Ch.63Storm’s Eve (1)

When the Biography of Xenon revealed itself to the world, who benefited the most? Most people would naturally choose “demons” without hesitation.

A single book completely reversed the fate of an entire race, and when demons began to actively engage with the world, global politics was thrown into turmoil. After being forced into isolation for so long, demons were finally emerging, inevitably affecting other nations.

Demons not only possess strong individual combat abilities but also have exceptional magical talents comparable to elves. However, since their magic draws upon the ominous energy known as “Dark Mana,” elves deeply dislike associating with demons.

Nevertheless, it’s true that demons have greatly benefited from the Biography of Xenon. This has become such common knowledge that anyone on the street would give the same answer.

But digging deeper reveals that the true winner is someone else entirely.

While the Biography of Xenon did change perceptions about demons, this would never have happened if the book hadn’t become a worldwide phenomenon.

In other words, the profits from the Biography of Xenon’s global popularity are astronomical, reaching sky-high levels.

However, because the Biography of Xenon has spread worldwide, proper accounting of its earnings hasn’t been completed. Most people focus on the book itself rather than its profits, so they don’t pay much attention to this aspect.

And those profits inevitably flow to the publishing house that secured the copyright contract for the Biography of Xenon. In fact, the publishing house that first published the Biography of Xenon has grown substantially from the flood of revenue.

“Hmm hmm~ Hmm hmm hmm~”

In a room resembling an office but filled with various luxury items.

A middle-aged man sitting at a desk was humming while writing something in a notebook. He seemed to be in an excellent mood, judging by his upturned lips.

‘It was worth investing in that expensive technology. I’ve already paid it all back.’

The notebook he was writing in was a ledger. Not just any ledger, but one closely related to the company the man manages.

If it were an ordinary ledger, someone other than the man would be managing it, but given that a person of apparently high rank was handling it, the ledger’s purpose was special.

It was a ledger for managing funds gifted by nobles—what might commonly be called bribes. The company the man manages is quite unusual in that it receives bribes from nobles.

This is because the company he manages is a publishing house—specifically, the first publishing house to publish the Biography of Xenon.

The reason for receiving bribes from nobles is that they either want to be the first to receive new volumes or want to know the author’s identity.

‘I can’t kill the goose that lays golden eggs.’

Surprisingly, the man knows about the Biography of Xenon’s origin. More precisely, he mistakenly believes Hawk, not Issac, is the author.

It’s an understandable mistake since Hawk personally brought the manuscript for the first volume to the publishing house. But when the Biography of Xenon became an unexpected hit, the author began hiding his identity and hiring messengers.

Afterward, all sorts of people visited the publishing house asking to find the author, and some even resorted to threats. While this put the publisher in a difficult position, he courageously ignored them all.

The profits from the Biography of Xenon were more tempting than the nobles’ bribes or threats. As long as the contract with the Biography of Xenon remained in place, it was like having a money-printing machine.

‘The imperial family was a bit scary, though…’

Of course, a direct visit from the imperial family would make even a publishing house president nervous. Fortunately, they only investigated whether the publishing house was evading taxes.

Thanks to his meticulous management of the ledger, they hadn’t been caught evading taxes. Honestly, with the Biography of Xenon generating so much revenue, they could probably evade taxes without anyone noticing.

After all this, the president’s mood couldn’t be better. He was also reaping the rewards of his recent expensive investment in new technology.

‘I’ve paid back the principal, now I just need to cover maintenance costs. Those will gradually decrease over time anyway.’

The introduction of new technology had doubled their profit margin. Normally, a publishing house would just contract books, but the president went ahead and acquired a printing house.

As a result, he amassed wealth that would astonish even nobles. By reinvesting those funds, the company grew substantially.

As president, his days were busy, but equally fulfilling.

Knock- Knock- Knock-

Just as he was about to finish writing in the ledger, he heard someone knocking on his office door. The president skillfully slipped the ledger into his desk drawer before speaking.

“Who is it?”

“Mr. President. It’s Matthew.”

“Oh, Matthew! Come in.”

The president’s face brightened when he learned it was Matthew knocking. Unlike other employees, Matthew was his favored secretary who always brought good news.

For example, news about the Biography of Xenon, the Biography of Xenon, and the Biography of Xenon.

Matthew was so trusted by the president that he was even in charge of editing the Biography of Xenon.

Creak-

Upon the president’s command, Matthew gently opened the door. Brown curly hair, dull eyes, and glasses.

Overall, he had the appearance of an office worker living day to day in exhaustion.

“So, what news do you bring today? It’s about time for the Biography of Xenon manuscript to arrive.”

The president spoke with a maintained smile as soon as he saw Matthew’s face. He even clasped his hands together in anticipation.

Matthew pushed up his slipping glasses after hearing the president’s question. In his arms, he was carefully holding a mail envelope.

“I have three pieces of news. Good news, ordinary news, and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

Matthew responded to the president’s question in his tired voice. He always reported in this manner.

The president showed a puzzled expression when he heard there was bad news, but decided to hear the report first.

“Let’s start with the ordinary news.”

“This is what I heard from the messenger. He asked if we could deliver fan letters.”

“Fan letters? Ah, you mean the letters?”

“Yes. The letters that pile up in our company every day.”

Given the Biography of Xenon’s worldwide popularity, it has many passionate fans. These fans are diverse—not just commoners but high-ranking nobles as well.

Furthermore, there are letters from demons, dwarves, and occasionally even elves or beastkin. While the contents of these letters are unknown, it’s clear that the book’s recognition spans across nations and races.

However, due to circumstances, the letters are sent to the publishing house rather than directly to the author. Even the publishing house struggles to communicate with the author, so the letters have been piling up—which makes this a timely opportunity.

“Of course that’s fine. But how will they be delivered?”

“He said to send them through a messenger. He’ll pay a reasonable price and asked us to be mindful of security.”

“I understand. I was just wondering how to dispose of those anyway.”

The president pointed his thumb behind him, and Matthew’s gaze naturally followed. Where the president pointed was a rectangular box filled with fan letters.

The box was quite large, and seeing it filled with fan letters gave an idea of how many there were.

“Now, can you tell me the good news?”

“The good news is that the manuscript for volume 10 of the Biography of Xenon has just arrived.”

That truly was good news. The president barely suppressed his desire to dance with joy.

Whenever a new volume of the Biography of Xenon was released, money poured in, so he couldn’t help but be happy.

However, he couldn’t let his guard down. There was still one piece of bad news left.

The president curled up the corners of his mouth and asked Matthew.

“And finally, the bad news?”

“Would you take a look at this? It’s the manuscript mail, and I’d like you to read the last page.”

When Matthew handed over the manuscript, the president took it without suspicion despite his questions. Then, he took out the manuscript from the already opened mail and turned to the last page as Matthew suggested.

The last page contained an “Author’s Note,” something the author had never included before. The president was momentarily surprised, thinking the author was trying to communicate with the world, but after reading the note, he couldn’t hide his shock.

“…Is this really…?”

The president felt his happy mood plummet as he looked back and forth between Matthew and the manuscript. His trembling voice and fearful expression were remarkable.

“Sigh… As you can see.”

Matthew exhaled deeply with a lifeless face and spoke in a dejected voice. Then, in a tone suggesting he couldn’t believe it himself, he said:

“He says he’s taking a hiatus for one and a half to two years.”

It was truly shocking news.

The president sat dazed for a while, then shook his head vigorously. It wasn’t the first time the company had faced a crisis.

Moreover, at times like this, the person who needed to pull himself together was none other than himself, the president. So he examined the author’s note to see if he had missed anything.

[Hello, dear readers. I am ‘Xenon,’ the author of the Biography of Xenon. ‘Xenon’ is my temporary pen name, so there’s no need to try to find me. Anyway, what I want to tell you all is…]

On the surface, it was an ordinary greeting. After the greeting, there were only expressions of the author’s feelings—surprise at how many people loved the Biography of Xenon, gratitude, and so on.

But the problem appeared in the middle.

[While the Biography of Xenon is a book loved by many, the burden on my shoulders has grown proportionally. What was simply a hobby writing for me has become physically and mentally taxing. I want to write with a comfortable mind. So I’ve decided to take a break.]

The content was quite polite, but compared to the author’s situation, it was a different story. Currently, various entities are tracking the author of the Biography of Xenon.

Whether nobles, the imperial family, or other races. Everyone is busy searching for the author.

In such a situation, for these words to come out? This is how it would appear to readers:

[Because you all are bothering me, I’m going to take a break for a while. If you keep looking for me after I return, I won’t release any more books.]

From the readers’ perspective, this would be beyond a bolt from the blue—it would be like a natural disaster. And it’s obvious where the arrows of blame would point. The world would be in turmoil for a while.

Of course, from Issac’s perspective, he wrote this because he wanted to focus on his studies, but unfortunately, most people assume the author is a sage. To make matters worse, there was even news in the newspaper expressing concern for his health after he had a nosebleed.

This could instill anxiety in readers that the author might be in danger. It means they might never be able to read the Biography of Xenon again.

“… …”

The president read the author’s note again with a stiff expression. Then, after heaving a deep sigh, he covered his face with one hand and muttered.

“…Call them quickly.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m holding an emergency meeting, so gather the employees immediately! Hurry!”

“Y-Yes! Understood!”

When Matthew questioned, the president let out an unprecedented roar. As soon as Matthew ran out the door, the president, after briefly fuming, covered his face with both hands.

“Damn those noble bastards… As always, money is the only helpful thing about them…”

While the president and the publishing house were busy moving, what was our Issac doing?

“Hehehe.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Even though we’re just hugging?”

“Yes!”

He was enjoying a happy date with Marie, completely unaware of how the world was turning.