An Audience with the Empress
The place we arrived at was a truly magnificent imperial palace, so grand and opulent that it didn’t lose out in the slightest when compared to the Glacia royal palace. The moment we stepped inside, a dignified blonde woman greeted me.
“Welcome to the imperial palace of the Holy Aron Empire. I am the empire’s empress, Irie Tanya.”
She was an incredibly elegant and beautiful woman. The slit running up the side of her dress was downright outrageous. It was the kind of outfit women with stunning figures wear specifically to show off their bodies. Could you even call that a dress? Her fox-like smile was already captivating enough, but paired with such revealing clothing? The people of the imperial capital really were more open-minded than I’d expected—not just the empress. Given how minor her role was in the original story, I never imagined she’d be this type.
Wait, was the country originally called the Aron Empire? It couldn’t possibly be modeled after the Holy Roman Empire… right? No, surely not. Still, this Aron Empire didn’t exactly scream “holy,” as far as I knew.
I bowed deeply at the waist.
“It is an honor to meet Your Imperial Majesty. I am Kay, a novelist from Glacia.”
“Come inside. I wish to show you around the palace myself.”
The empress guided me into the inner courtyard. Look, I get that she was stunning, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but why was she acting so familiar? To be brutally honest, if she weren’t beautiful and had been some pot-bellied old man making weird grunting noises, her overly chummy attitude would have been so repulsive I’d have wanted to call the police.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how delighted I was to hear you’d come to this country.”
“Pardon?”
Why the hell are you delighted? Still, she didn’t seem to be mocking me. If anything, she looked genuinely pleased.
“Your novels are enormously popular among our citizens as well.”
“Ah, I see.”
“The people of this nation have always revered martial strength and looked down on literature. To speak plainly, this vast empire’s territory was all gained through conquest by force.”
Isn’t she straight-up insulting her own country? Well, the empire did love fighting, so it wasn’t entirely inaccurate. The real question was why she was telling me this.
“Ignorant soldiers fail to understand that simply expanding territory and fighting wars isn’t everything. The capital is overflowing with slums, yet we’re still engaged in territorial disputes with Glacia. I find it utterly absurd. They don’t know when to focus on internal affairs and when not to.”
Should I flatter her? If this empress decided to interfere with publishing by saying something like “Can’t read the room? Then no more books,” I’d be finished. Portmus might even accuse me of ruining their precious empire launch after they’d begged to publish here first. That was absolutely not an option.
Even if I looked like this now, I’d been pretty good at handling important people back in Korea. I bowed my head even lower.
“As someone from Glacia, I wouldn’t presume to know much, but I believe the larger the territory, the more important it is to strengthen internal affairs first.”
“Oh? Author Kay thinks so as well?”
She seemed pleased with my answer.
“Yes. Continuously expanding land simply means more territory to manage. And when that land is involved in disputes with foreign nations, one must be even more cautious. I believe it’s better to solidify internal affairs first rather than bite off more than one can chew, then look outward afterward.”
“As expected of a writer—you understand others’ hearts well. Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Which is why I’ve been pushing a certain policy since the moment I took the throne.”
So while Glacia was about to descend into chaos from the Demon King’s war, the empire would have time to focus on its internal affairs. Given how massive the empire already was, they had no real reason to quarrel with smaller kingdoms. From the empress’s tone, it didn’t even sound like they had full control over their existing lands.
“What is this policy?”
“The literary promotion policy. Developing novel culture is part of that very initiative.”
What the actual fuck. Why was there a character with a normal, functioning role in that plagiarizing hack’s novel? Did the original empress actually implement something like this? Or was this another butterfly effect from me taking Milene’s place?
It seemed wildly out of character for the ruler of a martial-obsessed nation to suddenly promote literature. I had almost no information about this empress. Still… even in the original story, the empire eventually faced a rebellion. That had to mean its internal situation was unstable.
“You’re trying to teach the warlike citizens of the empire the joy of reading.”
“Precisely. Which makes this all the more fortunate. Thanks to a hero emerging from Glacia, we must maintain amicable relations with your kingdom whether we like it or not.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s all because of you. Today is the first time I’ve seen you in person. I only learned of your books a few months ago, and I only heard about you less than a month ago.”
Then why are you acting like we’re old friends? I would have said it out loud if she weren’t the empress.
Wait a second.
“Are you saying you drew inspiration from me?”
“It would seem so.”
Fuck. It’s me again. This time I’d really hoped it wasn’t. Didn’t every little thing I did create some kind of variable? No, no. In the original, no matter what happened in the empire, Sophia and Schwald would handle it—well, I’d beaten the crap out of both of them. How was I supposed to predict the butterfly effect here?
Heintz. I had to put everything on Heintz. If this literary promotion policy somehow loosened a few screws in the empire’s collective head and fanned the flames of rebellion, we’d be in serious trouble. The empire’s situation could end up worse than in the original.
“I was curious about that woman named Milene as well. After all, she became the disciple of the Sword Saint who defected from our empire. I wanted to meet both you and the Sword Saint’s disciple, but I’ve managed to fulfill half my wish.”
“Hahaha. You needn’t call it a wish. I’m merely a humble novelist. For the empress of a great empire to speak so highly of someone like me…”
There had to be a reason she was praising me this much. It didn’t feel like simple fandom. Unlike that pig at the border, she was a monarch, so personally liking me was… well.
“Great empire? That’s amusing coming from a Glacian. What if I said I called you here simply because I wanted to see your face? Could I ask for an autograph?”
“An autograph is no trouble at all.”
“I obtained your book the moment it entered the empire. It would please me greatly if you signed the cover.”
She even thrust forward the copy she’d bought specifically for my signature. I wrote my autograph on the cover with a flourish.
“Now then, when do you plan to return?”
“The hotel is reserved for six nights and seven days.”
So roughly a week of rest. Not too short, not too long—an appropriate stay.
“Then would it be acceptable to remain here for the duration of your visit?”
“Well, that’s…”
Can it really work like that? It felt a bit off. Of course, I could write manuscripts here and send them to Portmus. But I wasn’t just an author right now—I was also connected to the Magic Tower.
“Writing the manuscript and sending it directly to the publisher would be one way, wouldn’t it?”
She was saying exactly what I’d been thinking. Just who was this empress?
“That’s true, but…”
Was she actually a fan? A fan who happened to be an empress and therefore wanted to see me even if it meant keeping me here? No, that was definitely overthinking it. There was no way she’d detain me just because she was a fan. On the other hand, refusing her outright wasn’t wise either. The empire was an important market for me, and if I upset her, she could withdraw her favor at any time. It was a monarchy, after all. Judging by her attitude, this woman held considerable power. It was rare for a female monarch to wield such strong authority. It was probably all thanks to the Four Swords.
In any case, I needed to stay in her good graces. Even as a Glacian. Especially since I was standing here not as the reserve hero Milene, but as Kay the author.
I couldn’t go against her wishes.
“I can simply take my time and rest.”
The problem was that it wouldn’t just be resting. I needed to study at the Magic Tower. Just in case, I’d brought that mirror world—or whatever it was. From what I’d heard, it was like a room where time stopped. A genuine spirit-and-time chamber. If that was the case, learning everything there and coming out might be the best option. Though being completely alone might drive me insane.
Still, the empress didn’t seem inclined to let me go easily, so I’d have to cut my training time.
She definitely had some scheme in mind.
“I shall do as Your Majesty wishes.”
She wasn’t threatening me yet, so it should be fine for now.
“By the way.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I bowed my head immediately as she began to speak. Since she controlled my money, low posture was mandatory. If she told me to lick her feet, I’d do it.
“Will the next volume finally feature the Demon King’s army’s perspective in earnest?”
“Pardon? Yes, that is the plan.”
“That’s a relief. The enemies we’ve seen so far don’t give the impression that they’re truly fighting with everything they have.”
Her words hit me like a blow to the back of the head. She was right. I hadn’t even gotten this kind of feedback from Jerry. So there really was a problem with my novel.
“The Demon King’s army side?”
“Indeed. Since they’ve mostly been grunts, the story focused on the hero’s party, so they felt like little more than extras passing by.”
“I see.”
This was dangerous. If the ruler of a battle-obsessed nation had doubts, it could become a real problem. Of course, once the executive-level demons started appearing and we got proper Demon King’s army perspectives, I planned to raise the quality significantly. But what if she still wasn’t satisfied?
This isn’t writing at all! I fear my citizens’ eyes will rot from reading such trash! I shall ban its publication!
Something like that? Fuck. That would be disastrous. If the empress of a nation like this expressed dissatisfaction, I’d be in serious trouble. I needed to come up with a plan. Since there would be proper battle scenes once the real fighting started, I’d raise the quality there too. I had to prepare countermeasures. A higher-quality novel was necessary.
It wasn’t like I could personally play the villain or Demon King’s army roles.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll handle it splendidly on your own.”
“Yes. Are you not the most distinguished among all my readers, Your Majesty? I will write a novel that will definitely satisfy you.”
“Good.”
The empress even prepared a special banquet reserved only for her. I enjoyed the meal while pondering future developments, then left the palace.
But there was a presence beside me.
“Hey. You’re the author Kay, right?”
When I turned, a red-haired man with sharp features asked in a distinctly unpleasant voice. His face screamed that he was looking for a fight. He clearly wasn’t an ordinary person. If he was in the palace at this hour… he had to be one of the Four Swords.
The Four Swords protected the empress and could be considered her close associates. Of course, that didn’t mean they had good personalities.
“Yes?”
“Do you happen to know a man named Decaron?”
“Ah, um… yes, I do. I heard he’s the Sword Saint who came to the kingdom.”
He was bringing up his master right from the start. Better to play dumb here.
Anyway, those kingdom bastards are weak. Hero or not, just beat them and it’s over.
There had been a guy like that among the Four Swords. This was probably him. Tallon, was it? A name that sounded like it belonged to some snot-nosed brat, paired with a rotten personality. If the delinquent kid from that red-haired party grew up, he’d probably turn into this guy. Only one of the Four Swords was like this. The other three had their own quirks, but at least they weren’t completely unhinged like the man in front of me.
And he was being far too rude to a foreigner.
“I heard you even published a swordsmanship manual through your publishing house?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. Then you must know him well.”
I see. He was going to ask me for a favor regarding Decaron. It was about time for the regret novel arc to begin, so it made sense.