How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World

The more I explained, the deeper the misunderstandings became.

So, for the time being, I decided not to talk about my past life—more precisely, about myself.

No matter how much I explained, all I received in return were looks of pity and sympathy.

It was simply a difference in common sense.

Countries divided by civil war are usually impoverished. That’s just the way things are.

In fact, if not for America’s full-scale support and the efforts of our ancestors, South Korea could have ended up like North Korea.

Up until the 1960s, North Korea’s economy was actually in better shape.

But explaining all of this would mean going beyond World War II and diving into the Cold War, so I decided to move on.

Instead, I chose to explain what Earth was like—what kind of weapons it had and what political systems it followed.

There may not be monsters, but humans are far weaker than even ordinary beasts.

Against them, we are nearly guaranteed to lose in a one-on-one fight.

Even with the spear—once hailed as the king of all weapons—defeating a wild beast would be difficult for anyone who wasn’t a trained warrior.

In particular, wolves have been one of humanity’s greatest enemies. And the weapon that finally forced wolves to back down was none other than the gun.

“So you’re saying that just pulling the trigger, like with a crossbow, fires a lump of lead… And that it’s much more powerful than a crossbow while also being able to fire multiple rounds at once?”

“Yes.”

“Can it pierce steel?”

“Weaker bullets might struggle, but most can penetrate it fairly easily. But that’s based on the standards of where I lived—I’m not sure how it compares here.”

To be honest, making a comparison was impossible.

This was a world where creatures roamed that could slice through steel like tofu. How effective could armor possibly be?

Even someone as skilled as my father always wore armor. Otherwise, he could be taken down by a stray arrow.

Dwarven weapons, in particular, were on another level.

The reason humanity could withstand elven magic during the race wars was thanks to the weapons crafted by the dwarves.

Their shields could block incoming spells, and their armor was resistant to arrows.

It was on a completely different scale compared to ordinary armor.

So comparing them directly was difficult. But what made guns truly terrifying was how easy they were to use.

“But the real advantage of guns is in how little training they require. Even a child could stand against a knight. Just by pulling the trigger, the bullet flies out with far more force than an arrow.”

“Hmm…”

“And it’s standard-issue equipment for individuals. I’ve used one too.”

“Hah.”

My father, who had seemed doubtful at first, let out a hollow laugh when I mentioned that guns were personally issued to soldiers.

And for good reason.

Archers were one of the most difficult types of soldiers to train.

They needed considerable physical strength, not to mention years of practice to become proficient.

But a weapon that was far easier to use and significantly more powerful than a bow was being given to every individual soldier?

That meant charging into battle was no different from suicide. In a world where melee combat dominated warfare, entire armies would collapse in an instant.

“Then wouldn’t no one fight at all? To win a battle, you have to overpower your enemy, but this makes defense way too advantageous.”

“Yeah. A charge would be nothing more than a death wish. Do they at least have shield bearers?”

“But shields wouldn’t mean much against guns. We might be able to break through with magic, but they…”

That was Dave and Nicole’s take on it. Their words made me pause in surprise.

All I had done was explain the power and mechanics of guns, yet they had immediately grasped the tactical consequences.

In fact, wasn’t that exactly what happened in World War I with the invention of the machine gun?

Trench warfare was a nightmare, and charging forward meant certain death, leading to massive casualties.

Artillery fire was also a necessity for breaking through trenches, yet it had limited effectiveness.

Instead, it mostly inflicted psychological trauma on soldiers, leaving them with shell shock.

The decisive factors that ended World War I were America’s intervention and the Russian Revolution.

“They’re right. The weapon that finally countered all of this was the ‘tank.’ In a way, it’s like the knights of this world.”

“Knights? There’s a knightly class?”

“Not exactly. They exist, but the military doesn’t have a distinct knight order. It’s just a comparison.”

[So, it must have been an overwhelmingly powerful force.]

As Clark guessed, tanks were known as the ‘kings of land warfare’ for a reason.

They were the backbone of ground forces, a walking fortress that inspired confidence just by being there.

Though tanks didn’t have a major impact in World War I, Germany’s armored divisions in World War II demonstrated their true power.

Even considering Stalin’s mistakes, one of the key reasons Germany held an advantage in the war against the Soviet Union was their formidable tanks.

“Yeah. To put it simply, think of a massive hunk of steel, weighing dozens of tons, moving around. Regular bullets don’t even scratch it, and it fires huge explosive shells. It looks like this…”

Just as I had done with the gun, I sketched out a drawing to explain the tank.

As I drew, my family leaned in, shifting their attention to the table.

Rather than focusing on details, I kept the sketch simple to highlight its main features.

“This long part is the barrel. That’s where the shell is fired from.”

“But the wheels look unusual. Were they specially designed to move all at once?”

My father pointed at one of the tank’s defining features—the continuous track system.

To people in this world, its design must have looked strange.

“Yes. It’s called a ‘caterpillar track.’ It was made to navigate rough terrain more easily.”

“That could be a weakness. If someone destroys it, its mobility would be severely reduced.”

My father stroked his chin thoughtfully. I couldn’t help but be impressed once again.

Just like Dave and Nicole earlier, he had pinpointed a weakness after only a brief explanation.

In reality, a tank losing its tracks would render it completely immobile.

In movies, whenever a tank was disabled, it was almost always because its tracks had been damaged.

That said, even an immobile tank could still serve as excellent cover. The movie Fury depicted this aspect well.

“You’re right, Father. But losing mobility doesn’t mean it becomes useless. Like I said, it’s still a massive hunk of steel just sitting there.”

“It’s hard to imagine how terrifying it would be. It sounds less like a knight and more like a front-line infantryman.”

Dave tilted his head, evaluating the tank differently.

From the perspective of someone in a fantasy world, it might seem more like a heavily armored shield-bearer than a mounted knight.

But for infantry, a tank was nothing short of a nightmare—a moving fortress that no weapon could penetrate.

To help him understand, I provided an analogy that fit this world.

“Dave, imagine you’re walking through a forest, and you hear heavy footsteps. What would you think it is?”

“Uh… I’d assume it was an ogre.”

With his level of skill, Dave would probably consider an ogre nothing more than a minor nuisance.

After all, he could move massive boulders with his bare hands.

But in my world, there were no superhumans like Dave. I smiled and continued my explanation.

“But imagine you have no magic and only a single crossbow. How would you feel then?”

“Ah. I get it now. So that’s what a tank feels like.”

“Exactly.”

“Heh. You really do know how to nail an analogy, don’t you?”

The others chuckled at Dave’s remark. Even I had to admit I had explained it well.

But no matter how well I explained things, talking about war and the military for too long would make my mother and Mari lose interest.

They were curious but not particularly invested—especially Mari, who was more focused on me as a person.

So, after putting the drawing aside, I glanced around and offered a suggestion.

“Do you have any other questions? Military topics can get boring, so maybe we could talk about something else?”

“Something else, huh…”

“Hmm…”

“There’s so much I want to ask that I don’t even know where to start.”

From their perspective, there must have been an overwhelming number of things they wanted to ask.

And now, after what had just happened with the landmine, they would be even more cautious.

I remained silent, patiently waiting for them to speak.

There was plenty of time, and if possible, I wanted to tell them everything I could.

That way, we could grow closer and, just like earlier, clear up any misunderstandings.

How long did I wait like that?

[…May I ask a question?]

Surprisingly, the first person to speak was Clark.

Meanwhile, Ariel was still sound asleep on top of his head.

I glanced at Ariel once before looking Clark straight in the eye and nodding.

As soon as I gave my permission, everyone’s attention naturally shifted toward him.

He hesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth several times, before finally asking in a cautious voice.

[Did your world also have demon worshippers?]

“Demon worshippers?”

[Yes. Of course, I know that the existence of gods in your world is uncertain. So there probably weren’t groups trying to summon gods like there are here.

And if there were, they would be seen as nothing more than lunatics. But I was wondering if there were similarly evil organizations.]

I had already told them that the existence of gods on Earth was unclear. They had been utterly shocked back then.

Hearing his question, I wracked my brain, trying to think of a group comparable to demon worshippers.

As I pondered, everyone’s gaze shifted from Clark to me, their anticipation growing.

After much thought, I finally recalled a group that, while not exactly the same, committed acts just as heinous—if not worse.

“Well… there was something similar. It’s a bit ambiguous, but the atrocities they committed were just as horrifying.”

[Is that… is that true? Don’t tell me they still exist…]

“Oh. You don’t need to worry about that. They were completely wiped out.”

[…Phew…]

Clark let out a relieved sigh, clutching his chest. Did he think I had been one of their victims?

Well, because of them, South Korea ended up implementing a conscription system—but I wasn’t about to bring that up.

“Hmm… In some ways, you could say they were even worse than demon worshippers.

Unlike here, where they exist as scattered secret societies, this group swallowed an entire nation.”

“An entire nation?”

“That’s ridiculous. No matter how—”

“The power of ideology is terrifying. Didn’t we recently hear about a village that fell under the influence of demon worshippers?”

As doubt and disbelief spread among them, my father was the one who got straight to the point.

His words immediately silenced the room.

“My father is right. It was called Nazi Germany—a war criminal nation that started the Second World War.

It’s a bit of an imperfect comparison, but imagine if Alvenheim had fallen under the ideology of the demon worshippers.”

“Alvenheim? Those arrogant elves? Why would they—?”

“That comparison doesn’t seem quite right…”

Even my father fell into silent contemplation, seeming to agree that my analogy was a bit off.

But what I wanted to emphasize was ideology.

As I looked around at my family’s puzzled faces, I smiled faintly.

Since Alvenheim had also experienced defeat in the Race Wars, it actually served as a good example.

“The reason I compared it to Alvenheim is that Nazi Germany, like Alvenheim, lost a war—World War I, in their case.

Because of that, they had to endure unimaginable injustices and hardships.

Alvenheim had it relatively better, but what Germany suffered utterly shattered the nation.”

“…”

“Their economy completely collapsed. Soldiers who had been discharged flooded the streets, unemployment skyrocketed, and national pride hit rock bottom. In that state, what could they possibly do?”

At that time, Germany was essentially powerless.

And since they were seen as the main instigators of World War I, other nations kept them tightly in check.

The United States, fearing that Germany might fall into socialism, did provide some economic aid—but in the end, what was bound to happen, happened.

“But then, a decisive event occurred that changed Germany’s fate. The United States—think of it as the Minerva Empire in this world—suffered a massive economic depression, throwing the entire world into chaos.”

“Wait, what? Our empire’s economy collapsing? That’s possible?”

While the others took the explanation in stride, Mari reacted with disbelief. Her blue eyes, wide as saucers, were filled with shock.

She was a noblewoman from the Duke of Reckliss family—someone with a strong emotional connection to the Minerva Empire.

To hear that an empire could crumble not due to rebellion or foreign invasion but because of an economic collapse—it was understandable that she would struggle to believe it.

“It was due to a combination of factors, including World War I. Think about how the Minerva Empire faced a period of instability after the Race Wars ended.

War doesn’t just bring hell—it also drags along a long purgatory. My world was stuck in that purgatory for a long time, too.”

“…”

“Anyway, during this global economic turmoil, a man emerged in Germany.

A man who drowned the entire nation in madness and carried a fanatical ideology of supremacy.”

I paused there and glanced around once more.

Every single person was completely engrossed in my story.

Their faces practically screamed, Tell us more! What happened next?

Even my mother had clasped her hands together in anticipation.

But unfortunately for them, this was where I planned to stop.

Any further, and it would be spoilers.

“Well, that’s as far as I’ll go. If you want to know how that man seized power, you’ll have to read about it—”

“No way!!”

“Just tell us already!”

“What happened? Huh? How did he take over Germany—no, that country?!”

As soon as Dave shouted, a flood of desperate voices followed.

My mother leaned back in her chair in disappointment, while Nicole visibly relaxed as the tension left her body.

But the most dramatic reaction came from Mari.

She grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me back and forth, practically begging for more details.

My body swayed helplessly under her grip, and dizziness began creeping in—but I still had no intention of continuing.

“Ugh… No way. Absolutely not. Just buy a book and read about it. Besides, it’s a political topic—it’s not something I can just summarize.”

“T-Then at least tell me what kind of person he was! Please! Is there anyone you can compare him to?”

“…”

At that moment, one person came to mind.

Not the short, mustached man everyone thinks of…

“He was incredibly skilled at speeches and propaganda.”

A certain adorable and beloved elf queen.

★★★

Meanwhile, at Alvenheim’s political headquarters, Elodia…

“Achoo!“

Arwen, who had been preparing to depart for the Michelle estate, suddenly sneezed.

Her aide, Keir, blinked in surprise and asked with concern, “Your Majesty?”

“A-Ah, it’s nothing. Just a random sneeze.”

“I see… Still, it might be best to get a health checkup before you leave. It wouldn’t do for you to pass on an illness when you finally meet Sir Zenon.”

“Kuh… I’ll be careful.”

She had no idea why she had sneezed just now.