“What in the world….”
“Greetings, Master. I am a new-generation golem created by Master Zinnia.”
Rupert was stunned into silence as the figure before him—a woman, no, a golem—spoke.
“I didn’t an to surprise you….”
“This is my masterpiece! No other dwarf could even dream of making sothing like this!”
While Rupert was flustered, Zinnia fidgeted nervously, and Krune brimd with pride, unable to stop boasting.
“So, you’re saying you and Krune built this together?”
“Yes. You once ntioned that it would be nice to have sothing to assist with your work….”
Rupert’s bewildernt only deepened at Zinnia’s explanation.
‘I was talking about sothing like a magical pen!’
The new-generation golem Zinnia and Krune presented to Rupert as a “gift” was far too complex to be called a re tool.
“So… just how advanced is this thing?”
“Think of it as having intelligence comparable to a human. It’s more effective in learned scenarios than unpredictable ones, but still….”
Zinnia continued her explanation, step-by-step, detailing the golem’s structure, learning capabilities, and functions.
‘This is practically an android!’
The more Rupert listened, the more he felt that this creation resembled the kind of AI robots Earth hadn’t yet developed.
The underlying principles and technology were entirely different, yet the end result seed impossibly futuristic.
“Does anyone else know about this?”
“No! Do you know how hard we worked to keep it a secret?”
Rupert sighed in relief at Zinnia’s response.
If news of such a golem leaked, it wouldn’t be long before the Imperial Palace ca knocking, eager to claim it.
“The only ones who know are Marquis Bradley and Miss Ada.”
“My father and Ada?”
“Well…”
Zinnia hesitantly explained the incident from before, leaving Rupert visibly pale.
“Then Edric knows too?!”
“Don’t worry. He won’t spread any rumors about this.”
“I know, but still…”
“Trust . I can guarantee it.”
For so reason, Zinnia’s absolute confidence left Rupert unable to press further.
“Master, please give a task.”
“Uh… can you stop calling ‘Master’ and just call Rupert?”
“Understood, Rupert.”
If not for the chanical tone, the new-generation golem looked indistinguishable from a real person, leaving Rupert unsure of what to do.
‘What should I even call this thing?’
The awkward title of Master resolved, Rupert mulled over what na to give the golem.
“From now on, I’ll call you Siri. How’s that?”
“Siri… Is that my Pinocchio?”
“What?”
“Miss Ada taught . A creator bestows a na upon their creation.”
For a mont, Rupert was stunned. How did the golem know about Pinocchio?
Then, hearing Ada’s na, Rupert imdiately suspected she had ddled again.
“Well, a na is important, after all.”
“Thank you, Rupert. I will continue learning to fulfill any tasks you assign .”
Rupert nodded, then turned to Zinnia and Krune with a stern reminder.
“We must keep Siri’s true nature as a new-generation golem a secret.”
“What? You want to hide such an amazing creation?”
“I understand.”
Krune protested, but Zinnia imdiately grasped Rupert’s concerns.
Rupert elaborated for Krune’s sake.
“Siri is sothing every nation on this continent—and beyond—would covet. If word gets out, not only our household but both of you could be in danger.”
Krune’s expression darkened as he finally understood the severity of the situation.
Even now, Krune lived safely under the protection of the Sorset family. Without such backing, he could easily be kidnapped and enslaved—just as his race had suffered during the past tribal wars.
“Fortunately, Siri looks human, so as long as we’re careful, we should be fine.”
Finishing his explanation, Rupert turned back to Siri.
Though the situation had taken him by surprise, he now saw Siri as a gift that could be imnsely useful amid his already overwhelming schedule.
He was eager to test its capabilities as soon as possible.
“Here it is! The latest King of Cards rchandise trending in the Empire!”
“Are you sure about the quality?”
“Of course! I, Alves, am a rchant who survives solely on trust!”
In the capital of the Kingdom of Kyle, Verhen, two n were having a secret conversation in a dimly lit alley.
“I can’t believe it’s this hard to get my hands on sothing like this.”
“You’re lucky to have gotten it at all. With shortages even in the Empire, it could take months for shipnts to reach the kingdom.”
“I’ve heard the rumors.”
Recently, so kingdoms had started banning specific goods imported from the Empire.
—Importing fairy tales, comics, and all other items from Sorset Workshop is strictly prohibited.
Rupert’s creations spread through foreign lands much like the arrival of Europeans in the New World.
Just as diseases brought by foreigners devastated native populations with no immunity, Rupert’s works—radically different from existing cultures—rapidly captivated audiences.
Alard, so countries began banning Sorset’s goods altogether.
But—
“Do you have the goods?”
“Prices have gone up. Security’s tighter, and setting up new smuggling routes wasn’t cheap….”
“I don’t care! Just hand them over.”
Rather than halting trade, the bans only pushed it underground, making smuggling more active and prices skyrocket.
anwhile, public dissatisfaction grew.
“Why ban it if they can’t even enforce it? All it does is drive up prices!”
“Exactly! Smugglers are profiting while legitimate rchants like are taking losses!”
“And the alternatives our kingdom produced? They’re so poorly made that no one buys them.”
Though the bans were intended to revive local culture, the vast difference in quality made the effort aningless.
To make matters worse, Silvania’s actions only deepened the crisis.
“Did you hear? Silvania has imported the Empire’s latest product—animation!”
“What? But I thought the Empire wasn’t exporting that to any foreign nation!”
“Apparently, Silvania’s king made a deal directly with Rupert Sorset during his visit.”
Even outside the Empire, people had already heard about animation.
Travelers returning from the Empire praised it, spreading stories about drawings that moved and talked like real people.
“Animation, huh? I have to see it for myself.”
Reports of such realistic moving images fueled widespread curiosity.
However, animations were highly controlled by the Empire, treated as cutting-edge technology, and banned from export.
Even smugglers, who thrived on illegal trades, found it impossible to breach the Empire’s security, making animation nearly unattainable.
Just as frustration over animation peaked, Silvania—the Empire’s long-standing rival—announced it had secured the rights to import it, causing outrage.
“Why can they have it, but we can’t?!”
“Because our leaders banned Sorset’s goods!”
“Unbelievable! They tax us endlessly but won’t even let us watch this?!”
While no one openly protested, nobles and commoners alike voiced complaints whenever they gathered, criticizing the ban.
Faced with growing dissatisfaction, the kingdom’s officials had no choice but to address the issue.
“How could you sign such an agreent with the Empire without informing us?!”
“We haven’t signed any agreents with the Empire.”
“Then what about the rumors of importing goods and sending students to the Imperial Academy?”
“Those deals were made directly with Rupert Sorset, not the Empire.”
“You’re just playing with words!”
“Then why did the reinforcents and supplies you promised during the war only arrive after it ended?”
“There were… logistical issues.”
“Excuses!”
Diplomats sent to confront Silvania returned humiliated, unable to argue against their explanations.
Silvania, having served as a buffer against the Empire’s expansion, had borne the brunt of resentnt from other nations.
anwhile, nations that had benefited from Silvania’s sacrifices found themselves unable to complain openly.
This situation caused the kingdom alliance to split into two factions.
The hardliners advocated for even stricter bans to protect their culture.
The moderates argued for accepting and learning from the Empire’s advancents to develop their own culture.
Rupert wasted no ti exploiting the divide.
“People of Aran, it is an honor to visit your beautiful nation!”
“Hooray!!!”
“This land, with its rich history and unique culture, has been a source of inspiration for my works and is truly the continent’s cultural capital!”
Rupert, aligning with the moderates, visited the Kingdom of Aran, holding autograph sessions and lectures to further spread his influence.
“As expected, King of Cards was inspired by Aran’s culture!”
“He may be from the Empire, but at least he’s got his head on straight.”
“Even the Empire can’t deny Aran’s long history.”
Rupert’s endless praise of Aran had the locals smiling from ear to ear.
Their enthusiastic reaction was enough to leave Rupert surprised.
After finishing his lecture and autograph session, he soon learned the reason behind it.
“Can you believe how popular King of Cards is here, Rupert?”
“Hah… This is even bigger than in the Empire.”
Knaksunamun, Aran’s chancellor, guided Rupert through the streets.
As Rupert looked around, he almost wondered if this was Aran’s capital, Iroka, or Duel City from his manga.
“Wanna duel?”
“Sure!”
People were playing card duels everywhere, and although the setups looked slightly different, duel tables filled the streets.
“I hate to admit it, but our people have always been desperate for recognition from other nations.”
“Is that so?”
“We’ve been treated with deep-seated disdain—always dismissed as nothing more than desert dwellers.”
The Kingdom of Aran was one of the oldest nations on the continent.
Its people took great pride in their history and culture, but that didn’t stop outsiders from looking down on them.
However, after Rupert’s King of Cards spread across the continent—
“Aran? Isn’t that where King of Cards is set? I’d love to visit.”
“I’ve already been there. It’s nothing like the rumors.”
“I’ve heard others say it has an exotic charm.”
—people began flocking to Aran just to see the locations that inspired the manga.
As more visitors arrived, the negative rumors about Aran started to fade, replaced by its new image as a fascinating and attractive destination.
Knaksunamun was the first to notice this shift.
Joining the moderates, he aligned with Silvania and advocated for embracing the Empire’s culture.
Like Silvania, he personally invited Rupert to hold lectures and autograph sessions.
For Rupert, the more nations like Silvania erged, the closer he got to fulfilling his promise to the Emperor, so he gladly accepted.
‘Good thing I managed to free up ti thanks to Siri.’
Although the academy was on break, Rupert’s busy schedule with serializations and new animation projects made it hard to travel abroad.
Fortunately, Siri’s assistance had given him the ti he needed.
“Is this your work, Rupert?”
“Yes. Just use whiteout on the parts I marked here.”
At first, Rupert had only assigned Siri simple editing tasks to test its capabilities.
But Siri turned out to be far more advanced than he expected.
One day, Rupert decided to give Siri so free ti.
After spending the day playing with Ada, Siri returned to the studio and started drawing.
Curious, Rupert checked to see what it was working on—and to his astonishnt, it was a draft of The Great Treasure.
Despite only having the storyboard, Siri replicated Rupert’s art style almost perfectly.
“I’ve been studying your drawing techniques, Rupert.”
Shocked, Rupert asked how Siri had done it, but the golem simply replied that it had learned by observation.
While Siri couldn’t fully match his skills, it was close enough to handle finishing touches.
Thanks to Siri, Rupert freed up enough ti to visit Aran.
“We’d like to send so of our talents to the Imperial Academy, especially to the art departnt you’re in charge of.”
“If you do, I’ll make sure they develop into assets that will benefit Aran.”
Rupert responded positively to Knaksunamun’s suggestion.
‘I may need to increase enrollnt.’
The academy hadn’t finalized admissions yet, but Rupert started worrying about whether they’d have enough slots for both foreign and Imperial students.
While Yustaf, the headmaster, might approve the expansion, Rupert couldn’t be sure.
‘He’s seed out of it lately.’
Rupert had visited Yustaf recently to discuss admissions but found him staring blankly into space.
“First my student, and now the prince—everyone’s raiding my storage….”
Yustaf had muttered to himself with the look of a man who had lost his kingdom.
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