Ch.222A Familiar Face (1)

Those who ruined the nearly completed contest might have expected it, but it was the Holy Papal Kingdom of Sabre, or rather, the Church of Luminus.

If I were just an ordinary great writer, the Church might have understood and let it go, but since I was a “saint” acknowledged even by Luminus himself, they couldn’t allow my honor to be tarnished, or so they claimed.

To me, it’s an utterly ridiculous situation, but the characteristic of this era is that honor is considered extremely important. The world is full of people who live and die by their honor.

In the end, the publisher had to tearfully abandon the contest, and I too, despite how absurd the situation is, had to postpone my plans.

Why not just send a letter explaining everything properly? If that were possible, there wouldn’t be any talk about me being a regressor or whatever. It’s beyond just talking to a brick wall.

Asking Luminus directly wouldn’t make much difference either. Luminus is a “god” who delivers prophecies, not a messenger who relays someone else’s requests.

Gods only provide prophecies closely related to the future or show paths to mortals, but they don’t interfere directly. If direct interference were possible, why would there be evil people or sinners in the world?

I was so annoyed that I considered taking a hiatus, but ridiculously, everyone seemed to agree with the situation, so I just postponed it for a while. It seems better to focus on writing for now and deal with the contest later.

Besides, a hiatus might cause harm to the Church. I should endure for Luminus’s sake. Though he occasionally causes trouble through his own mistakes, he’s a good person, so I feel sorry.

‘The faster I write, the easier my future will be.’

After finishing all my daily tasks, in my dormitory, I thought while writing volume 17. Since becoming a second-year student, the number of literature students has increased dramatically, making me busy, and the number of people I need to meet has also grown.

Because of this, I have significantly less time to write, but I’m squeezing out time however I can. If I don’t, my future is obviously bleak.

Now that Leona is confirmed as my wife, I need to accelerate writing the Biography of Xenon to receive more divine power. Otherwise, I might wither like a mummy in the distant future.

Marie and Cecilly are fine. The genes I inherited from my father are activating more as time passes, increasing my physical strength and muscle power day by day.

But from the third person onward, it will gradually become more difficult. Moreover, I have to consider not only Leona but also Adelia, which adds to the pressure.

Additionally, if Cecilly’s bad cycle and Leona’s heat period overlap, I’ll literally have to fight an intense battle, so I need to prepare in advance to make things easier later. The proverb “Prepare in advance to avoid calamity” exists for a reason.

‘…But the number of women keeps increasing. Am I really a womanizer?’

They say the first time is difficult, but the second and third times aren’t. When I accepted Cecilly, I agonized over it repeatedly, but after that, it became strangely easy.

I’m not sure if I’m gradually adapting to this world’s way of thinking, or if I actually have a womanizing tendency.

Even Marie, while complaining about the increasing number of women around me, accepts them all if there’s a sufficient reason. Of course, she always emphasizes that she’s the first.

I also always consider her first and pour out my affection generously. Of course, I distribute it appropriately so Cecilly doesn’t feel neglected.

‘Human, demon, and now beastkin… I have one from each race. I hope an elf doesn’t join in next.’

That’s really a pointless thought. Even if Cecilly is one thing, meeting Leona was purely a coincidence upon coincidence; otherwise, we would have remained strangers.

The same goes for elves. The only elves I know are Arwen, Elena, Cindy, and Cyris.

…It’s concerning that they’re all female, but there’s absolutely no romantic relationship.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t been in contact with Arwen.’

I paused my writing and thought of Arwen. Since winter break, we haven’t even seen each other, let alone exchanged any messages.

Arwen must be busy because the Senate, which had supported Alfheim for hundreds of years, has disappeared into history, making her overwhelmed with work.

Moreover, there are people who are dissatisfied with Arwen’s rule, and she is known externally as the only connection to Xenon.

She must have a splitting headache dealing with both external pressure and internal affairs. As much as I’d like to help, I couldn’t, so I’ve been staying quiet.

‘I should write her a letter soon.’

No matter how busy, I should contact her to avoid making her feel neglected. Especially during difficult times like now, a warm word of comfort can be a great strength.

Since Arwen hasn’t had many people she could trust except for a few, even a single letter could be a great comfort. I’ve been too absent until now.

But I must continue writing steadily. To avoid forgetting, I noted “Letter to Arwen” in my notebook where I organize the plot, and then immersed myself in concentration again.

‘From volume 17, I should move on to Jin and Lilly.’

The content of volume 17 focuses on the story of Jin and Lilly, not Xenon. I plan to show their sweet romance and poignancy simultaneously.

While the protagonist’s exploits always stand out, the activities of supporting characters who are just as popular are essential elements too. Moreover, the heartbreaking story of Jin and Lilly is receiving a lot of support from readers.

The story of a demon, a discriminated race, and a saint protected by God—this material alone could easily fill several romance novels. And I’m incorporating it into the Biography of Xenon.

‘Since the beastkin story was almost 3 volumes long… the Church story should be similar in length. It won’t be too long.’

By the way, the ending of volume 17 will drive readers crazy. It’s a situation that could really happen between lovers.

You know, that common scenario where there are so many guests at an inn during a festival that there’s only “one” room left. Jin and Lilly end up sharing that room.

Naturally, the scene unfolds with two people who know each other’s feelings but can’t confess, awkwardly fumbling and feeling embarrassed. It’s a completely normal reaction since it’s the first time for both of them to share a room with someone of the opposite sex.

Then, just as Jin can’t stand it anymore and gets up to sleep outside the door, Lilly gently grabs his arm.

When the confused Jin looks at Lilly, she, despite her face turning bright red, doesn’t avoid his gaze and boldly says:

‘Don’t forget your duty as a knight.’

This is a development that readers who support Jin and Lilly, including my mother, will absolutely love. However, as I mentioned before, I plan to bring them together only at the very end.

They’ve somehow ended up in a situation where they might spend their first night together, but if the story flows like this, the work would become a romance. Let me reiterate, the Biography of Xenon is an adventure story, meaning crises can occur anytime, anywhere.

So, just as the atmosphere becomes ambiguous and their faces draw closer, a sudden attack occurs. The process was good, but the ending crashes.

Volume 17 ends with discovering clues about the identity of the attackers. It implies that the Church is so corrupt that they would openly attack a saint.

‘The Church still discriminates against demons.’

This refers to the book, not reality. No matter how heroic a sacrifice Sacran made, that’s from the readers’ perspective, not within the work itself.

Fortunately, Jin has been with Lilly since childhood, so he receives less scrutiny, but it still can’t be called good. Especially when one of the cardinals openly insults Jin, it says it all.

‘But that cardinal is a true cleric, and actually, the cardinal who defended Jin is the one in league with demons.’

A cleric who may have discriminatory views toward demons but has sincere faith in God, versus a deceiver who wears a mask while performing clerical duties. By confusing these two, I plan to deliver a twist to readers.

After all events conclude, even the cardinal who disliked Jin acknowledges his own mistake and fully trusts him. Concurrently, he joins the alliance.

Along with this, I’ll drop the bombshell about Jin’s true identity, being the child of Gluttony.

‘But is there really someone similar?’

The content from volumes 17 to 18 is roughly like this, but the problem is reality. Even I’m confused now because this is a story that could “really happen,” so I can’t help but hesitate.

The Church in the Biography of Xenon is so serious that there’s a cardinal in league with demons. One might question how a demon could infiltrate a country established under God’s protection, or how a cardinal could be in league with demons.

But what needs to be understood here is that God cannot directly interfere except in special cases (temples). The cardinal simply doesn’t pray to God, and that’s it.

Honestly, who would suspect someone who was upright enough to reach the position of cardinal? Moreover, the higher one’s power and authority, the easier it is to become corrupt.

It might seem like too sudden a twist, so I plan to consistently include foreshadowing here and there. For instance, mentioning that they’ve been too busy to even pray lately, or showing signs of doubting God, and so on.

A truly upright cleric should never skip prayers to God nor harbor doubts. However, the position of cardinal covers all of that.

‘…But I don’t know much about the Church or cardinals or anything.’

I’ve heard that the daily life of citizens is similar to that of any other country, but I don’t know much about the internal affairs of the Papal See.

I’ve been consulting with some people at the temple, but that’s about the temple, not much related to the Papal See.

There is one person I could consult with: Kate, the cardinal and grand inquisitor who previously begged me for my seed.

I could ask her, but I’m afraid she might ask for my seed again, so I’m holding off.

‘For better quality, I should probably ask for help.’

As I mentioned before, I may not know about combat, but I want to be thorough with historical accuracy. I’m willing to generously overlook the seed comment since I’ll just be asking a few questions.

I paused my writing, which was more than half done, and shifted my gaze to the clock. The current time is about 3:30 PM.

Today, Elena was busy, so I returned to the dormitory as soon as classes ended, giving me plenty of free time. I considered visiting Kate but decided against it.

I don’t know where Kate is or what she’s doing, and she’s probably busy with relief activities.

Unlike when she was pressuring me for my seed, she’s a genuine cleric. Even if her common sense is twisted in strange places, she doesn’t forget her duty as a true cleric.

Occasionally, I’ve suspected that her “holy” might have a different meaning, but now I see her differently.

Knock knock knock-

While I was staring at the clock endlessly, someone knocked on the dormitory door. I took my eyes off the clock and looked toward the door.

I was just thinking about Kate until a moment ago—could it really be her? I had that thought briefly, but verification comes first.

“Yes, I’m coming.”

I got up from my seat and slowly walked toward the door. I’m curious who would visit the dormitory at this hour, as there aren’t many possibilities.

Is it really Kate? If so, I should immediately drop the seed talk and ask for her help.

Creeak-

“Who is… huh?”

As soon as I opened the door, I couldn’t help but be surprised by the face that came into view.

She wore a black uniform hat, but her brilliantly shining golden eyes were much more noticeable. Also, her navy blue hair, which used to be long down to her waist, was now cut short to the nape of her neck.

I was momentarily confused because she wasn’t wearing her usual ponytail, but it was still a face I could recognize immediately.

“Sis?”

“Hello, Issac.”

My older sister, who left a month ago to take the Navy Knights entrance test.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

Nicole greeted me with her characteristically bright smile.

“I’ve been fine! But…”

My bright smile of greeting quickly faded, and I couldn’t help but make a gloomy expression.

That’s because when I lowered my gaze, I could see the condition of her arm.

Nicole seemed to notice where my gaze was directed and opened her mouth quietly with an awkward smile.

“Don’t worry. I expected this level of injury.”

She had a splint on her right arm.