Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Reward (3)
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I figured it was a human.
This was something I'd been certain of ever since that "Possession Management something-or-other" popped up. If the author were some omnipotent being, they wouldn't have needed to borrow power from outside forces.
Tension had fueled my imagination, so countless images of the author's appearance had flashed through my mind.
A plain person.
A disagreeable-looking person.
A perfectly ordinary person, and so on...
I'd considered virtually every possible human appearance and opened the door.
I was confident I wouldn't be surprised no matter who was on the other side.
"...You're the author?"
And I was surprised.
"No way..."
A skeletal structure distinctly different from a man's caught my eye.
The fat concentrated in specific areas stood out, as did the eyelashes visible through her glasses.
And.
Dark circles.
Messy hair.
Stretched-out sleeves.
The author sitting in the interview room looked nothing like any of my expectations.
Or more precisely...
She surpassed them.
"Didn't expect you to look this gloomy."
"Wh-what?"
She was a pain beyond all expectations.
Not surprised she's a woman author?
Well, this novel was a "female lead" story from the start.
If it'd been a male author, it'd probably be a gender-bender.
So the author being female wasn't all that strange.
"Author, go wash up a bit."
"I-I did wash today?!"
"Do you do laundry?"
"N-not that, but..."
"Wow, you're filthy."
Sure, plenty of authors live like total shut-ins.
But those kinds at least have the basic skill to churn out writing all day.
Even if the plot or material sucks, the prose itself is never utter garbage.
But the one in front of me was different.
She clearly dressed like a shut-in, yet she couldn't write for shit.
What the hell?
"Let me ask one thing."
"Wh-what is it?"
"Your first work?"
"No."
"Doesn't make sense."
Her voice was timid, but it didn't seem like a lie.
So this wasn't her debut?
...I could probably write better than this crap.
"A-anyway! Let's just do the interview..."
"Right."
I stepped into the interview room and closed the door.
I strode over and took a seat, and a system message appeared.
The interview has begun.
Total interview time is 2 hours. Early termination is possible, but extension is not.
Caution: Skill use and violent acts are prohibited in the 'Interview Room'.
Repeated violent acts will immediately end the interview.
The interview had officially started.
So I decided to cut the crap.
"Hey."
"Y-yes?!"
"Nothing to say to me?"
"L-like what...? A-and why the informal tone...?"
"No apology?"
The author's eyes trembled.
She seemed scared, or maybe just nervous.
It didn't soften my heart one bit.
I wanted to kill her right then and there.
I'm barely holding back, is what I'm saying.
The author finally spoke.
"If you're talking about the possession thing..."
Still a small, weak voice.
I suppressed my anger, curious what nonsense she'd spout.
Oh, and the "something to say" I mentioned was obviously an apology.
"I-I'm not sorry at all..."
...
Yeah, figures.
"Heh... You gonna get mad...? B-but if you do, you won't get the answers you want from me."
"Oh, so you're the one in charge?"
She wasn't wrong.
With violence off-limits here, if she just clammed up, there was nothing I could do.
Of course, I had zero intention of playing her game.
Once I was sure she wouldn't spill anything, I'd just punch her clean and get booted.
"I-I'm not saying I'll shut up for real...!"
Reading my expression, the author hurriedly added.
An awkward smile.
She was very different from what I'd imagined, but in a way, that was a relief.
Naive was a hundred times better than scheming.
"And I have questions for you too..."
Looks like I wasn't the only one with an agenda.
Mutual answers would make things smoother.
"No lies, right?"
"Don't worry. I can't do bad stuff like that here..."
By the time her stuttering started to ease up,
I launched into my questions for real.
"Possession Management Association."
"Ugh, starting with the heavy ones..."
"What is this place?"
"I-I guess I should explain? So, this is..."
The author pondered.
She seemed to be racking her brain to summarize as briefly as possible.
"An evil corporation that exploits people like us..."
"Explain more."
"Heh... You know?"
The author grinned slyly.
It was a creepy face that made me grimace involuntarily.
"You're doing great. Splendidly wrecking the original story."
"What're you talking about?"
Kekeke.
She covered her mouth with her stretched sleeve.
Whatever was so funny, it was starting to piss me off.
"Once a world is created, it follows its destined story... Here, they call it fate. But what if that story gets twisted?"
"How should I know?"
"It tries to revert to its original state."
I was speechless for a moment.
It felt like all the "unfairness" I'd endured suddenly made sense.
"So all the humiliation I went through was because of that?"
"Huh? No, not that..."
"..."
The author scratched her head furiously and continued.
"Anyway, that's what the 'PMA' does. They sabotage fate's restoration work."
"And what do they get out of it?"
"Energy. The massive energy powering a whole world! They hijack it and sell it to higher dimensions."
Complicated stuff.
I got the gist, but...
"Then what about the crap I've been through?"
"That was..."
At that question, the author averted her eyes.
And it hit me.
Ah, this bitch.
"Hey."
"Eek."
"Look me in the eye."
"U-ugh."
Was she not even trying to hide it, or couldn't she?
I held back again, but nearly swung at her.
"Th-the demons, I didn't know about those! All I did was send Astra to your territory..."
"Who's Astra?"
"A Demon King army commander."
"Fuck."
"W-wait! Hit me and it's over! Hit me and it's over!"
Deep breath.
Deep breath.
"Haha... Does that answer your question...?"
"Pisses me off, but yeah."
"Then my turn?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"You ask after I'm done."
"B-but..."
I quickly ran through my agenda.
"Roel is the hero, right...? The blessing she got, due to spoilers..."
"Gr-great mage? She's that character who wants to become a god..."
"Demon King? Spoiler too..."
Let's skip the boring Q&A in her frustrating stutter.
"N-now we're done...?"
"One left."
"Ugh..."
"What's your goal?"
This last question was the most important to me.
I wanted to know why I'd ended up like this.
Was it really just because of one comment, or was there more?
And why hadn't this lunatic stopped her madness?
"..."
Silence.
A stillness so deep not even breathing could be heard stretched on for a while.
"Well..."
The moment the author spoke again,
I felt an indescribable chill.
"It was an experiment."
Nothing had changed.
Her eyes, her tone, her vibe.
Not a single thing.
"You see that sometimes in transmigration stories, right? At the end, characters choosing the 'novel' over 'reality'."
This was her true nature laid bare, disturbingly so.
She was exposing her dank, rotten heart to me without filter.
"I don't think it's weird, actually. Protagonists are supposed to be a little crazy anyway."
Bam!
The author slammed the table and shot to her feet.
The teacup rattled slightly.
"I was curious. What if we dragged someone from reality into it—would they do the same?"
Her breathing grew ragged.
Her gaze, filled with ecstasy, made my skin crawl.
The black tea in the cup rippled faintly.
"The Possession Management Association showed up right on cue, and you were chosen. You, who left such a long comment on my deliberately crappy writing—clearly loving the novel."
My head throbbed.
I felt my own breath quickening.
So all this bullshit...
was just for her curiosity?
"I mentioned earlier, right? I had a question too."
The author, no longer stuttering, drove the nail in.
"Tell me. If I sent you back to your original world right now, would you go?"
Her face had drawn close before I knew it, those eyes staring straight into mine.
"If you want to go back, I can make it happen. I still have that much authority."
"..."
"You don't have to go. Just give up everything you've built so far."
It was a bolt-from-the-blue dilemma.
"If you want, I can give you other powers. Oh, how about total hypnosis? Roel, Sera, Cigarette... Oh, Ortella too! You could make them all do whatever you want. Like I said, I'm the author—I can gift you that much."
The author kept rattling on without pause.
"Sure, you'd have to scrap all the story you've built, and they'd never love you even if you died, but that's fine, right? It's yours anyway."
I...
couldn't hold back anymore.
"You could do all sorts of──"
I thrust my hand out hard.
Seized the woman's slender neck.
"Kh, hek."
Warning!
Violent acts are prohibited in the Interview Room!
"Wh-what...!"
"Hey."
The system's warning blared like a hammer to the skull.
I didn't budge an inch.
"You shouldn't be an author."