How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World
Chapter 430: Failure (4)

I was briefly confused by Mari’s statement about being in her 40s, yet still seeming childish.

It was true that even when I remembered my past life, I still showed some childlike behavior.

That wasn’t all. After hearing Mari’s words, my mother, seemingly thinking of something, asked an awkward question.

“Then, do you remember when you were a baby? Like when I breastfed you or changed your diapers?”

“….No. I don’t remember now. The first time I clearly recognized my thoughts was when I was 3.”

This wasn’t a lie, it was the truth.

I hardly remember being unable to control my bodily functions or being breastfed.

I only vaguely recall such things.

Back then, my brain couldn’t process the concept of reincarnation, and all I had were instincts.

Still, I can’t say those memories were pleasant.

Not being able to control my body was bad enough, but not being able to hold my bowels was truly the worst.

Even when I was 3, I couldn’t hold my bowels properly, and every time my diaper was changed, I felt incredibly embarrassed.

“I see. Isaac was unusually mature for his age, and his behavior didn’t really fit the typical ‘terrible twos.’ He was so sharp and well-behaved, that’s why.”

“Usually, the youngest child raised as a foundling would be a bit wild, but Isaac wasn’t like that.”

“I was amazed by how quickly he learned to speak. As soon as he did, he started reading difficult books. Now, I understand why.”

These were the words of my mother, Dave, and Nicole.

At the time, they must have thought I was just mature, but now that the truth came out, they were slowly coming to terms with it.

Then my father, who had been deep in thought, spoke in his usual deep voice.

“So, Isaac, were you a writer before?”

“Yes. I lived as a writer in the world I came from.”

“Ah, I see.”

My father’s response was a bit unique.

He nodded, as if understanding, but there was a slight look of disappointment on his face.

When I showed my confusion at his expression, he awkwardly scratched his temple and answered shyly.

“Well… I was just thinking, if you had been involved in martial arts in your past life, maybe you would have grown into a great knight.

You were physically weak, but you listened well and had great understanding since you were young.”

“Ah, I see. If that were the case, Isaac wouldn’t be the way he is now. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

“Still, it’s a bit of a shame.”

It seemed my father still wanted to raise me as a knight.

Just like he said, he understood in his head, but my body didn’t cooperate, so he gave up.

Back then, my body wasn’t as strong as it is now, and I was treated like the youngest, so I was pampered.

Although it was still tough for me, I gained focus as powerful as my strength.

The biggest gain was probably the “diligence” it gave me.

I smiled faintly and started telling a brief story about Earth.

“The world I lived in was very different from here. There were beasts, but no monsters, and the only species was humans. There was no mana or magic, but science and culture were extremely advanced.”

“What? No monsters?”

“Only humans? No mana or magic?”

“No mana or magic, and yet science and culture developed?”

As expected, each of them reacted with disbelief.

To them, mana, magic, and monsters were common knowledge and essential parts of the world.

They believed that science and culture could only exist because of magic.

After all, even refrigerators were impossible without magic.

In the midst of their disbelief, only Mari gave a different response.

“So, this is the world you talked about with Mr. Musk, right? The world without mana and magic.”

“You remember that?”

“Of course, I remember. It was such a strange story. So, you must have thought like that because you came from a place like that. It’s like a puzzle coming together.”

Mari nodded as if she understood.

Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, her eyes widened and she hurriedly asked,

“Then, what about the question you asked the professor a year ago? About the 12 ships defeating more than 100?”

“You remember that?”

Now, it was my turn to be surprised.

It had been a year since I asked that question to the professor when I was a new student at the academy.

Back then, I was curious if such an overwhelming number difference could be overcome even in a world with mana and magic.

World wars involved tanks and fighter planes, so they were irrelevant.

The closest comparison was the Battle of Myeongnyang.

The professor’s answer, however, was that it was impossible.

No matter what kind of explanations were given, even with a divine being, a “manifestation,” victory was impossible.

Thankfully, the professor answered gently, but in reality, his response seemed more like “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“Of course I remember. I have a good memory, although not as good as Cecily’s, and that was such a strange topic. Did you really win?”

“Yeah.”

“How? With no mana or magic? And in the cursed sea?”

“I don’t know, and neither do my descendants. I’m not lying, I just won.”

Of course, there was a difference in the specs of the panokseon and Japanese ships, but “logically,” an overwhelming numerical advantage would cause a collapse.

There are even records that Admiral Yi Sun-sin fought with only his flagship at first because he thought they could win.

However, the damage to the Joseon Navy was minimal, while the Japanese Navy was completely destroyed, losing their naval superiority.

Despite all the research, there was no solution, and only various hypotheses abounded.

How could I know the answer?

At first, Mari was skeptical, but when she realized I was being serious, she shook her head and said,

“So, I can’t believe that. If you wrote a book about it, people would just criticize it for making the protagonist too perfect.”

“Anyway, there’s a record that says we won. Plus, he didn’t just win that battle, but he turned the entire war around.”

“Of course, for the enemy, losing a battle they had to win would be huge. But looking at the poor conditions, they must have suffered significant losses before.”

My father, who was knowledgeable about military matters, added to my explanation.

I had only been explaining the situation, but he understood the context perfectly.

As he said, the Joseon Navy was devastated at the Battle of Chilcheollyang due to General Won Gyun’s incompetence, causing the fleet to scatter.

Furthermore, Admiral Yi Sun-sin was dismissed by King Seonjo and was even in a state of being stripped of his rank.

Despite that, he regained control of the navy and won.

The irony here is that the Japanese army, which was bound to lose, defeated Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s forces, but when they faced battles they couldn’t lose, they ended up losing.

From the Japanese perspective, if it hadn’t been for Yi Sun-sin, the conquest of Joseon would have been completed long ago.

“Anyway, this story is from about 400 years ago in my world. As I mentioned, science and culture were extremely advanced compared to here, so there are many things that might be hard to understand.”

“Such as?”

“Would you believe it if humans made creatures that can fly in the sky? Not only that, but also if ships made of steel sailed across vast oceans without wind or waves, and if people could talk to each other across the world using a palm-sized device?”

I had asked a similar question to Lina before, and their reactions were similar to hers.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Without magic, just with science? Is that possible?”

“It’s nonsense. Even refrigerators wouldn’t exist without magic.”

“Well, that’s magic, isn’t it?”

When I said that everything was possible with science alone, they couldn’t believe it. But they would have to.

Even if refrigerators exist, flying in the sky with magic is something only high-level mages can do.

The idea of flying with machines was unimaginable, especially when it came to the sea.

When I researched the sea last time, I found that navigation skills were shockingly underdeveloped.

Shipbuilding was even behind the times.

The sea was considered a devil’s den, teeming with sea monsters, so people were reluctant to approach it.

Even the elves stayed away.

Despite the presence of magic, think about how the small island nation of England turned into the British Empire.

There’s a saying that whoever rules the sea rules the world, but in this world, people are terrified of the sea, so it’s stagnant.

‘Basic navigation skills are so poor, even if they invented steamships, they wouldn’t have much effect.’

This was just my thought.

For people in this world, the sea was the ultimate unknown.

Even Earth, with its advanced science, still expresses the sea as an endless mystery, so their fear is understandable.

Anyway, I left the sea discussion there and continued explaining as I saw the skeptical expressions on my family’s faces.

“In our world, this was possible. You know the steam locomotive mentioned in ‘Zenon Chronicles’? It was basically an artifact in my time. There were trains far more advanced than that.”

“Hmm… I don’t really get it just by hearing about it. Can you explain it with a drawing?”

“Of course.”

At my father’s request, I drew an airplane, a steamship, and finally a mobile phone in my notebook.

They were seeing these items for the first time, from a completely different world.

Mari and my family gave me their full attention, focusing on my drawings.

To help them understand, I compared the concepts with things from their world.

The explanation of the mobile phone was the easiest, since there were communication crystals here too.

The rest was a bit harder for me to explain properly, since I wasn’t very knowledgeable about science, having studied the humanities.

“Are these given to everyone? Can commoners have them too?”

“Only the mobile phones are distributed. The rest are used by nations or companies, so only nobles or merchants use them for specific purposes.”

“Wow… If communication is this easy, I can’t even imagine what the military is like. Things that can fly freely in the sky, ships that can sail the seas… and navigation skills?”

My father shook his head in disbelief.

Everyone else seemed equally doubtful or uncertain.

Mari, though, had her finger on her lips, looking fascinated. She fully believed me, but was less interested in the objects themselves.

She was only interested in me as a person, plain and simple. It would probably be similar to the perspective of someone encountering ‘fantasy.’

“Has there ever been a war in this situation? It seems like all kinds of strategies and tactics would be in play, and the loss of life would be severe.”

“Yes. Based on the time I lived in, World War II broke out about 80 years ago.”

The closest thing to modern warfare would be the Gulf War.

However, since the Gulf War wasn’t a direct battle, but rather an overwhelming victory for the U.S. military, I didn’t bring it up.

Furthermore, explaining the Gulf War would probably make people’s heads explode, given how difficult everything else is to understand.

Meanwhile, just as I was about to speak, my father, who had been listening, seemed to notice something odd and opened his mouth with a somewhat confused expression.

“…World War II? A world war?”

“Uh..”

When my father muttered with a bewildered voice, I scratched my head awkwardly.

Did I accidentally spoil something?

When you think about it, it’s almost like the same thing as another species war breaking out, so it’s easy to understand such a reaction.

The real problem is that the gap between World War I and World War II was only 20 years.

I hesitated about whether to mention it, but then I looked around and spoke up.

“As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be using it as the background for my next work. It’ll be more fun if you have some background knowledge. Should I explain it?”

“Honestly, I’m curious. For us, it’s like another Race war happening again, right?”

“Let me explain. But I won’t spoil anything.”

“You’re curious about the weapons too, huh? Are they using cold weapons like us, or is it something else?”

As expected from a noble family, the mention of a war from another world quickly piqued their interest.

Moreover, both Mari and my mother seemed to be focused on the idea of it being from another world.

Even though war is horrific and hopeless, if it’s fantasy, it’s a whole different story. Besides, given the times, people tend to romanticize war.

On the other hand, my father was a bit more serious.

Having experienced PTSD during his active service, he couldn’t help but be cautious when it came to war.

I decided to avoid spoilers as much as possible, so I started drawing a map. I could easily draw the world map without Mora’s help.

“First, this is the world map of the world I lived in. I lived in…”

“What? You’re drawing the world map right away?”

“Are you sure you were an ordinary person?”

“…?”

As soon as I started drawing the map, the reactions came pouring out, and I couldn’t help but question myself.

Seeing this, my family let out a sigh and muttered with a look of disbelief.

The first to speak was Nicole.

“Right. This is why you wrote Zenon Chronicles.”

“I feel kind of shabby now. What kind of world is this? A commoner writes Zenon Chronicles and draws a world map right away? It’s like creating an entire world.”

I awkwardly laughed at Dave’s words.

I couldn’t even imagine how he’d react if he were to come across a ‘game.’

It would probably blow his mind.

At least, the fact that movies have only recently emerged is a bit comforting.

Still, in my eyes, magic feels more overpowered. Even though it’s slowing down scientific progress, I’m sure it’ll reach its full potential one day.

Before explaining the background, I focused on the country I originally lived in, South Korea.

“Before I explain, this small peninsula is the country I lived in. But because it’s a divided country, it’s essentially an island.

The north is called North Korea, and the south is South Korea. The official name of the country I lived in is the Republic of Korea.”

“Definitely smaller compared to other regions. It’s similar to the Stabirck region of the Empire.”

“A divided country? Did a civil war break out?”

Nicole, noticing something was off, asked urgently.

Then, the others seemed to notice at the same time, and all eyes turned to me.

As she said, even though it’s a divided country that experienced a civil war, there’s no real threat.

Other than the occasional missile launches for rice.

“Yes. Because of that, we’re still in a ceasefire. The war isn’t fully over.”

At the mention of the war not being over, the surrounding atmosphere instantly became quiet. I blinked, looking around.

Everyone was looking at me with pity and sorrow in their eyes. Even Mari seemed to be tightening her grip on her hands.

As I was nervously shifting my eyes, it was my mother who spoke up first. She was looking at me with eyes that were already moist.

“Could it be that the accident where you lost your parents… was… because of the war?”

“Well, wars always lead to many casualties…

Especially if it’s a civil war… it must’ve been worse.”

That wasn’t the case. They really died in a car accident.

In the deepening misunderstanding, I quickly opened my mouth to correct it. If I didn’t, I felt like I’d fall into an inescapable pit.

“That’s not it. The civil war actually broke out before my parents were born. Also, the ceasefire lasted for so long that the effects of the war are almost nonexistent…”

“Really?”

“So, it’s a relief… no, wait.”

My mother started to say it was a relief, but then quickly corrected herself. To me, it didn’t seem like a big deal, but it was clear she didn’t feel that way.

It wasn’t just my mother.

Nicole and Dave avoided mentioning it, and my father seemed troubled, not knowing where to begin.

Naturally, they were confused. I felt awkward trying to speak up, wondering if I had missed something.

“…Isaac.”

“Yes, Father?”

“Even if it’s a ceasefire, a war leaves a serious imbalance in the country. It must’ve affected you as well. Think carefully.”

“Well… I wasn’t exactly affected by it, but I did get drafted…”

The mention of being drafted made the atmosphere heavier. My mother was on the verge of tears.

My father, too, let out a deep sigh before asking softly,

“Drafted… I see. Where did you serve?”

“At the front line.”

Cold, hot, dirty, and frustrating—all the memories of those experiences were still vivid.

I never want to go back, and it was a place crawling with all kinds of strange creatures.

The reactions from my family were intense.

My mother was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, while Nicole and Dave either squeezed their eyes shut or slowly lifted their heads.

What on earth were they imagining? I had no idea.

Finally, my father, hearing this, seemed to be overcome with emotion and spoke in a tired voice.

“I think we should stop talking about this. It’s not about the world, but about the country—it’s too personal. We should avoid it…”

“But why? I’m really okay with it.”

I couldn’t understand at all.

As the atmosphere sank deeper, Mari decided to break the silence with her bright voice.

“Can I ask you just one thing? It’s really important to me, even if I don’t know much else.”

“Isaac’s trauma is off-limits, though.”

“Thanks! Isaac?”

“Yeah?”

Mari had already grabbed my hand with both of hers. Her bright smile seemed like she was trying to lighten the mood.

Then, with her usual cheerful expression, she asked a truly personal question.

“Did you have a girlfriend or fiancée back then?”

“Well…”

“It doesn’t matter if you did. What matters is now. I’m going to say you did. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been so good on the first night, right?”

That was because I had audiovisual material to learn from. I held back the words and forced a bitter smile.

For Mari, unfortunately…

“Yeah, I did have one.”

“I knew it.”

“But I cheated on her while I was in the military.”

“….”

That question was like stepping on a landmine.

As soon as Mari heard my answer, her face froze while still smiling.

At the same time, the already heavy atmosphere grew even more tense.

How could I possibly lighten the mood now? I thought and thought, then forced a wry smile and quietly spoke.

“Should I continue explaining the background? It’s not about my country, but about World War II.”

“…Does it have more tragic stories? Like millions of people dying?”

“Not millions, but tens of millions did die…”

“…”

“…I’ll just explain the background.”

It was a relief that I hadn’t mentioned the world-ending weapon.