Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 89 : Back to the Capital (2)

Back to the Capital (2)

Duke Gale, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, looked much healthier and more vibrant than before.

It honestly seemed like he'd set down some heavy burden.

And the way he looked at me—it was as if he were gazing at a precious treasure.

"It has been a while, Your Grace."

"That's true. Has it been almost half a year?"

To be exact, it was longer than half a year. The last time we met was before the Founding Festival of the Empire.

"What brings you here so suddenly, if I may ask?"

"Haha. Well, hasn't there been a lot of uproar in the south recently? I simply came to check on those matters."

"I did not think such things warranted Your Grace's personal involvement..."

"Well, it's quite reasonable for me to be involved when a Count has gone bankrupt, don't you think?"

The Count Bellen House had gone bankrupt in an exemplary fashion, and most of its lands had been annexed by Vanhart.

As for what happened to Count Bellen afterwards, I had no idea.

Whether he moved up to his mansion in the capital or slipped away to some peaceful countryside, I did not know.

Regardless, the one thing certain was that the Bellen House of Counts was no longer part of these southern lands.

"Nior Bellen was a bit difficult, but he was still a useful talent. It's a shame, really."

"Well, his personality was a big problem."

"That's true."

Duke Gale grinned as he took the teacup Monet brought him.

"So, now that you are the undisputed ruler of the south, how does it feel? If your father could see you, he would be proud, I am sure."

"... Would he?"

To be honest, I didn't know what feelings my father—who suddenly found himself possessing this world—would have had for our house.

"And I hear you became the successor of the Moon Severing Divine Sword?"

"Yes. I came upon a wondrous opportunity by chance."

"Hah, I wanted to make you into a hero myself, but I never expected you'd do so much on your own."

With that, Duke Gale began to tell just how vast the name 'Clay Vanhart' had become.

A war hero who had brought down the demonkin, hero of the Empire's Founding Festival, and an honorary noble.

And now, the successor to the Moon Severing Divine Sword.

"And on top of that, the man who liberated Eintban."

"......"

I quietly shut my mouth. That part was an official secret.

But I thought it was only a matter of time before it was exposed.

With so many witnesses, word was bound to get out.

Moreover, with Eintban's gates recently opened and an active exchange begun with the Kingdom of Talua, the story would spread even more rapidly.

"The rise of the Timmons merchant guild is downright frightening. They've pretty much monopolized the distribution network with Eintban—no wonder, really."

Most goods exported from the Kingdom of Talua to Eintban now passed through the Timmons merchant guild.

The same was true in reverse.

They'd even monopolized the rare trade goods from Eintban, selling them exclusively, so their growth was inevitable.

It started with mithril, but now the business was so massive that mithril no longer mattered.

And all of this had been accomplished in merely half a year.

"So, regarding that, may I ask you for a favor?"

"A favor... sir?"

Duke Gale was someone who could issue commands to me, not simply ask for favors.

So to frame it as a favor was odd to me.

"That's right. It's just a favor, after all. How many people are left who can give you anything but a request now? Especially with the Princess of the Empire right here beside you."

Duke Gale replied with a pleasant smile.

As expected, he knew that Riya was staying in this mansion.

Well, I never intended to hide it. In fact, disclosing her presence was a source of great strength.

In reality, both the Bellen and Deoric families had been restrained from acting rashly because of her.

"Anyway, my favor isn't that much. I'd just like you to come up to the capital for a while."

With those words, he sipped his tea and moistened his lips.

"Didn't you return early after the Founding Festival? There are many who have been eagerly awaiting your return. If you wouldn't mind, could you visit during His Majesty's birthday?"

Every year, the Kingdom of Talua holds a grand festival in the capital, Shioten, in honor of the great king's birthday.

On this day, all the prominent nobles of the kingdom gather without exception.

'Yes, if it's for His Majesty's birthday, then that means...'

A simple method of approaching Lavantara flashed in my mind—something so obvious that I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before.

'If I use that place, I might just find a clue to resolve this problem.'

I nodded, unable to hide my pleasant smile.

"Understood."

As I replied concisely, Duke Gale also gave a satisfied smile.

"I was worried you might refuse."

"There's no way I couldn't grant a favor of this kind, is there?"

"Exactly. We're in a relationship of mutual benefit, after all."

Duke Gale's many-layered smile made me wince a little.

For as much as he tried to use me, I had freely used him to my advantage too.

Now that the house had regained its prestige, it was less so, but when I'd first returned to the domain, I'd managed a great deal of business by using Duke Gale's name.

Moreover, the reason Timmons merchant guild had been able to expand its network so quickly was thanks to the duke's help.

So it was only right to grant him a few favors in return.

"Well then, how about we move on to the next topic?"

"Do you have other business here?"

"Didn't I say? My visit this time is to settle the territorial issues of the south."

Duke Gale gestured to the servant who had been standing quietly behind him.

The servant brought forth a towering pile of documents and set them before us.

There were so many that even the teacup rattled for a moment.

"I expect you'll be working hard, Count Vanhart."

Duke Gale grinned, and I felt dizzy on the spot.

The burden to be shouldered by the ruler of the south was far heavier than I'd imagined.

* * *

A few days passed after Duke Gale's departure.

During that time, I managed to resolve most of the immediate issues at hand.

... Though, it felt like shaving years off my lifespan.

"Phew."

I wiped the sweat from my brow as I tidied up the mansion's study.

If it were just cleaning up, I'd have left it to the servants, but this study was a special place, so I handled it myself.

My late father's belongings were scattered throughout the room.

"Clay, do you need some help?"

"I can't be making a princess do manual labor."

"You say that, but you do put me to work pretty often."

Riya glanced around, a faint smile on her lips. I hadn't even noticed her come in.

My father's room was overflowing with books—from academic texts to novels and essays in countless numbers.

Only now was I realizing my father had been a true bibliophile.

'They were both alike in this way.'

Thinking of little things like this, I let out a quiet chuckle.

I kept searching, wondering if my father had left any other information since he'd possessed me, but found nothing in particular.

"By the way, I've been thinking over what you said about that problem."

"Problem?"

There were a number of issues I'd asked Riya to help me with, so I had to ask for clarification.

Yet again, I found myself so grateful to have her by my side.

"The calamity."

"Ah..."

After the incident in Eintban, I'd felt a strong need to share what I knew about the calamities.

The Emperor of the Empire had already begun spreading word about them, but it seemed that most people still didn't grasp the gravity of the situation.

'Up to now, we've managed to minimize the damage...'

But there was no guarantee that would continue.

If a calamity appeared that hadn't been featured in the synopsis, we could face it woefully unprepared, leading to catastrophic loss of life.

To prevent such a situation, people needed to have a clear understanding of the calamity, and recognize the risk.

"So, did you come up with something?"

There was a peculiar mischief in Riya's eyes as she let out a soft laugh.

"Clay."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to write a novel?"

"Cough!"

Her sudden suggestion made me choke.

A novel?

"... What do you mean, out of nowhere?"

"The important thing is how widely the story can be spread, I thought."

To sum up Riya's idea: whether I wrote it myself or just lent my name, a novel would be published under my name.

A hero's story intertwined with the calamity itself.

"... You want me to write my own hero story?"

"Well, you could always change the characters' names, of course. The important thing is to make people believe it's true, and feel the threat."

Given how my name was now known not only in Talua but across the whole continent, publishing a novel would surely spark huge interest—her logic was sound.

Direct influence in other countries was difficult for me in reality, but through a novel, it would be easy.

"So first, I wanted to know your thoughts. Would you write it yourself? Or..."

Or simply lend my name and have someone else write it.

Riya seemed to have already made up her mind on this approach.

As for distribution across various nations, the rapidly expanding Timmons merchant guild could handle that easily.

After pondering it for a bit, I replied slowly.

"... I'll do it myself."

"Oh, really?"

She looked genuinely surprised, as if she hadn't expected I'd accept the challenge myself.

Evidently, it had been little more than a joke on her part.

"There's someone I'd like to write about as the protagonist."

I closed my eyes slowly.

The ever-present synopsis came vividly to mind.

Seeing my reaction, Riya carefully tugged at my sleeve.

"The protagonist? Not Clay... so, who?"

I opened my eyes and gave a faint smile.

"Fabian."

The master of the Seven Swords Under Heaven, the savior of this world who could hear their voice.

From this moment, I would begin writing his story.

* * *

"I have a question for Michelle Atell."

An all-white temple—or perhaps "pure white sanctuary" fit better.

A vast, extravagant spectacle of luxury.

Michelle couldn't believe anyone would call this place a temple.

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"I trust your pilgrimage went without incident?"

Violette Ganeshia Setram, deputy of God Altair and Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Setram.

He gazed at Michelle with calm eyes.

"Yes, there were no unusual events."

"I've heard that during the war between Kainzel and Talua, you briefly visited Talua's camp?"

"I only stopped by because it appeared there were injured, and I treated them."

"Hmm."

Violette stroked his chin.

After a moment's thought, he spoke slowly.

"There was an oracle."

"... An oracle from God Altair?"

"Yes."

An oracle from God Altair was a revelation that came only once in decades.

Michelle felt uneasy as to why the pope would bring this up at such a time.

"The content was simple."

He raised his hand, pointing to a pure white coffin behind Michelle.

The Saintess, daughter of God Altair—hailed as the greatest among all saintesses—Grancesia's coffin.

"Transfer the remains of the Saintess to Setram's domain."

"Wh-what do you mean by that, Your Holiness?"

"Just as I said. Lord Altair said the remains of the Saintess must be managed in our domain for the next hundred years."

"That can't be!"

Michelle shot to his feet, furious.

Even for the Pope, this overstepped the line.

It was a complete disregard for the Atell Family, which had supported Setram for centuries.

"And... yes, there was also a command to seek the owner of the sword."

"The owner of the sword?"

The sudden mention made Michelle stop his angry outburst.

For some reason, a chill ran through his chest.

"If you find him, what do you intend to do?"

"What else?"

Pope Violette smiled with boundless benevolence.

"If he is a heretic, of course, we kill him."

If one did not follow the will of God Altair, even if he were the savior of the world, he would not be needed.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

A self-serving pope, why am I not surprised???

【(⩌_⩌ )】