I listen to this alone in my room, I don’t know how long I can resist myself.”

It was a wonderful, very wonderful thing.

But at the same time, they realized that it could also be something terrible.

They were already captivated by the ASMR, and their minds were spinning, but they felt a sense of crisis for humanity, and for a moment, they returned to normal.

They wondered if it was appropriate to release this to the world, but at the same time, the desire to listen to it alone in a room and do all sorts of things overflowed… It seems they’re gonna have a very troublesome night tonight.