-Hero Premium
The special live talk show bearing that subtitle was scheduled for a total of one hour, with a commercial break every fifteen minutes.
Since it was not a program that had been prepared far in advance, it seemed they intended to break it up in between to give the cast time to catch their breath.
For someone like me, inexperienced with appearing on broadcasts, it was a relief.
“We’ll take a short break and continue in a moment. Viewers, please stay tuned.”
I could barely remember how the first fifteen minutes had passed.
After the host introduced Freyja and me, it flowed straight into a free-form discussion, and since the topic of the first segment was raising awareness about black mage terrorism, there was nothing particularly difficult about it.
In effect, the discussion proceeded by mentioning the past terrorist incidents and highlighting my accomplishments.
The message was that although there had been attacks, we had been responding well, so citizens should trust and follow the mages.
We also spoke briefly about today’s incident at the Gangnam Station intersection. I conveyed that while caution was necessary, there was no need to be seized by anxiety and fear.
From the second segment onward, we planned to reveal things about Vanaheim and the Magic Tower one by one, so the conversation was inevitably going to become heavy, but for the start, at least, the goal was to reassure the citizens.
“Good work. Mage Oudin, you’re a natural for broadcasting, aren’t you? You weren’t nervous at all, and you spoke so calmly that it came across very clearly.”
“The ratings are excellent, too. As expected, the hero premium is something else.”
As soon as the cameras turned off, the production crew praised me.
Me, not nervous? I could barely see in front of me because of the lights, and I felt like I was dying. They could at least turn off the lights before saying that.
It was probably just the usual thing they said to every guest on a program to help them relax.
They said the first commercial break would be about a minute, so I couldn’t leave my seat.
I remained seated, looking at the screen inside the studio.
It was the TV they showed the cast when airing reference footage and the like, and right now it was showing the commercial currently on air.
I was absentmindedly watching the muted screen when, for a moment, I was startled and shouted.
“Turn up the volume on that!”
“Pardon? You mean the commercial screen?”
The stage director looked flustered, but hurriedly raised the volume as I had asked. Then he added,
“But, Mage, we’re thirty seconds out.”
I raised one hand, signaling for him to be quiet.
At my sudden action, everyone in the studio wondered what was going on and turned their eyes to the screen all at once.
The commercial currently playing on the screen was none other than Vanaheim’s. And it was advertising their new product, the Golden Apple.
[…Now Vanaheim brings to all of you the Golden Apple, a blessing bestowed by the World Tree. When you eat the Golden Apple, you will gain vitality akin to eternal life. Aging and disease will be kept forever at bay. Experience it for yourself, before anyone else.]
In no time, the studio began to stir.
The screen had already moved on to the next commercial, but everyone was whispering about the Golden Apple.
“They made the Golden Apple into a product?”
“Wow! Aging and disease kept forever at bay? I want to try it right away.”
“It recharges your vitality? Who would turn that down?”
“They say it gives eternal life.”
At a glance, their tone was sarcastic, as if they couldn’t believe it, but beneath the surface, a subtle sense of anticipation was flowing.
That was how blatantly the Golden Apple commercial stimulated the public’s desires.
Ordinarily, Vanaheim’s advertisements were less about individual products and more about maintaining a luxurious corporate image.
But this Golden Apple commercial was an intuitive ad that conveyed its message directly.
It was an advertisement aimed at the entire public.
‘They’re already airing commercials? Does that mean they’ve finished preparing for the product launch?’
Their move was faster than I had expected, and it made me uneasy, but it also made me angry.
It was practically proving on their own that Vanaheim had caused today’s incident at the Gangnam Station intersection.
They had staged an event that harmed people in advance, all to sell a product.
To cause a terrorist attack like that and then immediately air a product commercial—there was truly no other word for them but psychopaths.
“Cameras rolling!”
Only when the stage director gave the signal did everyone close their mouths.
The live broadcast resumed.
No matter what had happened during the one-minute commercial break, the broadcast had to continue.
The host opened his mouth with a polished expression.
“We will continue our special discussion with the hero, Mage Oudin, and Elf Councilwoman Freyja. Until now, we have looked at the recent terrorist incidents. Now, we will discuss the points we must examine in order to prevent future terrorism. Mage Oudin, please begin.”
“Yes. I’d like to start by talking about Vanaheim. As it happens, Vanaheim’s commercial aired just a moment ago. I don’t know if you all saw it. I’m referring to the advertisement for their new product, the Golden Apple, which they say grants vitality akin to eternal life.”
Others might have merely been briefly surprised by Vanaheim’s unconventional new product, but I had to expose the problems with the Golden Apple before the public and prevent its release.
As it was, the topic of the second segment was Vanaheim’s illegal experiments and terrorism.
Because the advertisement had gone out first, I had lost the first strike, but I thought perhaps this was for the best. Now it was time to counterattack.
However, my position was not necessarily advantageous.
Although it had been a short ad of only about fifteen seconds, it was enough to instill expectations for a product called the Golden Apple.
Because everyone yearns for vitality. Because living eternally without aging or disease might perhaps be every person’s dream.
Vanaheim’s advertisement, saying it would fulfill that dream, must have come across positively to people, and from now on, I had to give them a negative impression by shattering that dream into pieces.
People always want to hear positive stories rather than negative ones. Especially in a world like ours these days, where anxiety and fear are spreading.
Unintentionally, I had to play the villain for a moment.
Did I truly have a hero premium?
If I had a hero premium—if I possessed the power called public popularity—then I had to make thorough use of it.
So that people could shake off that negative feeling and believe the truth.
“It was an astonishing advertisement. To think they made the Golden Apple, a blessing bestowed by the World Tree, into a product. To be honest, as an elf, I was a little concerned about commercializing the fruit of the sacred forest. How did you view it, Mage?”
Freyja stepped in to support me.
Freyja, who always captivated people and held great influence over them, saying this would be of no small help.
We had not discussed it in advance, but she seemed to have guessed what direction I intended to take the conversation.
“In fact, I’ve been paying attention to the product called the Golden Apple for some time. And I discovered that there was a major problem in its development process.”
“Oh, is that so? What kind of problem was there? But if there was a problem in the development process, shouldn’t the product not be released? Have all the problems been resolved?”
Freyja asked me back with a surprised look.
She truly had a wonderful face for conveying dramatic effect. She was a good discussion partner.
I thought I had done well to accept Freyja’s suggestion that we appear on the broadcast together.
“Before we specifically point out the problems in the Golden Apple’s development process, let’s first talk about what sort of background the black mages who have been causing terrorist attacks in our country lately have.”
“It sounds as though the conversation is suddenly veering elsewhere?”
“Please listen for a moment. Most of the terrorist attacks so far have been carried out by the black mages of the Magic Tower. Yasin and Na Sanhaegyeong, who carried out the Incheon terror attack, are representative examples.”
“By the Magic Tower, you mean an organization of black mages, correct? I’ve heard the rumors going around for some time that there is a Magic Tower in our country as well. But hasn’t nothing actually been confirmed?”
“You remember the magical space I showed you during the amoeba terror incident last time, don’t you? I believe that place is the Magic Tower. The investigation has been delayed because of the Incheon terror attack, but I am certain of it. By the way, do you know the name of the building where that magical space was hidden?”
“It was the Eternal Life Building, wasn’t it? I remember it as the building of a life insurance company.”
“That’s right. Eternal Life—in other words, eternal life.”
Freyja showed a perfectly timed expression of surprise.
Her large eyes widened, conveying that she had realized something.
“Eternal life? Ah! That’s right.”
“Vanaheim’s new product, the Golden Apple, said it would grant everyone vitality akin to eternal life.”
“Then are you now raising the suspicion that Vanaheim is connected to the Magic Tower, the organization of black mages?”
She was a very clever councilwoman.
She was asking the questions needed to lead the conversation in the direction I wanted, at exactly the right moments.
“Of course, I am not saying that the company called Vanaheim is the same as the Magic Tower. But it is true that there is a connection. Above all, what all of you must remember is that black mages entice people with something called eternal life.”
Whenever the opportunity arose, I was trying to imprint the keyword “eternal life” into people’s minds with a negative image.
I wanted them to develop a firm sense of caution toward both Vanaheim and the Magic Tower.
As long as there were people enticed by eternal life, Vanaheim and Kim Seonho’s madness would continue, and Samir and the black mages of the Magic Tower would also gain momentum.
Samir had not yet revealed himself before the public, but eternal life was his core tool of control.
If I had already seized the position of hero, then I would wield that influence to its fullest and make sure to stop people from being lured by the false hope called eternal life and walking down the road to ruin.
“As for eternal life, even I, as an elf, am skeptical. We live lives far longer than humans do, but they are not eternal. I believe eternal life is something not permitted to living beings. But what Vanaheim has put forward is merely ‘vitality akin to eternal life,’ isn’t it? I don’t think we can say there is a problem based on the advertising copy alone.”
“That’s right. Vanaheim will certainly argue that the wording in the advertisement is simply a metaphorical expression. But is that really the case? Is the connection between Vanaheim and the Magic Tower merely the word eternal life?”
“Then what else is there?”
Now that I had cast a shadow over the word eternal life, it was time to reveal the actual suspicions surrounding Vanaheim.
“What you must not forget is the fact that Vanaheim has already produced black mages.”
“The black mage who caused the amoeba terror incident was a researcher at Vanaheim.”
“And that is not all. Yasin was also formerly a Vanaheim researcher.”
“Yasin? Is that true?”