Chapter 30. Xingqiu
A month had already passed since I created the magnet. I'd like to say that I suddenly discovered a genius within myself and, using knowledge from my past life, had already drawn up blueprints for complex devices—but, alas, in my previous life I was just an ordinary guy with below-average health, whose hobbies were video games, books, and anime. So the only thing I managed to do was jot down a few things I remembered, along with some small ideas about the end results, which real geniuses like Cloud Retainer could then turn into reality.
I ran out of note ideas pretty quickly, so in the end, aside from the occasional days of studying under Madame Ping and the warm evenings with Keqing that had already become routine, I mostly trained using the two elements at my disposal, as well as trying to separate the powers of space and time from my internal energy, so that in the future I could turn them into cores.
It might have seemed that I was constantly busy with something. My fault. I'm no Keqing, and mentally, that kind of pace would be too much for me. So I also started stopping by the local bookstores, and along the way I got acquainted with Xingqiu. This boy with slightly feminine facial features absolutely adored reading novels. Thanks to him, I managed to pick out a couple of works that weren't written in overly convoluted or dry language, but sadly, they were still far from the kind of light novels I'd grown to love—ones that don't overload your mind, but instead let you relax, with emotions that are fairly easygoing.
Thanks to him, I was also able to make a guess about how much time we had left until the canon events. It was hard to do that based on Keqing's age, since both she and I were 18 at the moment, which didn't quite fit the fan theories from my past life. But the young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild was exactly 15, which allowed me to assume we still had about two years.
"Yun Che, I've noticed that our tastes in literature are quite similar. How about you take a look at my drafts and share your opinion?" Xingqiu once asked me. We hadn't known each other that long, but our shared interests quickly made us good friends.
"Of course, why not," I didn't refuse. "By the way, I'm also planning to start writing soon, but I've run into a small problem. The kind of thing I'm interested in is more suited to an Inazuman audience than to Liyue, which complicates things."
"I think you're exaggerating. If a book is written in an engaging way, I'm sure it will be successful."
"Alright, alright, I won't argue… Though I'll add one more thing. I, like you, apparently, mostly enjoy light novels, but here we run into a cultural issue. Around here, novels are mostly read by the older generation, and they're expected to be something lofty and philosophical. Light novels are more suited to the younger crowd, so works like that would need separate advertising and basically raising an entire genre from almost zero."
"Kinda like that rock music by the noisy girl?"
"Ha-ha. Yeah, exactly. Her name is Xinyan, by the way," I chuckled at the way the boy grimaced, his peaceful reading often interrupted by her impromptu concerts.
"Will we really have to face the same kind of prejudice?" he frowned.
"Well, unlike her, we have a truly unfair advantage."
"And what is it, big brother Yun, tell me!"
"Money!" I declared firmly. "We can afford the kind of promotion that will make sure everyone knows about light novels. And to be honest, I have a lot of ideas—the only difficulty is putting them into the right form."
"That's true," Xingqiu nodded enthusiastically, then added with slight hesitation, "However, first I'll still try to present my manuscript to some editors. I don't believe their thinking is that rigid. After all, I've reread my novel far from just once, and I'm completely sure that I like it, which means there will definitely be people who share my tastes."
"As you say. But you did say you'd let me read your drafts," I reminded him.
"Right," Xingqiu came to his senses, then took a bundle of sewn-together pages from his Vision. "Here you go, just please be careful, I don't have a copy."
"Of course," I nodded, stowing the pages away into my inventory, only having time to briefly note that this was that very novel which, according to Genshin lore, failed to gain popularity in Liyue, unlike in Inazuma.
"Hm, by the way, Xingqiu."
"Yes?"
"You practice swordsmanship, don't you?"
"Huh? How do you know?" the boy suddenly started whispering, glancing around. "I've kept that a secret."
"Ahem, let's just say I guessed," I couldn't exactly tell him I knew it from the game, as well as the fact that he hid it, and that while hiding his identity, like some warrior of justice, he fought monsters and bandits outside the peaceful city.
"Alright, but Yun Che, I ask you to keep this secret," the teenager looked at me seriously.
"Of course, but my question is a bit different. You see, my wife is quite a busy person, and I could really use a sparring partner to improve my swordsmanship. And you, as far as I know, are a real genius in that regard."
"Brother Yun is joking. I haven't been studying the art of the sword and spear for that long, so I doubt I can keep up with an adeptus," he said, throwing a meaningful glance at my horns.
"I've been learning to fight for less than a month, and aside from, so to speak, raw power, I severely lack skill," I shook my head. "So, will you help me out?"
"…," uncertainty was plainly written on his face, and his gaze kept drifting back to my horns before he let out a helpless sigh and answered, "Brother Yun, I don't think I can be your sparring partner. I don't believe you can teach anything if the gap in strength isn't in the teacher's favor. But if you can disguise yourself properly, we could go out on expeditions together and, by fighting wrongdoers, gain the combat experience you need."
"Hmmm, I see," I drawled, partially admitting the truth in his words.
"Alright then, as for your strength, we'll see…" I went on, thinking that if there was anyone I could share the technique of creating an elemental core with in the future, it would be my friends. Not now, of course, but maybe someday.
On that note we parted ways, and I promised that next time I'd share a few thoughts on his book, and at the same time tell him about my idea for a future light novel.