episode_0165

“I’m glad the response is good.”

“Thank you, if it weren’t for His Majesty William, I wouldn’t have succeeded this quickly.”

Somerset Manor is a place that anyone who loves comics would want to visit at least once.

Not only was there a workshop that made books and printed goods, but the goods given to visitors as souvenirs were something that many people wanted to have.

That’s why there were so many nobles who wanted to be invited to Somerset Manor, so Somerset’s drawing room was never empty.

Even though they filter out all the important people and only welcome important guests.

But the guest who came today was someone so important that he had to make an appointment to be invited to the reception room.

“We are proud to say that our overseas information network is no less than the imperial information network.”

“I can’t guarantee anything since I don’t know the Imperial Intelligence Service, but the information you gave me this time seemed like a truly precious treasure.”

The person Rupert personally welcomed to the reception room and was drinking tea with was none other than Prince William.

‘I heard you received a task from His Majesty this time?’

It all started when Prince Lee, who could not have been unaware of what had happened in front of the palace, went to see Rupert first and spoke to him.

‘The Kingdom of Sylvania has set its hands aside.’

Prince William advised Rupert, who had to advance overseas, on how to conquer each country.

‘In the case of the Kingdom of Aramen, they are ostracized by other countries, so in return, they have a strong sense of pride in their country.’

William recommended that the main work be selected as when exporting to the Kingdom of Aramen.

Not only that, he even mobilized his own sources to spread the rumor.

‘There’s a rumor that the King of Cards was set in the Kingdom of Aramen?’

‘The Empire is bad, but aren’t comics innocent?’

‘I heard that these days, if you can’t play card games, you won’t be accepted by young people.’

As a result, Operation Cultural Invasion was able to achieve results much faster than Rupert and Esteban had expected.

likewise,

‘I recommend the Iron-Blooded Alchemist to the Kingdom of Rabas. It is a kingdom with a high interest in alchemy, so much so that it is called the holy land of alchemists.’

Thanks to William, who provided information on which works would do well in each of the continent’s major kingdoms, export sales were skyrocketing.

“When conquering each country, it was important to always prioritize the nobles.”

“That’s right. It’s funny, but even in our empire, if there’s even a rumor that the Seven Noble Families are using something, sales of that item often skyrocket.”

William gave Rupert a list of high-ranking nobles from each country, especially those with key influence, and recommended that he send them gifts.

If you look at the cultural flow of this world, what was popular among the noble class spread to the merchant class and finally to the commoners.

William’s prediction that if he sent it as a gift to influential people among the nobility, they would promote it on their own turned out to be just as he had hoped.

“This is not a return, but a small gift prepared with a grateful heart.”

“What is this?”

William’s eyes widened slightly as he opened the small pouch Rupert had handed him, but quickly returned to their original size.

The thing that caused this kind of reaction in William, who usually had a non-changing expression unless something really happened, was the card.

“I still can’t forget the great performance you showed us at the last competition.”

“Is that so? Hahaha, I still can’t forget losing to your little brother.”

A custom gift for William, who loves the card game so much that he participates in card competitions.

Born into royalty and raised surrounded by all sorts of precious treasures, William had little interest in material things.

What he wanted were things that could not be seen with the eyes, such as the human heart or the safety of the empire.

Even for William, these cards were strange objects that aroused a strange sense of possessiveness.

“You may not know it, but your comics mean a lot to me.”

“Is that so?”

William nods to Rupert’s question.

“I used to think that I had to take something from someone else to get what I wanted.”

He had previously hated, if not detested, those who said that problems should be solved through peace and dialogue.

“But these days, I think I was wrong.”

At first, I didn’t understand my brothers who were so engrossed in storybooks and comic books that they talked about them all day long.

‘Don’t you have any comics to watch?’

‘You’re wasting half your life, brother.’

‘How can a young man not know that I, an old man, am seeing this?’

He opened the comic book to get a grasp of it because he had been nagging at people around him about it, and it gave him a great shock.

In particular, had a special meaning to him.

The protagonist who gives his all and fights his opponent with all his heart.

In the process, some people may use dirty methods or violence, but in the end, it is one’s own skills that determine the outcome.

That was something William really liked.

That means you can win without harming or threatening anyone.

This is a world where strategies become tactics and psychological warfare, once considered sinister, becomes skill.

“These days, I often visit bars and salons in the capital.”

His new hobby was playing card games with strangers under a secret identity.

Because I always lived hiding my true feelings, I thought others were the same as me, but the world was different.

William was beginning to realize that if you approach someone with sincerity, the other person will approach you with sincerity in return.

“I think this is a thank you for teaching me something new.”

William said, getting up from the living room sofa and picking up his clothes.

“Are you going to leave already?”

“Even though I’ve been here, I still have a lot of work to do.”

Rupert tried to dissuade him out of politeness, but William opened the door and went out.

‘I think I understand now why you fell so deeply in love with Somerset.’

As William left Somerset Manor, which was confusingly either a factory or a mansion, he recalled his brother scolding him for a long time after the card competition.

‘Are you really trying to win against a child now that you’re an adult?’

It was his brother who would scold him as if he had grabbed him by the collar if he had won.

Of course, William ignored his brother’s words, but he understood his brother’s feelings a little.

“Aedara… She was a cute little girl.”

William sometimes reminded me of Ada, who had a ghostly skill at cards that could beat him, but who acted like a child of her age.

“I wanted to see your face while I was here, but it’s too bad you’re out.”

William was a little disappointed when he heard that Ada had gone out to play early in the morning when he said he wanted to meet her.

I was curious about what he was doing, since he said he would only come back around sunset once he went out.

***

“Why doesn’t your nose grow?”

“… .”

Ada was inside the mansion when William left.

However, she was secretly hiding in Krun’s personal workshop, so no one knew she was there.

-Preventing thieves? We don’t need magic circles or anything! Our dwarven locks can never be opened without a special key!

Click.

Ada used the techniques she learned from Alain to open the door to Krun’s workshop and sneak in to play sometimes.

Even though Rupert would be scolded for entering a place full of dangerous things if he found out, Krun’s workshop, which was full of mysterious things, was one of the secret places that Ada could not give up.

“Look at this! This is Pinocchio!”

And Ada recently discovered something curious in Krun’s workshop.

It was a strange doll that looked like a person.

Ada screamed in surprise when she first saw it, but soon realized that it wasn’t a real person and just watched.

But the doll that resembled this person actually moved.

“… .”

A doll that clearly recognizes Ada and moves its arms and legs, although it doesn’t seem to be able to speak yet.

Ada, who couldn’t pass up this amazing doll, has been secretly coming here to spend time with the doll when Krune goes out to work.

“Boom!”

Thanks to Ratch, who had been walking less, and keeping an eye out for Krun, it was Ada’s secret that had not been discovered yet.

Today, Ada brought her favorite storybook, , and showed it to her doll.

“Pinocchio’s nose grows when he tells a lie! I wish Ada’s nose grew too.”

“… .”

The doll tilted its head as if it understood Ada’s words.

It was as if he was asking why that was so.

“If your nose grows, you can poke your ears with it!”

Ada seemed delighted just imagining Own jumping around, pricked by her pointed nose.

“… .”

Ada, lost in her imagination, and the doll’s gaze were again turned to the Pinocchio storybook that Ada was showing them.

Ada didn’t know, but the doll was learning everything right now.

A doll that can’t make sounds yet, but thanks to Ada who comes to see her every day and talks to her, she’s starting to understand the meaning of words little by little.

‘Pinocchio… .’

The doll, who saw the picture drawn in the book the girl showed her, wanted a name.