episode_0093
by fnovelpiaIs there any man who hasn’t picked up a stick and swung it around as a child?
There was a time when every man imagined himself as a legendary hero who defeated a dragon.
To that extent, the sword was a material that could not help but be attractive to men.
“Wow… That’s so cool, a sword with rising flames.”
“The lines he spits out after defeating the vampires are so good I want to use them!”
“That’s it?”
『“Shut up, you guys are just dog food.”
The three vampires that had been threatening the boy rushed at the man, screaming, but he only took a deep breath.
With just one swing of the flaming sword, the vampires were torn into pieces, and the pieces that fell to the ground immediately burst into flames.
To the people of the empire, the vampires that appear in Van Helsing were monsters closer to beings from legend.
A being that only appears in stories, long gone and with no trace left.
Now, I find it interesting to see in cartoons the creatures that parents used to bring out when their children didn’t listen or when they wanted to scare them.
The sight of the fallen elves, with their pale skin and protruding fangs, was monstrous yet fascinating.
Moreover, the sight of it approaching the protagonist without caring even if its stomach was pierced was terrifying in itself.
The mysterious man who dealt with those vampires in an instant could only be described as cool.
“Now that the protagonist has followed that man, he will definitely become stronger, right?”
“What are you talking about? I joined that organization called Van Helsing!”
“Ah! It’s so short, I can’t wait to see the next episode!!!”
Of course it was good that various works were published, but people were very disappointed by the obviously smaller volume compared to when they were published as a single volume.
“But ‘that work’ was really brutal.”
“Are you talking about the Count of Monte Cristo?”
“I don’t know who the author is, but that noble guy in that cartoon is really vicious.”
It was only natural that Rupert’s work, Van Helsing, became a hot topic.
However, it was not easy to predict that the next work to become a hot topic would be Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.
This happened because people could easily sympathize with the situation of the protagonist of , who suffered a truly unfortunate end.
Since the vast majority of readers of the comics were commoners, they could not hide their anger towards the noble ‘Fernand’ group that appeared as villains.
“What happens if you try? The lord is the judge.”
“If the nobles kill us, they’ll pay a fine, but if we hurt even one finger of a noble, we’ll be sent to jail at the very least.”
“Last time, a woman in our village couldn’t stand the scheming of a noble bastard and ran away in the middle of the night!”
Since the distinction between social classes was clear, it was only natural that there were no people who did not suffer under the aristocracy, even if they did not go as far as ruin, like the protagonist in The Count of Monte Cristo.
What’s interesting is that while it was natural for there to be a supportive response from the commoners, opinions were divided even among the nobles, with some responding positively.
“Nobles should feel a sense of responsibility as they are noble!”
They were mostly new nobles who had become nobles through the last war or through meritorious deeds.
Although they were clearly nobles, they were ostracized by their fellow nobles and were dissatisfied with the existing nobles.
“Huh, what difference are they from the common people when they don’t even have history?”
“That’s right. They are shallow people who don’t know manners or etiquette.”
“You are a noble, but you are engaged in commerce. You have no shame and get along well with commoners.”
Most of the new nobles were people who had become nobles in their own generation or in the previous generation, so they were quite capable.
However, regardless of their abilities, they could not help but feel resentful because the existing nobles often used their connections and accumulated family wealth to hinder or ignore them.
When they saw it, the villainous nobles in The Count of Monte Cristo were exactly like the existing nobles, so they were the first to criticize them.
“Damn it! Is it right to produce works like this?”
“After receiving the royal favor, it seems the Somerset family is nowhere to be seen!”
“Isn’t it obvious that one drop of our blood is more valuable than the lives of dozens of those insolent things?”
Among those who read Manafia were quite a few nobles, and many of them were outraged by Dumas’s work, which portrayed the nobles as unscrupulous villains.
It was an annoying situation, with not only commoners but even the new nobles flocking in like wildcats smelling blood, thinking it was an opportunity.
If Rupert had been a commoner or even an ordinary nobleman, he might have been in big trouble with the already angry nobles, so their anger was great.
But no one was bold enough to do anything to Rupert, who was already known to be favored by the royal family.
There were rumors that he was close not only to the imperial family but also to the Duke of Bluewell, the highest noble family in the empire, and that Yuren was behind Somerset.
In terms of power and wealth, most nobles were already unable to stand up to Somerset.
“Then we have no choice but to go the proper way.”
“The right way?”
“You need to gradually gather opinions from the nobles and bring up the topic at the royal meeting.”
That’s why the angry nobles chose a roundabout route rather than openly attacking Somerset.
“Comics! Let’s form a group to ban this filthy stuff!”
“Good idea! If we create a group and grow our power, the royal family won’t be able to ignore us.”
“How about the name ‘Imperial Parents’ Association’ to protect the boys and girls of the empire from comic books?”
Under the leadership of some nobles, an organization with a long name called the Imperial Parents’ Association was born.
***
“Is this a new script?”
“Yes, of course I changed it suddenly, but I thought this was a better story.”
Even while the chaos was going on outside, Rupert went to work at the Academy, gave lectures, and supervised club activities.
After spending the weekend with the students, Rupert started reading right away after hearing that they wanted to change the story with a new script.
‘This is amazing.’
In fact, Rupert didn’t attach much importance to the works produced by the cartoon club.
Since the role was to showcase a prototype of an animation projector anyway, the only thing they had to do was check whether the images moved well rather than whether the script was complete.
The new script written by the club members came as a shock to Rupert.
‘The Bremen Town Musicians!’
As I read the script, which was almost identical to one of the Brothers Grimm’s representative fairy tales depicting animal adventures, I found myself reproaching myself for not having thought of it.
‘The story isn’t too long, and adding music feels natural.’
Besides, it was more appropriate to show the beginning of animation with animals moving rather than people moving.
“This is really good!”
The members’ expressions brightened immediately at Rupert’s reaction after reading the script.
Of course, they had more work to do, but they thought the current script was better and wanted to make it with this one.
They were worried that Rupert might say no due to time or script issues, but they started working again, laughing and chatting as if they had never worried.
“Did Adrian write this script himself?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Rupert saw Adrian again, who was in charge of the script at the club.
Frankly, none of the works he wrote before aroused much interest.
It’s not that I couldn’t write it, but I didn’t pay much attention to it because it was close to ordinary article literature with an ordinary structure.
But when he found out that he could write such a script, Rupert suddenly became greedy.
‘I wish there was someone who could write a script like this.’
It wasn’t that I wanted to make him draw cartoons, but rather that I thought he would do well if I made him an editor.
Rupert was already publishing a comic magazine and was in charge of editing not only his own work but also that of other writers.
I wanted to develop talent to help me with my work.
but,
‘Oh my, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go to the royal family of another country.’
Any noble family would have tried it, but he quickly gave up on raising Adrian, the prince of Sylvania, as an editor because it seemed impossible.
“Professor.”
Someone called over Rupert, who was briefly chatting with Adrian about the script and giving advice on editing direction.
“Uh… Yes, Mr. Edric, what’s going on?”
Rupert, still awkward with the title of Edric, answers his question.
Edric said with a slightly puzzled expression.
“Do you have a secret bodyguard from your family?”
“No, there is no separate escort.”
Edric’s eyes sharpened at Rupert’s answer.
***
“Ugh!”
Ada, who lets out a roar and moves with agility that is hard to believe comes from her small body.
“Excellent, Miss!”
Alain, who was watching it, let out an exclamation of delight.
Ada absorbed the body techniques that Alain had taught her like a sponge absorbing water.
I only taught her the most basic martial arts, starting with how to balance her body using only the tips of one toe, but Ada’s hand and footwork as she performed it were imbued with a solemn prayer.
‘Does that mean Somerset’s blood is in your veins?’
Alain felt like he was about to burst into tears.
Both the current head of the family, Earl Bradley, and his successor, Rupert, were men with little martial arts experience.
Rather, because it was close to the body, I never even dared to pass on the vision until now.
Richard, the eldest son who had the slightest chance of succeeding, had gone missing, and he thought that the vision of the Somerset family would have to be buried in darkness.
‘I will defeat Oun!’
But Alain suddenly receives a request from Ada to make him stronger.
Alain had only tried to teach Ada simple self-defense techniques, half as a joke and half as dangerous as the previous attack, when she had come with the goal of destroying Own.
But seeing Ada do as she was taught in an amazing way gave me hope again.
He said he had found a successor to carry on the vision passed down from Somerset’s ancestors.
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