Chapter 41
Translator: True Detective
An Annoying Flying Bug
The start of the date-concept outing enjoyed in the Imperial Capital, Imperium, was truly enjoyable for Noel as well.
Imperial Princess Lydia and Lady Clara took the lead, saying that while it is good for The Saintess to live in honest poverty following God's will, she must also know the joy of decorating herself as a woman, and gave her various gifts.
While they were at the clothing store, they made Noel the judge and held an impromptu fashion show.
A homebody characteristic.
Hates going outside, but once outside, enjoys it well until fully discharged.
Displaying that characteristic without regret, Noel was dragged around by the three girls and roamed the central streets of the Empire until the moment her energy was completely depleted.
Then, they decided to slowly head to the comic collab cafe, which was the core reason for today's outing.
Because they felt the need for a rest soon after wandering around so much, they decided to check out the atmosphere at the cafe.
A cafe located near the Iliad Publishing Company building.
So, the five, who arrived at the cafe conducting the collab most actively and on the largest scale, took their seats, drank tea, and enjoyed reading.
At first, Noel was bothered by the gazes looking at her with wonder from the surroundings, but she soon adapted.
Because her companions seemed accustomed to this situation of receiving attention.
Since she couldn't make a fuss all by herself either, she just accepted it.
Honestly, rather than people's gazes...
"Truly, no matter how many times I read The Diary Inside My Heart..."
"The fairy tales written by Sister Noel warm my heart no matter when I read them."
"Why on earth are comics this fun."
"I've wanted to ask this for a while... so if the beastman Tab and the elf Aelos fought, who would win?"
Watching her acquaintances read her works in real-time right in front of her like this was more torturous for Noel.
'Urk...'
This is a matter of a realm irrelevant to whether it's written well or poorly.
Even for a successful and well-doing author, it is instinctual to want to hide their works from their family.
Because feelings like embarrassment and things hard to put into words spring up wildly.
To the extent that there is even a saying that a certain author struggles because his wife reads lines full of chunibyo from his work whenever they have a marital spat.
This is truly an act as cruel and mentally shaking as making a professor read aloud the thesis from their baby grad student days.
Because even Rosalyn, who was usually taciturn, was saying things like a VS game to the original author, Noel, asking who would win if the characters in the work fought, just like a child.
With a soulless laugh, Noel appropriately played along and let this moment pass by.
As an author, she naturally had affection for her works, but separate from that, this moment was a bit much.
So Noel wanted this moment to pass quickly, but...
"Imperial Princess Lydia? To think I would see you here. What a coincidence this is."
She hadn't wanted something like this either.
An uninvited guest appeared and suddenly chilled the atmosphere.
"Ah, Sir Burton..."
The person who recognized Imperial Princess Lydia seen through the window while passing by and came running in one breath was none other than Robert Burton, who had been Lydia's literature teacher.
A teacher to the Imperial Family.
That was quite a weighty relationship transcending status.
The saying 'Sovereign, Teacher, and Father are one' was a phrase commonly used even if the world was different.
Because the current Emperor, Lydia's father, also showed respect to the teacher who taught him, Lydia also showed courtesy to her old literature teacher she met passing by.
It would have been good if they had exchanged light greetings like that and continued on their respective ways, but the flaw was that it wasn't like that.
As one could tell just by looking at the fact that he was a literature teacher to the Imperial Family, Robert Burton was quite a renowned literary figure.
He was a so-called elder of the industry.
It would have been truly good if he were open-minded like Baron Geppetto Clark, but as one could tell just by looking at Imperial Princess Lydia wearing a business smile right now rather than being genuinely glad, he was a bit... of a stuffy style.
He was a character who was typically narrow-minded.
The type who had a standard line he set himself and wouldn't even treat works that didn't fall within that standard line as works.
Stating the obvious, he viewed things like entertainment novels as useless kindling.
If books are food for the mind, things like entertainment novels are junk food.
Trash full only of peripheral stimulation and pleasure, which entirely volatilizes the moment you turn around, leaving nothing behind.
He was a person who disliked even putting entertainment novels in the category of novels in the first place.
And naturally, he was also a figure who was very critical of 'Homer', and wouldn't stop giving critical reviews without bending even when everyone else was walking on eggshells.
Imperial Princess Lydia, caught between such a teacher and her ultimate favorite author, found it hard to erase her bewilderment.
Actually, Noel wouldn't care even if Robert Burton bashed her works as if giving a long speech.
However, the problem was that in this place right now, if such a thing really happened, there were at least two or more people who would get angrier than Noel.
So Imperial Princess Lydia wanted to greet him and send him off as quickly as possible before trouble occurred, but...
"Hmm? Lady, what you are reading right now is──."
Of all things, Robert Burton, oblivious to such inner thoughts, showed interest in the book Noel was reading.
'I-Is trouble going to happen?'
Imperial Princess Lydia worried about how she would manage the situation if The Saintess became uncomfortable and Clara became indignant, but for now, it was fine.
Because what Noel was reading right now wasn't a comic or an entertainment novel, but pure literature.
A novel that unraveled the life of a serf during a time when the class system operated more strongly than now.
What more needs to be said about why Noel was reading something like this.
Since she already knew all the novels and comics she wrote or created, they weren't fun, so she was just reading whatever she laid her hands on.
"Ah, The Cracked Rice Paddy... It is truly a masterpiece. Your reading tastes are truly excellent, Lady."
Although he knew the names Noel and Homer, he had never actually seen her or anything, so right now Robert Burton didn't recognize Noel even with her right in front of his eyes.
Even if Noel's reputation was rising, her portrait wasn't floating around either.
Things like cameras hadn't been invented yet, and it wasn't strange not to recognize someone right in front of your eyes until they revealed their name.
Even if he had heard many stories, Robert Burton had never met Noel in person, and he hadn't grasped her physical description and attire either.
Thanks to that, Robert Burton received a quite good first impression of Noel.
To think she was a young lady reading a classic masterpiece that gives a deep impression no matter when it is read, like The Cracked Rice Paddy.
Robert Burton genuinely thought it was a relief that someone with such excellent reading habits was by Imperial Princess Lydia's side.
As the Imperial Princess's literature teacher, he had been thinking it was a big problem lately that the Imperial Princess was being influenced by bad waters, but he felt somewhat relieved thinking she had made a good reading friend.
'Compared to her...'
He clicked his tongue inwardly at the sight of Clara and Irina respectively reading things like The Diary Inside My Heart and The Character Expedition.
'The Vence Lady is still the same as ever.'
Robert, who recognized Clara because he had seen her a few times in high society.
He thought she didn't match Imperial Princess Lydia, and was a person the Imperial Princess wouldn't like, so he didn't know why the two were hanging out together.
But right now, there was another problem greater than that.
'Is it because she is young? How could a clergyman read comics instead of the Bible...'
Hanging out with such people is not good for Your Highness's refinement.
Robert, who was seriously contemplating whether it would be good to say a word as her teacher like that, thought meddling in the Imperial Princess's peer relationships was overstepping his bounds no matter what, so he only said one word like this.
"I sincerely hope Your Highness will also emulate your friend and engage in beneficial reading."
Noticing the meaning contained in those words, Clara made an expression as if she was about to explode.
Still, unlike Clara, she restrained herself because she didn't want to ruin the mood...
"At the very least, something like The Little Candy Girl I could barely understand, but such useless and harmful books will damage Your Highness's dignity..."
"That's not necessarily true either."
He eventually crossed the line by adding unnecessary words.
And the person who cut off that rude remark and expressed their opinion was, surprisingly, not Clara.
The one who cut off Robert's words was Noel, who had consistently been paying no attention as if it were someone else's business.
She didn't step up because she was offended by the 'useless and harmful' remark.
She stepped up to refute instead because she thought nothing good would come of Clara getting angry here or anything.
Looking at such Noel, Clara realized why Noel was acting unlike herself and felt sorry.
Because she thought a problem could arise with Noel's reputation unnecessarily because of her.
Furthermore, setting up a confrontation with an elder of the industry?
Because there's nothing good about falling out with vested interests.
"Entertainment novels also help cultivate the habit of reading books."
However, Noel said what she had to say without the slightest hint of caring.
"Hmm..."
At these words from Noel, Robert made a disappointed expression.
He had looked upon her favorably because she was reading a masterpiece like The Cracked Rice Paddy, but to defend something like entertainment novels... a gaze as if saying it was inevitably shortsighted discernment.
Robert spoke as if he needed to give her a teaching.
"Entertainment novels create reading habits? That is not called a good habit, but a bad habit, Lady."
It's better not to read books at all than to pick up such a habit!
Seeing Robert assert so firmly, Noel let out a chuckle.
From Noel's perspective, who had come from living in a world where the national annual reading volume was truly less than a single book, she was at a loss for words on how arrogant and presumptuous those words felt.
For Noel, who made a living as a web novel author in the environment of her past life where they reached the point of begging and pleading for people to please read books, and eventually saying even comic books are fine so just read first, it felt like the remark of a full pig.
So she had intended to roughly acknowledge it and move on, but... she ended up genuinely getting into a war of words.
At the end of that war of words, Noel felt it.
She had thought it might be the case, but he was absolutely not the type who could be persuaded.
'It can't be helped.'
So, instead of nicely persuading him, Noel...
"If so, then there would be no cases where someone who only knows how to write entertainment novels impresses people with pure literature and arts either?"
"That is a matter of course, Lady. How could those who only know how to write texts that give peripheral stimulation by employing petty tricks truly move people."
"Is that so? Then it would be a very, very surprising matter if an entertainment novel author were to even receive a literary award."
"Hahaha, that is not surprising, but something called impossible, Lady."
"Ah── Really?"
She decided to just make him submit.
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