episode_0015

The Little Prince’s illustrator, Lucia Barton, has been going through some trouble lately.

“It’s a painting of a fox opening its arms and asking for a hug… ?”

“Keuhm, that’s right. The client said he would make sure the case was not disappointing. If you need it for creative activities, unlimited support is also available.”

Deformed animal drawings – wealthy people who wanted drawings of talking foxes began to request sponsorship and activity.

They had one thing to wish for. More fox pictures.

Donations poured in to her in amounts she had never seen before.

“I’m not a painter… ?”

“Didn’t you do the illustrations for the novel ‘The Little Prince’?”

“Well, I just did it because I was able to participate in the work of a writer I respect… .”

The problem is that Lucia Barton was not a professional painter to begin with.

I enjoyed reading ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ and participated in a contest, and was asked to draw an illustration for the same author’s work, which I quickly accepted.

“I can’t get this kind of money… . Work activities… I’m not that great of an artist… .”

“Please accept it. If you have difficulty working on your work, it is okay to just accept donations first.”

When I participated in the illustration work, I thought it was just an amazing experience.

So the current situation, with sponsorships and drawing requests pouring in, was very burdensome.

” First, let me ask the author!”

Lucia ran away.

The place where it all started, Kindersley Publishing.

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When I visited the publishing company, I heard from CEO Dorling that the illustrator was having trouble.

“That happened.”

“Yes! The illustrator is having a lot of trouble… .”

Art has always been dominated by the wealthy.

Pope, nobles, royalty, merchants… .

And there was one more type of ‘rich people’ in this world.

“Those sponsors are probably beastmen, right?”

“It is said that the intention to sponsor was conveyed through an agent… Yes, probably.”

Prisoner.

These people, also called half-humans and half-animals, were a class discriminated against in many ways in the empire.

It is impossible to enter parliament or hold a title.

However, as much as they were discriminated against, they had a strong internal bond. Based on that solidarity, they made a huge amount of money through businesses such as usury and mining.

These people have a lot of money but no fame. If money can buy fame, they will spend hundreds of millions of dollars.

That was the prisoner.

“Illustrator Lucia, do you have no intention of continuing your work?”

“I don’t think so, but… I just drew as a hobby, but it seemed like I was feeling pressured because so much support was pouring in… .”

“Aha. hmm. It’s not that I don’t understand the feelings of the prisoners… . It’s difficult.”

The rough hands of beastmen are not suitable for painting, and human artists consider it dishonorable to draw beastmen for money.

For prisoners who are ignored even by those who would starve to death without their support.

A novice artist who was the illustrator of ‘The Little Prince’ would have been very attractive prey. They must have wanted to win him over even if it meant giving them hundreds of millions of dollars.

I thought for a moment and then cautiously opened my mouth.

“The illustrator said that sponsorship was a burden, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Then why not try a business approach rather than sponsorship?”

“Yes?”

“Let’s try commercializing the character.”

“Commercialization of characters… ?”

Character commercialization.

An expansion of character IP that completely changed the paradigm of the cultural industry.

“I think the boss needs you to do some work. Is that okay?”

“I’m not sure what it is, but… Sure! There is everything I can do to help the author!”

The magic that turns art into money.

I thought it was still a little early… With this opportunity, literature will take one step forward.

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Several products engraved with The Little Prince’s characters were produced.

As a result of the combination of the capital of suspiciously wealthy patrons, the influence of The Little Prince, the illustrator’s sensitivity, and Dorling Kindersley’s work ability, character merchandise was immediately sold throughout the empire.

“Mom! Buy me that cup!”

“Cup? Oh my, there is a picture of the little prince. How much is this cup?”

“One silver coin!”

“Yes? Is it that expensive? Hmm, it would be nice to have one for decoration as well… Please give me one.”

“An excellent choice!”

Buying products with the Little Prince on them soon became a trend.

Because the illustrations for each product were different, there were even collectors who collected products with different illustrations.

However, there was a separate product that caught people’s attention the most.

“If you buy bread, you will receive a stamp with an illustration of The Little Prince!”

“What. Is that really true?”

“Yes! We will also give you stamps depicting the fox, the little prince, roses, and other illustrations!”

“Hey, give me some bread!”

It was a stamp.

Stamp collecting was originally such a major hobby that there were people who collected stamps professionally.

This stamp was not sold directly. Instead, if you purchase other products – packaged bread and cookies, you can get them by giving them a random stamp.

“Give me all the bread!”

“Hey, customer. Sorry, but you can only purchase up to four Little Prince limited breads per person.”

“What. Why?”

“Please understand that this is a measure to prevent food from being thrown away.”

The price of stamps soared through the roof as people who originally had a hobby of collecting stamps, professional stamp resellers, and fans of The Little Prince flocked to the area.

The auction price of stamps with rare illustrations exceeded gold coins.

“The bread is already sold out?”

“Please let me buy just one loaf of bread!”

A young prince was ruling the empire.

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“… Author, are you a genius? No, you’re a genius, right… . I asked the obvious… .”

“Uh, um. I didn’t know it would become this popular either.”

The Little Prince’s character products became popular, and I, the author, was able to make a huge profit.

It was enough to exceed the donation he received from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

That was the amount of money that was distributed to the illustrator, merchants, and Mr. Dorling, and was given to me.

“I think every day has been a series of surprises since I met the author.”

Although Mr. Dorling spoke in a voice mixed with admiration, I was a little worried about this situation.

No matter how you look at the current enthusiasm for character products, there is a mixture of bubbles.

As soon as the trend cools down, the price of stamps, which have soared to the sky, will drop in an instant. And the resentment of those who suffered losses in the process will likely extend to the work called ‘The Little Prince.’

The name of the most loved fairy tale in history is stained with speculation.

That wasn’t what I wanted.

“… Boss.”

“Yes! Author!”

“Let’s take this opportunity to do something good.”

“… Yes?”

The Little Prince simply had to be a beloved work.

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Most of the orphanages that exist in this world are run by priests.

Religion acts as a social safety net on behalf of the state.

“Wow, Director Priest! What is this all about? Why is there so much bread? Even if you look at the packaging, they all look like luxurious breads… .”

“An anonymous brother donated.”

‘Missionary Orphanage of Love’ was also one of those orphanages.

The orphanage was famous for being run conscientiously and because the director priest had such an excellent character that it was run only with church support and donations, so the household budget was tight.

And numerous miscellaneous goods and bread were donated to the orphanage.

“Instead of donating the bread, they asked me to collect the stamps inside the wrappers.”

“Ah! Is this the Little Prince bread that is popular in the capital these days?”

“The Little Prince… Thanks to that beautiful fairy tale, we are receiving such help. It’s a pleasure.”

“Hehe, sure! Kids will really love it… . really… Ugh… .”

“Sister. Why are you crying on this good day?”

“Just… I’m so happy… . I felt sorry for always giving my kids hard black bread… . Hehe… .”

“Hehe.”

“The writer Homer… These words may be a bit blasphemous, but aren’t you the saint chosen by God? ?”

“Okay. You never know. Did He send someone to this land? .”

Similar things were happening all over the empire.

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“Writer… .”

“Yes. Boss.”

“Do you mind if I praise the author for a moment… ?”

“No.”

“The author is a god!”

“That is blasphemy.”

What I suggested to CEO Dorling was simple.

The idea is to lift restrictions on the purchase of ‘Little Prince limited edition products’ only when donating to social welfare facilities such as orphanages, workhouses, and nursing homes.

It was a simple but effective method.

Many wealthy people willingly donated bread to orphanages in order to collect stamps.

“It is said that it does not end with simply donating bread, but in the process, the number of cases of promising regular support to orphanages has also increased! This is all thanks to the author’s idea!”

There were numerous social welfare facilities run by the church in the empire, and most of them suffered from hardships.

In these days when the influence of faith has weakened, even finding a sponsor has been difficult.

But the Little Prince completely changed that atmosphere. So much bread was donated that in some cases, children at the orphanage got stomachaches from eating so much bread.

“Some churches are even saying that the author should be beatified?!”

“No, I am not a priest, so what kind of beatification is this? .”

“That means what the author did was amazing!”

Although I was still burdened by the fuss from the Doling boss.

Still, somehow, it felt good.