Drawing Manga in a Romance Fantasy

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Facing the Emperor alone in the court was indeed a tremendous privilege.

To meet the Emperor, one had to at least hold the status of a family head among the seven great nobles, and otherwise, one would have to wait a minimum of half a year.

It made sense, considering if the Emperor were to meet every noble personally, he wouldn’t have time for his duties or even to eat.

And now, Rupert, who had been granted rights equal to those of a family head from the seven great nobles, found himself facing the Emperor once again.

“The last tournament was quite satisfying, Professor Rupert.”

“I can only thank you for your favorable view.”

“Well, I suppose you didn’t come just to thank me. What news do you bring today?”

Rupert was taken aback by the Emperor’s even more amicable demeanor than before.

‘This time, I’m here not for the benefit of the Imperial Family but to make a request…’

No matter how many times he had met with the Emperor recently, the pressure remained.

Moreover, he had come this time to prevent any accidents stemming from his new comic.

The Emperor seemed to anticipate such plans again, given the success of Rupert’s strategies during the last card tournament.

“The reason I asked to see you this time is regarding my new work that will be serialized.”

“New work? But why do you need to request this from me? Can’t you just write it as you always have?”

The Emperor’s question seemed reasonable at first glance.

Rupert had never sought the Emperor’s permission for his projects; it was perplexing why he had come to discuss this.

“May I present this?”

In response to the Emperor’s inquiry, Rupert knelt, supporting the manuscript he had prepared with both hands.

As the attendant in the court accepted it and passed it to the Emperor, the title written on the manuscript became visible.

‘The Great Treasure’

The Emperor began reading it from the first page.

***

“Where have you hidden the treasure discovered by Adventure King Silver A Rogers?”

When Silver A Rogers, who claimed to have explored the end of the world and returned, was on the brink of death, someone had asked him.

“My treasure, you say? If you want it, take it. I left everything there.”

With Silver A Rogers’ final words, the world entered the Age of Great Exploration.

“I’m not joking right now!”

“Hey! Yupi, put that down; it’s dangerous.”

“Ugh!”

As the boy engaged in the reckless act of dragging a knife under his own eye, the men watching jumped in shock and hurried to stop him.

“Yupi, why are you doing something so foolish?”

“Hmph, I’m not scared of stuff like this! So take me on your next adventure!”

“You’re still too young. We can think about it when you’ve grown into a fine man.”

“Always with that line.”

Yupi puffed his cheeks at Santus’s remarks about treating him like a child and requested juice from Mickey at the counter.

“I’ll pay with my future treasure!”

“Another treasure debt? That’s basically cheating.”

“No lie! I’ll find treasure later and repay it all at once!”

“Well then, let’s drink to our future Adventure King!”

Last week, as [Van Helsing] wrapped up with great acclaim, people were still caught up in the aftermath of the fierce struggle against the final antagonist, Dracula, and the protagonist’s victory.

“Ah, looks like my reason to watch Manapia is gone.”

“Exactly! Other works are enjoyable, but I still prefer ones full of fighting.”

“Rupert the author truly captures battle scenes brilliantly; that’s what made watching them so exciting.”

In Manapia, various genres of comics had been serialized just as Rupert had originally intended.

From Ioleen’s work, which combined shoujo and shounen themes, to the realistic yet thrilling revenge tale of Count Monte Cristo.

There was a wide variety of comics, allowing the magazine to attract a broad readership, but the highest proportion was always among the audience for Rupert’s shounen manga.

The stories depicted protagonists growing, filled with exciting adventures and battles, made Rupert’s works the most loved by the public.

From [Iron-Blooded Alchemist] to [Van Helsing], the characteristic of Rupert’s creations was that they were enjoyable even for those who either watched manga for the first time or showed no previous interest.

That’s why many were lamenting the end of [Van Helsing].

“Hey! Did you hear that Rupert is starting a new serialization next week?”

For those people, Rupert had prepared the next project for immediate serialization.

“I trusted you!!! Damn it, Rupert, I like you!”

“Is it just me, or does this new work give off amazing vibes right from the start?”

“But isn’t this a bit dangerous?”

The reactions of those who had read Rupert’s new work, [The Great Treasure], were explosive.

Starting with the last words of Adventure King Silver A Rogers, who had explored the end of the world and returned, it spun the tale of a world entering the Age of Great Exploration.

Exploring uncharted territories always ignited people’s imaginations.

Even now, the Eastern Continent still held many places untouched by human hands, and adventurers and mercenaries often sought to explore such sites.

Though everyone knew it was arduous and perilous, that was precisely why their stories had always been popular among tavern dwellers.

One adventurer might find an ancient temple and unearth incredible relics, or a mercenary group might become the heroes of an epic tale for vanquishing a Dark Wizard’s dungeon—these tales transcended eras.

However, this adventure would have a different flavor; it would focus on the sea rather than the continent.

“The sea… I’ve only heard about it; never seen it.”

“Same here. Unless you’re from the very eastern edge, there’s no opportunity to see it, right?”

Most people living in the Empire only knew of the sea’s existence.

Many had lived their whole lives without ever having seen it.

Only the eastern part of the Empire touched the coastline, making it difficult for the rest of the populace to catch a glimpse of it.

Thus, when Ismael’s [White Whale] was serialized, many people encountered a visual representation of the sea for the first time.

“They say the world’s end is just a cliff?”

“No, I’ve heard it described as a continuous circle, so if you go around it, you connect back to the start.”

“Are there really monsters like that living in the sea?”

In such a setting, the comic [The Great Treasure], which depicted adventurers sailing across the sea, was more than sufficient to pique people’s curiosity.

Moreover,

“Ah! My arm has stretched!!!”

Disappointed with Santus and the gang’s lack of response to the ruckus caused by bandits, Yupi yelled in anger and was about to leave.

However, when Santus caught Yupi’s hand, everyone gasped in surprise at the sight of Yupi’s arms stretching like rubber.

“Yupi! Did you eat that fruit from here?!”

“Yeah! It was really disgustingly bad!”

“You idiot, that fruit is the curse of the Sea God!!!”

“The curse of the Sea God sounds so tempting.”

People were excitedly reacting to the fruit called Curse of the Sea God featured in the new work [The Great Treasure].

“A fruit that makes your whole body stretch? Does that really exist?”

“It must! Perhaps it can be found out at sea?”

Though Rupert had now added warnings on Manapia’s publications, people didn’t believe those notices at all.

With Rupert being treated as a prophet of the Goddess depicting the imminent crisis on the continent, they believed this new work must also be true.

“But they say if you eat it, you’ll get the Sea God’s curse and can’t swim anymore?”

“Are you an idiot? Just don’t go to the sea!”

“Are you a genius?”

Furthermore, with the descriptions hinting at an array of abilities, people debated long about what powers these fruits might bestow.

“But say, is this World League different from the Empire?”

“That does sound strange; if it’s the navy, isn’t it part of the national army?”

“That’s probably why the Imperial Family issued a proclamation this time.”

While enjoying [The Great Treasure], people were also pondering the nature of the World League, which appeared as the protagonist’s adversary, the dreaming adventurer.

There was a lot of ambiguity surrounding the World League and the navy as adversaries of the sea-exploring adventurers.

This could easily lead to discussions of treason against the nation.

However,

“Recently, many creators have emerged, enriching the Empire’s culture, which pleases me as the Emperor.

Yet, I have heard tales that creators often feel pressured to mind the Imperial Family, nobility, or certain organizations in exercising their imaginations.

Thus…”

Just before [The Great Treasure] was serialized, the Emperor shocked everyone by announcing a proclamation assuring artistic freedom for those in the creative arts.

Of course, using real figures or the Empire itself would still draw severe punishment.

However, the Emperor declared that if one created a work set in a fictional universe, they could not be punished for its content as documented in the Empire’s legal texts.

Even Rupert, who could be seen as the core of the Empire’s cultural sector, had always had to tread lightly around the Imperial Family, modifying his works accordingly.

Now that such restrictions had been lifted, it was truly a festive time for the Empire’s artistic community.

Of course, even so, portraying pirates as protagonists felt like pushing the limits, so Rupert had to undertake significant revisions.

And then,

“Now, to grant you your request, I shall offer you one suggestion in return.”

“Yes, please go ahead, Your Majesty.”

“How about marrying Ioleen?”

Rupert recalled the arduous journey he had faced to acquire this proclamation from the Imperial Family.