NOVEL NEXT chapter 4
4 – 04. Darn, He Really Did Read It
04.
“What an interesting event. Is this person really from our empire?”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s what they say.”
Black hair cascading down like ebony is a rarity.
It’s an uncommon sight in the empire, but a common hair color in the far eastern land. The fact that she has received the oaths from a man wearing eastern colored robes implies that she too hails from the distant far-east.
Anyone could tell that the status of this black-haired girl, carrying a patterned sword slung diagonally at her waist, was anything but ordinary.
It’s a cliché in Kunlun – her skin as white as jade contrasting sharply against her black, inky and glossy hair, a sight mundane to her birthplace but exotic here.
A sight that seemed as if light and darkness have melded into one entity.
Her oriental features with mysterious distortion and beauty at the same time were emphasized by her eyes tainted with a red glow.
“Fascinating. This clan seems to refer to distinguished families in the home country. Shon, what do you think?”
In the hands of a black-haired girl who spoke to her escort, was the novel that had been the talk of the empire recently.
Shon, the escort warrior, bowed his head.
His mistress was the princess of Kunlun. It was considered rude to look her directly in the eyes.
“It’s daring for a young author. Most of the empire’s novels have a rigid style. Compared to them, this one seems much easier to read.”
“Most of the native novels are rigid as well. Fascinating. Alen Ed von Muller. It’s hard to believe it’s written by a descendant of the Sword King’s family.”
The black-haired girl, Lin, flipped another page, amused.
Shon said,
“Being a descendant of the Sword King, he should possess superior knowledge of swordsmanship. Though writing skills can be a separate matter.”
“That’s true. But I wonder if it’s just fantasy.”
Bang, the book was closed.
Lin, who had put the book down, stood up.
“I didn’t know such a writer was in the West. I thought there were only those who would write in old-fashioned styles.”
“You may want to withhold such remarks.”
“I know.”
The only princess in the Eastern Empire, ruling centered on the Kunlun region.
Even casual remarks carry tremendous weight. Such is the status of being a royal representative of a nation.
Especially if it is Lin, the only princess and soon-to-be empress, the weight is even greater.
“I look forward to the Academy’s entrance ceremony.”
“It’s tomorrow. I’ll have issues there so we may run into it as soon as we go. Maybe we should contact Muller’s house.”
“I’m inconvenient, Shon.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Lin who stopped Shon’s extreme service moved her steps.
“Shall we take a stroll? We have to get used to the geography anyway.”
“I will accompany you.”
***
There’s just too little to do in this world.
No smartphone or computer, no sensory music to stimulate the ears, no K-POP or animation to watch. The only things one could do in a world without TV or computers were expensive hobbies like horse riding, theater watching, and opera watching.
The relatively less costly hobby is reading, but if it’s just novels, Alen doesn’t see anything worth reading.
“…There’s nothing good to read here. Are these even novels?”
Even those bestsellers claiming to be the most popular in the empire never catch Alen’s attention, so what else could he do?
Their sentences are stifling like a brick wall just to look at.
Novels written with a writing style far removed from those web novels that simply and clearly describe only the necessary parts give him a headache every time.
“I read to relax, but it always gives me a headache. Did they write this for people to read?”
It kind of makes sense as to why they are predominantly read by aristocrats.
Novels only became accessible to commoners after the mass production of paper had been made easy.
Before the internet, only those who really wanted to read did so or encountered them mostly in schools.
Once you graduate or if you have no interest in novels, most people hardly ever read one.
With the rise of internet novels and renting shops, the market exploded after the advent of web novels.
Alen lived in such a world.
“I don’t understand why anyone would find this interesting.”
The contents mainly laud the emperor who was deified in the founding story of the empire, with most novels glorifying the emperor.
The problem is not that heroism or epic novels are not fun, it’s how unvaried they all are.
Alen tossed the book away.
“Ah, is the entrance ceremony tomorrow?”
The manuscript for two volumes was more or less complete.
The issue is the sense of urgency after entering the academy.
“At least, isn’t it good that I’m the youngest son of a duke?”
If he hadn’t been born the youngest in a nameless household, there would surely have been disputes everywhere when his name became known, but it was the name of the Mueller family that protected him.
If he weren’t the child of the Mueller family, known as the sword of the empire, someone would already have challenged him to a duel.
“The academy…”
The atmosphere will undoubtedly be different from the high school he’s already attended.
There was an anticipatory excitement about what he might learn at an academy he’d only seen in fantasy novels.
However, according to his brothers and sisters who are already attending the academy, life there is much tougher than expected.
“And then the princess from the Eastern Empire is coming…”
There are two empires on the continent.
The Eastern Empire dominates Koon Ryong, located in the far east, and the Western Empire, which is considered to share dominance of the continent with Koon Ryong.
It was a given that Allen was born in the Western Empire.
It was not so long ago that he heard the news about the Princess from the Eastern Empire coming.
“…She didn’t read my novel, did she?”
Allen wished fervently that she hadn’t.
Even though the chances of that were slim, he still hoped that she hadn’t read it as if clinging to a thread of hope.
“If you tell people not to look at something strange, they tend to do just the opposite.”
Allen scratched his cheek.
“I’d rather not run into her at the entrance ceremony.”
Being born into nobility was good, but he would rather keep his distance from the high-ranked individuals if he could. Thinking that he might get unexpectedly involved if he got too close scared him.
If he weren’t the son of a duke, there would too many dangerous factors to consider.
“Coding to think of it, I’m in quite a precarious situation, aren’t I…?”
***
‘So loud….’
The next day, Allen was confronted with an enormous crowd at the entrance ceremony.
Nobles, commoners, the students who came from Kunryung, and even more students from every kingdom on the continent. They had strong individual personalities that clashed, so they ended up forming their own groups.
Amongst them, Allen was mixed with the freshmen from the Empire.
“That person, he’s the famous Duke Mueller’s…?”
“That’s right. Allen Edgard von Mueller. Can you believe we are the same age as the author of legend of Shurenjun? That’s just absurd.”
“Do you think someone else wrote it for him? He’s too young.”
“He could be contracted to a ghostwriter. There are some famous authors known for that.”
The voices that pierced his eardrums like arrows caused Allen to slightly furrow his brow.
‘Even so…a ghostwriter..’
For an author, the issue of a ghostwriter is a pretty sensitive one. It’s basically publishing something someone else has written as if it were his; selling something not written by one’s own hand is considered to the same as selling one’s conscience to Allen.
‘No need to get mad.’
There’s no point in getting angry with kids who didn’t know any better.
Who would believe that a 16-year-old boy just admitted to the academy, not a mature and seasoned writer, wrote something like the Legend of Shurenjun?
It’s one way of denying it. He didn’t need to think about it too much.
“So spacious, this place.”
Alan looked around the convention hall that was of noticeable dome stadium size, dumfounded.
-‘Princess Rin from Kunlun is now entering-
An announcement that snapped him back to consciousness.
When Alan looked up, he spotted a black-haired girl in clothes one might expect to find in a martial arts novel, climbing up onto the stage.
Seeing the faint Japanese style in her costume attire felt rather peculiar to him.
“What’s going on?”
Judging by the situation, Kunlun didn’t seem to be as heavily Chinese-influenced as Alan had assumed.
“It’s very unusual for a princess from Kunlun to study abroad…”
“That’s what I heard. Moreover, I believe this princess is the only child of the Emperor of Kunlun.”
“Really?”
“That’s what they say. They even mentioned something about martial artists. During her stay, there are multiple samurais which in our context, can be paralleled with knights.”
Even without delving deep into it, the information about the princess of Kunlun seemed to fall into his lap with ease.
Alan felt a strong urge to pull out a notepad and jot down notes but he suppressed it.
-‘Greetings. I am Rin Xiao Mei, Princess of Kunlun’
Such a clear voice.
Perhaps it was because he was a martial arts author. The voice was not just pretty, but truly clear.
The chaotic atmosphere of the convention hall quieted down instantly.
‘Even her name is Chinese. What is Kunlun, a melting pot of cultures?’
Alan was amusing himself with this silly thought when Rin’s voice rang in his ears.
-‘It seems that thanks to the recent ‘Shuren Electrics’, interest in Kunlun has been growing, and I am delighted about that.’
Gosh, so she’s read it too…!!