Chapter 104
“Ghhh……….”
While Kim Yul was zooming the minimap in and out, checking how many of his allies were within the capital.
A glimmering blue light near Novelpia headquarters.
Chloe, who had finally won her independence after driving three or four nails into Duke Schneisen’s chest, was pouting and grumbling to herself.
No matter how I looked at it.
No matter how I thought about it.
This was a loss……!
Of course, the map marketing campaign she had planned with Kim Yul had achieved more than blockbuster results. The sales figures proved it.
But.
Looking at the limited-edition Hero Gathering cards,
many of the SSR cards had passed through the hands of Chloe, the excellent, great, splendid, beautiful illusion mage—though she did subcontract some of the work.
What did it mean for her hands to have been so heavily involved?
It meant she could single-handedly claim incentives that could be called compensation for all that effort.
But.
The map Kim Yul had planned this time was something only Kim Yul had come up with and somehow completed himself.
In other words, there had been no room for Chloe to get involved……!
That irritated Chloe a little.
“Hmph, I could do something like that too, desuwa……!”
A small grudge had taken root in her heart.
Hadn’t he asked someone else first because he assumed she couldn’t do it, without even saying, ‘Elf, want to try something like this?’
If that was what he thought, he was mistaken……!
Chloe stared intensely at the map laid out before her.
Of course, it wasn’t Kim Yul’s original, but one made as similar to it as possible, complete with ruby fragments she had gone out and acquired herself.
I can do it. If it were me!
Her hand solemnly swept across the map as she began imbuing it with illusion magic.
But, unfortunately.
The clay soldiers she had roughly imagined in her mind did move with creaking motions, but they were nowhere near as smooth as Kim Yul’s.
Naturally, recreating one of Napoleon’s battles was out of the question.
“That’s impossible, desuwa……!”
Chloe puffed out her cheeks and stamped her feet.
At this rate,
wouldn’t the situation of ‘Becoming the Editor Obsessed Over by a Star Author’ disappear entirely……!
If Kim Yul declared that he was transferring to the Empire Daily because he no longer found Novelpia and herself appealing?
“That can’t happen, desuwa……!”
Chloe bit her lips tightly, clenched her fists with determination, and stood up.
Novelpia’s entire business model revolved around competing with novels, so unlike the articles and journalists it could squeeze for low wages, it had to pay fairly hefty manuscript fees.
Honestly.
Without Kim Yul, it would already be running a deficit!
So Chloe had no choice but to make a decision to save the country.
Using her charm to melt Kim Yul completely and make him a prisoner of love…… was rejected!
How could a noble long-lived race and a lowly short-lived race possibly be joined! A cross-species relationship—utterly shameless!
So.
“This paltry illusion magic, if I return to active duty, I can do it better, desuwa……! And at the same time, I’ll cultivate skills befitting an archer in the Hero’s party, desuwa……!”
If Kim Yul had heard her declaration drifting softly out from beneath her blanket, he would have shed tears, shouted, ‘Our elf has changed!’ and tugged on Chloe’s ears.
.
.
.
Of course, even throughout that entire chain of thought.
The blue light in Kim Yul’s gaze never flickered even once, remaining firmly in place.
There had been a minor change, though.
“What the heck? Why is this color like this?”
Kim Yul’s vision held three colors.
Blue, gray, and red.
Having already understood the meaning of color contrasts from countless games, Kim Yul could easily understand what each color meant, but.
Only one blue dot in particular—the one near Novelpia—
seemed to have red and green added to its RGB values, turning it purple, then brightening slightly, before returning to blue and displaying other strange changes in color.
As if wavering back and forth.
Like the indecisive mind of some long-lived species.
Of course, it wasn’t as if she had any reason to feel aggrieved.
“Could it be a bug?”
Kim Yul, who was watching this, failed to notice its meaning as well.
* * *
It had been foreseeable from the moment I planned and carried out the limited-quantity giveaway event.
“Say, Kim Yul. By any chance…….”
“No. There really isn’t one. Isn’t there already one sitting on the desk over there?”
Naturally, there were plenty of people in the world who wanted to use an insider’s advantage, and it was inevitable that the most troublesome entitled pest among them would come calling.
Seeing the Second Prince’s face drooping like a wet dog’s, I felt no sympathy.
What true man would be moved by watching another man pretend to be depressed?
Of course, my depleted gold-bar storage might have held a different opinion.
“I can produce more, but…… the cost……”
“How much! What will it take!”
Through a very wholesome and amicable negotiation, I generously charged only the costs of materials: Nureongi’s feed, the rubies, Tin Can’s labor, and so on.
Of course, it was common knowledge in the industry that labor costs were quadrupled for additional production.
“I hear there are quite a variety of types, though……”
“If you want various types, there will be an additional charge, Your Highness. As you’ve already seen, the material costs alone are considerable……”
“I’ll pay! Whatever it costs!”
Hmm.
How generous of him.
No wonder people said state-run projects were the easiest to milk.
“But you must keep this a secret. I had already come here after turning down a request from Duke Vertus……”
“Hm. I swear it upon my honor.”
I only hoped his honor wasn’t that cheap.
I didn’t want to be subjected to another aisatsu at dawn.
.
.
.
After that.
The Second Prince, apparently having nothing better to do, dragged me along while channeling Napoleon and showed off various strategies and tactics.
“What if I maneuver like this?”
“You have a genius grasp of military strategy, Your Highness.”
“Heh heh……!”
It was the sort of performance put on by a brat fishing for praise, but as a service provider, catering to a sucker’s ego was only proper.
As I watched the Second Prince’s bad movie, which might have amounted to 0.2 Napoleons at most,
“The First Prince has arrived!”
right after a clear, ringing voice echoed through the hallway.
The door swung wide open with a force that seemed to show no respect for the Second Prince’s privacy.
And unlike the delicate-looking Second Prince, the First Prince—a martial-artist type whose intelligence seemed to have all migrated into his muscles—strode in.
“Welcome, Brother.”
It was also my first time directly facing the First Prince.
I offered a polite bow in keeping with the etiquette appropriate for addressing royalty.
“Ah! You must be Ulysses, the famed novelist, musician, and hero. I’m delighted to finally meet you.”
The First Prince grabbed me, pulled me to my feet, and greeted me with an extremely bright smile.
He was incredibly kind, and his movements were overflowing with the manners and decorum of a model member of the imperial family, but.
While bowing,
I lowered my head to check the minimap.
Unlike the pushover Second Prince, whose blue light was shining brilliantly,
the First Prince……
had one of the very few vivid red lights in the entire imperial capital.
For a moment, I wondered if it was a bug, but.
“Aslan, no matter that you are the Empire’s Second Prince, it is unacceptable to summon an artist immersed in creation to court for your own selfish desires.”
“My apologies, Brother Iscarion.”
Hmm.
His name alone reeked of betrayal.
After reprimanding the Second Prince, the First Prince turned back to me.
“Hero, Kim Yul, was it?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The First Prince dared to bring his lips close to my ear and whisper in an extremely low voice.
“Do not harbor even the slightest impure thought. Prostrate yourself and live as the Empire’s dog. That is the fate the Empire has given you.”
Hmm.
Was this really something I deserved to hear just because I had guillotined a king……?
Just as I was about to respond halfheartedly with a yes-yes and let it go in one ear,
“I hear you have a younger sister of marriageable age. One whose status is unclear, at that. Figure out for yourself why I have deliberately chosen not to make an issue of it.”
“……”
Is this bastard insane?
Even though I went around smiling and chuckling, I understood well enough what the position of a hero meant, not only to the Empire but to the entire continent.
And yet he was threatening me like this?
Even dragging Tin Can into it?
This bastard…… the heir to the throne?
When my expression hardened, the First Prince smiled as though satisfied and patted me on the shoulder.
Then, as if nothing had happened,
“I look forward to your future works as well! Do see that the Empire’s and the imperial family’s honor does not suffer, hahaha!”
He even barked out a little more bullshit with a slightly relieved expression before leaving the Second Prince’s office.
Once the First Prince’s aide had also left after him,
“Haha…… My brother is somewhat hot-tempered. I don’t know what he said, but I hope you won’t take it too much to heart.”
The Second Prince, who had been watching my reaction, finally spoke to me.
Seeing that spectacle, I could roughly tell what sort of mess the imperial family was in.
“Not at all. Well, that is certainly something you could reasonably say.”
Hmm……
I had experienced baseless hostility a few times in my life, so it didn’t make a particularly strong impression on me.
However.
As a member of the Jangdong Kim clan (though it seemed we had bought our genealogy),
and as a descendant of Kim Chang-jip, the White-Haired Red Loyalist 白髮丹忠,
I found myself briefly considering restoring and teaching the Second Prince the Science Monarch’s favorite recipe: the secret combination of gejang and fresh persimmons.