These days, even telling the truth doesn't get believed.
"So, does that mean I won't get to see the sequels to any of those novels?" Paimon was the most hurt in the whole scene; she was a loyal book fan, buying official copies with Mora every issue.
And now you're telling her the author can't update because he has to be the Pyro Archon?
"Maybe when I stop being the Pyro Archon one day, you can get the updates," Rios said with a smile.
"How long would that take?" Paimon asked.
"Probably until I die," Rios said with a smile.
"That's way too long!"
"Ah, no, how can you say something so inauspicious?"
Paimon had just wanted to complain, but then felt her words weren't good, so she changed her tune on the spot.
"Sigh, I finally came to Natlan once, but not only did I not get to soak in the hot springs, I didn't even get the manuscripts," the editor said, stroking his forehead helplessly.
"If you really want the manuscripts that badly, then I can give you a suggestion," Rios said with a smile, pointing to the blond girl beside him.
"How about having the Traveler continue the story from here?" Rios said.
"Me?" The Traveler's eyes widened slightly.
"The Traveler has journeyed the starry seas and seen much of the world; the stories you come up with would absolutely exceed everyone's imaginations. I think having you continue my stories would be the most fitting choice," Rios said.
"But I don't have that much time to write either," the Traveler said, spreading her hands.
"I can't even write one book, let alone so many at once," the Traveler added.
"I'm just asking you to envision the next plots. As for the actual writing, you can have the editor find someone to ghostwrite it," Rios said.
"Wouldn't that be unfair to the readers?" Paimon asked.
"We can explain upfront that the author is busy with something and has to find someone to ghostwrite. Once we explain the situation, it wouldn't count as deceiving the readers," Rios said.
"But if it's not written by the author himself, the readers' willingness to buy might not be as strong," the editor said.
"Then what else can we do?" Rios said with a smile. "If we don't do this, there won't be any new books, and there won't even be anyone to buy them."
"If we release official ghostwrites, there's still hope for purchases," Rios continued.
Hearing Rios's words, the editor pondered for a moment before finally nodding slowly.
"Then we'll leave it to the Traveler to continue the stories," the editor said.
"This..." The Traveler opened her mouth, feeling it still wasn't quite right. How did a perfectly good Traveler suddenly have to become a novelist?
"Don't feel too much pressure—just treat it as experiencing a novelist's life," Rios said with a smile.
"Anyway, when the royalties come in, they're all mine—you won't get a single bit, so no need to worry about poor performance," Rios added.
"Hey, Rios, you're asking the Traveler to help you write, but not even giving her royalties—isn't that a bit too much?" Mualani patted Rios's shoulder and said.
"Fine then, all the royalties from the new books will go to the Traveler," Rios said.
"Um, I want to ask something," Paimon said a bit stutteringly. "How much exactly would the royalties from these novels be?"
"That depends on your own skill level. Write well and you'll get more royalties; write poorly and you'll get less," Rios thought for a moment, then said.
"If your work is really good, earning ten million Mora per book should be no problem."
"T-Ten million?!"
Paimon's eyes instantly turned into the shape of Mora.
"Traveler, shall we help the Pyro Archon create the next stories?" Paimon said expectantly.
"You..." The Traveler smiled helplessly but didn't refuse.
Rios had already put it this way, telling her not to worry about the performance side of things, so she might as well treat it as an experience.
"Thank you, Traveler. It's really great that you've agreed," the editor said gratefully.
"Although that's what you say, I still don't know what to write," the Traveler said, a bit uncertain.
"If you don't know what to write, you can also research what the readers like to see," Rios said.
"Find a few more readers, figure out why they like this novel, then write the plots they enjoy—that way, short-term performance won't be too bad," Rios suggested.
"So the Traveler not only has to come to me for novel-related things but should also seek out some other people," Paimon quickly understood.
"Then who should we look for?" the Traveler asked.
"In Natlan, Grandma Citlali really likes reading light novels too, and with her own rich experiences, she should be able to provide you with advice," Rios said.
"The Pyro Archon wasn't just implying that Grandma is very old, was he?" Paimon whispered in the Traveler's ear.
"Probably," the Traveler nodded slightly.
After discussing, the two decided not only to consult Citlali in Natlan about the novels but also to go to other countries and ask friends there what kinds of plots they liked in novels.
The countries to visit covered all the places the Traveler had been: Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, and Natlan.
And their first stop would naturally be Citlali's home, the closest one.
After heading to Citlali's location, the first person the Traveler saw wasn't the obsidian grandma but Ororon, waiting at the door.
"Hello, Grandma Traveler, Paimon," Ororon greeted.
"Ororon, do you have business with Citlali too?" Paimon asked curiously.
"No, I'm just pleading for Grandma's forgiveness," Ororon said.
"I hid from Grandma twice to help the Fatui, and the last time I even lied to her. Grandma is very angry now, and I'm thinking if there's any way to get her forgiveness," Ororon added.
"So you're just standing at the door waiting the whole time?" Paimon asked.
"Not the whole time at the door," Ororon said.
"At first, I brought some seeds over, hoping Grandma would plant more, and through talking to her about chatting with sun-loving plants, her heart would surely become sunnier too," Ororon continued.
"But after I came back, I found Grandma hadn't used the seeds I planted at all, so I thought she might not be very good at farming. Then I helped till some soil around her and planted the seeds," Ororon went on.
"But for some reason, Grandma still won't talk to me," Ororon said, hand on his chin in thought.
"Oh, sorry, that was all me talking just now." Ororon realized. "Grandma Traveler, Paimon, what do you need from Grandma?"
"Actually, it's..." The Traveler opened her mouth and recounted everything that had happened earlier.
"I see, that's really unexpected," Ororon furrowed his brows.
"What's wrong?" Paimon asked strangely.
"I'm thinking, no wonder I can't understand what the Pyro Archon says—turns out it's because he's a novelist."
"Novelists are all weirdos. I can't understand a weirdo's thoughts; that should be reasonable, right?" Ororon added.
"Uh..." Paimon was stunned for a moment, then said, "I think your way of thinking is pretty weird too."
"That's normal," Ororon nodded. "Because I'm a weirdo too, so a weirdo's thoughts would naturally be weird."
"Sigh, stop talking—my head's getting dizzy from all your looping," Paimon said, rubbing her forehead dizzily.
"Actually, after talking with you two, I realized something," Ororon said.
"Grandma not forgiving me for so long might not be because she's too angry."
"It's just that during this time, she's been busy reading light novels and has no time to pay attention to things around her."