Chapter 435: This is Why Fantasy...(4)
Chapter 435: This is Why Fantasy...(4)
Although my conscience pricked me a bit at Arwen’s words about her high expectations, there was still plenty of time. Even after the main story concluded, I had to write side stories and gain knowledge through Mora.
Thus, the World War II arc might only begin around the end of winter break. Instead, since Berit, the Emperor of the Minerva Empire, had asked if I could extend the current part just a little, I was planning to take that into consideration.
World War II was a complex conflict where entangled political situations and long-accumulated grievances exploded all at once.
Aside from the axis of evil, Hitler, there were hardly any figures who could be called a protagonist, so I had to carefully craft the characters.
Furthermore, by the nature of war, the true protagonist is the one who survives. I planned to introduce characters who would take the lead and then develop the story in a way where everyone around them died.
On the German side, there would be Hitler and a soldier steeped in Nazism; for the Soviet Union, a survivor of Stalingrad; and finally, for the United States, a participant in the Pacific War.
In addition, I planned to depict the operators of the mighty war machines—tanks and fighter planes. Showing all of this one by one seemed like it would be complicated, but that was a matter of my own capability.
Of course, before I could plan all that, I had to decide on the side stories. I announced my decision regarding the side stories during dinner.
"I'm going to write it so sweet your teeth will rot."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Hohoho. Thank you, dear."
Naturally, Mother was the most delighted. For the record, only Mari, Adelia, and the family attended the dinner.
I heard that Cecile, Lina, and Arwen were eating separately in their own room.
There were many awkward aspects to everyone gathering for a meal, and Lina, in particular, still felt that way strongly.
Moreover, they all had many things they wanted to discuss, including the 'Grey Desert Expedition.' So, a separate dining arrangement was made for them.
I figured they might even play a game of Baduk together once they finished eating. Just before dinner, I had taught Cecile and Arwen the rules of Baduk.
‘Though it’s a 13x13 board instead of 19x19.’
To make it more accessible, I substituted the standard 19-line board with a 13-line one. I had whipped up the board and stones in an instant using magic.
Since the rules themselves were simple, I trusted they would do fine on their own. After dinner was over...
"What? Really? You're not lying?"
"Would I lie to you? What you heard is correct, Sister."
I told Adelia as well—that I came from another world. Her wide-open, sky-blue eyes were truly adorable.
I had originally intended to tell her when Mari and the rest of the family were gathered, but she happened to be busy with something else at the time, so I had to tell her separately.
As I had done before, I shared various facts with Adelia, proceeding step-by-step while checking her reactions in real-time.
Like Mari, she loved me for who I was, so it wasn't difficult for her to accept.
"Then, were there no illegitimate children where you lived?"
"As long as humans exist, there will always be illegitimate children. And I can't say they were treated very well there, either."
"I see. I suppose even if civilization advances, places where people live are all the same. Sexual desire wouldn't be any different."
However, being an illegitimate child herself, she couldn't hide her bitterness regarding that topic. Even if she had escaped her trauma, her origins remained unchanged.
Regardless, Adelia only showed interest in that specific part and, surprisingly, didn't show much curiosity about the world I lived in.
She said she had realized long ago that I was different from others, and that the most important thing was protecting me.
In many ways, she had a steadfast personality befitting a knight.
"Then... does this mean I should call you 'Oppa' now?"
"...No. There's no need for that. Just call me what you always do."
"Got it. Isaac Oppa."
"..."
"Keke. Sorry, sorry. I'll call you as usual."
When I made a hurt expression, Adelia pinched my cheek and teased me playfully.
To be called 'Oppa' by a woman I usually called 'Sister.' I almost felt a momentary pang of damage, but I managed to move past it somehow.
Part of me wanted to tease her back tonight, but unfortunately, I already had a prior engagement. I had already informed the other women about this.
"Huh? You haven't unpacked yet?"
"I'm sorry... The house is much larger than I expected, and it's so crowded with people... I think I'll have to finish unpacking this evening."
However, the woman I had that engagement with, Leona, had to postpone it by a day due to moving issues.
Because of the unexpected funeral commotion, tourists had flocked in, and as a result, the carriage carrying her luggage couldn't arrive on time.
I felt a bit annoyed hearing the explanation, but it had already happened. After soothing her and telling her she could take her time, I returned to my main job.
I expected she would visit our mansion tomorrow morning to resolve the issues related to Clark, and then we would spend a deep first night together.
Anyway, the territory, which had been bustling due to the funeral commotion, finally began to quiet down as evening fell.
‘I should hurry up and finish writing this.’
During the relatively relaxed evening hours, I worked on the side story. As I told Mother, I intended to show a level of sweetness that would make one's teeth rot.
I would start with the meeting of Lily and Jin, then their parenting diary, and further, their children boasting of their parents' harmony.
Excluding the firstborn, I would have them pop out children one after another, year after year. I should even add twins in the middle.
‘...Wait, why does this feel like my own future?’
The difference was that I didn't just have Lily, but several women. However, living a life like a breeding stud, much like Jin in the book, seemed similar.
In fact, even Jin was becoming more haggard by the day due to Lily’s terrifying offensive of affection. Of course, he was just as happy.
It felt like the Saintess was transforming into a 'Saintess' in a different sense. But as long as the readers were happy, that was enough.
I would occasionally write about the current status of Xenon and Mary, and finally, end with the elderly Jin and Lily looking warmly at their grandchildren.
‘By the way...’
I finished my intermediate work and looked up. Even though bedtime was approaching, Mari was not in my bedroom.
She had stepped out saying she had something to discuss with the other women, but perhaps the conversation was running long, as she hadn't returned even after thirty minutes.
‘Well, women’s chatter does tend to go on.’
I shrugged my shoulders and got back to work.
*
"So... you skipped your meal just because of this?"
Mari couldn't hide her absurdity. After hearing the shocking truth from Isaac, she had entered the room where the women were gathered, only to find this.
Cecile and Arwen were staring intensely at a square board, placing white and black stones respectively.
Even worse, their now-cold meals were sitting neatly beside them. It appeared both had skipped eating.
Not only that, but Lina was watching the game with an interested gaze.
"I only meant to play one move, but then..."
"I saw an opening to win, so I couldn't help it."
Arwen offered a half-hearted excuse with a childish grin, while Cecile replied with a quite serious expression.
Watching them, it was only natural for Mari to feel even more bewildered. She looked at them for a moment before shifting her gaze to the side.
Adelia was also there, her eyes darting around as she wondered what was going on.
"Sigh... Stop for a moment. It looks like a board game, so surely you can do that much?"
"Just one more move..."
"It's about Isaac."
Just as Cecile was about to plead, Mari cut her off sharply with a firm voice.
If there was one thing that took absolute priority over everything else, it was anything related to Isaac. At this, Cecile quietly placed her stone down without further complaint.
With the situation properly settled, Mari looked at Lina after Cecile. She had heard that Lina also knew Isaac's secret.
She had felt a bit slighted when she first heard that, but her feelings had softened after learning it was an accident caused by Ariel's mind-reading.
"Lina. You stay here too. This might be a story you can't ignore either."
"It sounds like something serious?"
"It might not be for us, but it could be for Isaac. He's the only one who doesn't realize it."
Just what could it be that made Mari so serious? Lina nodded with an attitude that was half-curious and half-serious.
Mari was the type to personally step in and resolve issues related to Isaac.
Even though Cecile kept her in check whenever there was an opening, Mari was undeniably Isaac's first wife and treated as the primary spouse.
Mari quietly sat down in a chair at the table where the Baduk board was placed. Adelia stood behind her, but at Mari's consideration, she was able to take a seat as well.
From this moment on, she had to step forward not as a maid, but as one of Isaac's women.
‘The people who know Isaac’s secret... this should be all of them, right?’
Leona would be delayed by a day due to personal matters, and above all, it was assumed Isaac would reveal the secret to her on their first night.
Furthermore, although Lina hadn't 'done the deed' yet, it was practically a foregone conclusion, so there was no problem with her participating.
‘...This is kind of annoying, isn't it?’
How were there so many women? It didn't hit her when she met them individually, but seeing them gathered like this made her feel uneasy.
However, after learning Isaac's secret, she could understand his womanizing tendencies. Recalling his miserable life, it was only natural for him to crave affection.
At this, Mari took a deep breath and spoke in a low, calm voice.
"...I believe everyone here knows Isaac's secret. You've all heard it, right?"
Normally, she should speak formally to Arwen, but this was a gathering of Isaac's women.
Besides, she knew well enough that Arwen wasn't the type to dwell on such trivialities.
"Indeed. Cecile and I heard it together."
"I happened to hear it by chance a few weeks ago."
"I have also just heard it."
Then it didn't matter. Mari nodded after hearing each of their confirmations and continued.
"Then... do you also know about Isaac's past?"
"I know he died young at the age of twenty-three. And that it was all because of demon worshippers."
"I only know that much as well."
It was the same for Lina and Adelia. A pitiful soul caught up in a demon worshipper's summoning ritual at the flowering age of twenty-three.
But that was it. They didn't know he had lost his parents in an accident, or that he had been conscripted into the army. Or that his girlfriend had cheated on him during that process.
It seemed he had judged that he shouldn't mention those things after seeing the reactions of his parents and Mari. And Mari was concerned about this point.
‘Isaac doesn't realize just how tragic a life he lived.’
Though there were differences in science and culture, 'conscription' was fundamentally a system implemented only during war or a comparable crisis.
Even in the Minerva Empire, the conscription system had disappeared hundreds of years ago. Armies have long been known as money-eating hippos, and even the Minerva Empire would find it difficult to sustain one.
Therefore, they had switched to a volunteer system. Even then, it was a volunteer system in name only; in reality, it was about mass-producing knights.
Of course, they would conscript if a war broke out, but at least now was an era of peace. Even if a war did break out, they wouldn't conscript indiscriminately unless it was a dire situation.
‘I can't believe a country where a civil war broke out achieved such growth, but...’
To be honest, she couldn't believe those words, but at the time, Isaac was telling only the truth. She had grasped this through her unique mind-reading.
But even setting that aside, the fact that his personal history was unfortunate remained unchanged. Above all, hadn't he said he served on the 'front lines'?
To Mari, the front lines were the same as the border regions of the Minerva Empire.
The border regions of the Minerva Empire bordered not only the Barbarians but also Albenheim.
In fact, back when Arwen's political position was unstable, hadn't Elf Rangers crossed the border from time to time?
If Hawk hadn't eliminated them all, the Barbarians would have roamed the border regions much more freely.
"It seems he didn't tell you everything. This is why I called you all. I want you to know more about Isaac's past."
"...Is it a bad story?"
"I can't call it good, even as a polite lie. It's highly likely that Isaac's womanizing tendencies stem from this as well."
Sensing that he had a past far worse than expected, the women each showed a reaction.
Arwen looked somewhat anxious, Cecile and Lina looked serious, and finally, Adelia looked stoic.
Once Mari saw they were ready to listen, she took another deep breath and continued in her characteristically clear voice.
"I'll only tell you what Isaac revealed himself. First of all..."
As Mari's story continued, the women's faces were filled with pity.
A nation split in half due to the interference of two great powers. Countless tragedies were born within that civil war, and as a result, the conscription system was born.
As she just said, conscription was a system usually maintained only when a war broke out or in a similar situation.
From Isaac's perspective, he probably just thought of it as a 'shitty army,' but to these women, an army was a group where one fundamentally put their life on the line.
The pity doubled when the mention of him standing on the 'front lines' came up.
"On top of that, his girlfriend cheated on him. And after he was discharged, he even lost his parents in an accident."
"Is... is that true?"
"How... why did such things happen..."
"Isaac..."
Isaac had passed it off calmly as his past, but if you laid it out in writing one by one, they were certainly things that could be called a tragedy.
He was already as stressed as could be because of the conscription, and then his girlfriend cheated on him. To top it off, the passing of his parents was the final blow.
Was there anything he could lean on? He said he kept writing afterward, so at least that must have been his support.
In conclusion, the Isaac of his previous life had no choice but to be completely isolated socially. This was the conclusion Mari had reached.
"His foolish personality of liking people is probably because of this too. For Isaac, just having people by his side would be enough. Even if he had complaints, he wouldn't have shown them."
"..."
"So, what I want to say is... let's not hurt him. Even if you can cover a wound in the heart, it's difficult to heal it completely. Understand?"
In fact, there was nothing wrong with Mari's words. It was just that the cultural differences had created a certain misunderstanding.
What made them feel even more pity was that the Isaac of his previous life was just an ordinary person.
If he had been of the nobility or something similar, there might have been some justification for the responsibilities he bore, but he was a commoner who only had to shoulder duties.
With tragedies striking one after another, it was a wonder he hadn't taken his own life.
"Could it be that the reason he wrote such tragedies in the Xenon Biography was..."
"It might be because he truly went through similar experiences."
"He says he's fine... when he doesn't even know himself."
The misunderstanding only grew deeper. Mari lowered her gaze while they organized their thoughts.
The board game Cecile and Arwen had been playing until a moment ago. Thirteen lines were drawn horizontally and vertically, with white and black stones placed upon them.
To change the mood and satisfy her curiosity, she spoke up.
"By the way, what is this? Did Isaac teach you this too?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. It's called Baduk. Here's how you play..."
And so, the night passed as the misunderstanding deepened.
"...What's wrong with you all? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. We're fine... probably..."
"We just... stayed up a bit..."
The next day, Isaac was met with women who were swaying on their feet, though he had no idea what they had been up to.