Chapter 456: The Sequel(3)
Chapter 456: The Sequel(3)
The Xenon Chronicle series finally came to an end with its final volume, Passing Hero. It had been nearly two and a half years since the release of the first volume.
Even with the occasional help from acquaintances and the typewriter he received from Helium, his writing speed was nothing short of terrifying.
He had done nothing but eat and write. Normally, releasing one volume a month would be considered fast, but he had managed to churn one out every ten days or so.
Regardless, after a long journey filled with various incidents and accidents, the Xenon Chronicle would no longer be published.
Upon hearing the news, readers sent messages of support, thanking the author for his hard work, while simultaneously falling into a dilemma over what they should read next.
Although Isaac had graciously allowed derivative works for the Xenon Chronicle, the Xenon Festival only happened once a year, and something was needed to fill the void in between.
Of course, with over thirty volumes, one could always reread the series, but storage was an issue, and even the best stories could grow stale after constant repetition.
Thus, in his Author's Note, Isaac announced a new work—one entirely different from the Xenon Chronicle. It was the story he had been hinting at all along: World War II.
[A short and concise prologue. What could these things possibly mean?]
[No information has been released, so it's impossible to predict anything. A world without mana, magic, or gods... Can such a world even function properly?]
[It feels somewhat heretical, but since it's Xenon's work, there's no room for doubt.]
People shared their opinions after reading the brief prologue. Perhaps because so little information had been revealed, they couldn't even begin to form proper theories.
Instead, they focused on the terms mentioned in the prologue: 'Machine Revolution,' 'Imperialism,' and finally, the man presumed to be the protagonist, 'Adolf Hitler.'
The Machine Revolution garnered the most interest, especially since steam locomotives had already appeared in the Xenon Chronicle. It was only natural, as this was a development currently unfolding in their own reality.
As for Imperialism, they simply treated it as 'conquest.' While it held a slightly different nuance, that was something Isaac could explain as the story progressed.
Finally, there was Adolf Hitler. His birth was announced following the context of the outbreak of World War I, and many assumed he would be the protagonist.
Technically, he was the protagonist. This was something many historians on Earth would agree with, albeit in a 'negative' sense.
In actual history, it is rare for a single individual to become an irreplaceable element, but Hitler was the exception.
The era and society where agitation worked perfectly, and the desperate atmosphere of Germany—without Hitler in that specific situation, Nazi Germany would never have existed.
'And his role in growing Germany was nothing more than a short-term effect.'
Hitler certainly intoxicated a desperate populace and restored the economy. The problem was that it was nothing more than preparation for 'aggression.'
He threw the masses of unemployed workers created by the Great Depression into the munitions industry and used the resulting military might to subjugate Western Europe.
If the man, who was originally an artist, had been administratively and militarily competent, Nazi Germany might have won much sooner.
This was the decisive factor that blinded and deafened the German people. In the long run, it was the worst possible move, but because he had conquered Western Europe, he was able to sustain it for a time.
'People will probably look at this and think, "Wait, isn't he incredibly competent?"'
Isaac planned to exploit that exact misconception. At first glance, Hitler would appear to be a great protagonist who saved his country and turned it into a superpower.
However, as time went on, questions would begin to arise. Wait, what is this?
Specifically, when they encountered the Holocaust and various other policies, they would finally realize that this man was 'evil.'
He was truly looking forward to seeing what kind of reactions would surface.
'But I can't just focus on Hitler. I need to make them clearly understand what democracy is.'
The people of this world did not understand the concept of a 'dictator.' It couldn't be helped, as an absolute monarchy was their default setting.
At the very least, the people of the Ters Kingdom would find it easier to understand democracy than those in other nations.
Even the royalty, let alone the nobles, could not easily oppress the commoners, and the Commoners' Assembly held significant power.
In a way, they had reached the middle stages of a constitutional monarchy. In fact, if you asked the citizens of the Ters Kingdom, they considered the Commoners' Assembly to be a fundamental part of their lives.
'Since the Ters Kingdom exists, it'll be easier to explain democracy.'
He had given a supplementary explanation to his acquaintances before. He told them that democracy was what happened when this world's version of the French Revolution—the Jayros Revolution—actually succeeded.
Everyone had nodded at those words, but they were horrified when he mentioned that the heads of nobles and even royalty were chopped off.
Later, when he told Lina this story, she had turned pale and stroked her own neck, which Isaac found a bit amusing.
'Setting the era aside, the biggest problem is...'
Isaac circled the word 'Europe' written in his notebook. He tapped it repeatedly, lost in thought.
The progression of World War II itself wasn't the issue. It was essentially a picaresque work centered around Hitler.
However, the landmass of Europe, including Germany, was very small compared to the rest of the world. This would likely be the hardest part for people to accept.
Wars break out for various reasons, so he could explain how it escalated into a world war. But how did this tiny patch of land influence the entire world?
Looking at the territory of the Soviet Union, it looked like it had swallowed half the world. And the United States was an absurdly blessed land, to say the least.
'I'll need to provide explanations for the major countries.'
Based on 'territory' alone, the Soviet Union would look like the world's strongest empire, one that could never be breached. But as everyone knew, the Soviet Union was a brutally cold region.
Its underground resources were vast enough to supply the entire world, but other than that, it was lacking in many ways.
Furthermore, because of multiple revolutions throughout its history, it was politically unstable and remained little more than a giant scarecrow until the emergence of Stalin.
Stalin reigned as Hitler's rival and one of the world's worst dictators, but ironically, he developed the Soviet Union to a level rivaling the United States.
'Normally, I should weave this into the story, but that might confuse the readers.'
Earth was a completely different world from this one. They knew nothing of its history, terrain, geography, climate, or ethnicities.
Tolkien's work was based on Northern Europe, so it was relatively easy to accept, but Earth... further explanation was unnecessary.
As Leona said, they would probably just accept it as 'fantasy,' but the 'setting' had to be meticulously crafted.
'Come to think of it, I'll need to draw illustrations for almost every volume.'
Illustrations were essential to help readers understand the progression more easily. While illustrations were less important in the Xenon Chronicle, they were almost mandatory for World War II.
Of course, describing the front lines could be done with Mora's help, but the equipment was the problem. Countless weapons made of heavy steel.
The image itself was more important than the question of how these chunks of iron fly through the sky and sail the seas at will.
'If this were my past life, I would have just hired an illustrator...'
Given his fame, finding someone to draw for him would be easy. The question was whether that person could understand his explanations.
It wasn't as if he could just ask someone to draw a tank and expect them to get it right immediately. Absolutely not.
It would be better for him to create the basic framework first and then ask someone else to polish it.
If all else failed, learning to draw himself wasn't a bad idea either.
'Now that I think about it, last year...'
Thinking of drawings reminded him of something. It was the first Xenon Festival held last year.
He remembered a painter who had left quite an impression during the festival. The one who had drawn the Hectopascal Kick in a rather humorous way.
Unfortunately, he didn't know the painter's name, but he had liked the style. Back then, the importance of illustrations was relatively low, but now he felt the need to meet them.
'I'd love to create a dedicated OST too, but...'
Was it because he had gained fame that he was becoming greedy? Or was it because the Lirus Orchestra's skills were on par with those on Earth?
A sudden desire to produce an OST that symbolized the atmosphere of each country surged within him.
In this world, there were items that could record music and play it back whenever desired. Naturally, they weren't records, but recording orbs.
The sound quality wasn't bad, but they were also quite expensive, making them a pipe dream for commoners.
'...Let's set that aside for now. I'll just make a separate request to the Lirus Orchestra.'
Rather than recording, it would be much better to ask them to compose the music and then perform it while traveling the world.
Or, it wouldn't be a bad idea to create a room in his territory dedicated solely to listening to music.
Since his territory was emerging as a city of culture, the higher-ups would likely react favorably.
To do that, a meeting with the Lirus Orchestra was essential. Isaac circled 'Lirus Orchestra' after 'Painter.'
'Germany should have a sense of conquest and madness, and finally, a defeatist feeling with a sad melody...'
Isaac began to meticulously construct the setting so that the people of this world could understand it more easily.
*
It had been about three days since the announcement of the sequel to the Xenon Chronicle—or more accurately, Isaac's next work.
While everyone was sharing their opinions on the prologue, the publisher made a completely unexpected announcement.
[Master Xenon has drawn a map so that you may first gain a fragmentary knowledge of that world. We shall show you this map first.]
Surprisingly, the world map for the next work was released first. In this world, maps were items that were not easily obtained by the general public.
Furthermore, even if it was another world, the fact that it was a 'world map' was bound to be shocking. In their eyes, he had essentially created another world.
Following the public release of the world map, people began to show various reactions.
[Look at the vast territory of the Soviet Union! It is by no means inferior to the Minerva Empire, so it must be the most powerful empire in that world!]
Some marveled at the insanely wide territory of the Soviet Union.
[The countries mentioned in the prologue all have very small territories compared to other places. How could they have carried out Imperialism—that is, conquest?]
Some questioned the surprisingly small land of Europe.
[I cannot believe they sailed across this vast ocean.]
Some were horrified by the Pacific Ocean, which was larger than all the continents combined.
[Is it because there are only humans? There are far too many countries. What on earth happened for the world to be divided like this?]
Some could not believe there were so many more countries than in their own world.
Most reacted with 'hard to believe,' but at the same time, they accepted it.
Because it didn't make sense, it was a story of a completely different world. As Leona had mentioned, people didn't deny things just because they were different; they accepted them easily.
[I am curious about what events occurred over those 2,000 years. There was even a French Revolution, similar yet different to the Jayros Revolution.]
[There must have been countless dangers along the way. I am curious how they overcame those risks.]
[If the existence of gods is unclear, does 'religion' even exist in that world?]
The scholars were no different. Even without the things they took for granted, a French Revolution similar to the Jayros Revolution had occurred.
However, because Isaac had not explained 'B.C.' and 'A.D.,' scholars speculated that the history of that world was only 2,000 years old.
[A completely different world. A world where everything is a mystery. Yet, a world that can be accepted at the same time.]
[Scholars unanimously believe this world does not exist. That is why it can be accepted as 'fantasy.']
[We shall call this world 'fantasy,' and we look forward to how Xenon will describe it...]
The release of the world map had the effect of further inflating expectations. In fact, this was exactly what Isaac had intended.
Since it would take time for the first volume to be released, he was laying the groundwork bit by bit. Through this, he was quenching their thirst, if only slightly.
In the meantime, Isaac...
"Nice to meet you. I am Isaac Ducard Maishal, known to the world as Xenon. It is an honor to meet such a renowned artist."
"Uh..."
He was currently facing a painter who would soon be worked to the bone... no.
He was meeting a painter who would become an excellent partner.