Animation Producer in a Fantasy World

And so, some time after the conclusion of “Book of Life and Death” which once enthralled all citizens of the Empire.

Finally, the day of the draw for the Book of Life and Death replica that almost everyone in the Empire had been waiting for approached.

For reference, countless people attempted to get tickets for theaters and musicals to obtain draw tickets, and.

As a result, the number of draw tickets released to the market far exceeded 100,000.

This meant that at least 100,000 people would visit theaters to watch plays and musicals.

If this were Earth, hearing the number 100,000 wouldn’t feel that impressive.

Because in Korea, even a fairly uninteresting movie would easily get at least 100,000 viewers as a matter of course, and.

Similarly, games called at least “god-tier” aimed for a minimum sales target of about a million copies.

But that was only the standard on Earth.

By the standards of this world, 100,000 was a truly enormous number of people.

Even the largest theater in the system could barely accommodate just over a thousand people, and.

Considering that an average theater would be full with about 100 people, 100,000 was an incredibly huge number.

Of course, even though 100,000 draw tickets were released to the market, the majority of those people only bought tickets to get a chance at the merchandise draw, and.

Many of them thought there was no need to go see the play or musical since they had already seen the ending of “Book of Life and Death” through the animation.

Well, still, a considerable amount of the money people spent on ticketing would flow into the theater and musical industry, so it was probably a win-win result for both sides.

The draw for the Book of Life and Death replica was to be held in the square in front of the Imperial Palace, and it was decided that the Imperial Family would directly oversee it.

Originally, Ragna had planned to find a suitable merchant and entrust them with the draw, but.

When over 100,000 draw tickets were released to the market with enormous profits at stake, the Imperial Family had no choice but to step in directly.

This is a draw that over 100,000 people are watching.

If any problem were to occur during the draw process, those 100,000 spectators could immediately turn into a mob, so it was an entirely natural measure.

Of course, it wasn’t out of pure goodwill that the Imperial side volunteered for such a role, but.

“The Imperial side is asking to guarantee this draw?”

At Kaya’s request, the Emperor made a somewhat disgruntled expression.

“Hmm, I’m sorry, but I don’t think the Imperial side has any obligation to do such a thing. The Imperial name is not so light as to be casually used for such a draw event. Also, if any problem occurs during the draw event, who knows what damage might befall the Imperial-”

“Of course, it’s not for free. The director said he would present this to Your Majesty in return.”

Swish.

Saying so, Kaya handed over some object to the Emperor, and.

“Th-This is… could it be…!”

Bulge.

Receiving that object, the Emperor widened his eyes greatly.

“The Book of Life and Death replica, which is the prize for this draw, is a special edition that exists in only twelve copies on the continent. And each Book of Life and Death has numbering from 1 to 12 written on it for distinction.”

“…However, the director made a few additional special editions without numbering in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances. If you accept this request, we will give Your Majesty one with zero numbering-”

Grab.

“Very well. I accept this deal. So what should I do? If anyone expresses dissatisfaction with this draw, should I throw them all in the underground prison? Or should I have them all executed?”

“…..”

Anyway, since the Imperial Family would directly oversee this draw, there was no way anyone would dare express dissatisfaction about the fairness of the draw, and.

As the day of the draw approached, the square was filled with people just like when the “Machine God Chronicles” festival was held in the past.

Not only those who had entered the draw, but the number of people who came to see which lucky person would get their hands on that merchandise was truly enormous.

“Then, we will now begin the roulette draw for the Book of Life and Death replica, of which only twelve copies exist on the continent.”

Kaya, who volunteered to be the MC for this draw in preparation for any contingency, opened her mouth in a clear voice.

“From now on, balls with numbers from 1 to 100,000 written on them will be randomly ejected through magic. For your reference, even we don’t know which numbered ball will come out of the ejection port. All magic towers in the Empire and the Imperial Family have guaranteed that there is no manipulation in this draw, so please keep in mind that this draw depends purely on luck.”

Hearing Kaya’s words, the people watching from below the stage unknowingly nodded.

“The Imperial Family has guaranteed there’s no manipulation, so I guess we can trust that.”

“Moreover, even those picky magic towers have verified it, they say. And you’re not thinking that Her Highness the Imperial Princess would be involved in manipulation, are you?”

“…No, I haven’t said anything yet.”

After silencing people by invoking the authority of the Imperial Family and magic towers, Kaya began the actual draw for the merchandise.

“Then, I will now spin the roulette. If anyone has a draw ticket corresponding to the number called, please come forward…”

Whirrrrr-!

So Kaya began to spin the roulette with somewhat merciless hands, and.

“…Please, please let it be number 5231…!”

“I have as many as twelve draw tickets, you know. My chances of winning are ten times higher than other ordinary people, so there’s no way I won’t win, right?”

The people also quietly watched the roulette draw scene with a kind of expectation.

“Number 74589, 74589. You’ve won. Congratulations. Is there anyone here who has this draw ticket?”

“74589? Hahaha! I won! I won!”

As the draw proceeded, people who beat astronomical odds and got their hands on the Book of Life and Death replica appeared one by one, and.

“Damn, I’m dying of envy for those who won.”

“I heard that yesterday, some count’s family even posted a notice saying they’d buy the Book of Life and Death replica for 10,000 gold.”

“…10,000 gold? Isn’t that enough money to buy a decent large mansion in the middle of the system and still have some left over?”

“Crazy, that bastard. He’s completely set for life. As far as I know, that guy was just a jobless bum.”

Each time, most of the spectators couldn’t hide their envy as they looked at the lucky ones.

That’s how eleven copies of the Book of Life and Death replica were distributed through the draw, and.

Just when only one copy was still looking for an owner.

“Then, we should start the twelfth draw, but… that won’t be necessary. Because there is someone here who has collected ten Super Draw Tickets.”

“Wh-What did you say?”

“Collected as many as ten Super Draw Tickets…? Is that even possible?”

Hearing Kaya’s words, everyone present was unable to hide their astonishment.

A Super Draw Ticket is a ticket that can be exchanged for 10 regular draw tickets, with a slightly higher chance of winning than normal draw tickets.

And if someone collects 10 Super Draw Tickets, that person gets the right to unconditionally acquire a Book of Life and Death replica regardless of the draw.

But saying they collected 10 Super Draw Tickets meant they had acquired as many as 100 regular draw tickets.

To have collected 100 regular draw tickets that were difficult to get even one of, and make 10 Super Draw Tickets out of them.

Is that really something a human can do?

“A monster… completely a monster.”

“Crazy, completely crazy.”

“At that level, isn’t it like a ghost who bet their life on ‘Book of Life and Death’?”

So, behind the people’s astonishment, a man who had completely hidden his appearance by pulling up his hood stepped onto the stage.

“Congratulations. You must have had a really hard time collecting 10 Super Draw Tickets.”

Nod.

The man bowed his head slightly to show respect to the Imperial Princess’s words, then quietly came down from the stage after receiving the Book of Life and Death replica.

And after moving his feet without resting for even a moment, only when he reached a place without any signs of people did he take off the hood he had been wearing.

“Haa, now I can finally breathe.”

His identity was none other than the Young Duke Grinewald, Deneb El Grinewald.

A week ago, he had lost five draw tickets after losing a bet with the Duke, but.

He was a man of determination who had mobilized all means at his disposal and finally got his hands on ten Super Draw Tickets.

“Hehe, this is the replica of the Book of Life and Death… The very thing that the protagonist Louis used to judge evildoers in ‘Book of Life and Death’…!”

Deneb gently stroked the cover of the Book of Life and Death with an extremely ecstatic expression.

As far as Deneb knew, this replica contained many functions just like the real Book of Life and Death that appeared in the animation.

It had permanent duplication and regeneration magic cast on it, so the number of pages was virtually infinite, and.

There was also a function to cast a mild curse on a person by writing their name, on the condition of obtaining consent.

But, the most important point was none other than-

“Meow.”

“Indeed… it’s starting to become visible now.”

Deneb raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at the sight of a white cat floating in the air in front of him.

That’s right.

For faithful reproduction of the original work, Ragna had even included a device that allowed the person holding the Book of Life and Death to summon a Shinigami… no, a spirit.

In addition, he had added a function to customize the appearance of the spirit according to the user’s will, and.

Deneb had used that function to change the spirit’s appearance to that of a white cat.

Like the Shinigami in the original “Book of Life and Death”, a demonic appearance with black wings spread out wasn’t bad either, but.

For Deneb, this small cat appearance was more to his taste.

“Since it has become a new appearance different from before, I should give it a new name. Ryuk… is not quite right, how about the name ‘Kyubey’? It’s the name of a cat I kept in the past. So, do you want to make an official contract with me?”

Meow.

As if understanding Deneb’s words, the spirit in the form of a cat nodded its head, and.

Seeing this, Deneb broke into a bright smile.

At this moment, Deneb was the happiest person in the world.