Chapter 36
“Would you like to try writing?”
“You don’t mean that what I was just writing was nothing more than a pile of print, do you? What kind of writing is it?”
“The first meaning is right too, though?”
“......”
There was the trivial issue that Kim Yul had received an enraged chair shot and his waist bent slightly, but in any case, the Historie debut operation that started from Kim Yul's suggestion was rather successful.
Imperial capital's salon.
The Jackdaw.
A place where readers and aspiring writers who mainly enjoyed novels centered on politics or war, as well as hidden writers, gathered.
“Indeed, even with the same subject, the taste changes completely depending on the author. Or is it because it doesn't try to stick to the serialized-novel format?”
“Since it properly shed light on stories not covered in the main text, isn't it a bit of a delicacy?”
“Heh.”
Kim Yul and Historie sat facing each other, trading drinks.
“I think you said not long ago that my laugh sounded strange.”
“I am, however, smiling quietly and gracefully.”
“No wonder the water from the purifier has tasted a little odd lately.”
“……? Why is the purifier suddenly coming up?”
Historie tilted her head, and for an instant her thinking module malfunctioned over some everyday wordplay that only humans could properly enjoy.
But then.
Smack!
“Ow.”
“Honestly, if you just keep your mouth shut... haa...”
Along with the sharp sound of a hand striking the back of a hand, a sigh filled the table.
That banter lasted only a moment.
Once again, the two of them perked up their ears and focused on the stories coming from around them.
“Compared to the way he acted in the main work, I feel like Lü Bu was glorified a little too much.”
“Wasn't that side story written with exactly that purpose in mind? Since it wasn't written by the original author, there's no need to take it as gospel.”
“Still, the detailed circumstances around when he killed Dong Zhuo were pretty cool...!”
“He was just bewitched by a woman, wasn't he?”
“Oh my, that's rude! It's romance, I tell you!”
Overall, the story itself was well received.
Naturally.
As expected of the strongest AI of this era, it had perfectly finished an adaptation by thoroughly blending, shaking, and mixing every kind of Three Kingdoms media together.
As a result, it had gone through the actions of Lü Bu that were criticized in both the Records and the Romance and given each one a rationale and a plausible explanation.
“Still, he's a man worthy of being called a war god.”
Overall, in terms of story completeness and the appeal of the characters, Historie's side story was positively reviewed.
“Heh-heh-heh.”
Seeing that silly laugh burst out again, Kim Yul frowned slightly, but this time he let it go without needling back.
After all, why had he grabbed the elf by the ear and shaken them around to carve out some page space, only to hand that priceless chance over to Historie?
There was also the purpose of giving meaning to Historie's life, as she had been increasingly trying to dark-evolve into nothing but a slacker youth.
Having reached the point where he feared he might really write himself to death, he also calculated that, long term, he could reduce the workload by securing a co-author credit.
The so-called otherworldly collaboration project using a graduate student.
“What creator would there be who cherishes their creation like this?”
“Why do you feel the need to say that out loud, Kim Yul?”
“I could use some praise these days too.”
“That would seem to be true.”
And there was another reason as well.
Every time he wielded a Lü Bu-all-purpose plotline, Cao Cao's stock would hit rock bottom, and criticism of the author would grow even harsher.
The recent accusation that he was basically using Lü Bu as his own wish-fulfillment character had pierced straight through Kim Yul's chest.
If he struggled against a villain who looked incompetent, that would be the point where readers would drop the novel, plain and simple.
But if he struggled against a villain who looked competent, was armed with style and romance, it could also be seen as a splendid buildup stage for overcoming him.
The result of all those motives working together.
“Anyway, how is it?”
When Kim Yul, unusually, asked the question with a normal smile,
“......To be acknowledged feels this good, huh.”
Though Historie had hardly ever gone out of the house until now, today she was able to properly savor the feeling called accomplishment.
A bright smile hung on her lips like the moon.
* * *
Thanks to the collaboration of Kim Yul and Historie, the novel sailed along without a hitch.
But when the moon is full, it will one day wane, and when flowers bloom, they will one day fall.
No matter how well one ran an AI-powered whitewashing machine.
The world was far too vast to keep in check Lü Bu, who still hadn't broken his habit of cycling through three fathers.
“Cao Cao beat Lü Bu!”
“Hmm... Lü Bu had lost more anticlimactically than expected.”
Here, things had gone well.
“Kieeek! Liu Bei! Liu Bei! That guy won't do!”
“No, are you out of your mind? You know what's been going on with all the betrayal chaos next door, and you're still taking in Lü Bu?”
“It would be a shame to throw away such a sharp weapon, but the part where Liu Bei uses benevolence to win Lü Bu over is also worth paying close attention to.”
Conversion was impossible.
“I knew it!”
“You're betraying them again! Lü Bu!”
“No matter how pragmatic and realistic a strategist you are, betraying even Liu Bei after he showed you kindness!”
Of course, there were also episodes in between where a whitewashing machine, just like in the original historical drama, spun to life.
Still, the public opinion that Lü Bu was a total bastard who stabbed Liu Bei in the back after being taken in by him and then helped himself to Xu Province for free did not change much.
The Liu Bei coin, which had seemed destined to keep soaring forever, came crashing down.
“Eek, eek! Kim Yuuul! A high elf will never tolerate those traitors, waaaah──!”
That tantrum, too, was suppressed by Kim Yul's secret art of tugging elf ears.
It was the age of warlords vying for supremacy.
A common sight in a chaotic age.
* * *
“Even if he's only a hollow emperor in name, simply getting him in your grasp would be enough to wield power that could sweep across the world, huh.”
Setting down the newspaper he had been reading, the emperor muttered.
“These days, it seems the commoners like me more than the nobles do. Isn't that right, Duke?”
Despite the barb hidden in those words.
“Though there have been some unsavory incidents lately, the nobles' loyalty should naturally be stronger than that of the commoners, Your Majesty.”
The emperor's conversation partner.
Duke Bertus replied calmly.
The two had once been comrades who shared the same mess tin on the battlefield, so they already understood each other's true intentions far too well.
“I wish that loyalty would even now be directed toward the power that's alive and actually in command.”
“I am doing my utmost to ensure the country moves in the right direction, so please do not worry yourself too much.”
“Isn't the 'right direction' far too subjective depending on how you interpret it?”
“The wise understand the flow completely, so in the end the place they arrive at will be the same.”
Though dressed up in metaphorical language, the essence of the conversation was as follows.
Lower your eyes.
Nope. This is the right one, isn't it?
You really want to get hit?
I'm not the only one, am I?
At the brazen confidence of the so-called 'the duke isn't even hiding his treason' meta, the emperor slightly curled his fist.
It would have felt better to just smack the duke's face with it.
Unlike in the past, when he could do as he pleased, the empire had grown larger, but the emperor's power was inevitably far more limited.
That was why the emperor
could empathize with the emperor depicted in the novel as the 'Xian Emperor'.
Of course, his circumstances were a little better than that.
If he had not bristled and instead yielded a move here, both the Xian Emperor and he himself would probably have become the same kind of ornament symbolizing power.
.
.
.
Through today's conversation, the emperor could be certain of one thing.
A civil war was imminent in the empire.
If he swung a punch at Duke Bertus right now, then perhaps by tomorrow.
If he didn't, he'd be granted a reprieve of a few months.
Or, if he fell into the role of a decorative figure, it could be a way to preserve the state while keeping the wolf-like neighboring countries in check.
The emperor.
Had no such intention.
“This is the investigation report you requested, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you.”
He received the investigation results on one person, gathered at the chief secretary's order, and began reading them.
And he frowned.
“What in the world...?”
After the Holy Kingdom's saint tipped him off about Duke Bertus's scheme, he had conducted a background investigation to find out how she had obtained such information.
And soon, he was able to uncover the mysterious connection.
The author of the novel he had just been reading, 'Two Heroes,' was Ulysses.
Digging a little deeper, he found that author Ulysses had been invited by Duke Bertus and had dined alone with the duke, accompanied by the Holy Kingdom's saint.
He knew Duke Bertus well.
He knew all too well that Bertus was not the kind of man who would extend such consideration to a mere commoner.
The results of the investigation after that
were truly shocking.
- Seen in the western plaza dragging Chloe von Wispelaud, the eldest daughter of House Wispelaud, by the ear. Testimony said the two looked more intimate than mere friends.
- Though not precisely verified, a girl recorded in literature as the human form of the Violent Dragon Esthea was seen being carried on his shoulders as he walked around the streets. There were testimonies that a flapping tail had been seen, but the truth is uncertain.
- Intelligence reports claimed that, given his frequent secret meetings with Roseline, the Holy Kingdom's monster saint, he may be involved in an impure relationship.
- He has often been seen accompanying an unidentified red-haired woman dressed in the traditional attire of the old demon race. The relationship is unknown, but caution is necessary.
“Dragon, elf, saint, and demon...?”
The emperor frowned, wondering whether those were really the kinds of things a single individual could get tangled up in.
That did not change the contents of the report.