episode_0043

“The situation seems to be more serious than I thought.”

An empty town.

Only the dried blood stains scattered here and there proved that there were people here.

Among the villages we encountered in the process of searching for missing people, five villages already greeted the group with scenes like this.

Not only Alex, the crown prince, but even Yustaf and Harun, who had experienced all the hardships of childbirth, could not hide their devastation.

“How on earth!!! How can you not know that something like this is happening within the empire?”

He bites his lip so hard that blood doesn’t flow, and a miserable voice comes out of his white, white mouth.

“This is a village where slash-and-burn farmers live, so information is bound to be late.”

The group, probably black magicians, persistently attacked the villages of slash-and-burn farmers.

No one was interested in the fate of the slash-and-burn farmers, most of whom fled because they could not endure the exploitation of the lord in the territory.

Those who did not pay taxes were not citizens of the empire.

Their existence itself was, in a way, a shame of the empire, so it was common to oppress the slash-and-burn people by claiming that they were a place where people who had committed crimes and escaped had gathered.

It was natural for evil people to target them to avoid being caught.

The crown prince, who belatedly understood what was going on, looked at the slash-and-burn village without saying anything for a while.

sunset time

Something redder than the sunset was clearly burning in the crown prince’s eyes.

“Obviously, if you’re going to do business near the capital, you can’t help but leave traces.”

Harun, who was watching this, mumbled alone out of guilt and frustration.

While tracking down the missing people, I was able to confirm that they were plotting something by using the slash-and-burn village as a sacrifice.

Crucially, I couldn’t figure out where and what was being prepared.

Considering the number of villages that disappeared, the work must have been carried out on a larger scale than expected, but there was not a single trace of it.

“Did it disappear into the sky or into the ground? How could there not be a trace?”

“Wait… bowels of the earth? Right, if they are plotting things underground, doesn’t it make sense that we didn’t find them?”

Both Yustaf and Harun shook their heads at Alex’s remarks while listening to Harun’s complaints.

“Your Majesty, the new Yeonseongjin Road described in the book should probably connect various points along the border of the capital.”

“But?”

“If we dig deep into the ground and prepare a fortress in each location, there is no way it would not go unnoticed, and it is a large-scale construction that even the empire cannot easily handle.”

Digging into the ground is never easy. Moreover, preparing such a large-scale Yeonseongjin was something that could only be done from the empire itself, so it was right to assume that it was impossible.

‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could freely go in and out of the ground?’

It wasn’t that Yustav didn’t think about going underground when no traces were found above ground, but he ruled it out because he thought it was too absurd.

If that were possible, it would be a tunnel snake, not a warlock.

A monster tunnel snake that spends its entire life digging underground.

The creature is said to roam freely under the ground like a sea snake swimming in the sea, but it is so rare and rarely comes to the surface that it was treated as a creature of legend.

‘But now that I think about it, I remember that among the dark magicians’ secret techniques was the secret art of controlling monsters… .’

At that moment, goosebumps appeared all over Yustaf’s body.

What if this organization is really a warlock organization and is controlling the tunnel snakes through their secret arts?

It was truly a perfect crime with no way of finding out until just before the incident occurred.

“Harun! I heard that the Alchemy Guild has detailed information on various monsters.”

“Yes, it is. But why is that?”

“Gun snake! I need data related to tunnel snakes!!!”

***

“Would Sena try to draw a line from here?”

“J… Me?”

I nodded.

However, Sena said she couldn’t do it and just trembled with the hand holding the pen and didn’t move.

“It’s okay. This isn’t an official manuscript anyway, it’s just a storyboard, so if something goes wrong, you can just draw it again.”

After hearing me say that it doesn’t matter if something goes wrong, Sena finally takes a deep breath and draws a line following the sketch I drew.

‘As expected, I wasn’t mistaken.’

I think painting is actually an area of natural talent.

Of course, it is possible to reach a certain level with practice, but what some people learn through practice, others often draw instinctively as soon as they pick up the pen.

Geniuses who instinctively use elements such as perspective, color combination, shading, and wrinkles when drawing.

Senna was such a genius.

It was by chance that I found out about this fact.

This morning, Ada was suddenly running excitedly through the hallway holding a piece of paper, so I checked something.

On that paper were Ada and Poppy… No, Lashu was drawn.

Ada is riding on a special cart like some kind of triumphal general, and Lasshu is pulling the cart with a tired expression.

‘Did I draw this picture in my sleep?’

Although there are some parts that are a bit clumsy, Ada’s lively expressions and poses are well done, and Lashu’s expression, which looks like he is dying like an office worker stuck in hell on his way home from work, was also excellent.

‘Sena draw this for me!’

Sena?

I immediately called Sena to check if she had really drawn the picture herself, and Sena cried because she thought she had done something wrong, but she quickly answered yes.

Although she had a hard time calming down Senna, who was nervous because she thought she had made a mistake, she soon found out that her skills were excellent.

‘This is a real talent. How can I draw something that I just sketched while maintaining my style?’

This was definitely not as easy a task as it looked. The poetry of published comics authors is usually classified into three levels.

The assistant in charge of most chores, such as adding screen tones or modifying them to white.

A background assistant is in charge of the background.

And the most skilled and talented Eosi takes on the role of completing the background line of the character chosen by the writer.

It is such an important role that it requires not only skill but also good sense.

I can’t believe I was able to do this on the first try.

“Sena, have you ever drawn a picture before?”

“… I just looked at Mr. Master’s children’s book and drew it a few times.”

Listening to Sena’s story, I suddenly remembered my childhood.

In fact, if you ask most cartoonists what prompted them to draw cartoons.

It often started out as a drawing based on something he saw when he was young.

When I was young, the main character in the comic book I first saw was so cool that I was scolded more than once for drawing it from my notes during school classes.

“Sena, this is absolutely not coercion, so you can do whatever you want, okay?”

“… Yes.”

I was afraid that Sena would be nervous, so I spoke slowly and acted as gently as possible.

Sena was still very scared.

‘I guess I’ll say it’s okay to suggest anything at this point.’

I don’t know what to do after dealing with troublemakers like Ada all the time and then dealing with a girl who is like a scared puppy.

“Sena, when you are worried about something, you should do it for yourself, not for others. Of course, when you become an adult, there are times when you prioritize others over yourself, but it is not too late to do that later.”

He said, lightly stroking Sena’s hair.

“Is it for me?”

“Yes, to put it more simply, you can think that the whole world exists for you, just like Ada.”

Isn’t that the privilege of children?

The youngest in our family enjoys it so much that it’s a shame.

It was only then that his tightly clenched and trembling hands loosened as if he had relaxed at my words.

“I want you to help me with my drawing. But that’s not compulsory, you can do what you want.”

“… I want to do it. I like Mr. Master’s drawings. I want to draw a picture like that too!”

I was happy with Sena’s answer. I never thought that such a talented person would appear when I was having more difficulties than I expected while looking for an assistant to help me with my drawings.

Although it was only a short period of time, we already confirmed that he has a good personality while staying with him, and his family and Krun also work at our workshop.

Sena also became my assistant and there was nothing bad about it.

Of course, there will be a lot of things to teach at first, but after a certain period of time, work efficiency will increase incomparably compared to now, so it is well worth the investment.

‘If it’s still a pity, it’s probably impossible to follow my pace since he’s still a child.’

Still, I’m not so bad as to abuse a 12-year-old child.

Perhaps teaching tasks for 1 to 2 hours will be the end for the time being?

Still, I raised a toast in my heart, wondering where someone who could help me with the work had appeared.

Now I feel like I can afford to sleep for about 4 hours a day.

***

“What is it? Sena, can’t you play with Ada anymore?”

“No, lady. Except when you’re working, we’ll be together like we are now.”

Despite Sena’s words, Ada’s puffy cheeks did not seem to go away.

Senna was a precious playmate for Ada, who was disappointed to have no peers after the nobles of the surrounding estates banned their daughters from entering the Somerset family.

“Ada, I want to draw with you!”

This could not be accomplished because Ada, who already had numerous convictions for ruining manuscripts while offering to help with work, was banned from entering the studio.

Sena had a hard time comforting Ada, but her heart was so filled with joy that she didn’t even know it was difficult.

-The whole world exists for you, Sena.

The image of Rupert talking to himself while looking at him.

In fact, when Senna first saw Rupert, she was so shocked that she was speechless.

‘You look just like the prince from The Little Mermaid!’

The author of the children’s book you enjoyed reading has a face that looks exactly like the main character of the book.

When Rupert sees the picture he drew, instead of scolding him, he praises him a lot and asks if he will help him.

I decided that I had to do it no matter what.

Unlike other noble nobles, it was an unbelievable luck to be able to help Rupert with his work, who treated him no differently than his younger sister Ada and drew his favorite children’s books and comic books.

‘It’s a good opportunity to return the favor!’

Senna was worried about how she would repay Rupert for his kindness in taking her family and giving them a much better life and letting her friend Kroon do what he wanted to do.

I decided to help Rupert with his work with a desperate determination, thinking that I could repay him even a little by helping with this work.

However, the craftsmen in the workshop who were looking at his choice said no! He shouted and let out an indecipherable scream telling him to run away immediately.