/
Chapter 65 – Before the Storm (3)
March 25th, 2023
[Xenon’s Biography Volume 10. Only one day left until release.]
News that the release date for Xenon’s Biography has been set by the publisher was reported in the newspaper. Other than that, there wasn’t much news to report.
It seems like the publisher wants to let everyone know that I will be taking a break on the day that Xenon’s Biography is released. But that’s not really my concern.
When you finish everything, you tend to feel more relaxed. After finishing exams, I happily attended lectures and then enjoyed a peaceful date with Marie.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m just fooling around. There’s still about a month left until summer vacation, and final exams are still ahead.
Fortunately, there isn’t much group work to do, and it’s not that important anyway. I’m not really interested in getting a scholarship, and as long as I avoid failing, I’m good.
Above all, the Halo Academy can be considered to truly begin from the third grade. Even if you barely pass your classes, if you receive a recommendation from a specific professor, you can still move up.
“As soon as your first year is over, come see me. I’ll write you a recommendation letter.”
Like Professor Elena, who likes me.
As always, while I was teaching writing to Cindy in the lab, Elena spoke up during a brief break.
To this, I blinked in disbelief as I swirled the tea that Cindy had made for me.
“A recommendation letter?”
“Yep. A recommendation letter.”
The value of a recommendation letter written by a professor’s own hand at the Halo Academy is truly great.
Slightly exaggerating, even if your grades are a mess until your second year, you can still advance to the third year.
However, there is one condition here: the professor who writes the recommendation letter must be in charge of your major, and your grades in that major must be good.
However, because the recommendation letter is something that the professor has to take ‘responsibility’ for, it cannot be abused. In other words, the professor must choose the best of the best from among the talented individuals.
Elena is also likely to have said such words to me for the above reasons. It’s a slightly bewildering story for me.
“I’m still a freshman who hasn’t even had a vacation yet. Aren’t you in a hurry?”
“To others, it may seem so. But lately, there are few students like you who are passionate about history. By the way, I’m not talking about human standards, but my standards.”
Since it was Elena, an elf, who said that, the weight of her words was completely different. How rare it is for someone to be interested in history.
Anyway, it’s true that Professor Elena has a great interest in me. As someone who loves history, it’s a happy thing for me. It was like dying, having to study another major when I had already established a clear path, but now I can lighten the load a bit.
“Well, that’s good. It’s not like it’s a different major, it’s history.”
“That’s fortunate. By the way, the recommendation letter I wrote for you will be quite different. I can even take you to Alvenheim under my guidance.”
“Alvenheim?”
I widened my eyes at the story Professor Elena brought up.
As I mentioned before, Alvenheim is the elven kingdom and the place where the first civilization was established. The capital, “Yggdrasil,” contains the world tree, which is a holy site, and as the place where the first civilization was established, it is a place where living history breathes.
“Yeah, it’s the Alvenheim you know. If you want, you can visit during the vacation period.”
“Isn’t it really difficult to go through the immigration process for Alvenheim?”
After the racial war, Alvenheim opened up its borders, but it still boasts a strict entry process. To the extent that even civilians have to be directly certified at the national level to visit once.
From the perspective of the elves, it is natural not to like humans who try to imitate everything from one to ten despite lacking civilization. Moreover, they fought bloodshed with humans even during the racial war.
Professor Elena nodded her head to my question and opened her mouth while taking a sip of the tea that Cindy had brought, just like me.
“Right. As you said, it’s a hassle for humans to enter Alvenheim. But it’s a different story if you’re with me. Elves are merciful only to those we acknowledge. We grant them qualifications as a sign of nobility, as much as we recognize them ourselves.”
“Well
”
“Yeah, it’s a really elf-like mindset. Even after suffering a lot in the racial war, it’s still the same.”
Professor Elena, who was an elf herself, fiercely criticized the elves. With nothing much to say, I responded with a wry smile.
“Anyway, if you get my recommendation, you can visit Alvenheim. I plan to take you there later.”
“I’m not that outstanding of a student, though
”
“Yeah. You may not be as outstanding as I think you are. But your love for history is sincere, right? And you think deeply and speak well. You said history repeats itself, right?”
Professor Elena pulled out my answer sheet from the history exam and read it out loud. I met her shining emerald eyes over her glasses.
Although I felt guilty for just copying and pasting famous quotes from my past life, there wouldn’t be much meaning in saying this now. Silence is the only answer at this moment.
Professor Elena seemed to have taken my silence as a different meaning and let out a subtle laugh.
“Seeing that made me think a lot. There have been countless times when history has repeated itself as you wrote on your answer sheet. Then why does history repeat itself? What do you think?”
“Well, honestly, I’m not sure either. When you look at history, there always seems to be a similar pattern. For example, if you examine the process that leads to war, it’s surprisingly similar. Countries engage in conflicts with each other, and if they can’t resolve them, it often ends in war.”
In fact, if you look at wars between countries throughout history, there are often similar reasons behind them. If you delve into the details, there may be various factors, but ultimately, war is an extension of politics.
Someone can come up with an unreasonable excuse due to their greed, or a major incident that angers the whole nation can trigger a war. War is not an easy decision, but ironically, it is often the simplest way to resolve complex issues. Even in a highly civilized society, wars used to break out easily in the past.
“And just because it’s a war doesn’t mean that only military force is used. The cultural conflict that erupted between the Minerva Empire and the Ters Kingdom can also be considered a type of war. When it intensifies, it degenerates into violence.”
“Well, there is certainly some logic to that. The racial war was also a war that arose from cultural differences.”
Professor Elena nodded her head as if she understood my explanation. While there were several major incidents that led to the outbreak of the racial war, it fundamentally arose due to cultural differences.
Elves didn’t have much power, but they didn’t like humans who were greedy, and humans didn’t like the elves who looked down on them while pretending to be noble. These ideological differences gradually became magnified, leading to the outbreak of the racial war.
Since then, numerous casualties have occurred on both sides, and although the war ended, the after-effects still remain.
“Then what do you think is the most likely war to break out at present?”
“Hmm
”
I looked up at Professor Elena’s question and thought carefully. Currently, there are various countries in this world, each with their own unique culture and characteristics.
This has led to conflicts in many ways, but it is relatively peaceful. There are no real problems to speak of, nor are there any areas of contention to hold onto.
If there were any, it would be the Minerva Empire and the Ters Kingdom. These two countries have been arguing with each other over their respective cultures until recently.
Of course, this wouldn’t lead to war. If they were going to invade each other’s cultures seriously, they would have to come up with some ridiculous excuses in the first place.
“I’m not sure. What do you think, Professor Elena?”
“Well, there is one thing. It could be called a war, but at its core is Xenon’s Biography.”
“Huh?”
Why would Xenon’s Biography be mentioned out of the blue while discussing war?
As I wondered silently, Professor Elena took a sip of her tea. She seemed sincere from her serious expression.
“As you know, Xenon’s Biography is rampant not only among humans but also among races all over the world. The problem here is that it’s not just popular in a particular country, but it’s a problem that doesn’t discriminate against any nation.”
“Just because of a single book, there’s a war?”
I know how great my value is, as people around me have told me so. It’s strange if I don’t know that.
“But I feel like the war is too serious of a word.”
“I’m not talking about the book, I’m talking about the author who wrote it. The publisher that made a contract for Xenon’s Biography is based in the Minerva Empire, but they’re not completely dependent on them. Even if Xenon’s Biography is distributed outside of the Minerva Empire, they can’t impose tariffs. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ah, so if an author is dependent on a particular country, in some cases that country can impose tariffs on Xenon’s Biography?”
Even in war, trade wars can have a devastating economic impact without resorting to violence. It may seem funny to impose tariffs on something like books, but if a country takes action, the situation changes.
Imposing tariffs on specific goods can sometimes completely block their distribution. If that happens, it’s easy to imagine what the results will be.
“Right. The moment a country imposes tariffs, it will experience significant economic growth. There’s no need to mention the diplomatic benefits.”
“Hmm
”
“Think about imposing tariffs on items that cost less than three silver coins each. Tariffs are a bit complicated.”
To be honest, I don’t fully understand it.
As Marie also said, my value is so formidable that even the empire can’t easily touch it. In fact, I heard that the Minerva Empire and the Ters Kingdom are engaged in an underground struggle.
“It’s just my thoughts, so you don’t have to take them too seriously. It’s true that Xenon’s Biography earns a tremendous amount of profit commercially, but it’s only a small part of its export products. Besides, if the author keeps hiding his identity like now, there won’t be any problems.”
“
 
”
“As you know, wars break out for all sorts of strange reasons. If the opposing forces are evenly matched, the situation will only become worse.”
There have been times when wars broke out over a soccer game in past lives, and conversely, there have been times when wars stopped because of a soccer game.
When Cote d’Ivoire qualified for the World Cup, Drogba knelt in front of the camera and appealed for the war to stop. Surprisingly, the civil war that had been plaguing the country stopped. Even a soccer player can wield that much influence, so it’s not impossible for a country to do so.
If a war really breaks out, I’ll be too anxious to write anything. Of course, if it’s just a trade war, I’ll watch and only appeal when there’s a direct military clash. Alternatively, I could publish a war-related novel to raise awareness of the disaster of war. With my global popularity, I could help ease minor conflicts between countries.
‘Anyway, I need a break.’
I need to take a break too. I’ll travel here and there while I’m at it.
About a day passed by in peace.
[Finally, the 10th volume of Xenon’s Biography is released. But
]
[Shock! Xenon’s Biography goes on hiatus for at least a year and a half! Fans are stunned.]
[Crowds of people are starting to flock to the current publisher
 urgently demanding an explanation.]
[Meaningful phrase written in the words of the writer. What happened to the writer ‘Xenon’? Could it be the work of a noble?]
In less than two days, a fierce storm hit the world.
“Wow.”
This is a bit unexpected.
Translators note:
He really should start expetcing this stuff.