Ripples Far and Wide (2)
“You’ve really stirred up a storm, Alan.”
“Doesn’t it even cross your mind, bro? The knights are kicking up a huge fuss about their pride being sullied.”
Albert chuckled at Alan’s words.
“A novel’s a novel, and reality’s reality. Of course, the Shuren Chronicle’s impact is massive, that much is true.”
“If only people wouldn’t dive in headfirst like you do.”
“They’re just biting because they see an opening. There are plenty who hate our family, after all.”
“Fair point.”
In truth, the military might gripped by the Mueller Ducal House was no light matter. If not for his father’s absolute loyalty to the emperor, the nobles who followed the emperor would see the Mueller family’s forces as a blade forever hanging over their heads, ready to turn on them at any moment.
Alan himself had grown up hearing such talk endlessly.
“But even if they bite, do you think Father will react?”
“He’s probably laughing in his study right now, saying it reminds him of his youth.”
“Huh? His youth?”
Alan sat up, curiosity piqued, and Albert continued with a grin.
“This was before Father earned the title of Sword King. There was a time when skirmishes with Osrian were frequent along the eastern border.”
“How long ago was that?”
“About twenty-five years ago by imperial calendar? Before we were even born. Father was traveling the eastern borderlands as part of his training, helping people along the way.”
“You heard this straight from him?”
“Yeah. He’s never told you?”
“Our relationship wasn’t exactly close. I was the one who never listened to him.”
Albert gave a wry smile at Alan’s words. Their father, Duke Mueller, had often scolded his youngest for shirking his duties. Alan, in turn, had stubbornly declared he’d throw away everything but the family name if he could. The one who’d reined them both in was their mother, Sharna Blanc, now back home for a brief respite.
She’d sharply scolded Alan to cut the nonsense and yelled at their father that his harsh words only made the boy rebel more.
Hmm, I miss Mother. Wonder if word of the Shuren Chronicle has reached the east.
“Bro?”
“Anyway. While Father was in those eastern borderlands, he apparently crossed swords with an orc—the one who’s now Osrian’s Great Warlord, I think.”
“Great Warlord? That’s like our emperor, right?”
“Exactly. He beat the orc but didn’t finish him off, and Father regrets it to this day. Says that’s why the orc rose to become their Great Warlord.”
“Father’s way too belligerent.”
Albert shrugged at Alan’s remark.
“I don’t know what he really thinks, but don’t take it too hard if the backlash isn’t positive.”
“This volume was one I braced for backlash from the start anyway.”
It was also a device to show how Shuren, coming from a foreign land, saw the world. The protagonist wasn’t even from the empire, after all. It was meant to reveal viewpoints that clashed with the Western Empire’s common sense.
Alan added, “Oh, hey, they’re not doing those betting duels anymore, right?”
“Not right now. The guy drawing the sword illustrations vanished. You put the Morrison Detective Agency kids on it, didn’t you?”
“Yep. They’re probably rummaging around excitedly as we speak.”
“Thanks to that, the spread of those illustrated sword manuals has stopped since volume one. Roots aren’t fully pulled up yet, though.”
“Roots still there?”
“Yeah. Seems like some are trading them secretly. You’ve got the original, right?”
Alan walked to the drawer, pulled out a book labeled dohae in Kun’Rung script, and stared down at it gravely.
“Maybe someone’s after this thing.”
“Most people know you have it anyway.”
“They’re not coming to steal it because of you, probably.”
Albert shrugged with a laugh. Ever since he’d spectacularly smashed the guys who’d picked on Alan last time, no one dared mess with him carelessly.
“Anyway, watch your back. You never know what crazed idiots might do.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll head out then.”
“Take care, bro.”
“Volume three sold out?”
“Yeah. Everyone’s talking about it, so we all know the plot, but I still wanna read it myself. How’s there not a single copy left?”
“Right? Maybe it’s so shocking everyone’s buying it up.”
“Nah, no way. Why buy a novel they’re trash-talking?”
“Still, the fact that you can’t even get one is the problem.”
“Heard the knight faculty kids are freaking out, saying it must be burned.”
“Bet they’re reading it on the sly.”
“Look, it’s Alan.”
“Not scared at all? Who knows what’ll happen to him.”
“Leave him be. He’s Mueller Ducal House spawn. Forgot how Duke Mueller turned the academy upside down last time? Mess with him, and it’ll be ugly.”
Heading to the lecture hall with Meia as usual, Alan half-ignored the chatter using him as fodder and opened the door.
The moment he did, feather-light golden hair waved before his eyes like a surging wave. Felicia.
“Alan! Volume three! What the hell happened?!”
“Good morning, Princess. Have a nice day.”
“Good morning… Argh! This isn’t the time for greetings!”
“Alan Mueller!! Are you insane?! What kind of twisted mind comes up with that plot…!”
Behind Felicia, Stella barreled in like a bull, brimming with agitation. Alan pressed his forehead with a hand.
Fiery from the morning, huh.
Surrounded by Felicia and Stella, Alan scratched his cheek.
“What kind of idea was that?! Unbelievable! It’s the most shocking novel I’ve ever read!”
“The princess is right! An orc wielding Aura…!!”
The princess and her knight were shocked from different angles, though their focus was obvious.
“Not that shocking.”
“Well, it is, but…”
“No intelligent being has ever portrayed orcs that way. Do you know how the knight faculty’s losing their minds, Alan Mueller?”
Alan smirked at Stella’s reaction.
“Doesn’t matter how the knight faculty reacts.”
“Your novel’s gonna draw more attacks on the Mueller family. No self-awareness?”
“That’s family business. If Father saw it as an insult, he’d be here chewing me out by now.”
Stella fell silent. He wasn’t wrong. Duke Mueller would’ve surely read volume three. If he took it as an affront to the empire, he’d have come straight for Alan.
“Think what you want. Just don’t forget I’m the youngest son of the Mueller family.”
A bit cheap, but hey, Alan added mentally.
Stella sighed, at a loss for words.
“Did you know no one’s ever treated orcs as intelligent beings, Alan?”
“I know. In every book I’ve read, no Osrian-affiliated race—orcs, trolls, whatever—has ever been depicted as intelligent.”
“Then why make Shuren meet an orc of all things?”
“Because in the Shuren Chronicle, orcs revere ‘revenge’ above all. It was a necessary encounter for Shuren.”
Alan walked on naturally, and Felicia and Stella followed, claiming the seats on either side of him.
Felicia asked, “Why an orc specifically?”
“If humans represent the Tyranto Empire and the Eastern Empire, what represents the non-humans? A race similar to humans… but not human.”
“…The one clashing most with humans would be orcs, yeah.”
Alan nodded at Stella’s answer.
“Of course, the orcs in the novel are fiction. They just connect with Shuren through their valor and sacred view of revenge.”
“Didn’t know you were into Osrian language too, Alan. Usually it’s just Kun’Rung. Never thought I’d see Osrian in a novel.”
“Osrian… Aganshtar, and other words pop up, yeah.”
Alan scratched his cheek. Novel-writing meant borrowing cool-sounding words from all languages. Middle-school syndrome vibes, sure, but just like how German thrived in otaku circles, cherry-picking fancy terms from English, Spanish, or German wasn’t odd. With orcs in the story, Osrian felt right.
“Gotta research all sorts for novels.”
Felicia frowned with a hum.
“You’ll be at the center of controversy for a while, Alan. You okay with that?”
“Knew it coming when I wrote it.”
Alan shrugged indifferently. Chatter echoed around them.
“Can’t figure why he chose that. Could’ve kept it safe and still been a hit.”
“But Sir Schubert… so cool, right?”
“Totally agree. Sir Schubert. Wolf Knight moniker’s badass, true knight vibes. First to grasp revenge’s futility.”
“Wish he’d connected more with Shuren.”
“If it’d been a human instead of an orc, maybe better plot. Such a shame.”
“Regrettable, but that orc talk makes Shuren realize something—shocking, sure, but necessary.”
“Still a wild twist.”
“Got volume three? Jealous. Haven’t read it.”
“Same. Everyone’s buzzing; it’s driving me nuts.”
Alan smirked, tuning out the talk as Professor Teia entered the lecture hall.