Chapter 19
Accepting Professor Elena's proposal changed my daily life, if only slightly. I used to go to the library or grab a quick meal and head to my lodgings as soon as all my classes ended, but these days, I visited Professor Elena's office.
Friday was the day all my classes ended. After mailing the manuscript for Volume 8 of The Chronicle of Xenon to my parents, I headed straight for her office. I didn't forget to knock before entering.
A moment later, I opened the door and entered the office, greeted by its characteristic musty smell. As soon as I opened the door, I spotted Cindy sitting at her desk, busily writing something.
"Hello, Cindy."
"Hellooo..."
In any case, although Professor Elena was often away on business whenever I visited the office, Cindy was not. She always greeted me looking like an exhausted corpse. I had grown used to her appearance, so I didn't pay it much mind.
"How are you today? Are you still tired?"
"Maybe I'm a little better...? I don't know..."
It seemed that drooping way of speaking was impossible to fix. Then again, I'd heard she'd been exhausted for years, not merely months, so it must have been difficult to change.
If she were human, she ought to have died from overwork by now, but elves seemed capable of enduring it.
I stared at Cindy, who seemed to be writing a paper at her desk, then quietly walked over to her side.
I didn't know how to write a thesis, but Professor Elena had asked me to help with the writing itself rather than teach me how to write one. So I took a look to see how bad it was...
...Cindy?
"Mmm...?"
"Could you stop writing for a moment and let me read what you've written?"
"Why-yy?"
It was that bad.
I suppressed those words and urged Cindy again.
"Give it a read. Starting around the middle here."
"Mmm... The wars among humans that arose after the Race War can be said to starkly reveal humanity's dark side, and they were the reason the Minerva Empire was able to establish itself as a great power to this day, as well as the reason many countries continue to call for independence, while the Mekeerton Kingdom, which could be called the Minerva Empire's rival, formed alliances with the surrounding kingdoms..."
"Stop."
It was roughly like that. Never mind readability; it was a complete mess.
'It's like reading my first work...'
In my previous life, people praised me for my writing ability, but it had never been good from the start. On the contrary, my first work had been so unreadable that it made people ask, "What kind of story is this?"
Cindy's thesis was repeating the same mistakes people made when they first started writing.
Failing to break up sentences here and there for readability and stringing everything into one, or repeating the same words. Those were among the mistakes beginners made most often.
Now that I understood the fundamental problem, I faced Cindy, who was wearing a bewildered expression, and asked her,
"Cindy. Do you understand what this means?"
"I dooo...?"
She tilted her head, looking puzzled. I let out a deep sigh at her situation, since she didn't even know what the problem was.
'Even so, this is a bit much...'
I'd criticized this world's novels for being like CSAT English questions, but academic papers were an exception. A thesis was a kind of record written by a researcher based on their own research, so it was fine for technical terms to appear.
However, a thesis had to clearly convey what the researcher wanted to say to others.
I might not know how to write a thesis, but I clearly understood the purpose for which one was written. At the very least, it absolutely couldn't be written haphazardly like Cindy's.
I wondered where to start and asked in a tentative voice,
"Cindy. Have you ever read Professor Elena's papers or anyone else's?"
"Lots..."
"Then why do you write like this?"
With Professor Elena's help, I had once read one of Cindy's papers. I had struggled with the technical terms that appeared here and there, but thanks to all the books I'd read, I was able to read it carefully without much trouble.
Cindy blinked slowly at my incredulous question, then answered quietly.
"Even when I try to write like that... if I keep writing, it starts to resemble the papers I've read..."
"And when it's evaluated later, they reject it for being too similar?"
"Mhm..."
Was she the type with a good memory but poor ability to apply what she learned? By human standards, she was nothing short of stupid, but from an elven perspective, Cindy was perfectly normal.
As I said before, humans were innately inferior to the other races in strength and ability, but they possessed "the ability to learn" and "adaptability" to make up for it. Comparing the races as a whole, elves were normal and humans were abnormal.
Take magic, for example. As I mentioned before, magic had historically been praised as a "divine power" that only those chosen by the gods could use. Even as recently as the Race War three hundred years ago, it was an ability that only elves, demonkin, and a tiny number of humans could use.
The Demon War three thousand years ago? There were no records of humans using magic then; they only said that even among the elves, only a tiny number could use it. The Race War three hundred years ago was precisely when magic began to spread to humans in earnest.
In any case, in less than three hundred years, humans had transformed it into an ability anyone could use as long as they had the right background, talent, and effort. From an elf's long-lived perspective, that was nothing short of terrifying progress.
'I'm suddenly curious. Why do humans learn so quickly?'
In a world where only humans existed—in other words, on Earth—it had been something I took for granted. Even in fiction, humans were usually portrayed as learning faster than other races.
But after being reincarnated into this world, I found myself genuinely curious. Why were humans faster at learning things than other races?
While I was repeating that question in my head, Cindy asked me in her drawn-out way of speaking,
"So when are you going to teach meee...?"
"Ah, yes, yes. Professor Elena told me to teach you, so I should. But let me ask you one thing first."
"What's that?"
"Cindy, have you never learned how to write?"
I already had to teach her the basics, but I asked just in case. If she said she'd learned at least a little, there would be some hope.
Cindy blinked slowly at my question, then answered quietly.
"There were a few people who taught me writing..."
"Huh? What do you mean? Didn't Professor Elena say there weren't any?"
"She meant people who helped me. There were a few people who taught me for money..."
She continued in a more somber, subdued voice than before. Even her sharply pointed ears drooped downward.
"They all ran away, saying they couldn't teach me anymoreee..."
... ...
"I guess I'm... a little slow, both by human standards and even by elven standardsss..."
There was no mistaking the feeling that I had been thoroughly baited.
*****
The Chronicle of Xenon had always caused a stir, but Volume 7 in particular made a greater impact than before the moment it was published. That was because the author had cut off the story at a decisive moment, leaving countless readers on tenterhooks.
As a result, the Crown Prince of Minerva said he would immediately seize the author and lock the author up in the imperial palace, while the princess pressured the author to publish the next volume quickly, and so on.
A huge commotion broke out in many ways, but time proved the best medicine, and gradually things quieted down as people began saying they should simply wait for the next volume. Subscribers also calmed themselves, focused on their regular occupations, and waited for time to pass.
About a month after Volume 7 of The Chronicle of Xenon came out, a notice that the long-awaited Volume 8 would be published appeared in the newspaper. However, there was one sentence that caught the eye.
[It contains scenes that may unintentionally offend members of the nobility.]
The publisher, which reviewed the manuscript first, was the one that printed the notice above. The wording inevitably raised questions not only among nobles but also among the majority of commoners.
What kind of scene could possibly offend nobles, rather than commoners, enough to warrant such a notice? The answer would not be known until the latest installment of The Chronicle of Xenon was published.
[There are nobles above the people, kings above the nobles, and kings can exist because there is a nation. But it is unquestionably the people who support that nation. In other words, whether king or noble, one is nothing before the people. And yet, Count Castlerock, you are slandering the very foundation of that nation simply because it displeases you. Truly, what exemplary conduct for a noble. Wouldn't you agree?]
It was a scathing criticism, even though it had been spoken by a character in the novel—one who belonged to the same noble class, at that. Even if the story was fictional, creating it was solely the author's prerogative.
Books or drawings satirizing or criticizing the atrocities of the nobility had existed before, but The Chronicle of Xenon was far too direct. Considering its influence, the statement was undeniably quite dangerous, even if not unprecedented.
-A scene that starkly reveals the dark side of the nobility.
-There are many incidents in reality in which nobles intimidate commoners. They have merely been covered up so that no one knows about them.
-History repeats itself. If things continue like this, an event like the 'Jeyros Revolution' will happen once again.
In fact, this world had an event similar to Earth's "French Revolution." It was the "Jeyros Revolution," which broke out in the Ters Kingdom, long regarded as the Minerva Empire's eternal archenemy.
It was conveniently called the Jeyros Revolution because a great man named Jeyros led it.
That single revolution nearly toppled the Ters Kingdom and brought down countless corrupt nobles. Although the revolution itself failed, its aftermath was truly terrifying—more than enough to serve as a warning.
Yet despite the occurrence of such a momentous event, the practice of nobles looking down on commoners remained. If anything, there were many cases in which they covered up their actions even more viciously, thoroughly preventing them from becoming known to the outside world.
-Nobles and commoners are fundamentally different from birth. Even the author of The Chronicle of Xenon shouldn't be allowed to make such an insult.
-A novel is still just a novel. If Xenon had really been a commoner, he wouldn't have opposed the nobility; he would have been granted a title.
Because of this, several nobles launched harsh criticism of the early part of Volume 8. However, only a small number of nobles were pouring out criticism bordering on condemnation, while most nobles merely reacted bitterly.
In response to these countless reactions, one critic commented as follows.
-Most nobles who get angry after carefully reading this story must be treating commoners like slaves. And aren't they openly treating beastfolk like slaves too? That's nothing but a truly noble mindset.
That single heavy dose of fact shut the mouths of the nobles who had been spewing condemnation and criticism. It was a spectacle unlike any other.
In any case, countries with a noble class were temporarily thrown into an uproar by the beginning of Volume 8, while countries without one simply shrugged and moved on.
The noble who had driven the protagonist Xenon into danger was eventually stripped of all his positions and imprisoned, while Xenon headed to the dwarves' country for a brief rest.
Since this was the first time in The Chronicle of Xenon that he had traveled to a country belonging to another race rather than a human country, many subscribers were looking forward to it. Naturally, the dwarves among them had the greatest expectations and concerns.
"Hmm..."
"What do you think? Worth trying to make, isn't it? There's a rough explanation and a drawing here too."
A dwarf with a full gray beard, an eccentric-looking face, and, finally, a short, stocky stature was closely examining a drawing on a sheet of paper.
Beside him, a young dwarf whose beard covered just enough of his face to obscure it was urging him on with an excited expression. The gray-bearded dwarf paid no heed to the urging of the chattering dwarf beside him, focusing solely on the drawing.
What he was looking at was a drawing that appeared in the latter half of Volume 8 of The Chronicle of Xenon, published that month. It had been attached to the page with something like glue so it wouldn't fall out while the book was being read, but had only been discovered later.
The gray-bearded dwarf then tilted his head and muttered the name of the object mentioned in the book.
"The name of this hunk of iron is a steam locomotive?"
"Yes!"
"And this enormous hunk of iron moves through a special mechanism? Only on a special path called 'railroad tracks'? It can even carry various supplies in multiple carriages behind it, not just at the front?"
"Yes!"
"And the principle that moves the wheels is an amplification of the rattling of a kettle lid when you put water in it and boil it?"
"Yes!"
The young dwarf answered brightly every time the gray-bearded dwarf asked a question. The gray-bearded dwarf let out a hollow laugh.
"Ho ho ho. Son? Don't say ridiculous things. A novel should be treated as a novel; applying it to reality will only give you a headache. We just need to make better weapons."
"But, Father. It has some basis in reality. Isn't that better than having none at all?"
At his son's question, the gray-bearded dwarf waved his hand and spoke in a voice that made clear he found the idea preposterous.
"Reality or no reality, this old man doesn't have the energy to make something like this. You'd be better off gathering like-minded people and making it together. And coal, was it called here? There's more than enough of that lump of rock, so figure it out yourselves. We need 'magic stones' more than black rocks."
"Then you won't help us?"
"I can't help directly, but I can provide financial support. There should be plenty of reckless fools like you to supply the labor, so finding them shouldn't be difficult."
"Understood! Just wait a moment! I'll gather them right away!"
The young dwarf answered energetically and dashed out of the forge. The gray-bearded dwarf chuckled heartily at his son's passionate display, then stared at the sheet of paper once more.
The drawing's quality couldn't be called good even by way of a compliment, but its general appearance was clear. Moreover, the book included an explanation, so he could tell what it was meant to be used for.
'The man's imagination is something else. How did he come up with this?'
Dwarves were the race of craftsmen and masters of creation, and even this gray-bearded dwarf, whose skill was exceptional among dwarves, could not help but admire the idea.
At a time when countless people were declaring that nothing could replace magic, the appearance of a "machine" like this would cause an enormous stir.
Humans in particular would clearly benefit the most. Even though they lacked innate abilities, their capacity to learn and adapt was unrivaled.
Perhaps the moment the steam locomotive was invented, they might switch course from magic to machinery.
'Could this guy really have lived in another world?'
The gray-bearded dwarf could not help but harbor that question in earnest.