Through the Teleport Waypoint, the Traveler and Paimon quickly arrived in Fontaine and found Furina, who had already stepped down as the Hydro Archon.
"You're saying the author of "Super Detective King", which I love the most, won't update anymore?" Hearing the news the two brought, Furina widened her eyes in surprise, then showed a dejected expression.
"How can this be? I subscribe to the Steambird every day just to get the author's book updates first thing, and now he won't even write?" Furina was extremely disappointed.
"Furina, I can understand how you feel." Paimon, also a book fan, clutched her chest. "Rios is the Pyro Archon now and has to handle an entire nation's affairs, so he really doesn't have time to write."
"Speaking of which, after learning the author is the Pyro Archon, aren't you surprised?" the Traveler asked curiously.
"Ah, of course it's surprising." Furina spread her hands, then the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"No wonder this work resonates so deeply with me—turns out it was created by a god from another nation. My taste is as impeccable as ever."
"Other people like this work for its plots, but what drew me in was sensing the faint divinity woven into it. I'm different from them," Furina said.
Paimon looked at the Traveler and whispered, "Actually, Furina didn't even notice it was written by the Pyro Archon before, right?"
The Traveler nodded lightly, then said, "As long as she's happy."
At least from her current reaction, Furina was a loyal fan of this book.
So they could reference her opinions.
"How do you hope this book develops in the future?" Furina thought for a moment, then said.
"It should be that the couples in the book get married soon and stop dragging it out."
"Isn't this a mystery novel?" Hearing Furina's words, the Traveler asked strangely.
"Although it's a mystery novel, there are a lot of romance elements too. Even many fans like the romance parts more than the mystery segments," Furina said.
"Listen to me—in the next volume, just write the couple getting married. It won't go wrong."
"Besides you, are there others who like this novel?" Paimon asked.
"Let me think." Furina pondered, then said, "I remember Neuvillette often reads this novel. It seems like it's to study the murder methods inside for trial insights."
"If you consult him, he should be able to provide his thoughts, but I don't recommend it. You can hardly imagine Neuvillette coming up with interesting ideas, right?"
"Indeed hard to imagine," Paimon agreed, then shifted her tone: "But since we agreed to reference different readers' opinions, shouldn't we consider Neuvillette's too?"
So the two went to Neuvillette's office and consulted his opinion.
"This novel was written by the Pyro Archon?" A flicker of surprise crossed Neuvillette's face.
"Yeah, but he's busy with official duties now and has no time to continue creating, so he wants to consult the readers' opinions."
"Becoming a nation's god is indeed very busy," Neuvillette nodded in agreement, then said.
"I read this novel mainly hoping to draw inspiration from the crime methods inside and understand the perpetrators' motives."
"If I have to give an opinion, then I hope the next parts of this novel feature more varied crime methods, and depict the perpetrators' motives in even greater detail," Neuvillette said.
"As expected of Neuvillette's answer— just like Furina thought," Paimon said.
After asking, the two also inquired if he knew any other old friends who had read this work.
"I think Lady Charlotte should like this novel too," Neuvillette said.
Paimon immediately thought of the pink-haired little reporter: "If she learns about this, the whole of Fontaine will know the novel was written by the Pyro Archon by the next day, right?"
"Maybe not that slow," the Traveler said. "Charlotte dreams of earth-shattering news—this scoop fits perfectly."
As expected, when they found Charlotte and told her about it, the pink-haired girl immediately lit up with excitement.
"Fontaine's bestseller was written by the neighboring Pyro Archon— is there any news more absurd than this?" Charlotte said in surprise.
"You tell me, and I wouldn't even dare publish it."
"Charlotte wouldn't publish it?" Paimon said, somewhat surprised. "I thought you'd rush to put it in the newspaper right away."
"Though I do love scoops, I can't publish everything," Charlotte said.
"Matters involving gods are never trivial. If I just blurt out stuff about another nation's god without thinking, I'd need several heads to keep them all intact," Charlotte said helplessly.
"But with the Pyro Archon's personality, he probably wouldn't mind," Paimon said.
"After all, he came to us for opinions himself," the Traveler said. "And Neuvillette knows too."
"I see." Charlotte lowered her head in thought for a moment. "Since you both say so, then reporting it shouldn't be a problem."
"Then I'll go write the article now—you can look forward to seeing this report in the evening extra edition!"
"Sigh, wait a sec," Paimon said. "We also hope you can provide some opinions on this novel."
"My opinion?" Charlotte thought for a moment. "From a news reporter's perspective, the future direction of this novel should focus more on sensational hooks."
"For example, two people everyone thinks will get together suddenly fall out, making their chances of becoming a couple seem slimmer and slimmer. Or add more characters to turn mutual pursuits into love triangles or even polygons. How's that? Not a bad idea, right?"
"Isn't this completely the opposite of Furina's idea?" Paimon said in surprise.
"Lady Furina is a pure love faction? In normal times, that could be news too, but right now, I'll focus on reporting the Pyro Archon." After saying that, the pink-haired girl happily went off to write her article.
Paimon looked at the Traveler, then asked, "So whose opinions should we reference?"
Reference Furina's opinion: Have the ambiguous pair become a couple directly, then get married.
Reference Neuvillette's opinion: Ignore the couples; make the next stories focus on mystery.
Reference Charlotte's opinion: Keep it romance-themed, but develop it into love triangles and polygons.
When players selected the first option, the editor would reply: "This idea is very good. This way, we won't offend too many fans and can give the work a perfect ending."
For the second option, the editor's answer would be: "Though it's challenging, it benefits the work's quality. We'll assign more experts for guidance then, hoping to create an even better mystery work."
For the last option, the editor would say: "Following Charlotte's approach, our novel's sales increased a bit, but the fans split into several factions and started fighting. Apparently, they're arguing over which girl the male lead should romance. Who knows if this is good or bad."