Chapter 99: Chapter 99

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Kleio realized that snow was whitening the sky as he took his eyes off the map.

‘…Not today.’

There would be no trains or carriages between the cities of Pesseln and Lundane. Behemoth, who had been sipping at hot chocolate with cognac, was dozing off.

‘It’s winter with a lot of snow. I don’t know if it’s normally like this or not.’

It was the first Albion winter Kim Jungjin met. It was regrettable that there was no underfloor heating, but it wasn’t too bad to sit in front of the fireplace with a sleeping cat in his lap.

‘I wish I at least had an electric pad. How can’t I make it?’

The Korean spirit inside of him was commanding him to support his back properly.

‘I think I could use mana stone ruby to make something similar to…, but it’s expensive. How to efficiently weave it…’

Kleio, trying to combine magic formulas in his head, started to sleep like Behemoth. Mrs. Canton, who had entered the bedroom to deliver a letter, saw Kleio asleep and clicked her tongue.

‘Oh, you must’ve been tired. You’ll catch a cold.’

Mrs. Canton moved carefully as she spread out the colored letters and postcards that the twins, Arthur, and Cel had sent, displaying them on the table so that when he awoke, he could find them right away. They had arrived from across the country, from Parisa, Novantes, and Carmain, the capital of Kision’s province. Kleio had dismissed any invitation he had been sent, losing interest in the world of socialites, but the letters from his friends were welcome. The road had been blocked because of the snow, so they had arrived belatedly.

‘I feel relieved he’s made friends at school.’

Now he had grown a little bit in both height and attitude, but he still looked like a child as he slept in front of the fireplace. Mrs. Canton covered him in a thick woolen blanket and put more wood into the fireplace to keep him from catching a cold.

Outside the window, the snow continued to fall.

***

When the snow stopped in the middle of January, and the wagons could move once more, Dione and Kleio met to confirm the completion of the hotel at Dione’s small building. The bookstore’s show window was colorfully decorated for the new year, and behind the window, there were several chairs for customers to rest their lefts after purchasing books.

From there, they could see the de Neju Est Hotel very well. Since the hotel’s construction had already been completed, and the interior had been put into place, preparations were progressing readily, even in the cold weather. The window of the room was bright as wagons loading all sorts of goods entered and left. Not long after returning from Krater, Dione had been excited that she had sold a considerable amount of mana stone trinkets to their prince. Her face, which had a healthy complexion, looked as if the light was spreading out. The two chatted as they drank milk tea that had been provided as a service by the bookstore.

“The newsstand and the show window now have a surprising amount of books related to magic and beasts.”

“Oh, the field is no longer special. The publishing agent keeps asking me to write a book about magic.”

“You like to read books so much, Lady Dione, so why don’t you try to write one?”

“I don’t have any writing skills, nor can I easily explain magic. You’re also a wizard, so you know well, but this isn’t something easily delivered in words. Mr. Levi, the secretary of the Grayer Chamber of Commerce, was busy writing refusal letters to those requests that were pouring in while I was away. Before becoming an office attorney, he worked in publishing.”

“I see… There’s a lot of public demand for magic, huh?”

“Why do you make it sound like someone else’s job? You used mana stones in the middle of the capital to cast some splendid magic. Few people saw it in person, but countless articles and rumors are circulating.”

‘That’s why books are selling out. If it were like the world I lived in, it would be on TV and YouTube.’

As Kleio listened, Dione clenched her fist feverishly.

“With the opening of the door, the public is interested in magic and demons. However, there are no good books that satisfy that curiosity, and third-rate gossip reporters are printing books that are little more than a collection of nasty small talk.”

“Special theory books such as Magic Encyclopedia are mainstream, but there are few authors who can write a manuscript for the public.”

“Research wizards are basically people who don’t want to spend even a second in a field they don’t care about. That’s why it’s big news for the Defense Force school, and there are difficulties in re-appointment when there is a vacant teaching position.”

“!!!”

In Kleio’s mind, a leading candidate flashed by.

‘Professor Maria Gentile!’

He remembered glancing through her lectures and notes before taking the final exam.

‘Unlike Dione, Professor Maria isn’t social, so general publishers aren’t aware of her existence. If I could publish her lecture book…wouldn’t it make a lot of money?!’

There was no suitable limit for wealth. The more money, the better. It was a fact he hadn’t known before because he had never lived with a surplus of cash.

‘Beyond escaping from my father’s influence, I can do most of the things I want without worry.’

Was that all? In this world, there were also miraculous raw materials he could buy with that money. So, Kleio couldn’t just pass on an opportunity to make money. There was only one stumbling block…while contemplating how to plan and edit the book and promote it, a cold corner of his heart was in a bit of a buzz.

‘…I’ve come this far, and now I’m a landowner, but once more, I’m thinking about publishing a book.’

Kleio caught himself as his motivation began to slip.

‘No, how is this? It was bad in the old world, but right now, publishing is still lucrative.’

This was the kingdom of Albion in 1891. Literature was rapidly gaining popularity in this world, and readers were of fields. The proof was the customers coming to and from this bookstore. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Welcome.”

While Kleio and Dione sipped at their milk tea, the bell of the clear glass door rang out several times. The bookstore Dione rented out was pretty good. Even when the weather was cold, the clerk was warm and bright. He was selling inexpensive paperbacks and thinly divided series, though the hardcovers with leather and gold leafing were sold very rarely. Even the de Neju hotel staff and decorators stopped by the bookstore on their way home to buy books, magazines, and crossword puzzle books to enjoy in the evening. The overwhelming type of books sold were novels, but books on railroads, travel, the ecology of birds, and manuals were also sold quite heavily.

‘There’s a demand for public education books. Let’s meet with Professor Maria and negotiate. It would be nice to emphasize public interest for this publication, as she doesn’t have much interest in money.’

If such a book sold well, the public’s awareness of magic would improve. Wouldn’t that be good for wizards?

“Lady Dione, do you have any contacts in the publishing industry? Copyright agents, editors, and bookmakers…”

At the unexpected request, Dione was surprised but interested. She smiled gently as she tapped the surface of her empty glass.

“Ho, are you trying to make money with a book this time? Young Master, you have a nose for profit.”

“No… Hey, I don’t know what to do if I hear that from Lady Dione.”

“Oh? You just heard about the rush for magic texts with such a serious expression. From your expression, it seems that such a manuscript is available.”

“Yes. I’ll know if I try, but maybe there’s a way to acquire a quality manuscript.”

“It’s difficult to find an original author… but it’s amazing that you already have a manuscript! Then, the next step would be the publishing contract and editing.”

“…I feel like you should have a crystal ball and a robe. Go tell fortunes at the Royal Circus; you’d make a killing.”

“My, you treat people as cheap spirits! How do I, as a wizard, tell lies about hearing the voices of the dead?”

Dione, who didn’t believe in the soul even with magic, pretended to be offended.

“I apologize for the inappropriate joke. I meant that you had great powers of reasoning.”

“What reasoning?! You know what you see.”

“First, I’ll meet with the prospective author and contact you if things seem to work out. Then…”

“Yes, nothing’s been confirmed, so I shouldn’t openly attract people to work. Leave it to me.”

Dione Grayer, whose work interacted with all fields, knew all kinds of things and all kinds of people. In Lundane, there weren’t many issues that couldn’t be solved by asking her.

“Remember that I said Mr. Levy worked in publishing before?”

“Yeah.”

“He was a promising editor at Hutchinson & Simon. However, due to the fact he had triplets, he moved to our company. It seemed that the salary problem was big…”

“Ah… I know…”

In the 19th century, the principle that people had to study law in order to earn money remained the same. Kleio felt sorrowful at that reminder.

‘Why didn’t the author that made this world fix that part?’

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.

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At dawn the next morning, Kleio called the school. He was told that Professor Maria, along with Professor Naor, who was in charge of swordsmanship, stayed at the official residences. Professor Maria’s life remained the same during vacation, with the exception there were no lectures, so the attendant guided him to her lab. The interior of the lab was small and neat, with a lace curtain draped over the window. If it weren’t for the pile of spell-books and documents and the model of a building on a wall, it seemed like it would be a grandparent’s living room more than a lab. Professor Maria even greeted Kleio with gingerbread cookies and tea.

“Yes, hello, Kleio. I heard the business, sit down, and have some tea. Your cheeks are frozen white.”

“Thank you, Professor Gentile.”

Rumors were going around about him being Zebedee’s research student, so this was the first time he met Maria one-on-one.

‘Even though he’s a kid with great magic, he didn’t have much enthusiasm for the basic classes. It looks like I saw it wrong.’

During Maria’s class, Kleio had been an inconspicuous student. He often dozed off and rarely took notes, so she didn’t know he was listening to the lectures so deeply. She felt proud of him.

“You want to turn the lecture materials into a proper book, but who would like to read it?”

Kleio took in a deep breath and clenched his fist lightly, activating work mode for the first time in a while. Professor Maria sat behind her desk with a friendly smile, looking at the lecture materials with a memo attached to them, as if it had been newly organized.

‘I have to make her decide to write that book. I can do it.’

“More than you think are growing interested in the workings of ether and the principles of magic.”

Kleio’s voice, lower than usual, felt much more reliable.

“You know better than me, but the number of visitors to the final exam was more than twice of last year, right? Didn’t even some people come to see you specifically? Also, I heard that the number of students applying for the magic class among those taking the entrance exam is three times that of an average year. Wouldn’t those numbers be clear evidence of public interest?”

Professor Maria was caught up in the force of Kleio’s words without knowing it. Her heart began to speed up, and her cheeks warmed up. His words were persuasive, evoking lingering feelings inside her, who had devoted herself to research while maintaining a distance from people.

‘This kid could talk like this…?’

“However, compared to that interest, there is still a lack of good books to relieve that curiosity. Most are third-class gossip papers that only reinforce false prejudice against magic. You have the decisive key to changing that situation. With your lecture book.”