The Birth of Author K (2)

Today, what could it be? I really hope they at least bring some food. Of all days, I haven't eaten anything. The only reason my stomach isn't completely empty is because the Queen of Glacia packed a few things for me before I left the palace, but still.

"Oh, Mr. Warden. What brings you here?"

"My wife made this. You've been suffering with nothing but oatmeal all this time, so I specially asked her to put in some effort."

Whoa, he brought a whole feast. This isn't oatmeal at all—it's more like a meat stew. There's even something like baguette to go with it. Oh, and some apple-like fruit. This is actually pretty decent. I don't mind this kind of bread at all.

"You really didn't have to. Thank you. I'm finally free from oatmeal."

I arranged the food Mr. Warden had brought on the table and sat down.

"So, how did it go?"

He was obviously asking about my status. What had become of my identity. If I'd played my cards a little better with those two, I might have received a separate noble title. But that wouldn't have been great either. Once you become a noble, you can easily get sold off in a political marriage.

"Ah, I'm a commoner."

"Tsk. That's a shame."

Mr. Warden clicked his tongue, tore off a piece of bread, and dipped it in the stew.

"I told His Majesty and the Queen that I wanted to become a commoner. Returning to nobility seemed like it would cause too many problems."

I also took a spoonful of the meat stew. The seasoning was perfect, and honestly, this was excellent. Ah, for the first time, I felt like I was living in the real world. Something soft and tender melted in my mouth.

"Goodness gracious."

"What?"

"No, it's just... I never thought a noble young lady who used to eat well and live comfortably would be this happy over something like this."

Well, that was Milene who ate well and lived comfortably. It wasn't me in this body. I couldn't exactly say that out loud. Honestly, maybe the original Milene had slightly refined tastes because these dishes didn't immediately suit my palate, but my tongue, thoroughly trained by oatmeal, adapted to them surprisingly quickly.

"Humans have to adapt to their living environment, you know."

"So you've developed a commoner's palate now that you're a commoner?"

I suppose you could look at it that way.

"Who knows? Maybe even when I was a noble lady, I actually had a commoner's palate. Besides, you've brought this with such sincerity. How could I complain about the side dishes? It tastes good too."

"You've got quite the adaptable personality. Really, all this trouble just because you met the wrong prince..."

Why do I have to be treated like a pitiful woman?

"Anyway, from now on, the life of commoner Milene begins."

"That's true. Honestly, I was worried about how I'd have to treat you if you went back to being a noble, so this is for the best."

"Well, even if I returned to nobility, it'd feel weird to have you speak formally to me."

In Korea, there were no class systems like this. If anything, it was just rich and powerful people versus everyone else. There weren't really nobles and commoners.

"Speaking of which, have you heard the news? About the prince."

"What about the prince?"

What kind of nonsense has that guy caused this time?

"That prince got a serious scolding. Originally, the position of crown prince was practically decided, but His Majesty announced that he would give both princes a chance."

"Ah, I see."

I had expected as much. Honestly, from my position of pitying Milene, it felt pretty refreshing and satisfying. The problem, however, was the original story. It wasn't just a matter of Sophia alone. Eventually, the Demon King would resurrect. The ones who would defeat that Demon King were the hero Schwald and the saintess Sophia. Of course, as mentioned before, the saintess Milene was originally supposed to die and be resurrected by a lich, which is why no one knew she was a saintess.

The issue was that the original plot had been twisted this time. I wondered how it would turn out. Could a prince who had fallen out of favor with the King and Queen easily become the hero? Honestly, I didn't think so. Sophia was also currently out of favor with the royal couple and would definitely pull all sorts of ridiculous stunts to earn forgiveness. Even if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to naturally become the hero like in the original story.

"So, young lady, are you going to live as an author from now on?"

"Yes. It looks like that's how it'll be."

The only thing I could do right now was write. Since Portmus Publishing had already promised an advance and signed a contract, I had no choice but to keep writing novels whether I liked it or not. The fact that they were giving me treatment usually reserved for famous authors made me suspect that Portmus itself must be an incredibly wealthy publishing house.

Anyway, this time I had truly felt that this world wasn't just a simple setting inside a story, but a place where real people lived. For now, I needed to get used to this world.

"Tsk, but thanks to Portmus, it seems like things will work out well."

"Yes. They definitely said they'd support me."

The president had clearly been hooked by my writing, after all.

"If you succeed as a great author, don't forget about me later."

"Of course not. How could I possibly forget you, sir?"

After all, it was thanks to this Mr. Warden that Milene had survived. In fact, he had shown me a new path. I had no intention of forgetting him. Besides, there were many ways I could expand in this field.

I finished the stew, and the meal came to an end. I decided to store the leftover food appropriately. Mr. Warden also prepared to leave.

"Well then, I'll be going. Write well!"

"Yes. I'll see you again later."

After Mr. Warden left, I sat down at the desk.

"But this body is really strange."

This body of Milene's, I mean. Honestly, her figure was too good. She was still a student at the academy, not even an adult yet, but that author bastard—while making the protagonist that insignificant Sophia—had clearly put all his effort into this Milene. Even if it was just a description in writing.

"Plus, this body feels strangely nice."

I twisted and turned my body this way and that. Was it because it was a saintess's body? It felt incredibly healthy, completely different from those exhausted days back then. Even when I was Korean, I'd never been in prison, but this body was energetic even after living in one. And it was so soft and smooth. Ah, was this what a woman's body was like?

"Alright, that's enough touching."

Even if I was Milene now, this was a bit much. The more I touched, the weirder I felt.

And when I looked out the window for a moment, I once again felt that this was a fantasy world. It was a city that looked like medieval Europe, but with magic and various facilities—it was literally a fantasy world. The enormous royal castle in an architectural style I'd never seen before. People in diverse clothing walking the streets and engaging in productive activities. Could this also be called a world where people lived?

"It really doesn't feel like a world inside a story."

At first, I'd vaguely thought that since it was a world inside a story, how could people even live in such a trashy work? I'd thought it was completely different from real life. I'd assumed it was like a movie or drama set, where the characters were just acting among themselves, laughing and chatting.

The voices of what seemed to be merchants drifted up to me. As expected, this world was real after all. The location of this house seemed really good too. It looked like Portmus had put a lot of care into the workspace, as the house got just the right amount of sunlight, which I liked.

"A class-based society isn't great, but it's not bad either."

Anyway, while returning to my original world would be nice, for now, how about thinking of this life as Milene's and just enjoying it like a vacation? I was about to receive the advance payment soon, and as long as I didn't quit writing, this workspace and my room wouldn't change.

"Shall I start writing then?"

I sat at the desk and began to write. For now, my goal was to finish the first volume within a few days.

So I wrote and wrote, but...

"What is this? Is there really some kind of buff?"

The words were flowing so smoothly. Was it really that saintess buff I'd mentioned as a joke? Well, they did say she had enough potential to be resurrected by a lich.

Once I finished, I'd call Jerry and send him the manuscript. That's what I thought, but—

"Yes. It turned out that way?"

Just over a week later, I had written the entire first volume.

"Oh, the manuscript is already here? She writes incredibly fast."

"Yes. Please take a look first."

As Jerry handed the manuscript to Yugo, he tilted his head. Could someone really write this quickly? He wondered if the immature young lady had just scribbled something carelessly. It was a thought that would greatly disappoint Milene if she heard it, but given the writing speed, it was only natural to be suspicious.

So he watched the reaction of the picky Yugo. Yugo looked at the manuscript and nodded.

"This is truly a goose that lays golden eggs."

"You mean Author K?"

"That's right. Even if printing uses magic, writing is purely the author's own ability. She's a woman, so there should be physical limits, yet her writing speed is so fast?"

"Yes. She seems to work incredibly quickly."

"Moreover, this isn't some mass-produced trash. Look at this—the ending makes you desperately want to read the next volume. It's perfectly teasing the reader. Yes, it's like the feeling of looking at your first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠love."

Contrary to Jerry's worries, Yugo was extremely satisfied. That made sense. Even Yugo himself had wondered if Milene had simply gotten lucky while scribbling away in prison when he first saw the speed. But this last part—teasing people while stimulating their interest—was the most impressive.

"Look here. It's not showing everything outright, but it's throwing out plenty of foreshadowing about the upcoming trials. Isn't this decisive power better than something vague? The romance novels flooding Portmus right now can't even compare."

"That's certainly true."

Jerry also nodded as he read the manuscript Yugo had passed him. It was exactly right. The romance novels currently dominating the market truly couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠compare. Honestly, while romance was profitable so they were publishing it anyway, once the sweet love story between that prince and Sophia or whatever lost its appeal, they would need to consider the next market.

"The Empire's people inherently worship martial prowess, so even their women tend to be quite bold and spirited. But the women of Glacia have a certain... something, don't they?"

"Ah, I know what you mean."

"But that Milene—no, Author K—completely blows all of that out of the water. Look, if you cut it off so cleanly like this, readers will be so frustrated they won't be able to stop. It's better than showing everything. Look at this. It's like the feeling of courtesans in a brothel, their skirts fluttering just enough to almost show what's underneath. You know what I mean?"

"Ah, yes."

Though Yugo's expression was a bit crude, Jerry understood what he meant. Cutting it off at just the right moment. That was truly worthy of high praise. It wasn't simply not showing. It was the feeling of 'Should I show it? Or not?' followed by 'I'll show you next time,' making people curse but unable to stop reading.

"Indeed. She seems completely different from the noble young ladies of Glacia."

It was truly amazing. Setting everything else aside, wasn't she from a noble background? How could someone from nobility be so good at making people desperately crave more?

"At this level, we can start serialization right away. When should we set the first publication date?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, we received a message from the palace earlier today."

"What is it? We don't have any books to send to the royal family right now, do we?"

"No, it's not that. His Majesty the King requested that when Author K's first edition comes out, it be sent to the royal family first."

"Hmm, so even the Sun of the Kingdom has ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recognized Author K's talent. Then it's decided. The debut of our Author K should be a splendid one, with the royal palace as the stage."

If even the King was helping set the mood, it would be perfect. It would be a truly spectacular stage for Author K. A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woman who was once a noble lady was now a genius author proudly acknowledged by the royal palace. Wasn't that wonderful?

"But won't this cause some problems with the publication schedule?"

"It certainly will. Tsk, it seems the young lady has pushed herself too hard. Tell her to take it slow. At this rate, what's the point of setting a deadline? If she keeps writing so passionately with that youthful vigor and ends up hurting her health, it'll be a big problem."

"Understood."