Chapter 119 This Is A Pure Love Novel That Depicts The True Way Of Loving!!
My brain refuses to understand.
It's an overwhelmingly strong mental rejection response.
I'm vomiting in the corner of my room, and finally, I turn to face Chloe.
"――OH MY GODDDD!! CHLOE, YOU WROTE THIS KIND OF THINGGG!!"
Inside Chloe's storage ring, there were a massive number of fan letters and unfinished manuscripts, all with the same author's name.
I'm not stupid enough not to realize this.
The fact that Chloe wrote this disgusting novel is already obvious.
So, I shouted with conviction and anger――,
"H-Huhhhhhh!? Where's the evidence that I wrote it!? It's just a coincidence that I found it at the bookstore and bought it!"
She's blushing bright red, her eyes welling up with tears, and she's about to cry.
"Don't lie to me!! Then what's with this unfinished manuscript!? What's going on here?"
"Th-th-th-that's, um, a hobby, a fan fiction novel of Lady Rose's series!"
"Then what's with all these fan letters!? It's all addressed to Lady Rose!?"
"...U-uugghhh...!!"
"I'm the one who should be crying!! And what's with this 'Sword Demon' thing!? You didn't model it after me, did you!? Ahh, no way!!"
"T-thwats...!!"
Chloe is crying and sniffling, tears and snot streaming down her face, and she says,
"I-I-I-it's okay, I-I-I-I wrote it in the book, so it's fine!!"
"What's written in the book?"
I ask, getting annoyed.
"T-t-this story is fiction. It has no relation to real people or organizations!!"
"......"
For some reason, Chloe looks proud of herself, puffing out her chest.
"......Hey, that's not the pointtt!! If someone reads this and finds out about me, they'll associate it with me!! That's the problemmm!!"
"Ah, no! I-I'm sworryy!?"
"Look at Io's state right now!! He's on the verge of becoming a shut-in, isn't he!!"
With a thud sound, Io slumped against the wall, sitting down with a vacant expression, drained of energy.
Io let out a weak laugh, "haha," and opened his mouth as if to whisper.
"This is the first time I've ever been humiliated like this..."
It's not just a novel modeled after me and probably Logan. The fan letter Io read out loud earlier, the book that contains that content is still lying on the floor.
The title is "The Legendary Three Heroes ~Love Desire's Trio~".
The models for the 3 heroes are probably Logan, Ail, and Io. ...All of them are guys, aren't they!!?
"Hey, reflect on your actions!!"
"Ahh, I'm sorry, I'm sworry!!"
"Damn it... Later, I'll file a strong complaint with the editorial department and get this entire book banned!!"
My anger hasn't subsided, but that's about all I can do in reality.
If possible, I'd like to recall the already sold copies, but it's unlikely we can recover the ones bought by individuals... We can only hope that not many copies have been sold... But there are a lot of fan letters, aren't there?!
As I scribbled my head in frustration, I started thinking about how to dispose of these demonic books.
Chloe was trembling, her face down, as if she couldn't bear the weight of her sin, but soon she lifted her face with a strong determination.
"――No way, I won't let you do that if it's out of print!! How can you say something so cruel?!"
"You're not reflecting on your actions at all, are you!!?"
"My work is awaited by tens of thousands of ladies around the world!! I'll resist your violent protests with all my might!!"
"Who's being violent? You're the one And tens of thousands, that's an exaggeration, isn't it? Are you really selling that much? That's a lie, isn't it!!"
"UGGHHHH!!"
"Io, snap out of it!!"
This is bad! Io's mental state is reaching its limit due to the shocking truth!!
But Chloe didn't care about that at all, and she fiercely argued back.
"You're saying this has nothing to do with real people?! This is a pure love novel that depicts the true way of loving!! And it's not about being ridiculous or embarrassing!! There's no force that can unfairly hinder the development of literature, and I'll fight against it with all my might!!!
Rattle, rattle, rattle!! Chloe's chair creaked as she got all riled up.
Her face was like that of a brave hero, with a determined gaze that dared to challenge the evil forces.
This, this person... doesn't show any signs of remorse at all! What are you going to do...?!
"If you can't understand it even when I say it out loud...!!"
"What, what will you do?! You can torture me all you want, but it won't change my mind!! My resolve is firm!!"
"What are you suddenly talking about?! You can't do that!!"
I couldn't help but burst out laughing at Chloe's ridiculous words, looking down at her with a smirk.
"From now on, I'll burn your book, fan letters, and unfinished manuscripts right in front of you...!!"
"No way!? Don't touch those things, please!! If you do, I'll never forgive you!! I'll publish a novel with your real name, including the worst chapter I've been keeping sealed away, and distribute it for free...!!"
"You're a demon, aren't you?!"
For a moment, I almost lost my resolve, but I'm not one to back down from threats. Chloe is currently in a situation where she can't do anything, so even if she barks, it's just a futile attempt.
I approached Fiona and Lady Eva, who were reading a book together, and held out my hand.
The book they were reading was "The Old Sword King and the Young Sword Demon". I'll start by burning this disgusting book.
"Hey, Fiona, can I borrow that book...?"
SLAP!!
"...what?"
Huh?
My hand was slapped away?
"......"
I tried to retrieve the book again, holding out my hand.
"Fiona, can I have the book...?"
SLAP!!
"......"
What's going on?
Fiona glared at me with a sharp gaze, as if shouting.
"Now, I'm right in the middle of reading!!"
"What's with you, anyway!? Don't read that kind of thing!! Hey, Lady Eva! You say something too!"
"...Mr. Aaron, as the daughter of a powerful family, I think it's my role to contribute to the development of culture and literature in the form of support..."
"Lady Eva!!"
Why are you suddenly acting like a rich patron of the arts?!
It's true that nobles and the like often become patrons of artists, but...
"Hehe, hehe..."
And for some reason, Chloe let out an uncomfortable laugh.
"Ms. Fiona, if it's okay with you, I'll lend you that book..."
"Huh? Is it okay?"
"Yes, I've got a couple of books as a donation..."
"...Sorry about that. Then, I'll take it without hesitation."
"Please, please do!"
"Don't say 'please' Fiona!!"
I tried to take away the demonic books that I should have burned, but I couldn't retrieve them due to Fiona and Lady Eva's fierce resistance.
All the books ended up being stored in Fiona and Lady Eva's storage rings.
* * *
"Ahem, it doesn't matter that Ms. Chloe was Lady Rose, anyway..."
Lady Eva's words, which felt somewhat off, led to the resumption of Chloe's belongings inspection.
And although we suffered a deep emotional wound, we finished inspecting all of our belongings... but unfortunately, we didn't find any evidence that linked to the mastermind.
"You're quite cautious, aren't you, Chloe?"
She didn't bring any evidence with her, did she?
"It's not about being cautious or anything!! I'm telling you, I have no connection to the mastermind!!"
"Ms. Chloe, can you prove that?"
Lady Eva asked.
"Proof, huh...? Um, well... I don't really get what's going on, but Mr. Aaron said earlier that I was a hostage? If I can prove that it wasn't me, will you believe me...?"
"Hmm... It's hard to believe, though..."
I think to myself.
The reasons I suspected Chloe were 2 major ones. One was that the Caduceus family was secretly selling materials from the Sky Floor and below, including the 'Wind Elemental Treant's Core', to distant countries. The other was that Chloe, who wasn't particularly close to me, was kidnapped and taken hostage in the Helheim Wilderness.
If the Caduceus family was behind it, it would've been much easier for them to use Chloe as a hostage instead of trying to kidnap someone else from the [Four Great Families of the Seals]. Plus, since we didn't have any prior connection, she was the perfect pawn to lure me out.
However, if the Chloe back then wasn't the same as the one in front of me now, it's possible that she's a member of the Caduceus family but not involved with the masterminds.
So, who was that Chloe, anyway?
(And I did sense the unique magical energy of the [Four Great Families of the Seals] from that Chloe, too...)
Even if they could prepare a perfect fake, they couldn't replicate the quality of that magical energy.
And that Chloe looked exactly like the real Chloe, after all.
Still, if we can prove that the Chloe back then and the current Chloe are different people, the reasons to doubt her would decrease significantly. We can't just assume she's involved with the masterminds simply because she's a member of the Caduceus family.
"Well, if you can prove it, then yeah..."
I nodded reluctantly.
"Then it's simple!"
Chloe said with a relieved expression.
"[Four Great Families of the Seals] members always leave behind detailed travel records when they go abroad, so please check them!"
"...Can't you guys just alter those records or something?"
I gave a skeptical look at the written words on paper, but Lady Eva's serious face told me otherwise.
"No, it's true that we can alter the information, but we can verify whether the information is true or not. ――Ms. Chloe, I'll confirm this, but you were on a business trip to the Urmut Empire, right? And you met with the local lords, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did go on a business trip to the empire. And I met with the lords on my way there and back."
"What route did you take?"
"Uh..."
Lady Eva asked Chloe, who then listed several place names in the empire.
After hearing Chloe's answers, Lady Eva nodded.
"If that's the case, we only need to check one place, right? I'll go check now. ――Ms. Glenda, please come with me."
"Aww, do I have to go confirm it too?"
"Of course, yes."
And so, off they went.
Wait, does that mean they're going all the way to the Lorentz border region of the empire now?
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