NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65: Writing Novels
In the first year, Castorice stayed in the mortal realm, traveling through every corner of Amphoreus with Lucian by her side.
Now that she possessed the complete Death Titan's divine authority, Castorice also revived some people along the journey—some were purely good, some were purely evil, and some were neither.
Of course, those evil ones were mercilessly slain by Lucian and cast into the nether realm.
During the journey, Lucian had a gut feeling that the script's completion conditions might be tied to Castorice's state of mind.
As for the specifics, he would have to wait and see.
Whenever the two of them passed through fields blooming with wildflowers, Castorice would sometimes insist on picking some, and when she did, her fingertips clumsily pinched the soft stems as she tried to weave them—awkward in her motions, yet wholly focused.
Lucian, on the other hand, would sit on the patch of grass, silently watching her with a faint smile. Ultimately, with his head slightly lowered, a flower crown would gently fall onto his hair, carrying the scent of fresh grass.
Every time this happened, Castorice quickly withdrew her hand, the tips of her elf-like ears tinged red as her gaze drifted toward the distant next city-state.
When they passed by a river, Lucian would always catch the fish himself while Castorice watched quietly from the side.
Afterward, as always, Lucian offered Castorice a piece of sizzling grilled fish he had cooked.
Castorice, already used to this routine, accepted without hesitation and took small bites, her eyes lighting up just a bit before she gave a light nod.
For Lucian, that single nod was already her highest praise.
===
Late at night, Lucian and Castorice stayed overnight near a city-state, each of them taking a wooden cabin that Lucian had created with the power of Abundance.
As Lucian lay on his bed while casually checking the System's panel, he noticed a letter slip through under his cabin door.
"Hmm?"
Lucian raised his eyebrows, then stood up, approached the door, and picked up the letter.
As he read the letter, with the ink surprisingly still wet, it turned out to be a cliché short story about a hero saving a princess from a dragon's jaws, with the ending being them living happily ever after.
Judging by the signature of a purple butterfly about to take flight, there was no need to guess who had written it.
"Well, well, I didn't know Cas liked to write a story..." Lucian muttered with a smile. "Did she write this for me? What a coincidence, I'm great at that."
Before transmigrating, he had read plenty of novels, after all.
After pondering for a moment, Lucian decided to show Castorice what it really meant to be a novel addict!
===
As the next day came, Lucian handed a stack of paper to Castorice.
"Cas, I wrote a story for you. Wanna read?"
Upon hearing this, Castorice accepted the stack of paper with eagerness, but the moment her eyes fell on the title, she froze.
The Overbearing Emanator Fell in Love With Me—For Castorice, whose understanding of stories was as mild as a hero saving a princess, this title was unbearably dazzling.
"How could you write something like this..." Castorice said softly, her pupils shrank like those of a startled butterfly.
As expected of the pure-hearted Castorice, her face instantly flushed just from reading such an exaggerated title.
In the next instant, Castorice turned and ran away, though she still carried Lucian's story with her.
Lucian silently watched her back, smiling mischievously yet gently.
===
Late at night, with everything gone silent, a sliver of light shone from beneath Castorice's cabin door.
At this moment, Castorice sat curled up at the head of her bed, flipping through a few papers with a focused gaze.
Needless to say, she was reading Lucian's story—The Overbearing Emanator Fell in Love With Me.
As she read further and further, Castorice noticed how the words were exaggerated and the plot utterly ridiculous, with the Emanator of Abundance portrayed as a wild and unruly man, while the Holy Maiden appeared as a pitiful and delicate woman.
Her breath quickened as she read, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her blanket.
"How... could he write like this..."
Her mouth uttered this, but Castorice's fingertips still slid to the next page, revealing none other than the hottest section of the story—the familiar battle details, the small habits only Lucian would know... all made her heartbeat lose its rhythm.
It went without saying that the story Lucian wrote was essentially a fanfiction of their journey, with her as the Holy Maiden and Lucian as the Emanator of Abundance.
Even though she had prepared herself, the more Castorice read, the more her heart raced out of control.
Soon enough, when Castorice read about the Emanator of Abundance domineeringly 'caring' for the Holy Maiden, she suddenly buried her face in her pillow. Her exposed elf-like ears were burning red, yet the corners of her lips betrayed a faint, sweet smile she just couldn't hide.
Just as Lucian expected, how could the pure-hearted Castorice, who lived in this ancient Greek-like era, possibly handle the shock of a modern, overbearing CEO-style romance kind of story?
Needless to say, she was bound to get hooked.
And yet, Castorice strangely never asked Lucian for the continuation.
===
A year went by in the blink of an eye.
At the start of the second year, Lucian and Castorice arrived in a grassy region.
However, since it had already been a year, it was time for Castorice to go work in the nether realm and let her younger sister come up for a year's rest.
"Take care of Polyxia for me. See you next year."
Looking reluctant to leave, Castorice waved her hand at Lucian, then headed for the nether realm through a purple portal.
Yet Polyxia actually didn't show up for two days, likely listening to her elder sister recount the past year's stories.
As a result, with no one suddenly by his side, Lucian suddenly felt an emptiness there, and a sense of loneliness spread.
"Boring... Now that the script's protagonist is gone, my life feels like it's lost its purpose..."
Lucian sat listlessly by the river, fishing with a bored expression.
"Guess I'll write some more stories and tease Cas with it next time..."
It just so happened that before transmigrating, he had read a lot of stories aimed at a female audience, and he still remembered some of them even after all this time.
In the end, Lucian gave up fishing and went back to the little wooden cabin he had built to start writing.
Just as he was reaching the climax of the story, Polyxia appeared behind him.
"Are you writing a story?" Polyxia asked while leaning over, full of interest.
As soon as she entered the wooden cabin, she saw Lucian writing furiously at the desk, apparently working on a story.
"I remember you like reading, right?" Lucian turned his head and asked with a smug grin. "Wanna take a look?"
Polyxia nodded firmly, stretched out her hands in a gesture of etiquette, waiting for him to give her the story draft.
Lucian cared little for such formality, so he handed his notebook over right away.
Staring at the notebook Lucian had given her, Polyxia stayed silent for a moment before flipping it open.
In that instant, she saw the title—Titan Flash Marriage: The Scheming Emanator's Deep Devotion.
"..."
Just the title alone left her stunned, because in all her life she had never encountered this kind of literature before.
In the past, she had only read classical works like The Oresteia Trilogy, The History of the Peloponnesian War, and The Epic of Homer, so seeing such an outlandish title now left her a bit flustered.
Yet deep down, she felt a strange urge to explore—she wanted to know what exactly 'deep devotion' meant.
Polyxia turned to the first page and started reading, then the second, then the third... she simply could not stop!
Meanwhile, as Polyxia was lost in reading, Lucian stayed at her side, watching her expressions and reactions. He was curious to see what kind of impact his original world's female-targeted web novels would have in another world.
However, after a while of observing Polyxia, Lucian's attention was gradually drawn to her figure.
Six years had passed, yet Polyxia was still so delicate and lovely.
Her fair skin looked impossibly soft to the touch.
Her jade-like feet looked so fresh and tempting.
Of course, Lucian had never tasted her feet, but he had touched them, so he assumed they must be delicious.
Just like Castorice, Polyxia was an extremely beautiful young woman, almost identical to Castorice, but Polyxia seemed quieter and more reserved—yet somehow, Castorice was the one with social anxiety.
'Gentle Castorice has social anxiety, so does that mean quiet Polyxia also hides some secret trait?'
Lucian stroked his chin thoughtfully as he gazed at Polyxia.
Soon, after Polyxia finished reading the story draft, she looked at Lucian with a longing, unsatisfied gaze.
"Could you... write a little more? I really want to keep reading..."
"Nope, only a bit each day. If I write too much, I'll go bald." Lucian waved his hand. "Besides, now my shoulders feel sore—I don't want to write anymore today."
As soon as these words fell, Polyxia suddenly stepped behind him and placed her slender, soft hands on his shoulders.
A gentle pressure slowly spread across his shoulders.
"I'll give you a massage, okay? Just write a little bit more... please..."
Lucian had to admit, compared to Castorice, Polyxia's voice was even softer, to the point he felt it was scratching an itch right in his heart.
"Fine..." Lucian sighed helplessly. "However, just one more chapter today."
Which men could possibly resist the sweet request of such a gentle woman?
As Lucian wrote the continuation of the story, Polyxia quietly stayed behind him, massaging his shoulders and back like an obedient little wife.
Half an hour later, Lucian finally satisfied this unfulfilled, not-so-young woman.
If the people of Amphoreus ever found out that the Titan of Death was willing to give someone massages just to read a novel, they would be utterly stunned.
===
As night came, in her cabin, Polyxia tossed and turned in bed.
At this moment, her mind was filled with scenes from Lucian's story, especially the part where the scheming Emanator pinned the Titan to the wall.
"Hahh... why do I crave that kind of scene..."
Polyxia sighed softly and muttered to herself as she recalled the story.
In her imagination, Lucian was that scheming Emanator, and she... was the Titan being pinned...
Just the thought of them being that close made Polyxia curl up, clamping her legs around the blanket, her hands covering her flushed face.
"I feel like I'm starting to get weird..."