People often don’t notice something added to their daily life until it disappears, at which point they feel its absence acutely.
For instance, a web novel writer who used to update daily might not think much of it, but when they suddenly switch to a five-day schedule, it can be infuriating.
The residents of this other world were feeling exactly that way right now.
“Maes Hughes was truly a soldier.”
“Right? His final moments were perfect, both as a family man and a soldier.”
“Oh look, it’s raining again.”
Despite the clear sky, men were wiping tears from their eyes.
Passersby raised their eyebrows at this scene, but the men were completely oblivious, deeply engrossed in their own world.
“Skall was such a pitiful guy. He lived his life destroyed by homonculi, manipulated even in anger, right?”
“Wait, I can’t agree with that. He made innocent victims.”
“What? You can’t empathize at all, you piece of trash! Just like Kimblee!”
“Fuck you, let’s duel!”
Recently, arguments about the contents of Iron-Blooded Alchemist had spiked among them.
Since their perspectives were sensitive to different parts, they threw punches at each other to assert their beliefs.
If we consider how ancient Greek philosophers would end up brawling when discussions failed, this was a historically rich method of resolution.
However, the number of such people had markedly increased, filling the Empire’s temporary prison with those who fought over comic books, which was quite troublesome.
Moreover, even after being caught, they kept fighting, leaving no clue as to how to resolve the situation.
“Next… next volume will definitely mark the era of Alphonse Elric!”
“Nonsense! What has he got aside from breaking armor every time he appears? This time, the Flame Alchemist will awaken and teach those homonculi a lesson!”
“That’s not the point!! Why did Lieutenant Hawkeye only appear in one scene in volume three!!! Is this even reasonable?”
In truth, this commotion occurred each time a new volume was released, but this time it had intensified due to the significant delay noted at the end of the series regarding volume five.
Usually, even while arguing, excitement bubbled up near the release date of a new work, and counting the days became a recent joy in their lives.
“Hey, has the release date been confirmed?”
“The author’s health isn’t good, so I can’t tell you the release date.”
If there was a glimmer of hope, the readers of this other world would end up losing their minds in the abyss of indefinite postponements without knowing when it would come out.
“I’ve thought of a good plan!”
“What is it?!”
“With this method, we only need to wait one more day to see the next volume!”
The man’s eyes gleamed with the intensity of his idea.
In his hand, he grasped a hammer.
“Use this to smash my head.”
“What?”
“If I erase my memory before tonight ends, it’ll feel like the new volume comes out in just a day!”
“Genius!”
“Let’s go!!!”
It was indeed a method that would likely lose something far more precious than memory before the new work came out, but they were gradually losing their reason. Their dopamine-drained brains were craving a stronger dose of dopamine.
Sometimes, bored individuals would strive to read knight literature or historical books that originally existed in this world, but for some reason, they felt bland.
“Next volume!!! It’s an equal trade, author!!! I’ll give you my memory, so please give me the next volume!”
Today, like any other ordinary day in the Empire, a loud noise rang out, and someone collapsed.
“I’ll be purchasing two of all these items from here to here.”
A suspicious-looking man, cloaked in a thick robe, walked into the Somerset Goods Store.
However, it wasn’t unusual for some to disguise themselves as customers, so no one paid him any special attention until he placed a large order, attracting everyone’s interest.
-Is he crazy? The amount he’s buying would cost a fortune!
-Not just the price, but he also picked a limited edition figure that can only be bought by a Platinum Token customer?
-He must be clueless. A Platinum Token is incredibly hard to obtain.
Guests whispered to each other, their judgment sharp.
There were plenty of instances where people explored the Somerset Goods Store just for the fun of it but ended up humiliated after struggling with the pricing.
First off, the prices were extremely high.
The specially crafted figures, made by artisans stitch by stitch, were priced in gold, making it hard for even the nobles to buy them without careful consideration.
More importantly, to purchase such rare items, customers needed a Platinum Token at the minimum; some items even required a Gold Token.
Many had awkwardly turned away after realizing they didn’t have the right token to buy.
“Excuse me, but these items can only be bought by customers with a Platinum Token or higher. Could you please show me your token?”
Tap.
The man calmly showed a brightly glowing token he pulled from his robe.
“Gasp! It’s real!!!”
“I’ve never seen a real Platinum Token before!”
“What an impressive figure! They say you need to uproot a pillar from a noble family to receive a Platinum Token.”
The store suddenly buzzed again as everyone gasped at the Platinum Token produced by the man.
However, unaffected by the reaction around him, the man calmly looked at the items and quietly asked the attendant packing his orders,
“Can this figure’s clothing be removed?”
“Huh? Um, I’m not quite sure about that…”
Maybe it was such an unexpected question?
The attendant was flustered and couldn’t respond properly, but the man seemed dissatisfied with the attendant’s answer and started lifting the figure, examining it from various angles.
“What a shame. In my memory, Windy’s thigh area was a bit slimmer than this. The details are rather lackluster.”
He rambled on about the costume from volume three, stating that the accuracy was off and that the sleeves shouldn’t be folded twice but three times instead.
Listening to him seemed like a brain cell was being destroyed with every word.
The female attendant had already taken a step back from him.
Yet the reactions of the surrounding guests were slightly different.
-Who is that guy? Impressive!
-Right? Knowing that detail means nobody aside from our Iron-Blooded Guild could have that information.
-I acknowledge that. That guy’s the real deal.
It was rare for someone to show up at the goods store without being a fervent fan of the original work.
Occasionally, a wealthy person would blindly purchase items without even knowing their value, but those who thought of themselves as true fans saw these purchases as close to their nemesis.
However, this man knew not only as much as they did but much more and astounded them when he pointed out things they missed.
Of course, the fact that most of the figures he was buying were female characters raised a slight suspicion, but that was just a personal preference, wasn’t it?
They would have chosen the female character if they could buy just one.
“That should be enough.”
As the man who had swept away a section of figures declared with satisfaction, everyone thought that was it.
But he turned around and headed to the section for Kingdom of Ice goods.
“I’ll take these from here to here too, pack them up.”
His shopping had only just begun.
*
“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince, the future of the Empire!”
In front of the main gate of Somerset Mansion.
Even the soldiers who had just been appointed and began their service, along with the House’s attendants—from the family head to Rupert—were kneeling on one knee, directing extreme courtesy towards one person.
“Rise. I’m intruding on you unexpectedly.”
“Not at all, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Just your presence here is an honor for our family.”
Though it had become customary for Rupert to handle the reception of guests visiting the mansion, this time, it could only be the family head, Count Bradley, who stepped forward to greet.
“Dad!! This uncle saved Aida!!”
Aida, cradled in the Crown Prince’s arms, waved cheerfully at Count Bradley with a bright smile.
However, contrary to the innocent grin on Aida’s face, the Count and the mansion’s occupants were ghostly pale.
First off, the glaring vacancy of the Crown Prince’s right arm was a shocking event.
Why was Aida nestled against the remaining left arm of the Crown Prince?
And calling him ‘uncle’—that was utterly blasphemous, a title light-years away from something appropriate for the Crown Prince.
If the Crown Prince took offense, there would be no excuse for this insult under the crime of royal disrepute.
However,
“If I had my right arm, I would have pinched her cheeks.”
“Noooo! I hate it!”
The Crown Prince looked fondly at Aida as if he wasn’t offended at all, while Aida buried her face into him, shaking her head.
To an outsider, it could seem like Rupert and the Crown Prince were brothers, with Aida being the lovely sibling.
“Rupert.”
After playing with Aida for a moment, the Crown Prince was about to say why he had come.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You’ve worked hard. You can rest easy now.”
The Crown Prince, approaching the kneeling Rupert and patting him on the shoulder in a compassionate tone, looked like a scene straight out of a novel about a lord and a knight.
Yet Rupert could think of only one thing.
‘What in the world is this situation!’
(TN: This might sound selfish, but I wonder if this series could get more than 200 votes by the end of this month?)
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