NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
“After Zech and Rate left for the Hypno Territory.”
“Second Princess, I’ve sent Zech the author and the Hero to the Hypno Territory.”
“Thanks, Oz. I appreciate your help even when you’re busy.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing. It’s an honor to assist the author, really.”
Using teleportation magic, Oz immediately went to inform Eve, the Second Princess.
“Phew… a vacation, something I could never imagine myself having right now.”
“Hehe, given that the imperial family is under attack from many sides.”
“I’m glad you’re on our side, Oz.”
“It’s only natural to be loyal to the imperial family, given the Emperor’s grace. Plus, personally… all the current heirs are such interesting characters, I want to help them out as much as I can.”
“Interesting characters, huh?”
As Oz stroked his long beard, he explained to Eve.
“First Princess Riss Nias has a record of defeating a basilisk single-handedly, she’s a powerhouse! And First Prince Leon Nias is bound to earn the title ‘Sword Saint’ any day now.”
Eve simply nodded silently at Oz’s words.
Riss seemed like an emotionless war machine, while Leon was just a jerk who bullied his younger siblings, but their skills were unquestionable.
‘In comparison, me and Rian…’
In contrast, Eve, the Second Princess, could only use magic up to the 4th circle, something anyone could achieve after graduating from the academy, while Rian, the Second Prince, had no fighting skills to speak of, being on par with the author Zech.
‘Moreover, people are whispering that our family must be cursed or something.’
Because of this, Eve, who had often seemed devoid of emotion in the past, lived a doll-like existence, while Rian had been subtly ignored and bullied by Leon.
‘There’s no way they’d find us interesting…’
Unknowingly, Eve’s expression darkened.
Seeing her like this, Oz smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Oz..?”
“Pardon my rudeness, Your Highness. But there’s something I must tell you.”
With a snap of his fingers, a circular mirror appeared in front of Eve.
“A mirror..?”
“What you see now is the reason I find you intriguing, Your Highness.”
“What do you mean..?”
Reflected in the mirror was only her slightly gloomy expression.
“Since when did you start wearing such an expression? As far as I know, it started after you graduated from the academy.”
“Ah…”
“In the past, you were merely a doll. Princess Riss can be described as having barely any emotional changes, but unlike her, you have developed emotions. You can feel sadness, surprise, anger… and even joy.”
“That’s… true.”
“Such changes don’t happen easily in life. Especially for someone like you, who lived a doll-like life, to find the will to establish a faction and stake your claim… for this old man, it’s enough to make my eyes go wide.”
“It’s all thanks to… Zech.”
Remembering that this was all because of Zech, her face suddenly lit up like a lovesick girl.
“Hehe, this is a good time, indeed.”
Seeing that, Oz looked at Eve with a playful grin.
Meanwhile, a maid watched the two from a distance.
“….”
The maid sneaked away into a blind spot where no one could see and pulled a crystal ball from her pocket to contact someone.
-Report.
“Princess, I’ve found what you were looking for.”
-A person? An item?
“A person. And they are easy to approach.”
-Understood. I’ll return to the Imperial Palace as soon as possible.
“I’ll prepare things.”
-Understood.
-Click.
“…For the Princess.”
Meanwhile, after being chased by Baal for quite a while.
“Huff… huff… that crazy Baal..”
Exhausted, I finally collapsed on the ground.
“Bwa haha! I think we’ll call it a day here. I’ll carry you now, young master.”
“Sure… I can’t even move a finger right now.”
“Oh dear, it seems you need a few more years to become like Zech, young master.”
“With me training consistently since I was young and still looking like this, did you really think I’d become like my brother in such a short time?”
“That’s true. But it’s alright! The style like young master Zech is quite popular!”
“Yeah, right. I never even had a crush back in the academy.”
While I was complaining, Baal lifted me in a princess-carry.
“Tch, this kind of thing is usually reserved for pretty girls.”
“That’s true. Ah, Hero! Could you come here for a moment?”
“What?! Hey, Hero, why the sudden request?!”
Seriously, I’m in such an embarrassing position right now.
Before I could stop Baal, Laté appeared in front of us in an instant, as if summoned by the fact that I was the Hero.
“What’s going on? I was just watching you two train.”
“Our young master seems uncomfortable being carried by a plain bloke like me, so I was wondering if the beautiful Hero would take over for him!”
“Um, what?”
‘Ah, that crazy Baal.’
Covering my face with my hands as I trembled in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, Hero.. My Baal is just a crazy guy—”
“I understand. I’ll take him to his room.”
“Wait?! No, Hero, there’s no need to listen to Baal!”
“No, I actually have something to discuss with you in your room, so let’s go. Come on.”
“No, no, how could I possibly bother the Hero—”
“You’re the Hero, so it’s even more acceptable, right? Don’t worry.”
In the end, I was carried in the princess-carry style by Laté.
“There’s also something I want to talk about regarding your upcoming work, so let’s hurry.”
“This feels oddly familiar—”
Before I could finish, Laté lifted off the ground and zoomed away at a breakneck speed.
It was too fast for my body to handle, but…
“Don’t worry, I’ve set up a protective barrier. Now, let’s head to your room.”
“Ah, yeah… I guess that’s fine.”
Thanks to the barrier Laté set up, my body was safe.
Later…
“Phew… I can breathe now. Thanks, Hero.”
I can let the maid handle my clothes, but there’s no way I could let anyone else wash me, so I usually wash myself. But Baal’s brutal training left me so exhausted I nearly couldn’t manage it.
But who’s standing in front of me? The Hero.
After just one forehead touch, all the pain I’d felt in my body vanished, and I felt revitalized.
“I’m glad… really glad.”
Because of that, Laté fell back into her usual state.
“So, about the upcoming work?”
“Ah, yes, it’s about that…”
Laté, who had finished working on the cover for Betrayer Hero Volume 8, came up with an idea after hearing about my upcoming work while we were on vacation together.
‘Wouldn’t it build even more anticipation if the cover was included with every release rather than just when it’s done?’
Thinking it was a not-so-bad idea, Laté was eager to ask my opinion on it.
“Hmm.. not bad. In fact, I think it’s great.”
Because the titles of my books usually only had fancy fonts on the cover.
“Then let’s do that. But, if we awkwardly stop at a special edition for volume 8, the readers might not be too pleased.”
“Don’t worry. We have two more volumes to go, so we can finish them together easily.”
“Wow, as expected of the Hero.”
After all those works, my brain felt fried like an overheated computer.
“Oh, but now that I think of it, I decided to take that new book with me when I go back after the vacation. But Hero, you can’t draw it here, right? You came out to enjoy yourself.”
“Hehe, don’t worry. Just in case, I brought my drawing tools, so drawing one piece is entirely doable while enjoying my vacation! I’m just like you.”
“Then let’s do that. Should we start with the concept for volume 1 cover?”
“Sounds great. Based on the info you gave me earlier… ah, let me borrow some paper and a pen for a moment.”
-Scritch. Scritch.
Laté doodled a bit on the paper and then presented it to me.
“How about this composition? A feeling of falling from above.”
“Oh, this looks pretty good! If it’s falling from above, should the cloak flutter a bit, and what should we do with the arms?”
“When I actually fall from above, I hold onto the sword handle like this…”
For a while, Laté and I discussed the cover for the upcoming work in the room.
After chatting for quite some time, we had an awesome rough plan.
“…I can’t wait any longer. I’m jumping straight into the work.”
“Me too. When inspiration strikes, you gotta write, you know?”
Feeling the flow, Laté and I dived right into the work.