Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The First Anime (1)
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"Nymph and Goblin."
The 40-minute short animation I'd created to steal the kids' attention.
The plot was simple.
A goblin spots a nymph left alone in an empty house and barges in to devour her.
But the nymph combines various tools around the house to set traps, or cleverly uses her innate nymph abilities to toy with the goblin before chasing him out.
If that sounds familiar, you're right on the money.
This anime was essentially a hybrid chimera stitched together from the distilled essence of countless creative works humanity had piled up over endless ages.
Home Alone, Tom and Jerry, The Simpsons, and what else was it...
Anyway, I'd blended plots and clichés from all sorts of works whose names I couldn't even remember.
If I'd made something like this back in 21st-century Korea, it would've been roasted alive as a horrific cliché mash-up and buried under a barrage of insults.
But this was a fantasy world where Japanese and American animation hadn't just become commonplace—it had vanished entirely.
So to the people here, a cliché-stuffed anime like this could only come across as something fresh and innovative.
In fact, the noble kids were raving about it in their reviews after watching, saying it was the first truly fun thing they'd ever seen.
Noble families I'd never even heard of were sending their kids flocking to see it.
Thanks to that, Isegye Aberland—which had been on the brink of shutdown from lack of popularity—felt like a roaring success, and I couldn't have been happier.
Let's keep this momentum going just like this.
That's what I thought, convinced my flawless plan was proceeding smoothly.
Right up until a most distinguished guest—one utterly out of place in a lowly house like the Tersion Baron's—came calling for me.
"...Serika?"
"Long time no see, Raguna. Has it really been... about three years?"
Serika El Grinebalt—the daughter of the Grinebalt Duke's family and my childhood friend—had visited the baron's estate and watched the anime with her little sister.
To be honest, I'd always found the duke's daughter herself profoundly uncomfortable, even from way back.
Sadly, the option of pretending I didn't know her wasn't on the table for me.
"...Yeah, long time no see. Serika."
My voice came out a bit glitchy, like it was buffering.
This wasn't some symptom of being an utter shut-in who'd never even held a girl's hand in my past life.
Damn it... why the hell did she come to a backwater like the Tersion Baron's place?
On the surface, we might look like equals bantering casually, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The Grinebalt Duke's family was the empire's most esteemed house, second only to the imperial family itself.
For a pushover baron like Tersion—who couldn't even stand up to a mere weasel's chirp from a count's estate—she was a colossal big shot.
No wonder I naturally shrank back a little.
"That anime you made? I just watched it. It was really fun. My little sister seemed satisfied too."
Of course it was.
Though I'd made it primarily for kids, I'd crafted it to be enjoyable even for adults.
Just like how those magical girl anime meant for kids back on Earth were mostly watched by grown-ups.
Anyway, Serika latched onto me and started rattling off thoughts about the anime, one after another.
At first, I figured it was just the usual social butterfly small talk.
But as time passed, the vibe started getting weird.
Like, something along these lines.
"To me, the nymph symbolizes nature, and the goblin represents humans who destroy it. It's like... a direct confrontation with the ugliness of human civilization."
"The goblin harassing the nymph symbolizes people who don't care about others, right?"
"The nymph subduing the goblin without killing him—it's a straight shot at modern folks who've gone numb to taking lives, yeah?"
"..."
I'd thought she was just sharing her takeaways from watching it all the way through.
But as time dragged on, she started spouting bizarre interpretations that even I, the creator, couldn't follow.
What the hell is that supposed to mean, you otaku?
I'd made the anime purely as a time-killer for kids, not to snipe at societal ills.
After holding me captive with all this chatter for ages, Serika finally clicked her tongue regretfully and spoke up.
"Your anime was really fun... but there were a few regrettable things. Like, no voices for the characters."
"That was out of my hands. Making it solo came with all sorts of limitations."
Truth be told, I desperately wanted to add voices to the characters too.
But even with magic, it was impossible.
To be precise, the moment I tried dubbing voices onto the anime characters with magic, out came this stiff, robotic AI-generated drone.
I'd bitten back tears and cut the voices to avoid tanking the production quality.
"Hmm, is that so? Well then, Raguna—what if you made a sequel?"
"A sequel? Hm... I do have some plans laid out."
This wasn't empty talk; it was the truth.
No matter how much I loved freeloading, I couldn't hold onto the noble kids forever with just one 40-minute anime.
Hearing that, Serika pondered for a moment before speaking up.
"Hey, Raguna. Mind if I ask you a favor?"
"...A favor? What is it?"
I eyed her warily, a bad feeling brewing.
And sure enough, what came out of her mouth blew past all my expectations.
"If you do make a sequel... would you consider adding a voice for the protagonist nymph? It's all great, but without voices, it feels kinda unfinished..."
"What?"
So, she was saying we should bring in actual voice actors for the anime?
***
The woman named Serika El Grinebalt absolutely adored art.
She loved all the poetry, songs, and paintings humanity had produced, and she'd been born with tremendous talent for them herself.
Critics said that if she hadn't been born a duke's daughter, she could've rewritten the empire's art history.
That's why she took such keen interest in the new art form called "animation" that her childhood friend had created.
Animation—a moving picture fairy tale...
To be frank, moving pictures weren't some groundbreaking idea.
Magicians' fairy tale books often had illustrations that animated on their own.
The duke's family even owned a few.
So when she heard about it from Isabel, Serika could roughly guess what Raguna's innovative "animation" was.
Only kids would find moving picture fairy tales fun. But it's Raguna's art, so I should go cheer him on and say it's great.
With that, Serika visited the Tersion Baron's estate and watched the anime titled Nymph and Goblin.
...I can't believe it. To think something this incredible existed in the world.
That day, she experienced a whole new world.
At a glance, it resembles a moving picture fairy tale, but its essence is entirely different. This thing called animation... it's clearly made to entertain kids!
That's right.
The empire had countless fairy tales for children, but their true purpose wasn't amusement—it was imparting morals.
Be good. Don't lie. Be loyal to the empire and His Majesty the Emperor...
As a result, the stories tended to be dreadfully dull for kids to read.
But it couldn't be helped.
No matter how hard the authors tried, nailing both fun and lessons was no easy feat.
But this "animation" from Raguna Tersion was different.
It was made first and foremost to delight children.
In fact, Serika herself had been so engrossed in the story that she lost track of time.
Moreover, this animation transcended mere "moving picture fairy tales," making her half-convinced the characters were truly alive and moving.
It was astonishing. Miraculous.
She'd thought novels, plays, and operas were the pinnacle of art—but that wasn't the case at all.
Yet because of that, Serika felt a pang of regret.
If only they could add voices to that animation... it would've been perfect!
Raguna's Nymph and Goblin was a flawless work of art.
But it had proper background music and sound effects—yet no character voices—which felt like such a shame.
If she were an ordinary person, she'd have just savored the feeling and gone home quietly.
But Serika wasn't ordinary. She was a brilliant artist herself, and the daughter of the Grinebalt Duke's family, which lavishly sponsored artists every year.
Plus, Raguna was her one and only precious childhood friend.
She knew his family wasn't well-off, so she wanted to help however she could.
Money was something she had in spades—it wasn't the issue.
That's why.
"If you do make a sequel... would you consider adding a voice for the protagonist nymph? It's all great, but without voices, it feels kinda unfinished..."
"What?"
"That's why I'm saying—if you're okay with it, could I help find someone to voice the nymph? I know a few people from theater or opera with amazing voices."
Just imagining who might voice the nymph had Serika's heart pounding endlessly.
And so, Serika evolved from a mere otaku into a voice actress otaku.