Great Conference At The Demon King’s Castle (Toward The Finale, Part 5)

Meanwhile, while Alec was doing various things until the Royal Capital settled down.

In the half-ruined Demon King’s Castle in the Demon Realm.

A large number of desks were lined up in the great hall where the throne stood.

More than a hundred monsters of all sorts were seated there.

They did not look strong, but for that very reason, they had been chosen for their brains.

Normally, they handled work as civil officials and clerks without issue.

However, no one made any noise, and the hall was completely silent.

Not a single person spoke under the heavy atmosphere covering the hall.

That was only natural.

Above the throne hung a sign that read, “First Mao Mao Novel Award: First-Round Judging Conference.”

Despite that, there were only three bundles of novels placed on the large table.

The Demon King spoke while looking at the covers of the novels with an expression of disbelief.

“Only three works?”

The goblin Great Archmage Gobe answered timidly.

“Yes. There are only three submissions.”

The Demon King stood up and shouted.

“That makes no sense! It was not one country, you know!? We called for submissions from the entire world! —We even splurged on the prize money! The grand prize is ten million gorts! The excellence award is three million gorts, and the honorable mention is one million gorts! Publication is guaranteed too!”

“Perhaps the submission period was too short.”

“Even so, three is far too few! What does it mean when we prepared a hundred preliminary readers, yet received only three submissions?”

“Perhaps the custom of writing novels is not very widespread among the people of the world.”

“No, but there are still playwrights and literary writers, are there not? There should be more people who aim to become entertainment writers…”

“W-Well. At any rate, for now, let us judge the three submitted works first.”

“You are right… It cannot be helped. So, what is the first work to be judged?”

“This is it.”

Gobe placed one of the submitted works before the Demon King.

“Monster Reincarnation: Rising From a Mere Dog!”

The Demon King picked it up, looked at the cover, and muttered.

“I wonder how many times removed this is… There are already many similar works, are there not?”

“Indeed there are. The development inside is also almost identical to Demon Reincarnation, which you wrote, Demon King-sama. The only difference is whether the protagonist reincarnates as a demon race or a dog.”

“Can that truly be called original—oh? But it is actually a little interesting. The prose is easy to read too!”

“Indeed. I have already read all three works, but I thought this one had the easiest prose to read.”

“Fwahaha! This joke here is amusing! Has it not reached the same level as mine?”

The Demon King, who was reading the contents, laughed happily.

However, Gobe made a bitter face.

“The thing is, Demon King-sama.”

“What is it?”

“There are dozens of pages that are exactly the same as the prose in Demon Reincarnation, which you wrote… In particular, almost all the jokes are copy-pasted.”

“Is that not simple plagiarism!”

“Well, there are no laws to regulate it.”

“Guh—! What is this! For an author’s originality to go unprotected, this world is far too trashy! I cannot accept such plagiarism! Next, next!”

Gobe placed the next novel in front of the Demon King.

“Zero That Tells the Truth, or Lamentation”

“I cannot tell what it means from the title. —What kind of story is this?”

“The genre is… romantic comedy, I suppose.”

“Why are you speaking as if something is stuck in your teeth?”

“The thing is, it is a story where the male protagonist falls in love at first sight with a cute heroine, invites her on dates and gives her presents, and gradually closes the distance while repeatedly spinning his wheels in humorous ways.”

“Hmm. If you call it orthodox, it is orthodox. If you call it cliché, it is cliché. I will not say that is bad. It depends on the skill of the cook.”

The Demon King picked up the novel and began flipping through it.

Gobe continued speaking.

“Then, once the two have become intimate and it seems as if the final confession will succeed, the heroine’s father arbitrarily decides on her marriage partner, and the two are torn apart. However, the protagonist does not give up, storms into the wedding venue, takes the heroine back, and makes his final confession.”

“Mm. Though orthodox, that is a good flow.”

“The heroine joyfully accepts his confession in tears. However, the moment their love comes to fruition, a dragon falls from the sky, and the heroine is crushed into mush right before the protagonist’s eyes.”

“Huh?”

“Although the dragon says, ‘Ah, sorry, sorry,’ and leaves, the protagonist hugs the heroine, now reduced to a lump of flesh, and cries, ‘No! We finally understood each other!’ Then the protagonist screams, ‘I tried so hard, so why does everything become zerooo!?’ and the story ends.”

“…Does that not ruin everything? What was this person thinking when writing it?”

“The author wrote this in the afterword: ‘Too many novels sold in bookstores have happy endings. They do not portray reality. Most things in reality do not go well. That is why, even in a novel, I portrayed the reality where things do not go well. This is not the ridiculous delusion you see lined up in bookstores. I portrayed realistic reality, and this is what a true novel is!’”

The Demon King muttered in an utterly exasperated voice.

“Is he not an idiot?”

“I think so as well.”

The Demon King flipped through the pages of the novel with eyes like he was looking at filth, then let out a grand sigh.

“Precisely because reality is a constant series of things not going well, people want to become heroes or make wonderful girlfriends at least within entertainment works, do they not? No fool pays money for what can be obtained for free in reality, yes? It is precisely because one cannot obtain it in reality that it gains value worthy of payment… To think he does not even understand that. He still has a long way to go.”

“I believe you are exactly right, Demon King-sama.”

The Demon King read to the end, properly read the afterword as well, furrowed his brows, and tossed it onto the table.

“I have no need for someone who seems to have made being an author into a disease. Next, next. The last one had better be decent, or I will be troubled.”

“This is it.”

Gobe placed the third submitted work before the Demon King.

“The Strange Saintess Runs a Nation Through Feeding♪”

The Demon King stared at the cover without much expectation, but when he read the author’s name, he involuntarily raised his voice.

“Hmm! The author is Teti. That elf girl!”

“That is correct, Demon King-sama. She is one of the dangerous individuals living at Alec’s place—but I believe the contents are worth reading once.”

The Demon King picked up Teti’s novel and read it.

“Oh, for Gobe to recommend it that much… No, wait. The prose is strange. Every so often, the scene changes, yet the five Ws and one H are missing. There are many word mistakes too!”

The Demon King exaggeratedly grimaced.

Gobe leaned forward and made his defense.

“The prose errors can be pointed out by an editor. I believe the important things are the characters and content.”

“The content is just another saintess story, is it not?”

“—No. The protagonist, who was thought by prophecy to become a saintess who would save the country, actually turns out to have only the ability to produce sweets from her palms. Her engagement to the prince is annulled, she is accused of deceiving the country as a false saintess, and she is exiled to a monster forest.”

“I see. The ‘strange’ in the title is a pun on sweets. —Well, as the opening for an exile story, it is reasonable.”

“In that forest, the protagonist meets the prince of a neighboring country, who is near death after taking a monster down with him. As he is on the verge of death, the prince says he wants to eat pudding, so she feeds him some, and astonishingly, his wounds fully heal. It turns out the sweets the protagonist creates have recovery power on the level of an elixir. The saved prince becomes deeply devoted to the protagonist, swears, ‘I dedicate this life and sword to the protagonist,’ and the story follows the protagonist going to the prince’s country and being adored there.”

“Hmph! The setup is sloppy! A prince would not be alone in a forest!”

“About that, this prince is actually intelligent, skilled with a sword, and talented at magic, but his personality is the worst, and he is a reckless fool. He does not listen to others and has excessive confidence in his own skill. That is why he shook off his guards and entered the forest alone.”

“What part of such a reckless man is attractive? If the characters lack charm, it will not be interesting to read. Especially for works aimed at women, whether they become popular depends on the appeal of the hero role.”

“The truth is that he lost his mother when he was young, and that trauma made him into a man who does not listen to others and only resorts to violence. His one and only memory with that mother was eating pudding together. Therefore, he constantly respects the protagonist, obediently listens to what she says like a loyal retainer, and becomes a man who will absolutely protect only the protagonist like a knight or hero.”

“…I see. So his background is thoroughly built.”

“That is right. Moreover, when the prince acts too high-handedly toward others, the protagonist rebukes him by saying, ‘If you behave violently, I won’t give you pudding anymore!’ Then, while becoming flustered, he still obediently listens and even apologizes to the person he went too far against. As the one person who can hold the reins of the violent prince, the protagonist becomes valued by the king, ministers, and nobles, and her status rises.”

“I see. The method for the protagonist’s rise in life is also integrated at the plot stage. Furthermore, the prince also becomes a proper person.”

“Exactly! After all, the prince is originally set up as a talented man skilled in both letters and arms. Once the prince’s personality becomes proper, he becomes a splendid noble ruler. Because of what happened in the past, even after becoming a noble ruler, he still has the added prestige of being feared by people.”

“And he continues to be the ideal perfect darling only toward the protagonist.”

At the Demon King’s words, Gobe leaned even farther forward.

“Do you not think it is good? The prose is terrible, but I believe the content is quite good.”

“What happens to the country and prince that exiled the protagonist?”

“They try to search for the true saintess, but cannot find her, disease spreads throughout the country, and it falls into decline. Furthermore, once they learn that the protagonist they exiled is a saintess who heals people with sweets, they also scheme to take her back.”

The Demon King flashed his jagged teeth and grinned.

“Heh, I can read it now. Her perfect darling will rampage like a demon and rescue the kidnapped protagonist, will he not? Will the original prince not experience enough terror to cry and wet himself?”

“Exactly so, Demon King-sama. Furthermore, in exchange for exporting sacred sweets to the original country, they even turn it into a vassal state.”

“Fwahaha! Taking advantage of another country’s weakness is true national governance!”

“Indeed, Demon King-sama—ah, this chubby unpleasant fellow is the prince of the original country.”

Gobe pointed at the page the Demon King had opened as he spoke.

The Demon King flipped through the pages of the novel and continued reading.

“Hmph, she also wins over nobles and ministers with sweets. Oh, she even makes Fenrir, Pegasus, and the Sacred White Dragon obey with sweets?”

“Exactly as the title says, it is national governance through feeding.”

“It is a combination of templates, but they are assembled well. Very well, it is selected. An honorable mention is appropriate.”

“Understood, Demon King-sama.”

“However! Have her practice prose for one year! Make her revise it dozens of times and improve her writing ability.”

“What! One year is too long, Demon King-sama! We went to the trouble of giving it the prestige of an award-winning work, but we will miss the sales opportunity!”

“Hmph. Rather than one minion-seller, raise one bestselling author. Besides, this girl is an elf. Considering her long lifespan, she will write thousands, tens of thousands of works, will she not? —We can easily recoup the investment.”

“I-I see. To think you are thinking that far into the future. As expected of you, Demon King-sama. We shall do so.”

Gobe bowed his head and accepted the order.

The Demon King looked at the three works on the table and once again grimaced as if he had bitten into a bitter bug.

“Still, after recruiting grandly at every store in the world, there were only three works.”

“Perhaps we can call it fortunate that Strange Saintess, or Strange Saint for short, was submitted at all.”

“Without that, from the very first contest, we would have had no suitable winner… Gobe, what was the problem?”

“I believe the issue was that the submission period was too short, and that recruiting all genres under one award may have been a poor move.”

The Demon King tilted his head while stroking his chin.

“Is that so? For the applicants, is it not good that they can submit anything?”

“On the contrary, perhaps they did not know what they should submit.”

“I see. So you mean it would have been better to narrow the genres and make them the Mao Mao Adventure Novel Award, the Mao Mao Romance Novel Award, and so on?”

“Exactly. And we should announce several awards one year in advance. Let us also decide the submission months, Demon King-sama.”

“In other words, January would be the Comedy Novel Award, February the Romance Novel Award, March the Exile Novel Award, and so on.”

“If it is fixed every year, writers should be able to write with plenty of time according to the award for the kind of novel they like.”

“Hmm. There is a high possibility that the total number of submissions will increase. —And if we then choose the Second Mao Mao Novel Award from the award-winning works of all twelve months, it should add even more prestige.”

“T-That is true! To think you would think that far! As expected of you, Demon King-sama!”

“—Then do so.”

“Yes, my lord. We shall absolutely proceed with the plan as you desire.”

Gobe bowed deeply, then hurried out of the throne room.

Taking that as a signal, the monsters who had participated as preliminary readers also left the hall in twos and threes.

The Demon King, left alone in the throne room, picked up Teti’s novel once more and looked at it.

“Heh. For her first time writing, this is not bad at all. Considering her future potential, perhaps I shall praise her when we meet.”

The Demon King showed a confident smile and laughed loudly.

Thus, it was decided: “As a result of a strict review from among the enormous total number of submissions, three works were ultimately selected. After that, following the final selection by experts including President Mao, The Strange Saintess Runs a Nation Through Feeding♪ by Teti was chosen as an honorable mention for the First Mao Mao Novel Award.”