NOVEL WEB “I anticipated that you wouldn’t miss this opportunity, young master.”
Esteban, the Guild Leader who had been waiting for me outside the Imperial Palace, laughed heartily upon hearing about my conversation with the Princess.
This man must have finally lost his mind. Now, I was being coerced into an illiteracy eradication project that I never even wanted. What on earth was he finding so amusing?
“This is not the time to be laughing. Everything has suddenly become too grand.”
It wasn’t a joke; considering the involvement of the Imperial Family’s funds, if a scandal were to ensue, it could end badly for me.
Even if the results were mediocre, my fate could very well hinge on the Emperor’s mood that day, making this a precarious situation.
“There’s no need to worry about that. After all, it’s merely a public benefit project that won’t yield any real profit; why not just present it as a matter of course to the Princess?”
Oh, that sounds plausible. Are you suggesting that I merely draft a proposal and leave the rest for the Princess to handle?
If the Princess took the lead, any potential failure could conveniently be wrapped in the grace of the Imperial Family; it was indeed a brilliant idea.
“Moreover, since this is a project initiated by the Imperial Family, while we can’t guarantee how effective it will be, it’s certain that fairy tale books will become much more widespread, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Then, the environment may indeed be conducive to revisiting the business regarding ‘that’ which we discussed last time.”
At Esteban’s words, I finally recalled our previous discussion about the ‘goods’ business.
It was a plan to create and sell iconic items from the fairy tale books, such as glass slippers, the queen’s mirror, or dresses worn by the main characters.
However, this plan had been scrapped due to a lack of demand.
Unlike fairy tale books, those items required a direct, small-scale production approach, which would lead to exorbitant prices and long production times, rendering them commercially unviable.
On the other hand, attempting large-scale production would only cater to a handful of noble ladies, and the costs of setting up for mass production would outweigh any potential profits.
“My genius! My Zhuge Liang! Truly, the Guild Leader!!!”
I admired the Guild Leader’s wisdom for turning the Imperial family’s relentless harassment of the common folk into a light opportunity for profit.
As much as I wanted to embrace him and plant a kiss on his cheek, his extremely disgusted expression forced me to let go.
“Young Master, I’m not sure what you meant by Zhuge Liang, but I believe this is indeed a great opportunity for our business to expand.”
That’s right. There’s no need to make a profit off the distribution of books.
I would leave the illiteracy eradication to the Princess, while we strive to spread the books as widely as possible without incurring any losses.
The profits could always be generated through merchandise.
This strategy had swept through the South Korean gaming industry as a core aspect of a freemium model.
Games were made available for free to attract a large audience of children, who would then be tempted to spend their allowance on microtransactions. It was a truly devilish marketing tactic.
The sound of gold coins clinking in my ears felt like an omen of the success that lay ahead.
I began to prepare to return to the territory, discussing with the Guild Leader what products we might release as goods.
*
“Rupert, why haven’t you drawn the next chapter?”
After wrapping up a series of events at the Imperial Palace, I had finally returned home, ready to indulge in some sweet relaxation.
Suddenly, my father, with a manuscript of mine in hand, interrupted this plan.
‘Oh, that’s the Kingdom of Ice!’
That was a candidate for the sequel during the phase when I hadn’t decided on the follow-up to “The Little Mermaid.”
Although it wasn’t a fairy tale book, it was inspired by one of the globally successful animations, and I had planned to create something that was sure to be entertaining.
“Indeed, it doesn’t quite match the fairy tale book.”
Other works were based on fairy tale originals that were then adapted into animations, whereas the “Kingdom of Ice” was originally produced as an animation.
In other words, if it were to be turned into a fairy tale book, it would lose much of its charm, which is why I had stored the incomplete manuscript away; however, how did he manage to find it?
“Father, what are you doing in my workshop, of all places?”
“It’s not that… I didn’t come in on purpose.”
“Please, hand that over; I need to take a break now.”
I snatched the unfinished manuscript from my father’s hands and headed towards my room.
Behind me, I could hear my father’s voice, plaintively asking, “What happens next, Rupert?” but I ignored it, thinking it might just be a figment of my imagination.
“Now that I think about it, this is the first time my father has shown any interest in my manuscripts?”
As I entered my room and lay down on my bed, I felt something was off.
While Aida might have had different interests, my father usually only admired fairy tale books, remarking on how beautiful the illustrations were; he never reacted like this before.
But considering that all the fairy tale books I had created were for young girls, it made sense.
Yet, why did he react so strongly to “Kingdom of Ice”?
I pondered the conclusion, and adventure and magic seemed to be the key elements. Aren’t those the things that captivate men?
Reflecting on the reasons behind the original’s massive success, I couldn’t help but acknowledge that the story held great potential, as it could attract male readers who had previously been uninterested, even adult ones.
“However, this won’t be easy as it stands.”
It was precisely because the fairy tale genre struggles to fully capture the essence of “Kingdom of Ice” that I had given up on creating it. I needed a new approach.
Adventure, magic, and spectacular battle scenes—this is a work that should emphasize dynamism.
“Wait, if I connect this with the method to lower the illiteracy rate…”
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me. It was a work that had played a groundbreaking role in teaching children to read in my previous life.
“Burn bright! Fire!”
Despite being about the complex topic of kanji, this comic book had gained explosive popularity among children.
It was something that initially seemed difficult and unappealing, but when combined with action battles, it transformed into something fascinating.
“The original ‘Kingdom of Ice’ was also initially an animation; it fits much better as a comic than as a fairy tale book.”
Moreover, since comics are comprised mainly of short dialogues, they are much easier to read than a narrative-style fairy tale book.
If I were to turn the unfinished “Kingdom of Ice” into a comic book and widely distribute it, it would serve excellently as a reading material for those who cannot read.
Especially considering that past fairy tale books were aimed at children, comics could also draw interest from adults.
“To do that, I’ll need to prepare quite a bit, won’t I?”
I’d require assistance from the Guild Leader and the artisans for this.
Comics are entirely different from fairy tale books, so I’d need different tools and materials from what I had been using so far.
As inspiration surged, the desire to immediately start working on the project overwhelmed me.
I opened the drawer beside my bed and took out a vitality potion, downing it in one go.
What an incredible efficacy that washes away today’s fatigue!
I was ready to dive into work and dashed out of my room.
*
“So, the handle will be made of wood, and the ink will flow through this strange metal tip at the end.”
Despite the poor explanation, the metal artisan understood precisely what I meant. I nodded along, affirming that the explanation was correct.
“Using this method will definitely make it much easier to express finer lines compared to a feather pen. However, this may affect durability…”
Even though I only vaguely understood the structure and principles of metal pens like the G pen or spoon pen that I used in my previous life when drawing comics, the artisan quickly grasped how the mechanism worked and even identified the drawbacks.
“Indeed, while G pens and spoon pens are metal, the tips tend to wear out quickly.”
Nevertheless, these tools were essential for drawing comics. Unlike fairy tale books, losing the line thickness in comics would suck the life out of the artwork.
A comic that has lost its vibrancy would become unbearable to look at, so it absolutely had to be made.
While the metal artisan was struggling to work out the details, the paper artisan now seemed to be struggling with my mission as well.
“It might be okay to use recycled paper for the pages, but making the cover out of paper is another story.”
Unlike fairy tale books that are read slowly, paging through a comic book is done quickly.
In other words, if the cover is made out of leather like it is now, it would be cumbersome and hard to handle.
There’s a good reason why comic books from Earth are all made of paper.
However, in this world, there was no suitable paper to use for a cover, so we would have to create a new one for this purpose as well.
“How about using the extract from the cassava tree?”
“Why didn’t I think of that? Yes, that method could work.”
As the leather artisan shared the method he used for coating leather, the paper artisan was struck with admiration, much like Isaac Newton discovering gravity.
“The cassava tree?”
“Yes, milord. It’s a tree that grows only in the southern regions, and its extract is sticky but doesn’t stain your hands. When applied to leather-like materials, the leather absorbs the extract and becomes smooth.”
The smoothed leather repels raindrops and maintains a sheen for an extended period, making it a commonly used material.
“To apply that directly to paper, we would need to research the ratios and timing, so the budget might be higher than expected…”
“You don’t need to worry about the budget.”
“Pardon?”
Upon hearing that my budget was unnecessary, the artisans gasped collectively.
Why were they so surprised?
“Anyway, the research costs for this book will be covered by the Imperial Family, so don’t worry about it and focus on using the best materials to achieve the highest quality.”
This was clearly an initiative for the Imperial Family’s Illiteracy Eradication Project, so we could simply submit the bill to them.
Just wait, Emperor. I shall repay the grudge of the family this time.
Finally understanding my statement, the artisans began to discuss excitedly amongst themselves about what materials to use.
Clang.
Then, everyone’s attention turned to the sound of the door closing.
“Wait, why is the door closing by itself?”
Thud!
Curious about the suddenly closed door, the artisans tried to open it again, but it was stuck tight as if barred by something.
“Just so you know, nobody will be allowed to leave until a satisfactory product is produced.”
“Milord!!!”
“Don’t worry! I’ve already brought a box of the new vitality potions from the Alchemy Guild! Let’s keep our spirits up!!!”
Once again, cheerful harmonies echoed throughout the workshop. They were mostly high-pitched, but who cares? I just want to make that comic book quickly.