The Munchkin Author Known Even in the Empire
I stared at the flickering shadows dancing across my palm and let out a long sigh.
“What the hell even is shadow magic? This shit’s terrifying.”
Why am I even learning this crap?
First, Shadow Walk literally means walking through shadows. Dark Ball is basically just a fireball but with a dark attribute. The dark-attribute magic unique to the Twilight bloodline is said to have strong resistance against any elemental magic, while dealing critical damage to elemental users in return. Normally, dark and light attributes sit above fire, lightning, and ice. The Twilight lineage is said to carry that very darkness within them.
Which suddenly made me wonder.
The Saintess is supposed to wield light. According to Pakuri’s original setting, Milene was actually the Saintess. What does that mean, exactly?
“I guess I carry both darkness and light.”
Thank god I’m the one who got possessed. If the original Milene—who knew the future—had been the one in this body instead of a Korean guy like me, I’d probably want to end my life. It’s just too much hassle.
Author, Sword Saint’s disciple, prospective Hero, Twilight bloodline, Saintess. All of this is that damn Pakuri’s fault. I’m genuinely curious how old that author actually is. Was she trying to write some overpowered munchkin story where the protagonist is good at everything?
‘I just need to keep my mouth shut.’
That thought crossed my mind. Honestly, if I just stay quiet, how would anyone find out what I am? The Twilight thing can’t be helped, but the prospective Hero title will probably get buried once Heintz becomes the real Hero. As for the author identity, that’s just K. If I can keep the Saintess role hidden too, everything should be fine.
I absolutely must not reveal my identity. In the original story, it stayed hidden until the end, didn’t it? The lich who resurrected Milene called her the Saintess, but if that hadn’t happened, there would’ve been no reason for it to come out.
Wait… doesn’t that mean I need to kill that lich?
If that bastard shows up claiming he’ll corrupt the Saintess and starts asking where she is, I’m the only one who’ll get screwed. No, never mind. I can deal with the lich later. As long as he doesn’t come first and publicly out me as the Saintess, I should be okay for now.
“Even after locking Sophia away, everything’s still such a headache. Tsk.”
Come to think of it, if this were one story, it would be a possession novel. Does that mean my story is only just beginning?
Ugh, how annoying. How did I end up like this?
At least I’ll stop at the Twilight part. I’ll make sure to thoroughly reference the Magic Tower and Twilight setting during the mage episode.
“Hello, Author-nim.”
One day, Jerry came to visit. I was already in a bad mood, and seeing him grinning from ear to ear made me want to smack him. Still, I forced a smile. After all, Jerry was my editor, and Yugo was the boss. Even if I was the golden goose, I needed to keep flashing my professional smile at the two people who were making me filthy rich.
“Oh, Jerry. What brings you here?”
“Actually, I have something to report regarding the previous matter.”
“Yes?”
“After the fan signing event last time, the book exploded in popularity, and we’ve now begun publishing in the Empire as well. The response there has been quite favorable.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I’d thought we needed to publish quickly because of Decaron, but the publishing company moved faster than expected. That old man is quiet except for waking me up at dawn every day to train. If the Empire shows a friendly attitude toward the kingdom, then… well.
Still, we’d originally planned to publish in the Hero’s country first. What now?
“We were actually aiming for the Hero’s country, but population size really can’t be ignored.”
Thank goodness. Population really is everything. Just look at China back on Earth. You can’t disregard a market with that many heads. This world probably isn’t any different. Besides, the Empire is known for its exceptional combat sense. A novel about a Hero party full of brawling was bound to succeed there.
“—Which is why we were wondering if you might like to take a vacation trip to the Empire?”
“Suddenly?”
Honestly, it didn’t sound bad, but did I really need to go to another country at a time like this? Think about it. Our kingdom is under threat from the Demon King’s army, and if the prospective Hero woman suddenly leaves for the Empire…
Ah. But I’m going as Author K, so it should be fine.
“You’ve been under a lot of mental strain lately, haven’t you? Our boss Yugo has specially prepared something for you, Author-nim.”
“Wow.”
Now that I thought about it, it was about time I took a break. The Holy Sword would be properly drawn by the prince anyway. In that case, I could afford to go play in the Empire for a bit. There’s even a saying: “After working hard, it’s time to travel.” Since I’m already in a fantasy world, I might as well tour other countries too.
This way, I could avoid the Magic Tower as well. If I frame the trip as being for author-related business, I could perfectly disguise it as a vacation. Plus, I could dodge Decaron.
“The Empire’s system is much larger than the royal capital, so you might gain a broader perspective. Moreover, considering the relationship between the Empire and Glacia, your visit could create the image that you are friendly toward the Empire as well.”
“Ah, so it’s an official visit?”
“Not exactly. But there will likely be people who recognize you.”
“Understood.”
For the first time, Jerry looked like a savior. I wasn’t going there to hold another fan signing event. As long as I could travel while keeping a low profile, it was fine.
I called Ritz and Marie over.
“Ooh. So you’re going to the Empire for a vacation?”
“It’s not just for fun. You should come too, Ritz. And Yuria as well. Marie, it would be nice if you could join us…”
“Unfortunately, my younger brother makes it difficult.”
“Can’t your brother come along too?”
Marie let out a deep sigh. Was her brother still sick?
“Thanks to you, milady, his illness has been cured, but… his body is simply weak.”
“That’s a shame. Can’t you fix it?”
“No. The doctors said that since he only just recovered, he needs time to properly regain his strength.”
“Hehe. So that means I get to remove you from the picture, right?”
Ritz spoke in a mischievous voice, openly competing with Marie for my attention. They weren’t even in the same league to begin with. Marie wasn’t even a slave, while I was the one taking care of Ritz—giving her allowance and everything despite her being a former slave. If I had still been a man, I might have written a master-and-maid erotic novel.
Above all, it would be good to explore more of the world within the novel itself.
As expected, the Magic Tower reluctantly gave permission when I said it was for work. The only problem was that they told me to study even while I was there. What kind of vacation was that? Well, from their perspective, it was probably their version of “take it easy.”
The journey to the Empire wasn’t particularly difficult. We rode in a carriage hired by the publishing company, accompanied by several adventurers as escorts. Yuria was acting as our coachman. It felt like some kind of corporate welfare policy. In my original world, authors were just people who handed over manuscripts. They weren’t regular employees the company would pamper like this.
Honestly, I had expected some cliché development—like walking along an unpaved forest road only to get ambushed by bandits. But the trip was so uneventful it was almost disappointing. Was it because we hired expensive adventurers? In that case, couldn’t I have just protected everyone myself?
Well, whatever. There was no way some random bandits could defeat the Sword Saint’s disciple.
“It’s too peaceful.”
“This area is right on the border between the Empire and Glacia, so it has to be not just safe, but downright ominous,” Ritz carefully explained when I voiced my thoughts.
“Are relations that bad?”
It made sense for border regions to be tense, but still. Maybe I was judging things too much from the perspective of a light novel reader.
“It’s a region where conflict could break out at any moment. Bandits wouldn’t dare come here.”
“But nothing happened all the way from the royal capital.”
True. Even though the distance from the capital to the border was considerable, we had passed through many noble territories.
“I found that strange too, but I think it might be because of the Demon King. There was a monster flood near the capital, after all. The bandits probably minimized their activities because of that. Or rather, there was never any guarantee we’d run into bandits in the first place.”
“That’s true.”
“Actually, it’s more surprising that we haven’t encountered any monsters.”
I had a pretty good idea why that was. After resurrecting, the Demon King was probably adjusting his own power. That’s why the monster floods had decreased. It was like the calm before the storm. Once the Demon King officially announced his return, things would get serious. Until then, he might be deliberately keeping things hidden.
“Where are you all coming from?”
After traveling for a while longer, we arrived at a checkpoint.
“We are citizens of Glacia Kingdom visiting the Empire for a vacation.”
“Glacia?”
Even while engaged in border disputes, the Empire still traded with us. Besides, the Empire was a great power. There would be plenty to see. So this was the Empire.
Thankfully, unlike Earth, everyone on this continent spoke the same language, so I didn’t have to learn a foreign one.
“We need to verify your identities.”
A burly, middle-aged man with a sour expression approached and demanded our identification. If I hadn’t been in this body, he probably wouldn’t have looked at me like that. Fortunately, I did have an ID. Thanks to the influence of the Adventurer’s Guild registration system, identification papers existed in this world. In my case, the publishing company had made one for me.
“Here it is.”
I showed the ID the publishing company had prepared in advance to the checkpoint guard.
“Hmm. K, author affiliated with Portmus Publishing.”
When Yugo, president of Portmus Publishing, sent me to the Empire, he had officially registered me as a full-time employee of the company. I wondered if that much effort was necessary, but he probably wanted to introduce me as an author there. Of course, Portmus wouldn’t have sent me on vacation for no reason.
Then the pig’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Hm? Wait, K? The K from Glacia’s Portmus Publishing?”
“Do you know me?”
“Oh! Then are you perhaps the author of The Hero’s Defeat?”
The man who had been leering at me just moments ago was now sparkling with excitement. As expected. No matter how uncultured someone is, they always recognize a successful author.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Ooooh! I’m a fan!”
He bowed his head deeply. So this is what it feels like to be a scholar civilizing barbarians. Seeing this chubby man blush while calling himself my fan put me in a good mood.
Yes. Praise me all you want. This alone would bring me great benefit. As the saying goes, rumors travel fast. If even the border guards were reacting like this, then inside the Empire—thanks to my published works—I would surely gain even more popularity. It might be a bit arrogant, but if the pig at this checkpoint was praising me this much, that said everything, didn’t it?
Honestly, the Empire’s literary standards seemed significantly lower, so I could probably dominate the market with my novels alone. For now, I should just act surprised.
“Oh, really?”
“Of course! There’s no way anyone could read such a masterpiece and not become a fan. I truly am a fan.”
“Every soldier in the Imperial Army has probably read it!”
“But I thought it was only recently published in the Empire. Already?”
I hadn’t expected it to spread this fast, but claiming that every Imperial soldier knew it seemed a bit much.
“Adventurers traveling to the Empire brought copies with them, so we saw it first. The soldiers at the kingdom’s border checkpoints probably know about it too.”
“Ah, I see.”
“We are all fans of yours, Author-nim. And the rumors were true—you really are a beauty. Glacia truly is an amazing nation.”
He ended up praising both me and the kingdom. I didn’t particularly care about the kingdom, but I couldn’t help feeling secretly pleased. Maybe I could afford to act a little arrogant?
“Hahaha. Thank you.”
“Could you perhaps give me an autograph?”
“Of course. That’s no trouble at all.”
I signed autographs for the checkpoint pig and the other soldiers. And with that, we had officially entered the Empire.