Ch.247Volume 19 (2)

As news of Volume 19’s release spread, so did word that a pantheon would be built in the Mayshall territory. Even those who didn’t subscribe to newspapers would have heard this rumor.

In other words, all my acquaintances who knew my identity were aware that I had received a gift from the demon race.

Cecilly would already know what the gift was, but everyone else wondered what kind of present could have so dramatically improved my work speed.

It was already impressive that I published a new volume monthly, but now I could release one every fortnight or even every ten days, which naturally made people curious.

So I arranged a meeting to show them the typewriter. Since I had finished all my exams, having a get-together after so long wasn’t a problem.

Of course, I couldn’t openly carry the typewriter around, so I got Cecilly’s help. She and I had grown closer since Arwen’s reincarnation comment, and somehow we seemed even closer after Volume 19 was released.

It was too obvious to dismiss as my imagination—even her gaze had changed. I suppose as the evil cycle approaches, her displays of affection have become more intense.

Anyway, with Cecilly’s help, I arrived at the café where my friends were waiting. With exams nearly over, I could afford to indulge a little.

“Is this it?”

“Yes.”

“It looks fascinating.”

When I showed them the typewriter, Marie was the first to widen her eyes and examine it from all angles. Her blue eyes filled with wonder and curiosity, like a child discovering a new toy.

As I smiled at her reaction, Marie pressed one of the keys with her index finger.

Since the typewriter was already powered on, characters began to appear in the hologram.

Marie gasped in amazement and lifted her finger. The stream of characters stopped immediately.

Looking at the floating holographic text, she turned to me and asked, “What do you do with it now?”

“See this gap at the bottom? If you insert paper here, these characters will be copied onto it.”

“That’s amazing. How does it work?”

“I have no idea.”

I’m completely ignorant about both magic and engineering. I was a liberal arts student in my previous life, so how would I know?

Besides, even if I tried to explain the principles, nobody except Cecilly would understand anyway.

“Can I try writing something?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

At Marie’s request, I gently pushed the typewriter toward her. She carefully examined it again before starting to press the keys one by one with her index finger.

Her hunt-and-peck typing style was adorably endearing. She was so focused that she pursed her lips while alternating her gaze between the typewriter and the hologram.

I watched curiously as the characters appeared in the hologram. As expected, she was typing her name.

Just like Gartz who I explained it to before, it seems everyone in the world thinks alike.

Whirr—

After copying the text onto a spare sheet of paper I had prepared, Marie’s blue eyes sparkled brightly.

She exclaimed with delight as she looked at the paper with her name printed in neat type.

“Wow! This is incredible. This is what Helium gave you?”

“It’s a masterpiece created by Helium’s master craftsmen with utmost dedication.”

Cecilly crossed her arms proudly in response to Marie’s admiration. The gesture emphasized her already impressive chest.

She seemed to want to exude as much confidence and pride as her ample bosom. The typewriter was certainly an innovation worthy of being called revolutionary.

Unlike ordinary typewriters, it even had a backspace function. It was a masterpiece that combined magic and engineering, far ahead of its time.

“Now let Issac try it. I’m curious to see how he uses it.”

Rina, who had been elegantly sipping her tea, suggested with interested eyes. Despite coming from the imperial family where various magics must exist, even she seemed to find the typewriter mysterious.

I gladly obliged her request and turned the typewriter back toward me. At first, I wondered what to write, but then just started typing whatever came to mind.

Tap-tap-tap—

Unlike Marie’s hunt-and-peck method, my fingers moved skillfully across the keys. Characters appeared, forming words, and words connected to form sentences.

It took less than ten seconds to complete the sentence: “Hello, I am Issac Ducar Mayshall, author of Biography of Xenon.”

If I had written by hand, it would have taken several times longer. It’s no exaggeration to say that the typewriter made my work more comfortable and reduced my writing time by more than half.

“What do you think?”

“That’s incredibly fast. You’re using all your fingers.”

Rina looked at me with admiration for my impressive typing skills. Marie, watching from the side, did the same.

However, Cecilly wore a somewhat enigmatic expression. She looked back and forth between the printed sentence and me, tilting her head as she asked, “You’ve already mastered it?”

“Yeah. It became familiar after using it a few times.”

“Really?”

Cecilly continued to look at me with that mysterious gaze. After staring at me intently for a while, she smiled and said, “I thought so.”

“What?”

“That you adapt quickly to these kinds of things.”

“…”

I think I understand what she means. As I mentioned earlier, after Arwen’s reincarnation comment, Cecilly has been suspecting that I’m a reincarnator.

In that context, showing how quickly I adapted to this new technology was like confirming her suspicions.

Perhaps Cecilly planned this. In my eagerness to show off, my habits from my previous life came through.

If I act flustered now, others might become suspicious too. So I avoided Cecilly’s gaze and replied awkwardly, “I just got used to it after practicing. I used my index finger at first too. Anyway, my work speed has improved tremendously. Thank you so much.”

“If you’re grateful, you know what to do, right?”

Cecilly gently stroked her lower abdomen while placing her hand on my thigh. Am I imagining that she resembles Kate right now?

But the difference is that Kate genuinely lacks common sense, while Cecilly is full of her own desires.

As I sat there with an awkward smile, unable to respond, a timely savior intervened.

“Hey! What are you being so greedy for? I thought we agreed I’d be first? You sly fox.”

“Tch.”

It was my lovely girlfriend, Marie. She firmly pushed away Cecilly’s hand from my thigh.

Cecilly seemed to recognize her own greediness and backed down with disappointment, but not without having the last word. She glanced at Marie and grumbled, “Can’t you consider those who are waiting? Even though I’m a demon with a long lifespan, waiting is still difficult.”

“Don’t demons consider restraint a virtue? Surely the princess hasn’t abandoned such virtues?”

“…”

When Marie brought up restraint—practically a demon creed—Cecilly smiled awkwardly.

While Cecilly typically shows strong restraint as befitting a demon, she expresses her desire for me without reservation. This aspect has intensified since her meeting with Arwen.

The same goes for Marie. Her exceptional intuition must have sensed something unusual in Cecilly’s attitude, as her vigilance had clearly increased.

Not that it matters much—she’s like a tiny white cat growling. To soften Marie’s fierce expression, I gently stroked her head.

Though she’s not a beastkin, Marie’s expression gradually softened as I patted her head. She then grabbed my arm tightly and pressed her head against me, as if asking for more.

Marie is always cute. That seems to be an immutable law.

“Anyway, Issac. Have you heard the news? About the temple being built in your territory.”

To change the awkward atmosphere, Rina mentioned the situation in our territory.

I looked at her while continuing to stroke Marie’s head as she nuzzled against my arm. Let’s ignore Cecilly’s dissatisfied face for now.

“Of course I heard. I was quite taken aback. Is there no word from the imperial side?”

“As you said, temples can’t be built just because a cardinal pushes for it. Normally, it requires agreement among the leaders of each country. That applies to Helium too.”

Rina looked at Cecilly, silently asking her to explain further.

Cecilly shrugged her shoulders and began speaking in a gentle tone, seeming to recognize that a serious conversation had begun.

“Rina is right. Normally, temples should be built with the agreement of leaders from each side. But this time is different. The Empire of Minerva readily agreed.”

“They agreed right away?”

“Yes. From my perspective, it seems they’re planning to turn the Mayshall territory into a Xenon district… isn’t that right?”

Cecilly smiled brightly as she directed the question to Rina. Though her smile appeared beautiful on the surface, it carried various political implications.

Rina, recognizing the meaning behind that smile, smiled faintly before lifting her teacup. After taking an elegant sip, she continued in a calm voice.

“That’s right. With your timely offer to write a spin-off for demons, things progressed smoothly. Plus, with the Luminus temple also under construction, it’s truly becoming a territory dedicated to Xenon.”

“…I understand Helium’s position, but was the Luminus temple agreed upon beforehand?”

“No. Kate Cardinal pushed it through almost forcefully.”

“What?”

I’d heard that the Luminus temple would be completed just before the exhibition opens. This means construction started quite recently.

For the leaders of each country to meet and reach an agreement would take at least several months, but they skipped all that.

As more Luminus temples are built, the power of the Papal Kingdom of Sabre naturally increases. So it’s not necessarily good for everyone if temples proliferate.

That’s why strict agreements are required before constructing new temples, but in the Mayshall territory, this proceeded without such formalities.

Strictly speaking, this disrespects the Empire of Minerva, but for some reason, there’s been no objection.

“Wouldn’t that cause a lot of talk?”

“It did at first, but Kate Cardinal declared she would build a holy site for Xenon.”

“A holy site?”

“Yes. Just like Alfheim itself is a holy site, she declared Xenon’s birthplace as sacred ground. I think she sees you as an avatar of the god.”

The concept of an “avatar” appears in theology—someone chosen by a god to save the world from crisis, like a saint.

Kate, who received Luminus’s blessing and possesses powerful divine power, could rightfully be called an avatar, but it seems she considers me one instead.

However, I gained divine power purely by coincidence. I’m definitely not the avatar she thinks I am.

While I was too shocked and bewildered to respond, Rina continued her explanation in a gentle tone.

“Moreover, after eliminating the corrupt cardinal, Kate Cardinal now wields influence in Sabre second only to the Pope. When someone with such influence declares a holy site, it must be approved unless there’s a valid reason to refuse. It was also beneficial for our empire.”

“Sigh… There won’t be any harm to the Mayshall territory, right? I find political entanglements troublesome.”

I don’t dislike it, but it’s bothersome. My father especially received the Mayshall territory because he detested noble political struggles.

I want to avoid causing trouble for my family because of me.

“Well, could anyone really trouble you politically? The Mayshall territory, which could receive protection from Luminus, Mora, and perhaps even Hirt? If you inherit the family leadership someday, you might even be able to declare a crusade. Then not only Sabre but also Helium would step in.”

Rina’s answer made my concerns seem unfounded. She seemed to find the situation more absurd than I did.

Thanks to her, I clearly understood the current situation of our territory. It means that interfering with it would entail enormous risks.

If that’s the case, my family should be able to live peacefully. I nodded with satisfaction, feeling relieved.

“That’s good then. Though it’s a bit burdensome.”

“You’ll get used to that burden over time. My husband is truly amazing.”

Marie, who had been enjoying my petting, nuzzled against me affectionately while subtly stroking my thigh.

She seems to care about me as a person, regardless of whether I’m Xenon or not.

She’s simply happy that I’m advancing to higher positions, which makes her happy too. I love this about her so much.

‘Should I just go for it?’

I had such a naughty thought momentarily. But for her future, I should always practice contraception.

I carefully grasped her hand in response to her subtle signal. Marie’s smile deepened.

Perhaps uncomfortable with our display of affection, Rina blushed and cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Anyway, Cecilly. When is Lady Mora’s temple expected to be completed?”

“Probably by the exhibition?”

“What? That quickly? Is that possible?”

“With magic, construction itself is quite fast. However, it takes time to summon Lady Mora to the temple.”

I’m not even surprised anymore. With such magic, it’s no wonder they invented the typewriter too.

After saying this, Cecilly clapped her hands once and turned to me as if she’d just remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, Issac. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“You said before that I was the model for Lillis. And that you’d include illustrations.”

“That’s right.”

But that plan was scrapped when Biography of Xenon unexpectedly began to be treated as a book of prophecy.

How many women in the world are as unique and beautiful as Cecilly? If her image were included, it might cause her harm.

That’s why it was put on hold, and Cecilly agreed. However, with Volume 19’s release, her thinking seems to have changed.

“Couldn’t we include them now? Lillis’s evil deeds aren’t justified, but public perception has improved greatly. Marie, you know too, right? Lillis called out her lover’s name as she exited at the end.”

“Oh, that? I know. That scene was really sad. I wished Pride would just die.”

“Rina?”

“I think she’s no different from real demons.”

“You heard them, right?”

After hearing Marie and Rina’s opinions, Cecilly finally turned to me. I faced her with an ambiguous expression.

What could she be thinking to bring up the illustrations?

Perhaps she truly believes she is Lillis? Honestly, that’s where my thoughts are heading.

Still, I can’t refuse when she asks like this. I reluctantly nodded and agreed to her request.

“Alright. But for the artwork…”

“Our side in Helium can provide the artwork. If you describe the characters, we can draw others too.”

Cecilly cut me off just as I was about to suggest finding an artist later. She offered to support not just Lillis but other characters too if I wanted.

I looked directly at Cecilly again. She was still smiling, gazing at me with her deep red eyes.

Those eyes held deep trust in me, mixed with some unidentifiable emotion.

It wasn’t scary or unsettling at all. Rather, it was the opposite, which made me curious.

“Sister?”

“Yes, Issac.”

“Do you really think I’m a prophet?”

So I asked her. And Cecilly smiled brightly as she answered.

“Yes. Of course.”

Arwen’s reincarnation comment from before and Lillis’s final scene described at the end of Volume 19.

“I don’t want to meet such an end.”

These two elements seem to have created a misunderstanding in Cecilly’s mind.

“So I want to have Issac’s child as soon as possible.”

“…”

I was left speechless.