Chapter 72

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 72

Chapter Title: Junior Artists Quit En Masse

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"Ah, what's that?"

Clutching the shawl she had draped over my shoulders, I pointed at what was obviously a hefty stack of important-looking documents.

"Hehe, it's a letter from Baroness Pavron."

I'd been thinking it was about time, and sure enough.

She never failed to live up to my expectations.

"Wow, it's packed full again today."

I stepped naturally into the room and strolled down the hallway, slowly scanning the letter's contents.

Baroness Pavron. Ever since she joined the comic production team, my schedule had become dramatically more relaxed.

To explain the whole process: She lays out the basic story framework, I review it and pass it to the artists, Ashley adapts it, and then it gets turned into comics...

But since she knew the story and characters inside and out better than expected, my workload had shrunk massively!

'Looks like there's hardly anything for me to tweak this time either.'

Whether she'd always been meticulous and creative, or just grown sharper by the day, Baroness Pavron was progressing at an impressive pace.

Still, it was only natural to check on how things were running firsthand.

My外出 ban(?) had finally been lifted after so long—I should at least say hello to everyone I hadn't seen.

"I've got to head straight to Ashley!"

Thinking of the artists who always welcomed me so warmly made my mood lift already.

I quickened my steps with a bright smile.

After the comic business took off so successfully,

the Duke of Brail had given one of the large annexes in the duchy grounds over to the artists.

I'd been excitedly looking forward to chatting with Ashley on the way there, but the moment I stepped into the building, a nagging sense that something was wrong washed over me.

'What's going on? Why does everyone look so down?'

Pushing aside my growing unease, I went to find Ashley, but her face was just as grim as the rest.

Ashley, who had tried to keep her emotions in check since taking charge of comic production...

"...Ah, Lady."

Her face was utterly drained.

"Ashley, what on earth happened?"

Sensing this wasn't the time for pleasantries, I took a step toward her.

"Something bad has clearly gone down, hasn't it?"

Ashley, who had been hanging her head in silence for a while, finally spoke up in a cautious tone, recounting what had happened.

"Well..."

Though her words came haltingly now and then, what she meant was this:

'The junior artists all quit out of the blue, like they'd planned it together.'

Did that even make sense?

It left even me, just hearing about it, dumbfounded.

"When we asked what the problem was, they gave no answers, and already five have packed up and left the duchy."

Getting summoned to the empress and praised had motivated them, and since then, the artists had been pushing the pace on their own.

Every part of production had kept up with that speed, and the tied-in merch business was running smoothly too.

In other words, everything was moving fast—except now people were dropping out.

To keep comic production on track, they needed to hire at least five more. Even then, it'd be tight.

But in this situation, five had up and left?

Maybe they thought their pay didn't match the workload?

It happened back in Korea sometimes too, so with that in mind, I asked carefully.

"Did you try offering raises?"

"We held off at first, figuring it'd lead to a chain of wage negotiations..."

She gripped the hem of her dress tightly and shook her head.

"But as things got worse, we offered that too. It didn't help."

Junior artists with barely any experience turning down even a raise?

And right now, outside, senior artists' voices rang out sharply, trying to stop someone else from leaving.

"...We have artists handling inking, coloring, and post-processing, so production itself isn't stalled. But without the juniors assisting on the small tasks, the remaining team's burden just grows."

It was obvious.

Ashley herself had been burned out before they started hiring replacements.

I still vividly remembered the exhausted faces of the early production crew—I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

"Fatigue could build up and derail production altogether."

"Yes... But we can't just hire anyone."

Collaboration and communication were the most vital virtues in comic making.

Drawing skill mattered, of course, but they inevitably had to work face-to-face often, filling in each other's gaps.

Yet most people jumping into comics now were either subpar talents or outcasts from the industry.

Because...

'The solitary "true artists" finger-pointed at successful commercial comic artists, accusing them of selling out for a few coins.'

Those scraping by could at least make a living thanks to comics, but among pure artists, comics were still seen as second-rate.

The three veteran artists who'd come under the duke's scout—leading their own teams—had issued a joint protest, forcing an apology. But that perception wouldn't shift easily. New art forms always got scorned historically.

Anyway.

"Until we can hire decent people, the leads will have to tough it out... This really isn't good."

Ashley sighed deeply, rubbing her weary eyes.

But hearing her out, a thought crossed my mind.

'It's sudden and bewildering, but maybe we're just facing something inevitable early.'

No artist wants to stay a sidekick forever.

In this world, the norm was long training under a famous mentor, then going independent to create solo.

In that light, Safety Rules of the Haunted Duke's Castle—with its fanbase shaking the empire and continent—was perfect training ground for building careers.

But how long could that last?

Having worked on a hit, more would crave serializing their own works, fired up by creative ambition.

It was inevitable. Letting them go was bound to happen eventually.

'As a reader, more options should excite me.'

Of course, that was for the future. This case felt unnaturally abrupt.

Juniors who'd worked less than two months quitting all at once? Definitely suspicious.

"Let me know anytime if there's anything I can do to help, Ashley."

"...Of course. Thank you for always caring, Lady. I feel bad showing you this weak side."

She gave a light smile, back to her usual self.

I handed over Baroness Pavron's letter and briefly shared my thoughts.

"By the way, Lady, you're incredible too... Rushing back to the site the moment your work ban(?) lifted."

"...W-Well."

"It means you care deeply about the work, right? Same here."

As I fumbled for words in surprise, I noticed Ashley's face darkening again and furrowed my brow.

"...We need people flocking to the comic workshop soon. Or how about asking Aide Liam for help outright?"

"Yes, that's the plan."

With that, I left her with a small word of encouragement and stepped out of the annex.

But then.

"This is bad, miss!"

Another crisis came crashing over me like a towering wave.