Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Reading Marathon (1)
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Today was the day fan letters officially opened.
To be precise, Jenectra Publishing House had opened them a few days ago, and today was when the vetted ones arrived for me.
"Hmm, but how do I hide this from the family?"
Come to think of it, I hadn't considered that.
No matter how many came, Biena handled all the letters addressed to me.
In other words, my parents saw a good portion of them too.
If far more letters arrived than the usual ones about marriages and such, they were bound to notice something odd.
"...Well, nothing to be done about it."
I'd been planning to come clean sooner or later anyway.
Couldn't hide it forever, right?
I'd be writing all sorts of things going forward; couldn't keep concealing every single one.
So with the mindset that if they found out, oh well, I waited for the delivery from Jenectra.
About an hour later?
Katiranya came to my room.
"Edn. A ton of letters arrived. Biena's grabbed a room and is sorting them now."
"They're here. Got it, I'll come right away."
Seeing Katiranya instead of Biena meant she'd asked her to fetch me.
I followed her out of the room and headed to a small one.
It was usually for the servants' use, but today it buzzed with letter-sorting activity.
Biena led the charge in classifying them.
"Hmm, why are there so many?"
I'd expected a lot, sure.
About twice the usual volume from marriage proposals and the like.
But why did it look like at least ten times that?
Just the stacks on the floor took up half the room.
The tables held an equal amount.
The room was roughly three hundred square feet, so this was a massive haul.
The real kicker? This was after vetting.
"Jenectra, what kind of war did they wage...?"
I could tell they'd put in serious work at Jenectra.
Maybe I should do something nice for them later?
The thought crossed my mind, but then I recalled the settlement ledger on my desk.
"Hmm, guess I don't need to bother."
With all the money still rolling in, that idea went right out the window.
I'd blown a chunk on the lab, but novels alone could keep me fed from here on out.
"Of course, I'm not settling for this."
I headed to a sorted pile and tore open one letter.
It gushed about enjoying Sherlock Holmes and craving more stories like it.
"I'd love to write more, but Sherlock Holmes is off the table for now."
I'll save it for when the hype dies down a bit.
That the very first letter was like this meant I'd have to push it back even further than planned.
The next was about Don Quixote.
They'd laughed and cried reading it, but the ending had a creepy line.
[I've read your latest book too. You're not planning to kill off the protagonist next time too, are you, writer? I hope not.]
What was this? A threat?
Jenectra had sent it through, so they hadn't flagged it as a problem.
"People died in Sherlock Holmes too, though."
Of course, I knew it was different from those who were barely side characters—more like background set dressing.
If you got immersed in Don Quixote and he suddenly dropped dead, it'd sting.
"That's why there was even a real memorial."
The prince milked it for politics, but plenty of folks bought in.
So this was basically: don't kill off the next lead so casually.
If you're gonna kill 'em, make sure no one gets attached.
I skimmed a few more. Some raved about the books; others took sly digs.
Nothing too vicious, though—vetting had weeded those out.
"I'll have to bring it up sometime."
It came from a place of fandom, after all.
After browsing a bit, I thanked Biena profusely and stepped out.
The rest could wait until sorting—or secondary vetting—wrapped up.
As I emerged, Katiranya approached.
"What're you planning to do now?"
What to do?
Write a novel? Or crank out mass-produced golems or something?
Speaking of which, I really should check on those golems' progress.
No, that wasn't the priority right now.
"Well... Ah, perfect, something just came to mind."
It had popped up literally seconds ago, but I had a solid plan in mind.
Not that I came up with it, mind you.
"I'm thinking of holding a reading contest."
"A reading contest? Tell me more."
A reading contest—or reading marathon, as it's sometimes called.
Book reports, discussions, quizzes—all aimed at boosting literacy and spreading culture.
Or as I saw it, straight-up competition via reading.
She perked up a bit at the explanation.
"Not a bad idea. So how do you plan to pull it off?"
"I've got something in mind. Not sure if it'll fly, though."
I could host it myself, but venues and funding would be headaches.
Our family could swing it, sure—but it'd be a hassle.
"That's why I'm looking for sponsors."
"Ah, like with that upgraded engine you mentioned before?"
"Exactly."
Sponsors—technically patrons.
Take cash from various houses or firms, slap their names all over the event.
Or let 'em hawk specialty goods at the venue.
"Anyway, that's the broad strokes. Details need more hashing out."
"Understood. Let me know once it's set."
Katiranya headed out for a stroll.
I turned to go back to my room when my sister popped out.
Literally burst into view.
"Sis? What're you doing there?"
"Ah, Edn! Perfect timing—I had something to say!"
She hurried over and handed me a letter.
Grinning all the while.
"Our little Edn's got fans, huh? Fan mail? Never saw that coming."
"...Pardon?"
What in the world?
I stared in confusion, and she let out a mischievous chuckle.
"You thought we wouldn't notice?"
"No way."
"Oh yeah, no way. You figured your big sis—no, the whole family—would stay clueless?"
I'd half-expected it, but...
Not like this. Not through the mail.
On a hunch, I asked the prime suspect.
"Did Biena spill?"
"Nope. We just watched and figured it out. You and Biena sneaking around? Crystal clear."
What.
Thought we'd covered our tracks.
Knew they were perceptive, but we were just sloppy!
She giggled and patted my shoulder.
"Anyway, looks like the cat's out of the bag for good."
"Ah, yeah."
"Good, good. Looking forward to more great work, Mr. Author?"
She vanished after dropping that bomb.
I stood there a moment, mulling her words.
"...But did they really see everything?"
I hadn't obsessed over it, but hadn't figured we'd been that obvious.
Racked my brain, but drew a blank.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The reading contest—now dubbed the Reading Marathon—was set to kick off soon.
At first, it was just a vague notion. I'd floated the sponsorship idea on a whim.
Then inquiries flooded in from big houses and small.
Roughly two hundred families signaled interest.
"Wow, never saw that coming."
Some pointed barbs slipped in too.
Like, wasn't someone from House Rlangbur the author Prometheus?
I shut those down hard, of course.
A writer hailing from Rlangbur territory hosting a contest? What's suspicious about that?
Such replies made 'em vanish quick.
Anyway, with all that sponsorship dough, we'd have to scale up big-time.
"So that's why I called you all here. What's our next move?"
"Beats me. I'd need experience with this sort of thing."
"I wouldn't know either, young master."
Those two were stumped.
Made sense—they were miles from this scene.
Biena pulled her weight in every way, but zero relevant know-how.
Katiranya's history was... unique.
So I eyed the pair across from me.
"...You said you're expanding. How big we talking?"
"Ahem. Why not model it after knight duels or circuses?"
For some reason, Esili and the professor had shown up too.
He'd dropped by with time to spare.
Esili had sponsored and come out of friendship.
(I'd eventually clued her in that I was Prometheus, by the way. She was shocked at first, then took it in stride.)
Five of us total, me included—and no killer ideas?
In the end, I pulled from Earth's triathlons, marathons, and reading contests.
"Here's the plan as it stands."
First, quiz questions from Sherlock Holmes, Don Quixote, and Dr. Jekyll.
But no sitting around solving them—you run, clear quizzes, move to the next checkpoint.
Next: mount up and race a set course on horseback.
No quizzes there.
Hit the destination, tackle the remaining quizzes.
Short break after, then pick one of the three books and submit a book report.
An hour should do for that.
Then pre-set teams mix quizzes into a reading discussion.
Format: convince the crowd and emcee.
Whichever team sways 'em wins overall.
One hitch: prior quizzes or the horseback leg might leave teammates stranded.
Deductions for that.
"What do you think?"
"Oh, not bad at all. But what about the venue?"
The professor spoke with a worried frown.
Valid concern, but I had that covered too.
"We'll loop in Rlangbur and nearby territories for cooperation. If they see profit in it, they'll play ball."
"Fair enough. So, when's the date?"
The event?
"One month—no, let's make it two."
Everyone but the professor—no, Katiranya—looked stunned.
Eh? What was the issue?
I could only stare back in bewilderment.