Chapter 240: Book 18(1)
Chapter 240: Book 18(1)
Arwen’s unexpected bombshell left my head spinning for quite a while. Her question—asking if I came from a world entirely different from the one they lived in—hit hard.
I didn't ask what prompted the question, so I couldn't be sure of her intent, but as a 'reincarnator,' I was deeply rattled.
As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome; regardless of her reasoning, the fact remained that I did come from another world.
When people noisily speculated about me being a regressor or a prophet, I could deny it flatly. But the claim that I was from another world made me hesitate for a split second.
That momentary lapse gave Arwen a certain level of conviction. Whatever misunderstanding she might have developed, it was a given that things were about to get complicated.
The problem was that Arwen wasn't the only one. Cecile had been in the room when Arwen dropped that massive bait.
After Arwen left, Cecile spent a good while interrogating me.
She asked if I really was from another world as Arwen suggested, and if that was why I wrote Xenon’s Biography.
As anyone who has spent time with me knows, I am a terrible liar. Even if I usually maintain a stoic expression, my complexion shifts the moment someone hits a specific nerve.
Furthermore, Cecile has an uncanny knack for seeing right through me. While Marie senses my lies through intuition, Cecile possesses sharp observational skills, much like Lina.
This meant she could see through most of my deceptions, and this time was no different. In the end, Cecile became fully convinced that I was from another world.
Did her attitude change after that? No. Far from it—she was too busy devouring me that night.
Later, as we lay side-by-side in bed, she told me that if I truly came from another world, it was a blessing from the gods. And even if I didn't, it wouldn't change the fact that I was the benefactor of the Demon race.
She did have one request, though. She asked why I had used her as the model for the Demon of Lust. She wanted to know if her future self truly became a demon for a specific reason.
However, since that was closely tied to Lust’s tragic past, I refused to answer. When I firmly told her it was a major spoiler, she accepted it gracefully.
Regardless, my relationship with Cecile grew subtly closer. She expressed her wish for the day to come when I could reveal myself as Xenon so we could date officially without any noise.
It seemed Cecile had begun to view my very existence as a gift from the gods. I suppose if someone is told you're from another world, that’s the natural conclusion to reach.
For the record, I plan to keep the details regarding my reincarnation buried for the time being. Cecile agreed and even vowed to keep her lips sealed.
One might wonder why I’m keeping it a secret, especially from Marie. But if you look at my current situation, it’s understandable.
Even now, they tease me by calling me a regressor or a prophet. If I admitted to being a reincarnator, the joke would cease to be a joke.
As Cecile said, they would see me as a gift or a blessing bestowed upon mortals by the gods. This would undoubtedly have a massive impact on my relationship with Marie, who is the person I am closest to as an equal.
Of course, given Marie’s somewhat simple personality, there’s a high chance she’d just go, "Oh, okay~" and move on. Over the year we’ve spent together, I’ve learned that she hates complications in human relationships.
In the past, though it was unavoidable, she was burned once by Lina. Since then, she’s preferred her relationships to be simple. She tries to avoid anything entangled with complex backstories or politics.
I’ve rambled on, but the bottom line is that I don't feel the need to reveal it. Only Arwen and Cecile know, and I’ve long since assimilated into this world.
They say even mountains change in ten years; surely a person changes too. Aside from the trauma of losing my parents in an accident and a few vivid memories, I’ve forgotten almost everything from my past life.
There’s nothing to gain from speaking out, and nothing would change if I did. For now, keeping my mouth shut is the best policy.
Besides, they’ll probably forget I’m a reincarnator in a few days anyway. It was like that before Arwen asked, so it’ll likely be the same this time.
...But if I write a novel about World War II, there’ll be no hiding it.
World War II was a clash of steel war machines and the worst conflict in human history. It was a turning point that changed the course of history itself.
If Arwen or Cecile ever read that book, they would know instinctively.
They would realize that Isaac came from that kind of world. I was 100% sure of it.
Even the title would be World War II. Perhaps they might even link it to the Race War that broke out 300 years ago.
Because of this, I wondered if I should put the World War II novel on hold, but first, I had to finish Xenon’s Biography.
I was already dealing with a string of headaches because of Xenon’s Biography; starting a World War II novel now would be spreading myself too thin.
Honestly, I wanted to juggle multiple projects, but I couldn't. I had to squeeze out every drop of Divine Power just to stay alive, so I had to focus solely on Xenon’s Biography.
Fortunately, my physical stamina had improved noticeably thanks to the high-intensity training I’d been doing under Adelia’s guidance.
Perhaps because of that, Marie had been calling for Cecile much more often than before. I heard she’d started calling for reinforcements, claiming she couldn't handle it alone anymore.
Anyway, enough digression. Not long after Arwen’s question about reincarnation, Volume 18 of Xenon’s Biography was released.
Because the spoilers had already leaked in reality, the readers' initial reaction was lukewarm, but the book still sold like wildfire.
Reality is reality, and a book is a book. People couldn't help but read it just to see how the ending unfolded.
[As revealed in reality, the one who conspired with the demons was indeed the Cardinal.]
[I want to punch the guy who spoiled this.]
[On the contrary, the Cardinal who threatened Jin was the truly devout one. It was merely a difference in perspective.]
[Even that Cardinal grew mentally and shattered his prejudices against the Demon race.]
There were some strange reviews mixed in, but those sentiments actually existed. It seemed some devoted fans of Xenon’s Biography were quite angry, even going so far as to put such comments in the newspaper.
I rubbed my eyes several times, thinking I’d misread it. But it was really there.
Just how angry must they be to print that in a newspaper? In fact, it wasn't just this critic; a significant number of general readers were furious about being spoiled.
Moreover, since I hadn't made any official statement, their feelings must have been complicated. Even I, the author, was thinking, What the hell is this? So I could only imagine how the readers felt.
[The name of the one who seduced the fallen Cardinal is 'Beelzebub.' What is the true identity of the one bearing this name?]
[The machinations of the demons are gradually coming to light.]
[Reality is no different. Currently, demon worshippers are being purged one by one...]
Perhaps because the impact of Kate’s real-life spoiler was so great, the discourse was split half-and-half between Xenon’s Biography and the real-world demon worshippers.
Since the Holy Nation of Savior had declared a 'Holy War,' the ripple effect was bound to be extraordinary. Especially since a Cardinal had actually been one of the high-ranking members of the demon worshippers.
Thanks to that, for the first time since the release of Xenon’s Biography, things passed without any major incident...
[Will you still deny being a prophet? Xenon, reveal your identity immediately!]
[The Holy Nation of Savior will surely protect you, so please lend your strength to the Holy War...]
[He surely knows all the leaders of the demon worshippers. We must quickly quell the chaos of the world...]
...Like hell they did. Now they were starting to plead. They didn't care about anything else anymore; they just wanted me to reveal myself and help eradicate the demon worshippers.
I keep emphasizing this, but I am a reincarnator, not a regressor or a prophet.
Forget the future; I’m currently in a position where I have to worry about being drained dry by my lovers. What help could I possibly give?
Besides, with the number of women around me increasing, I have to constantly build up my stamina. I have to survive first before I can help anyone else.
By the way, Kate is...
According to the news in the paper, Kate had set out on a pilgrimage again. Her last pilgrimage was to find me, but this time the purpose seemed different.
She would likely come looking for me while smashing the heads of demon worshippers along the way. Since Savior had declared a Holy War, there was no way she, the Grand Inquisitor, would be idle.
In the first place, she wasn't the only Inquisitor on a pilgrimage. It was reported that most Inquisitors had been deployed since the declaration of the Holy War.
Since Savior’s worst shame had been exposed, they had to clean up the mess somehow. The world was going to be noisy for a while.
No, wait. It was already noisy.
I should just stay very quiet for now. I closed the newspaper filled with all sorts of news and looked up.
Vacation is approaching... and I have to prepare for the Exhibition.
It felt like only yesterday that the freshmen arrived, but summer vacation was already drawing near. Along with it, preparations for the Exhibition were in full swing in our territory.
Originally, the Kingdom of Ters had been determined to host the Exhibition themselves, but the Minerva Empire had snatched it away a few months ago.
The fact that I had mentioned the Maishal territory as my birthplace played a huge role. Furthermore, Xenon’s ever-growing fame made it impossible for even the Kingdom of Ters to remain stubborn.
As a result, my father’s workload had exploded. My mother sent a letter complaining that Father wanted to hand over the headship of the family to me as soon as possible and was grumbling about wanting the Exhibition to be over quickly.
I felt a bit guilty, but since the Imperial Family was providing abundant support, there were no issues with manpower. In the first place, the higher-ups had granted us a territory with great potential just to keep my father tied down.
I want to see Lily soon, too.
It was a year ago, after the first Exhibition ended, when I spent my first night with Marie. Unfortunately, Mother had gifted us the last remaining contraceptive pills, and we ended up conceiving Lily.
And time had passed; exactly one month ago, she gave birth to my lovely youngest sister, Lily. Since it was her fourth, she reportedly gave birth healthily without any crisis.
According to the letters, she’s a truly adorable and dainty baby with red hair and golden eyes like Father. If nothing else, I really want to see Lily.
I wonder how cute she is?
I imagined Lily with a sense of anticipation. At the same time, I wondered what kind of stage would unfold at this Exhibition.
Those rude jerks from the Kingdom of Ters would surely come, but since Adelia had overcome her trauma, no major disaster should occur as long as we were careful.
Adelia would be acting as my guard knight then anyway, and the rest of the group, including Marie, would be there.
I wondered if Dave and Nicole would come too. I heard that no matter how busy they were, they were granted leave for major family events.
The people who are likely to come are mostly set...
I had a good idea of who would definitely show up, but I wasn't sure about the rest. Specifically, Leona and Cherry were the wild cards.
Leona would likely come if I gave her some help, but Cherry was the problem. Her family environment was just as harsh as Adelia’s had been.
It was a family that had ruthlessly torn apart and trampled on the works she had poured her dreams and hopes into.
It was obvious what would have happened if she’d been left alone, but fortunately, she’d managed to hold on with my help.
It would be better for her to visit the Exhibition than to stay in a place like that...
That would be better for Cherry too. Spending the vacation somewhere else would be far better than staying in that hellish household.
Wait. Maybe she could just stay at the Academy all vacation instead of going back to her family. Leona had said she was going to work part-time during the break, too.
A good idea came to mind, and I smiled. She could just lie to her parents and say she was staying at the Academy, then come to our territory.
They probably won't come anyway.
It was a vacation I was looking forward to in many ways.
Where was the busiest place following the release of Volume 18 of Xenon’s Biography? As everyone probably knows by now, it was the publishing house.
Musk, the publisher's president, didn't care if Savior declared a Holy War or if a Cardinal was actually a demon worshipper.
He was too busy printing even one more copy of Xenon’s Biography to worry about such things. Musk was a man truly obsessed with money.
At least, he was until he suddenly got a knife to the gut.
"Oh, lord..."
"Are you alright, sir?"
Matthew, Musk’s secretary, called out worriedly to Musk, who was groaning on a stark white bed.
The reason for Matthew’s concern was Musk’s condition; currently, his thick belly was wrapped tightly in white bandages.
Fortunately, the surgery had been a success, but at first, the bleeding had been so severe it was life-threatening.
"Do I look fucking alright to you, you bastard?"
Musk barked at Matthew with a gravelly curse. Despite being insulted, Matthew didn't lose his worried expression.
The reason this man, who was usually so healthy his belly practically dripped with grease, ended up like this was, simply put, the work of demon worshippers.
After the spoilers leaked in reality, the demon worshippers sensed a crisis and began to run amok, and they had targeted Musk as a priority.
If it weren't for Xenon’s Biography, their evil plans would have proceeded without anyone noticing, but now they were being utterly crushed.
Normally, they would have targeted Xenon—that is, Isaac—as their top priority, but his identity remained unknown. Therefore, they targeted Musk, one of the links to him.
Besides Musk, there was also the Elf Queen, Arwen, but she was a whale-sized target for the demon worshippers to tackle. So they went after Musk, who was a relatively smaller target.
Of course, Musk wasn't a complete fool and had hired mercenaries with a significant amount of money. However, he had overlooked the fact that a demon worshipper had slipped in among those mercenaries.
If he had visited a temple with the mercenaries even once, it might have been different, but he hadn't gone that far due to the complacent thought that things would be fine by now.
"Why are you cursing at me? I'm just worried."
"Whew... My apologies."
"If something happens to you, sir, who's going to pay my salary?"
"You son of a... Argh..."
At Matthew’s half-joke, Musk tried to get angry but ended up clutching his stomach. If it had been a normal blade, it might have been fine, but because it had been poisoned, the aftereffects were severe.
It was a stroke of luck that he always kept emergency potions on hand under the motto 'Money is useless if you're dead'; otherwise, he would have been a cold corpse.
He was currently in a temple focusing on recovery, but he had more than a few things to worry about.
"...Hey, Matthew."
"Yes, sir."
"How are the other employees? Are they shaken?"
"They are."
Just as expected. After the news spread that their president had been attacked by demon worshippers, the publishing house employees were in a state of extreme agitation.
Fortunately, they weren't under any immediate threat thanks to the protection of the Church of Luminous, but there were still many concerns.
No matter how much Musk loved and was obsessed with money, he wasn't the type to put human lives below profit.
He stared up at the temple ceiling, drenched in cold sweat, before speaking quietly.
"Matthew."
"Yes, sir."
"Prepare a letter immediately."
"A letter?"
"Yes."
If he had been attacked like this, there was no guarantee others wouldn't be. Especially the 'Exhibition'—that would be even more dangerous.
The demon worshippers would be desperate to tarnish Xenon’s name in any way possible. They might even commit an act of 'terrorism' at the Exhibition.
If even he had ended up in this state, what about the Exhibition? Countless nobles would be attending.
Therefore, to reduce casualties...
Think of how much those people spend!
...Like hell. If they disappeared, it would be a direct hit to sales. Musk decided he had to prevent that at all costs.
Anyone who hurt his sales was a bastard. To Musk, the demon worshippers fit that description perfectly.
And bastards should be dealt with using a whip to keep them quiet. He chuckled inwardly for a moment before returning to practical matters.
"The protection of the employees... Haa... It can't be helped."
"Do you have a clever solution, sir?"
"It’s possible if Lord Luminous permits it."
"What kind of solution?"
What came out of Musk’s mouth next was...
"We buy the temple."
"Pardon?"
"And then we merge it with the publishing house."
It was truly idiotic, but a very certain method.
He looked blankly at the dumbfounded Matthew and explained his 'reasoning.'
"We're the only publishing house contracted for Xenon’s Biography. Surely Lord Luminous would permit it, wouldn't he?"