TV Show Discussion with the Bar Hostess (1)
A dimly lit bar at the end of a cobwebby alley in a corner of the Royal City.
The squat old TV there showed a poisonously bright image of a beautiful man and woman waving their hands side by side.
Isaac paid no attention to the TV but sat with his elbows on the counter, tapping away at the screen of his cell phone.
The hostess was so disappointed that she grabbed the phone out of Isaac’s hand.
“You’re going to be a wreck soon, you know?”
“I just died a while ago, so not much has changed.”
Isaac imitates tapping the screen of the phone with the fingers of his right hand.
The hostess sighs and looks at the TV.
“Your wife looks so healthy.”
The hostess looks meanly at Isaac, who has chosen to be indifferent.
Isaac stares at the beautiful, ageless face in the hostess’s dark, wavy hair and takes the phone back from her hand.
“You should add ‘ex’. She’s a person on a cloud who no longer has anything to do with this former king.”
“But she’s wearing a ring?”
The hostess was right; a ring with a dazzling diamond on the ring finger of Mina’s left-hand fits there as if it were a part of her body.
Mina, Isaac’s ex-wife and queen of the land, now smiled enchantingly as she was embraced around the waist by the potential leader of the new country that would replace the monarchy.
The candidate was Lovecraft, who had held Mina before Isaac’s eyes that night in his bedroom at the castle.
Lovecraft’s healthy, tanned, strong body is wrapped in a dark blue suit, his white teeth gleaming in a fresh smile on his face.
The image of him at Mina’s side is exactly what the nation imagines the best couple to be.
People who have rushed to support the upcoming parliamentary elections wave their hands enthusiastically.
“After all, a good face is popular with the public.”
“Everything is fresh. Yes, I know. Even though you were a king, you rarely appeared at such events. What was the last event you attended?”
“My family’s royal funeral. Thanks to that, I’ve gotten better at organizing funerals.”
“Was it because of illness?”
“Yes. It was a powerful infectious disease, and several hundred members of the royal family died, except for me and the core of the castle’s vassals. I couldn’t touch them, and their remains are still sealed in the castle.”
“It would have been nice if you could have attended a prosperous event, but why didn’t you?”
“Because what people want to see is Mina. Even if I’m next to her, I won’t stand out.”
“You are so dark. Did you know that? 95% of elementary school students said Mina is the king.”
“I don’t know about that, but the dry laughter when the report was given at the meeting and the awkwardness that followed were hilarious.”
Lovecraft also stood behind Mina at that meeting.
Even he, who always smiles in public, had a long smile for Isaac after hearing the report.
Isaac chuckled as he remembered.
Not even half a year has passed, but it seems like a long time ago now.
“How did you feel when that man took everything from you?”
“I didn’t lose anything.”
“Making excuses?”
“No. Lovecraft won Mina’s trust and love. The throne was just a bonus.”
“You lost your throne when you lost Mina, didn’t you?”
“Mina was never mine to begin with. The throne was just a decoration. So I didn’t lose anything.”
Three months had passed since Isaac was stabbed to death in his bedroom in the royal castle.
After escaping with his life, he fell naked into this bar and was sheltered by the hostess.
The government declared the king missing.
Since Isaac was the only member of the royal family, no replacement could be appointed, and the monarchy effectively ceased to function.
The sudden hollowing out of political power.
It was a critical situation, with the possibility of civil war or even the division of the country if something went wrong, but the people were not too worried.
The first reason is that the missing king was a man who had no presence to begin with, and it didn’t matter whether he was there or not, so no one would’ve been bothered if he had disappeared now.
The second reason was Mina’s presence.
Queen Mina had been the de facto center of the country since the time of the monarchy.
In domestic affairs, she used her political skills, which combined integrity and flexibility, to root out injustice, find the best compromise among complex interests, and greatly enrich her people by inspiring them to demonstrate their vitality.
In diplomacy, Mina has used her good looks and polished eloquence to win over the most ostentatious of foreign dignitaries.
But what is most remarkable about Mina’s skills is her military prowess.
Mina was the strongest swordswoman on the continent.
Whenever an enemy attempted to invade this land, she was a fierce general, personally leading the army. Her superb swordsmanship left her enemies no choice but death or surrender, and no army was as powerful as a swarm of ants in the face of her heaven-defying magical power.
The peace and prosperity of the land rested on the name of Mina, and before they knew it, the people of Mina began to respectfully call her “Goddess” (女神) and “Sword of the Dawn” (暁 の 宝剣) and began to feel a sense of awe for her.
It was seriously believed that as long as Mina smiled, the country would be at peace and the people would live in prosperity.
After the disappearance of King Isaac, Queen Mina immediately took the initiative to minimize the political chaos and ordered parliamentary elections to be held.
The person who received the majority of the votes in Parliament would be appointed Prime Minister and would lead the government of the country on behalf of the King.
The people naturally assumed that Mina would be the new leader of the country, but she refused to run because she was the queen.
Instead, she recommended Lovecraft, who had served as Mina’s aide-de-camp.
Who exactly was Lovecraft? The people were puzzled.
The fact that a mere bureaucrat, a man from nowhere, could lead the country caused no small amount of anxiety among the people.
However, Lovecraft’s fresh and healthy appearance and his friendly and easy-to-understand words made the people less afraid.
The gap between the former king’s obscurity and his shady character also worked in Lovecraft’s favor.
The deciding factor was Mina.
When the media broadcast the image of Mina standing by Lovecraft’s side, cheering him on, and smiling happily, the people’s fear and suspicion were allayed.
Mina’s smile was something that would’ve been impossible when King Isaac was around.
The people were convinced that they could trust the man who could make Mina happy, and Lovecraft received tremendous support from the people, making him the leading candidate for the new Prime Minister.
Television showed a scene of Lovecraft talking about his enthusiasm for the election, with Mina sitting next to him in the former king’s office.
Even before the election began, it was said that the real power and goddess of this country belonged to Lovecraft, and few people doubted it.
No matter how hard she tried to explain it, the fact that Isaac had lost everything to Lovecraft was a hopeless fact.
Zeus: New series, please be kind to me readers. This is NTR!