To reprint! (2)

Kleio headed straight to the tram stop from the school.

‘I thought that the emphasis on public purpose would work best.’

He had told no lies in persuading Maria. The conquering king was a knight with ether, and so many similar knights were prevalent in the major provinces all around Lundane, so people’s trust in them was strong. However, many wizards avoided such activities, so ordinary people had few opportunities to see them.

‘Since graduates from the Defense Force’s university often end up in political positions, nobles and other powerful people know about them, but that has nothing to do with ordinary people.’

Many technologies in this world originated from magic, and mana stones were widely used in many fields. The role they played in society was massive, but their job wasn’t well-known.

‘From adjusting the clocks of each station on time to maintaining barriers… Those are the jobs of the wizards. If the basis for modern traffic and communication comes from a wizard, it will be huge.’

It wasn’t intentional, but Kleio was attracting attention for the next generation of talent in the field.

‘Even if I run off to play and eat, increasing the status of the occupational group I belong to will help in the long term.’

Moreover, now that Fran had completely pulled back from occult science, the role of magic in the future would inevitably expand. He didn’t want things to grow so serious, but he wanted to be prepared so he wouldn’t lose anything. For that reason, Kleio worked hard to persuade Maria without a word about money.

‘Scholarly-types with a sense of mission often cool down when talking about money. This strategy worked. She’s fully motivated, so she’ll send the first draft soon.’

Of course, he had no intention of cutting off her down-payment nor royalties. However, it would be better to talk about those things once the manuscript was delivered. Kleio calculated the amount of money he could move right away. Even calculating labor, production, logistics, and promotion, it seemed that it could be resolved without having to touch his government bonds or long-term deposits.

‘Wow, money is good. You can do whatever you want without having to struggle back and forth.’

Kleio’s steps were light. The day was sunny and warm after a long winter, and the streets were full of people. The quality of his clothes was good, but the design was modest, so no one spared a glance to Kleio, who wore a hat to hide his face. He checked the mailbox at the Xeon district postbox, finding only one short letter from Fran. Despite its short nature, the content was heavy.

Fran was still in the city of Pesseln, investigating the experiment undertaken on Geheim. In less than two months, he found what he believed to be the burnt down site, with the cooperation of the union members in Pesseln. However, the identity and whereabouts of ‘Four,’ the subordinate overseeing the experimentation, was still unknown.

‘Fran’s ability is no joke. It’s great he found all that out in such a short time, but he’s probably worn out by now.’

Indeed, if such a long-scale plot was taking place, it was amazing he was so quick to gather what information he already had.

‘Well, he’s incredibly tenacious so that he won’t tire out.’

The work was progressing faster than expected.

‘Before February, I need to order more mana stone silver bullets to be sent to Fran and find more useful magic tools in Grayer’s warehouses. It’ll be busy. Ah.’

The reason for Kleio’s rush was that while the spring semester started in April, there was a mandatory two-week field training he had to participate in during the winter vacation. Starting next month, he would be away from Lundane, which meant he wouldn’t be able to contact Fran as smoothly as if he were in the capital.

‘I want to avoid it with the excuse I’m still sick…’

The problem was that he couldn’t. The school’s field trip was an event that appeared in the last manuscript.

‘I don’t know what sort of uproar will happen in the future, but I’m glad they made the training groups the students requested.’

Zebedee emphasized friendship and harmony between students, so he had listened to the students’ wishes to be with their comrades. A good co-worker was a better partner than a good teacher, after all.

‘It makes the risk of Arthur wandering off or being ambushed alone less, so I should say thank you.’

There were few wizards or knights that could hurt him, but Kleio’s worries lay elsewhere.

‘There’s a high possibility that this winter will be when the demons awaken.’

On the verge of a new century, the people of Dernier, who regarded demons as beings of legends, would become accustomed to their existence as they attacked households and tore down train tracks.

‘The monster Varg appeared when they started awakening the very winter the first dungeon opened. Originally, Arthur would be twenty… The progress of the manuscript is about two years earlier.’

The training site assigned to Arthur and his friends was the Duchy of Tristein in the north. Since they were the best students in the 977th class, they were being sent to the most rugged area. There was no way to avoid it, and they would likely encounter a massive beast as they had in the last manuscript.

‘He’ll be a more terrifying beast than before. Ugh.’

It was the driving force behind why Kleio never skipped his etheric cycling even when playing hard at home.

‘If it shows up, there’s a good chance that the work won’t be solved within the originally planned training deadline.’

Kleio moved quickly. He had to inform Fran of what he had learned and tell him that the capital might be empty for several weeks. He entrusted the letter to John Bartleby, who ran a print shop, to deliver it to Fran. The letters Fran and Kleio sent to each other were sealed with wax mixed with mana stone crystals that had a spell cast on them, making them unable to be opened by anyone except the designated recipient.

‘It’s unlikely there will be someone with etheric sensitivity among the print deliverers. If I use the royal post office, it may be subject to censorship.’

They had to be cautious about security. Soon, a tram arrived at Kleio’s stop. Now, he had grown used to riding it and wasn’t as foolish as he was when he first rode it with Arthur and Isiel. The tram was bound to Xi’an. Before stopping at the Bartleby print shop, he first had an appointment with Dione. Kleio, getting off at St. Reservet Square, was able to find the Marone Coffee House quickly. It was the meeting place set by Dione, and she had already settled in the café that had opened at the end of last year.

The lady was impeccably beautiful today as well. Her brightly colored two-piece outfit was decorated with fine wrap buttons, but its neatness made her elegant beauty stand out. She was enjoying herself without any tension as the gazes of the men and women in the café were focused on her. She had a cheap novel with a blue cover, a half-empty coffee cup, a delicious cookie, and a cannoli with ricotta cheese and pistachio before her.

‘Indeed… that’s the Pedro-style dessert.’

It was a dessert that Mrs. Canton had made before, as she was sensitive to the latest trends in food and beverage. These days in Lundane, Pedro-style coffee and desserts were said to be gaining popularity. Kleio stood in the lively and colorful space for a moment before pulling out a chair and sitting down quietly as not to disturb Dione’s reading.

“Did you wait a long time, Lady Dione?”

“You’re here! Long time, what? I didn’t even know time was passing while I read Mrs. Morgan’s new work.”

“That’s fortunate, then.”

“Did your meeting with the author go well?”

“I received a very positive answer from my teacher. Of course, the contract must be signed to be completely decided… A verbal promise doesn’t mean much.”

“So, who the hell is it?”

“Professor Maria Gentile.”

Dione, closing her book, clapped loudly.

“Oh, the answer was right under my nose!”

“She decided to edit her first-year magic basics lecture book and release it for publication. So, the draft already exists.”

“Hoh, why didn’t I think of that? When I was a student, I didn’t think much about it, but now that I look back, her lectures were easy to understand.”

“Is that right? I’m going to get a testimonial for it, add a few metaphors and funny analogies like she does in class, and publish them as quickly as possible.”

“How did the young master who barely listens to the class come up with all that?”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“Haha, I don’t feel bad hearing that. Who do you intend to receive testimonials from? Master Zebedee?”

“Wouldn’t it be okay, since he’s the most renowned wizard?”

“Well, it’s okay, but wouldn’t the book atmosphere be fine? If you’re going to make it a topic at all, what’s about the recommendation of the crown prince? Put a portrait of him on the front page; then it will be a tremendous help in selling books.”

Kleio couldn’t even laugh at her joke. The problem was that the crown prince would be happy to supply a letter of recommendation if he asked for one.

‘Is it possible later…? No way.’

“Don’t say that even as a joke. Besides, he’s not even a wizard.”

“Oh, the daring master is so timid here. If there’s a problem, the recommendation letter can be subtracted from the reprint.”

Dione was convinced that there would be a reprint even though no contract had been written yet.

‘If Dione’s this excited, it will work out somehow.’

“I don’t want to be close to the crown prince, in any case.”

“Ahaha, he’s sensitive enough to enter the name in the publisher of the copyright.”

“Speaking of that, I would like to make the publisher a proxy. Could the publisher registration itself be delegated to Mr. Levy?”

There’s nothing that can’t be done if you pay the right cost. But why?”

“If a book sells well, it will grab the public’s attention as soon as it sells, and if it doesn’t, I’ll be admonished by my father for wasting money.”

“Wow, what’s new now… But I understand. Since I’m your partner, I’ll handle it as requested. Instead, leave the promotion to me. Once the manuscript is complete, we can start by serializing and make a reservation in advance…!”

“Yes… do everything you want.”

Kleio briefly conveyed the matters he had in mind to the excited Dione. Looking up the regulations, it wasn’t a big problem as the publisher registration itself cost only 150 dinars. Mr. Levy would identify the proofreader, while Kleio would organize, edit, and review the table of contents.

‘Dione and Levy will manage production and publicity, and I… just do what I normally do…’

The former editor, now wizard, was probably not a common person in this world, but he was also the right person for this job. Kleio, sipping at his cold coffee, put on the hat he took off.

“Then, let’s go in first. You also try to work.”

“Would you like to go with me when I call the carriage? The direction is the same as here.”

“No. I have to go to the east again. Please go ahead.”

Dione packed her books away with her head tilted.

“Oh, aren’t you going right back to the mansion?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, go with me too!”

“I have to stop by the print shop. It might hurt your clothes if you accompany me.”

Dione grabbed her bag and put her coat on, then proudly extended an arm to Kleio in a motion that said to escort her.

“What does that matter?”

“Why do you want to follow me to the print shop?”

“I have to figure out how things are going. You’re going to request a print. It’s easy to register as a publisher, but you already know that you need permission, right?”

“That’s right.”

As expected, Dione needed a crystal ball.

“Young master, you’re unexpectedly thorough. It would take at least a year to get a new print permit, so did you think it would be faster to go through a shop that owns a print production license? It seems that the shop also knows about it. By the way, as your business partner, I have an obligation to verify it.”

“Other than that, my personal business…”

“What personal business?’

People in the café were already looking at them. It was impossible to bring up Fran or Lake Nineveh in such a place.

“If you can’t give a good reason within three seconds, escort me.”

“Yes, I’ve lost. Let’s go.”

Kleio, his shoulders drooping, gently escorted Dione.