The Editor Is the Novel’s Extra

For an eternal peace (6)

Like seawater slowly building up toward an impending disaster, realizations buried deep within Kleio’s consciousness began to rise.

No matter how many seasons pass, it wasn’t enough to have a new life to begin to consider this place as his hometown. Memories from another life were still engraved into him. Now, he stepped back and tried to read the situation from the perspective of an outsider. He realized he might have misunderstood the author’s intent.

‘Maybe it shouldn’t have been possible to do attack magic in the first place.’

He initially thought that his magic would become a type of technology that no one would be able to reproduce again after the ether of the world was abandoned.

In school, he had once taught some light tricks to some curious seniors and classmates. Even though they were the top elite students of the Dernier continent when it came to magic, the children couldn’t finely control their ether like Kleio.

The [Tracking] formula, which was the core of the attack, could not be utilized appropriately based on an ordinary person’s senses. Naturally, it was a formula used to reflect the movement of ether, so applying it to attack magic was outside common sense.

By that time, Kleio thought his role in the future was determined. This world was the ground where the confrontation between the author and his characters took place. It was a battlefield between the gods and humanity. Meeting Arthur wasn’t just a random coincidence. Kleio was sent to him as an agent of God.

‘Since Fran has no intention of making weapons, someone has to take over during the war. I figured that has to be me.’

Perhaps, he could avoid conscription, but that won’t mean he won’t be involved in the war at all couldn’t. God must’ve arranged his place. Considering the battles Arthur would face, he needed a partner to support him. Of course, Isiel boasted incredible power, but her true worth would be revealed when she was a commander, not as a single combatant. Someone fighting alongside Arthur should have the power to stop a fire from falling from the sky. If that wasn’t possible with science, then magic alone had to do.

‘When Melchior pulled Fran out of the academy of sciences, he probably didn’t know what was going to happen. The author’s will is powerful….’

However, if he succeeded in accomplishing the author’s will, ether would never be abolished in the end.

‘Will I be punished as the one who brought fire to mankind?’

What would happen if that power was given to humanity? If so, would the world someday follow Melchior’s path?

“Gaoo…hhh…”

Behemoth, still making strange sounds in his sleep, turned around in Kleio’s arms. The sight of the cat’s tongue lolling out of his mouth snapped Kleio out of his reverie.

‘Ah, what a delusion of self-consciousness. Even before we get there, Melchior can cause the coronation eclipse, so it’s possible that we’ll all fail together.’

Kleio scratched Behemoth’s chin as he went over Melchior’s words over and over again in his head. This meeting had provided Kleio with quite a few clues. Even Melchior, who dared to confront the God who wrote this world, didn’t seem to have grasped what happened where the eighth manuscript had left off.

‘For one, he doesn’t seem to know what tiplaum does exactly. If he knew, there would be no reason to invest in the mine and work hard to build a processing complex. When ether disappears, tiplaum would be the driving force that makes the world stand up.’

However, the knowledge Melchior had shouldn’t be dismissed. Just as Arthur learned the truth about this world when its foundations were shaken, couldn’t he as well?

‘What else could be the reason why he has mastered extremely modern methods of control?’

There were so many unknown elements surrounding Melchior that there was no excellent clue to lead him to a hypothesis he could be convinced of. Nevertheless…

‘One thing is clear: if Melchior survives after the coronation….’

This time, it might genuinely end human history. Irreversibly, no more go-arounds. Oddly enough, Kleio was a little more afraid of the world’s end than he was of his own death.

‘I guess that bloody coronation isn’t easy to achieve. He can’t meet all of those conditions right now. I don’t know how long it would be before then, but….’

It was then his bedroom door opened with a knock. The person who appeared in front of Kleio, who had tensely raised his upper body, was Cel.

“Oh, didn’t you hear me come in? I sent a notice.”

“Is that so? I didn’t find any notes.”

“I told Nebo… That guy is also out on the parade grounds. Hanging out with Isiel and Arthur for no reason.”

“Isn’t that okay…?”

Cel yelled at Kleio’s unsure response.

“Well, you look better than when we last met. But your head’s no good.”

The cat and the room’s owner were tangled up on the bed with a blanket. Kleio’s hair, which had grown a bit since before, was rather messy. Kleio tried to tame it as Cel pulled up a chair across the bed and sat down.

“Whoo, busy, busy. Why do we have to suffer this much for when we only missed a few days of school?”

“What can we do? The professors also considered our convenience as much as possible, so work in good faith.”

“You speak like Isiel, but I know you’ve only roughly written down one piece of your writing assignment for tomorrow.”

Kleio wasn’t making much progress at fixing his hair.

“Cel, you’ve been getting along with Lady Dione and using her foresight.”

“Who are you kidding? Damn it. If I had something like that, I wouldn’t have been robbed of my wealth.”

“Uh, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.”

Kleio felt genuine sympathy for his friend.

‘I would’ve wanted to burn down the senate hall in her situation. Cel is patient.’

Angered by her daughter, who had escaped Camellia hall, Katarina had turned all of Cel’s property into a trust. In the process, inheritance taxes and fines were charged, causing Cel’s assets to shrink significantly.

‘The tax rate is quite high. Thanks to that, we have something that can be called a welfare system, although it is basic….’

Albion’s welfare system was tremendously innovative in that it provided for children’s education, food, and free medical care for the poor. Queen Carmela had transferred the right to collect taxes and decide the budget to the nobles, and in return, laid the foundation for the system. Rents were received by the nobles who paid a certain percentage, and all taxes from commercial activities were vested in the government. Katarina had taken a lesson from how Melchior worked and used the taxes with political intent.

‘The author sees and writes some good things, and what if I follow those things?’

Gideon Asel was always pouring donations in so many places, so even if his younger son got caught up in a political battle, he seemed prepared, but the business of Tanpet de Neju was different. The young Count Islay led the tax committee investigation instead of the group of commerce ministers whom Katarina was familiar with. As a result, cold air had struck around Katarina’s business.

“Even if Count Islay hadn’t affected anything, she was still upset with me, but it’s bad timing.”

Kleio was rejected after offering her a reduction in the rent this quarter via Dione. Bu Katarina, because of her pride, paid the rent in full.

“Anyway, if you’re done with these assignments, grab this list. It’s the route to buy iron. The knights of the Kision territory are crazy about training, so the cycle of changing out weapons is short.”

Cel threw her file folder in front of Kleio, who reached over Behemoth to snatch it up.

“Didn’t the logistics ministry state that they would provide more support than before?”

“How innocent are you? If you have a lot of quantity, what happens? The quality is poor, so it’s not particularly durable.”

“…Stars, they’re the ones who view everything personally.”

“I can’t spend big money, so all other roads are blocked. Dividend payments are limited to 30,000 dinars per year, and pensions cannot be withdrawn more than 2,500 dinars per month.”

The salary of a skilled clerk was 1,500 dinars, and maids tended to receive 1,000 once a quarter. So, 2,500 dinars a month wasn’t a small amount to live alone, but it was an amount that couldn’t even dream of supporting a military force. With her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands, Cel clicked her tongue.

“I tried to file a lawsuit in the upper cost, but the judge is obsessed with my mother. He won’t take my side.”

“I don’t think there would be a fair trial anyway. It’s time for us to keep low.”

“That’s the problem. Someone will openly oppose that monstrous surrogate.”

During this crisis, more and more senators and business people actively supported the king’s deputy. Melchior couldn’t be suppressed by Aslan, whom pro-Brunnen nobles had heavily influenced.

‘It’s an early decline.’

Kleio exhaled a shallow sigh as he handed Cel her files back.

‘The places where the money will go are spread out.’