Ch.289Blasphemy (1)

Even before the Biography of Xenon achieved the status of scripture, there were many imposters. To be precise, not imposters of the “author” Xenon, but of the “protagonist” Xenon.

Before the first anomaly—that is, before the corruption of the World Tree was revealed—the Biography of Xenon was not a book of prophecy, but merely an ordinary novel.

While saving the demon race, who had been persecuted for hundreds of years, was certainly a remarkable achievement, history is still proving what kind of influence literary works like the Biography of Xenon can have.

However, it should be noted that there has never been a precedent for “popular” success like the Biography of Xenon. It was a novel that became the starting point of culture that could be enjoyed regardless of social status.

Unlike other novels that overused difficult words or poetry with excessive expressions, the Biography of Xenon captivated many people with its direct expressions and concise writing style.

In addition, it boldly expressed heretical aspects and sharply pointed out the discrimination and contradictions contained within.

While the Biography of Xenon provided vicarious satisfaction to many people, especially commoners, it didn’t only bring about positive phenomena.

Among the many problems caused by the Biography of Xenon, the ones that made headlines were the corruption of nobles and copycat incidents.

The corruption of nobles was already known among commoners through word of mouth, but after the release of the Biography of Xenon, more people began to look at them with suspicious eyes.

Can nobles really be trusted? I don’t mind if they do dirty things as long as it doesn’t affect me.

The evil practice of nobles openly discriminating against commoners has almost disappeared since the “Jeiros Revolution,” but it hasn’t completely vanished.

Even on Earth, conglomerates abuse their power and receive all kinds of criticism, so how much worse must it be in this world without even the internet, let alone social media?

Even now, discrimination by nobles against commoners still remains in places beyond sight.

Unlike Earth, news and rumors don’t spread quickly here, so they get buried soon, but for commoners, nobles are still objects of distrust.

In this situation, when the Biography of Xenon included writings that pointed out the ills of nobility, it was naturally the nobles who found themselves in hot water.

Although the Jeiros Revolution ultimately failed, it wasn’t a meaningless struggle.

If another similar revolution were to break out, it would be like crossing a river of no return, so it could serve as an opportunity for nobles to correct their behavior.

Commoners also let it pass without saying anything as nobles showed that they were behaving properly. Of course, that didn’t mean they gave complete trust.

In particular, there was an incident where the distrust of nobles almost exploded due to protests over a hiatus.

While there are difficulties caused by the stories in the Biography of Xenon, the problem doesn’t end there.

Going back to the beginning, the Biography of Xenon is a heroic epic filled with dreams and hope(?).

As a heroic epic, it features a protagonist with both talent and character who meets companions, embarks on a journey, and ultimately eradicates the axis of evil.

It’s a quintessential and orthodox content that, if it were on Earth, would have been just an ordinary fantasy novel.

But the problem is that this world, unlike Earth, has monsters and mana. It’s literally a typical fantasy world setting.

In such a setting, writing a novel that is “historically accurate” even though it’s fiction? And that novel begins to gain popularity worldwide?

It’s a situation ripe for “imitation” to emerge.

Occasionally, people become adventurers or mercenaries after reading exploration books or hearing exaggerated adventure stories, but the Biography of Xenon caused far worse results.

Young people with wet ink behind their ears came out confidently saying they would become heroes like Xenon, only to taste bitterness or even lose their lives.

Even if they managed to climb up somehow, reality is cruel, and most of them fall away in despair.

While the existence of the Biography of Xenon is the biggest reason for these incidents, other factors also played a complex role.

This world has monsters, which are direct threats to humanity.

The profession of adventurer or mercenary allows one to gain honor and wealth by subjugating such monsters.

With the Biography of Xenon, a novel that ignites fire in one’s heart, everyone went out to pursue their dreams.

The results were disastrous, but still, adventurers and mercenaries enjoyed an unexpected boom, and both quality and quantity increased, so it can’t be said to be entirely bad.

This remained true even after the Biography of Xenon began to be revered as scripture. In fact, as the story reached its climax, the number of applicants increased.

Vigorous young people who stepped into adventure saying they would become like Xenon or Merry, and adventurers and mercenaries who worked hard not to lose to them.

There were many troubles and talks because of these inexperienced newcomers, but some of them showed remarkable activities, giving rise to expectations.

However, no matter how ignorant they might be, there is one implicit rule that everyone clearly recognizes. This is an unwritten rule that emerged after the Biography of Xenon began to be treated as scripture.

[Do not call yourself Xenon or Merry.]

People are born with a “name” inherited from their parents. This is typically used even when working as an adventurer or mercenary.

However, not a few people use pseudonyms to hide their identity or for personal reasons.

Because of this, before the consecutive anomalies occurred, there were countless men and women using “Xenon” or “Merry” as pseudonyms.

In the case of mercenaries, this could be prevented by rules since they had to register, but not for adventurers. So such pseudonyms were abundant among adventurers.

This caused some confusion, but as new volumes of the Biography of Xenon were released and it was further confirmed as a book of prophecy, almost all of them disappeared.

Strictly speaking, it’s not that they disappeared, but rather that people who didn’t know their place and boasted about it disappeared.

This trend became even stronger after Cecilly’s speech and Arwen’s announcement.

Of course, as seen with Cecilly and Arwen, there’s no rule that the names of characters and real people must be the same. It was just a motif, not a real-life experience.

This is also why those who impersonated Kayre could talk like madmen. They were hanging onto an uncertain future, trying to get a piece of the pie.

Without realizing they were trapped in the delusion of “Could it be me? Maybe it’s me?”, they received all kinds of attention.

Because of this, nobles and commoners alike are treating those who impersonate or “imitate” the Biography of Xenon almost as con artists.

They say these guys are harming the status of the Biography of Xenon and defiling the scripture that saved the world.

Some people are worried that the Biography of Xenon might be damaged because of such ruffians.

And an impersonator who poured oil on those concerns finally appeared in the world.

“Is that the man?”

“That’s what they say.”

A few days after the Kayre impersonation incident in Alfheim.

Currently, a man who had become a topic of conversation, not just for the Kayre impersonation, was walking proudly on the streets of Alfheim.

A man who was receiving attention from not only the elves of Alfheim but also other people.

Despite the burdensome gazes, the man was moving with a gait that might seem arrogant at first glance.

Brown hair and eyes commonly seen around. His appearance was also ordinary except for his straight nose.

However, he stood out considerably because he was wearing expensive equipment that didn’t match his appearance.

“Is that the guy who’s been going around claiming to be Xenon?”

“He doesn’t look like Xenon at all.”

“I don’t know. If he says so, he must be confident.”

“He still looks young though.”

As the man heard people talking about him, he smiled more deeply than before. At the same time, a strange desire surged in his chest.

As can be heard from the surrounding conversations, the man’s name is Xenon. He’s a human male who entered Alfheim a few days ago and spouted nonsense to Arwen.

‘How dare she ignore my words.’

The man, Xenon, inwardly cursed as he walked to his destination. Currently, he was thinking of Arwen, the Queen of Alfheim, who had completely ignored his words.

He is Xenon, so why doesn’t she come to his side? Kayre is also just an impersonation anyway.

Rather than going through all sorts of hardships, wouldn’t it be better to be the woman of a man who ‘will become’ the hero who saves the world in the future?

Unlike the fake who claimed to be the motif for Kayre, he is the man who will be the motif for the real Xenon.

The reason he could think this way was very simple from his perspective.

He never had a father, and his mother passed away giving birth to him, but she gave him the name ‘Xenon’.

And Xenon, the protagonist of the Biography of Xenon, is also an orphan who doesn’t even know his parents’ names, let alone their faces.

This alone was enough, but he also had the talent to overcome obstacles.

Although he didn’t have an outstanding master like Kayre, he learned swordsmanship from a passing adventurer, and thanks to that, his talent bloomed, and he threw himself into being an adventurer.

Even after stepping into the world of adventurers, he continued to rise, gaining strength and fame. Of course, he faced hardships in between, but he passed through them safely, just like in the Biography of Xenon.

This alone was enough to instill a great “delusion” in him. Being an orphan, getting the name ‘Xenon’, and furthermore, having the talent to overcome obstacles.

At first, even he was uncertain, but after Cecilly’s speech and Arwen’s announcement, he became convinced.

That he is the human who will be the motif for Xenon, the protagonist of the Biography of Xenon. Who could deny it?

Of course, he was less handsome and shorter than the Xenon in the book, but that didn’t matter. The most important thing was who became the motif.

Thud-

Perhaps because he was lost in thought. Xenon(?), who was immersed in himself as Xenon, bumped into someone.

He had arrived in an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic and bumped shoulders with a passerby while walking without paying attention.

“Ah. I’m sorry.”

“…”

The passerby was an elf residing in Alfheim, and a very beautiful one at that. Xenon quickly scanned the woman’s appearance.

Not only was her appearance beyond words, but her height and figure were also excellent. She was wearing Alfheim’s characteristic flowing attire, but it couldn’t hide her beauty.

At that moment, a sinister desire settled in Xenon’s brown eyes. Although he identified himself as Xenon, his character was not similar.

She had caused trouble for someone who would become a hero. Naturally, she should compensate for it somehow.

Whether it’s money or body doesn’t matter, but for him, visiting Alfheim for the first time, elves are literally angels incarnate.

To this, he smiled crookedly and said to the elf woman who had politely apologized:

“Is an apology enough?”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t you know who I am?”

Despite her apology, the elf looked at him with a surprised expression at Xenon’s rude behavior.

Even her surprised face was so beautifully elven that it stimulated the man’s lust.

To this, he roughly grabbed the elf’s wrist and began to gradually apply pressure.

“I’m Xenon, Xenon. You know who Xenon is, right?”

“Uh… yes. It would be strange not to know.”

“Ah, sorry. Let me rephrase. Not the author Xenon, but Xenon, the protagonist of the Biography of Xenon.”

“…?”

The elf made a face that suggested she had heard the strangest thing at Xenon’s introduction.

She could understand impersonating the author Xenon. She could just think of him as an impersonator or con artist with a twisted mind.

But Xenon, the protagonist of the Biography of Xenon, was something she had never heard before. Because of this, it took her a while to process her thoughts.

But soon, recalling the incident that had occurred in Alfheim, especially the Kayre impersonators who had troubled her respected queen, she could understand.

Ah, this human is also an impersonator. The elf woman frowned at this realization.

Come to think of it, there were rumors that a human who packaged himself as Xenon had appeared in Alfheim, and it seems this man was the one.

“…Excuse me.”

“So to make me feel better…”

“Would you please get lost, if you don’t mind?”

“…What, even to you?”

Slap!

Before Xenon could show a surprised reaction, the elf woman strongly shook off his hand.

He had clearly grabbed her wrist firmly, yet she escaped so easily that Xenon couldn’t help but be surprised.

Following this, the elf woman looked at Xenon with hostile eyes and then snorted, tearing into him scathingly.

“The motif for Xenon in the Biography of Xenon? Now even such things are coming out?”

“What…”

“Listen, human. You look quite young even by human standards, so why don’t you get your head straight? People like you are tarnishing Lord Xenon’s honor. The queen is already troubled because of the Kayre impersonation, and now someone like you appears… The queen can’t be given to someone like you, so get out of Alfheim right now.”

The elf woman, who seemed to have a talent for scathing remarks, turned her back after using rhetoric that left Xenon dumbfounded.

As the elf woman turned her back and walked away, Xenon was momentarily stunned, then let out a laugh of disbelief.

And towards the elf who was walking away without looking back, he said in a sarcastic tone:

“Are you sure you won’t regret it? I’m telling you, I’m the real Xenon.”

To such a question, the elf woman…

Flip-

She responded by raising her middle finger without even turning around.

At her response, which was as bold as any man’s, Xenon once again made a stunned expression before bursting into laughter.

He had seen this somewhere before. None other than in the Biography of Xenon.

Didn’t the protagonist Xenon and his lover, Merry, meet in this way! Until now, no woman, especially no elf, had shown such behavior towards him.

‘I like her.’

He became even more greedy. Yes, if she’s to be Xenon’s lover, she should have this much spirit.

To this, he followed the elf woman who was showing a tantalizing back view as she left. The thought that he shouldn’t let this woman go dominated his mind.

Grab-

“…What now?”

As if she already knew he was approaching, the elf woman only expressed displeasure even when her wrist was grabbed again.

Xenon, regardless of the woman’s reaction, only voiced what he wanted to say.

“I like you. What’s your name? Is it Merry by any chance?”

“Would you let go of this? I have a partner, you know? And my name isn’t Merry, it’s Sophia, you psychopathic human.”

“You can change it to Merry from now on. I can treat you better than your partner.”

“This crazy bastard…”

Finally, as the elf woman raised her empty hand to use magic…

“Excuse me.”

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

A beautiful woman’s voice flowed from behind them.

A tone like the chirping of birds, clearly audible even in the noisy street.

At this, both the elf woman who had been frowning and Xenon who had been consumed by desire relaxed their expressions and shifted their gaze in that direction.

“You are…”

Eventually, where they turned their heads…

“Are you the person who goes around calling himself Xenon?”

Under the clear sky stood a cleric with blue eyes like a wheat field grown under a clear sky and golden hair, wearing a beautiful smile.