Episode 57: The Contest and Adult Comics (3)
The ones who best understood Wade’s fame and influence as an author—something Wade himself had failed to grasp—
were none other than all the citizens of the Kingdom of Justia.
After all, since Wade was the author himself, he had only ever encountered his own popularity indirectly, through reports saying that “people’s reactions are roughly like this.”
“Author Wei? Is there even any need to say it out loud?
Grab anyone in the kingdom and ask them—there probably isn’t a single person who doesn’t know Author Wei.”
“I hear there are plenty of young people these days who believe anything Author Wei says without asking or questioning it.”
“The royal family and high-ranking nobles are openly backing Author Wei, aren’t they?
At this point, I’d believe it even if someone said Author Wei was a prince! Haha!”
“Well, his accomplishments are that remarkable.
You could call it a fairly justified evaluation.”
For the people of the Kingdom of Justia, who could objectively, directly, and in real time encounter the reputation surrounding Author Wei,
the meaning carried by the name Wade… no, Author Wei, was far more concrete and immense.
Just by taking a brief look at the titles used to describe Author Wei:
“The Apostle of Culture Sent Down by the Goddess.”
“A great man who advanced the kingdom’s culture by a hundred years.”
“A reformer who changed not only culture, but even the kingdom’s way of life and institutions.”
“A user of cliffhanger magic who rules people’s emotions.”
And so on.
Even if one described him very simply, stripping away every exaggeration and keeping it plain, it still amounted to this much.
Once exaggeration was added, it grew truly out of control.
Honestly, such evaluations were inevitable.
After all, Author Wei’s accomplishments over the span of just a few years were far too numerous.
“Let’s see. First, he uncovered the hidden history behind the founding of the kingdom. He also made it possible for people of different status to love one another.”
“He completely overhauled plays and theaters, and he created arcades too.”
“Don’t forget that he revived the academy.”
Not only had the kingdom’s cultural life changed rapidly because of him,
even the way people lived had been dyed in Author Wei’s colors and transformed!
One only had to walk around the capital a little to see it.
“Hya! Yah! I am the genius magician Tian!
Die, evil dark mage!”
“Gyaah! The genius magician is too stroooong!”
Children holding clumsily carved branches swung them about this way and that, enjoying a game of playing the genius magician who defeated dark mages.
“Ahh. My lord, please don’t trouble a commoner like me…
In the end, this is only a passing whim for you…
If a commoner like me were to be with you, my lord… Haa…”
“It isn’t a whim, and it isn’t a problem anymore.
You know that too, don’t you? Thanks to Author Wei, there is nothing left that can stand between us!”
“Truly… what could you possibly like about an ordinary woman like me…”
Lovers met without regard for status, imitating lines that seemed to come straight out of novels, or enjoying date courses that had likewise appeared in novels.
“Hans! Where are you going? Off to donate to the orphanage again?”
“Of course! And this time, I’ve decided to hire one of the kids at my shop outright, so I’m going to welcome him.
He’s a polite fellow, so I’m quite looking forward to it! Hahaha!”
More people began donating for orphanages and the poor, and more people began hiring them without hesitation.
“I… want to go to the academy!”
“The trend in art now is comics!
You can draw and earn money too, so what reason is there not to do it?
I’m sick of living by chewing on the black bread I use as an eraser!”
More people dreamed of entering the academy, which they had previously gone out of their way to avoid.
Painters, once regarded only as money pits, found a new rice bowl called comics.
“Drinking? Gambling? No, well, those are fine sometimes too, but isn’t it better to just go to the arcade?”
There were also more people who had wholesome fun by going to theaters and arcades rather than taverns and gambling halls.
Like an iron hero who sacrificed his life to save the universe, traces and influence of Author Wei could be seen everywhere in the kingdom.
In such a situation, how could the people of the kingdom possibly be unaware of Author Wei’s influence?
If anyone were, it would not be strange for them to be called “a cultural loner who doesn’t even know how the world works.”
If even evil deeds had exerted this much influence, they would have earned a corresponding awe mixed with fear.
But this was good influence—and one achieved not through martial force, but through the power of culture. How remarkable was that?
Thus, the affection and respect the people of the kingdom held for Author Wei truly surpassed imagination.
“I wouldn’t trade Author Wei even for all the gold on the continent!”
“Isn’t he one of the most precious treasures of the Kingdom of Justia?”
They openly said things that, had Wade himself heard them, would have made him kick his blankets in embarrassment.
“Author Wei’s new work is very entertaining.
Ah, you don’t have things like this in your country, do you?”
And whenever they occasionally met acquaintances from other countries or went abroad,
they would boast endlessly about Author Wei’s works and feel a surge of national pride.
In other words.
“Hm? What’s this? A contest?”
“They’re gathering various works under Author Wei’s name?”
It was only natural that the people of the Kingdom of Justia would take an interest in the “1st Wei Contest” hosted by the Merchant Guild.
Because that very Author Wei had cooperated in hosting it, and had even put his own name on it for promotion!
Author Wei was not striving solely for his own advancement, but for the juniors who would follow after him and for the development of culture.
Anyone who paid even a little attention to his actions could tell that.
That was why no one objected even when people went around calling him by such grand names as the Apostle of Culture.
Author Wei truly was a person worthy of such a title.
“G-good! I’ll use this chance to submit the manuscript I’ve been writing all this time!
Even if I fail, with a contest like this, just participating will have meaning!”
“If I happen to pass the screening, does that mean Author Wei will look at my work?
That’s… truly incredible!”
Thus, trusting in that name, countless aspiring authors who had been hidden all across the nation mustered their courage and participated in the contest.
Some found meaning in participation alone.
Some participated out of pure fan devotion, wondering if, by some chance, this opportunity might connect them to Author Wei.
Of course, there were also many who participated with the sincere aim of winning a prize.
The countless works sent in by those countless people—
the contest staff reviewed them one by one by hand, even cross-checking them as they judged.
And so, the small number of works that passed the preliminary screening were presented to readers in order to receive a market evaluation.
“A magazine containing the works that passed the preliminary screening of the contest!
It is a verified treasure trove containing only works that none other than Author Wei personally read and approved!”
Along with the comment that it contained only works Author Wei had personally checked and recognized.
Author Wei had once again stepped forward for the sake of juniors and cultural development?
And he had personally read the works and stamped them as good?
Then, naturally, shouldn’t people read them if only to respect his will?
“Here! Give me one of those magazines!”
“These aren’t all completed stories, are they?
Then does that mean we can only see the ones that survive and pass through to the end?
Damn, I’ll have to hope the comic I like survives until the end.”
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that.
They say that regardless of contest awards, works with good evaluations will be contracted separately.”
The contest-exclusive magazine distributed by the Merchant Guild sold like hotcakes, making the Publishing Guild, who watched it happen, clutch their stomachs and lament, “We should have been the ones to hold that contest!”
The readers who bought it were also highly satisfied, since it had a different feeling from a newspaper and allowed them to see a variety of works at once for a low price.
And while enjoying the contest magazine,
“What’s this? It’s a little different from the other magazines.
It’s wrapped up so tight that I can’t even see the cover properly.”
“Ah, that is a magazine containing adult-only works that only adults may purchase.
If you wish to buy it, we’ll need proof that you are an adult. Is that all right?”
“What? Adult-only? Does that mean, perhaps?”
“Yes. Well. Ahem. It’s a little awkward to say with my own mouth, but I hear it is quite something.”
they discovered the adult comic [Journey to Find a Wife], which had been given special treatment and assigned separately.
“No, what is this?! What on earth did I just see?!”
“Skin color… skin color! It’s nothing but skin color everywhere!”
“How in the world can they put xx into xx and xxx?!”
Naturally, an uproar broke out.
After all, this was the first time they had ever seen such a thing.
The closest example was perhaps the thin clothing worn by the goddesses in the mythology comic recently released by the church.
However, this comic lightly surpassed even that level; it was simply at the point where there was nothing covering the body at all.
And it wasn’t merely that they were half-naked, either. It contained situations so faithful to desire that even Wade had been shocked.
It was, in the truest sense, culture shock itself.
And because it was that shocking, people naturally had no choice but to receive it in different ways and with different limits.
“Is it really all right to sell something like this?
No, this is far too vulgar!”
“What’s not all right about it?! Honestly, you like it too, so don’t pretend you’re the only clean one here!”
“Even the priests aren’t saying anything, so who are you people to complain!”
Naturally, people split into two factions and began arguing over whether it was right or wrong.
The first adult comic’s debut was truly dazzling beyond measure.