The Munchkin Author Known Even in the Empire (2)
As rumors spread through the Empire that the Sword Saint was training the Glacia Kingdom’s army, the imperial family found itself nursing a massive headache. The Empire’s Four Swords—who had spent years trying to keep their master hidden—were now clinging to the Emperor like children.
“We must send someone to Glacia and bring the Sword Saint back at once!”
“Exactly. How can the Empire’s Sword Saint be training a foreign army?”
“We should lodge a formal protest with the kingdom and use this chance to tilt the territorial dispute in our favor.”
The Emperor frowned. Whose fault did they think this was? When he had suggested fetching their master to bolster national defense, they had glared daggers at him. Now they were singing a different tune.
He shook his head. “Are you not simply reaping what you sowed? If you had taken proper care of your master as his disciples from the start, would any of this have happened?”
They were the ones at fault, yet here they were complaining at the top of their lungs.
“Ahem. T-that is…”
“It would have been… inconvenient for us if our master had stepped into the public eye himself.”
“Weren’t you simply afraid his fame would eclipse your own reputations?”
To think that disciples would feel jealous of their own master taking center stage. The Emperor could only sigh. Yet the Four Swords’ true feelings were far simpler: they simply wanted to keep their master to themselves. In that sense, the Sword Saint’s fame had never benefited them at all. If he revealed himself openly in the Empire, they would have to share him with the rest of the world.
“If our master appears before the public, he will attract countless new disciples, and the Empire will naturally begin to make use of him.”
“You certainly have a silver tongue. And the result of hiding him so well is that the Sword Saint grew disillusioned with this nation and fled to Glacia. To a country with a gay prince, no less.”
The Emperor was no fool. He could see exactly what these muscle-brained swordsmen were thinking. Thanks to their selfishness, the Sword Saint had run off to another country. No matter what excuses they offered now, that was the truth. Had the Hero incident not overshadowed everything, he could have mocked Glacia as the nation that nearly made a gay prince its successor. That card was no longer playable.
These idiots are just whining because the toy they wanted to monopolize got taken away. With things as they are, we won’t be able to throw our weight around with Glacia for quite some time.
Not only had the Sword Saint gone over there, but the Demon King had risen as well. Any bluster toward Glacia was now impossible, and they might even have to concede the disputed territories. Since the whole thing had been nothing but a pointless contest of pride from the beginning, the Emperor honestly didn’t care. Still, appearances had to be maintained.
“Your Majesty, this is unacceptable. At the very least we must make an effort to retrieve him—”
“Retrieve him how? If they claim they are strengthening their defenses to fight the Demon King in the Hero’s homeland, what then? Do you intend to attack the very nation where your master lives—the nation currently fighting the Demon King?”
“That is… well…”
There was no answer. This was why he hated dealing with ignorant swordsmen. The Emperor pressed hard against his temples.
To be blunt, the only thing these people knew how to do was swing overwhelming force around.
“My head aches. If you are truly worried about your master, go as envoys in a peaceful manner.”
“But that would…”
“What, does it feel like bowing your heads to the kingdom? If so, stop bothering me and leave. Unlike you sword fanatics, I have actual work to do.”
“Don’t you just read novels all day anyway?”
Blanon, one of the Four Swords, openly mocked the Emperor. Even for someone close to the throne, the remark was brazen. The Emperor briefly considered whether he should have the man’s head removed, then discarded the idea. These blockheads might be idiots, but their skill was real.
Still… just read novels? The sheer audacity.
Of course he had grown fond of the kingdom’s novels lately, but that was leisure and this was official business.
“Read novels? That is a hobby I enjoy in my free time. My plan is to use Portmus Publishing to introduce Glacia’s literature to the Empire.”
“So you have invited that famous author from the kingdom, then?”
What was this about now?
“When did I ever do such a thing?”
“A report arrived from the border recently. It said the author of The Hero Party’s Defeat has entered the Empire.”
Celica, another of the Four Swords, pouted as she spoke. The border report—though it was really more of a rumor—claimed that a famous novelist from the kingdom had come to the Empire for a “vacation.”
“Is this true?”
“Yes.”
“I issued no such invitation.”
“Then we have a good solution. Why not detain the author here in the Empire? They say she is treated like a hero back in the kingdom.”
The Emperor stared at them. Have I ever seen such insane people? They should show that level of loyalty to me. Hmm?
His mind spun quickly. The literary campaign he was currently promoting was simple: despite its vast population and territory, the Empire lagged far behind Glacia in intellectual matters. The plan was to elevate the people’s cultural level through literature and thereby close the knowledge gap. In the process he had begun reading the novels himself, and he had grown genuinely curious about this author known as K.
After all, the Emperor was an imperial citizen too. True to the warlike nature of his people, he had become a fan of The Hero Party’s Defeat—a story packed with battles.
This might actually be an excellent idea. He could pretend to pass responsibility to these incompetent swordsmen while inviting author K to the palace.
“That is a good plan indeed.”
Of course, the person at the center of this conversation had no idea any of it was happening.
Before launching his full-scale move, the Demon King sent the Lich to recruit the Saintess.
“I definitely felt it somewhere around here…”
The Lich had reached the outskirts of Glacia’s royal capital. Having long abandoned his human body, only two skulls remained, yet even on that bony face his scowl was unmistakable.
That Saintess was supposed to reincarnate in this era. Would it have killed her to leave a few hints? Or had she lost her memories as well?
Damn that Saintess. Why am I reduced to chasing after one woman like this?
She had always been like that. When she clung to the Hero or the Goddess she had annoyed him to no end and crushed the Demon King’s army several times. Yet the moment she fell to corruption, she had offered her heart, liver, and everything else to the Demon King and abandoned the Hero she once claimed to love.
If even those memories were gone, then the current Saintess was little more than a vessel containing holy power. In that case, was there any point in searching for her?
“Still… is there even anyone nearby who possesses holy power?”
The Lich was passing a monastery a short distance south of Holpert territory when he suddenly sensed something.
This is powerful holy power?
It felt more like a superficial trace than true holy power, but the source was definitely inside the monastery. Perhaps this was it.
“Why do I have to be in a place like this? I hate it!”
When the Lich arrived at the monastery and confirmed the source of the holy power, he found nothing more than an immature human girl. She was even throwing laundry aside because she found it annoying. Had she been a maid in the Demon King’s castle, he would have turned her into an undead servant long ago. Even though this was the human world, the sight made him wrinkle his nonexistent nose.
There was no way someone like her could be the Saintess. The holy power clinging to her would probably fade before long.
But then where did a trace this strong come from?
Holy power was normally carried only by women; the gender was fixed. Yet not just anyone could possess it. One had to be born the daughter of parents with the right conditions, or come into contact with someone who already carried it—leaving a temporary trace.
In that case, this girl was likely connected to the true bearer of holy power.
She looks foul-tempered. There’s probably no chance she herself is the Saintess. Which means the Saintess must have approached her at some point.
As proof, he could sense the corrupted light that only a Fallen Saintess could carry.
Perhaps if he coaxed this girl, she might know something. With that thought, the Lich approached Sophia.
Even after crossing the border, it took a long time to reach the imperial capital. The only saving grace was that the distance was roughly the same as traveling from Glacia’s border to its royal capital. I had simply forgotten how huge the Empire’s territory was.
The capital was definitely larger than the royal capital. Of course, its size meant there were quite a few slums, but considering the population it seemed about right.
Anyway, I was standing in that very capital right now—at the most expensive hotel in the entire imperial city, no less. The publishing house here was even footing the bill.
“The Empire really does serve a lot of meat dishes.”
“No kidding. This place is basically a holy land for meat cuisine.”
Glacia wasn’t exactly a land of only grass and leaves, but compared to its wide variety of breads, meats, and fish, the Empire seemed to have developed exclusively around meat. Chicken, pork, beef, and even fantasy-world meats whose names I didn’t know. In terms of meat culture alone, Glacia was clearly behind.
“I see. I’ll need to include something like this in the novel.”
To show that the protagonist had traveled to another region, adding local cuisine from different cultures would be perfect. Something like, “In the era when this was still a human country, they had dishes such as these.” That sort of thing.
Still, the meat here was genuinely delicious. Even the chicken in front of me right now. It wasn’t fried, but it was coated in a sweet-and-savory sauce. Garlic sauce? Soy-marinated garlic? It was similar but subtly different. Anyway, it tasted good. Really good.
The only downside was that it was grilled. The steak-like dishes were excellent too, and the fact that I could eat all of this for free was fantastic.
Even so…
“Still, fried chicken is better.”
As expected of someone from K-country. Having been the kind of person who ordered chicken even when it cost thirty thousand won, I naturally craved fried chicken. Simple grilled meat with sauce just didn’t hit the same. Of course the grilling was perfect, so even a devoted chicken fanatic like me could admit it was delicious! But I was still firmly on team fried chicken.
“Chicken?” Ritz tilted her head cutely.
“Ah, there’s a dish like that. I’ll have to try making it when I get the chance.”
This could become a business item too. Since Roen handled maritime trade, I should develop that angle as well.
“Right, shall we head up to the room?”
“Yes.”
“Excuse me, are you by any chance Miss K from Glacia?”
At that moment someone approached us. A young man and woman wearing wide-brimmed hats.
“Yes, I’m K.”
“His Majesty the Emperor has specially invited you to the palace.”
“Pardon?”
The Emperor was calling for me? The Emperor of the Empire wanted to see me—a mere author? For what?
Looking more closely, they seemed to be surrounding us. They clearly wanted something.
“So please come along quietly while we’re asking nicely.”
“Hey, that’s not how you do it. Are you threatening us? I’m sorry. It seems His Majesty very much wishes to invite you.”
The Emperor was inviting me? I knew almost nothing about the Emperor of the Empire. I had only heard that a female emperor had ascended the throne recently.
The imperial family’s setting had been taken from a romance-fantasy atmosphere. To be exact, I had lifted it straight from the number-one romance-fantasy novel on that website. The Four Swords serving a female emperor with a weak political foundation. In the original novel all four swords were men for a reverse-harem story, but since I hadn’t wanted to copy it completely, I had made two of them women. I had also reduced the Empire’s overall importance so readers wouldn’t be sure whether it was romance-fantasy or not.
Looking at these people from the palace now, their complete lack of formality made me suspect they were the Four Swords. Their personalities matched, and they weren’t wearing military uniforms but ordinary clothes.
“I understand. I’ll go.”
After all, when the Emperor says come, you come.