E2 - If You Possess an Aptitude, We'll Make Use of It
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:11] ---
This world has magic,
and unusual creatures living in it.
[00:15] ---
So if you feel like flying,
you can always hop on a wyvern.
[00:20] ---
Large domesticated creatures
pull the wagons,
[00:23] ---
and the power for steel battleships
is provided by giant sea dragons.
[00:28] ---
There are no lightbulbs,
but the streets are illuminated at night
[00:31] ---
by lamps filled with glowing moss,
[00:33] ---
and cooking is done with wood-burning
ovens that use fire-based magic.
[00:38] ---
Even without any science in this world,
[00:40] ---
many things are accomplished
through the power of magic.
[00:44] ---
On the other hand, if you exclude
the magic and unusual creatures,
[00:49] ---
the level of technology
in this country is not very high.
[00:52] ---
The Industrial Revolution
would still be far off,
[00:55] ---
and the feudal system is still in place.
[00:59] ---
So now...
[01:02] ---
...I'm the king of this country.
[01:15] ---
"Never mind, face forward,"
[01:20] ---
my heart just cried until it was hoarse
[01:26] ---
When you lose something,
is that the end of it?
[01:31] ---
Is there no putting things back
the way they were?
[01:37] ---
Just as a line of clouds
moves off somewhere
[01:43] ---
when you take your eyes
off of them for a moment,
[01:48] ---
so does everything else
[01:53] ---
I never thought there was a version of me
[02:00] ---
that the world would have a need for
[02:05] ---
But when I believed in what I believe,
[02:11] ---
I found myself as I truly am
[02:17] ---
Hello, yes, the first step
I take after nodding
[02:23] ---
Hello, yes, is toward
the yet-unseen horizon
[02:35] ---
A magic check?
[02:36] ---
"If You Possess an Aptitude,
We'll Make Use of It"
According to the literature, heroes
that are summoned from other worlds
[02:40] ---
are sometimes imparted some sort
of magic when arriving in this world.
[02:46] ---
In other words, we're going to
find out if I can use magic, too?
[02:54] ---
I just have to touch this, then?
[02:57] ---
Yes. If you are able to use magic now,
[03:00] ---
the nature of the magic you have
will come into your mind.
[03:04] ---
Oh, yeah? That's quite
the considerate design.
[03:34] ---
How did it go?
[03:36] ---
Apparently, I'm able to use magic now.
[03:40] ---
Oh...
[03:43] ---
But what kind of use
does this magic even have?
[03:55] ---
Souma, I'm coming in.
[03:59] ---
Huh?
[04:07] ---
What the...?
[04:10] ---
Ah, you're here, Liscia.
[04:15] ---
Um, this is you using magic
to move those pens, right?
[04:20] ---
I guess that's what you would call it.
[04:22] ---
Anyhow, the power I can use is to
copy my consciousness into objects,
[04:27] ---
and then freely control them.
[04:29] ---
Oh, what I mean is, I'm not the one
moving those pens over there.
[04:34] ---
They've taken on my consciousness,
and are moving on their own.
[04:38] ---
I've named this power
"Living Poltergeists."
[04:44] ---
A bit chunibyo of me, I suppose.
[04:47] ---
I don't know what this chuni-whatever is,
but that is some weird magic.
[04:51] ---
Yeah. Right now, moving three objects
is the most I can do,
[04:55] ---
and it looks as though they have
to keep pretty close to me, too.
[04:59] ---
With this power,
each independent consciousness
[05:03] ---
can deal with multiple
matters in parallel.
[05:06] ---
In other words...
[05:10] ---
In other words...?
[05:12] ---
It's super-convenient for doing paperwork.
[05:16] ---
Yeah, and as a result,
the work is coming right along.
[05:20] ---
If I didn't have this power,
[05:22] ---
I would have been buried under
a mountain of paperwork by now.
[05:29] ---
It looks to me like you're
plenty buried under it as it is.
[05:34] ---
By the way, what's all the fuss about?
[05:36] ---
We're digging up untapped money.
[05:38] ---
Untapped money?
[05:40] ---
More precisely, we're beating the bushes
for unaccounted-for expenditures.
[05:44] ---
When comparing budgetary requests
with financial statements,
[05:48] ---
even if the requested amount
and the spending are the same,
[05:51] ---
if the itemized expenses
are greater than what was budgeted,
[05:54] ---
it indicates wasted spending performed
to use up the requested funds.
[05:58] ---
Or it represents the possibility of
misappropriation disguised as spending.
[06:02] ---
We're checking it out,
and if there is any funny business,
[06:04] ---
we're getting the responsible parties
to pay back the missing amount.
[06:08] ---
And if any personal embezzlement
is discovered,
[06:10] ---
they'll be charged with paying it back,
and if they don't, they'll be arrested,
[06:13] ---
and their property will be confiscated.
[06:16] ---
But why would you go to these lengths?
[06:18] ---
You secured the financial
assistance for the empire
[06:21] ---
by selling the national treasures, right?
[06:24] ---
Yes. For the time being,
[06:26] ---
I don't have to worry about myself
being turned over to the empire.
[06:30] ---
But we can never have enough capital
[06:33] ---
to get the way this country
runs back on track.
[06:35] ---
Same goes for manpower.
[06:40] ---
I wonder how Souma and
Liscia are getting along.
[06:44] ---
Knowing those two,
[06:46] ---
I'm sure they're doing fine.
[06:49] ---
You think so?
[06:51] ---
Yeah, you're right.
[07:46] ---
Huh? Oh, did I fall asleep?
[07:49] ---
G-Good morning, Liscia.
[07:51] ---
G-Good morning... H-How long
have you been standing there?!
[07:54] ---
How long, you ask? I just barely got here.
[07:58] ---
Wh-What were you...?
[07:59] ---
Oh, I was just thinking,
"She sure is sleeping comfortably."
[08:04] ---
The work is all finished. Did you
want to sleep a little longer?
[08:09] ---
Oh, mm-mm. I'm fine.
But what about you, Souma?
[08:15] ---
You look like you haven't
slept at all, have you?
[08:18] ---
I'm planning on getting
plenty of sleep later,
[08:21] ---
but would you join me for a little bit?
[08:24] ---
Huh? Right now?
[08:26] ---
Mm-hmm.
[08:28] ---
There's something I want to show you.
[08:41] ---
Easy! Don't hold on to me so tight.
[08:44] ---
Sorry, but this is pretty scary for me.
[08:47] ---
You're pathetic. Shouldn't the man
ordinarily be up here holding the reins?
[08:52] ---
I can't help it. This is my
first time ever riding a horse.
[08:56] ---
It is?
[08:57] ---
In the world I came from, we had
plenty of other handy vehicles,
[09:00] ---
so we didn't need to ride horses.
[09:05] ---
The world you came from...
[09:08] ---
Tell me, Souma...
[09:09] ---
Hmm? What is it?
[09:10] ---
Did you leave any family
behind in your other world?
[09:15] ---
Or, you know, g-girlfriends, or anything?
[09:19] ---
No, no one. My grandpa
was the last of my relatives,
[09:23] ---
and he passed before I came here.
[09:25] ---
I'm sorry.
[09:26] ---
There's nothing to apologize for.
[09:28] ---
Grandpa lived a full life. So you see,
[09:32] ---
there's no one waiting for me to return,
[09:35] ---
and I guess I'm in no hurry
to go back right away, either.
[09:38] ---
Oh, you don't say...
[09:51] ---
Stop here.
[10:06] ---
It looks pretty, glistening
with morning dew.
[10:09] ---
Pretty, is it?
[10:11] ---
This isn't what you wanted
to show me, is it?
[10:15] ---
Yeah.
[10:17] ---
These "inedible fields" are the reason
for the country's food shortage.
[10:21] ---
Inedible fields? What do you mean by that?
[10:25] ---
Just what it sounds like.
[10:27] ---
All of the fields stretched out
before us are cotton fields.
[10:30] ---
Ah, you mean that they can't be eaten.
[10:35] ---
To get right to the point, the country
has run into a food shortage
[10:39] ---
because there are too many cotton fields.
[10:41] ---
How so?
[10:45] ---
It started with the expansion
of the Demon Lord's Domain.
[10:48] ---
Up to that point, the northern countries
produced lots of cotton,
[10:51] ---
but with all the damage the monsters
were doing, their production plummeted.
[10:56] ---
Come to think of it, it gets warmer the
farther north you go in this world, huh?
[11:00] ---
Is it different in your world?
[11:03] ---
In the country I came from, it was
the opposite. Well, be that as it may,
[11:08] ---
with supplies dropping,
the purchase price of cotton increased,
[11:11] ---
and you could sell as much
of it as you produced,
[11:14] ---
so the farmers of the kingdom
stopped growing
[11:16] ---
the food crops that they had been raising,
[11:18] ---
and to a man, they all
started growing cotton.
[11:21] ---
A crop that you can't eat,
but grow to sell to someone else
[11:24] ---
is what's called a "commercial crop."
[11:27] ---
It's when the farmers all began growing
commercial crops en masse
[11:32] ---
that the country's food
self-sufficiency declined.
[11:36] ---
And that's what caused our food shortages?
[11:38] ---
No, you can always import food
from other countries if you're short.
[11:44] ---
Right, and cotton sells
for a higher price.
[11:48] ---
We could just use that money
to buy food, right?
[11:50] ---
Right. But then cotton prices crashed.
[11:56] ---
When other countries realized
the profit to be made,
[11:58] ---
they also rushed to produce cotton,
[12:01] ---
and the global supply grew
larger than the demand for it.
[12:05] ---
When that happened, the kingdom,
which was relying on export revenue,
[12:09] ---
became strained in a hurry.
[12:10] ---
Because the funds they needed to buy
food from other countries decreased.
[12:15] ---
With fewer imports, domestic food
distribution naturally skyrocketed,
[12:20] ---
and the classes who had the
lowest incomes suffered the most.
[12:24] ---
This is one of the focal points that
is currently undermining the country.
[12:30] ---
I didn't know that.
[12:33] ---
How could I not know something like this?
[12:36] ---
I'm a failure as one of
this kingdom's leaders.
[12:40] ---
Don't get so down on yourself.
You can learn this kind of thing as we go.
[12:47] ---
Wait, is the reason why you wanted
to show this to me because...?
[12:51] ---
Yeah. Someday, Liscia, you will be
in a position to lead this kingdom.
[12:59] ---
So I wanted you to be aware of this stuff.
[13:04] ---
So that after I'm gone, you'll be able
to manage the country well.
[13:19] ---
"Principality of Amidonia: A state centered
around humans. Governed by the
Amidonian family, the country has an
austere ethos and a strong military force."
[13:22] ---
"Liscia Elfrieden: Sticks to her guns once
she makes up her mind. Attended a military
academy and has spent much time in the
army, so her personality is strong-willed."
[13:28] ---
Our first step is to limit the
planting of commercial crops,
[13:31] ---
and bring back the food crop fields,
increasing our self-sufficiency.
[13:35] ---
The kingdom will provide subsidies
to support the changeover.
[13:39] ---
Our first priority should be
planting widely-utilized soybeans
[13:41] ---
and potatoes, which can stand up
to inclement weather.
[13:46] ---
Liscia, are you listening?
[13:48] ---
Huh? Oh, mm-hmm, I heard you.
[13:51] ---
Agricultural reforms are not something
that happen overnight.
[13:54] ---
So for the time being, all food,
whether imported or domestically produced,
[13:59] ---
will be purchased by the kingdom
and sold for less than we bought it for.
[14:03] ---
Isn't that going to put us in the red?
[14:07] ---
Mm-hmm, and I'd like to
make it up with our exports...
[14:12] ---
...but we have to find
something instead of cotton,
[14:14] ---
which was our previous cash cow.
[14:17] ---
That's going to be difficult.
And be all that as it may...
[14:22] ---
Why are you eating in here,
when you're supposed to be the king?
[14:26] ---
Don't worry about it.
We're busy economizing the castle.
[14:31] ---
We have to conserve when it
comes to meal expenses.
[14:33] ---
Yeah, but still...
[14:35] ---
It has been a long time, Princess.
[14:38] ---
Or should I be addressing you
as "Queen" now?
[14:41] ---
Oh, that... Nothing yet has been...
[14:44] ---
Souma, this is Sir Ludwin Arcs,
Captain of the Royal Guard.
[14:50] ---
Souma Kazuya. I'm sort of
the country's acting king.
[14:55] ---
Ludwin Arcs. Your Majesty's job
performance is the talk of the staff.
[15:02] ---
Then tell the staff for me that if they
have time to chit-chat, work harder.
[15:08] ---
Understood, sire.
[15:09] ---
May I join you for breakfast?
[15:12] ---
It's fine with me.
[15:15] ---
As long as I'm here, would it be all right
if I asked you a question?
[15:19] ---
If it's a question I can answer, sure.
[15:21] ---
Sire, are the reforms you are attempting
to carry out proceeding smoothly?
[15:26] ---
No, not very smoothly at all. Our human
resources are particularly troubling.
[15:31] ---
The prime minister, Marx, aside,
no one else is of any use.
[15:37] ---
I took on all the senior officials
from the previous king,
[15:40] ---
and while I hate to say it,
[15:41] ---
they are the same people who let
the kingdom get as bad as it is.
[15:45] ---
My ears are burning.
[15:47] ---
Hey, hold on, Souma...
[15:49] ---
Someone who will tell me
what I want to know,
[15:51] ---
and is willing to work on the things
I want them to work on--
[15:55] ---
That is the kind of retainer I want.
[16:01] ---
Use the Gemstone Broadcast
to recruit people?
[16:05] ---
Yeah. The Gemstone Broadcast reaches
all areas of the kingdom, right?
[16:10] ---
Y-Yes. As long as the reception
environment is set up,
[16:15] ---
anything spoken in
the castle's Gemstone Room
[16:18] ---
will be heard everywhere in the kingdom.
[16:21] ---
Then it's just the thing for making
a widespread appeal to the people.
[16:25] ---
It's usually used for New Year's
greetings from the king,
[16:28] ---
or to issue important edicts and such.
[16:31] ---
This will be the first time
it's used for job recruitment.
[16:34] ---
How is it usually done?
[16:36] ---
Well, let's see... We rely on
the person's connections,
[16:40] ---
or hold a written exam and
recruit those who pass it.
[16:44] ---
That sounds pretty biased, doesn't it?
[16:46] ---
By the way, what's the country's
literacy rate, anyway?
[16:49] ---
Half the people can read.
About 30% can write, I'd guess.
[16:53] ---
That's no good at all, is it?
[16:56] ---
You can't decide if
someone is right for a job
[16:58] ---
based only on if they can read and write.
[16:59] ---
Imagine excluding 70% of the people
from the recruitment exams as a result!
[17:03] ---
How many diamonds in the rough
are we going to leave undiscovered?
[17:07] ---
I have no response to that.
[17:15] ---
Well, once the financial
situation stabilizes,
[17:18] ---
we can solve that issue as time permits.
[17:21] ---
But first, we have to recruit
some people in the here and now.
[17:26] ---
What sort of people are you
planning to get together?
[17:29] ---
I've thought about what I'm
going to say to recruit them.
[17:31] ---
Although, I'm really just borrowing
the words of a hero I respect.
[17:36] ---
A hero?
[17:37] ---
Yeah. An "unscrupulous hero
in chaotic times," at that.
[17:42] ---
"Wei"
"Shu" "Wu"
The late Han Dynasty--
[17:43] ---
"Wei"
"Shu" "Wu"
Cao Cao, who laid the foundation for Wei
during the Three Kingdoms period,
[17:46] ---
was so dedicated to gathering men
of ability under his command,
[17:50] ---
some called him obsessed
with collecting personnel.
[17:53] ---
To further Cao Cao's
widespread demand for talent,
[17:57] ---
in the year 210, he issued his
"Order of Seeking Talents."
[18:00] ---
Within it was a passage that has
been spoken for generations since.
[18:05] ---
That being...
[18:06] ---
If you possess an aptitude,
we'll make use of it!
[18:09] ---
That is the new king?
[18:11] ---
He looks so young.
[18:13] ---
My people,
[18:14] ---
this nation is facing
an unprecedented crisis.
[18:18] ---
The chronic food shortages,
the economic depression,
[18:22] ---
the influx of refugees whose lands have
fallen to the Demon Lord's Domain--
[18:25] ---
each of these are grave afflictions
that plague our kingdom.
[18:29] ---
Additionally, there are those
in our neighboring countries
[18:31] ---
eagerly taking aim at our kingdom.
[18:34] ---
When faced with this situation,
[18:37] ---
our former king determined
that he was not up to the task,
[18:40] ---
and entrusted our future affairs to me.
[18:42] ---
In a world at peace,
[18:45] ---
our former king was indeed worthy
to be esteemed as a great ruler.
[18:48] ---
However, this is an age of upheaval.
[18:51] ---
The king to be sought during times
of upheaval is not a saint,
[18:55] ---
but a survivor, who is tenacious.
[18:58] ---
This is because such a ruler
will ultimately be conducive
[19:01] ---
to keeping your families
and property safe and secure.
[19:04] ---
That is why our former king chose me.
[19:07] ---
Because in terms of tenacity alone,
I am superior to our former king.
[19:15] ---
I am currently spearheading
a number of reforms.
[19:19] ---
However, we are overwhelmingly
shorthanded for the task ahead.
[19:24] ---
As such, I am here to recruit
those of you here who have talent.
[19:33] ---
What we require in these troubled times
[19:35] ---
are not those who excel
in peacetime matters,
[19:38] ---
but those who are far and away
outstanding at one thing.
[19:41] ---
The form that talent takes is unimportant.
[19:43] ---
If you can say for certain that you
are second-to-none at something,
[19:47] ---
come and stand before me!
[19:49] ---
Your education, your age, your social
standing, your place of origin,
[19:52] ---
your ethnicity, and
your sex do not matter.
[19:55] ---
It's no matter if you can read and write,
or how many possessions you own,
[19:59] ---
or how attractive you are, or if you have
any other skeletons in your closet.
[20:04] ---
"I am better at this than anyone. No one
in all the land can outdo me at this."
[20:09] ---
If that is what you believe, then come
and present yourself before me!
[20:14] ---
There may be those of you who are
hesitating, wondering if your talent
[20:17] ---
will actually be of any use.
[20:20] ---
However, that is not for you to determine.
[20:23] ---
I, the king, will determine whether
or not our country needs your talent.
[20:29] ---
I do not care if others say
that your talent is worthless.
[20:33] ---
So do not hesitate!
[20:38] ---
If a person's ability is judged
to be useful to the country,
[20:42] ---
I will afford you every courtesy
and take you on as my subject.
[20:50] ---
And if you are still thinking twice
about it, here is what I'll do--
[20:53] ---
if you can demonstrate that your talent
is unequalled in all the kingdom,
[20:57] ---
then in the name of the King of Elfrieden,
[20:59] ---
I will issue you a Certificate
of Peerlessness,
[21:01] ---
and grant you a monetary reward!
[21:05] ---
Does that give you a bit more
incentive, my people?!
[21:17] ---
You may recommend yourself
or someone else.
[21:20] ---
If you recommend another,
you will get 30% of the reward.
[21:24] ---
You will be the ones who,
in this time of crisis,
[21:28] ---
will bring forward those who
are too reclusive otherwise!
[21:30] ---
Also, if your talent involves
"being stronger than all others,"
[21:33] ---
or "being the best singer,"
or others that are competitive,
[21:36] ---
the candidates will compete ahead of time,
[21:39] ---
and the top delegate will be selected,
so bear that in mind.
[21:43] ---
And with that,
those of you with aptitude...
[21:47] ---
come to the capital, Parnam,
to shake my hand!
[21:58] ---
What was that bit at the end?
[22:00] ---
Just getting into the spirit of things.
[22:01] ---
Now, look...
[22:09] ---
I sure hope a lot of the new
personnel I need show up.
[22:17] ---
The wind blowing by rushes
through the world,
[22:21] ---
connecting us when otherwise
we never would have met
[22:26] ---
Unfurling wings that no one else can see,
Are you sure you will not
change your mind?
[22:29] ---
Unfurling wings that no one else can see,
No, Father.
[22:30] ---
I take flight in search of a miracle
that no one else can find
[22:43] ---
Seeking the courage to keep on choosing
[22:47] ---
the outcome of an ever-meandering morrow,
[22:51] ---
I never want to fear change
[22:55] ---
or doubt the blueness of the sky
[23:00] ---
More than any dreams I once had
[23:02] ---
and beyond any future I've imagined,
[23:04] ---
I want to keep on drifting along
[23:08] ---
within this transcendentally beautiful
moment I'm spending with you
[23:13] ---
If I can make that come true...
[23:16] ---
I shoot up through the blue
to the sky where we connect
[23:21] ---
Grasp my destiny and reel it in
[23:25] ---
And through our joined hands,
[23:29] ---
you feel my helpless wish for eternity
[23:34] ---
Even if this is only an illusion
[23:36] ---
taking place within someone's dream,
[23:38] ---
I'll still take this blowing wind
[23:40] ---
and hold on tight as I take flight
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