episode_0168

“I wish winter would come in summer, but this is better than summer.”

One of the people waiting in line grumbled as he blew on his cold hands due to the increasingly chilly weather.

And others who were lining up to hear his complaint agreed.

The reason they were standing on the street on this chilly winter day was none other than Rupert’s new work.

“It seems like the line is longer than usual since it’s been a while since Hansel and Gretel.”

『New fairy tale released!

This work is the first to incorporate the new technology of Somerset Workshop, and will provide readers with a new experience!

The mere fact that Rupert’s new children’s book was out after a long time was enough to get people flocking, but when word spread that this book was made using new technology, even more people wanted to buy it.

“As expected, Somerset makes the best books.”

“Books from other places tend to become worn out when children read them often, but Somerset’s books still look like new.”

“That’s all? Even the price is cheaper than others.”

The name Somerset had come to be seen as a symbol of trust among the people of the empire.

Books were originally fragile and expensive items, but the books sold at the Somerset Workshop at the top of Yuren were famous for being sturdy.

Especially in the case of children’s picture books, which are enjoyed by children, not only are they made sturdy, but they can also be repaired if accidentally damaged, so once you buy one, you don’t have to buy the same one again.

However, the price was similar to or even cheaper than other books, so people bought Rupert’s books without asking any questions.

“Is that child the main character of this fairy tale book?”

With some time left until the sales launch, people began talking about the new releases, looking at the signs placed in front of the store.

The sign they were looking at depicted a young girl in a red hood holding a basket of matches.

“Um… But somehow, doesn’t that kid’s expression look a little sad?”

When someone looks at the picture and says that the girl’s expression looks sad, people feel like that’s really true.

“No way, again?”

“Hey, right?”

Rupert’s children’s books have already attracted so much interest that there are scholars who study and catalog them professionally.

Among them, , , and were called Rupert’s three great romances.

and were classified as Rupert’s fantasy fairy tales.

And there was only one fairy tale that was classified as such: The Dog of Flanders.

was classified as Rupert’s tragedy and labeled a social accusation.

“Since then, there hasn’t been a sad piece of work… .”

“Come to think of it, wasn’t it last winter that the Dog of Flanders came out?”

The more we talked, the more I felt uneasy, but people tried to ignore it and thought it was just an ordinary fairy tale.

“Sales will start now!”

Finally, when the voice of the store staff announcing the start of sales was heard, the people waiting in line bought the new children’s book, The Little Match Girl, one by one.

“I bet the kids will really like it?”

A father who waited on the street for several days to buy a copy of The Little Match Girl to give as a gift also walked away with a brisk gait, anticipating his children who would love the book.

***

“Buy matches!”

A little blonde girl wearing a red hood.

The basket the child was holding was full of matches.

“Oh my… How much is it, Miss?”

“No, it’s not Miss! It’s Ada the Matchmaker!”

Oun, now accustomed to it, picked up a match and began searching through his pockets.

“Yes, Miss Ada the Matchmaker, would 1 copper be enough?”

“No! Then Ada will freeze to death!”

“Then, 5 Cooper?”

I tried raising the price slightly, but Ada shook her head with her lips tightly shut.

“Okay! Then 10 Cooper!”

“Okay!”

After receiving ten times the initial price, Ada turns around and heads somewhere else, seemingly satisfied.

Oun couldn’t help but laugh in vain as he looked at Ada’s back.

“Butler, why is the young lady selling matches so diligently these days?”

“Did you buy it again?”

“Who wouldn’t buy and sell something if you were to go around the mansion in that outfit?”

Alain could only nod in agreement to Oun’s words.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the empire at this time was in the era of the match girl.

‘Rupert’s fairy tales are not simply children’s stories.’

The impact was so great that prominent scholars across the empire began to compete to write articles analyzing this new work, The Little Match Girl.

“It was so sad. It was a story about a girl dying alone on a snowy winter night.”

Oun still felt a pang in her heart when she recalled the first time she read The Little Match Girl.

In particular, the magical experience I had while reading the book maximized those emotions.

‘Why is this part of the paper so cold?’

When I touched the paper in the scene where the match girl was selling matches to people on the snowy street, it felt so cold that it made my hands numb.

『The girl sat down in a deserted alley.

“I miss grandma.”

The girl’s hands were as cold as ice from selling matches on the street for a long time.

A girl who lights a match to warm up her hands that have already lost all feeling.

“Oh, a house with a warm fireplace… .”

Then, strangely enough, the scene of a house with a fireplace, which the girl had always wished for, unfolded.

And on the table in the middle of the warm room was a splendid banquet laid out.

“Hey, come and eat quickly, the food will get cold.”

“Mom?”

“Our princess’s father bought her a present, but aren’t you going to open it?”

“Dad!”

The deceased parents whom she had longed to see so much were sitting at the table, calling out to the girl.

The girl couldn’t stop her tears from flowing as she couldn’t believe the sight unfolding before her eyes.

but,

Chijijik.

When the match went out, everything disappeared again.

‘Ugh… The paper in the scene showing the girl’s hope is warm.’

The paper in the scene where the girl lights a match and sees a vision, which can be called the climax of the fairy tale, gave a warm feeling to the touch.

People who experienced this new paper, ‘Ondoji’, which realized a tactile sensation that cannot be felt while reading a book, were greatly shocked.

‘Is it true that just feeling the simple temperature can change the immersion to this extent?’

Since the story of is so tragic, the change in texture using thermography made people even more immersed in the work.

Not only that,

“It was really cowardly to show the scene where the last girl goes to heaven with her grandmother through illusionary magic.”

“Coward?”

“How can you not cry when you see that?”

Among the sad fairy tales I’ve read before, such as The Little Mermaid or The Dog of Flanders, I was sad but didn’t cry when I read them.

But when he read the last part of , he couldn’t help but cry.

This was because the scene of a girl crying while seeing the apparition of her deceased grandmother who had cared for her after all the matches had gone out was recreated as an animation using illusionary magic.

‘Is this writer a devil? How could he come up with such an ending!’

The response to , which incorporated such new technologies, was bound to be enthusiastic.

Since the time was winter, it overlapped with the season in which the story was set, making it even more realistic. For a while, people who read the story often shed tears whenever they saw the little girl.

‘Let’s call this the little match girl syndrome.’

There was even an imperial scholar who studied this phenomenon of people shedding tears at the sight of poor girls.

“Thanks to you, the Somerset Welfare Foundation established by the master received a huge amount of donations.”

Alain thought of Rupert, who was struggling to sort out the donations that had been pouring into the Somerset Welfare Foundation.

Since the amount of money collected from all over the empire was too much for even Rupert to handle, he donated some to the church and discussed the rest with Esteban to build educational and residential facilities for children in the slums.

The Little Match Girl, which had such a great influence on the empire, was also having an impact on Somerset Manor.

“Just because you’re wearing that outfit, you can’t help but buy the matches the girl is forcing you to buy.”

“Let’s hang out, isn’t that what you like the most, Miss?”

Alain smiled and answered Oun’s words.

As before, Ada, who was the first to read the completed , chased after Rupert for a while and threw a tantrum, demanding that he save the girl.

Soon, as usual, he started imitating the fairy tale protagonist by wearing the same clothes as before.

‘Buy matches!’

From the maids of Somerset Manor to the employees of the workshop, there was no one who did not buy a match from Ada, who carried around matches and forced them on everyone.

“But why are you so obsessed with selling matches, Miss?”

“Well… I don’t think the young lady is greedy for money… .”

Ada, who sells matches to people for 10 coppers a pack, even though they cost less than 1 copper at the town general store.

Even though he was thinking about sanctioning Oundo, when Ada looked up at him with sad eyes, he ended up buying matches without realizing it.

Of course, it wasn’t a lot of money, so it could be overlooked, but Ada had never shown any material desires before, so it was a suspicious behavior.

“Rashya! I told you to keep this on?”

“Boom!”

And now Ada was wearing a small ball of red yarn on Rash’s nose.

“If Krun makes it, you have to pull it!”

“Boom!”

Seeing Ada getting excited and starting to do all sorts of things to him, Rash couldn’t help but bark to show that he understood.

Because Ada was so excited that no one could stop her.