Chapter 199
Chapter 199: How to Become a Ninja
After the Tactical Banquet Group B match ended, it was time for Group C. We reached the fourth day of the festival, where the Group D matches would take place the following day.
The Magical Banquet had already crossed the halfway mark. It felt as though the excitement of the people had evaporated with the approach of the final day.
“It’s like everyone caught a collective case of the Monday Blues.”
While it might not have been too bad for the hosts, for the common folks, it felt akin to an obligatory holiday.
It seems that everywhere, no one wants to return to the mundane after a holiday break.
“Assassinate! Assassinate!”
Amy, who was walking alongside me, suddenly began singing a strange song.
Realizing the origin of the song, I felt the need to hush my little sister.
“Amy, where on earth did you hear that weird song?”
She blushed and replied, “Don’t play dumb. It’s from that Nobel Record you wrote! The other kids were loving it!”
Just as Amy said, after it was showcased, many children started visiting the Nobel Record bookstore.
Since then, the rate of erosion didn’t seem to decrease at all.
“The phrase ‘it’s fun’ has become more than just bait.”
I still didn’t understand why it was so entertaining, so I asked Amy.
“Why do they find it fun? It’s just a jumbled mess of stories written by me and the other kids.”
“To be honest, when I first saw it, I had no idea what it was about! The protagonist acted like they were a split personality; it was so frustrating I almost lost it!”
Given that multiple writers contributed, it made sense that the protagonist’s personality would fluctuate.
Even I, the author, felt like I was choking on a sweet potato without any water while reading it.
“But in the end, a hero appeared and assassinated that trashy protagonist! A hero to calm the chaos!”
I could roughly guess who that hero was.
That character was jammed in not to tidy up the trashy plot, but as a crutch for it.
“That ninja wearing the wolf mask and red scarf was probably the true protagonist of that story!”
“….”
“Right, big brother! That ninja is the real protagonist, isn’t he?”
Amy suddenly sparkled her eyes and pressed on me.
It sounded ridiculous, but I had no choice but to lie to maintain her innocence.
“Yeah, you’re right. He’s the real protagonist.”
“I knew it!”
[Erosion rate decreased: -6%]
[+600 Credits]
“The real protagonist always appears last!”
“Of course. That’s why I made him appear late. Hahaha…”
[Erosion rate decreased: -4%]
“And do you know what the kids are saying after watching that? They all want to be like the Assassination Ninja!”
“What?”
“They’ve all decided to become ninjas when they grow up! But how can they even do that?”
“Well… that’s a good question?”
“What? You wrote it!”
Amy pouted and showed her disappointment.
She looked at me as if to say, “Is that all you have?”
Should I really know just how to become a ninja because I created a ninja character?
Would they have hounded me for how to become a 9th Circle Archmage or Swordmaster if I had created those instead?
“No matter how much I drew pirates, it doesn’t mean I’ll actually become a real pirate.”
How to become a ninja? I was curious about that too.
If I had known that earlier, I would’ve been flying over trees by now, battling foes in grand ninja duels that pumped my chest full of pride!
“That ninja looked super cool! Isn’t there a way to become one?”
You could already have a sufficiently cool body without becoming a ninja.
How greedy can a little sister be?
“If you really want to learn, you could set sail for the eastern country.”
“How would I ever get to that far place? I don’t even know where it is.”
In fact, this world did have an eastern village with an eastern vibe.
Just thinking about the Thousand-Year Fox resting on this land, it’s said to have come from the eastern continent as a guardian deity.
“Huahaha! Stop right there, evil-doer!”
At that moment, I heard children laughing and playing.
Several kids brushed against my thigh as they ran excitedly, wearing fox masks.
That part struck me oddly.
“Where have I seen that mask before?”
Just as I thought maybe it was a festival souvenir,
“It must finally be on sale! The Assassination Ninja’s souvenir!”
“Ah, another souvenir… what?”
I wasn’t hearing things, nor was I seeing things incorrectly.
That design was without a doubt the mask of the character I had created!
“Why is that…!”
“Actually, I’m bringing you to see it. A souvenir shop selling those just opened!”
“Are you insane?!”
What kind of idiot would stew up such a ridiculous notion?
Don’t they know that character sales must get permission from the original author?
Of course, I couldn’t gauge how this world perceived copyright.
Still, I certainly didn’t think such absurd actions would happen without consequence.
Surely, if they copied someone else’s creation, they had to face some form of retribution.
“What a clueless idiot. Where’s that jerk?”
“I’m on my way there now. Are you excited?”
“Excited? Does this look like I’m excited?!”
Even though I was angry, Amy calmly continued to smile.
“If they knew you were the author, wouldn’t it be cool to have a fan signing event?”
“Sign? Sure, I’ll do that! I can smack a fishing rod across their face and leave a mark!”
This little sister of mine was completely disregarding my feelings.
I wondered why she’s acting like this, but thinking about ‘that curse’ made it likely she was laughing to hide some inner truth.
“Doing a sign with a switch? That sounds really fun!”
There’s no way she’d randomly blurt out such out-of-context remarks otherwise.
“This is it!”
Finally, we arrived at the illegal selling site.
I stormed in, wielding Leviathan like a loan shark and prepared to confront the faces of the vendors who had sent the concept to Andromeda.
“Oh! Honey! Welcome!”
“….”
A pink-haired, petite magical girl was laying out a mat and selling fox masks.
When I realized that vendor was Mary, my body froze.
“Hey babe! What do you think? It’s an absolute hit! The kids love it!”
“….”
“Hmm? Why the silence?”
I couldn’t respond. My mental state had left for the far reaches of the universe.
At the same time, seeing Mary, I could accept just about any madness she brought forward now.
“Get this place cleared out.”
“Huh?”
And because it was Mary, I had more than enough reason to be furious.
I began counting down.
“One… two…”
“Babe?”
I had previously told her not to call me that, yet here she was again, disregarding it.
“Three.”
Just as I counted the last number, Muto appeared and swallowed the masks along with the mat.
“No! My children!”
Mary wailed as if she lost a genuine child.
But I had done nothing wrong.
Obstruction of business? If that’s the case, they’re infringing upon copyright.
“How the hell did you make these masks?”
And there was no way Mary crafted all those masks by herself.
Even with great magical skills, creating items would take a long time.
“I collaborated.”
I glared sharply at the accomplice, turning my head towards them.
“Just who the hell are you?” I yelled, but quickly froze.
“Shaikar…?”
Approaching me with an air of superiority was the being known as Spirit King of Life.
“I made them. Do you have a complaint?”
“….”
I was at a loss for words, stunned that someone who had been around for an entire 300 years didn’t understand the concept of copyright.
Or maybe she had simply fallen victim to Mary’s antics without realizing.
But still, a Spirit King wouldn’t simply fall for a child’s temptation.
“Why did you make them?”
“Oh dear, I completely forgot to mention this to you.”
Shaikar whispered into my ear as if sharing a secret.
Upon hearing that, I turned to Muto with a look of resignation.
“You haven’t digested those yet, have you?”
『It’ll take a while. Why?』
“Spit them out.”
『What?』
“I’m telling you nicely; spit them out.”
Muto reluctantly regurgitated all the masks he had swallowed.
Surprisingly, there were no dirty corners on them, considering they’d just come out of someone’s body.
“Whoa! My children! You’ve returned!”
As the masks were resurrected, Mary rejoiced as if she were reuniting with family after decades.
It was nothing surprising, but I sighed deeply as I sat in Benz.
Then Amy looked at me strangely and asked,
“Big brother, why the sudden change? You were all ready to kill just a minute ago.”
That question made total sense.
I handed her one of the masks and said, “You might want to wear one too.”
