In the early evening, when the workday was over, the people would gather in taverns to unwind over drinks.
It was a favorite pastime of the people to share stories about their day and what happened to them.
One day, as usual, the tavern patrons noticed a large crystal ball on the table.
"A crystal ball?"
"What is it, boss?"
"I don't know. The Ministry of Magic gave it to us, saying it would show us a video. When the evening bell rings, it will be reflected in the crystal ball."
"Hmm, a video? That's interesting."
The concept of 'video' existed in the otherworld.
The 'crystal ball' made by wizards was well known to the people and could be seen in large cities.
Videos meant the scenes reflected in the crystal ball.
Of course, a crystal ball could only be seen in a certain place, so this was the first time a crystal ball had been installed in a tavern.
The people gathered at the tavern looked at the crystal ball with curiosity.
Just then, the bell announcing the evening echoed through the city.
"Oooh."
"Here it comes."
People stared at the crystal ball, their eyes glistening.
The transparent crystal ball reflected the scene of a young man sitting at a table.
[Whoosh, whoosh!]
The young man in the crystal ball blows on the ramen noodles and brings them to his mouth.
The scene of the young man eating was played in the taverns that existed in every province of the Empire.
*
"It's all been transmitted."
"Really?"
"Yes. It must have been broadcast to the taverns in each province."
Aria scratched her head as he finished.
"But what does that mean?"
The image from the crystal ball was just Evan's normal day.
Eating, walking down the street, reading, giggling, nothing really.
"It doesn't mean anything."
"...What?"
Aria blinked in disbelief.
"It doesn't mean anything?"
"Uh, because I didn't think much of it."
Aria's mouth dropped open, dumbfounded.
There were so many things she wanted to say, but she didn't know where to start.
She didn't look like she was trying to say anything nice.
"...No, this is the Ministry of Magic's business, don't you realize that if something goes wrong, our tower will be in trouble?"
"It's okay, this is enough."
Aria looked puzzled by my nonchalant response but really, it was enough.
For people from other worlds who don't have much in the way of entertainment, watching a "video" is an interesting experience in itself.
Just showing them Evan's daily routine would be enough to stimulate them.
"What's the reaction?"
"Everyone's talking about him, and they want to know what he does."
"Well, that's a success."
The first video was a throwaway, hoping people would get to know Evan.
If people could see that Evan was a regular guy, just like them, it would be easier for them to "identify" with him.
The element of the protagonist being an ordinary citizen is a common cliché in the world of our previous lives.
Peter Parker, the protagonist of Spider-Man, was an ordinary man.
It's cathartic for people to see that ordinary hero become extraordinary.
"Mr. Evan, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
Evan shouted with determination.
Where we were now was a deep valley in the Duchy of Gerz.
Kwakkwakkwak...
Ahead of Evan, a majestic waterfall cascaded down.
On the other side of the waterfall, a drill instructor from the Gerz Duchy was waiting for Evan to cross.
But Evan was nervous to be in front of the waterfall, and his voice trembled.
"...Mr. Yuri, do you think I can do it?"
"Yes, Mr. Evan, I think you can do it."
I encouraged Evan but I didn't say it for nothing.
Evan knew he was lucky to be chosen, but it was no coincidence that he was chosen for this project.
Evan had a natural constitution for 'mana' and was in good physical shape.
It's just that Evan had never trained before and didn't know what he was capable of.
'It's okay to fail.'
The instructor, who made eye contact with me, nodded. As if to say, don't worry.
And then.
"Aaaaah!"
Catching his breath, Evan lunged for the waterfall.
*
"You're doing it!"
"Yes, you can do it!"
The people gathered in the tavern in the early evening shout as they stare off into the distance.
In their crystal ball, Evan is running toward the waterfall.
"Hey, boss, here's another beer!"
"Yes, sir!"
The crowd watched Evan's training over chicken and beer.
"Aah, that idiot!"
"You think you're going to be a knight when you can't even run!"
Evan was a clumsy, clumsy, clueless, frustrated young man but he was also a young man with a passion that never gave up.
As people watched him train, they gradually fell in love with him.
Even those who had criticized him at first began to be fascinated by him.
"Good! Just a little more!"
"You can do it, Evan!"
Sometimes they would ball up their fists in excitement,
"Awww, what a waste!"
When Evan failed, they lamented together.
"Good job!"
"Yeah, that's it!"
And when he succeeded, they'd rejoice as if their favorite knight had won a tournament.
Evan's training was anything but ordinary.
He jumped over waterfalls and sometimes helped knights lure goblins away.
He even ran through the forest in pursuit of elves called the Forest Folk.
People watched his adventures with fascination.
It had become a routine for the people to gather at the tavern in the evenings to watch him.
They lived and breathed his adventures while waiting anxiously for dinnertime to arrive, and then.
"Master."
"Yes, chicken again today?"
"No, thanks. Bring me a beer."
"...What?"
"I've been eating too much and I'm feeling bloated. I need to stop eating sometimes."
"Me too. I'm out of breath just walking, and my body isn't what it used to be."
The group at the tavern began to eat less.
"Evan, he's running around trying to lose weight, too, and we can't be the only ones eating."
─Hook, hook, whoosh!
Evan in the crystal ball was running wildly through the forest after an elf.
This wasn't the only time they saw him like this.
Swimming, climbing mountains, and wading rivers, Evan had been working tirelessly to lose weight.
He's gone from being a fluffy kid to a burly young man.
The people, who have been following Evan's journey from the beginning, feel that the current Evan is 'cool'.
Not 'fat and cool', but 'strong and cool'.
"I should lose weight like him."
"You know, I thought Evan was an idiot, but now that he lost weight, he's handsome."
More and more people were inspired to lose weight by Evan.
Of course, not many of them acted on their resolve to lose weight, but it was clear that their perception of obesity had changed.
Evan had become a "role model" for the people.
*
"It's a hot topic."
"Yeah."
'I never thought it would get this far....'
I had hoped that Evan would change people's perceptions, but I didn't think it would be a short-term thing.
Aren't diet projects also long-term projects that last several seasons?
We were planning to do a long-term awareness project, like Season 7 and Season 8, with new cast members other than Evan.
But we didn't have to wait until Season 2 to see the immediate effects.
Chivalry started to catch on among the people.
People voluntarily followed Evan on the path, and it wasn't hard to find young men training like him in the shallow mountains and forests.
Of course, this was more of an aspiration to be a "knight" than a diet craze, but the plan was successful nonetheless.
And then my worst fears came true.
"The noble families are complaining."
"Complaining?"
"Yes. There's a lot of resentment among the Young Lords that we, the White Tower, only serve fattening food."
"They don't have to eat it, what's the problem?"
"... They can eat other foods, but they can't eat cola."
Recently, the so-called "cola diet," in which people don't eat food but suppress their appetite with cola, has become popular among aristocratic families.
They thought that just like drinking water doesn't make you fat, so does cola.
As they drank the sugar-laden cola to death, some people gained weight even though they only drank cola, and young people called it 'cola's betrayal'.
"Then we can make Coke that doesn't make people fat."
Zion's eyes widened.
"...Is there such a thing?"
"Yes."
The miracle drink that revolutionized the food industry with its unbelievable claim of 0 grams of sugar, a gift from the gods and the only hope for diabetics.
"Zero Coke."
That miracle drink was the processed food I was going to make.