Chapter 86: New Year’s Commemorative Cultural Event (1)
The year-end, which I had spent leisurely taking a much-needed rest, had passed, and the New Year had arrived.
Twenty years had already gone by since I was reincarnated into this world.
I was filled with a personal sense of pride and satisfaction that I had finally become an adult—not just by this world’s standards, but by my previous life’s standards as well.
I had reached the age where I could walk into a convenience store and confidently flash my ID with a smile when the part-time worker asked for it!
If this were Earth in my previous life, I would have run straight to a bar with my friends to drink as soon as I came of age after the New Year.
But in this world, instead of satisfying twenty years of pent-up curiosity and desire, getting blackout drunk, and being dragged home to get an earful, I ended up participating in something a bit more special.
“Author. Are you sure you do not need to rest more?
You were invited to a New Year’s commemorative event, but that does not mean you absolutely must attend.”
“I’m fine. I rested plenty during the year-end.
You played with me too, Aria, so you know, do you not?
I can participate in the New Year’s commemorative event perfectly well, so please do not worry.
Besides, being invited to an event like this feels like it will be a fresh and fun experience in its own way.”
“Hehe. That is certainly true.
It is a special experience that one cannot easily have.
Especially since the events you will be attending this time were all born from being influenced by your works, Author.”
I had been invited to New Year’s commemorative events held in various places throughout the Yustia Kingdom.
Invitations had flown in before as well, but I had been unable to attend because I was focused on creating my works.
But this year, my hands were empty as I was taking a break, so I decided to accept the invitations.
It was not as though I was working; I was simply invited to observe.
And as Aria had said, the fact that all the events I was invited to were born from being influenced by my works greatly piqued my interest.
“It is a bit embarrassing to say so myself, but it feels as though I am going to see my own achievements, I suppose.”
“I do not think you need to be embarrassed at all, since it is the truth.
It means your fame and influence are that great!
That is why so many invitations came in.”
“Ah, that is right.
Picking which ones to attend from among them was quite difficult, haha.”
In truth, invitations had not come from just one or two places; they had come from hundreds of various locations, so the selection had been quite competitive.
“Since they are New Year’s commemorative events, I suppose their schedules inevitably overlap.”
“The problem is, I only have one body.
I want to attend every single event, but I cannot.”
So among the countless invitations that had come in, I had to carefully select where to attend, considering importance, interest, and even the relationships between the hosts so as to avoid any problems.
“Ugh. That was really exhausting.
If you had not helped me, Aria, I would have simply given up on attending altogether.”
“Hehe. I was happy that my experience traveling around the kingdom as a bard was helpful to you, Author.”
And the monumental first event that had been selected after passing through such fierce competition was beginning right now before the eyes of Aria, myself, and countless spectators.
“Then, starting now! We shall begin the Proxy Knight showdown between Team Mirak Territory and Team Gerda Territory, held over the one-year usage rights to these ‘Delasia Plains’!”
An event where the territorial dispute between the two territories was resolved not through a Territory War, but through the fighting game [Raysis Fighter].
Commonly called the ‘Delasia War’ or the ‘Delasia Cup,’ it was the first fighting game tournament in this otherworld.
You heard that right.
Every year, the one-year usage rights to a piece of territory ambiguously situated between the two territories were handed over to the winner of a gaming tournament.
And this was already the third year.
“I was shocked when I first heard about it.
I never imagined the game I made would be used like this.”
“Did you not say you also had thoughts of holding a tournament, Author?”
“I did, but I never imagined they would bet territories on it!”
Unlike me, who had been thinking of nothing more than prize money or character skin additions.
The people of this world had dramatically bet their territories and fought for keeps.
A jaw-dropping play so outrageous that even I, the creator, never imagined they would bet territories on a fighting game!
‘I feel like they are more serious about the game than I am, which hurts my pride…’
And even before I could hold a tournament.
It seemed they had opened the first professionally run tournament here in Delasia, making it a competition with nationwide renown.
Perhaps it held even more recognition and popularity than the national tournament I had held before.
It was thanks to this tournament that Proxy Knights—this world’s pro gamers bearing such a rather profound name—had become an officially recognized and glorified profession.
‘I wonder if this is really okay…
But thanks to this, there are no fights causing actual casualties, and relations between the two territories have improved, so…’
It also meant that games were being accepted by the public far more readily than I had expected.
And since it was even being regarded as a symbol of mediation and harmony, it was a good thing.
As a Korean who had been serious about games in my previous life, the only downside was feeling as though I had lost, which bruised my ego.
Anyway.
Because it had become so popular.
The scale of this ‘Delasia Cup’ had been growing year by year.
“Originally, it was a showdown between the two territories involved in the dispute.
But I heard other territories are participating this year as well.”
“Oho. That does look quite interesting.
But this is a concept similar to a Territory War; is it alright for other territories to butt in?”
“Yes. They say there is no problem with that.
In traditional Territory Wars, it was common to recruit other territories as allies.”
“Aha.”
“However. Since there are limits to recruiting territories to fight alongside you, the competition there is fierce as well.”
Hmm, so does that mean it is being held as a type of team tournament?
It is a team competition rather than a single-team matchup; that is rather fresh.
The number of Proxy Knights has greatly increased too, so it should be more fun to watch.
And if the team compositions change every year, it could be even more interesting.
“No wonder people are flocking to it.
Perhaps the reason they expanded the scale by bringing in other territories was to aim for this kind of commercial success.”
“Others seem to see it similarly.
In fact, the two lords who had been on bad terms over ownership of the Delasia Plains until a few years ago
apparently now get along so well that they drink together.”
Well, if this many tourists come every year, there is no longer any need to fight over a piece of land of such ambiguous size.
As expected, the power of capital is great.
Of course, the tourists will probably flock more to this year’s winning team, so the match is still important.
“Hmm, but then multiple territories will share the land rights.
Would the income not be too small?
The original two territories clearly benefit from the tourists, but what are the other territories aiming for by participating?”
“For the lords, victory and honor seem to matter more than income.
Opportunities to gain the honor of victory with comparable weight, without directly waging a Territory War, are rare.”
“Phew. It seems this tournament holds far greater meaning than I thought.
To think they regard it as equal to the honor of winning a Territory War.”
“And they say the income earned upon victory is greater than you would think.
It seems a kind of tournament premium has started to attach to the various crops produced here on the Delasia Plains.”
“What? Really?”
“Visitors who came to watch the tournament bought them as souvenirs while paying extra, and that seems to have settled into a norm.
So even after splitting the income among the winning teams, there is reportedly more than enough left to cover the salaries of the hired Proxy Knights?”
“Oh…”
A kind of practical merch, perhaps?
I had not interfered at all, yet they had created such things on their own and generated revenue.
Every time the people of this world created something I had not anticipated.
That unpredictability felt like proof that my cultural revolution plan was going well, and it got me hyped.
‘Interesting. Should I buy one before heading back after it all ends?’
I felt I could taste something quite special if I cooked with crops bought here.
Ah, and there was one more reason other territories had joined.
“Our territory is home to the largest lake in the Yustia Kingdom!
Its clarity and scenic beauty are so great that calling it the lake of legendary fairies would not be an exaggeration….”
“Aria. What is that all of a sudden?”
“Just a moment…
Ah, it seems to be promotion time for another participating territory.
They say they deliberately set aside separate time as a reward for helping by participating.”
It was promotion time for the home territories of the participating Proxy Knights.
Some promoted tourism.
Some promoted crops.
Some promoted crafts.
The sight of them introducing their territories’ specialties or famous spots in turn for a set amount of time was very similar to sponsored ads from my previous life.
Though it was in a rather primitive form.
‘I see… so this is why everyone was trying so hard to participate.’
With so many people gathered from different territories all over the kingdom, the promotional effect of speaking up just once like this would be enormous.
“Oh, that Proxy Knight from Narud Territory is really good?
He won perfectly without getting hit once, did he not?
What did they say that territory’s specialty was?”
“Was it grapes? They were boasting that the wine made from them is the best in the kingdom?”
“Did he grow up drinking that wine to get so good at fighting games?
If I drink that wine, will my gaming skills improve too?”
“Puhaha! Your skills? As if!
Still, buying a bottle or so would not be bad.
It would taste quite good while remembering that friend’s plays.”
“And if we buy that territory’s wine, will something not go to that friend as well?
Let us buy a bottle each to cheer him on to do even better in the future!”
As proof, whenever the Proxy Knights performed well.
There were often people who said that since they were going to buy something anyway, they might as well buy the products promoted by those Proxy Knights.
It seemed the Proxy Knights lent a certain credibility to the products, mixed with a desire to cheer on a particular knight.
This was another interesting change.
Maybe I could apply this to other works in the form of indirect ads or collaborations?
Observing people’s reactions while watching the tournament, I found that the finals had arrived before I knew it.
“Congratulations! The champion of the 3rd Delasia War is Team Dorania Territory!
They started at the lowest seed and fought full-set bloody battles against every other team!
The warrior standing last on this glorious battlefield is none other than Dorania!”
“My word! Who would have thought that team would win!
They were certain to be last in the pre-match odds. They shattered everyone’s expectations.”
“They seemed to grow with every match they went through?
Since they went through full-set bloody battles every time, it was tense throughout.”
Watching the underdog team that no one had expected claw their way up from the bottom, shattering opponents one by one, and seizing a miracle run victory after a fierce battle.
I was so moved that my heart felt tight for no reason, reminded of the team I had cheered for in my previous life after so long.
“It was a much more fun and heart-pounding tournament than I had imagined.
I am truly glad I came to see this tournament.”
Simply witnessing this spectacle was enough to make coming here today worthwhile.
“This will not do. I shall have to buy the tournament commemorative goods along with the winning team’s territory specialties.
They definitely said it was a place that produced high-quality stone, did they not?
Would it not be nice to buy some and make statues of the winning team’s Proxy Knights?”
“That… would be truly wonderful!
I shall inquire with the team officials about purchasing right away!”
Filled with the intoxication of victory, Aria and I immediately moved to purchase the tournament commemoratives along with the specialties from the winning team’s territory.
“Author Wei wants to purchase our territory’s stone?
And you plan to carve statues of our team’s Proxy Knights with that stone?
Is this really true…?”
“It is.
Your performance was incredibly impressive and moving.
I decided because I wanted to cheer you on, but may I place an order?”
“…I-I shall take your order right away!
I will give strict orders to prepare and send only the absolute best of the best!
T-this is not the time! I must inform the Proxy Knights right away…!”
Thanks to my reputation as the creator of [Raysis Fighter], I secured a guarantee to purchase the finest goods ahead of all the other customers who had come aiming for the winning team’s specialties, just like us.
After watching the winning team’s Proxy Knights receive congratulatory hugs from specially invited succubus cosplayers, their faces turning red, as our final sight.
“Then, shall we move on to the next event?”
We prepared to head to the next event.
Perhaps because the first event had ended so enjoyably and movingly?
I began to look forward to what kind of joy the next event would bring me.