Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: You'll Get Hooked After a Few Volumes
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The day before yesterday, I went for a walk with Ranyori, and yesterday I spent almost the entire day at Arwen's place.
Do you know what that means?
'I've been slacking off for two days straight, so now it's time to work.'
"Ack... sob sob..."
I knew I had to write the novel quickly since my life was at stake(?) too... but when the moment actually arrived, it felt so annoying.
Still, I had to do it. Honestly, I planned to rest for just one day but ended up taking two.
At first, I thought of that plan. Since I had to take care of Arwen as promised, I figured I could just write the novel at her house and help her whenever she needed it.
She didn't need to move around much more than I expected. She spent most of her time just sitting there.
So I thought it was a pretty solid idea... but...
"Huh? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Isn't it fine?"
"Just write it comfortably at home! You'll lose focus trying to write somewhere different from usual!"
"Then what if you need to move around when I'm not here?"
"I'll help myself, Aren. It didn't even look that hard for you."
"It's light. You could lift it yourself easily enough."
"Why are we suddenly talking about my weight... Anyway! Don't come over! Just meet your deadline!"
"Ah."
Arwen shot it down. She told me to hurry up and bring volumes 2 and 3.
So I came home. Picked up the pen again.
Where was I... Right, I had written up to the part where Senyora starts investigating to help Karen...
「"Here! Did you find something...!"」
「"I heard everything, so could you be a little quieter...? My head's throbbing..."」
「"Ah... Sorry..."」
「Senyora could feel that she was blatantly ignoring her and only talking to the policeman.」
「Still, she tried not to show it.」
「It was a familiar treatment.」
Ah. I was writing the part where Karen rags on Senyora.
Looking at it after a while, it felt really snarky.
「"Senyora's tired..."」
But that was intentional. It was well-written.
「"Trash..."」
This seemed like the line in the sand.
The point where excitement over a new character was on the verge of turning into annoyance.
This was the crucial moment. I had to pivot the situation smoothly here.
Any more, and her image would be beyond repair.
[Hey, red-haired ugly hag.]
Beat it. This body only warns you once.
I agree.
Reliable!
But who are you?
Hey, curly-haired glasses-pimply-pig-ugly-guy. Beat it while I'm telling you nicely.
You fucking bastard
As expected of a Dwarf. So efficient.
Right off the bat, it's turning public opinion against her.
First, provide some defense. Explain why she's treating Senyora this way.
Switch perspectives. From Senyora's POV to Karen's.
Start with her inner thoughts.
「'What is with this girl...'」
For starters, show that Karen doesn't hate Beastkin.
Up to now, we've only seen her being harsh, so this could be a twist of sorts.
「The red-haired woman, Karen, was actually far from the type who hated Beastkin.」
「Many lives were lost in the past war with the Beastkin... but it was ancient history, too distant from her own life to fuel hatred.」
And I'll explain the reason too. Readers shouldn't think it's an unrealistic character.
In reality, the human hatred for Beastkin stems largely from the massive casualties in that war.
Humans share some blame... but emotions got hopelessly twisted in the end.
Emotions can overpower logic, for better or worse.
But there's a fatal flaw: they cool over time, losing their driving force.
And for those who didn't share that emotion, it's hard to understand.
If I, as the author, said something like, "That all happened so long ago! Why not put it behind us and stop hating Beastkin?"...
That'd be a disaster. Things would heat up even more than now.
[Recruiting Mage for Party~]
Why recruit if you have 0 members?
Anyway, not you~
The problem is it'd literally get physically hot...
But? If I present it not as me preaching "We must do this!" but just peeking into a character's thoughts?
It won't be completely neutral, but less aggressive than before.
I never intended to force my opinion anyway. The only Beastkin I know are Ranyori... and Chabi. Who am I to dictate?
I'm just suggesting through the character, "How about this?"
Next. So why is Karen harsh to Senyora despite thinking this way?
「'I don't hate her, but...'」
「She didn't like her either.」
「And above all, being kind to a Beastkin... was incredibly hard.」
「It felt like her voice wouldn't come out even if she tried.」
No grand reason—just that it was hard to be friendly.
Hinting that her attitude could change with the right trigger.
And finally, depict her feeling guilty about being harsh.
「'Still...'」
「Is this right? Is ignoring someone trying to help me okay?」
Done. I've established Karen's character basics.
Even so, opinions might still be divided.
How to fix that?
'Just slap in some illustrations.'
Even crappy behavior gets overlooked if the design is cute.
'Gotta leave this to Arwen.'
And I continued from Karen's perspective.
Describing Senyora as seen through her eyes.
「'She's so petite...'」
「She thought, looking at the Beastkin who seemed a full head shorter than her.」
Views from others always feel different from direct descriptions.
The latter is usually more engaging. Easier to immerse in.
「"This... could it be evidence?"」
「"...Hm, unfortunately, it doesn't seem related at all."」
「"Hing..."」
「'Oh, she looks disappointed now.'」
「She thought, seeing the drooping tail.」
「Cat Beastkin wear their emotions on their sleeves.」
Personally, if you're writing a Beastkin protagonist, there's no reason not to use tail and ear movements.
It's cute.
Hm... Now, finally... We've been light so far, time for something intense.
「Magic was flying toward them.」
「And the little Cat Beastkin who'd been scampering around to help her froze up this time.」
「"Kgh...!"」
「Her body moved first.」
「She charged toward her.」
「She rolled on the ground, embracing her.」
"Hm."
I want to describe the feel of the hug in detail.
Won't work asking Ranyori...
She's not even home right now...
Just imagine it.
「Fortunately, the magic missed her.」
「Only after the roar faded could she fully feel the Cat Beastkin in her arms.」
「Warm. And small.」
「Her frame was drier than expected in her embrace.」
「Her hair tickled her skin, all fluffy.」
「Looking down, there was the Cat Beastkin, eyes squeezed shut, trembling.」
「Her ears and tail too.」
「And as nothing happened even after time passed, she opened her eyes.」
「Her fear-filled gaze darted around.」
「Then she seemed to realize she was being held.」
「Her eyes lifted. They met.」
「The fear faded a bit from her eyes, light returning.」
「...Her tail swished.」
Phew, fuck yeah. This is it.
Build favor bit by bit through tiny incidents like this.
Can't go bolder. It'd feel forced.
Just hint at this level and let readers imagine the rest.
Deliberately skipped Karen's reaction. The readers' reaction is hers.
Keep stacking it up like this, and by the end, she'll adore Senyora on sight.
Until then, hold back any killer ideas...
「"She's like some weirdo..."」
Anyway, let's keep going.
「"...What's your name?"」
「"Se,Senyora..."」
「"I see... Pretty name. I'm Karen."」
「"..."」
What should she say?
Senyora had no idea, so she stayed silent.
This was a first.
Someone asking her name first was new.
As she kept silent, Karen chuckled lightly.
She took her aimless hand and shook it.
「"Thanks for today."」
「"..."」
「"See you later. Bye."」
「"..."」
She wanted to say bye back.
...But the words wouldn't come.
Phew. One incident resolved.
The policeman worked hard too, so add some lines for him.
「"Thank you for your help. This was our job."」
「"Y-Yeah..."」
「"I'm John. If you ever get in trouble, I'll help."」
「"Of course, best if nothing happens."」
He took the perp and headed to the station.
Today, she heard "thanks" twice.
Good... This was the key flow for volume 2.
Karen probably won't appear for a while, then reappear in the late volume 3 to help Senyora in a pinch.
Absence makes the impact stronger.
Still plenty left for the latter half of volume 2. Haven't decided on content.
Needs to be memorable enough to make readers forget Karen a bit.
Especially something to put Senyora in peril.
...Think on that later.
Polishing what I have will take time.
Then head to Arwen for illustrations... Might spark ideas.
Before I knew it, the sun had set outside.
"Aren! I'm home!"
Ranyori was back.
"Got another letter!"
"..."
A letter too.
From Warrenberg Publishing House. Complaining about letter defense being too tough.
...Do whatever.