How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World-Chapter 478: Unite (1)
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As I mentioned before, Blood and Steel Volume 6 ends with Hitler’s Enabling Act, the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and finally, Japan’s invasion of Manchuria.
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Up until the proposal of Hitler’s Enabling Act, the story leaned heavily into politics and didn’t attract much attention. After all, this world prefers dazzling battles over dirty politics.
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Because of that, unless someone was a critic or deeply interested in political affairs, the response was generally lukewarm.
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[Papen underestimated Hitler—and ended up in Hitler’s hands.]
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[The Enabling Act simply made Hitler a king, nothing more, nothing less.]
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[It’s only right for a king to have such power.]
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Rather than get bogged down in the complexities of politics, people focused on the Enabling Act that Hitler proposed.
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The Enabling Act was a law that gave Hitler absolute power. It placed a man above the constitution, not beneath it.
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This single law shattered the democracy of the Weimar Republic and gave rise to the worst dictator in history.
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As a result, readers cheered: Hitler has finally become king! Now that he was king, the only thing left was the revival of the German Empire—no, not the Weimar Republic.
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[Why did Papen underestimate Hitler? Was it because he was a political rookie?]
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[He probably couldn’t help but look down on him. The power to move people’s hearts is different from politics.]
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[Even the president was satisfied with Hitler’s way of ruling. A classic case of “too much is as bad as too little.”]
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Naturally, Papen, who tried to take away Hitler’s power, was showered with criticism.
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Blood and Steel is currently written from an omniscient narrator’s perspective. It’s just that Hitler gets a lot of focus.
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That’s why Papen’s inner thoughts could be thoroughly explored—and readers couldn’t help but look at him unfavorably.
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[How dare he try to threaten Hitler, the protagonist! His greed was his downfall.]
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[There’s no longer anyone who poses a political threat to Hitler.]
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[Papen’s fate is either exile outside the Weimar Republic or purging. There’s no third option.]
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That’s the prevailing sentiment right now. With Papen, Hitler’s political threat, completely removed, readers felt he got what he deserved.
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Of course, with time, some readers might come around to say, “Papen was right all along.”
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But looking at Papen as a person, he was just an average politician—nothing more, nothing less.
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It’s just that his opponent happened to be the worst monster in history, which is why he ended up being judged harshly.
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Anyway, around the time Hitler began his one-man dictatorship under the Enabling Act, Roosevelt was democratically elected as President of the United States.
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[The U.S. is currently crippled by the Great Depression. They won’t be much of a threat to Hitler.]
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[The best they can do is avoid outright rebellion.]
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[It’ll clearly show the limits of democracy.]
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Even with FDR’s election, there wasn’t much fanfare. It merely served to highlight the contrast between Hitler, who became a king, and Roosevelt, who was elected through a vote.
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At the time, the U.S. was still floundering in the Great Depression. Its economy had collapsed to the point of being comparable to a famine.
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Germany, in contrast, was like a tiger that had grown wings. America, meanwhile, was a giant plummeting downward.
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‘If not for the New Deal, the U.S. probably wouldn’t have become a superpower.’
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Of course, even the New Deal wasn’t perfect. The Great Depression returned during Roosevelt’s second term.
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Here’s where the irony kicks in: Just as Hitler rose to power through the Great Depression, the United States rapidly grew thanks to World War II.
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If World War II hadn’t broken out, there’s a very high chance America would’ve sunk deeper into the mire.
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‘From here on, it’s no longer a political story—it’s a growth story.’
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If up to Volume 6 Blood and Steel was a political narrative, from here on it’s about a ruined nation trying to revive itself.
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The problem is that this next part includes the persecution of Jews. Hitler’s antisemitism has already been seeded throughout the narrative.
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Now that he holds power, his ideology will come to the forefront—starting with the denial of Jewish citizenship and moving on to eugenic laws.
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At this point, many readers are likely to start questioning things: What did the Jews even do to deserve this level of persecution?
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Honestly, the world at that time was filled with antisemitism, so explaining it is tricky.
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Moreover, the persecution of Jews became the rallying cry that united Germans as one.
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In this world, it’s like the situation with the demons before the release of The Chronicles of Zenon—a convenient enemy.
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‘You could maybe overlook the persecution, but the Holocaust? That’s going to explode.’
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I once said the beastkin massacre during the racial war was similar to the Holocaust, but in truth, they’re not comparable.
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At least the beastkin were treated as “savages”—in other words, still people. The Holocaust treated humans as less than animals.
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Simply put, it was a kind of organized slaughterhouse—with the difference being that instead of cows or horses, it was people.
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More than the beastkin, even the demons in this world might react strongly. As a race that’s been shunned from birth, they’ll empathize deeply with the Jews.
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‘A surprising number of Jews actually fought for Germany in World War I.’
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It’s unexpected, but back then, Germans and Jews were fairly integrated. Many people whose fathers or grandfathers were Jewish considered themselves German.
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But unfortunately, our dear Hitler was filled to the brim with eugenicist thinking.
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That’s why starting from Volume 7, I plan to gradually introduce a sense of “something’s not right” or “is this okay?”
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It’s true that Jews had a strong grip on the economy and finance—but if you look deeper, it’s precisely thanks to them that the country managed to survive at all.
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Without them, the German economy would’ve been completely destroyed by the Treaty of Versailles. The state itself couldn’t function.
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Even Fritz Haber, the famous developer of nitrogen fertilizer, was expelled from Germany. Just because he was Jewish.
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‘What will readers think when a Jew proudly says he was decorated by the Emperor?’
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I’m curious. No matter what, won’t they think “Okay, that’s a bit much…”?
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Or will they justify it by pointing to Austria’s annexation, the invasion of Poland, and the fall of France in six weeks?
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I’d like to start writing this as soon as possible, but from this point forward, the story needs careful planning. It’s not just Germany—the global situation will explode all at once.
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Especially America’s potential—I need to find a way to explain it gradually.
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I, having lived on Earth, already have the notion that “America is strong.” But the people of this world don’t.
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If America suddenly becomes the strongest power in the setting out of nowhere, it’ll break the story’s plausibility.
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Right now, they just look like a weakened nation staggering under the Great Depression—full of homeless people, overflowing with unemployed, and flooded with suicidal investors.
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Even if Blood and Steel is treated like a fantasy, maintaining basic plausibility is what raises its quality.
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‘It’s like trying to explain a broken-overpowered map.’
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But damn it, America’s been broken since birth, so it’s hard to even describe it properly.
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The more serious problem was that, unlike Alvenheim, it wasn’t a powerful country from the start. It had been a British colony to begin with.
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Before the Industrial Revolution, it couldn’t develop due to geopolitical limitations, but after the revolution, its geopolitical value exploded, turning it into a superpower.
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If this is well portrayed, it’ll effectively convey the destructive potential of the U.S. in later developments.
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Thus, volume 7 of Blood and Steel plans to depict the persecution of Jews in Germany and a brief history and potential of the United States.
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“Isaac. A letter came from Viscount Callas.”
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“Again?”
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First, I needed to deal with this overly enthusiastic fan. I frowned slightly at Adelia’s words that a letter had arrived from Marshal.
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Ever since our heated (?) debate about the last bombardment, he’s been sending letters without missing a single day.
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Originally, I planned to read fan letters all at once like the others, but I made an exception for Callas.
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His mother’s conception dream wasn’t just unusual—it bordered on horror—so I couldn’t ignore it.
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[Greetings. Young Marshal here. I hope you’ve been well.]
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It’s only been two days since the last letter, man. I gave a dry chuckle at the greeting in the first paragraph.
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What followed was praise of the bombardment, talk about how Marquis Matthius is agonizing over budget allocation, and updates on how Dave and Nicole are doing in the North.
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Currently, Marshal is my sole source of information about the North.
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‘Looks like he’ll be all smiles once he secures the budget.’
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Originally, Marquis Matthius was skeptical of the artillery division, but thanks to my input, he seems to have changed his mind.
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Still, the reality is full of logistical challenges, and Marshal only ever cries out for firepower.
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Even though I gave my opinion, military spending isn’t something you can adjust at will. The army has always been a bottomless money pit.
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[Not sure if you’ve heard, but soon, the first trial run of the mana-powered locomotive will take place in Machina. Marquis Matthius is currently heading there…]
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“Huh?”
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I thought it was the usual greeting-filled letter, but it wasn’t. Surprisingly, it mentioned the first trial run of the mana locomotive.
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While I hadn’t taken much interest, the mana-powered locomotive was a steadily developed invention in Machina.
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Ains once said he’d apply for a sort-of-patent with my permission. I told him to do as he pleased.
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And now, more than a year later, it seems the mana locomotive has finally been invented.
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This hasn’t even been reported in the media, but somehow Marshal knew. He must have his own informants.
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‘Didn’t someone say logistics would collapse without him?’
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Curious about Marshal, whose conception dream was anything but ordinary, I looked into him and found out he was extremely competent in logistics.
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Apparently, that’s why Marquis Matthius brought him to the social circle in the first place.
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His name, his field, even his dreams—he’s clearly destined for great things.
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‘Honestly, I kind of want to go too.’
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I really wanted to attend the trial run. Maybe it’s a bit shameless, but I did contribute (kind of) to the mana locomotive’s development.
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Even the inventor Ains referred to me as a co-inventor under my permission, so there’s no issue if I attend the trial run.
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“Sis.”
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“Yeah?”
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“What would happen if I said I wanted to attend the trial run of the mana locomotive?”
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“You’d better cancel before Mari smacks you in the back of the head.”
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Of course, no chance. I had to sigh when Adelia sharply cut me off.
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The social gatherings may be somewhat spontaneous, but they’re held internally. The trial run, however, is an external event.
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In other words, the risk of exposure is high. Of course, with dignitaries from all over the world attending, security will be tight.
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‘The demon worshippers haven’t been active lately either.’
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I don’t know the reason, but the demon worshippers have practically disappeared. Maybe they’ve gone into hiding, or maybe they’ve been wiped out completely—no one knows.
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Because of this, Musk is also asking whether it’s time to end the “event.”
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His reasoning is that there’s nothing more to gain, so better to wrap it up before innocent people get hurt.
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I agree with him and am planning to wind things down soon.
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“Isaac?”
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“Yeah?”
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While I was lost in thought, Adelia cautiously spoke to me.
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I looked up from the letter and saw her—not in her usual maid uniform, but in a shirt and pants like that time.
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Yet, for some reason, she was sneakily eyeing me like a dog that needed to pee, avoiding my gaze.
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“That country that appeared near the end of volume 6…”
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She mustered her courage and looked me straight in the eye. I nodded thoughtlessly.
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“America?”
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“No, not that. The one in East Asia.”
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“Japan?”
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“Yeah.”
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“What about Japan?”
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What could she be curious about? I was willing to answer sincerely as long as it didn’t spoil anything.
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Just like readers get curious about future events, so do my friends.
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I couldn’t show them the manuscript, but I could share a bit of the lore.
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“When I looked at the occupied territories, your country was included too… was that Japan?”
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“That? Yeah. We were occupied by Japan. We call it the Japanese occupation period.”
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“Oh…”
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“…Why did that happen?”
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Adelia asked, her eyes filled with pity. There was an inexplicable sadness in her sky-blue eyes.
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Come on, I’ve told you—I wasn’t born in that era. Despite my earlier explanations, she seemed caught in some strange misconception.
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It wasn’t just her—others around me had similar reactions. When I said we’re doing fine now, they found that hard to believe too.
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Anyway, I had to answer. I thought for a moment about how to explain it well and then spoke.
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“Because traitors sold out the country.”
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“…Why would they do that?”
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“They were afraid for their own lives.”
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“…”
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Hearing that, Adelia began to weakly thump her chest in frustration. Understandable—it’s a frustrating story.
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And that’s not even the half of it.
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“B-but you gained independence eventually, right? So those people and their descendants were punished, weren’t they?”
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“Nope. They’re living well. It’s the ones who fought for independence and their descendants who are suffering.”
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“…?”
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Adelia looked as if she’d just eaten a dozen sweet potatoes. I chuckled at her expression.
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“Our country’s always had a bit of a dunce streak.”
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★★★
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Meanwhile, in Machina…
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“Why! Why?! Why won’t you acknowledge the mana locomotive as my invention?!”
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Ains shouted in protest before the king of Machina.
★★★★★
