episode_0071

This year’s Imperial Academy has attracted a lot of attention for its groundbreaking stories.

Originally, every year when the academy entrance period came around, there was a lot of talk about the students entering that year.

The appearances of the new students entering school this year were so spectacular that they attracted more attention than usual.

First of all, the most famous person is Edric Bell, the third prince of the empire and the swordsman who said he was the best disciple he had ever taught.

Until recently, there were rumors that he would be a strong candidate to become the crown prince instead of the current crown prince.

Among the students entering this year, he was the one who stood out the most.

Of course, with the Crown Prince’s status and popularity skyrocketing recently, such talk has fallen into disuse.

Next, let’s pick out the most famous one: Amelia Bluewell, the successor to the Bluewell family, the most noble family in the empire.

Known to have a great talent, especially in magic, she was the second most popular person after the crown prince.

In addition, the successor of the Northern Count ‘Prius’ also entered the school, attracting much attention.

The second prince of the Kingdom of Sylvania, who had been at war only a few years ago, also decided to enroll, and rumors about him abounded.

Although the war had ended, the emotional rift between the two countries still ran deep, and in particular, the Kingdom of Sylvania, which suffered much greater damage from the preemptive attack, could never have good feelings toward the Empire.

Sending a prince with a high rank in the line of succession, the Second Prince, under the pretext of studying abroad.

Some say that the last war ended with a hostage contract, while others say that the first prince exiled his younger brother because he thought he was a political threat.

With such a splendid lineup of freshmen, there was often talk that this would be the greatest academy class ever.

“Did you hear about the Academy of Fine Arts?”

“Oh, that rumor?”

Also, people’s interest wasn’t just focused on freshmen.

Since the Imperial Academy’s faculty was famous for being comprised of the best in each field, there was a lot of interest in the professors.

Starting with the legendary wizard Yustav Heindel as headmaster, every single one of the faculty members was a leading figure in their respective fields within the Empire.

But among the professors at the Imperial Academy, there was one who was particularly talked about.

It was Rupert Somerset, the new professor at the Department of Fine Arts.

“Is the author a new art professor?”

“Be careful what you say. After all, you are a professor now, so if you say anything carelessly, you will get in trouble.”

“That’s ridiculous. Someone younger than me is a professor.”

At 17, you would normally be entering the academy as a freshman.

However, the news that he was hired as a professor rather than a freshman at such a young age was certainly not only surprising, but also an unconventional appointment.

Of course, there were those who were dissatisfied and questioned such an unconventional appointment, but no one directly objected to the appointment recommended by Eustace, endorsed by the Crown Prince, and approved by the Emperor.

And Rupert, who is at the center of the conversation, is sitting in a corner of the auditorium podium, quietly watching the entrance ceremony.

The headmaster, Yustav, was welcoming the new students and giving an introduction to the academy. The new students listened with bright eyes while the current students listened with bored looks.

Although they were all talented people of the empire, I didn’t see any students blatantly doing something else, but I did see a few nodding off.

To the freshmen, Yustav might have been a legendary wizard from a novel, but to the current students, he was just a bearded old man.

“Now, it’s time to introduce the professors who will be teaching you this year.”

Following Yustav’s words, the professors from the Military Science Department came out one by one and briefly introduced themselves.

And when it was the art department’s turn, the students who had been clapping their hands halfheartedly changed their expressions.

It was the turn of Rupert, the new professor at the Department of Fine Arts who was the center of attention.

Even the students who had been looking indifferent sat up straight and waited for Rupert’s turn, concentrating as if to look at his handsome face.

And finally, when his turn came, Rupert Somerset walked out slowly.

He must have known that everyone’s attention was focused on him, but there was a slight commotion at his attitude, which seemed to be lethargic without any change in expression.

‘Tch, what luck that kid got.’

‘Does receiving royal protection mean there is no hierarchy?’

‘He’s just a successor to a so-so family, so arrogant.’

In fact, the process of Rupert Somerset’s appointment itself was controversial. No, rather than being controversial, there were many people who found it difficult to accept.

Even though he is famous for selling children’s books and comic books and has great skills, he is a professor who is the same age as the freshmen.

The students felt quite humiliated having to learn from someone younger than them.

They are confident in their skills and talents, as being a student at the Academy itself guarantees that they are among the best talents in the Empire.

It was an area that was difficult for a 17-year-old professor to accept.

Unlike other departments where he is not directly involved, the students in the Department of Arts, who have to receive instruction from him, are in an even worse situation.

As everyone was looking at him with such disapproving eyes, Rupert, standing in the middle of the podium, finally opened his mouth.

“I have a dream.”

People began to focus on the unexpected start of the greeting, wondering what was going on.

“People still don’t know exactly what a picture is, so they ask why you need a picture when you have a photograph.”

Everyone, from the students sitting in Rupert’s chair to the faculty, agreed. It was true that no matter how hard you tried to draw a picture, it could never be more elaborate than a photograph.

“A picture is a natural color photograph created by countless irrational imaginations.”

-Learning how to draw is like learning how to see things accurately. It involves more than just what you see.

There was confidence in Rupert’s expression as he continued to speak, and his words had a magical power that somehow made the listener focus.

Now the murmur among the students had died down, and everyone was waiting for his next words.

“I have a dream. A dream that I can create a moment where everyone on the continent can become one, through the cartoons I draw, and beyond cartoons.”

Rupert’s words seem absurd at first glance.

But he paused for a moment and then continued speaking.

“I have a dream. That pictures can be used not only for fairy tales or cartoons, but also for other ways to express things for people.”

Rupert continued speaking again.

“I have a dream. A dream that in the near future, I can create all of these things together with the students of the Imperial Academy here.”

When Rupert finally finished speaking, the people stopped their rapt attention.

“I can promise you one thing. I will give those who take this art class a new experience they have never had before.”

What is it that goes beyond the ordinary comics and can unite the people of the continent? Something new and unprecedented.

The same question arose in the minds of those gathered in the auditorium.

“That’s all. I’ll explain the rest in the lecture.”

Rupert finished his greeting and returned to his seat, as if he had no intention of telling me more.

After that, the remaining professors introduced themselves, but the entrance ceremony ended with a first impression so strong that I can’t even remember it.

***

“That’s great. Even if you were a merchant, you would have definitely been successful.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to try it out first. The more people who can pick it, the better.”

Rupert’s professor’s office located within the academy.

It was a fairly spacious and well-located place for a new professor, perhaps because Yustav had put some effort into it.

Rupert, who made the entrance ceremony his own, had a leisurely cup of tea and chat with Esteban.

The topic was, of course, the entrance ceremony self-introduction.

I thought the response would be good because Rupert had prepared a great self-introduction using quotes he had heard on Earth that he remembered.

The response was beyond expectations.

As soon as the entrance ceremony was over, Eustace called Rupert to the principal’s office and had tea with him, praising him for his impressive introduction.

“It is certainly not easy to secure the talent we need through specialized lectures alone, so we need to gather as many students as possible through liberal arts lectures.”

Rupert and Esteban weren’t doing this simply for attention.

Everything was just groundwork for the animation business.

The only classes Rupert will be teaching are the Department of Fine Arts’ major classes and general education classes.

Since it’s a major course that all art majors have to take, I’ll leave it out.

There was a need to somehow attract students to the general education courses that other departments could also take.

Unlike the liberal arts subjects that most students take, Rupert’s liberal arts subject, ‘Understanding Art’, was a subject that even art students did not take.

If things continued this way, there was a high possibility that one of the purposes of coming to the academy, which was to acquire talent, would go down the drain.

Since there was already a lot of talk about Rupert’s qualifications as a professor, it was obvious that no one would come to listen to his liberal arts lectures.

I needed to make a strong impression during my self-introduction at this entrance ceremony.

Excluding major courses, liberal arts courses are freely available for students to attend and choose from for a week starting from the day after the entrance ceremony.

All I could hope was that after hearing Rupert’s energetic introduction, many students would come and visit.

“The projector that the Lord mentioned is currently being studied at the Magic Tower.”

“Really? Then there’s a possibility.”

Of course, talent was the most important factor, but technology had to be supported to run the animation business.

The most essential item among them is the ‘projector’.

There are many different types of modern projectors as devices for projecting images onto a screen, but what Rupert was trying to make was a film-format projector.

A classic type of projector that shines light on a film and uses a shutter to operate it to produce an image.

Of course, it had many shortcomings compared to modern playback devices, but it was sufficient to show animations.

‘I never thought I’d be able to use what I learned in college.’

Rupert, who was learning in college, used to lament, saying that he didn’t know why he was learning this since he was neither a director nor an amateur.

I realized once again that it is not a lie that if you learn something, you will use it someday.

Of course, I couldn’t even imagine that it would be another world.

“The film is being developed by Krun with the craftsmen, but it seems to be more difficult than expected.”

“Even though I heard the explanation from the master, I still don’t quite understand what it is.”

In fact, there were still many difficulties.

Since Rupert did not know all the modern knowledge, there were many objects for which he could only present the prototypes and could not properly explain the principles.

Film was a representative example.

Celluloid is made by mixing nitrocellulose, a chemical substance, with a special tree-derived substance called camphor.

The film was completed only after silver was applied as a photosensitive element and covered with gelatin.

It was a miracle that Rupert remembered this, but unfortunately he had no idea how to make the ingredients he mentioned.

Now, the craftsmen of the workshop, including Krun, were hanging out there every day conducting research.

Especially since the chemical elements were difficult for them, they asked for help from the Alchemy Guild and received support.

Rupert was told that things were getting better little by little, but that there were still many obstacles left, so he emptied his mind and waited slowly.

Since the plan was impossible without manpower anyway, there was no need to rush it.

“By the way, I heard you’ve already started working on the storyboards for volumes 9 and 10?”

“Yes, I will have no free time once the semester starts in earnest, so I will try to make it as soon as possible while I still have time.”

“It’s a shame, the Iron-Blooded Alchemist is ending. As a loyal reader, I feel very sad, but I can’t even imagine how other people feel.”

“Don’t worry. You probably won’t have time to think about that when you see the next work.”

Esteban couldn’t help but look forward to Rupert’s boast.

Even in the case of , the content and structure were truly astonishing.

I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of work he was considering as a sequel to make him so confident.

Rupert, who hasn’t even mentioned anything about his next work yet, only tells us to prepare to expand the goods factory and store.

Esteban, half in doubt, did as he was told and prepared the craftsmen and store papers.