chapter_0074

73 – Awaken! O Empire!

73 – Awaken! O Empire!

In a space where cheers and shouts swirled with fervor, Daniel paradoxically felt fear.

‘It was supposed to be a speech to provoke the anti-war activists…’

He had come to his senses only to realize he had swayed the anti-war activists and turned them into advocates for war.

Of course, not all anti-war activists agreed with the content of the speech.

Some had simply been swept up in the atmosphere and risen from their seats, still glaring at Daniel with displeased expressions.

The problem was that the number of those people was small enough to be described as ‘some.’

Daniel, wondering where things had gone wrong, replayed the contents of his speech and groaned softly.

‘Damn it. I got too immersed in the warmonger act…’

The problem was that he had become engrossed when he heard the cheers of the crowd during the speech.

Also, Daniel’s downfall was that he had too much faith in the statistics.

He had assumed that since anti-war activists were the majority, they would unconditionally oppose a radical speech calling for total war.

‘But…’

Instead of opposing, they threw away their anti-war signs and stood up.

The result was the scene now unfolding before Daniel’s eyes.

─ Daniel Steiner! Daniel Steiner! Daniel Steiner!

The sight of ten thousand citizens standing and chanting one man’s name seemed almost surreal.

But this was reality, and a phenomenon Daniel had created.

Unable to deny it, Daniel could only clench his teeth and grip the podium.

As Daniel received the praise of the citizens, Hans, the public relations officer of the National Propaganda Department, who was backstage, exclaimed with delight.

“That’s it! This is… this is a speech that will go down in history!”

Excited, Hans turned to his subordinate.

“Contact the news director right now! Tell them to make this speech into an article and spread it throughout the Empire! So that even Imperial citizens who didn’t hear it on the radio can know about Lieutenant Colonel Daniel’s speech!”

“Yes! Understood!”

The subordinate picked up the phone without a moment’s hesitation.

Other staff members were also noisily tapping on the telex machines installed backstage to report to their superiors.

Everyone was focused on their tasks and kept their mouths shut, but the atmosphere felt heated.

Daniel’s speech had boosted the nation’s pride to such an extent that even the National Propaganda Department, which was planning everything, was excited.

Hans also clenched his fist, unable to hide his excitement.

‘Lieutenant Colonel Daniel didn’t read the speech we prepared, but…’

He had succeeded with the speech beyond expectations, so he would be able to avoid Crown Princess Selvia’s reprimand.

If he was lucky, the National Propaganda Department staff might even receive rewards.

Just as Hans, thinking he was relieved, smiled, he heard the sound of heels clicking.

Turning around, Hans could see Daniel coming down the stairs from the stage.

Even though Daniel had disappeared from the stage, the audience was still chanting his name.

As if it were a symbol of the ideology that they had to fight against the Allied Nations.

‘But…’

Even after giving a successful speech, Daniel showed no emotion.

It was common for speakers who had succeeded in their speeches to be happy or ecstatic, but Daniel was only looking around at the National Propaganda Department staff gathered backstage with indifferent eyes.

Hans felt a sense of awe at Daniel’s appearance.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was seeing a superhuman who had transcended the limits of humanity.

His troubled eyes also seemed to be looking to the future, not dwelling on the present.

Thinking that way, it was hard to speak to him easily.

On the other hand, Daniel was just thinking about what he had done and was spacing out.

‘I’m going crazy…’

He had no idea how to act in the future.

Just as Daniel, his head in a mess, was blankly blinking, Hans cautiously approached.

“Um, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel?”

When Daniel turned around with a sharp look, Hans flinched and gave an awkward smile.

“Ah, it seems you didn’t like the speech. If you had told us in advance, we would have made revisions, it’s entirely the fault of the National Propaganda Department.”

Daniel sighed softly at Hans’s words.

“…I’m tired, I want to go back to my lodgings.”

“Ah, yes! Of course! I have a car waiting outside, so you can go right away!”

Daniel nodded once at Hans’s words and slowly moved his feet.

One of the staff members watching him approached Hans and opened his mouth.

“Amazing. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone frown instead of being happy after successfully finishing a speech. What’s the reason?”

“How can we understand the ego of a genius? But one thing is certain…”

Hans, looking at Daniel’s back, smiled with respect.

“As long as that man is alive, the Empire will never fall.”

*

Two weeks later, the Imperial National Propaganda Department.

The office of Schiller Deines, Minister of the National Propaganda Department.

Knock, knock─

Schiller, who was reviewing documents, raised his head.

Looking at the wall clock above the door pointing to noon, he seemed to know who had knocked.

Public Relations Officer Hans.

He had told him to collect the data and visit him for a report at noon.

“Come in.”

As soon as Schiller finished speaking, the door opened.

Hans was holding a stack of documents in his arms, and he groaned as he approached and slammed them down on Schiller’s desk.

“…What on earth is this?”

At Schiller’s bewildered words, Hans wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.

“This is all the data I’ve collected on the changes that have occurred in the Empire since Lieutenant Colonel Daniel’s speech. You told me to collect it and bring it to you, Minister. Would you like to see the most important statistics first?”

Hans pulled out a statistical document from the stack and handed it over.

Schiller, who received the document, checked the statistics and his eyes widened.

──────────

《Survey Statistics on Public Opinion on War》

Sample Group: 1,000 citizens from major cities in the Empire

Number of Respondents: Approximately 18,000

Question: What do you think about the current war the Empire is waging?

• Frequency Analysis

–
The war must continue – 14,166 people (78.7%)

–
The war must stop – 2,376 people (13.2%)

–
I don’t know / No response – 1,458 people (8.1%)

──────────

More than half of the anti-war activists changed their minds to support the war.

Now, those who advocate for anti-war are only a minority.

Just two weeks.

It was a change that occurred only two weeks after Daniel Steiner gave his speech.

Schiller, who had been stunned by the enormous repercussions, raised his head.

“Is this real? Did so many people really convert?”

“Yes. Those who were moved by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel’s total war speech are changing their minds. The proportion of those who support the war is increasing in real time. And…”

Hans pulled out several documents and handed them to Schiller.

“As you can see from these documents, the number of military applicants has exploded since Lieutenant Colonel Daniel’s speech. The training camp cannot receive so many people at once, so the enlistment dates of the applicants are being postponed until the year after next.”

“Hmm…”

“In addition, military production has increased sharply. We still need to watch it more, but at the current rate, we expect to see an additional production volume of about 43% compared to the previous month.”

Schiller blinked and asked.

“Military production? Why?”

“The workers in the factory said that they would volunteer to work even though they could not be paid overtime. It is a miracle brought about by patriotism. Also, thanks to the flood of support for the military industry from various companies…”

Hans took out one more document and handed it to Schiller.

“We have secured enough funds to build about two more large-scale military factories. Thanks to this, the situation where major military supplies fall short of the increased number of recruits will not occur.”

“…War bonds? How many bonds have been sold?”

“The bonds…”

Hans, who had been hesitating for a moment, said excitedly.

“They are selling unbelievably well! Not only civilians but also companies are buying them! In just two weeks, bonds worth 27 billion have already been sold!”

27 billion was three times the existing forecast of 8.5 billion.

It meant that three times the target amount had been sold in just two weeks.

‘This tremendous achievement is a reaction to just one speech by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel…’

Schiller, who had been blank for a moment, let out a hollow laugh.

“Perhaps… we may be standing at a historical crossroads.”

Since Daniel’s total war speech, the Empire had been violently stirring.

It was no exaggeration to say that it was breaking out of its shell to spread its wings to the world.

Schiller could see it in the numerous documents.

The future of the Empire being reborn as a great nation once again.

Feeling the flames of hope rising in his heart, Schiller clenched his fist.

‘Indeed. Daniel Steiner might be able to create it…’

A new era, a great empire that will be forever great!

Author’s Note

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