Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 76 - 67: After Finishing the Official Business

Chapter 76: Chapter 67: After Finishing the Official Business

The head of the National Publishing House in Carterburg was an old man with a white beard. His secretary led Malin and his companions into the office. The old man, wearing thick, black-framed glasses, gestured for the three to sit down and then motioned to his secretary to go to the liquor cabinet, "What would you like to drink?"

"Coffee, with two sugars," Faye chose.

"Sweet milk," said Maya, followed by a yawn. The little Cat Girl had found the journey here to be deadly dull and it looked like the boredom was going to continue. Plus, she couldn’t enjoy her brother petting her head to comfort her, and she was on the brink of boredom induced explosion.

"Black tea with a splash of brandy," Malin felt he should have some style, like ordering the special beverage of some admiral whose leg artery had been shattered by an assassin’s bullet.

"Children should not drink alcohol," the white-bearded gentleman remarked—not addressing Malin directly, but gesturing to his secretary to just make a cup of black tea, then he looked at Malin with an air of detachment. "Speaking of which, Mr. Yang Wenli, even though we’ve already met, the thought that the Holmes detective series was a collaboration between you and... Miss Philétte Liger, is still quite incredible."

Clearly, the white-bearded old man recognized Faye, but within the National Publishing House, only the president was allowed to know the author’s real name; all other communications were conducted under the author’s pen name.

"No, actually, it was all written by Yang Wenli alone. I just provided some information about the Central Administrative Province," said Faye, shaking her head with a smile.

"And this would be..." The old man was curious, noticing the addition of the little Leopard Girl from their last meeting.

"My sister, the model for the protagonist’s appearance. Don’t mind her," Malin finished speaking and pulled out a stack of manuscript pages from his bag: "This is the second volume, and the general direction of the third and fourth volumes. Please take a look," and then he placed them on the desk.

The old man took them and flipped through, reading with attention, which gave Malin the chance to sip his black tea.

After finishing, the old man put down the manuscripts, "You youngsters sure know how to give an old man a hard time."

Without a word, the secretary pulled out a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun from under her skirt.

Malin was full of question marks.

Faye looked at Malin, who was full of question marks.

Maya was too engrossed in her sweet milk to care.

The old man broadly gestured to stop his secretary’s rash behavior, "Dear Cinderella, put your gun away. The child has written an interesting story, and I was just expressing my astonishment quite normally."

The secretary smiled serenely, put away the shotgun, and left the office.

"I wish to write a story that can make readers feel warmth. Even though Miss Jane and Mr. Holmes are from opposing classes, and their actions are contradictory, their love is sincere and everlasting," Malin admitted he was moved by the love story of that giantess and human boy—he had heard that her father agreed to her final plea, allowing her to be buried with his remains.

Even granting the commoner boy a noble status in doing so.

Therefore, Malin was also speaking from heartfelt emotion.

"By the way, Mr. Yang Wenli, why did you choose to bring your two main characters together?"

Malin smiled and reached out his hand, taking Faye’s hand that was offered to him.

No words were needed, nor any explanations,

The old man smiled, did not press further, and set aside the manuscript in his hands, "The meeting is approved, and we will deliver the second volume of the manuscript to the printer within three days. The rest is up to us. You’re now a famous Author of Carterburg, so when are you planning a book signing event?"

"I have no such plans at the moment," Malin said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Oh, why is that?" The elderly man looked at Malin with some curiosity.

"Faye and I both feel that our current life is very good. We don’t need to add uncertain factors to each other’s lives, especially when the novels we write are selling so well."

"I see. If someone brings it up at the next author meeting, I’ll answer them just like that." After saying this, the old man looked at Malin again, "Mr. Yang Wenli, although you and Miss Faye are still young, as a senior in the novel publishing field, I still need to remind you that there are a few unwritten rules in the world of fiction."

"Please go ahead," Malin thought it would probably just be about keywords.

"First, you must not write the name of any sinister deity in your book; you can’t even make up a false name for a god. Only the names of the Rightful Gods may be written—you can even call upon the Rightful Gods by name," said the old man, looking at Malin and then adding, "Do you need me to explain?"

After pondering for a moment, Malin replied, "Sinister gods could sense when I call their names directly; false god names can also gather worship through Mortals’ fear, allowing the newly established divinity to be stolen by unknown sinister forces, while calling upon the Rightful Gods by name, as long as the act is just and honorable, I presume the Deities wouldn’t hold it against me."

"Indeed, you seem to have some understanding of theology, combined with the badge on your attire. I can hardly believe it. Is this what they call a prodigy?" the old man said with a sigh.

Faye smiled, and Malin shook his head, "No, Your Excellency, we are nothing more than Mortals. I remember a sage once said, Mortals must be conscious of their Mortality, not to accept their weaknesses and helplessness, but to understand their own flaws and strengths. Please continue, Your Excellency."

"Yes, let’s continue. Secondly, under no circumstances should your main character have any relationship with a different kind, except for killing," the old man added.

There was no need to think further, as Malin laughed and brought up a previous case, "On my way here, I saw a guy being dragged out because he wrote a story about ’a man who, due to a brain injury, sees normal people as different kind and different kind as normal people, and falls in love with a different kind.’

"He used to be a fine young man, and his love stories were not bad at all, but he crossed a line. I thought he wouldn’t be so foolish," the elder said with some regret.

"Every person feels faultless before being overwhelmed by traps and rules," Malin responded with a smile.

"You certainly don’t sound like a child, but there’s nothing more to say. Lastly, Spirits have a complicated relationship with humans. If you don’t have a Spirit pet, I personally advise you not to write such plots, as it might mislead children, considering not all Spirits understand human speech."

"No problem, sir," Malin nodded with a smile in agreement.

"Talking with a kid like you is so easy. Alright, little guy, I don’t keep anyone for dinner here, so if you want to leave, you can go now."

Since the old gentleman was sending him off, Malin naturally got up, leading the girls out of the office.

As he stepped out of the room, the old man asked, "Holmes and Moriarty, can they really come together?"

"They can, because I am the Author." Malin turned around, smiled, nodded in a bow, and then closed the office door behind him.