“Sailing west is closer to a gamble than an adventure.”
Esteban said this as he personally served Rupert a cup of rare tea imported from the Eastern Continent.
“Let’s just call it romance rather than profit.”
Of course, calling it mere romance didn’t quite capture the scale of the investment—building a new ship from scratch and funding an entire voyage—but Rupert didn’t feel as anxious as he might have expected.
‘If this were the past, I would’ve called it madness.’
There was a time when he soaked stale bread in soup just to make it edible, scraping for every penny he could save or earn.
It hadn’t even been two years since then, yet so much had changed. Rupert couldn’t help but reflect on it.
“Since you’re here today, let me update you on the current state of our exports.”
Rupert had never been particularly skilled with numbers, so it always fell to Esteban to explain the sales figures.
Even now, Esteban laid out the details in a simplified way that Rupert could follow, skipping over complicated calculations and formulas.
“The sales ratio for children’s storybooks seems higher than I expected.”
“That’s right. While manga is certainly popular, storybooks guarantee a steady level of sales across all regions.”
Some manga titles, like The King of Cards and The Iron-Blooded Alchemist, enjoyed explosive popularity in certain countries.
But overall, it was the storybooks that stood out for their consistent performance.
“It seems that adapting them to fit each country’s customs has helped significantly.”
“Localization really was important, wasn’t it?”
Among the suggestions Prince Iolin had offered when assisting Rupert and the Yuren Trading Company’s overseas expansion, localization had been key.
—In the Iron Kingdom of Prosen, where law and order are paramount, emphasize themes of justice and punishment. In the Isle Republic, where red-haired citizens are common, reflect that in your character designs.
Iolin had stressed that sharing a continent didn’t mean sharing a culture.
Taking her advice, Rupert had made subtle adjustments to fit the cultural sensibilities of each country—tweaking storylines, altering characters’ costumes, and modifying designs.
That approach proved effective, and the storybooks had become massive hits.
‘Iolin would be pleased.’
Seeing Snow White in Red-Hot Iron Shoes, which he had created with her in mind, gain popularity in Prosen confirmed that the original grim fairy tales had their appeal for a reason.
“Storybooks, huh... It’s been a while since I released a new one.”
Rupert realized that the children’s books he had started creating for his younger sister, Ada, had been somewhat neglected lately.
Just as he began to consider drafting a new storybook, his gaze shifted to the window.
“It’s snowing already.”
“Well, it is winter now.”
Watching the first snowfall of the year outside the window, Rupert was reminded of the same time last year.
‘That’s when I wrote A Dog of Flanders, wasn’t it?’
Before that, Rupert’s storybooks had been mostly for Ada, but A Dog of Flanders had been written with the hope of inspiring kindness in children.
Of course, that decision meant he had to endure Ada sobbing and biting him, demanding that Nero and Patrasche be saved, but the story had undoubtedly sparked positive changes.
“Do people still stop to help street children selling goods these days?”
“Pardon? Oh, you mean back when A Dog of Flanders was first published?”
Esteban initially looked puzzled but quickly realized Rupert was referring to the aftermath of that book’s release.
“Well... Things have improved since then, but time has passed, and it’s not quite the same anymore.”
Esteban recalled how, when A Dog of Flanders first came out, street children always had a dog by their side, thanks to the book’s influence.
Even now, it was common to see children walking dogs around the streets—it had become something of a tradition.
But compared to the past, public interest had waned.
The people who had once eagerly bought goods from those children were now more accustomed to the sight, passing by without much thought.
“We need to make this winter a warm one.”
Hearing Esteban’s response, Rupert smiled in a way that hinted at something deeper.
‘He’s planning to make people cry again.’
By now, Esteban had learned to recognize that look—and he could already predict the emotional storm Rupert was about to unleash.
*****
“Krune, I think we’ve been focusing too much on our merchandise lately.”
“What are you talking about?”
Krune, busy working in his workshop as usual, responded absentmindedly to Rupert, who had suddenly dropped in with this remark.
“The heart of Somerset Workshop is publishing.”
“I know that.”
“But haven’t we neglected innovation in the books we’re publishing lately?”
“Well, that’s true, but...”
Rupert’s words left Krune momentarily speechless.
While they had been tirelessly developing new technologies and creating fresh products, the publishing side had remained stagnant.
“Take a look at this.”
“This is...!”
“Yes, these are books imitating the paper we use.”
At Rupert’s prompting, Krune began carefully examining the books Rupert had brought.
One of Somerset Workshop’s most prized products had always been its paper.
From self-repairing recycled paper to water-resistant coated paper, their superior quality had set Somerset’s books apart, earning praise and admiration from craftsmen everywhere.
However—
“They’re still rough, but they’re catching up bit by bit.”
“I never expected it to last forever, but the speed is surprising.”
The paper used in the books Rupert had brought couldn’t match Somerset’s quality, but they were clearly mimicking its features.
Somerset’s recycled paper could fully restore itself even when completely torn, while the current imitators could only repair small tears.
Similarly, their coated paper offered some water resistance but crumpled too easily, revealing noticeable gaps in quality.
“But is there really room to advance paper any further?”
Krune had already considered this issue himself.
While he believed that publishing was the foundation of Somerset Workshop and wanted to keep improving it,
‘The problem is... I have no idea how to take it further.’
Even the so-called finest paper, infused with magic stone dust, was still just paper—it was hard to imagine any groundbreaking advancements.
What they already had felt like the pinnacle of paper technology.
“Do you have something in mind?”
But Krune didn’t think Rupert would have brought this up without a reason.
Rupert might nag him endlessly, but when it came to product ideas, he was always serious—and had a knack for suggesting concepts Krune hadn’t even considered.
“For my next book, I’ve envisioned two types of paper.”
“Next book?”
“Yes, would you like to see it?”
When Rupert offered to show him the draft, Krune immediately nodded.
He never passed up a chance to preview Rupert’s new work—he genuinely enjoyed reading them, regardless of race or craft.
“A fairy tale, huh.”
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
Noticing it was the first fairy tale Rupert had written since Hansel and Gretel, Krune began reading from the first page.
And—
“Oh no... No!!!”
By the time he finished, Krune was clutching the sample book, tears forming in his eyes.
‘This is it! This is the reaction I wanted.’
Rupert could already predict how people would respond to this new fairy tale.
It was one of the saddest stories he had ever read, and once it hit the market, he expected it to provoke stronger emotions than any of his previous works.
“You really went all out this time.”
Though Rupert had caught him tearing up, Krune tried to play it off, feigning nonchalance.
Some of Rupert’s past works had been emotional, but this one was on another level.
While A Dog of Flanders had a shocking ending, its earlier parts still carried moments of beauty.
This new tale, however, was tragic from start to finish.
“...So what kind of paper do you need for this?”
Krune finally composed himself, wiping his eyes discreetly with his sleeve before asking.
“What if we added temperature to the paper?”
“Temperature?”
“Yes. Certain pages could feel cold, while others feel warm.”
Krune paused to consider Rupert’s suggestion.
The idea matched the tone of the new fairy tale perfectly, and while simple, no one had ever attempted to imbue paper with temperature before.
“Hmm... It’s worth trying.”
Krune immediately started thinking about how to achieve this.
While enchanting the paper with magic would be easy, it would also be prohibitively expensive.
Instead, he considered mixing specific materials during the papermaking process to produce the desired effect.
“And there’s one more thing.”
“Another idea?”
“Yes. But this one would only be used in specific scenes.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s incorporate the projection magic we developed for The King of Cards.”
“Oh, you mean for animated illustrations?”
“Exactly!”
Krune instantly grasped Rupert’s intent.
Using the illusion magic developed for The King of Cards in key scenes of the new fairy tale would leave an unforgettable impression.
“Rupert, are you some kind of devil?”
Even the rough draft had been emotionally overwhelming. Imagining the final version, enhanced with animated illustrations and temperature effects, Krune doubted he’d be able to handle it.
“This winter is going to be a warm one.”
Rupert, completely unfazed by Krune’s reaction, was already looking forward to how readers would respond to his latest creation.
He especially couldn’t wait to show it to Ada first.
He was already excited to see her reaction to The Little Match Girl, the fairy tale most associated with winter.