Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: 14. Life and Death Ledger - Beginning, Development, Turn, Conclusion (2)
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The imperial palace's conference room.
The place where the emperor and high-ranking nobles usually gathered to deliberate on the empire's major affairs.
And right now, the emperor and the nobles were assembled there, all wearing grave expressions.
If ignorant onlookers saw them, they might suspect some colossal catastrophe had befallen the empire.
Well, in a way, that wasn't entirely wrong.
The reason the nobles had gathered was none other than the thunderbolt of devastating news that had struck them.
"The matter is quite serious, so let's get straight to the point. Everyone, please remain silent."
Speaking in a calm tone on the emperor's behalf as the chair of this meeting, Grinebalt Duke opened his mouth.
"Everyone present here surely knows what I'm referring to. That absurd incident where nobles gathered in this very room over episode 25 of Mecha God Chronicle."
At the duke's words, the nobles involuntarily nodded.
How could they possibly forget that event?
It wasn't anything else—it was a meeting called because of 'animation,' something they had always dismissed as mere entertainment, nothing more, nothing less.
But what was even more astonishing was that the fallout from episode 25 of Mecha God Chronicle had produced consequences even these assembled nobles couldn't ignore.
For some reason, Raguna Tersion, the director of Mecha God Chronicle, had unleashed an utterly ridiculous plot twist at the end of episode 25, blowing up the Earth.
This sparked everything from people hoarding food in preparation for emergencies to all sorts of lunatics stirring up crowds by preaching the end of the world.
Of course, most people in this room knew full well.
Humans were creatures highly susceptible to influence from media like culture or art.
That sometimes a single book or a beautiful verse of song could wield greater power than swords or magic in controlling the masses.
Even accounting for that, though, the impact of Mecha God Chronicle and other animations on the empire's citizens was staggeringly immense.
And now.
The horrific nightmare sparked by episode 25 of Mecha God Chronicle in the past was on the verge of repeating itself.
The reason being none other than...
"Raguna Tersion, that fellow, plans to conclude Life and Death Ledger ahead of schedule. Very soon. Possibly within the next 10 episodes!"
"W-what?!"
"I-is that true?!"
"Impossible! My Life and Death Ledger—Life and Death Ledger—only has 10 episodes left until the end?!"
At the duke's declaration, the nobles in the room wore expressions of sheer shock.
After all, they too were devoted fans who never missed the weekly 9 p.m. airing of Life and Death Ledger on weekends.
Some even collected merchandise on the sly or, in extreme cases, hid their identities to dive into forums and engage in heated debates under the banner of 'my struggle.'
Animation had become an integral part of life for the empire's people.
Of course, they knew it too.
No matter how entertaining an animation was, since its essence was a 'story,' it was bound to end someday.
But even so, wasn't this going too far?
Raguna's previous work, Mecha God Chronicle, had run for a full 50 episodes.
Not content with that, he'd even thrown in director's cuts with individual endings for each heroine as a fan service.
So why end Life and Death Ledger so prematurely?
No one would complain if Life and Death Ledger ran for 50 episodes like Mecha God Chronicle!
"I was so shocked that I spoke with Raguna myself, and he said that for any other work, maybe, but for this one, leaving at the peak is the right path."
"...Pardon?"
"He claimed that ending it this way, at least for Life and Death Ledger, would be the perfect finale."
What those present couldn't even imagine...
Was that every time Raguna watched Earth's 'that work' which inspired Life and Death Ledger, he felt a pang of regret.
Because the cerebral cat-and-mouse game between the protagonist and the pursuing detective was top-tier entertainment.
But as the story progressed past the midpoint, due to various 'adult circumstances,' the serialization dragged on forcibly, causing the quality to plummet dramatically.
Incidentally, this wasn't just Raguna's personal opinion—it was the creator of 'that work' himself who felt that way.
The mangaka who made 'that work' later drew a story about a boy aspiring to be a mangaka.
In that sequel, he directly referenced his past work, lamenting that he should have ended it early instead of being shackled by editorial pressures.
Thus, Raguna felt the same.
He wasn't immune to the success of Life and Death Ledger or the profits from extending it.
But he judged that concluding it here was ultimately the best for the work itself.
...Well, truth be told, even without Life and Death Ledger, there were endless other Earth works ripe for adaptation, giving him that leisure.
However.
"Duke Grinebalt, Your Excellency. Could you possibly persuade the director of Life and Death Ledger one more time? Ending it at this juncture... would be rather inconvenient."
"...Is there some problem?"
At the duke's question, Count Florence, the empire's chief of public security, sighed and spoke up.
"The thing is... since Life and Death Ledger began airing, the empire's crime rate has dropped by over 50%."
"...Pardon?"
"That's not all. The number of criminals turning themselves in has surged dramatically as well. A single animation achieved what the empire couldn't despite pouring in millions of gold!"
At Count Florence's words, everyone present looked utterly baffled.
They too, while watching Life and Death Ledger, had fleetingly thought that if they committed a crime, Zodiac might judge them through the ledger.
But enough to make criminals surrender voluntarily?
Didn't this make all the empire-wide policies to reduce crime up to now look laughable by comparison?
"Of course, this is likely a temporary phenomenon since Life and Death Ledger is airing empire-wide. But still, the longer it runs, the greater the benefit to the entire empire, no?"
"....."
In the past, Raguna had used Mecha God Chronicle to successfully resume cultural exchanges with the Richard Kingdom, long-time rivals of the empire.
And now, Life and Death Ledger was making a massive contribution to lowering the empire's crime rate?
This is ridiculous. I'm going mad. Who would've thought the son of some no-name baron would grow into a titan shaking the empire.
I misjudged. Like Duke Grinebalt, I should have invested in Sir Raguna's animations early on.
Should I reach out to Raguna Tersion now? If I could join his animation ventures, the profits would be enormous...
As the nobles present mentally calculated their abacuses...
The imperial princess, who had been sitting silently to the emperor's right, listening without a word, quietly spoke up.
"Apologies, but I will disregard the count's words."
"...Pardon? No, Your Highness. Why—"
"Because the director has already decided to conclude Life and Death Ledger within the next 10 episodes."
The princess stated it firmly, as if this was non-negotiable.
"When we first agreed to make animations together, we made a promise. No interference in his creative process, no matter what. And I have no desire to break that promise with him."
"...Your Highness."
"I'm sorry, Count. So, let's pretend that suggestion was never made."
Though she phrased it politely before the count...
In truth, among those present, the one most dissatisfied with Life and Death Ledger's early conclusion was none other than the princess herself.
Personally, she preferred Life and Death Ledger's story over Mecha God Chronicle, so she wanted it to air as long as possible.
But forcing Raguna to continue wouldn't guarantee the satisfying developments they had now.
And she vividly remembered the emperor's unseemly tantrum over Mecha God Chronicle's episode 50 ending, which he hadn't accepted gracefully.
Anything but becoming like the emperor—she wanted no part of that.
"...Hmm."
"It's regrettable, but... if Your Highness insists, there's nothing for it."
As the nobles nodded slowly in agreement with the princess...
"Hah. What an arrogant punk, just the whelp of some nameless baron. If Your Highness weren't here, I'd have kidnapped him into our house and made him churn out Life and Death Ledger every day."
The princess furrowed her brow involuntarily at the mutter from one of the nobles seated at the table.
Turning to look, it was a face she didn't recognize.
As the empire's princess, she had memorized the faces of virtually all nobles, so this was undoubtedly some minor fringe noble.
No—even if not, it didn't matter.
The moment he badmouthed Raguna, she mentally branded him a fringe noble.
"...Oh? Quite the interesting opinion."
The princess stared straight at the fringe noble and spoke.
"To say such a thing, knowing full well whose subordinate I am... How utterly bold."
"Y-Your Highness! Th-that was—!"
The fringe noble belatedly realized his slip and begged for mercy.
But it was far too late.
The princess had already decided his punishment.
Truth be told, she simply wanted to pay back on someone else what Raguna had done to her a few days prior.
"I hear you're such a fan of Life and Death Ledger that you'd watch it every day. So, as a special treat, I'll tell you how the story unfolds from here."
"No, please! Don't tell me! Mercy, I beg—!"
But ignoring his pleas, the princess whispered softly into his ear.
"...The second Zodiac to find the Life and Death Ledger that fell to earth is the woman who lost her family to the murderer Louis took down in episode 1. She's made a deal with the shinigami and can now see others' lifespans."
"Urk...!"
"Because of her careless actions, Louis ends up exposed as a Zodiac. But he schemes using the shinigami who has feelings for her—and what that scheme is roughly—"
"Arrrgh...!"
The man paid dearly for his loose tongue, learning every twist for the next four episodes in an instant.
For the next two weeks, he lost all will to live.
