How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World-Chapter 424: Interception (2)

Due to Jin’s death, Hirt or Luminous and Mora grieved, causing a famine.

At first glance, it sounds like an absurd claim, almost like baseless slander.

However, the real issue is that people have actually started believing it.

In this world, the existence of gods is clear, so an oracle will likely be delivered before long, but that doesn’t mean I’m not uneasy.

If the gods even slightly affirm this claim, I’ll be in serious trouble.

More than anything, even I found myself thinking, Could it really be…?

Given the circumstances, heading to the temple was the obvious course of action.

But since it wasn’t urgent, I didn’t rush there as soon as I heard the news.

After all, it had been a long time since my whole family gathered together, and the atmosphere was warm and lively—I didn’t want to spoil it.

Besides, delaying by a day wouldn’t cause any major problems.

So, just as I was about to set off for the temple the next morning—

“Issac~!”

Cecily, the princess of Helium, who had informed me in advance that she would be arriving, had just reached our estate.

As I was waiting in my bedroom before heading out, she appeared as she opened the door.

I widened my eyes as I looked at her.

As always, she was dressed in a bold red-string dress that exposed her ample chest.

The deep valley of her cleavage commanded attention, making it impossible to look away.

With her arms wide open, she rushed toward me.

The sight of her two massive peaks bouncing up and down was truly a spectacle.

Thud!

For a brief moment, I was entranced by the overwhelming presence of her chest—until she suddenly threw her arms around me.

Only then did I come back to my senses and glance downward.

In my field of vision was her head, rubbing against my chest.

Her hair had a contradictory shine, appearing both dark and radiant—a fitting paradox.

The horns on her head were proof of her demonic lineage.

Lastly, a distinct peach-like scent, her unique fragrance, tickled my nose.

Her very presence stimulated all five of my senses.

“This scent and this firm chest… Yep, it’s definitely you, Issac. I really missed you.”

“…Have you been doing well?”

“Of course! Mmm~”

As Cecily continued rubbing her face against me, I chuckled and stroked her hair.

Not stopping there, I gently caressed her horns as well.

They were mostly red, except for the very tips—perhaps her mating cycle was approaching.

It seemed likely it would hit during the school break.

‘…This isn’t going to turn into another situation where she and Leona both come after me, right?’

That unsettling thought crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed it away.

For now, reconnecting with Cecily after so long was more important.

She hugged me tightly and swayed her body slightly.

I matched her movements, continuing to stroke her hair and horns.

Even this much should help alleviate a significant portion of her desires.

“Huaa… I feel like all the pent-up stress inside me is melting away… As expected of Issac.”

“You weren’t struggling or anything, right?”

“Not really… other than not being able to see you.”

After saying that, Cecily turned her head to the side.

She was now looking at Adelia, who was dressed for an outing and had been standing quietly beside us, watching the entire interaction.

Judging by her awkward smile, she must have felt a little embarrassed.

“Adel, have you been well?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“That’s good to hear. By the way, judging from your outfit, are you heading somewhere?”

Still clinging to me, Cecily casually asked her question.

I responded in Adelia’s place.

“Yeah, I was planning to visit the temple. I haven’t been there in a while, and I have a few things to ask.”

“I see. Then I’ll wait here at the estate. I heard Rina is here, too—where is she?”

“Rina is…”

After telling her where Rina was staying, we wrapped up our brief yet deep reunion.

“Since it’s been a while…”

Smack—

Just before parting, Cecily kissed me.

It wasn’t too deep, but it wasn’t light either.

Satisfied, she licked her lips seductively and gazed at me with a smoldering expression.

Her crimson eyes glowed with both desire and deep affection.

The soft, moist sensation lingered on my lips, momentarily leaving me speechless—until I eventually let out a small chuckle.

The ever-consistent yet unpredictable demon princess.

I reached out, touched her horns again, and spoke warmly.

“Sounds like you have a lot to talk about. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but wait for me.”

“Of course. Oh, right, speaking of the temple—where did Cardinal Kate go?”

Cecily seemed to have used magic to scan the estate and noticed Kate was missing.

Kate was supposed to stay by my side as a natural enemy of demon worshippers, so her absence must have seemed strange.

“Kate had some business to take care of, so she temporarily returned to her home country.

Since it’s winter break, I figured it was a good time to send her back. She said she’d return soon, so she’ll be back before the break is over.”

“Is that so? What about the others? I heard Queen Arwen might come too.”

“Mari and Leona will arrive within three days at the latest.

There’s no festival happening, and they’ve wrapped up their work, so they have plenty of free time.”

“No festival, huh…”

Cecily murmured as if in deep thought.

Then she glanced at me and smirked in a way that suggested mischief.

That was definitely her pranking mode face.

“Got it. Then I’ll be off.”

“I won’t be long.”

“No rush. Luminous might be fine, but Mora will definitely whine and keep you busy for a while. Take your time chatting.”

Unlike the reserved Luminous, Mora was talkative—too much so.

And the worst part? I couldn’t even deny it.

It had been a long time since I last visited the temple, and both gods were particularly fond of me.

Plus, Mora was just as unpredictable and mischievous as Cecily, if not more.

‘…If she brings up the gender-swap topic again, I’ll just describe her as an evil god.’

If she could read my mind, she probably wouldn’t even bring it up.

After Cecily left, I finished my preparations and set out with Adelia.

I didn’t need Kate’s protection here—at least not within my own territory.

Unlike other places, the temples of both Luminous and Mora were firmly established here, and the area was rich in divine energy.

Of course, if I walked around openly, I’d attract unnecessary attention, so I planned to wear a hood.

My red hair was far too eye-catching.

Adelia would be wearing a hood as well.

“Hm? Mother?”

“Oh, Issac.”

While walking down the hallway, I happened to run into my mother.

However, her outfit seemed… odd.

Or rather, she looked like she was dressed for a funeral.

She wore a black dress, and even her hat was adorned with black roses—anyone would assume she was heading to a memorial service.

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‘…She actually looks stunning in that.’

With her dark navy hair, the black ensemble suited her perfectly.

And her appearance? She could easily pass for her mid-to-late twenties.

“Where are you going? Did… someone in our family pass away?”

“Oh, no. It’s just that someone I knew has returned to Mora’s embrace. I’m attending the ceremony.”

“I see…”

I genuinely felt sympathy.

Judging by the connection to my mother, the deceased was likely a noble.

After noticing my and Adelia’s attire, she spoke in her usual gentle tone.

“Are you heading to the temple?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Oh, by the way, did you meet Princess Cecily? She arrived earlier.”

“Yeah, I just saw her.”

After a brief conversation, we resumed walking.

The temple was in the central plaza, so it wouldn’t take long to reach.

“…It’s really not true, right?”

[Of course. You know we can’t lie to you.]

That was enough to make me believe it.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I realized just how exhausting it had become to constantly verify things because of all the baseless accusations and strange incidents I had faced.

Of course, more than half of those were technically my fault, but I still felt wronged.

The most unfair accusation, without a doubt, had to be the claim about Cecily’s demonic transformation.

“I’m glad to hear that. Then, can I move on to my next question?”

[Go ahead.]

“Is Ariel a child who grows? Physically, I mean.”

It had been about four months since Ariel hatched from her egg.

Yet, perhaps because she was still a child—or because she was an angel—there were no visible signs of growth.

She looked exactly the same.

The little sprout on her head was still there, and while the wings on her back had become brighter, they hadn’t grown in size.

I started wondering if she might stay like this for years, but Luminous kindly explained.

[You don’t need to worry about that. Angels don’t have their minds follow their bodies; rather, their bodies follow their minds.]

“Their bodies follow their minds?”

[Yes. As her mind matures, her body will grow accordingly. And if she has a moment of enlightenment, her body will shine with light and suddenly grow.]

…Like some kind of Pokémon evolution?

Hearing that, I was reminded once again that angels were truly different beings—far beyond the understanding of mere mortals.

But that didn’t mean I could just relax.

Even full-grown adults often failed to mature mentally.

Raising her could end up being an extreme challenge.

It seemed I needed to pay even more attention to Ariel.

If she were to suddenly go astray, it would be a serious problem.

“…Do angels go through puberty, too?”

[Puberty is something all beings with personalities experience. Even transcendent beings are no exception.]

“Oh, great…”

Just imagining how intense an angel’s puberty might be was already making my head spin.

On top of that, she possessed immense power.

If things went wrong, the consequences could be disastrous.

Of course, trying to suppress her with force would be the worst possible approach.

If she ever ran away from home… I didn’t even want to think about it.

“…I understand. I’ll do my best.”

[You don’t need to worry too much. At her core, she is a fundamentally good child.]

“Thank you.”

That was a relief.

Sure, she might cause some trouble because she couldn’t control her power, but she wouldn’t do anything out of malice.

Everyone, including myself, knew this, which was why she received so much unconditional love.

Especially when she smiled so brightly after being showered with affection—it was like all the worries of the world melted away.

A truly magical sight.

“And my next question… As you know, Luminous, Zenon’s Biography is finished, so I plan to write the story I mentioned before.”

[Ah, that terrible war.]

“Yes. Will there be any side effects from writing about it?”

Luminous had told me before.

The moment I wrote about World War II, three dwarves would show up with a tank.

That tank, he had warned, would completely change the paradigm of warfare and shock countless people.

That was a year ago.

Considering all the major and minor events that had unfolded since then, I wondered if anything had changed.

Especially since three dwarves had indeed arrived at my territory—in a car, no less.

I still vividly remembered how shocked I was at the time.

Not to mention, they caused the first-ever recorded case of drunk driving and a traffic accident.

[Side effects, hmm… I’m not sure if I’d call it a side effect. If it becomes a problem, we can simply purify it with magic.]

“Magic really is overpowered.”

[I can hear you, you know.]

“Ah.”

It wasn’t like I had said it out loud.

I had just thought it to myself.

Feeling a bit awkward, I stayed silent.

Then, Luminous continued, explaining what he was most concerned about.

[As you already know, the dwarven nation of Machina is showing signs of an industrial revolution.

The invention of the steam engine using water pumps is just one example.

They’ve lacked the inspiration, but the moment you release that novel, they’ll start aggressively advancing their technology.]

“… …”

[But they likely have no awareness of environmental pollution.

They’ll only be mesmerized by the extreme technological advancements.

That’s what we’re concerned about—making sure they understand the consequences of pollution.]

‘Environmental pollution, huh…’

That was an easy point to understand.

When the industrial revolution happened in our world, for nearly 200 years, people barely paid attention to the environment.

They had no room to care.

All their focus was on technological progress.

Then came the world’s most devastating wars, pushing environmental concerns even further aside.

It wasn’t until a relatively peaceful era was reached that people became aware of pollution’s dangers—but by then, it was far too late.

The world had already become completely dependent on coal and oil.

Stopping carbon emissions wasn’t something that could be done gradually—it had to be halted immediately.

[Civilization advancing is a good thing. As gods, we take joy in the growth of mortals. But as children of the world, watching our mother fall ill is painful.]

“I understand what you mean. I’ll make sure to address environmental pollution in my writing as well.”

[Thank you. Oh, by the way, Mora will be a great help to you in writing this story. You should go see her now.]

“Mora?”

I wondered what kind of help she could provide.

Curious, I immediately headed toward Mora’s temple.

[Oh? You want my help?]

“…Mora.”

[You went to Luminous first. That’s your punishment. I refuse to help. Hmph. Hmph!]

The moment I connected with Mora, I was hit with her characteristic difficult personality.

[Oww! Why’d you hit me?! It was just a joke!]

“…”

[Fine, fine! I can’t even tease you a little… You just wait, I’ll get back at you later.]

“Pfft…“

Even though she grumbled, she let out a surprisingly cute sound—probably because Luminous had flicked her on the forehead or something.

I tried to hold back my laughter, but in the end, I couldn’t.

She kept muttering complaints as if venting to me.

Honestly, both Luminous and Mora felt incredibly human for gods.

[Sigh… If only I were the god of light. Then you would have come to me first instead of Luminous.]

“Can gods just choose their own domains?”

[No. We’re born into them.]

“What about Hirt?”

[Mother’s case is different. We were given our roles after birth, but she came into existence because of nature and life itself.]

A true creation myth befitting the mother goddess.

Most gods related to nature seemed to be born that way.

While listening to her, a thought suddenly struck me.

“Then… the ocean—”

[… …]

“…Wait, what was I about to ask?”

[Uh… I have no idea.]

For some reason, I couldn’t remember.

Frowning, I gave up trying to recall it.

If I had forgotten so quickly, it probably wasn’t important.

For now, I needed to find out how Mora planned to help me.