Drawing Manga in a Romance Fantasy – Chapter 137

As the demonstration event successfully concluded, Rupert was busy greeting each guest when three figures hurried toward him.

“Rupert!”

“Amelia, what brings you here?”

“Oh… I really enjoyed the demonstration!”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

Just then, Ioleen rushed into the conversation between them.

“I was deeply impressed as well.”

“It’s a relief to hear that Her Highness the Princess enjoyed it too.”

“I enjoyed it as well! Rupert!”

“Thank you, Jenia.”

Surrounded by the three women who were showering him with gratitude, Rupert struggled to respond to each one amidst the chaos.

Whenever Ioleen spoke, the other two would jump in as if waiting for their turn, engaged in a playful tug-of-war over words.

“Is that heaven or hell?”

“It’s hell dressed like heaven.”

The other men watching the scene felt both envious and grateful to be outside of it.

Three beautiful women flocking toward a single man was a scenario one would consider a dream, yet they also knew it likely wouldn’t end well.

“Face-wise, you’re better than the professor, you know?”

“Having Elza is enough for me.”

“Crazy man.”

Edric and Adrian were witnessing the spectacle while chatting, and curiosity started to rise in them.

Who among those three would end up with Rupert?

*

“Forget everything~ Forget everything~!”

Recently, the sound of singing had become a constant in the streets across the Empire.

In any place where there were children—be it houses or alleys—the songs echoed so widely that even those who had never heard them before began to hum along.

“No! Isn’t this too expensive?”

“Come on, do you have any idea how hard it is to find Elza dresses and wands these days?”

Not only that, but the used bookstore dealing in Somerset Goods was overflowing with people trying to acquire merchandise related to the animation “Kingdom of Ice.”

The cause of all this frenzy was the new animation “Kingdom of Ice,” which had simultaneously launched across the Empire at the Somerset Theater.

“The ticket price was surprisingly cheap!”

“Indeed! When you take the kids, they’re so delighted, it’s worth the fare.”

“Is that all? The posters and postcards given with the animation are diverse enough that you don’t mind spending money.”

Initially, people had come out of curiosity to see the animation, but once word of mouth spread, crowds started to flock in.

Now, securing a ticket had become quite a challenge.

And while there were certainly adults among the audience, it was particularly the children who caused parents to sweat due to the animation’s explosive popularity.

“My friends have Elza dresses and wands!!!”

After watching the animation, children wailed and demanded to be bought the merchandise.

Those who had purchased goods when the original “Kingdom of Ice” comic was released suddenly hit the jackpot.

– No matter what, that’s too expensive for kids’ toys.

Now that Rupert’s creations, along with the merchandise, appreciated over time, they sold like hotcakes.

However, the merchandise from the early days of “Kingdom of Ice” was deemed expensive back then, so not many parents bought them for their children.

This led to a situation where the merchandise was in much lower quantities than expected, resulting in soaring resale prices.

“At least I managed to get this, thankfully?”

Although Somerset Goods was reselling “Kingdom of Ice” merchandise for the theater’s release,

Due to Rupert’s specific ordering that they couldn’t sell the same items, they featured designs somewhat different from the originals.

So people referred to the earlier merchandise as the “old edition,” while the recent items were called the “new edition.”

The new edition was hard to find due to high demand, but searching for the old edition was akin to reaching for the stars.

Those who had them weren’t willing to sell, and only those wanting to buy were overflowing, causing prices to skyrocket.

“These days, if you’ve got spare money, buying items from Somerset Goods is a way for the wealthy to grow their fortune.”

“Well, a friend who managed to get a limited edition comic book sold it for a whopping 10 gold.”

“10 gold? That friend must be beating themselves up for it now.”

“Right? They were just crying over drinks, saying they could have sold it for at least double that now.”

This was all following the incident months ago when a saint claimed that Rupert was someone blessed by the Goddess, causing prices for his works and goods to soar indefinitely.

And now, with the release of the “Kingdom of Ice” movie, the trust people placed in anything bearing the name Somerset had surpassed even the belief in the Goddess.

Unlike auction items that only the wealthy could obtain, these goods could be purchased fairly by everyone, which only fueled the excitement.

Finding a limited edition fairy tale book or comic book could fetch prices dozens, even hundreds of times over, and for merchandise, buying it meant you’d only see the price increase, never decrease.

Plus, if you were lucky enough to win a limited edition item given only through a lottery, it felt like stumbling upon gold on the road.

Once, there had been an auction for a single “Iron-Blooded Alchemist” Empire-approved pocket watch—the only one ever given out, with 12 pieces distributed via lottery.

On that day, a wealthy noble achieved the highest bid and successfully bought it.

And the words that noble left behind became widely known across the Empire.

“This will one day be worth dozens of times the price it is today.”

At the time, no matter how rare and desired the item was, everyone scoffed at the thought of paying that much for mere merchandise.

Yet soon, as the prices of books and goods surged dramatically, everyone found themselves agreeing with the noble’s claim.

“Is this card a counterfeit?!”

“Damn it! We’re busted, run!!!”

The fact that anything with the name Somerset was valuable was evident in the recent trend of “King of Cards.”

“No way! I opened 10 packs and didn’t get a single super rare card!!!”

“I just hope to at least catch a glimpse of the White-Eyed Azure Dragon ultimate rare card!!!”

“It’s here!!! Now I’m rich!”

Recently, outside the Somerset Goods store, it was easy to spot people holding cards, either cheering or lamenting, all due to the release of the new card pack merchandise.

Each “King of Cards” card pack contained 10 cards.

And at least one card guaranteed to be rare was included, a thoughtful consideration by Rupert to allow commoners to receive a card they liked.

But this drove people into madness.

“Rare cards, especially certain highly sought-after ones, fetch a good resale price!”

If someone pulled a specific card popular among players, they could resell it for some pocket money.

If they received a card rated super rare or above, prices could vary greatly depending on the type.

Moreover, if they struck gold and got an ultimate rare card, it’d be worth any price asked.

Thus, the quest for quick riches had led many to waste their fortune on card packs, forcing the need for purchase limits per person as a drastic measure.

– Job opening for immediate hire (10 spots available for Somerset Goods card pack proxy buyers on a first-come, first-serve basis).

Of course, even with purchase limits, some sought loopholes to bypass the limits, but it somewhat quelled the madness.

However, that wasn’t the only problem.

“This will definitely turn a profit!”

Illegal organizations lurking in the Empire caught wind of the money-making opportunity and quickly latched on.

They began illegally replicating cards based on the fact that certain cards were trading at high prices.

However,

“How on earth did they create this shine?”

“The replica cards don’t respond at all when placed on the dual table!”

“Dammit! What kind of paper is this? I’ve tried every kind in the Empire, but nothing feels like this!”

Unfortunately for them, the technology used in the cards was the latest even at the Somerset Workshop, making exact replication impossible.

At first, some were tricked by the cheap prices, but as rumors spread, no one fell for it anymore.

“Always deal secondhand in Somerset!”

During non-screening times, the Somerset Theater operated as a tavern, and the goods store featured dual tables for testing.

The most certain way to verify whether a card was genuine or counterfeit was to place it on the dual table.

In the case of genuine cards, the embedded illusion magic circle would summon the illustrations on the table; however, there would be no reaction for fakes.

“Devils! This time, I’ll root you out!!”

As the infamous name of the organization selling counterfeit cards spread, people began calling them the “Devils,” and they faced penalties akin to treason, not merely for selling illegal goods.

“What? Why such a harsh penalty?!”

“You madman! Did you think you could survive after daring to steal from Lord Rupert’s work, which received the royal family’s thank-you plaque?!”

“Isn’t this just merchandise?”

“Shut up! The royal decree has been issued to treat you with the utmost severity.”

The thank-you plaque received from Ioleen continued to play a significant role.

In truth, considering that the card goods were works directly created by Rupert, there were challenges in some respects.

“I won’t stand idly by while these people torment the good citizens of the Empire with their shoddy replicas.”

When Crown Prince Alex left a comment regarding the illegal replication incident, the penalties proceeded with lightning speed.

*

“Young Master, what did you think of the comic draft we received this time?”

“Hmm… It could use a bit more polishing. We still have time, after all.”

“They’ll be quite disappointed.”

“That can’t be helped. If it’s going to be serialized in Manapia, it needs to be the best in the Empire.”

Rupert replied as he handed the drafts back to Esteban.

Currently, Manapia maintained a total of six episodes, but Rupert planned to stretch it to at least ten.

To achieve that, he had been steadily receiving comic drafts through the Yuren Merchant Association.

He had already made contracts with authors of works he found promising.

Every month, those authors would send their drafts to Rupert for review, and if passed, they would secure serialization opportunities.

However, feeling that something was still lacking, Rupert couldn’t pass any of the works this time either.

“Still, there’s potential.”

He sensed that with a little more refinement, they could achieve a level suitable for serialization.

“Soon, Van Helsing will enter its final chapter, and the other authors’ works will also be heading toward their conclusions, so preparations must be made.”

“Yes, it seems Van Helsing will wrap up within this year.”

“Oh, by the way, hasn’t King of Cards already entered Battle Island?”

“That’s correct.”

Rupert responded to Esteban’s comment.

“Then, it’s time to prep for ‘that plan’….”

A trace of nervousness flickered in Esteban’s tone as he extended his sentence.

It was now the moment to start laying the groundwork for one of the planned preparations regarding Rupert and “King of Cards.”

“I just received a message from the royal family.”

And Rupert answered as if he had been waiting for this.