Pocket Watch

"Xenia, are you reading manga in secret again?"

"Ah! No, I'm not... I finished all my studying and was just looking at it during a short break. Really..."

Xenia hid the manga behind her back and protested with a genuinely aggrieved look.

Yustaf could tell that his student's words were true.

Since traces of Xenia's mana still lingered in the room, she must have been studying magic until just moments ago.

'Her natural talent is outstanding, and she's clever on top of it.'

To Yustaf, who had raised countless disciples over the years, Xenia was undoubtedly the greatest talent among them.

His wizard's intuition told him that one day she would surpass even him.

When he had first brought her in, he had been surprised that she could read to some extent without ever having been taught, so he had asked her about it.

'I learned by reading books... picture books and manga.'

The unbelievable fact that she had taught herself to read without anyone instructing her.

And that was not all.

He had written his magic theory as concisely as possible, yet even current Academy undergraduates struggled to understand it.

Xenia, however, understood and absorbed it with astonishing ease, as naturally as breathing.

'If this child had fallen down a wicked path....'

It was fortunate that Xenia, who would be his final disciple, was so pure-hearted by nature.

Had she gone down a wicked path, the Empire might have faced a grave threat in the not-so-distant future.

"Well then, I am curious just how entertaining this newly released manga must be for you to have been reading it."

"...Here."

Xenia's expression as she handed over the manga she had hidden behind her back was exceedingly subtle.

The conflicting feelings of not wanting to give it up and yet having to hand it over because her master was curious were both visible in a single expression, which was quite amusing to see.

'Iron-Blooded Alchemist, huh.'

Yustaf focused primarily on magic, but he also possessed basic knowledge of alchemy.

It was fairly common for wizards to appear in novels, but a book centered on alchemists—and a manga at that—did pique his interest.

Before he knew it, Yustaf had settled into his seat and was devouring <Iron-Blooded Alchemist>.

And then his eyes began to widen.

***

"Kroon! Look at this, I made a ton of money again today!"

Sena came in jingling a pouch, wearing a bright smile.

"Hmph. Of course. There's no way human work can compare to the carvings and ornaments I make."

"Then why can't you make a glass coffin?"

"That's...."

As always, what finally silenced Kroon's boasting about his craftsmanship was the glass coffin.

The mysterious glass coffin from the picture book <Snow White>, said to have been made by the dwarves to protect the princess who had fallen asleep after consuming poison.

'What in the world is that thing?!'

From Kroon's perspective, it was unfair. How was he supposed to make a magical object that preserved whoever was placed inside it?

And on top of that, a coffin made of glass? Such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠delicate craftsmanship was possible only for the most exceptional artisans among dwarves.

Of course, he did not mean that his own skill was lacking—only that it was simply far too difficult to make.

'Heh, so Kroon can't make it even though he's a dwarf? The seven dwarves made one, though.'

Sena's constant provocations were driving him mad.

Those damn seven dwarves, seven dwarves!

What kind of dwarf had that damned author met, and where, to write such an absurd description?!

"Still, thanks to Kroon, I was able to buy a manga this time too."

"Hmph, praising me now is useless, brat. Anyway, I told you to buy something to eat, but you stubbornly refuse to listen."

Kroon had taken up the uncharacteristic work of making wooden ornaments and carvings to repay Sena, who often went hungry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠due to their difficult circumstances.

But this brat was damnably disobedient.

She should have bought meat, but instead she'd gone and bought the newly released manga because she wanted to read it.

"But look at this! Another dwarf-made object appears here!"

"What?"

Kroon was horrified by Sena's words.

He was afraid of what bizarre object that insane author had cooked up this time and blamed on dwarves.

Because Sena would obviously tease him again, asking if he couldn't make this one either.

"Look at this, Kroon! There's something called a New-Model Golem Prosthesis here, and it says these prosthetic legs and arms were born from dwarven secret techniques!"

"New-Model Golem Prosthesis?"

In the manga Sena had opened, there were prosthetic legs and arms of a form Kroon had never seen before in his life.

'What in the world is this?'

Objects made of steel that connected to the nerves and moved like original limbs.

They were labeled as the New-Model Golem Prosthesis.

Kroon examined every single scene featuring the New-Model Golem Prosthesis without missing a single one.

'Is there really a dwarf by the author's side?'

Admiration welled up. The detailed principles were not in the book, but Kroon could roughly tell how it worked just from its shape.

"Wait, here they should have used iron of a different strength. No, more than anything, this connecting link requires a special material—otherwise it wouldn't move as flexibly as a joint...."

Before long, Kroon was absorbed in the manga.

Sena was surprised by this unfamiliar side of Kroon. Normally, when making carvings or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ornaments, he just waved a single knife around carelessly.

He was even relaxed enough to joke with Sena while working.

This was the first time Sena had seen him so engrossed in something.

'I really did the right thing buying a manga instead of meat.'

Sena thought while watching Kroon's focused expression.

***

"Wow, this is really no joke."

I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The silver, antique-style pocket watch in my hand.

On its face, the Transmutation Circle that appeared in the manga I had personally designed and created was cleanly engraved, and the overall design was so beautiful that it could easily be used as an actual timepiece.

Even someone who knew nothing about manga would simply see it as an antique-style pocket watch.

Moreover, when the watch was opened, inside the outer lid was a picture I had personally drawn of the protagonist brothers together with their mother.

'Merchandise lives or dies by the details.'

Thanks to my insistence that this was an essential element, it had been decorated quite cleanly.

"Even as a merchant, I can say this would sell well on its own."

Esteban, the merchant company head, also seemed impressed by the watch's quality, examining it from various angles and offering praise.

But soon the merchant company head let out a sigh.

"Hah... Do you really intend to sell—no, raffle off—only twelve of these?"

"We can't mass-produce these anyway."

"That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is true."

I had no intention of selling the Imperial-Certified Alchemist Pocket Watch, the first Iron-Blooded Alchemist merchandise item.

I planned to give them away for free through a raffle to people who purchased the manga.

The merchant company head had called me crazy when he first heard my plan, but I was certain.

'This is definitely going to be a huge hit.'

This pocket watch merchandise could not be mass-produced.

Since artisans had to make each one individually, even running the workshop day and night would barely produce twelve.

In short, to make money from these, I would have to sell them at a truly exorbitant price.

No matter how much people wanted them, selling them at too high a price was likely to have a negative long-term impact.

So it was better to offer them as raffle prizes instead.

Rather than ruining my image for a meager profit, it was clearly better to increase manga sales, which mattered far more.

Besides,

"Since each manga volume earns one raffle ticket, people who want this merchandise will definitely buy multiple copies."

"Indeed, I hadn't considered that. Making people buy multiple copies of the same item—this is truly...."

Yes, a devilish sales tactic.

Are you watching, Korean idol agency executives?

Your descendant is once again bringing glory to the nation from here.

Isn't this exactly the cultural victory that Kim Gu spoke of?

Spreading K-sales tactics to another world.

If this fact were made known in Korea, my proud achievement would surely be broadcast everywhere from the nine o'clock news to nationalistic YouTube channels.

Truly a shame.

"But are you really sure about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You could leave the matter of selecting someone to help with the art to me."

Ah, that?

Lately, with working on Iron-Blooded Alchemist volume 2 and also working on picture books at Ada's request, even ten hands wouldn't have been enough.

So I had discussed hiring an assistant with the merchant company head.

When I said I absolutely had to see and select the candidates myself, the merchant company head had asked if that was really necessary.

But this was something I had to do myself.

A simple assistant only needed to draw well, but what I wanted was talent beyond that.

'There was an author in the past who really couldn't draw.'

In Japan, the birthplace of manga, there was an author who drew a work with elementary-school-level art that still got a formal serialization and even an animation adaptation.

In manga, art is an important element, but it is not everything.

I needed someone who could understand the work I was drawing and help with it.

That was why I would personally conduct the assistant interviews this time.

I was worried, of course. There was no guarantee I could find such talent even in a world where manga had become mainstream.

But worrying about it wouldn't help, so I set it aside for now and went back to reviewing the merchandise production process with the merchant company head.