Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: 12. Second Anime Plan (3)
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In the past, a question appeared in a Korean textbook: "Is it justice to privately execute someone who has committed a crime?" It sparked massive controversy worldwide.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary sentence that could appear in any textbook without issue.
However, the reason it made it into the textbook was tied to a single manga, which changed everything.
This work made everyone in modern society deeply contemplate what justice and evil truly mean.
And now, I was planning to produce an animation inspired by that very work.
"Have you ever heard of a being called a Shinigami?"
"...Shinigami?"
"Uh... you mean the one from fairy tales? The one who always wears a cloak and harvests the souls of the dead?"
"The story of it wielding a scythe in one hand and a Life-and-Death Ledger in the other, judging the souls of the deceased—it's quite famous."
I nodded slowly as I listened to Serika and Kaya.
"But suppose a Shinigami drops that Life-and-Death Ledger into the human world, where writing a person's name brings about their death. What do you think would happen?"
"...Pardon?"
And so, I explained the story of Death Ledger—not plagiarism, but benchmarking "that work"—to Serika, Kaya, and my master.
"...Ho ho."
"Hmm, that's..."
After hearing my explanation, the three of them reacted differently.
First, Serika's face lit up with immense admiration the moment she heard it.
"As expected of you, Raguna. Incredible. To elevate Father's idea into such an amazing story... This is practically on the level of you creating a brand-new narrative, isn't it?"
"....."
Even so, wouldn't phrasing it like that hurt the duke a bit?
I felt a slight relief that the duke himself wasn't present.
Meanwhile, Kaya looked at me with utter astonishment.
"...Brilliant. If we make it like that, it sounds incredibly entertaining. And so original. How do you even come up with such genius ideas?"
"....."
Hearing Kaya's lavish praise, I realized just how much I'd grown compared to my early days making anime.
Back then, compliments like that would have embarrassed me to no end.
Now, after churning out clichés and heavy references in Mecha God Chronicle, I just felt nonchalant.
"However... the story of Death Ledger that you described, Director, is fun, but it has quite a few plot holes in its setup."
"What kind of holes are you referring to?"
"For example, the scene where the protagonist first clashes with the detective pursuing him. Even that alone feels a bit unrealistic."
Kaya spoke in a calm tone.
"The detective broadcasts a challenge across the entire continent, declaring he'll catch the protagonist. The protagonist can't resist and commits a murder, kicking off their full confrontation."
"Yes, that's right."
"But the artifacts used for broadcasting anime right now are exclusive to the Empire. They're not widely available in other countries. Doesn't that make the setup feel unrealistic from the start?"
"Hmm."
Kaya's point was valid.
In fact, from a certain perspective, it was a razor-sharp observation.
Since "that work" was set in 21st-century modern society, any adaptation like Death Ledger would inevitably have holes when transposed here.
But.
"Ah, I forgot to mention one key detail."
"What is it?"
"The world in Death Ledger is set in a place where technology has advanced a bit further than our reality. For instance, everyone carries portable artifacts that let them communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere."
"...Pardon? But that's—"
Kaya seemed ready to argue it didn't make sense.
Unfortunately for her, it did.
The world-building of an anime is entirely up to the creator's whim.
So, when making anime in a fantasy world, why not set it in a backdrop where magitech is more advanced?
After all, Mecha God Chronicle's world was essentially sci-fi, not pure fantasy.
With that, I explained various modern essentials.
'Ah, this is called a cellphone. If you want, you can talk to someone hundreds of kilometers away.'
'Ah, this is called a grill. It means cooking meat over fire makes it tastier.'
More or less like that.
Fortunately, similar artifacts existed among those used by mages, so everyone followed easily.
Of course, understanding me easily and showering me with awe were two different things.
"...Impressive. Even grand archmages would need decades to conceive such concepts, yet here you are, describing them like you've actually used them...."
"Amazing. If an outsider heard you, they might think you really lived in that world. You're a genius, Director."
"....."
Sorry. I'm not a genius—I actually lived there.
Brushing aside the misunderstandings directed at me,
production on our second TVA anime, Death Ledger, officially began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The moment Death Ledger's production was greenlit, the first thing Raguna did was inform the duke.
After all, it was thanks to the duke's idea that Raguna could plan Death Ledger in the first place.
Naturally, upon hearing the news from Raguna, the duke plunged into ecstatic frenzy.
"What? That brat Raguna said he'd turn my idea into an anime?!"
"Yes. But he didn't use all of Father's ideas. For example, he didn't like 'Lua Nox' as the protagonist's name."
"...Hmph. Well, can't be helped."
Surprisingly, the duke took it coolly.
He'd never expected 100% of his ideas to be animated anyway.
From a big-picture view, what did a protagonist's name matter?
Besides, there was a decisive reason he let Raguna change it.
That being.
"Also, as compensation for using Father's idea, Raguna said he'd provide Father with an advance screening of Death Ledger two weeks early."
"W-What?!"
At Serika's words, the duke's eyes widened.
Back during Mecha God Chronicle's run,
the absolute source of power that forced the emperor to rename all nobles after water spirits.
The privilege of watching anime two weeks early.
Was Raguna now granting that privilege—not to the emperor, but to the duke?
"Kuhahaha!"
In the end, the duke burst into laughter, staring at the ceiling of his mansion as if it were the heavens.
But only for a moment.
"...No, this isn't the time."
The duke decided he shouldn't hoard this joyous news—he had to share it.
Joy shared doubles the happiness, right?
So, he went to.
The emperor, who had spoiled Mecha God Chronicle in front of him before.
"...What brings you to Us, Duke?"
"Nothing major, Your Majesty."
The duke spoke with poorly concealed smug superiority.
"Raguna said he'd provide me an advance screening of the next anime after Mecha God Chronicle."
"W-What?!"
At that instant, the emperor's eyes shook violently.
Because he'd lost that privilege due to the true ending incident with Mecha God Chronicle.
Hearing Raguna had given it to the duke instead, the emperor sighed toward the heavens.
'Why did the heavens birth both me and the duke?!'
Seeing the emperor's twisted expression, the duke felt it was time to dangle a carrot.
"Want to know?"
"...What?"
"Just as Your Majesty once graced us with Mecha God Chronicle spoilers, I could share Death Ledger details with you—if you wish. Of course, pending Raguna's approval."
"...!"
The duke's offer was sweet temptation laced with humiliation for the emperor.
It mirrored the emperor's past taunting perfectly.
But.
'We... We can't live without that thrill anymore....'
The dopamine rush from spoiling Mecha God Chronicle to nobles was pure addiction.
Recalling it still made his body tremble—what more needed saying?
In that moment, the emperor had only one response.
"...We accept your proposal. Very well, Duke."
"A wise decision, Your Majesty."
With that, the duke thrust out his hand.
"Then hand them over."
"...Hm?"
"The limited-edition figures of Eli and Hamel's Disappearance and Mecha God Chronicle that Your Majesty took. Time to return them."
"....."
And so.
Eli's awakened figure and the 1/144 scale Unit 0 figure from the emperor's secret display.
Were all confiscated.