“Hi, everyone~~ I’m Pupil~~~”
“I’m Phyllis~~~~ Welcome to our once-per-volume filler—”
“Summary skit!!!!!”
“Fine, fine~ Call it whatever you want. The readers already know it’s filler. Which shameless author swore in the group that he’d never pad things out again...?”
*(Side-eye...)*
“....................”
“This volume really does have a lot of chapters~~ Twice as many as the previous volumes, if I remember right.”
“You’ve got some nerve saying that! Each chapter is only around two thousand words. Some are barely over a thousand...”
*(Side-eye...)*
“Alright, alright~~ Let’s hurry up and introduce the characters appearing in this volume.”
“Let me check the script. The first new character should be that shadow guard who was following me.”
“Yeah~~ But the author didn’t even give him a name.”
“He showed up quite a few times, though. The bonus scene from the previous volume made it clear that he works for someone. He also appeared somewhere else, but we won’t say where to avoid spoilers. Anyone who read carefully should’ve noticed.”
“Put nicely, that means he never showed his face...”
“Then the second character is President Qiluo.”
“Mhm~ A purple-haired beauty, even though she’s already in her thirties.”
“I almost got arrested by her because of a bribe.”
“If Onii-chan had been arrested, we could’ve made a ‘In the Name of the People’ joke.”
“I don’t want that joke. Anyway, according to the setting, President Qiluo’s father, Gage, crossed over from my world. He transmigrated as a soul, while I came over physically. When Qiluo listened to me talk about Earth’s past, she was incredibly attentive. She probably wanted to learn more about her father.”
“And you have the nerve to talk about Earth’s past! What’s this nonsense about seven continents!? Did your geography teacher die young!?”
“Eh!? Isn’t it seven continents and eight oceans?”
“Seven continents and eight oceans is correct! But the Eurasian continent is one landmass!!!”
“....................”
“What’s Onii-chan going to do?”
“Go get Pangu’s axe and split Eurasia apart!”
“Wait!! You’ve been led into a trap! Seven continents and eight oceans isn’t right either! Aren’t there four oceans!? You’re mixing up the oceans with your seven aunts and eight uncles!”
“Don’t directly copy Brother Ji’s comment from the comments section just to pad the word count!!!”
“Everything he said was true!!!”
“Whatever!!!! Once the exams are over, I’ll return the things I borrowed from my teacher! There’s nothing wrong with that!!! Let’s get back to Gage!”
“Don’t change the subject so casually!!!! Anyway, the author gave Gage so many settings. Is he really planning to write a spin-off!?”
“I have no idea... Anyway, I know that if he writes one, nobody will read it.”
“Plus one.”
“Next up is our commentator, Lilith~~~”
“A cute catgirl~~~ And she’s also got a bit of a fujoshi side. Why doesn’t the author give such an adorable character more screen time?”
“Maybe the author’s just a friend who isn’t good at acting cute.”
“I think the author’s a friend who isn’t good at typing.”
“Handshake! We’ve reached a consensus this time.”
“So who’s appearing next?”
“The white-robed mage, Vince.”
“Ohhh~~ The disposable minion who got his head blown off by you at the end?”
“Yep. According to the setting, he’s a member of the Empire’s Ghost Regiment. He specializes in lightning magic. During battle, an electrical membrane forms around him as a protective barrier. Anyone who enters the membrane directly gets hit by a powerful electric shock.”
“But when the person entering is a cheat like Onii-chan, none of that matters.”
“Stop calling me a cheat! His protective membrane also shuts itself off when allies are standing nearby. That’s why I was able to shoot him in the head.”
“So that’s how it happened... Looks like his technique still wasn’t refined enough. If he’d trained the membrane until it became skin, he wouldn’t have been shot in the head.”
“He’s already dead. Let’s drop it. Is the next one Hammer Bro?”
“A black hammer.”
“Yep, yep~~ Hammer Bro is a warrior from the Empire’s Ghost Regiment. He’s skilled in Battle Aura, but there isn’t much else in his setting. Some readers might not understand the joke here. In certain northern dialects, ‘hammer’ means—well, a certain male body part. So when he threw out his hammer, it meant he threw out his own—”
“So that’s why you threw your own gun back at him?”
“Courtesy demands courtesy...”
“Who’s next????”
“The villainous Ghost, Cleid, from this volume.”
“Red-haired, terminally chuuni Uchiha Cleid.”
“Yep~ That’s the guy. Incidentally, he also appeared in the bonus material from the first volume.”
“Who’s going to remember the bonus material from the first volume!!!!!”
“First, the Chancellor brainwashed him into killing his entire family. Then he used some kind of trap to kill Aerin’s parents.”
“So...”
“So everyone can rest assured that this guy can’t be redeemed. As for how the Chancellor brainwashed him, we’ll explain that later in the story.”
“We should also clarify something here. Because the author’s brain wasn’t working, he originally wrote Cleid escaping from the Magic Array. The readers roasted that plotline until nothing was left.”
“So, in the current version, I knocked him unconscious with a heroic shot and locked him in the guard station’s prison.”
“Mhm, mhm~~ The revised chapter should’ve passed review by now. If anyone’s interested, go back and read it again.”
“Hopefully nobody skips this part...”
“Aerin’s parents also appear in this volume~”
“That father who loved pretending to cheat and then getting caught, and that mother with a one-hundred-percent chance of catching him... If they hadn’t died, they would’ve been a very cheerful family.”
“Cheating is bad, of course, but her father only pretended to tease her mother. So everyone can relax and stop trying to redeem him.”
“Masochist.”
“Onii-chan, are you qualified to say that about someone else?”
*(Side-eye...)*
“As for why Aerin’s parents, despite being nobles of the Empire, defected to the Kingdom—and what conspiracy of the Empire they discovered—we’ll tell everyone in the later story.”
“So please stop padding the chapter here...”
“Now that we’ve finished introducing the new characters, let’s go over the protagonists’ new settings.”
“Mhm. Mainly Big Sis Perina and Sister-in-law Aerin.”
“She’s already become my sister-in-law...?”
“Pretty much. If you don’t make a move soon, the readers will start wondering whether you’re impotent.”
“Shut up... Anyway, let’s start with Perina. Perina was sent by the King to monitor me and the Jade Pendant’s movements. She was originally supposed to stay hidden, but she spent all her money, so she came out and asked me for more...”
“She really isn’t suited to being a spy...”
“I think so too... Come to think of it, her background is pretty tragic. Why does the author love giving beautiful women tragic backstories so much?”
“Exactly, exactly~~ He’s a sister-tormenting maniac. Look how miserable I was when I got buried alive in the Wailing Caverns...”
“Go complain to Old Ma!!! Don’t blame the author for that...”
“Mm...”
“Next is Aerin. In this volume, Aerin finally awakened her Battle Aura just like she wanted!!”
“Yet the condition for awakening it was exactly the same as the Dragon-Bosom Emperor’s—touching Onii-chan’s two activation switches.”
“Stop talking about that! Why did something like that suddenly happen in that situation!!!”
“Your emotions had already gone out of control, right...? Many readers might not know the Dragon-Bosom Emperor reference, so let’s explain it here. The Dragon-Bosom Emperor is a character from the famous fanservice light novel High School DxD. The male protagonist unlocks his awakened forbidden form by touching the heroine’s two points on her chest...”
“The author’s range of interests really is broad... What the heck is a fanservice light novel!? That anime is just a censored ecchi show from start to finish!!!”
“Whatever~~ Don’t worry about the details.”
“Back to Aerin. The perverted God of War armor on Aerin gained a new form this time: the ‘Crimson Lotus God of War.’ This special, customized armor appeared because of the nature of Aerin’s Battle Aura. In other words, the perverted armor can take on different forms based on its user’s Battle Aura.”
“For example, Aerin is the Crimson Lotus God of War, Tia is the Purple Flame Dragon Slayer, and Onii-chan is the Silver Tendon Mushroom Set.”
“Why am I wearing the Silver Tendon Mushroom Set!!!!”
“The will of the people!!!”
“....................”
“Let’s also explain the Battle Aura setting here.”
“Yep, yep~~ I’m sure readers have been wondering why Battle Aura comes in different colors. It’s actually simple. The color depends on the user’s personality. Cleid is dark at heart, so his aura is black. Aerin is fiery and lively, so hers is red. Its strength also changes according to the user’s emotions.”
“Basically, extras have transparent auras. Characters with a bit of screen time get their own colors.”
*(Side-eye...)*
“That’s about it for the character introductions. Finally, let’s talk about the plot’s development and its details.”
“Yep, yep~~ We’ve padded things out enough. At the very end of this volume, the main storyline related to the Jade Pendant finally appeared again.”
“Besides Onii-chan’s forgiveness-green one, there’s even a rich-gold Jade Pendant!”
“What do you mean, forgiveness-green!!! Why is everyone else’s called rich-gold!?”
“Those are the facts!!!”
“Speaking of which, what exactly does this Jade Pendant do?”
“Classified information. Read the story below and find out slowly. The bonus material will reveal some other information, too.”
“And finally, finally, the author says he wants to thank Editor Guozi for his book review. The author learned a lot about his shortcomings from the review and is working hard to improve in the direction the great editor suggested.”
“So that’s why there’s been less driving lately?”
“What?? What driving!? This book has no driving at all!!!”
“Heh-heh~~ Pineapple Bun has been cracking down on adult content lately. Be careful, or Editor-in-Chief SG will come check your license plate.”
“I’m not scared~~ I really haven’t been driving.”
“Alright, alright~~ We all know.”
“And finally, finally, finally...”
“That’s enough!! How much filler are you planning to add, Onii-chan!!!!”
“But the author said this had to be mentioned.”
“What is it???”
“This book has met the requirements to go premium. It might enter the paid section later...”
“What!!! Has the author gone mad!? Hardly anyone reads this book as it is! Does he really think people will pay to read it once it goes premium!!!”
“Don’t—don’t pull on my clothes! It’s not my decision... It’s only a possibility... Maybe not. Anyway, the author said that after it goes premium, each chapter will probably cost around five cents...”
“Then it might as well stay free!!!”
“Well~~~ We’ll see what happens~~”
“I’m going to have a serious talk with him!!! That’s all for today!!”
“Yep, yep~~ I’ll go turn off the lights~~ See you all next volume, readers~~~”
....................................
“Yo, yo~~ Yo~~ Hi, everyone! I’m Blackie~~~ Welcome to Blackie’s Mushroom Balls~~~ Yo~~ If you’re interested, come meet me tonight~~ Yo~~~”
“Onii-chan!! Did you hear some strange noise just now!?”
“I think so... But it’s too dark. I can’t see anything... Let’s go talk to the author first...”
