episode_0110

“Baekgyeong actually had a very simple structure from the beginning.”

Ishmael nodded at Rupert’s words.

Originally, Ishmael’s was an adventure story about a boy going on a journey to find his father, and its conclusion was that he defeated the whale monster named Moby Dick and saved his father.

“But… if the story unfolds as I originally planned, the work might end before long.”

That was exactly what Ishmael was worried about.

If you look at Rupert’s and other writers’ works, the story is just getting started.

His work, , already had only the fight with the whale left.

“What’s on your mind?”

“The other works aren’t finished, so if I finish first, the magazine will be empty.”

Currently, there are six works of manga serialized in Manapia, and Ishmael was worried about the gap that would be left if his work was removed.

‘I didn’t know you were thinking like that.’

Rupert was very impressed with Ishmael.

It is definitely not an easy thought to consider not only one’s own work but also the circumstances of the magazine in which one is serializing it, but Ishmael was thinking quite deeply despite his young age.

“Don’t worry. I expected this to happen.”

“Yes?”

“I prepared in advance because not all the works could be finished at the same time.”

Ishmael’s expression brightened as Rupert patted his head and told him not to worry.

In fact, he was having a hard time forcing himself to extend the story he had planned, so Rupert’s words that it would be okay to finish it at any time were like a ray of light.

“But you need to know this, Ishmael.”

“What kind?”

“The author’s work is not the author’s alone.”

Ishmael tilted his head, as if he still did not understand the meaning of these words.

“Ah! This is from Manapia, or rather, from Somerset Comics Studio, so you’re saying it’s from here?”

“That’s not it.”

Rupert continued, laughing incredulously.

“When you draw a work by yourself, it doesn’t matter what kind of story you write, but once you make the work public and start reading it to the public, it’s no longer your work alone.”

“Is that so?”

“That work also belongs to the readers. Don’t forget! A work that no one sees is not a work.”

-A comic is something that is completed by someone reading it, so it has to have a conclusion that readers can understand.

Finally, in the words that followed, Ishmael realized what a huge responsibility it was for him to be serializing a cartoon.

Until now, I had been drawing cartoons without thinking about it, but after hearing Rupert’s words, I suddenly felt like hundreds or thousands of readers I had never seen before were watching me.

‘Can I come up with a conclusion that readers can understand?’

Ishmael was once again contemplating the ending he had in mind.

And Rupert was also lost in thought.

‘Because that’s what I regret the most.’

The advice he had just given to Ishmael was in fact nothing more than a warning to himself.

Rupert’s last scene on Earth flashed through his mind.

-Ah, I want to be born in a world where I can only draw cartoons.

He still occasionally had nightmares about a dragon appearing and destroying everything.

If asked whether he had made the best decision when the editor at the time urged him to finish the story due to copyright issues, Rupert would say no.

‘There must have been a better way.’

However, due to the tight schedule of the weekly serialization, the sudden notice of serialization termination, and the fatigue that had been building up, Rupert was not in his right mind at the time.

That’s why it ended up like that.

‘Thanks to Ishmael, I realized what I should do from now on.’

Rupert’s eyes sparkled.

***

The branches at the top of Yuren were distributed throughout the major cities and provinces of the continent.

And once a quarter, each branch would report its profits to the head office, which was the busiest day for the head office’s accountants.

“You must check and compare the sales and product needs of each branch!”

“Is there something strange in the ledger sent by the Undaph City branch?”

“Hey! Hey, the documents are mixed up. Sort them separately!”

If this inspection is not done properly, it is impossible to detect corruption at the branch, so it had to be analyzed without exception.

“What should I do with these?”

“Ah, there was an instruction from the Lord of the Upper House to not classify the Agora reward separately and to count it as the sales above.”

In addition, the accountants at the top of Yuren were even busier because they had to settle the compensation from the Imperial Parents’ Association that came with the Agora that was held this time.

“If converted to Imperial Gold, it’s 2443957 Gold, and if calculated in Kingdom Silver, it’s 1739355224 Ferring… Huh? Why is the total amount different from before?!”

“Recalculate from the beginning!!! There can’t be any errors!”

“Kaaaah! No!! How did I start this from the beginning… .”

After having to rip out the accountants at the top, when the sales results for this quarter finally came out, all the employees were speechless.

“Is this a reasonable amount?”

“No matter how much the compensation is combined… .”

“We are the top of the empire!!!”

This sale was very significant.

In fact, even before working with Rupert, the Yuren top was a large top that had been part of the Seven Great Sects, but they lacked their own identity.

For example, in the grain sector, the southern investment top has always been called the best.

The Iron Merchant in the North was the best at trading war supplies, including weapons and armor.

The luxury goods exclusive to the nobility were famously controlled by the Vera Merchant Corps, the highest corporation in the old empire. Each of the seven merchant corps, which belonged to the Seven Merchant Corps, had their own specialized fields.

However, the Yuren top, on the other hand, was top-tier in every field, but did not have any special weapons unique to the Yuren top.

They were called model students in a good way and perennial second place in a bad way because they were included in the Chilsangdan because they excelled in all areas.

– Huh, those Yuren guys are always running around like rats, picking up crumbs and eating them.

So the merchants used to call them rats.

A big rat that picks up and eats the crumbs left behind by the first place winner.

On the surface, the staff at the top of Yuren ignored such a reaction, calling it the ugly jealousy of those who couldn’t even make money, but inside, their pride was greatly hurt.

“We’re finally the top tier of the empire!”

In this situation, the feeling of ascending to the top of the empire, where no one could object anymore, was special.

‘It really happened as the Lord predicted.’

Absinthe, who was the former branch manager of the Somerset branch, recalled the first time she visited Somerset Manor with Esteban.

-This will be a strategic weapon to attack the noble class!

Absinthe, which at the time I thought was absurd, now knows that everything he said was true.

Rupert’s books have become a solid symbol of the upper ranks of the Yuren, which had no clear weapons.

Now, when people think of the top of the U-Ren, they think of fairy tales and comic books, so much so that they can call it their symbol.

“I wanted to swim in the gold once!”

“Isn’t this level of gold something you’d only see in the royal treasury?”

“With this amount of money, you can expect a bonus this quarter!”

When everyone was excited to see the pile of money before their eyes.

“Everyone worked hard.”

Esteban, the head of the company, came down from his office on the second floor and said.

“My Lord! Look at this! This is this quarter’s sales! This is this month’s sales, not this year’s!”

“Hahaha, there really are a lot.”

Esteban also smiled and responded to the excited reactions of the employees.

and,

“All of these have to be reused.”

“Huh? All of this?”

“Hmm, it might not be enough, but since I have to extract investment funds from the top of Vera anyway, I guess it’ll be okay.”

The employees were horrified by Esteban’s statement that he would spend all of the enormous amount of money he had accumulated.

It was such an amount of money that I had no idea what I would have to do to spend it all.

And Esteban also understood the employees’ surprised reactions mixed with concern.

‘Actually, it’s crazy. If you have this much reserve money, it’s normal to hold on to it and use it when the opportunity arises.’

Since you never know when something will happen at the top, it’s always a good idea to have plenty of spare cash on hand.

But to carry out the plans I had made while talking to Rupert before, I really needed a lot of money.

‘Honestly, it makes my heart flutter, too.’

Esteban recalled the time he had discussed it with Rupert.

***

“No matter how simplified this projector is, the cost calculated by our craftsmen should be around 20 gold.”

Esteban frowned at Rupert’s words.

“The price is too high.”

20 gold is an amount that even a commoner would not be able to sell for even if he were to wake up dead.

Even nobles would have a hard time purchasing it, so the number available for sale was very small.

But that was too bad. The amount of money spent on developing this animation projector was quite large, and it was impossible to recover it, let alone get the initial investment back.

“If the craftsmen continue to research over time, the unit price may go down, but it is difficult to predict how long it will take.”

“Still, it would be better to delay the release a little more to lower the unit price as much as possible… .”

“No, we will raise the unit price.”

“Yes?”

Esteban was horrified by Rupert’s words.

Even now, only a limited number of people can buy it, so if the price were to be raised further, only a small number of nobles would be able to buy it, so raising the price would not be profitable.

“Your Majesty, that’s throwing money on the ground!”

Although Esteban usually followed Rupert’s opinions to some extent, this time he was showing his will to resolutely oppose them.

“This animation will also proceed with two strategies.”

“Two?”

“One is to sell luxurious and beautifully decorated personal projectors exclusively for the nobility, allowing them to watch animations in their mansions.”

I understand this part. If the high price is the problem, then it would be right to go with a luxury strategy by making it more luxurious.

But the problem is that this animation requires a lot of investment, so it is impossible to make up for the loss that way.

“And the second is to create a public theater.”

“Public theater?”

“Yes, we will create a theater where anyone in the entire empire can watch the animation, wherever a certain number of people gather.”

Rupert’s suggestion was that if they couldn’t make money selling projectors, they should instead create places where animation could be shown throughout the empire.