“Might there be something we’ve never seen beyond the Dungeons?”
This had been said for over twenty years. Then, the two potions brought by Japan’s Kawashima suddenly appeared. “Maybe” became reality, and Dungeons transformed from holes spewing endless vicious beasts into gates connecting to a utopia.
Dungeon, it was there that people saw hope for the first time in twenty years.
And was it no wonder they paid excessive attention to the next product released by Kawashima General Trading Corporation, the company that showed them that hope?
In the twenty-third year of the Lost Calendar, in May.
Including the daughter of Ms. Kimu who had been doing part-time work for us, a group of university students joined the company at the same time as their graduation, and our worries about manpower had diminished considerably…or so I thought during that time between spring and summer.
Among the lineup of convenient space technology products released by Kawashima General Trading Corporation, there was a space trading card game that I had casually included as a hobby. It was a little while after its release that it would cause ripples around the world.
“What do you want to do with the company, President?”
“Yes, I’m sorry…”
“I’m not blaming you. I just have this question about what kind of company you want to make.”
“I sincerely apologize…”
I was being interrogated by Ms. Iida at Kawashima General Trading Corporation’s general meeting of executives. The reason was simple – the card game “Drift-Cane” that I had incorporated into the space product line was selling too well, resulting in an explosion of complaints from people who couldn’t buy it and inquiries from various companies and mass media.
That game called “Drift-Cane” was essentially just a typical competitive trading card game. You accumulate energy, summon monsters, use magic to reduce the opponent’s life to zero, and the first to do so wins – nothing novel at all.
Well, it’s only natural since I chose that template and had the production machines make it…but in any case, the special part of “Drift-Cane” wasn’t in the rules, but in the very look of the cards themselves.
“But the kids across the country must be happy that Tonbo released this. I mean, if we had something like this when we were kids, we would’ve been obsessed with it.”
With eyes sparkling like a child’s, Mr. Kaneki said to Director Iida while holding a card in his hand. On the illustrated part of the card placed on the table…there was a 3D holographic image of a female thief twirling a silver knife in her hand, as if a figurine was standing there.
“That’s not what I’m talking about. Why don’t you stay quiet for now, Mr. Kaneki?”
“S-Sorry…”
Yes, the cards in this game had the function of projecting 3D holographic images above them. What’s more, when players ordered an attack, the image would actually aim at the enemy and go into an attack motion, sometimes even moving over to the opponent’s card to battle the enemy…an analog card game with flashy effects like a video game, truly the form of a futuristic card game.
And sold at the same price of 300 yen for a pack of 10 cards that I used to buy trading card games for as an elementary student…it sold out immediately on the first day. It was secured in bulk by resellers, causing prices to soar and apparently leading to an outrageous uproar of complaints.
While the distribution channels expanded through outsourced companies we commissioned for packaging and listing, there were inevitably places like in-person sales where countermeasures against resellers were ineffective.
“But still, Director Iida, I get that it’s a problem if the product you made doesn’t sell. But if it’s selling well, isn’t that a good thing…?”
Mars tried to support me from the side, but Director Iida’s expression remained stern.
“That’s not what I’m saying, Executive Director. What I’m saying is that our company may be too small to be dipping our toes into so many different things. I absolutely cannot tell my subordinates to do any more overtime.”
“Well, I guess you’re right…It might be Tonbo’s fault…”
Instantly defeated, Mars turned away from me after pinning the blame.
“In any case, if you really want to seriously get into entertainment business like this, then you need to properly establish a dedicated business division and hire people for it. Or else…”
“Or else…?”
“Partner with an outside company. We’ve already received inquiries from four companies regarding that card game. Take your pick.”
Though she said that…I couldn’t possibly ask the overworked Director Iida to gather personnel because I wanted to launch a new business division.
And so the card game business I had enthusiastically started ended up proceeding as a joint project with Double Neck, a major toy manufacturer.
And the very first production run before partnering with an outside manufacturer, released at that time…
I had no idea, nor was I involved, in how it would later be traded at exorbitant prices as the legendary “Kawashima Edition.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
That said, if we decided to partner with an outside company to do this, we had to make sure it was profitable. I was assigned by Director Iida to work with a man named Mr. Tokuda who was a card game enthusiast within the company, and we engaged in negotiations with the manufacturer.
However, unlike my carefree assumption that users would just play with the cards once they were sold…Mr. Imakawa, the professional card game businessperson and representative from the toy maker Double Neck who showed up to the meeting room at Kawashima’s head office with a mountain of documentation, had a broader perspective and stern advice.
“Just because something is good doesn’t mean it will sell – discard that notion right away. You see, first and foremost, it’s important for people to know about it.”
“But Mr. Imakawa, our company is already pretty well-known, isn’t it?”
“Mr. Tokuda, kids don’t look at the company name when buying toys.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true, but…”
“Children of the age to buy card games choose and purchase from among the fun-looking things – the ones they know, the ones everyone else has. And in that sense, Mr. Kawashima has one strength – name recognition among the parents who give their children money to spend.”
“I see…”
Mr. Imakawa, with fashionable glasses, stopped the hand motions that made it seem like he was spinning a potter’s wheel, and flipped through the pages of a thick booklet.
“As shown on page 86, first and foremost is making people aware of it. To that end, we need an anime adaptation, a manga adaptation, and if possible, a video game adaptation as well. This is crucial.”
“A full multimedia franchise expansion right from the start?”
“Not exactly right from the start…but at the very least, for our company’s card game business strategy, a multimedia franchise is almost a minimum requirement.”
I was honestly taken aback by how big the discussion had become.
he placed a thick binder in front of me and opened it to a page in the middle. The card file inserted there contained…cards from a game I used to play as a kid that was based on a video game series.
“Mr. Kawashima, ever since I was a child up until now as an adult, I’ve been playing card games nonstop. Even when scolded by parents and teachers, even as friends retired from them, even as I got dumped by girlfriends – nonstop. And in that time, I’ve experienced all kinds of cards.”
As Mr. Imakawa flipped through the pages, there were massive amounts of card games I had never even seen before, with countless different types displayed.
“Popularity of the original work, novel game systems, beautiful illustrations, profound flavor text, exciting tournaments and community, economic value of the cards themselves – each card game had its own strengths, and only those with excellent overall evaluations considering all those factors remained. But even from my perspective having seen all of those, I’ve never encountered cards as amazing as Dokken.”
“Dokken…?”
Was that an abbreviation for Drift-Cane?
While I was puzzled, Mr. Imakawa opened to the last page of the binder. There were Drift-Cane cards lined up, with 3D holographic images floating up simultaneously from the nine pockets.
“Compared to other cards, Dokken is truly the card game of the future. And it’s one embodiment of the exciting, amazing future we imagined as children!”
“…That’s why I wanted to release these cards to the world.”
“President Kawashima, I don’t want this card game to just be a passing fad! For today’s children, and for our childhood selves back then…please, let us do a multimedia franchise expansion! I beg of you!”
I placed my hand on the shoulder of the tearful Mr. Imakawa. Next to me, Mr. Tokuda also put his hand on his opposite shoulder and nodded towards me.
“Let’s do it, Mr. Imakawa!”
“I’ll help in any way I can!”
“…Thank you so much!”
And that’s how the meeting with the toy manufacturer seemed to come together nicely…but…
“Since the card game was the president’s idea, I did leave it in your hands…but from now on, could you bring these kinds of discussions back to me before giving the other party an answer?”
I ended up sternly removed from the negotiator role by the rather annoyed Ms. Iida.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
