episode_0089

“Mr. Coleman. Mr. Coleman.”

“… ”

“Mr. Coleman?”

“Wait a minute… ”

“It’s like this again? hey! Get off!”

This time, the old boatman’s scolding screams again.

I barely finished the book and got off the boat, but…

“That, Mr. Coleman.”

“Wait a minute. Just look at this part.”

On my way back, I continued to walk and read the book.

A few times I had Cleo catch me when I almost hit a tree.

When we returned to the student council room, Tangaroa and Hwayoung were organizing the Prophecy Workshop models they had collected.

Only then did I close the book and focus on the task in front of me.

“So how much did you bring?”

“Only about 20 have been confirmed. Well, not that much… ”

“The quality is mostly miserable. The wood wasn’t trimmed properly, and the glaze wasn’t evenly applied.

What can I say about the design of the sculpture… ”

Hwayoung pointed to the models.

I could easily understand what she was trying to say.

Funforge’s models were designed by Hwayoung, who received formal art education.

Although it is slightly deformed and mixed with oriental aesthetics, it aims to be a clean and anatomically correct model.

On the other hand, the prediction system model is clunky and awkward… It’s avant-garde.

The posture is dynamic, and the facial expressions and clothing are much more exaggerated.

There are also many models who show a lot of exposure or make funny movements.

“As expected.”

My guess turned into certainty.

“What is it?”

“There are people at the Prophecy Workshop who know how to do character business.”

“Character business?”

“Look at those models. They say they’re all focused on conveying character.

And again, please read this novel once.”

I held out one of the novels I had brought with me.

On the cover is the modest title ‘Flight of the Phantom Thief’.

But when you open the inside cover-

“A woman who was just a petty thief was mistaken for a handsome thief?”

“Please read the last sentence.”

“It’s difficult because women stick around… ”

Tangaroa shook his head as if he didn’t understand.

“This is proof of competence? Does it look cheap?”

“But you’re curious, right? You want to read it, right?”

“… Well, maybe… ”

The vice president, who took the book and flipped through a few pages, opened his eyes wide.

“Well, I write pretty well.”

“Yes. The writing skills are considerable.

When it’s funny, it’s funny, and when it’s passionate, it’s passionate.

But that doesn’t really matter.”

I moved on to the latter part of the novel and pointed out the climax.

“The reason why this novel is important is, how can I say it, because it fills the void.”

“Bong?”

“Yes. More than just a fun story, you become attracted to the Phantom Thief Umbra, you like it, and you want to see more of her story.”

“Umm… ”

Kyo Hwa-young tilts her head.

“Is that important?”

“It’s important! Because I want to buy the model!”

“Well, we have never revealed the specific settings of Phantom Thief Ombre.”

Cleo rested her chin and muttered.

“People who want to read the story of Phantom Thief Ombre should do the next best thing and buy the Phantom Thief Umbra novel.

I was attracted to that narrative, so I bought the Phantom Thief Umbra model.

They started using the Umbra model instead of the Ombre model… That makes sense.”

“The same goes for other models. Promote the charm of the character through a novel, and use it to sell a real-life model.

For example, let’s look at this character we confiscated from Cappuccine.”

I lifted up a model of a deer with its chest exposed.

“This is Layla, the female protagonist of the short story ‘Easy Childbirth Senior’-”

“… ”

“Layla shows off her breasts like this, but she is actually a virgin.”

“… Hey, Mr. Coleman.”

Hwayoung narrowed her eyes and said.

“Is that an attractive factor?”

“There’s a twist!

They live with vulgar jokes on their lips and change their school uniforms to expose their cleavage, but-

In fact, I am a shy person who has never even held hands with a man-”

At that time, the door burst open.

Chairman Lilac comes in with a crystal ball for communication.

“Ah, everyone is gathered. What were you talking about?”

“Coleman says he likes women who talk dirty and dress provocatively, but are actually virgins.”

“Hmm.”

The chairman closes his mouth and looks around.

Tangaroa solemnly took the oath.

“On the honor of the entire platypus race, there is no lie in those words.”

“Yes. Mr. Coleman just said that… ”

“Aha. I’ll take note.”

The chairman smiles and installs a crystal ball.

Now that I think about it, I wasn’t able to properly respond to the confession I received from the president during the social festival.

There was no time to bring up the story as I was caught up in various events, and the chairman did not bring it up again.

No, it’s too late for the chairman to talk about it again now.

Then I have to declare to the chairman, ‘We’ll start dating starting today.’

hmm. What can I say, I just can’t get the timing right…

“It is done.”

When the chairman injected magical power, the crystal ball immediately projected an image.

What appeared in the air was the illusion of CEO Cobb Priestley.

“President Priestley. Can you hear me?”

“I can hear well. Crown Princess.”

“As I mentioned earlier, let’s discuss the replica models made at a place called Prophecy Workshop.”

Priestley sighed and said:

“Yes. We were also looking into the matter.

From the looks of it, the Prophecy Workshop is preparing to open branches in several large cities, including Billingham, in addition to Romelo Village.”

“Sue me in court right now!”

Hwayoung is running wild.

But I was skeptical about the possibility of suing.

“… I do not know. Would this constitute copyright infringement?”

“Copyright?”

Priestley raised his eyes.

Is it true that there are no patent or copyright laws in the empire?

When I quickly explained the concept of a patent, the Crown Princess nodded as if she understood what I meant.

“That’s an interesting idea. First of all, there is no such registered trademark system in the empire.

However, the commercial court recognizes the exclusivity of trademarks and has even suspended sales of several novels and paintings on the grounds of unauthorized reproduction.”

Right. Is there a customary law that punishes plagiarism?

There was a reason why they desperately protested that they were not copying Funforge’s unique creation.

“First of all, the logic behind it is that a circular platform with a diameter of 3cm and an academy student model with a height of 5cm are not areas that Funforge can monopolize.”

“But.”

When I summarized the case, Cleo immediately countered.

“What about Phantom Thief Umbra?

This is too similar to Phantom Thief Ombre.”

“Certainly, the new factions announced at the social festival will be recognized for their uniqueness.

We could file a lawsuit against some of the models in the Prophecy Workshop. but… ”

The president’s sigh.

“ Secretary Macariel. The problem is that our company is not an imperial company.

I have no confidence that the imperial commercial court will fairly evaluate this complex and delicate lawsuit.”

“We have Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess.”

“It is difficult to view the presence of the Chairman as a strength, Cleo.”

Tangaroa nodded as if he agreed with what I said.

“Colman is right. If we put the chairman at the forefront, there is a risk that this case will become politically involved.”

After the fall of the Director of Intelligence, the conflict between the replacement faction and the maintenance faction entered a lull.

The kidnapping of the Crown Princess has not been made public, but rumors are secretly circulating.

The replacement faction is trying to protect themselves in a situation that may escalate into a state of public security.

In this situation, if the chairman steps forward and sues the prophecy group, it could give them an excuse to rally again.

“Should I leave it alone? ”

“First of all, the Prophecy Workshop model is banned from official game venues.

We also ask players to refrain from using unofficial models.”

“… ”

“Why are you saying that, Mr. Coleman? You’ve been in a somewhat passive mood since a while ago.”

“No. just… ”

The third-party model is a tricky one.

From the company’s perspective, it is obviously a parasite that steals ideas…

When looking at the industry as a whole, it has the positive effect of expanding choices for users and preventing a monopoly by one company.

Among mid-sized companies, there are many that started out as third-party model manufacturers, but once the company got off the ground, they created their own rules and became independent.

Of course, the new game created in this way may eat away at the pie of the romantic era, but it will also have the effect of increasing the pie of miniature games as a whole.

“Let’s do it like this. Ask them to take down models that are blatantly plagiarized, such as Phantom Thief Umbra, and then file a complaint if they don’t comply.

Also, unofficial models should be banned from official game venues, but I don’t think there’s a need to ask players to refrain from using them.”

“Well, you could actually make a rash by scratching it.”

“Hmm.”

Unlike the Funforge members who agreed with my opinion, Priestley did not seem to be trustworthy at all.

“Isn’t this a too light response?”

“Even without us urging, players will skip it on their own.”

“Too many models were discovered within the academy for that to be the case… ”

I nodded.

“Yes. that’s right. For a new company, it grew rapidly.

To the extent that it is difficult to treat it as a cheap counterfeit…

This is because the models in the Prophecy Workshop are not simply replacements for models from the romantic era, but characters with their own stories.”

The proof is these novels.

“In other words, if you take away the story, it will return to being a crude replica.”

“How?”

“Of course, you have to steal it from us this time, right?”

I tapped the booklet with my finger.

“The author who wrote this novel.”