Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 124



Only Noblemtl

124.

A light shower passed around evening.

Luckily, Alexa and I were eating at a nearby restaurant at the time. A sudden downpour soaked the asphalt, and we parted ways after dinner without doing anything else.

After dropping Alexa off at the bus stop, I turned around and walked for a bit.

The water on the floor was rippling. The neon signs reflected it, making the street seem brighter.

‘Good.’

I was overcome by a pleasant fatigue.

After finishing organizing the entrance exam documents, I went to a nearby department store with Alexa for a quick shopping trip. Alexa bought a T-shirt, and I bought a new fountain pen ink, and we filled our bellies with dinner.

In that situation, my steps naturally led me to the Kittens Comic Book Store.

“Oh, God.”

The first person to greet me there was Bill, the comic book master.

‘I feel like I’m in the store more often than the owner, Kitten.’

It seemed somewhat ironic that he didn’t work at this comic book store. I heard that he was paid for his time looking after the store like this, so I guess it would be okay to call it Bill and Kittens Comic Book Store.

Bill, who was reading an issue of Marvel Comics superhero Namor (a slightly more M-shaped balding version of Aquaman), looked up at the sound of the door creaking and greeted me with a smile.

“It’s been a while.”

“I came to buy some books.”

“Haha, I thought you might come, so I prepared something.”

“······.”

He really looks like a store owner.

And if you take the subject of the conversation out, ‘book,’ it feels like you’re making a very risky deal.

‘Not bad.’

They say that good books are sometimes dangerous, to the point where they can change people’s thoughts, ideas, and hearts.

And I don’t think the novel I wrote was that good of a book, but I’m sure it gave people enjoyment.

Bill pulled a book out from under the counter and held it out to me.

After being released one volume at a time over the course of four months, the fourth volume of ‘Princess Quest’ has finally been completed today.

The cover illustration was done by future Meister Denzel Flair at my request, and he drew it in a style that emphasized delicate and thin aesthetic forms. It felt similar to the early illustrations of the famous Japanese RPG game, the ‘Final Fantasy series’. If I were to find a difference, it felt like the lines were a bit thicker and more powerful than that picture.

A beautiful picture of Claire and Jaina standing as if they were crossing each other, with light and darkness intertwined behind them. It really showed me why I chose Denzel Flair and why I should go with him from now on.

After finishing my calculations, I took Volume 4 of ‘Princess Quest’ and went home.

Guns and Sword magazine sent me books, but I also made it a habit to buy my own books separately, because it made me feel like they were cherishing my writing.

After taking the bus home, saying goodbye to my mother who was happily watching TV, and going up to the second floor, I unpacked my bags and opened the packaging for volume 4 of ‘Princess Quest’.

I flipped through the pages lightly, checking to see if there were any rough edges or if the content of the additional short stories was good, and then put it back on the bookshelf.

“Phew.”

And I just stared at it.

‘Mother’, ‘Double spy’, ‘Princess quest’.

I have collected and displayed here all the actual novels and related products that I have written so far. I have carried out media franchise contracts in different forms for each work, so the number is quite large.

Especially in the case of ‘Double Spy’, the comics were still being serialized. Not long ago, Carl even went to space at the end of his mission. I wondered when it would ever end, but it was still so popular that Heaven’s Comics seemed unwilling to end the serialization easily.

Also, ‘Princess Quest’ was included in KOG’s new rulebook, so even if I didn’t write anything more, countless users who enjoy TRPGs would continue to create stories about it.

It was truly an honor.

‘I don’t want to write novels anymore.’ That thought had long since disappeared.

Also, my obsession with writing about Asians like me as the main character has largely disappeared. Perhaps it is because I have come to realize that I am a being who cannot be defined by just skin color.

‘Actually, I still get a little annoyed when I see articles that discriminate against Asians.’

But that’s their perception, and I thought I should write according to my perception.

Because people have been very accepting of my writing as well.

I don’t know if I’ll write a story with a Korean-American protagonist in the future, but I think it’ll only happen if the material fits well with the story. If I were to sacrifice other aspects to write an Asian protagonist, that would be like putting the cart before the horse.

‘Well, I guess that’s not the case so far.’

I plan to be a little more conscious of that part in the future.

And for that ‘later day’, I really thought a lot.

This was a significant part of my worries.

‘What should I do after graduating from high school?’

It started with whether or not to go to college.

In my previous life, I majored in education at California State University and became a teacher. In other words, I chose my major for my career.

But now things were completely different. I was a writer, and I had no need to go to college to pursue a career.

So, while I was making up my mind not to go, this thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Isn’t the reason for going to college not just about ‘choosing a career path’?’

As was the case in my previous life, the reason I went to college was to study at a higher level.

And in that sense, going to college was the right thing to do. It was 1984. Information was only available to a limited number of people in an extremely limited space.

So, one more question here.

‘What kind of advanced studies should I do? Is it necessary?’

I asked my feelings.

A famous and successful writer in California. That kind of life would be pretty good. Since I have the skills from my previous life, if I continue to write like I do now, I won’t have to worry about money in the future, and if I invest in companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google when the time comes, I can easily become rich.

‘There’s also Bitcoin.’

That would be after I’m all old, though.

‘But is that okay?’

I asked myself seriously.

What kind of writing do you want to do? What kind of writer do you want to be?

Do you want to be recognized for writing quality genre fiction that will win you a Hugo, Nebula, or Locus Award? Or do you want to connect more deeply with the general public by publishing consistently in newspapers or Guns and Sword magazines?

I thought deeply about it for quite some time.

It wasn’t just a recent issue. It was a concern that started when I first wrote ‘Mother’.

Since I was given one more life, I didn’t want to waste it. My current life is probably something everyone wants so badly. If possible, I wanted to become the best version of myself I could possibly be.

As a result, I decided to go to college.

I felt that in order to achieve my dream of becoming the best, it was important to further develop my knowledge. Starting with a proper study of literature, to areas that are hot potatoes for people at the moment, such as space, physics, and robots, I definitely had to go to college to learn them properly.

Now, the last thing that remains is which college to choose.

During my three years in high school, I had consistently gotten top grades, to the point where I thought it would be hard to get any better than that. On top of that, I had enough ‘SEEN’ experience in extracurricular activities, so I was in a situation where I could literally ‘choose’ the university I wanted to go to.

‘That doesn’t mean I’ll let my guard down though.’

I chose four universities based on various pamphlets I saw at school and memories from my past life, and I planned to apply to each of them.

The final decision can be made after confirming whether or not you have passed.

‘good.’

All that was left was to go to school tomorrow and check with the teacher in charge.

***

Mrs. Benaway was a teacher who tried to treat all her students fairly and without discrimination. However, as is often the case with humans, there were some students who stood out and were talked to more.

And of course, her most cherished and favorite student was ‘Shin Han’.

Shin Han.

A Korean-American boy who showed off his fantastic writing skills during Mrs. Benaway’s writing class.

He had a gentle and neat impression, was tall, and spoke very nicely, so sometimes he seemed mature enough not to look his age.

But the admission documents he brought today left Benaway perplexed.

“······god?”

“Yes, Mrs. Benaway.”

“Did someone edit this document?”

“No, I did it myself.”

“You yourself?”

Benaway’s eyes widened.

It couldn’t be otherwise. The entrance exam documents that God had created were so perfect that even she herself couldn’t have made them. From the self-introduction to the various sections that organized her resume, they were neat and tidy enough that even she, who boasted a long career as a teacher, was impressed.

“That’s strange. Usually, kids get stuck just figuring out how to make it.”

As he was flipping through the papers with interest, Benaway’s face hardened like stone.

And for a moment, her empty eyes, lost for where to go, looked at the boy standing in front of her.

“SEEN······?”

“Could you keep that part a secret for now?”

Shin smiled awkwardly and asked in a small voice. As I was writing my application documents, I had no choice but to write about my external activities, namely my career as a ‘writer’.

When Benaway suddenly learned that the boy in front of him was the author of ‘Mother’ and ‘Double Spy’, which shook California, he felt that the information in his head was not being properly put together.

“Huh? Huh······? I really enjoyed watching ‘Mother’?”

“Ha, haha, of course I do too!”

“Sign later?”

“Ah, yes! I’ll sign it before I mail it!”

A god who somehow manages to buy time by changing the subject until she calms down.

Benaway was in a daze for a while, taking out pens and papers from a drawer and putting them back in. When she finally came to her senses, she asked a very reasonable question.

“Really, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Yeah, um. I never thought you’d lie about something like this… Huh?!”

Benaway let out a single scream.

Several teachers around her looked around, but she paid no attention to such things and stared intently at the letter of recommendation included at the very end of the documents, unable to contain her shock.

A letter of recommendation from author Glenda Hoffman, who is currently considered a god to women in their 30s and older.

Plus, on the back page is an official letter of recommendation from the Los Angeles Times.

There were two letters of recommendation required for admission, one from outside the school and one from inside the school. Of these, the one that most students had trouble with was, of course, the external letter of recommendation.

But God had also worked that part out perfectly. It was as if he was benefiting from the career he had built as a writer, and Benaway had no choice but to admit that God was really a writer.

“Me, me, me······.”

“Yes, sir.”

And in front of him, God was overcome by a very strange feeling.

Mrs. Benaway was the one who took better care of me than anyone else when I was a newbie in my previous life after graduating from college and returning here as a teacher. And it was only after going through one life that I realized that she was the kind of person who could raise her voice like this.

“I’m a real fan of this person.”

“I’ll get your autograph before you graduate. I promise.”

Because I decided to go get some apricot jam soon.

“Oh, thank you.”

Those words barely brought him back to his senses, and Benaway checked the list of universities Shin wanted to apply to one last time.

There were four universities in total.

Harvard University, located in Massachusetts in the northeastern United States.

Rice University, located in southern Texas, United States.

The University of Iowa, located in Iowa in the central United States.

Stanford University, located in California, Western United States.

After reviewing all of the application documents for the four universities, Mrs. Benaway looked satisfied.

Although each school had different test dates and requirements, Shin had been diligently preparing the documents for each school. So it was only natural that Mrs. Benaway would be happy.

“They are all good schools. The majors are also solid.”

“Yes. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but for now, I’m aiming for a career in literature.”

God answered without hesitation.

At Harvard University, I started as an undergraduate and didn’t write down my major until my second year, but at other schools, I decided to apply to the Department of Literature. At the University of Iowa, I even wrote down my major in Literature.

“Umm, if it’s literature, I would recommend the University of Iowa.”

The University of Iowa boasted one of the best literature departments in the United States. Great writers such as Tennessee Williams and Raymond Carver were from here. Although Raymond Carver did not graduate, he ran a writer’s workshop at his alma mater and helped students become writers.

Harvard University was a prestigious university that competed with Princeton for first and second place in the United States, if not the entire world. It was part of the Ivy League, one of the top ten prestigious universities in the eastern United States, and the alumni connections were very strong, so from the perspective of a future god, it was a place where he could become friends with people who would become famous in the future.

Rice University was also a prestigious school, just like Harvard. In particular, it was influenced by the Houston Rocket Center, which was created during the space race with the Soviet Union, and was excellent in aerospace engineering and nuclear/particle/optical physics. If you go there, you will get good inspiration for writing science fiction novels.

Lastly, Stanford University also became a prestigious university that would compete with Harvard University for the first and second place in the world, and it was still an incredibly prestigious university. However, its fame was not the only reason why Shin chose it as one of the four schools to which he would submit a letter of recommendation.

At home, close by.

End

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