Editing MaruMAːMini-novel:nneverending2

===Never ending Poison Lady 2===

'''Note:''' Once again, third and first POV are mixed in the story.






When I first looked at him, We・Dal.... or rather I should say, the character of the novel, was a little thinner than that person I know well, and more tired-looking. Speaking nicely, he looked like a WILD man. Speaking badly, he looked like a homeless man. It was probably because of his beard and his disheveled hair.






"Wait, wait a moment"

Yuuri closed his eyes tightly and held his head in his hands. He looked just like a confused character in a fantasy game.

"Uh... the character of Poison Lady Anissina, We・Dal-san , is lying here on the floor, right? But since We・Dal-san is the hero of a novel, he doesn't really exist."

"Oh? Isn't Anissina the hero of the Poison Lady series?"

"Cut it out Conrad, I'm getting more and more confused! The MODEL for We・dal-san is Gwendal, right? However, why is someone who looks just like the hero of the novel here? Why!? Now I don't know who the MODEL was. Was it this man or Gwendal?"

The disheveled man made a sound between harrumphing and sneezing. The gigantic Poison Lady had passed by while we were hiding in the shadows, and although he regained consciousness and he looked at me with eyes of the same color as Gwendal's, he didn't explain anything about his current circumstances. Far from it, much like a living puppet, he just stayed there crouching on the floor and didn't move an inch.

"Say, won't you speak to me We・Dal-san? Where are we? Can you understand what I'm saying? A while back you shouted out the Poison Lady Warning. Even someone like me could understand that, you know?"

"Maybe he hates you?"

Conrad said smiling ironically.

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In order to save Yuuri and Conrad, the story had to be finished as soon as possible. While the two people who were sleep-walking kept moving around before him, Gwendal pushed the Poison Lady Series author, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina, somewhat strongly so that she would continue writting the extra story "Welcome to Poison Lady's World".

It was past midnight, the time when even the daytime kotsuhizoku were sleeping. However, since writers belong to a tribe of people who like to lead an irregular life, they can certainly keep moving the brush during late hours. 

That's what Gwendal believed.

But he was sadly mistaken.

Anissina's brush didn't move at all. Even if one would have thought she might be in a SLUMP, she was writing just fine until a moment ago. However, could it be that she would be going through such ups and downs, in a time of need like this when she was urged to write quickly? The writing stopped in the middle of the paper, the last sentence talked about a new character showing up...... and then it stopped. After that there was only one syllable, "TA" and then the writing stopped.

"What is it Anissina? Do you want more tea? Or maybe you want me to rub your shoulders?" (Gwen)

As if she were afraid to look at him, she kept looking forward with her eyes wide open. Josak, the person next to them, quietly looking over their shoulders, whose mouth was left hanging open as if saying 'uhhhhhh', finally managed to closed it.

"Maybe she needs to stop for a moment? It's not a big deal." (Josa)

"I don't want to hear any more absurd talk. From now on, I don't need your help anymore." (Gwen to Josa)

"Yeah, certainly something like that would make you angry" (Josa)

"Then don't say it" (Gwen)

"But if I didn't say it, then his excellency would be angry later" (Josa)

"S-H-U-T--U-P-" (Gwen)

"Anissina-chan....  fell asleep" (Josa)

"I said SHUT.... what!?" (Gwen)

What a foolish thing to say. At that moment Gwendal glanced at her, both of her eyes were fixated on the piece of paper that was spread before her.

"But look, she has eyeballs painted on her eyelids" (Josa)

"What did you say!?" (Gwen)

Anissina was sleeping without even leaning forward. And in order to be polite, she also had two open eyes drawn on her eyelids. It was a rudimentary way of pretending to be awake while snoozing during boring meetings.

"Damn it, I've been fooled! Wake up! Wake up already, Anissina!"

Even if he shouted in her ear, she wouldn't wake up. And that was of course, because she had her " Ultra strong Ma powered earplugs ・Oh, no! Be Quiet !" in her ears. The amateur around her weren't doing so well, and even if they shook her shoulders, she would still not wake up.

"It might not work, you know? She's probably sleep deprived from experimenting all day long."

Josak joyful tone would put anyone in a killing mood.

"What's going on, older brother?"

Wolfram who was watching over Yuuri and Conrad in the bedroom, returned to the room in a hurry.

"Both of them are walking against the corner of the room, they won't go anywhere, but how's it going over ..."

"Anissina is deeply asleep"

"What did you say!?"

"And she won't wake up"

Having to say that himself made him feel miserable. His eyebrows even started loosing up. Would she wake up with water if it was splashed<ref>The word here was a "water bukkake". </ref> all over her? No, wait. Gwendal rejected the idea in his heart.

It's Anissina. She must certainly be using a powerful magic to protect herself against cold water and other things. If the attack was not precise, it might fire back. She might be covered with a dangerous transparent shield.

Lord von Voltaire held his forehead, as he let out the moaning sound a young lady would utter right before she faints. That's when he signal to the youngest brother, while simply saying ....

"........... You write"

"Huh?"

"Enough already, you can continue writing the story."

The one taken aback was Wolfram, the youngest of the Three Mazoku Brothers who are quite similar. What did he mean by 'write'? Was he talking about signing a document? A report? His hobby is painting, but that had nothing to do with this.

"When you say continue, you mean...?"

"Did you not hear me the first time? I told you to continue writing Anissina's book"

"Huh? I-if you tell me something like that all of a sudden, I don't know what to do. It's not like I have any training in writing novels or anything like that"

"I told you as a child. I told you that since you didn't know whether you wanted to become a soldier or a person of letters, that you would study for both."

Wolfram shook his hand before his face.

"I can't do it. I was indeed advised by you to so, but so far in my life, I have never written anything but journals! I will have to decline."

Furthermore, what he had to do was to continue another person's work. He didn't want to continue a troublesome, no, a difficult story like that. No way, no matter what.

"But, Excellency the Third Son"

Josak said from behind Wolfram's back. He wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.

"If no one finishes the story, then his Majesty and the Commander can't come back to the real world, right?"

"D-Don't say something so ominous! There's no way that Yuuri and the rest won't come back!"

"But what I'm saying makes sense, doesn't it? The author, Anissina-cha... Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina said so already. But she never said that it had to be the author herself who finished the story, correct? So until she wakes up, wouldn't it be best if someone who's here, someone who's good at writing, tries to continue the story little by little?"

"Unfortunately, what Gurrier is saying makes sense"

Even his highly respected older brother was saying something like that.

However in the end, Wolfram was convinced by a single thing that Gwendal said.

"Don't you want to save his majesty?"

"....... I get it. Since you tell me that my writing would be good enough, then I'll take on this challenge"

"Good, that's a good thing to say Wolfram. The last syllable that was written was 'TA' ."



㋮ ㋮ ㋮



His neck slowly lowered, and the man who looked like he was about to talk remained quiet. He turned his big hands into a fist and hit his chest.

"Cough, cough" 

"A-are you okay, We・Dal-san ?" 

"I'm all right. Finally, I can reply to you now"

"What do you mean?"

After Yuuri patted his back, the man finally could catch his breath.

"Probably, the sentence has just been finished"

Did he say that the sentence had just been finished?.... The other two looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces. 

We knew then that we were in the forest where Poison Lady wandered, but there were still many mysteries. Why does this man resemble Gwen so much? Was We・Dal's MODEL Gwendal? Or was it this man? Furthermore, why were we brought to the Poison Lady's forest?

The man who resembled Lord von Voltaire started wiping the mud off his face with his sleeve.

"This is Poison Lady's Anissina's World. Are you new residents?"

"No way!!! Who would want to live in a place like this!? Ah! Sorry..... I didn't mean to say 'a place like this'. It's just that in the place where we live, animals are of a different size."

"Don't worry about it. The creatures of this forest are indeed unique. Everything in it is Anissina's favorite (things/animals)"

"A forest where all of Anissina-san's favorite things are gathered....? Which means that this is the Poison Lady's Plant Park・Poison Lady Pet Park, abbreviated as 'Poison Lady's Park'?"

"It's not small enough to be called a park"

The man who was collapsed on the floor up until a moment ago, used his knees to casually stand up as if it was no big deal.

"I told you already, this is Poison Lady Anissina's -World-. It is built according to the sentences she writes. The world gets created just as if she were writing a book."

"As if she were writing a ..... whaaaaaat?"

"I see... you're surprised"

He grinned while winking an eye. The stubble beard on his cheeks and jaw stood out. His smile was softer than Gwendal's. I guess Anissina likes it better like this?

"In other words, this being 'Poison Lady LAND' created by Anissina-san, and you and the people running away being the CAST of this THEME PARK is..... unlikely, right?"

Yuuri thought this too, when he first arrived to the other world. 
Maybe it was because the imagination of an average person, wouldn't accept being transported to another world from a public bathroom as something that can actually happen.

That's why in a time like this, he tried to find a coherent explanation for it as well, as a way to escape the reality he was being presented with.

But witnessing many events that go beyond common sense, makes you get used to it. When experiencing them so many times, you end up thinking 'Well, I guess this could happen too', and become more tolerant in regards to what can be real and what can't. Furthermore, when it comes to Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina, there are too many things that just don't make sense. So surely....

"That means we have entered..... the world in one of the Poison Lady Anissina books?"

Well, I guess that might be the case.

"I don't know what CASTS are, but the people you saw running away before are the residents of the forest. Since this is the world that Anissina created, everyone living here are the characters she created, once the manuscript has been written, they stay just like that."

"What do you mean by 'just like that'?"

Conrad asked in a calmer tone than Yuuri.

"It means exactly that. That they continue to be exactly like that. And that's why I am Poison Lady's greatest victim, We・Dal."

"You yourself acknowledge that you are a victim?"

"Yes, because it is written so. And because actually, there aren't other men who get treated as badly as I do."

But contrary to We・Dal's words, he looked full of energy, as he stretched making all the bones in his body crack. Conrad was impressed. He seemed to have stronger nerves than his older brother Gwendal and more VITALITY, too. Actually, he wondered if this was the kind of man that Lady von Karbelnikoff found attractive.

"The residents of this world are always increasing. That's because there are always new novels. When a new character is added to the novels, they are welcome as residents here. However...."

We・Dal extended the back of his hand towards me, and moving his index and middle fingers back and forth, he signaled me to follow.

'Oh?' Conrad thought as he tilted his head. Yuuri followed the man. He had already taken three steps forward.

This man called We・Dal, although he looked like Gwendal on the outside, had had his personality tampered with. He wasn't sure if it was because this was the author's ideal or if his traits were improved so that the character could move more easily, whatever the reason was, if he looked at him he could tell he didn't resemble his brother at all.

"You don't look like you have always lived in this world. That's because the residents here do not have such well defined bodies."

We・Dal was heading towards a tattered hut. The walls made of planks were full of holes and the roof had been partially blown away. This place wasn't nice at all. However when he pushed the already half-opened door, light reflected on several items inside.

"A new resident would probably look like that when they first appear"

A life-sized doll was laying on the work-stand that was in the middle of the humble hut. No, rather than laying I should say it was sitting.

"Uwah! What's that!? Or rather... who's that?

"It's still in a doll-like state. One day it will slowly get a face"

The human body that was sitting ahead, didn't have a face. Beautiful blonde hair surrounded its face, and it had a long slender neck.

".... It kinda looks like Wolf.... but, no! It's not Wolf, it's not Wolf! I mean, not without those EMERALD GREEN eyes...."

"It was left without a face. But I'm sure he has eyes, and a nose, and a nationality"

"Left ....?"

"It was simply left in character setting. Since you two appeared with your bodies already complete from the beginning, then probably what happened is that you are characters from another book that got lost somehow. If you don't return to your place of origin before becoming too familiar with this forest, then you might never be able to return."

Yuuri started to panic. He pulled Conrad's arm, and started walking away from the hut's door. 

However, that's when he felt some drops fall to his feet and he couldn't help but look at them.

It was blood. And it wasn't dry, it was fresh blood that had just been pumped from a heart.

"Where is this coming from?"

He instinctively looked up and found the frightening source.

A piece of meat was hanging from a tree, dripping blood.

You've got to be kidding me! said Yuuri raising his voice, as he moved quickly to avoid getting blood falling on him.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-why is there a wild boar hanging above my head all of a sudden!? Ah, I saw this in a movie, what was it again? Right, it was Predator!"

"You mean... the one set in space?"

"No, I mean the one where he's fighting aliens. But even so, it was very grotesque! With bodies having their skin peeled off."

The prey that was miserably hanging from a branch didn't look like an animal to begin with. It was as if it was never a living creature, but was simply a mass of meat. I'm sure I'm going to dream about it tonight. What kind of horrible demon would kill their prey so cruelly, and have it hanging over our heads?


㋮ ㋮ ㋮


"""The man cut open the beast's belly, peeled off its fur, and hung it on a tree above their heads. The sun reflected on the sharp fangs, that up until a moment ago was a terrible weapon aiming at him. The blood was still warm as it dripped off the leaves....""""

Gwendal was so frightened by what he read that he dropped the pen he was holding. Furthermore, he started feeling sick. All of that happened as he glanced at his younger brother's writing.

"Wolfram.... you... what kind of journals have you been writing up until now....?"

"What kind, you ask? I was writing about the everyday life of a soldier, without exaggerating or leaving anything out. Why? Is it too girly?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that if you make such a scary scenario, those two will encounter many dangers! In your setting... uhm...Will those two have to fight terrible beasts?"

"I won't write any fighting scenes. I just thought it would be best to give them some food"

"You want to make them eat that? You want to make them eat some bloody, dripping meat!?"

In contrast with the Third Son's appearance, his journal writings were HARD BOILED. They were about HUNTING, grilling his preys in open fires, drinking liquor so strong that might cause you to spit fire, and such.

"Give me that, I'll write"

Gwendal pulled a wooden chair to the desk and took the manuscript.

Although he might be responsible for the country's political affairs, he was a soldier himself. In all honesty, as far as novel writings went, he had never in his life written one. But if those two were in danger, he decided that it was better to write a safe story, even if the writing wasn't so good. It seems that he was more likely to do so than his younger brother.

"That's right, bunnies. Kitties and bunnies, the type of plot that little girls would be a part of."

"A girl with cat ears or rabbit ears? Uhm... your Excellency... wouldn't that be the type of novels aimed for male readers?"

"It's not specifically aimed at any audience"

Perhaps because he was nervous, the ink started getting all blurry. That's when he realized sweat was dripping down the pen and onto the paper.

"""Wah, this is serious trouble (sweats)! Dinner is supposed to be that meat!? Wolfram, please! KY! I have to send Yuuri a white-pigeon! This is so bad, for realz☆"""

While touching his chin as he read his older brother's sentence, Wolfram asked:

"What is KY?"  

"It means the plan is wai"<ref>Gwendal started writing like a little girl and said KY. KY (Kuki Yomenai) means "being unable to read the situation". Gwendal started changing the katakana sounds into kanji to mean something like "no plan", which isn't the actual meaning of KY.</ref>

"In other words that there's no plan? But then... or rather, what's up with that, older brother!?

"Oh my! Nowadays these kind of bulletin board novels are very popular! Ahhh, aa! I'm so happy I could fly. As expected from his Excellency, you're so good at this!"

Every now and then, Josak, who thinks and feels like a woman, also gathers information about girls.

"What? Do you have any complains?"

"I don't. I don't, older brother, but..."

"His Excellency's love for cute things is so obvious~! I wonder if Gurie should also start getting cuter costumes?"

However, isn't it safer to write a bulletin board novel for girls, rather than a novel about resilience? Because in that case you don't have to worry about being attacked by beasts or foreign nations. However even such cute, easy to read novels, have one problem.

And that is that the main character has a high chance of suffering from an incurable disease.

"But this is seriously a bad thing your Excellency, a really very serious problem! If you continue the story like this His Majesty or the Commander could end up with an incurable illness"

"I'm not planning to write such a tear-jerk plot"

"But that's the way that bulletin board novels are written"

"Then what do you want me to do? Well... if that's the case, then Gurrier, you can write until Anissina wakes up"

"W-what, Gurieeee?? I'm done for! They didn't teach me to write novels at the academy!"

"But you wrote into your training journal, right? That should be enough."

"Really? Then... uhm... soon they got used to being in the forest and they weren't so tense anymore..."

"""""At the same time we started to realize that we were hungry as we had been in the forest for a day and a night and since we weren't in the country unfortunately among our equipment there wasn't a single one of the so called portable rations that everyone carries and lasts for a day or two and it's not like we noticed we were tired right away in that regard I could say that we weren't worried about it at all but however as a result of being hungry and  starting to get sharper and after thinking that we couldn't tolerate just chewing grassroots and although it was a little late I started to wonder if there were some weapons that could be used for hunting""""



Gwendal and Wolfram who were glancing at the story next to him, started to feel dizzy.

".... rambling..."

"... this is just rambling...."



Although it wasn't flatly wrong, the sentence was too long to read. Furthermore, if you'd try to read it out loud you might run out of oxygen.

"W-with sentences like that, a lot of problems might befall the two of them. "

"And they might run out of air, it's a triple problem."

"That's why I told you that Gurieeeee couldn't do iiiiiit!"

"Please don't talk like a cute little girl in such an unsuitable time!"

Did he stop caring about his appearance at that time? Gwendal thrust his fingers into his hair.

"Damn it! Someone wake Anissina up! Or bring some other person who's a popular novel writer in here!"

At that moment, the door that connected to the hallway was slammed open.
The person who appeared in the middle of the night in the Karbelnikoff castle, was someone who wasn't supposed to be there.

"It seems that now is my turn, right!?"

"Gü"

"n-juices"

"Günter, what are you doing here!?"

Which means....? Who was left in charge of the Blood Pledge Castle? Was it perhaps Dacascos, who has nothing divine about him besides his bald head<ref>As in Buddha</ref>? Or was it the fascinating Sergeant of the Health Department, Gisela, who was taking over? Lord von Voltaire who is primarily in charge of political affairs seemed like he was about to collapse due to the inexperienced crisis management people that could have been left in charge of the castle. It was the first time in decades that he felt lightheaded.

"I heard everything that happened! You need a writer to take Anissina's place and continue writing the Poison Lady Anissina book, correct?"

You heard everything? How long have you been eavesdropping from behind the door? is what Gwendal wanted to say, but he didn't have the energy to do so anymore. Günter made a grand entrance as his smooth hair fluttered behind him.

"When the challengers are under-powered, in a time when everyone's hearts is dominated by despair, a shining light can be seen far away. Ah, that's right! We still have the promising author of mazoku literature, Lord von Christ Günter, who won't leave any man without tears in their eyes, clapping." 

Although he heard everything and wanted to say "What was up with all those lies!?" , he really didn't have any more energy to spare.

"And yes, of course, I believe that using the writing skills of someone like me, who loves his Majesty the Maou, the so called hero of this era, would be the very best way to save him. I am extremely honored, no, extremely delighted that this brush of mine could be of use to his Majesty. I von Christ Günter, under the pen name of "Beautiful Rose Thorns, Sasao"<ref>Bibaratoge Sasao (美薔薇棘,ササオ), literally "Beautiful Rose Thorns, Sasao", Sasao being the first name. I'm unsure as to what Sasao might be a reference to, however, there is a famous math teacher and author called Tsutomu Sasao (Tsutomu being the author's favorite name) who might be the inspiration for it. If this is actually the case, the Hajimari no Tabi story for Günter where he doesn't understand simple math equations suddenly becomes much funnier.</ref> bow to beat myself to a pulp, try my hardest, in all sincerity, with all my might, soft and crispily, at the risk of my own life, to do my best!"

".... Günter, you bastard, are you rambling too?"

Said Gwendal wearily.

"How rude! I don't do that. So, if this has been decided already, let me start at once. Please give me a summary of what Anissina has written so far. Oh, I'm sorry, I used a technical term. A summary is a synopsis, the novel's plot. On Earth, where his majesty is from, it would be called a PLOT. All right now, so hurry up."

While he signaled with his hand as if to say 'come, come', the truth was that there was no PLOT. After wondering how to reply, Gwendal simply confessed the truth.

"There isn't."

"What did you say?"

"Anissina, didn't write an overview or a summary of the story. Although I have written a lot in my life, I just write down whatever comes to mind. Do other writers do that? Make a "PLOT"? (Wolf)

"Hwea!?"

Günter uttered such a strange sound, that even a rare beast would turn around and look.

"Did you just say that you don't prepare a PLOT!? W-what a terrible way to write!!! I have never heard of a writer who would do that! Can you really write a story till the end like that? Without having a plan!? Doesn't the aim of the story change completely and unexpectedly right in the middle of it?"

Not being able to get the picture quite well, the inexperienced Gwendal was confused and simply muttered in a bitter tone...

"Annisina, you... you were doing it KY, weren't you?<ref>KY doesn't actually mean 'no plot' but it's the meaning that Gwendal has given to it.</ref>

"Older brother, you don't use KY to say that there's no plan, you just don't use that."

If you looked at him with the corner of your eye, you could see that Lord von Christ Günter (Beautiful Rose Thorns, Sasao) had a crown. It was an aura that had changed to red in anger.

"You want me to continue writing a story that has no plot!? No one but the author herself could do that. Next time, please have it prepared properly. Good grief, Gwendal! How can you do this? You're always so unexpectedly unkind!"

"Y-you're blaming this on me!? Or rather, Günter, you were left in charge of the Blood Pledge Castle, so what possessed you to make you come here!?"

"I came here to write the novel for his majesty. However, I cannot continue a story that has no plot. Try and find the summary and bring it here. I'll writing about his Majesty's situation meanwhile. Ah, your majesty! I have been counting the days until I could meet you again. Günter could not stop his juices from overflowing, because I have not seen your face for two nights."

So in the end, the amount of men in the room increased by one, a very particular one. Despite the fuss in the room, Anissina continued to sleep soundly. Well, that's probably because her earplugs must be really awesome.
Gwendal grabbed her delicate shoulders and shook her violently.

"Wake up! Wake up, Anissina! Now one but you can write this damn , abominable novel. So wake up and write the continuation. I'm begging you please write...."

But there was no reply.

"Excuse me, Excellency"

Josak raised his right hand. Gwendal cursed at his subordinate with bloodshot eyes. He could not contain his anger anymore.

"I was wondering....what if they got two chicken soldiers to move around?"

"I see, that's a good idea Gurrier. All right, do it."

"Whaaat?"

This would definitely wake her up. In the following moment, they could feel a bear-killing vibe. Indeed, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina's only weakness are chickens. It seems that in the past there was a terrible fight. So bad that Anissina and her brother's partner Minchey (No.54)<ref>Minchey can also be read as "Minty". I chose this romanization, because when you google the name in Japanese, you get the Wikipedia site of an American baseball player, Nate Minchey, who played for the Boston Red Socks and for the Lotte Marines and the Carps (in Japan). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Minchey</ref>, even to this day, cannot stand to look at each other. Knowing this, if you were to include chicken soldiers in the story, she would certainly wake up. The problem would come after she woke up. Who would be the one to receive the grappling technique from hell?

"How about something like this? How about if they use their heads to get out? So maybe if they know where the north is, and the sun...."

"Excuse me...."

A soft, humble voice was heard along with the sound of a soft knock.

"What do you want!?"

Replied his Excellency in an extremely bad mood in the middle of the night, at a young soldier with a shiny scalp. However he couldn't help but notice the thing he had been left in charge of.

"I got this a while back"

He was carrying a bouquet of flowers of a color like they had never seen before.

The bouquet of pale lavender colored flowers was presented along with a card containing a short message.

"Oh! This is..."

Günter clapped his hands before his chest. Although nowadays he spends his days covered in juices, back in the day it would not have been an overstatement to call him a transcendental beauty or a Messanger of Beauty.

But because his transcendental beauty-beautifulness would cause a commotion all the time, Günter became annoyed and after leaving a meigen-note saying "Don't say, I'm beautiful"<ref>The note is a meigen, a note that seems stupid, but sounds like something smart. At first it would seem like he's saying "Don't say I'm beautiful", but actually he seems to have said "Don't say (it outloud), I'm beautiful", because of the comma in between the phrases.</ref> he secluded himself for a while in his parents house by the lake. 

Of course, he's not only beautiful himself, but also knows a lot about the beautiful things in this world.

"This pale lavender colored flower, this elegantly stretched stem, which although slim and delicate, has very sharp thorns.... Isn't this the fantastic flower that only blooms in the Country's Court the 'Palace Blooming Rose'? Mhh... what a nice scent."

Wolfram, took the card and opened the thin hair... paper<ref>Pun with the word tegami, letter, and kami paper. The pun makes sense later.</ref>.

"Let's see...'To Poison Lady-sama. I just have to do this .... From your fan.... Here, have this.' " 

"Ah! Maybe it's from a 'Palace Blooming Rose' Man?" 

Josak, who is always up to date with new trends, guessed on his first try. As if drifting away from the world, Gwendal took the letter and held it up against the light. Right in the middle of the stationary, a pattern of a powerful ship.

"This is the mark of the 'Friends of the sea'. It must be Sizemore's doing."

"Yeah..."

What? Everyone seemed convinced. Recently he's been showing up everywhere, a man who's slowly losing his hair<ref>So Josak knows it's Gwendal, but Gwendal convinces everyone it's not him. </ref>.

"Well... monimoni<ref>Unable to figure out this onomatopoeia</ref>.... it should have some maryoku left.... leave it up to me... Hnn?"

And at that moment, Anissina, who would not wake up no matter how loud people around her were, had her sleep interrupted by something that hit her nostrils.  It was the scent. She reacted to the scent of the Palace Blooming Roses. Are you going to wake up? Are you going to wake up, Poison Lady!?



㋮ ㋮ ㋮




Yuuri, Conrad, and We・Dal who for some reason was giving the thing similar to Wolfram a piggy back-ride, continued walking trying to find a way out of the forest.

"Even so, what happened a while ago was really a mess. But although I should be feeling quite shocked after seeing that blood-dripping animal hanging from the tree, I actually suddenly got hungry. Usually after seeing something so grotesque, I wouldn't be able to eat for a while."

"That's just proof that you're healthy"

"Yeah, but you know? Since I was supposed to go to sleep I of course wouldn't have any snacks on me. Well, it's not like a person would die after not eating for a day or two, right?.... Wow, feeling hungry can really depress a person" 

"If you and I were fighting about who's hungrier, do you think you'd win?"

Conrad said 'here chew this, it will distract you' while handing me grassroots instead of gum. But grassroots are grassroots. Even if you put it in your mouth it doesn't taste like anything.

"Win what? I mean, hungry Conrad is completely different."

"I'm sorry I can't be more helpful"

"Well, talking makes me forget about meals. By the way We・Dal, we are heading towards the end of the book to return to the real world, but... what will you do afterwards?"

When Yuuri talked to him, We・Dal who was walking ahead turned around. 
That's when Yuuri thought he had seen something startling.

I thought that (the thing similar to) Wolfram, the life-sized doll getting a piggy back-ride, had gotten a face. I mean look over there, that light green color a little further up from the center of his face. And wait, is that a nose?

"I will continue the same as always "

"And what's the same as always? "

"Whatever I do, I will be forced to continue till the end. For example, even if I try to not take a single step forward, my body will be made to continue to move without me being aware. That's because Anissina writes it so. The residents of the world in this novel cannot go against the writer."

"I see..."

We・Dal's stubble bearded chin touched his neck. However you couldn't even see any sadness in him. The real him actually seemed stronger than the character in the books.

"Me, rather than heading towards problems, seem to be surrounded by them"

"Well, that's because you're the main character"

"Aren't there times when you're not being controlled by the brush?"

"There are. There's also free time between one scene and the other. During those times, I would usually get to know the new residents better, and I also talk to old friends. But lately, I've come up with a more entertaining plan. Since I've been having a lot of free time lately, I'm spending it attempting something new."

"Huh?"

Yuuri concentrated his attention on the thing similar to Wolfram that was on We・Dal's back. 

Ah, it looks like something similar to a mouth has appeared.  And his cheeks seem to have gained a color similar to cherry blossoms...... Huh!? Under his nose it seems that some ORIGINAL hairs are appearing!?

We・Dal continued to skilfully walk backwards on the grass path. Does he enjoy talking with strangers so much? He kept on talking... It seemed that he only resembled Gwendal in his appearance.

"I heard an interesting story from the residents of a different place who accidentally wandered in here"

"You mean characters of a different work? They were here?"

"That's right, someone from the Red Matagi series, a character from an entirely different work. Sometimes Anissina's brush slips and she confusses the name and mixes the residents. If you're writing different books at the same time, such mistakes are bound to happen. And then there are times when it is done on purpose."

"Right, like CROSSOVERS or SPIN OFFS, you mean?"

Then Conrad interjected.

"By the way, it seems that there's a comic where SUPERMAN and BATMAN work together"

"Right. In such times, I can hear the whispers of other residents"

We・Dal gestured Yuuri to come closer. He was so close that his beard almost touched Yuuri's face while he whispered.

"Oh I see! That's right, there might be some truth to it. It's really worth trying, We・Dal!" 

"I know, right? But keep it a secret from Anissina."

And as he said that, he laughed mischievously and didn't look like Lord von Voltaire's Fake or anything anymore.

At least for Yuuri, it seemed to be an exciting plot. It was like the first time that he played baseball unsupervised. Or like the pleasure of being able to control the score, when he was in the third base and felt like the coach himself.

"My life is written by Anissina, and I will continue to live with Poison Lady, but as long as I continue trying to do this, I think that I will be able to change things at least a little, right? And a story is no necessarily the property of the writers. Don't you think?"

But right when he was going to say "I do think so", Wolfram (that was looking very life-like) on We・Dal's back, suddenly raised his face. He had eyes, a nose and a mouth and... on top of that, a long thin mustache.

"EH!? A mustache!?"

The surprised one wasn't just Yuuri. Conrad, who was next to him, also seemed to say "Your onichan won't allow this!"

"The mustache doesn't look good on you Wolfram! Ah! Could it be that Anissina-san forcibly wrote it like this?"

"Wait Yuuri, look at the mustache carefully. There seems to be a message in it"

Indeed the tips of the mustache sharply pointed down. Down, where?

"Both of you, look at this child's arms"

When they looked at the arms of Wolfram (b) that We・Dal was showing them, something like a tattoo, started to appear.

"You're right! In other words this is that thing called a stigmata? I mean, I don't know much about religion so I couldn't tell for sure"

”In other words Anissina over there is writing this on the boy's pale skin, right? Ah! Yuuri, I think I can read the next word"

"What is it...? Hu... opening? Does it mean opening of the stigmataaa!? Or does it mean that the message will start from here on?"

In all, seven messages appeared and disappeared from Wolfram (b)'s arms.

I felt terribly sorry for him and hoped that it didn't hurt. This Wolfram (b) who had just been born into this world, was not something worthless. And he still had innocent green eyes like those of a baby.

The summary of the message was this.

I will make this extra edition ultra short. Since I was encouraged by the 'Palace Blooming Roses' I'll write an ending really fast. So just move as you are ordered to move and don't fight it.

Of course, we were planning to do that.

Certainly there's no one else but We・Dal who would ever think of opposing Anissina.



㋮ ㋮ ㋮



Just as Anissina said, the ultra short story was over in the blink of an eye, and that's how long it took them to reach the end.

Yuuri and Conrad left the forest to return safely to the Karbelnikoff mansion. As they looked at the Poison Lady World from the top of a small hill, they bid farewell to We・Dal and Wolfram (b).

Before they separated, and although he was very tired, Yuuri could see a shine of hope in We・Dal's eyes. Then as he walked vigorously, he asked Wolfram (b), who was now a full resident of the world.

"We're going back to Shin Makoku, is there something you'd like us to tell Anissina-san?

"Something we would like to tell Anissina?"

"Yeah, if you have any complains I'll tell the ruler of this world"

"Complains, you say..."

Looking confused he stroked his chin and jaw. This was not a habit of Gwendal.

"We are simply characters of a novel. We don't have any hopes and dreams. But there's one thing I want to ask. "

"What is it?"

We・Dal looked up and snorted.

"If you start a story, please finish it no matter what"

Before stating the rest of his complaint, he looked at Yuuri, then at Conrad, then at Yuuri again.

"If she stops in the middle of a sentence like before, I won't be able to move and will have to stay suffering like that"


㋮ ㋮ ㋮



When the little girl that came running towards him and saw the book under his arm, she asked happily.

"Yuuri, is that a new Poison Lady book?"

"That's right"

"Wah! I want to see"

"Since I brought three books as souvenirs, you need to wait until you can see this one. I'll leave it in my room. It's a special edition for sleepless nights. I got it before it hit the stores."

"Since it's about Poison Lady Anissina, won't it be so interesting that you won't sleep?"

"Unfortunately, I was KNOCKED OUT on page 3."

But his adopted daughter has always been a lot better than Yuuri when it came to academics.

However.

As Yuuri flipped through the thick book, he couldn't suppress a smile.

From now on, it'll be different. I will read all of the Poison Lady Anissina books, for as long as the series continues. I will watch over We・Dal as he heads towards the end. And so when some day his plan succeeds, I'll be there to see it no matter what.

He took Greta to her room and put the book with red binding on the bedside table.

"All right, this one's safe"

On the cover, the big fancy letters said :

"Poison Lady Anissina Series -A story that won't suck you in."





We・Dal will start carrying out his plan in this book.
What he had heard from the residents of other books was this:

There are times when the characters can move on their own, without permission from the brush of the author.

Yuuri who was the only one who heard that, thought it was nothing short of a miracle. Whether it was in another world, in Japan, or in Shin Makoku, it seemed that a miracle was taking place without anyone noticing it.

It's worth a try, We・Dal. I too want to see what happens. And when that moment comes, I'm sure I will realize it as soon as I read it.

And then, regardless of how many people are around me, I might inadvertently start talking to him as I turn the pages.

"You've made it"

And so the next line he will say will be of course a very obvious one:






"I know, right? But keep it a secret from Anissina."






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==References ==