episode_0164

“What on earth is beyond the Eastern Continent?”

Lambus muttered as he looked at the continental map spread out on the desk.

He was deeply impressed after reading , which was recently serialized in Manapia.

For Lambus, who was born and raised in the East, the sea was a familiar place.

Since his father was a fisherman, he would follow his father into the sea to catch fish. Every time he did, he would look at the endless horizon and wonder what was beyond it.

‘Don’t think of useless things. Why would you, a merchant, go over there?’

When Lambus wanted to sail endlessly towards the horizon, his father firmly told him that this was absolutely not possible.

That’s understandable, because the sea is a place where you can lose your life if you experience sudden weather changes, even if you’re traveling in familiar waters.

Moreover, in an unknown territory, it is almost a miracle not to get lost.

There was no need to go far away since there was no way to catch more fish.

“They said that even those who went to the Eastern Continent couldn’t go beyond that.”

But after reading “The Great Passage,” Lamberth was so impressed that he no longer wanted to hide his sense of adventure.

“If you want to go beyond the Eastern Continent, just sail in the opposite direction!”

The western route, still an unknown route.

There were merchant ships traveling to and from the Eastern Continent, whose existence had been revealed, but the West was an area that no one sailed because nothing had been discovered there.

There were various claims, from those that the world created by the goddess Gaia was flat to those that it was round, but Lambus believed in the latter.

‘If you look at the constellations, you can see that the Earth is definitely a round sphere.’

Anyone who worked at sea could distinguish the constellations in the night sky according to the season.

By observing the positions of the constellations that moved slightly with the seasons, Lamberth became convinced that the Earth was round.

That’s why he’s always insisted that in order to get to the other side of the Eastern Continent, you have to head west, but no one believed him.

but,

Rumors that there might be something hidden in Rupert’s new work, , have led to investors wanting to support the voyage.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Lambus.

‘I will be the first to reach the end of the world!’

Lamberth left home, carrying a map of the continent and the movements of the constellations he had so far charted according to the seasons.

Just one person.

With the hope that if just one person believed his words, he could set sail.

***

An important meeting was being held on the continent of Sylvania, with all kingdoms except the Empire gathering together.

This conference, also known as the Council of the Kingdoms, was a very historic conference that had been held for hundreds of years.

Those in attendance were also ministers, royals, or important nobles from each country, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the situation on the continent was swayed by those gathered here.

“Long time no see, Prime Minister Knaksunamun.”

“It’s been a while, Duke Hale.”

A banquet held before the full-scale meeting.

This time, the place where the Federation of Kingdoms conference was held was none other than the desert kingdom of Aramen.

“Aramen is a place I feel like I come here every time, but it seems to have a truly unique atmosphere.”

Duke Hale spoke as he looked at the dancers in flowing clothes dancing on the stage set up in the banquet hall.

“Aramen is located in the desert, so it developed its own unique culture.”

Knaksunamun responding to Duke Hale’s words.

Duke Hale, however, has visited the Kingdom of Aramen several times, so he has some tolerance.

Some of those who came for the first time were already completely absorbed in the experience.

‘There are nobles who visit Aramen periodically because of this.’

Duke Hale looked at them in a daze, and felt a renewed sense of wariness in his heart.

The dancing dancers and the incense smoke that seemed to be walking through the fog somehow made people feel relaxed.

That’s why diplomats visiting Aramen had to be constantly taught not to get carried away by the atmosphere.

“I’d like to briefly discuss the agenda for today’s meeting. Is that okay?”

“We will take you to a separate room.”

Knaksunamun went with Duke Hale of the Kingdom of Ravas to the private room prepared by him.

‘Maybe that’s why.’

Duke Hale, a seasoned nobleman who has been through a lot, would not want to talk to him without a good reason.

I was thinking that perhaps it was because of the problem that Knaksunamun was currently struggling with.

chin.

“This is the most popular item in our Kingdom of Ravas these days.”

As soon as he arrived at the private room and sat down, Duke Hale took out a book from his bosom.

The cover of the book he took out had “The Iron-Blooded Alchemist” written on it.

“It’s still slow.”

“What do you mean?”

chin.

When Knaksunamun saw that, he took out a book from his bosom.

Knaksunamun, who had taken out what he had wanted to show everyone in the conference room early, continued speaking.

“Card games are all the rage in our kingdom right now.”

“What?”

What Knaksunamun took out was none other than a copy of .

Even in the Empire, a relatively new work has already been imported to the Kingdom of Aramen and is enjoying great success.

‘Doesn’t this look just like our kingdom?’

‘That’s what I mean! Starting with this symbol, look at the Thousand Items! These are things you would only see in our Kingdom of Aramen.’

‘Wow… Even though he is an imperial writer, he expressed the culture of our Aramen Kingdom so beautifully. I can’t stand it!’

Even before that, Rupert’s children’s books and comic books were gradually becoming popular.

At that time, we didn’t talk about the work openly.

No matter how good the work was, people hushed it up because it was from the enemy Borus Empire.

broke even that trend in one fell swoop.

Although it was a coincidence, people felt a strange sense of pride when they saw the work that seemed to be modeled after the culture of their own country, Aramen.

especially,

‘Aramen? You mean those desert savages?’

‘Those authors are all dressed in strange attire and are full of lewd people!’

‘What’s so great about a place that’s nothing but sand?’

Because it was located in the desert, there was little interaction with other countries, so Aramen’s image on the continent was not very good.

The people of Aramen were secretly dissatisfied with the fact that some people’s words were spread through distortion and they were soon framed as a barbaric nation.

However, I couldn’t help but like because it was so beautifully expressed that it seemed like this was the proper culture of Aramen!

The repercussions only grew because they felt that their culture was favored in the empire that was the best on the continent, not anywhere else.

‘This is the official merchandise sold at the Imperial Somerset Goods Shop!’

Starting with the comic book, all the goods including card packs started selling like hotcakes.

Among them, card games were already popular in the Empire, if not even more so than in the Empire.

‘I went to the Borus Empire to watch the last official competition.’

‘You too?’

There were quite a few people who went to watch the official tournament held in the empire last time, so its popularity was beyond words.

It was a headache for Knaksunamun that those who normally would not even look at imperial items were gradually becoming interested in imperial items.

“I thought it was only our side. Aramen was the same.”

“Is card gaming popular in the Kingdom of Rabas too?”

“No, we’re into alchemy.”

The situation in the Kingdom of Ravas was not much different.

The most popular game in the Kingdom of Ravas right now is .

‘They say the Empire has a perfect golem that can replace an arm if it’s lost!’

‘That’s not all! Look at the Yeonseongjins that appear in this cartoon. They are way ahead of us.’

‘If I learn alchemy, can I become like that?’

At first, Duke Hale did not impose any sanctions on books, wondering what effect they would have.

However, the changes of those who accepted the new culture quickly soaked the Kingdom of Rabas like a summer shower.

If it had simply ended as a fad in fairy tales or comic books, we wouldn’t have been so worried, but the problem was serious in that the number of people who admired the culture of the empire was increasing.

‘The only books in our kingdom are chivalric literature.’

‘Why are comics like that only in the Empire?’

‘It’s not called an empire for nothing. It seems to be ahead in every aspect.’

especially,

“I feel like slapping all these noble bastards in the face!”

“I agree with you, Your Majesty.”

They both sighed at the same time.

“The nobles may not be able to set an example, but they are proud of being the first to accept the empire’s culture… .”

“And that’s not all! Have you seen the appearance of those gathered at this meeting?”

Knaksunamun recalled the conversation among the nobles who had gathered at the banquet hall earlier.

‘Do you know what this is?’

‘Is that a book you’ve never seen before? Was there something like that in the Somerset Fairy Tales?’

‘This is a Pinocchio fairy tale book that was sold as a limited edition even in the empire.’

‘What? That’s something that even the imperial nobles have a hard time obtaining. How can you do that?’

‘I did spend some money. But it was a miracle that I was able to get it, so I guess it’s not a waste.’

Even among those who came to the conference hall to confront the Empire, there are those who boast of having procured Empire goods.

The upper classes of each country who saw it also imitated the behavior of the nobles.

‘I heard that these days, in aristocratic society, conversations cannot proceed without items from Somerset’s workshop.’

‘We have plenty of money!’

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Knaksunamun included a ban on the import of imperial goods in the agenda for this meeting.

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be many who would agree with it.

“Is it already irreversible?”

The sighs of Knaxnamun and Duke Hale in the separate room deepened.

This was because they intuitively felt that it was now too late to stop the imperial culture that had spread faster than they had predicted.

‘Even if it’s fast, the propagation speed is too fast… .’

It was a strong feeling that there was something there that even I couldn’t figure out.