My name was Ire.
Ire Fougma.
I was one of the Mercury Race who managed the Sun Castle.
I woke from my long slumber sixty days ago.
To be honest, I hadn't expected to be woken up again, but having a body that could move freely was truly wonderful.
However, the sight that greeted me wasn't the Sun Castle I remembered... it was a field.
In fact, there were fields everywhere, both inside and outside the castle walls. I had no idea what was happening.
I asked Bell and Gou for an explanation, but they just told me to read the shared memory. I refused; that was far too much trouble. I hadn't been asleep for just a century or two, so reading through all of that would have been a monumental task.
When they suggested just the last few years would suffice, I relented.
I see.
I eventually understood why there were so many fields, and that the Sun Castle had been renamed Village Four.
I mean, was this all really true?
I suppose it had to be.
"Alright," I said. "Bell, I’ll need you to give me some refresher training. I have to learn the current common sense and language."
But when I saw what they had planned, I was stunned. What was this? It was less of a crash course and more of a forced march. Cramming a hundred-and-eighty-day curriculum into a mere forty days was beyond cruel.
Ah, right, right. Our new master requested that we hurry. I understood. I promised to behave properly when I met him.
Apparently, I wasn't allowed to call him "Master." "Lord" was also out. "Village Head" it was.
And no honorifics were required? I could just use his title? What a strange man.
Though, I doubted he would understand my job anyway.
My job was filming. I used cameras, managed the equipment, and handled the broadcasts. Considering the Sun Castle was a massive facility, there were inevitably blind spots, and my job was to cover them.
I took great pride in my work, even though it hadn't been highly valued back in the Sun Castle. That was because everyone had access to Far-sight magic, which allowed them to see wherever they wanted.
Of course, the advantage of filming was that those who couldn't use magic could still see distant sights, but the majority of people in the Sun Castle were capable of using that magic. Furthermore, the castle itself was equipped with Far-sight magic as a standard feature.
I suppose it couldn't be helped that filming was looked down upon. On top of that, while filming only sent video and audio in one direction, Far-sight magic allowed for two-way conversation. In terms of efficiency, Far-sight magic was superior, and cameras required constant, regular maintenance.
When I was once asked to list the points where filming was superior to Far-sight magic, the best answer I could manage was, "It takes more effort, so you grow more attached to it."
My job was viewed as nothing more than a personal hobby. When the issue of the Sun Castle's energy consumption first came up, I was the first candidate chosen to be put into slumber. I didn't resent the others for it; even I was convinced of the logic.
Then I met the Village Head.
"Wait, if you film with this, it shows up over here? That's incredible!" he exclaimed. "Can it record? You know, capture the footage so you can play the same scene back later? No? That’s a shame. But it can do still images? Ah, photos. That’ll do just fine. So, you're going to use this to broadcast the festival. You can't do it alone, right? How many people do you need? You need staff, but you also need a fair amount of Sun Stones? Oh, Sun Stones are just Heat Retention Stones, right? I'll give you as many as you need."
I realized then that I might have finally found the lord I was meant to serve.
With that settled, I had no choice but to do my absolute best for the festival broadcast.
First, I had to gather a staff.
Inferno Wolves and the children of the Demon Spiders—they were terrifying sights to behold. However, they were apparently capable of holding the cameras. They could even operate them.
They weren't bad fellows, either. I tried mounting one camera on top of an Inferno Wolf's head. It shook vertically as the wolf moved, but it provided a wonderful sense of immersion. I gave three cameras to the Demon Spiders, and they filmed from spectacular angles.
"Ah, wait a second," I told them. "Let me say this first. Under no circumstances are you to film women changing or look up their skirts. The same goes for the men. Also, filming the bedrooms at night is strictly prohibited. This was the dying wish of the wizard who invented the camera. You might not understand why, but please follow it."
The Inferno Wolves nodded solemnly, and the Demon Spider children raised their legs in acknowledgement. It seemed they understood perfectly.
Incredible. I had found some exceptional talent.
Then there were the Nyunyu-daphne. Apparently, they could stay fixed in the same spot for hours. Their slow movement speed was a weakness, but their patience more than made up for it. After some filming practice, I entrusted them with various points along the festival course.
"And these are communication devices," I explained to them. "They only send audio. Please listen for instructions through these."
Next were the Dragons. The cameras might have been a novelty to them, but there was no need for them to be the subjects of every shot...
Actually, it was quite helpful. They knew exactly which angles made them look the most impressive. I made sure to take note.
"What? You have cameras in your nests?" I asked. They were covered in dust, so the Dragons decided to give them to me—or rather, to us. I thanked them profusely. We agreed the handover would happen after the festival.
I asked them what they wanted filmed and how. As long as it didn't go against the Village Head's wishes, I could accommodate their requests. We all shared a laugh.
I found even more exceptional talent among the Demon Race members known as the Civil Official Girls. One of them looked at a camera with the same spark in her eyes as mine. I knew right then that I'd found a kindred spirit.
"Leave the live commentary to me," she said.
I gave her a test, and she cleared it easily. She was actually better at live commentary than I was, so I left it entirely to her. At the same time, I recruited the other Civil Official Girls as staff. They were so capable that I didn't even need to train them.
Our broadcasting headquarters was originally going to be in the Sun Castle, but an even better location became available: an airship called the Universal Ship. From my perspective, it wasn't that rare, but it was apparently a legendary relic in this era. I was provided with a large room inside the ship to use as our command center.
I owed the Village Head a great debt of gratitude.
A problem occurred with the filming inside the dungeon. There were too many obstacles, so the video and audio signals from the cameras couldn't be picked up clearly. However, I was well prepared for such a thing.
"Use these," I instructed. "A relay device and a cable. If you place this machine outside the dungeon entrance, the problem is solved."
During the preparations, I had to stop one of the Village Head's wives—a Vampire—from taking a camera apart. I had to go so far as to threaten to tell the Village Head himself.
Finally, the day of the festival arrived.
I knew my priorities. First, I would film the Village Head's magnificent figure and broadcast it to all the villagers.
Zabuton, the costume manager, had outdone herself with the Village Head's outfit. It was truly something to behold.
"Let the filming begin," I commanded. "Is everyone in position? Then, let us pray for the success of this festival—and for the success of the Broadcasting Department's first official assignment."
As a side note, the Demon King was later seen pleading with the Village Head. It seemed there was something else he wanted us to film.
Baseball? He wanted us to film the games played on the grounds and broadcast them in the local eateries.
I couldn't help but smirk. Times had certainly improved.
I was certainly going to give it my all.