Chapter 6

“…That’s one heck of an unusual guy.”

After Ragnar left, the Duke mumbled these words to himself in a low voice while sitting in the reception room.

He had suspected as much when he heard the story from Serika, and now that they’d met face-to-face, his suspicions were confirmed.

This man named Ragnar Terison was no ordinary human being.

And on top of that, he was an unprecedented genius who had pioneered a new art form called “animation.”

Under normal circumstances, the Duke would have been extremely pleased with someone like Ragnar—after all, the Duke loved art dearly and even had some expertise in it himself.

But…

‘Dare I say, this guy is friendly with OUR Serika? To the point where she casually visits HIS house without a second thought?’

There was only ONE thing about Serika’s “boyhood friend” that was currently getting under the Duke’s skin.

‘Damn it…’

Because of this, the Duke didn’t like Ragnar at all.

The Duke, who deeply loved his daughter, had a gut feeling about something.

If he allowed Serika to collaborate on animation production as she requested, then her relationship with Ragnar would only grow closer—not farther apart.

“…”

Thus, the Duke made him an absurd proposal.

In exchange for helping Ragnar, the Duke demanded that his animations be released to the public for a fee.

The Duke expected Ragnar to oppose this outright.

And if Ragnar voiced opposition, the Duke planned to use it as an excuse to cut him out of Serika’s life entirely.

However…

“I accept the Duke’s terms. But, there is one condition I must add.”

“…Adding conditions, huh?”

“Yes. Since you’ve set conditions, wouldn’t it be fair for me to add one as well?”

Not only did Ragnar nod to the Duke’s demands, but he also added another condition of his own.

Frankly, it seemed a bit arrogant—but it also sparked curiosity.

Very few people stood tall before the Grinevalt Dukehouse without cowering.

Thus, the Duke couldn’t help but feel intrigued by this young genius standing confidently before him.

And what came out of Ragnar’s mouth was completely unexpected.

“Give me full rights to secondary copyrights.”

“…Secondary copyrights?”

“Yes. Specifically, I want all revenue generated from spin-off works or character-related businesses derived from the anime. Though, I’ll concede a portion of ticket sales to you.”

As the Duke listened to Ragnar’s words, he wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

To be honest, though he’d never heard the term “secondary copyrights” before, its meaning was easy enough to understand.

Which made it all the more baffling.

‘Does Ragnar truly believe this anime will succeed no matter what?’

Even to the extent of securing those rights while conceding some ticket revenue?

Rationally speaking, that shouldn’t happen.

Animation was a brand-new genre born from Ragnar’s fingertips—a strange, alien art form unfamiliar to most people.

Would anyone really open their wallets willingly to watch an animation when they wouldn’t hesitate for theater or opera?

Logically, the Duke’s reasoning made sense.

But…

‘Ragnar looked so confident somehow…’

Could it mean Ragnar possessed some groundbreaking method to create an anime that perfectly caters to public taste, making them open their wallets despite the cost?

‘Impossible. No matter how talented he is, creating such a monumental anime right off the bat defies logic.’

What the Duke didn’t know was that Ragnar’s mind was filled solely with plans to plagiarize the exciting theatrical anime he enjoyed in his past life.

No matter how powerful the Duke was, how could he possibly predict that Ragnar would wield a dimension-hopping cheat code?

Ultimately, Ragnar was just cocky.

****

Not long after that conversation between Ragnar and the Duke…

In the capital of the Empire, ‘Gradiel,’ the artistic community was buzzing over a single piece of paper.

==========

[Job Posting – Anime Voice Actors]

– Application Period: Within one month from now

Number of Recruits: Minimum 10 to 20

Preferred Qualifications: Actors with experience in theater or opera

Job Description: Provide voices for characters in the anime

Special Note: If there are more applicants than expected, auditions will be held to select candidates

– Interested parties may contact the Baronage Terison or the Grinevalt Dukehouse

==========

It was a common recruitment notice in this field.

Ordinarily, no one in this industry would pay attention to such a trivial job posting.

However, there were two reasons why everyone was fixated on this notice.

First, the poster was none other than the Grinevalt Dukehouse.

Since the Grinevalt family often showed favor to artists and provided generous patronage, no one could dismiss this announcement lightly.

Second…

“What? Is Lord Terison finally holding open auditions for voice actors for his anime?”

“Where are the auditions? Do we go to the Grinevalt Dukehouse or the Baronage Terison?”

“I was ready to give up thinking Lady Grinevalt might be cast as the voice actress, but clearly Lord Ragnar has a plan. I can’t miss this opportunity…”

For some reason, several theater actors and opera singers immediately decided to rush to the auditions upon seeing the job posting.

Naturally, most people were left wondering why they reacted so strongly.

Why were they so excited about something as insignificant as participating in an unheard-of and bizarre new genre called “anime”?

“…Ah. Yeah, yeah. It’s really nothing special, so don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, it’s just my hipster tendencies talking. That’s all.”

They grinned and gave vague answers without proper explanations.

Eventually, frustrated by the lack of clarity, the artistic community began gathering information about this mysterious “anime.”

“…Is this possible?”

“I can’t believe such a genre of art exists in this world?”

They quickly grasped the value of the anime created by Ragnar Terison.

“If I can participate as a voice actor in this anime, I could become a pioneer of a new genre. My name might even go down in history.”

“And with the Grinevalt Dukehouse backing the project, financial worries are unnecessary, right?”

Additionally, they understood what participating as a voice actor in an anime entailed.

Thus, it didn’t take long for most theater actors and opera singers in the city to decide to attend the auditions.

“So, what kind of anime is Lord Ragnar planning to make?”

“Hmm, let’s see…”

While flipping through the notice, they finally found the title of the anime scribbled in a corner.

“Huh? I thought it was a sequel to ‘Nymph and Goblin’?”

“What? So he’s making a completely new anime? What’s the name of this one?”

“‘Elsa and Hyeul’s Mysterious Disappearance’…?”

“‘Elsa and Hyeul’s Mysterious Disappearance’? That’s the title? Quite the unique name, isn’t it?”

“Well, he IS a genius, so he probably has his reasons.”

Two months later, as the audition for voice actors progressed, Ragnar completed the first-ever theatrical anime in this world: “The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel.”

Originally, he intended to release it as “Elsa and Hyeul’s Mysterious Disappearance,” but Ragnar ultimately had to tweak the title slightly.

No matter how shameless Ragnar was, he couldn’t bring himself to use the exact names “Elsa” and “Hyeul.”

That was Ragnar’s last shred of conscience.