Chapter 465: A Bite(2)
Chapter 465: A Bite(2)
My mind went blank as a completely unexpected conspiracy theory emerged.
I mean, really? Just because I used a protagonist-like metaphor, they think I’m Hitler? The mere thought made me dizzy.
However, I couldn't just come out and say Hitler was a villain right now. I had already resolved to hold out until the very end to see the readers' reactions.
But if I kept my mouth shut and Hitler's atrocities began to surface one by one... I had no idea what kind of chaos would erupt.
Would people even believe me if I tried to explain myself then? Most of them were already sincerely rooting for Hitler.
I was literally in a checkmate. It was a problem if I did this, and a problem if I did that.
In the end, it meant I had to write in a way that exposed Hitler's evil deeds sooner...
'But he really is a hero up until the annexation of Austria. Dammit.'
The period from the Beer Hall Putsch to the Nazi Party taking power was basically a standard political drama. And even those uninterested in politics knew that politics was a dirty business.
In this world, interest in politics was quite high thanks to the Jayros Revolution that broke out in the Ters Kingdom.
People were usually too busy earning a living to care, but through the Jayros Revolution, the commoners realized they held power.
Perhaps that was why many countries, including the Ters Kingdom, had adopted a form of modern constitutional monarchy.
Anyway, the true dictatorship would begin after the Nazi Party seized power and the 'Enabling Act'—which gave Hitler absolute authority—was passed.
'They’ll probably go, "Huh? What’s this?" at that point.'
The Enabling Act would make the people of this world, especially the citizens of the Ters Kingdom, flinch.
Though it wasn't a perfect success, the Ters Kingdom was a country with a history of revolting against royal authority.
In other words, they carried the history of directly facing the tyranny of a royal family, and the Commoners' Assembly had emerged to prevent that from happening again.
Furthermore, I planned to include an explanation of democracy before the Enabling Act, which would deliver an even greater shock to them.
After seeing democracy and thinking, 'Huh? Should we try this too? It seems pretty good,' Hitler's dictatorship would begin.
'But if it goes as far as the annexation of Austria, well...'
It would pull the wool over people's eyes. He expanded territory through diplomacy alone, without shedding a single drop of blood.
If I even included the invasion of Poland followed by the occupation of France, he would remain a great 'War Lord' recorded in history.
But that was only the story from the outside; once the Nazi Party took power, terrifying policies would be revealed one by one.
The famous Holocaust took place during World War II, but there was also 'Operation T4' that occurred right after its outbreak.
'They’ll realize it then. That Hitler isn't a hero, but a tyrant.'
The problem was, I didn't know how long it would take to write that far. That was my biggest issue at the moment.
Since it was a completely different world, there was a lot to explain, and above all, I had to show the situations in countries other than Germany.
For the record, the next country I planned to explain after Germany was Japan. The Second Sino-Japanese War played a surprisingly large role in World War II.
'But I don't know if people will believe the reason the war started.'
A soldier went to take a dump for a moment, and a war broke out because of it. It was a bit of an exaggeration, but that was essentially the reason.
I wondered what they would think when they saw the reason for the start of the war. They’d probably think, 'What kind of idiots are these?'
The problem was that there were far too many idiotic things that happened during World War II.
There was even a bittersweet saying that if you dug into the most nonsensical things, they all turned out to be historically accurate.
At any rate, it was estimated that it would take a long time before Hitler's evil deeds were fully revealed.
I would lay down some groundwork here and there before then, but since their eyes were already covered, it would be difficult for them to notice.
Rather than revealing the truth to the press, it seemed better to inform those around me little by little.
"Senior..."
"Yeah?"
"Senior, how did you create a world like this...?"
First things first. I looked at Cherry, the pink-haired girl sitting across from me who had asked the question.
Her characteristic gloomy gaze remained, but there was a subtle spark of life in her eyes.
'She said she spent the entire winter break writing without worrying about anyone else...'
Instead of answering her question, I glanced at the table.
While I was struggling to put together the setting, she had shown a terrifying writing speed, completing a whopping five volumes.
They say those who enjoy their work cannot be beaten by those who merely work hard; unlike me, who had a typewriter, Cherry worked purely by hand.
Of course, I had released about one volume every ten days when I was writing the Xenon Chronicle. Even considering that, Cherry's speed was formidable.
'It's good that she's enjoying it, but...'
Had she been too immersed? The Cherry I saw before winter break had chubby cheeks, but now her face had thinned out.
It seemed she had barely eaten and only moved her hands, focusing entirely on her writing.
She already looked mature because of her ample bust, but losing the cheek fat made her look even more like an adult.
However, considering she was eighteen, it might just be her baby fat disappearing.
Hadn't I also gone through a massive growth spurt after last year's summer break? It seemed Cherry was growing in the chest department instead of height, but let's move past that.
Her school uniform looked like it was about to suffocate her; if she put just a little more strain on it, the buttons looked ready to fly off.
Anyway, shaking off those idle thoughts—
"I just imagined it once. What would the world be like if mana didn't exist, and if there were only the weakest humans?"
I had to answer Cherry's question first. Upon hearing my response, Cherry blinked slowly.
That specific habit appeared whenever she was thinking deeply. I had figured out that much.
She would probably still be puzzled even after hearing my answer. But I didn't intend to reveal the truth to her just yet.
At the very least, if she firmly made up her mind and showed the courage to step closer to me, I would tell her bit by bit.
"I understand the part about mana and magic not existing... but why are there only humans and no other races...?"
"If Elves or Demons didn't have mana and magic, they would just be long-lived creatures. Beastkin have strong animal instincts, making it difficult for them to build a civilization, and Dwarves are somewhat lacking due to their physical limitations. In the end, I decided on humans because they are the most well-rounded."
"Aha..."
Cherry nodded as if she were convinced. I was just talking out of my ass, but honestly, even to my ears, it sounded like a plausible explanation.
In reality, Elves and Demons were considered overpowered races because they could use magic like their own limbs; without magic, they weren't much different from humans.
They were just races with strong physical abilities—though not as much as Beastkin—and extraordinary memories.
On the other hand, because of their excessively long lifespans, they were very 'stubborn.' Because of this, they tended to lack creativity compared to humans.
"Then why did you make the existence of God so ambiguous...? If God doesn't exist, there's no one to lean on..."
"Instead, they become that much weaker. And they will create something to depend on to form a focal point."
"......?"
Cherry blinked slowly again, seemingly unable to understand my words. It would probably be hard for her to grasp.
Let's think about what the Church did during Earth's Middle Ages when its power was immense.
From the famous 'Witch Hunts' to the 'Thirty Years' War' that had a massive impact on European history.
Various religions emerged depending on the culture, and history was full of instances where they fought like dogs because their ideologies didn't align.
On the other hand, while there might be fanatics here, religions rarely fought each other. Since Luminous and Mora were twin siblings, fighting would be an insult to them.
'Unless the gods themselves went to war.'
That wasn't even recorded in mythology, so let's skip it.
"You don't get it even after hearing me, right? You make good use of that ambiguity. Since the existence of gods is unclear, people are free to worship them or curse them. They can even call themselves gods."
"......Are they not afraid of God...?"
"If they were afraid, they wouldn't treat God so carelessly. But their very existence is uncertain."
Of course, most people who claimed to be gods themselves didn't meet a good end. That wasn't pride; it was vanity—the sin of Pride.
In fact, the question Cherry raised was also important in Blood and Iron. What if the existence of God was as clear on Earth as it was in this world?
The moment Hitler revealed his ambition for world conquest, divine punishment would have been struck down. Especially the God worshipped by the Jews would have been the most enraged.
But because their existence was uncertain, Hitler didn't receive any divine punishment until the fall of Germany.
'God definitely acts as a deterrent.'
In the past, when the Holy Kingdom of Savior went out of control, it was Luminous who stopped them. Also, Mora embraced the persecuted Demons and Dark Elves.
In this way, gods acted as a kind of deterrent, but at the same time, they also suppressed development.
The Race Wars were caused by ideological differences between each race rather than madness, but World War II was an act committed solely by one man's madness.
"Umm... I don't understand..."
"You don't need to understand. As you see in the newspapers, it's a fantasy, right? Just accept it and move on."
"I understand..."
"Anyway, should I send this to the publisher for you?"
Moving on from World War II, checking on Cherry's work was the priority.
As I mentioned earlier, the manuscript she wrote during winter break amounted to a staggering five volumes. A truly enormous amount.
Cherry must have finished her revisions in advance, as she nodded slowly and spoke as soon as she heard me.
"Yes... you can take it."
"Got it. I'm curious, when will it be finished?"
"It will probably end within two volumes..."
That would be about ten volumes in total. It was just that the Xenon Chronicle was insanely long; Cherry's case was the normal one.
When I asked if she would release a separate side story later, she said she would use it for an epilogue, like the Jin and Lily side story.
I met Cherry exactly one year ago, and her work appeared a month after that.
'If I had just passed by a girl who loves writing this much...'
It still lingered in my mind. Unlike now, her eyes back then had no spark of life at all—a gaze that showed exactly what 'the abyss' looked like.
If I had ignored her and passed by then, she would have surely been found as a cold corpse in the dormitory.
I had no choice but to reveal my identity to save a life, but I never regretted it. I could affirm that for the rest of my life.
I looked at Cherry, who was now wearing a soft smile, and whispered quietly with a chuckle.
"You know how to smile now, I see."
"Pardon...? Ah..."
She seemed unaware that she was smiling, as she started stammering in surprise. She looked really cute, like a startled squirrel.
Before, she gave off a strong impression of being gloomy, but not anymore. It was a smile filled with truly pure joy.
I gazed intently at her, her cheeks flushed perhaps from embarrassment, and continued.
"It's so good to see you smile."
"It's... good to see...?"
"Yeah. It looks go—"
As soon as I said it looked good, Cherry stretched the corners of her mouth wide. Unlike before, it was a forced smile that felt somewhat eerie.
Was she doing that just because I said it looked good? Her intention was sweet, but honestly, it was creepy.
At this, I gently corrected her with a heavy voice.
"......You don't have to go that far."
"Yes..."
"Phew..."
I wondered if Cherry would ever be able to make friends. Because she had been so thoroughly broken once, her social skills were severely lacking.
At least Kate was someone she got along well with. Kate also lacked social skills, albeit in a different way.
But she was currently away. She said she would return soon, but no one knew when that would be.
As I was pondering what to do, something occurred to me, and I asked her.
"Cherry. Do you not do any club activities?"
"Clubs...?"
"Yeah. A literature club? Isn't there something like that?"
I'm mentioning it now, but Halo Academy did have clubs. I just hadn't mentioned them because I wasn't interested.
Besides, I didn't have much time since I was acting as a teaching assistant for Elena and Cindy.
Anyway, there were numerous clubs within the Academy, and people often built networks through them.
"Yes... there are..."
"Why don't you try joining one?"
"I'd rather write one more page than join something like that..."
"Ah... I see. Then how about something else..."
"I like writing more..."
"......"
I should just stop talking. I wasn't Cherry's parent, and I wasn't in a position to tell her what to do.
But there was one thing I was curious about. I watched Cherry's reaction and spoke in a cautious voice.
"Then... are you not interested in the opposite sex? Even if you aren't interested, a guy might be interested in you."
"I'm not interested in anyone except Senior Isaac..."
"Uh... okay. So, are you saying you want to date me?"
"How could someone like me ever dare...?"
"......"
When on earth would that self-esteem of hers ever be fixed? It would be better if Kate were by her side, but since she was alone, there was no answer.
"......Right. If you change your mind, come find me anytime. Okay?"
"Yes... then you won't throw me away, right...?"
"Hahaha."
I think nuclear fusion would be easier than this.
A few days passed after that...
[Volume 3 of Blood and Iron is already out. What are Hitler's next moves?]
In my haste, I hurried to release Volume 3 of Blood and Iron.
As I mentioned before, Volume 3 of Blood and Iron starts from the Munich Putsch and leads up to Hitler's arrest.
And the fact that Hitler actually had only one testicle was reveal—
[Is Xenon also a one-baller?]
Those sons of bitches.