Chapter 424
Chapter 424
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 424
Chapter Title: 2-94. Off The Record (2)
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"Ahh. Damn, it's done!"
I stretched languidly and set down my fountain pen. My middle finger was numb from gripping it for so long. The desk was piled high with manuscript pages filled with writing.
"Writing ain't easy... but it's rewarding."
I couldn't help but smile at the immensely satisfying sight. There was still a ton left to write, but this was solid progress. Jotting down real experiences was tough enough; something like fantasy, relying purely on imagination, I'd never manage even if you killed me.
Erzsebet's startled voice rang out from beyond the door.
"Y-you finished the finale already?! Can I come in?"
"No way it's the finale. I'll come out, so stay there."
I grabbed the stack of manuscripts and left the room.
The editor Erzsebet looked up at me with wide eyes. She'd jumped up so abruptly from her chair—the one I'd brought for her to rest in—that it had toppled over. Her elegant face, like that of a noble's pampered cat, showed faint traces of fatigue.
"Doesn't it suck coming here every time? Maybe I should just mail them from now on."
"Not at all. It's something you personally asked me to do, Ronan. Of course I'd help. You said I seemed perfect for it, right?"
"Yeah. No matter how I thought about it, there's no one as sharp and straightforward as you."
"What about Mage Asel or Lady Marya?"
"Asel just reads my mood. That guy would hem and haw something like, 'I-it's fine, Ronan...!' even if the protagonist shits their pants and kills themselves at the end. Marya would push the commercial angle too hard... You're the best, Erzsebet."
No matter how I sliced it, Erzsebet was the ideal editor. Smart, opinionated, and her upturned cat-like eyes caught typos just as well as her looks suggested.
She gave a prim smile at the highest praise.
"Hehe, I am pretty capable. Anyway, don't worry about it. While waiting for manuscripts, I can have tea with Adeshan sis and play with Erin too."
"Sounds like that's the real purpose."
"N-no way! What do you take me for?"
Erzsebet's cheeks flushed. She really was an easy girl in every way.
"Gah, just give me the manuscript!"
"Here. The final episode's still left. It'll probably be the finale."
"Ah, that explains why it felt off. Still, you've written nearly sixty percent, so that's super fast. Mind if I read it?"
Her eyes sparkled like stars; she must have been dying to know.
I mean, if a lifelong swordsman who only knew blades suddenly started scribbling a book, even I'd be curious. Especially if they stuck with it steadily instead of quitting early.
"Go ahead. But as you know, no talking about it outside. Especially not to my wife."
"What do you take the Dawn Tower Master for? Of course it'd be sad if I had to keep secrets from Adeshan sis... but I won't tell a soul, so relax."
"Not Erin or Sion either. Or Lerant, obviously."
"Jeez, obviously. Now I'll focus."
Erzsebet's face turned serious. In the blink of an eye, she was in the zone, speeding through my manuscript. Asel was such an outlier, but she was a genius through and through.
She nodded after flipping past the last page in no time.
"Phew. All done."
"What'd you think?"
"It's good this time too. No real fixes needed. Your writing isn't flashy or showy, but it's weirdly immersive."
"Phew, glad to hear it."
I let out a sigh of relief. Her fulfilled smile told me I'd done well this week.
Lately, I'd realized that praise for creative work felt better on average than acclaim for killing as a swordsman.
"Might sound over the top, but it really feels like you're writing real experiences. Who knew you had this talent, Ronan."
"As expected from the Dawn Tower Master—sharp eyes. It's all true."
"Pfft, don't tease. Parallel worlds? Come on."
Erzsebet chuckled. I tried to laugh along, but my lips wouldn't quite curve.
The future was rushing toward us at terrifying speed, yet scholars still hadn't proven parallel worlds.
She hesitated after quickly rereading the manuscript.
"Um, Ronan..."
"Yeah?"
"That Archbishop Alicia from last week's manuscript... the first one, where the harem shows up..."
Erzsebet's face reddened as she continued. I clearly remembered our first encounter with Alicia—a flesh feast endlessly close to heaven.
I snapped my fingers watching her mumble.
"Oh. Want more detailed descriptions? I can do that easy. Figured you'd like the scene packed with scantily clad beauties. I still wonder if you can even call those rags clothes—"
"Kyaa! Not that! I was just curious what happened to those concubines called baby birds! Innocent civilians, abandoned like that? Too pitiful!"
"Naviroje took good care of sending them back, so no worries. Huh? Didn't I write that?"
"You didn't. I thought they burned with the castle. Phew... glad they're alive."
Erzsebet patted her chest. Amusing how she dove right in despite not believing it was real.
I headed to the terrace with her for some air. The three-story villa had a killer view: the wide western avenue like a plaza, the imperial palace, and far off, the innovation district spewing flashy neon signs.
"So gaudy. Like stars floating on the ground."
"I hate the neon, but the buildings are pretty cool. The capital's west side might be a forest of skyscrapers in twenty years. Dawn Tower already snagged a high-rise contract."
"Didikan's come a long way. A shaggy guy hammering underground now heading a megacorp..."
I muttered, leaning on the railing.
Parallel worlds unproven, but time's flow changed much. Didikan, churning out inventions and raking cash, hired Alivrihe—former Nebula Klazie exec—as tech advisor, founding Didikan & Alivrihe Company.
"Worlds apart, huh. Beastkin do seem ace at making money. Professor Baren updated the tax rankings again."
"Baren and Marya are exceptions. Over ten subsidiaries each... filthy rich, suspiciously so."
"I'm glad good people are rich. No country's better to live in than the Empire now, right? Schools, hospitals everywhere, scholarship foundations too."
"Agreed. The hospital where my daughter-in-law's staying—Baren expanded it. Any news?"
"Not yet. They'll call when labor starts, so don't worry."
"Good. Wonder if Lerant's got any hair left."
I chuckled, recalling my firstborn's birth.
I didn't know, but childbirth pain must defy imagination. Even iron-blooded Grand General Adeshan wailed like a kid, yanking my hair like weeds while apologizing nonstop.
Thinking back still made my scalp ache.
'Hope it's a healthy kid.'
The night breeze chilled. The sky above, glanced at absently, had fewer stars than my childhood—light pollution's fault.
Lying if I felt no regret, but knowing stars hadn't vanished made it okay. Nimberton folk back home still gazed at the same pouring starsea.
"Sea of stars..."
Could we one day reach other stars like ancient Dahinar?
I buttoned my collar.
"Cold. Let's head in."
"I'll stay a bit longer. Good luck with this week's writing."
"You got it."
I high-fived Erzsebet and returned to my room. The desk looked empty now.
The fruits of my labor—manuscripts—gone, replaced by blank pages stacked like cow dung.
"You're back. Ronan."
Rin, polymorphed human-form, lounged on the bed reading. Probably smut. She shoved the open book at me as our eyes met.
"Ronan. Can't you write stuff like this?"
"'Why Did the Duchess Give Peter Cake?'—a masterpiece no pervert's unread."
"Yeah. Super fun."
"Wanna write it? She's gone nuts lately... Lie down now or I'll pin it next to that shady book on Phileon Plaza boards."
"Tch."
Rin glowed, reverting to sword and flopping on the bed.
I splashed water on my face to focus and sat at the desk.
"...Almost there."
The closer the end, the sharper my senses. Started light, as tales for grandkids, but got dead serious.
Responsibility, maybe. Gotta finish what I started.
Nothing wrong with that.
What's truly bad: my story's all fact, Akasha will rampage someday, and I still haven't found him or parallel world clues.
Anyway, I'm a writer now—time to write.
I gripped the fountain pen.
"Alright. Let's go."
...
To all readers who've followed this far, my sincere thanks.
The tale nears its finale.
Akasha's dying, rookie me nears mental breaking point.
Meanwhile, thrilled at returning to the original world soon.
Vivid as if graspable, yet dreamlike adventure, endlessly fantastical.
Honestly, it still feels dreamlike sometimes.
'But no dream.'
Everything here happened. Akasha, parallel hopping adventures, even meeting another me—tabloid fodder.
Past events, future ones too—all unvarnished truth, I swear.
But no need for you to get serious just 'cause I am. Just enjoy rookie Ronan's adventures as is. Life's too short to fear uncome disasters.
Prologue's long.
See what happens in the finale with your own eyes.
Sunset over Nimberton's hill.
Beneath the massive oak where I always napped sprawled.
"Ah, fuck... my head."
I, who'd chased Akasha through the rift, finally opened my eyes.
