Drawing Manga in a Romance Fantasy

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“It’s a mermaid!”

“No way! It must have been a fish!”

“No! Sena said it looked like a person!”

“That’s a common misunderstanding before losing consciousness…”

Oun couldn’t finish his sentence.

Thanks to Aida climbing onto his neck and starting to bite, Oun let out a scream like a little girl and started flailing around.

“Ahhh!!! The lady is right!”

“Waaah!”

Of course, Aida knew that if she really bit hard, someone could get seriously hurt, so when she pretended to bite someone else, she was gentle about it.

In the case of Oun, known for his sword expertise and rock-solid defense, Aida felt safe biting him no matter how hard she did it.

“Stop it.”

As soon as they returned home, Rupert put a hand to his temple at the troublesome scene that greeted them and stopped Aida.

“Wow!”

At Rupert’s voice, Aida immediately stopped biting Oun and rushed over to Rupert for a hug.

“Stop bothering Oun, Aida.”

“I’m not bothering him!”

“Then what are you doing?”

Hanging onto Rupert, Aida began to explain with an utterly wronged expression about what had happened earlier.

“So, Sena fell into the sea, and a mermaid saved her?”

“Yep! And so, Aida threw the Little Mermaid fairy tale book into the sea as a reward!”

Isn’t that just littering? thought Rupert, but he didn’t say it out loud.

“A mermaid…”

Among the beastmen of another world, the most famous and mysterious tribe was the merfolk.

Since they originally lived deep under the sea, there was no way to meet them, but there were legends of people who had once fallen into the sea and received help from mermaids to return.

That’s why sailors had a tradition of throwing coins into the sea, hoping a mermaid would save them in case of an unforeseen accident.

“No matter how waterproof it is, can it withstand being underwater?”

“I’m sure the mermaid picked it up!”

“Right, our Aida gave a present to the mermaid?”

“Yep!”

Rupert, hugging Aida, moved to the dining room to start dinner.

During the meal, Aida was so busy explaining how beautiful the sea she saw today was that Rupert and the Marquis barely managed to respond, making it hard for them to eat properly.

“Big brother! Make my treasure again!”

“Only if you promise to listen well from now on?”

“Okay!”

Once they finished eating, Aida clung to Rupert’s leg, whining to recreate the <The Little Mermaid> she had dropped in the sea.

Rupert patted Aida on the head and headed to the workshop to make the storybook.

“Oh, Rupert! You came at just the right time!”

Upon arriving at the first floor of the workshop, he encountered Kroon, who approached him as if to say he had something to discuss.

“Kroon, what’s up?”

“Well, I think I need to go to the Dwarf Kingdom for a bit.”

“The Dwarf Kingdom?”

“Yeah. Actually, I should have gone much earlier…”

Kroon began to explain why he was interested in the golem prosthetic he had made a while ago.

Rupert realized why Kroon had been so obsessed with the golem arm, as Kroon expressed his desire to give hope to a friend who had lost an arm in an accident while working in the mines.

“You don’t have to rush to create or develop anything for a while, so take your time on this trip.”

“Thanks. I think I need to gather a few necessary items as well, since the Dwarf Kingdom has a lot of rare metals!”

“Got it. I’ll tell Alain to have the money ready.”

“Haha, a penny-pincher like you suddenly being so generous is something to see.”

Rupert replied to Kroon, saying that even if Kroon was the richest person in the empire, he still couldn’t spend money recklessly, and after a brief argument, Kroon left to pack his things.

‘Still, there were many things that would have been impossible without Kroon.’

Though he often joked about him being a money-eating hippo, Rupert was genuinely grateful for Kroon since Somerset existed because of him.

If he had missed the time when Kroon was causing a scene in front of the Somerset Mansion, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how awful that would have been.

And then there was Sena, who had introduced him to Kroon.

The <Snow White> fairy tale book that brought him to Sena.

Rupert sincerely appreciated how everything he had done had woven together like a spider’s web to create the connections he had now.

Even the goddess who had summoned him to another world without consent.

“Ciri, are you still working?”

“You have arrived, Master Rupert.”

Recalling the first time he had met Kroon and Sena, Rupert arrived at the third-floor workshop and found Ciri still drawing.

“Impressive! Your drawing skills have really improved!”

“Is that so?”

Rupert was surprised when he checked the manuscript of the comic Ciri was drawing.

At first, there had been a clear difference from his art, but now it was so good it could easily trick someone if they weren’t paying close attention.

“But Ciri, you don’t have to get too caught up in work.”

“Why not? Do you think I’m of no help…?”

“No, it’s not that. Hmm… I do need your help, but I don’t want you to be stuck in the workshop all the time.”

Ciri tilted her head as if she didn’t understand Rupert’s words.

“You can do whatever you want whenever you want. Of course, just don’t let it be too noticeable.”

“What I want to do.”

At Rupert’s words, Ciri stood still without any expression or response.

‘She really is like an android at times.’

Ciri often spoke naturally now, and unless people like Rupert saw her true identity, they genuinely thought she was a person.

However, sometimes it showed that she was an android, so she couldn’t be exposed to the outside world, but Rupert wanted to support her in whatever she wished to pursue.

“My purpose of existence is to assist you, Master Rupert.”

After pausing for a moment, Ciri finally answered the question.

“Don’t worry too much about that.”

“I cannot. That would negate my reason for being.”

Rupert was at a loss for words at Ciri’s answer.

If someone asked Rupert if it was okay to abandon all the plans he had built over the last ten years and just live off what he had accomplished so far, it would be just as impossible for him.

“If I come to find another reason for existence, then it might be different.”

“Sure.”

Rupert sat next to Ciri and picked up a pen.

Reason for existence.

Thinking back to when he first started drawing comics here, it was because of Aida.

‘It was a story for my little sister.’

He had started creating storybooks to comfort Aida, who was feeling lonely while the other noble children boasted amongst themselves.

Then he remembered being summoned to the imperial palace and making comics to teach people how to read.

“Master Rupert, there is an error in the drawing you are making right now.”

“What? An error?”

“Yes. What you are drawing now is the Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid’s hair color is blue.”

“It’s fine. This is how it’s supposed to be.”

Rupert chuckled at Ciri’s words as he recalled memories while drawing the illustration for the Little Mermaid.

‘Back then, I had changed her hair from red to blue, just in case there would be a problem.’

He had initially felt guilty about changing the Little Mermaid’s hair color and had changed Nero’s hair from the <A Dog of Flanders> to red.

This time, he wanted to restore the Little Mermaid’s original red hair for Aida’s new copy.

Of course, it had also inadvertently led to a connection with Jenia, and even Amelia had come to believe that Rupert had done that because of her, creating a funny story in the process, which he thought might also be fate.

“There have been many incidents, like the time I fainted while drawing, and when I think about it, there have indeed been a lot of events.”

He recalled Ustaf, whom he met while drawing <Iron-Blooded Alchemist>, and Crown Prince Alex.

Looking back on the time when Alex, disguised, had come to punish Rupert for being rude while he was addicted to vitality potions, felt really dizzy to him now.

Fortunately, thanks to Aida, they passed through without major issues, and Alex had become Aida’s godfather, now known as the Steel Crown Prince instead of a reckless prince.

Ustaf, who had always had a solemn demeanor in the original work, now felt like Rupert’s boss and just a neighboring grandfather.

“Indeed, Master Rupert, you’re working way too much for a human. You need to cut back for your health.”

“I’m fine. I’ve got the goddess’s blessing, you know.”

“Really?”

Seeing Ciri look puzzled, Rupert recalled the moment he had collapsed.

He had pushed himself too hard, trusting too much in his health, leading to him finally fainting when Amelia came to cook for him.

Also, Alex appeared after losing an arm, and the Saintess came asking him to paint a holy painting.

It had been a moment of utter confusion, having no idea what was happening during the sudden turn of events.

Then, there were the grand tales he encountered after that, such as meeting Richard, the eldest son who had left the house while on his series of <Van Helsing>, and the secret organization known as the Crimson Warden.

‘It had been the goddess’s trick, but thanks to that, I met Rach and unknowingly resolved a crisis on the continent.’

Of course, he had almost been really hurt dealing with Sataniel while trying to stop his escape, but he remembered that he had gotten out of the crisis thanks to the necklace of the goddess statue given by the Saintess.

Then there was the shock of meeting the goddess and learning why he was summoned to another world and why events from his works were happening in reality.

But now,

‘I can only be grateful. The people by my side now are treasures that cannot be exchanged for anything.’

As Rupert looked at the illustration of the Little Mermaid that was almost finished, he thought.

If someone asked him what he would do if given another chance to return to Earth,

He could confidently say no.

“I want to conclude with an ending that everyone here can agree on.”

Because now, he liked it here more.