Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Julius Caesar (10)
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All encounters begin with coincidence.
The meeting between Historie and Esthea was one such coincidence, layered so thickly that it never should have happened in the first place.
"Hmm. How dull. Humans supposedly enjoy a stroll at times like this, so even if they're primitive, I suppose I should follow their customs."
After devouring every bit of content neatly stored on Kim Yul's external hard drive all day long, Historie felt boredom for the first time and boldly ventured out on her own.
"Eek! Think I won't find you if you move?!"
In return for bingeing through all of Kim Yul's stockpiled stories, one dragon had reached the tragic point of feeling absolutely nothing toward his live serial content.
She stormed into the publishing house, yanked a few strands from the editor's head, basked in the president's hasty and exceedingly polite reception to extract his personal information, then headed straight there.
They might have crossed paths without meeting.
But like fate, they ran right into each other.
Of course, most chance encounters pass by without notice.
But.
Historie looked at Esthea.
And an inexplicable emotion boiled up from her chest.
"Nyaank."
Though the meaning wasn't entirely clear, it was the expression one ought to utter upon seeing such an adorable creature.
Kim Yul's filtering prompt declared a work holiday today as well.
And Esthea, too.
"What is this... not a human?"
She instantly recognized Historie's uniqueness—the body bestowed upon her, far superior to that of ordinary short-lived humans.
And so, right in front of Kim Yul's house.
The encounter born of coincidence came to pass.
.
.
.
They hit it off immediately.
"Kim Yul is lazy. He only writes two or three chapters a day and spends the rest rolling around in bed."
"Th-that arrogant thing! Just because he writes well!"
"Hmm? Kim Yul writes well, you say. A regrettable interpretation. With my superior intellect, I'd say mine are far superior."
Esthea's eyes sparkled for a moment.
"You write too?"
Historie puffed out her chest proudly and replied.
"I excel at it."
After that.
Esthea began gobbling up the stories Historie spun for her.
She was an intellectual dragon who loved reading, having enjoyed decades as a reader.
Historie's tales were plenty enjoyable, even if they lacked a bit in immersion compared to Kim Yul's and originality fell slightly short.
And crucially.
"N-next! The next story too!"
"Please wait just a moment."
Press a button—no, issue a command.
And a novel appeared instantly, unfolding just as she desired.
In mere moments, no less.
Go in through the door, come out a short while later, and somehow a perfectly plausible novel emerged.
"This one! Obviously, it'll lead to an epic battle next!"
"So it shall be. Please wait just a moment."
Esthea had lived for ages as a dragon, but this sense of fulfillment was undoubtedly a first.
Of course.
Sometimes descriptions dragged on a tad verbosely, or repetitive phrases popped up endlessly, or asterisks (***) bizarrely appeared in pairs at certain expressions.
"Hmm? Wasn't the protagonist's holy sword named Excalibur?"
"Ah, it output as Ekusukariba. A minor error from the language module."
"What! It's similar enough in pronunciation!"
Characters kept mixing up memories, names shifted occasionally, plots veered off suddenly—little mistakes like that cropped up.
But Esthea didn't mind.
Write fast, and slips happen!
Anyway, stories exist, so I'll devour them heartily!
If Kim Yul saw, he'd sigh, "Ugh, total glutton," and this scene repeated endlessly.
Right up until the door opened and Kim Yul walked in.
"Here, Esujang. Try reading this one too."
"Kyarruk, kyarruk!"
Esthea was lost in bliss.
"Hitori! Live with me!"
"Regrettably, I am bound to Master Kim Yul. I cannot leave without his permission."
"Hand over Hitori, you lowly human!"
"...How exactly does Historie become Hitori?"
I could roughly guess the situation.
Mountains of A4 paper piled before Esthea, stacks of bricks filling the sheets.
I had no idea how they met and ended up like this...
But AI-style novel mass-production and glutton-style consumption had synced perfectly.
No clue where to even start explaining.
"...Historie, you can't write anywhere but our house anyway."
"Ah, that's true. The source of creation lies in Kim Yul's home, so I cannot depart."
I shoved the facts at her as concisely as possible.
All the novels Historie had churned out were made with laptop clicks and printer whirs anyway.
"Eh...?"
Of course, Esthea looked utterly baffled.
Well...
No need to explain I flew in from another dimension, Historie is an AI turned human, or other incomprehensible nonsense.
The world's already astonishing with dragons, but magic couldn't explain us either.
That was the conclusion after getting kicked from the Mage Tower post-isekai and holing up crying in the library.
Even a dragon wouldn't have answers.
"Anyway, eat this first and think it over."
Topic change works wonders in times like these.
Thud—
Historie shrewdly cleared the scattered paper piles, and finally, a strangely heavy bento set left my hands.
One by one.
"Kim Yul. Selling organs on the black market? Where'd all this food come from?"
"Picked it up on the way."
Historie's smile dimmed by 5%, so she must've been starving.
Once the bentos were unpacked.
"Huh...?"
Something shiny caught my eye at the bottom.
No way, that couldn't be.
"O, oh...!"
Berthus Duke.
Was he a god?
At the base.
Piles of imperial silver coins lay spread out, and atop them, beautifully stamped fire dragon marks.
The gleaming beauty smiled at me and whispered.
- Hi! I'm a gold bar!
Was this General Kim Yu-jin's feeling?
A bit smaller than the gold bars in my common sense, but a gold bar's a gold bar.
Too moved to speak, mouth agape—
"Oh? Gold bar! Hehe, how'd a lowly human know my favorite treat? I'll enjoy it!"
"Uh, uhh—"
It slipped from my hand.
The gold bar.
Crunch!
An effect sound that should never ring echoed in my ears like a hallucination.
"Uh, uhh, uh—"
"Wow, as expected of a dragon. Chomping gold whole. Historie, today's isekai common sense has expanded."
"Munyanya— Pure gold!"
Pure. Gold. Eaten by chewing.
- Goodbye... I was a gold bar....
The gold bar's death cry faintly echoed in my ears.
"Hwaaaah!"
Unable to hold back the surging despair, I collapsed to my knees and wailed.
This.
Was hell.
.
.
.
"Umm, uh, gold dragons love gold by nature? S-so, it couldn't be helped! The lowly human has to understand, right?"
"Don't talk to me...."
Understand what.
She'd even crunched the silver coins as dessert.
"Kim Yul. Stingy."
"That gold bar alone could've let us feast like the duke's banquet four times a day for four months straight."
"Esujang. Apologize promptly."
"Eh?"
No eternal allies, huh.
Betrayed by Historie—who'd stuffed herself with the tasty meal—the naughty glutton whimpered slightly and peeked up at me.
"Eut, uuut...."
Unable to withstand the silent pressure from me and Historie.
"Wait a sec...!"
The glutton suddenly sprouted horns and tail.
And then.
"Agut, uuut...!"
She chomped her own tail, grunted for a bit.
"Ugek!"
With a foolish screech, she plucked something from her tail and rolled across the floor.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Uwu, take it as an honor...! A lowly human receiving the great gold dragon's grace for the first time ever!"
Forcing back her brazen confidence, she extended a tiny hand to me.
A small gem glittering like gold rested there.
"What is it?"
"My scale!"
"Valuable?"
The glutton looked incredulous.
"Don't you hear 'idiot' a lot?"
"Affirmative. Kim Yul has a somewhat dim-witted air."
"...No, I don't?"
Dragon scale armor was top-tier worldwide, but this puny scale seemed too small for even a dagger, let alone armor.
"That gold bar I ate! Even cartloads wouldn't match one of my scales!"
"Truly, the great one is so merciful. This lowly human humbly offers reverence."
"Kyarruk!"
I quietly listened as the pleased glutton rambled on.
Its most plausible feature.
"Clutch it tight, pray fervently to the great Esthea in your heart, and I'll pop up!"
Glutton Buster Call—you get one, I get one, insanely OP.
Well, might come in handy someday.
Yeah...
Money's earned through work.
It felt tainted anyway, closer to a bribe or illicit funds.
Not like they summoned me just to wish "write fun stories ahead"—some scheme lurked.
Luckily, Roselin's shield blocked overt offers, but the gold and silver implied something.
Well.
The glutton ate it all, so no guilty conscience...
Sob.
Berthus Duke, buoyed by hopes of the Holy Kingdom's cooperation, prepared diligently for the event with little time left.
"Truth Newspaper! Novel special monthly issue out! Hot series, The Fallen Noble Excels at Politics! A whopping 27 chapters straight! A whole book's worth!"
"Ulysses, he's a god!"
"27 chapters! 27!"
"Almost a month's serials! Bring it! All of it!"
Kim Yul, who'd shed bloody tears watching Esthea munch the gold bar like chocolate.
And, moved by the duke's home cooking quality while ruining his palate, now unable to stomach bland bread.
He finally couldn't resist and unleashed the forbidden technique.
Twenty-Seven Linked Slashes.
Full Throttle.
Achieved through stockpiled reserves, obsession for tasty food, and Historie's loyal support.
Dedicating the entire volume, Kim Yul poured in the developments he'd pondered: how to stage them, the overarching plot.
Sabis Battle.
Avaricum Siege.
Gergovia Siege.
Following Vienna Battle, up to Alesia Battle.
Caesar's heroic feats sweeping vast Gaul in just seven years.
And the finale—
Alea iacta est!
The die is cast!
Beyond existing fans, dumping a full book's worth into the daily serial market in one go.
The Fallen Noble Excels at Politics dominated the imperial capital that day.
Not everyone finished reading yet, some starting from scratch, so the blaze would take time to fully ignite.
One thing certain.
"The novel... hints at... civil war...?"
Berthus Duke's head spun slightly.