Steel and Mana

Chapter 169 – Improvements

"I don't know if I'm ready for this…" Mikan mumbled, feeling her voice become squeaky for some reason. No matter what she was thinking about, trying to imagine herself in a different situation, she just couldn't find her usual voice, which shouldn't be the case.

"Why?" Sasha asked, also baffled by it, sitting next to her in a small room while before them, an old-looking microphone was set between the two. Well, old looking in my memories, straight out from the mid-twentieth century. For them? This was a brand-new design.

"I don't know! It is weird!" She moaned, burying her head in her palms.

We have been experimenting with the radio idea for the past few days, fine-tuning Merlin's newest version of his magic formation. Right now, it wasn't just about making a show for my people but also about implementing it into my army. When it is refined enough, that is. Commanders and designated spotters would have their own version, and while marking our targets, they would rely on their discoveries. The first thing a well-functioning army needs is precise and fast communication.

Yet, Mikan had some kind of weird block in her head, something I had never seen before. She stopped functioning whenever it was time to go on air, freezing up like an amateur. She began stuttering, or her voice turned high-pitched, and she acted like a nervous kid being questioned by the secret state police.

"It is weird." I added, entering the room from the adjacent space where the first iteration of the radio prototype was, ready to listen to them talking through its speakers. Its design was intentionally something era-specific, matching the aesthetics of the microphone from my memories of the good old times. "You played before a crowd and had no issues! What's different now?" I asked, sitting opposite her and making sure she knew I wasn't angry at all. I really wasn't, as it was more funny and interesting than annoying.

"Maybe it is because I don't see who I'm talking to… It makes me think, what if they don't understand what I try to say? What if they think my voice is weird? What if they don't find it interesting and turn it off before I can finish?!"

"Damn." I whistled, looking at the distraught priestess. "I never heard of reverse stage fright. Maybe you need a live audience?"

"It helps when I see their reaction, and I can adjust my performance to keep them interested… It calms me because I know when to do more or act less." She mumbled, embarrassed, playing with her hair, getting even redder in the face when Yuri's head popped into the room.

"So, does that mean Mikki likes to be watched? Damn, kinky!"

"Shut it!" Sasha growled, forcing Yuri to pull back and quickly slink back to the neighboring room, "It's fine, Mikan." Sasha continued, hugging her, "We will do it live, then!"

"We will?" She flinched, not expecting her solution.

"Not a bad idea. It could be a great advertisement." I nodded, thinking about it, rocking back and forth with my chair, "When the theater finishes being built, the first show could be our first news report! You girls go up, doing it live while people can gather at different locations, listening to the radio, demonstrating its effects!"

"People would come and watch us… talk?" They asked, looking at me a bit surprised. While Sasha took it well, even if it was just a sudden idea from her, Mikan was a bit more suspicious about people being interested in someone just... talking.

"Yeah. Podcasts are a big thing."

"The what now?"

"You'll get used to it!" Sasha laughed, patting Mikan's head, "He sometimes blurts out a whole new word, one that you just have to accept."

"Sorry…" I grinned, scratching my cheek, standing up from my chair, "Let's name it a Talk Show then! That is also appropriate. Hm, hm! We can expand on its scope. Besides reciting the news, we can have different topics, interviewing people from Avalon… oh, that is even better! We could make it a bi-weekly or monthly thing, depending on what happens within Avalon and the Empire. We can sell tickets for the live show and set up multiple microphones to record their reactions…"

"Is… Is he alright?" Mikan asked, whispering to Sasha, who just chuckled, watching me walk up and down while mumbling.

"He is. He just got excited over a new idea. When moving in with us, you will be used to it."

"Moving in…"

"Why not? You have practically lived here since our children were born. You helped me feed them, and they look at you the same way they look at all of us. You are already part of this family!"

"But… It is your family, and I'm… I'm just, I… I don't want to intrude."

"Bah!" Sasha waved her hand, rolling her eyes, "If you didn't like it here, why didn't you move back to your temple?"

"I do like being with you girls… you are my first, true friends…" She mumbled, which was then echoed by a loud moan as Luna and Yuri barged in, hugging her while I was just standing there, looking at them.

"You heard me?" She flinched while being smothered by the trio of my wives.

"Duh!" Luna laughed, being the smallest and, because of it, the one who could fit between her breasts the best, taking her rightful place in Mikan's lap. "The microphone was on; it was transmitting everything, so we were listening. It works great! I am surprised at how clear your voice is through the machine. It isn't like the mech, which is good; that would have been frightening!"

"Hauh…" She squealed a little, looking up at me, just as embarrassed as always.

"What about the recording?" I asked, making her even more stiff while listening to Luna's answer.

"All should be good. We just need to test it!"

"What recording?" She gulped, waiting for my answer.

"I do plan to record every show we host and archive it for later. It would be within the royal library, stored on a small pebble-sized CC, and safeguarded for future generations. I want to document everything. We already have copies of our official newspapers and are archiving them in the same way. If we need something checked, we just need the date and look for it. Organizing history and information is one of the bedrock of an empire! And I take it seriously."

"Also," Sasha added, giggling, "He plans to sell copies of some later on if we can get to a state where people would have the playback devices in their homes. But that is still in the future!"

"Far future." I nodded, clapping my hands, "Okay, this test was a success! I will go and draft the first show that we will host!"

"Who will be the first guest?" Yuri asked, and I saw in her eyes that she was about to say something perverted.

"Stop it. I won't invite you on the show because you would air out dirty little secrets just so you could see us embarrassed." I shrugged, making her giggle, unable to refute me. I know her well enough to see through her shenanigans. "I'll be advertising it in the newspapers and let people send in their questions ahead of time. You two," I continued, pointing at Sasha and Mikan, "can choose appropriate ones, and the first guest will answer them live."

"You?" Luna questioned, tilting her head and making me smile back at her.

"Exactly."

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Back in the capital city of the Ishillian Empire, Mirian sat in her bathtub, relaxing while reading Milan's notes, who was now back with his father for a few days. The moment they returned, she had way too much on her plate, especially from Pascal, who wanted to hear everything happening before thrusting more reports into her hands. Even if she wanted to spend more time with Milan, it was impossible. Unlike her predecessor, Mirian had enough self-control to recognize when her duty was to be prioritized over her desires.

"Like I care about petty crime…" She mumbled, flipping over to a different parchment, reading about reports of dukes complaining that their and their subordinates' territories were being harassed by newly appearing bandit groups. By slain and captured members, it was evident that most of them were from the territory of the Kingdom of Scorc, here to either continue their resistance as guerilla warfare or just wanted to do anything to stick it to the Empire. "Shouldn't they have their own armies that they are so proud of to deal with this? Bunch of crybabies."

Thinking about it, she was already on the idea of declaring that every hold within the Empire must ensure their own safety. It would be the nobles' responsibility to enforce the laws of Ishillia and not rely on her for every little nuisance. She already has enough on her plate, keeping an eye on the southern border while also working on covertly annexing the Atuvian League through trade, resources, and money. Bandits were insufficient to make her pay attention to the nobles' woes.

"Hmm… My little hubby should handle trade well; he is more patient than I am. I will let him get familiar with my ideas and what I want to do. Then I can ask him to organize it while I keep my attention on the South." She chuckled, sinking lower in the bathtub, thinking of something she would never say out loud, afraid that Old Pascal had some kind of spell placed within the castle, spying on her. "I also need to work on getting rid of the old bastard. He is unnatural and dangerous… Does he really think that I don't notice the disappearing mages? Especially when we have such a shortage of them? If he thinks I'm too stupid to realize he is feeding on them, then all is good. I have wiggle room to come up with something that deals with him…"

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"It is always good to see you, Young Merlin!" Elliot laughed, welcoming him to Lothlia and bringing an experienced and professional squad of builders with him.

"It is my pleasure!" He smiled, shaking his hand in return. "I assume you got my letter?"

"Of course. I made sure my men were ready, and we had exactly three hundred logs specified to your standards! They were cut with precision and prepared as you asked for."

"Good!" He smiled, feeling happy that he was indeed just as capable as his Sovereign always said. "We will start planting them and put up the wiring! Your men can observe ours at work and then copy it. It should be easy enough!"

"It does sound like we are planting trees." Elliot chuckled, shaking his head even though he was fully aware of the purpose of Merlin's visit.

"Almost. I will need you to train a special group that will always go out and examine the poles running through your territory and look for possible damages. Our wiring is still primitive, and it will need constant maintenance. Of course, Avalon will provide you with the raw material; you just need to maintain the infrastructure."

"Don't worry, Minister Merlin. Instant messaging between our two kingdoms is something that is of utmost importance to me. The Morse code station within my castle will be paramount; you can believe that."

"I don't doubt that." He chuckled, looking at the stone castle, "Let us get to work then! The quicker we finish, the sooner we can start truly working together and keep your borders safe and sound in these turbulent times."