How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World

Chapter 332: Book 25 (2)

Compared to my family, my physical growth was slower, but I was far from being ‘weak.’ I had never experienced a dangerously high fever, nor did I suffer from minor illnesses.

Although this world has divine power, it still lacks advanced medical science, making it vulnerable to diseases. I’ve heard that there was a time when the empire was threatened by a plague.

The concept of ‘hygiene’ was understood early on, but biological sciences lag behind. However, aside from my mother, my family is generally healthy. Neither Dave, Nicole, nor my father have ever been seriously ill.

In fact, my father, due to his profession, often got injured by cold weapons or beastmen’s claws, exposing him to tetanus and other diseases. When he occasionally trains shirtless, his upper body is covered in scars, the most notable being claw marks from a beast.

Of course, as the captain of the Navy Knights, he would have had access to medical supplies. But the border areas where he served were literal frontlines. In my previous life, they could be compared to Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, or even Stalingrad—hellish places where soldiers were constantly being swept away.

Even with a solid supply line, such places often lacked sufficient supplies, including medicine. Despite this, my father never contracted tetanus or even a mild cold. In such entrenched battlefields, more people die slowly from disease and poor hygiene than from fighting.

Whether it’s due to inheriting a hero’s bloodline, our family’s physical constitution is exceptionally strong compared to others, in terms of immunity and potential. Even as my body grew robustly, I never fell ill. Furthermore, now that I receive plenty of divine power, I’m even further from being sick.

“Cough, cough. Ugh…”

But today, I have to retract that statement. After simultaneously connecting with Luminous and Mora at the temple, I collapsed as soon as I returned to the dormitory. Within less than an hour, my fever spiked rapidly, leaving me unable to move. The persistent cough that hurt my throat was a bonus.

“Are you alright?”

In a situation where even moving a finger was difficult, a beautiful voice pierced my ears. Struggling, I opened my eyes and turned my head.

Her hair as white as snow and her eyes as blue as sapphires. If she had wings on her back, she would truly look like an angel. I forced a smile as I looked at my fiancée, Marie, who was looking at me with a worried expression.

Despite feeling dizzy as if someone was messing with my head and my body burning like a furnace, I managed to smile.

“It’s tough, but I’m… cough!“

I tried to say I was fine, but a cough burst out. I had coughed so much that my throat was sore.

Swoosh

After finishing the bout of coughing, something was placed on my forehead. The cold sensation spread across my feverish forehead. Struggling, I opened my eyes and shifted my gaze to see Adelia in her maid uniform. It seemed she had placed a wet towel on my forehead to try to lower my fever with dedication and effort.

She was also looking at me with her sky-blue eyes full of concern. Her love for me was unrivaled, making her even more distressed.

Unfortunately, this fever wouldn’t go down easily. It wasn’t a simple fever caused by illness.

“Is he really okay?”

Marie asked again about my condition, but this time she directed the question to someone else, not me. The person she asked wasn’t Adelia, who was nursing me, but Kate, who had rushed over as soon as she heard I was ill. She had looked as if the world had collapsed when she saw me lying in bed, suffering.

“Yes. It’s just ‘divine fever’ caused by the clash of divine powers from Luminous and Mora. It’s definitely not an illness.”

Being a priestess, Kate had diagnosed my condition faster than anyone else. The diagnosis was divine fever. It’s similar to the spiritual afflictions that shamans experience.

However, here, divine fever occurs when one receives an excessive amount of divine power.

Even during divine revelations, not everyone receives them; only specific devotees, like priestesses, do. If an ordinary priest receives a revelation, they will suffer from divine fever. Even the Pope or Cardinals can receive revelations without much trouble, but even they sometimes receive vague revelations.

In other words, it is extremely rare for someone to have direct conversations and even be able to foresee the future like me.

“I also suffered from divine fever when Luminous bestowed his grace upon me. The traces of it remain on my body as stigmata.”

“I think I’ve heard about that. Don’t the incarnations also have stigmata?”

“That’s correct. However, that doesn’t mean I am an incarnation. An incarnation is literally when the gods borrow a mortal’s body to perform powers and miracles. Other than during the Devil War, there have been no recorded instances of incarnations.”

As Kate explained, incarnations only manifest when the world is on the brink of destruction. Historically, they have only appeared during the Devil War.

I wanted to say something in response to her explanation, but I was too exhausted to do so and could only listen quietly. Even sleeping was difficult because of my dizziness.

“Isaac mentioned that the divine powers of Luminous and Mora collided. What does that mean?”

“It’s simple. For some unknown reason, Isaac managed to connect with both of them simultaneously. It’s hard enough to handle one deity, let alone two at the same time, so it’s no wonder he is suffering from divine fever.”

“Both at the same time…”

“If it weren’t Isaac, any other person would have been consumed by holy fire. They probably wouldn’t even feel the pain.”

Would the fire be so quick that it would be painless? Burns are one of the most painful injuries, so not feeling pain seems impossible…

“Before that, their mind would collapse, leaving them in a vegetative state. They wouldn’t feel pain because they’d be incapable of it.”

That’s truly frightening. I ended up like this in less than a second. No wonder I had nosebleeds and dizziness.

Kate’s terrifying explanation gave me chills. If Luminous had delayed disconnecting even a bit longer, I can’t imagine what would have happened. Passing out would have been preferable.

“Then, will he recover?”

“There’s no need to worry. Although the divine powers of Luminous and Mora repel each other, they are descendants of Harte. Soon, they will gradually merge and stabilize.”

“Thank goodness…”

Marie sighed in relief at Kate’s explanation. Glancing to the side, I saw Adelia also had a similar expression of relief.

So, the only remaining question is whether to inform others about my current condition or keep it a secret. While I can handle all my basic needs within the dormitory, I cannot participate in any external activities. If my condition were to leak out, it would cause an enormous commotion, which is a bit concerning.

“Uh… Kate.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“When will I recover from this? Cough.”

I asked with difficulty. Given the severe fever and body aches, I didn’t expect a quick recovery. To make matters worse, I was also experiencing a sore throat, one of the symptoms of the flu. I hope it doesn’t get to the point where I start coughing up blood.

Kate pondered my question for a moment, then tilted her head as she replied.

“I’m not sure. I recovered in three days, but in your case, it’s a mix of divine powers from Luminous and Mora…”

“Three days? That long?”

“There’s no need to worry. I was in so much pain that I fainted, and three days just passed by.”

I wish she wouldn’t talk about it with a smile. I was about to voice that thought, but the pain made me swallow it back down. Still, it seems that fainting might be the best option for now, given how intense the pain is.

‘Once I recover…’

I’ll have to go to the temple and confront Luminous. More than confronting, I’ll demand an explanation. Actually, Mora’s interference caused more problems, but since Luminous provided the opportunity, both are to blame.

Perhaps they were scolded by Harte like last time. After all, their mistake nearly cost them a devoted follower.

But for now, the important issue is whether to inform others about my condition.

“So, should I… cough… inform others about my illness?”

“Let’s decide based on your condition. If you’re still the same tomorrow, we’ll have to let people know. It’s better than disappearing without a trace.”

“Before that, what you need is absolute rest. Don’t even think about getting out of bed for the time being.”

“Okay…”

I smiled faintly at their concern. My body felt hot enough to make me faint at any moment, but their genuine love and care made me feel a little more at ease.

Through my past life, I know well that being alone when you’re sick is the most sorrowful thing. The memories of feeling depressed because there was no one to complain to about my pain are deeply etched in my mind.

I wish I could reach out and touch their faces. The problem is, I don’t even have the strength to move a single finger.

‘After I sleep…’

I’ll probably feel better. I slowly closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness fade rather than the usual sleepiness. If I sleep deeply and wake up, I’ll probably feel better. As Kate mentioned, it might be better to faint for a few days until I fully recover.

Rumble rumble rumble—

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Something is vibrating…”

Just as I was about to fall asleep, a sudden vibration occurred.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

If only it weren’t an earthquake.

“What, what is this? Why is this happening all of a sudden?”

“I-it’s an earthquake! Quickly, we need to protect young master!”

Marie and Adelia, in a panic, fumbled around helplessly, unable to do anything in the face of the sudden quake. They tried their best to protect me, but I was unable to move a single finger.

Moreover, they had never experienced an earthquake before and didn’t know how to respond, focusing only on shielding me.

Rumble, rumble—

Fortunately, the earthquake lasted less than ten seconds before subsiding.

It seemed to be a light aftershock, but there were still some puzzling aspects.

In the nearly 500-year history of the Minerva Empire’s capital, earthquakes have been extremely rare.

‘Could it be that Harte is angry…’

Luminous and Mora had explained before that Harte, the goddess of nature, could cause natural disasters based on her emotional state. The recent earthquake felt like ‘anger.’ It wasn’t at the level of a volcanic eruption, which would signify ‘rage,’ but more like mild anger.

I chuckled at the memory of Mora being scolded by Hirt last time. I couldn’t help but imagine the twin siblings kneeling side by side, getting scolded by Hirt.

‘I’ll have to ask about it later…’

For now, I just wanted to sleep. As soon as the earthquake stopped, I quietly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Unlike Kate, who had fainted for three days, I only slept all day and woke up feeling better the next day. However, I experienced mild dehydration from sweating excessively.

Thankfully, thanks to the people taking care of me by my side, I was able to recover quickly. After being diagnosed again by Kate, I immediately headed to Luminous’s temple.

Of course, it was partly to question him about the recent events and also because I had some curious questions.

‘Don’t you have something to say to me?’

[…I apologize.]

‘The earthquake yesterday was because Harte was angry, right?’

[Mora and I were kneeling side by side, getting scolded.]

So it was true.

*****

After the release of Volume 25, which country experienced the biggest reaction? Scholars of anthropology and theology would certainly cause a commotion regardless of the nation. However, it was undoubtedly Alvenheim, or more precisely, the elven race itself, that faced a significant upheaval.

Originally, the myth surrounding the origin of the elves involved banishment due to pride, but Xenon’s Biography completely overturned this narrative. Instead of being banished, the elves tore off their own wings to make the world a better place—a deeply self-sacrificial and righteous mindset.

This new interpretation also explained the elves’ characteristic pride and why they were blessed by the gods. There were concerns that this could lead to increased nationalism and a resurgence of arrogance similar to the period before the race wars.

The newly established myth from Xenon’s Biography was enough to instill a sense of pride. The old myth, which depicted the elves as banished, was negative in many ways. Although it had always seemed somewhat contradictory, people had believed in it firmly.

But now, there’s a new, impressive myth: the elves were not banished; they tore off their own wings and descended. Even scholars, after several analyses, nodded in agreement, and the gods did not object in any way. If it were a completely unfounded myth, the gods would have directly refuted it.

Since myths are more sensitive than regular history, their silence implied tacit approval. In other words, the act of tearing off their wings and descending was indeed true.

[There was a reason we were blessed by the gods!]

[We are not banished! We are descendants of the great angels!]

Consequently, such voices began to grow louder within Alvenheim. If things had continued without any restraint, many problems could have arisen, but…

[Have you truly learned nothing from the race wars?]

[Distinguish clearly between arrogance and pride.]

[Our greatest enemy is none other than our own pride.]

Arwen’s warnings like the above helped to gradually quell the flames. Her words were undeniably correct.

However, even Arwen could do nothing about the pride instilled in the elves. That pride, or sense of superiority, was something even Arwen, being an elf herself, couldn’t completely escape.

Although she was a half-blood rather than a pureblood, she was practically the same as a pureblood. Elven traits manifest at least up to a quarter of their lineage.

Just as Cecily’s devilization followed the myth, Arwen wondered if she might also grow wings according to the myth…

“It’s not happening. I give up.”

After several attempts with no sign of wings or any change, she quickly gave up. The myth had changed, but unlike the devilization described in Xenon’s Biography, it didn’t mention anything about growing wings.

Unless the next volume features Lucifer with wings, a myth is just a myth. So, she let go of that idea and focused on state affairs. Being a half-blood made it easier for her to give up.

Knock, knock, knock—

At that moment, Arwen heard someone knocking on the office door. Without lifting her head, she spoke.

“Come in.”

With Arwen’s characteristic tone granting permission, the door opened cautiously, and an elf appeared. It was Keir, the bodyguard and chief secretary Arwen had selected. He stood quietly, waiting for her to lift her head.

“So, what brings you here?”

Arwen asked as she put down her quill. Given the busy situation caused by the hidden elven myth revealed in Volume 25, she intended to handle things quickly.

Keir, meeting Arwen’s silver-gray eyes, cleared his throat before speaking in a gentle voice.

“The item you requested has arrived.”

With those words,

“Is this really true!”

Arwen jumped up from her seat, shouting loudly. Her silver-gray eyes were wide open, and her expression was filled with surprise.

Keir, watching Arwen’s reaction in real-time, gave a subtle smile and nodded in affirmation.

“Yes. It’s on its way here right now.”

“Ah, understood. Finally…!”

Arwen clasped her hands together at her chest, her face filled with anticipation, like a child receiving a new toy. Seeing her reaction, Keir smiled softly before his expression turned curious.

“But what kind of item requires such materials? Silk made from the cocoons of silkworms that fed on the leaves of the World Tree? It’s hard to imagine what it could be.”

“Th-that doesn’t matter! More importantly…! Ahem.”

For some reason, Arwen’s face turned red. She hastily cleared her throat to change the subject.

After calming herself by tapping her chest, she gave Keir a resolute look and issued her instructions.

“…It’s time to make the announcement.”

“Announcement?”

“Yes.”

Only one task remained.

“It’s time to give Xenon a gift.”

It was time to give Isaac a special gift.

Translators note: