Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 29: Hamlet

< Chapter 29: Hamlet – 3 >

The scalpers who had been eating away at the cultural and artistic community were eradicated in an instant.

Of course, the scalpers had their own confidence.

They had been consistently giving ‘gifts’ to administrative officials and the guard, thinking they could escape in case of a crackdown.

It was a completely wrong assumption.

“What, what crime have I committed to deserve this?!”

“Yesterday, the ‘Prohibition of Illegal Resale in the Cultural and Artistic Community Act’ was passed by the council. Everything you were doing is now punishable.”

“How could I know about a law passed just yesterday! This isn’t right, call the head of the guard. If it’s Layton, surely—.”

“The head of the guard? Ah, he’s just arrived.”

“Le, Layton! It’s really nice to see you! There seems to be some misunderstanding, I haven’t done anything— eek?!”

“I came to warn you, Hans. If my name comes out of your mouth even once more, I’ll use all my connections to make sure you can’t set foot in the empire again.”

The head of the guard growled in a voice that resembled the low frequency of a predator. The merchant had no choice but to shrink back at that voice.

“I, I truly didn’t know. This is a misunderstanding—.”

“As an informed merchant, you claim not to know about a law passed by the council, especially one directly related to your ‘tricks’?”

“Still, it’s only been a day since it passed. Isn’t it too much to detain someone over such a new law?”

“Do you know what ‘too much’ really is?”

“…..”

“I have to step down from my position as head of the guard just because I received a single bottle of liquor from you. The artist Homer, whom you used for your ‘tricks,’ is sponsored by the royal family. And Ian Plummer, known as a co-author of the work ‘Hamlet,’ is the beloved youngest son of Count Plummer. That’s what ‘too much’ means. What you did is what’s truly excessive!”

“Th-that’s—.”

“Let me warn you again. Make sure my name doesn’t come out even by accident in the upcoming newspaper.”

The empire was a constitutional monarchy where even commoners could enter the council, but the gap in class and power was clear. And ‘Homer’ was under the protection of the highest power.

Of course, there were those who harbored resentment in the darkness, away from the eyes of power.

“This can’t be! Oppressing us merchants like this, is this even reasonable? In this situation, we need to give a warning—.”

“Grrr….”

“…A beastman? Ah, ahh!”

But they disappeared—.

As a result, the scalping issue was resolved more cleanly than ever.

“All the assets of the scalpers will be confiscated and used as a fund for the development of performing arts.”

“That’s good.”

Thus, the problem that plagued the cultural and arts scene was resolved.

However, another issue arose.

This time, it was a familiar problem in a different sense.

“Isn’t Hamlet’s indecisive nature and dreadful downfall a satire of the Lazy King of the Harren Kingdom, who, despite having absolute power, does nothing?”

“And what about Claudius, who killed his brother and usurped the throne? Isn’t this a critique of the current emperor of the Empire, who was originally only third in the line of succession?”

It was, of course, the political zealots.

“Then, isn’t Hamlet essentially a work expressing Homer’s political stance?”

“And the fact that he wrote it with his disciples, wasn’t that a sophisticated deception to hide the truth?”

Critics, gossipers, and some chatterboxes began to find political meanings in the work ‘Hamlet.’

The ‘political nature’ they discovered soon transformed into more concrete rumors that spread among the people.

“I heard that the reason Homer hid his identity and exiled himself from the Harren Kingdom was actually because he was sentenced to death for criticizing the Lazy King! He denied being from Harren to avoid the royal family’s eyes!”

“Eh, I heard something a bit different? Actually, Homer is the illegitimate child of the Emperor, and the reason the royal family supports him is precisely because he’s an illegitimate child.”

“What, are you saying Homer is an illegitimate child born between the Emperor and the Harren royal family?”

“What.”

Of course, there were few lunatics who truly believed such nonsense….

“This clears everything up! Homer wrote Hamlet to criticize the Lazy King!”

The fact that there were few means that there were some.

And lunatics generally had loud voices.

“Hamlet is a whistleblowing novel! Its true purpose is to expose the downfall of the Harren royal family!”

As the political zealots spread these absurd rumors with confidence and certainty, even those who initially thought it was just a silly rumor began to have doubts, thinking, ‘What if?’

Eventually.

“We, the Harren royal family, plan to respond sternly to all circulating baseless rumors regarding Homer and the Lazy King. We request the Empire’s cooperation in this matter.”

The Harren royal family, who could no longer stand by and watch, also drew their swords.

Of course, there was little the Harren royal family, lacking diplomatic power, could do after drawing their swords. At most, they could only beg the Empire to please quell the rumors.

The official response only served to amplify the rumors.

“Let’s bring Homer, the great literary figure born in Harren, back to Harren!”

“Homer is an Imperial! His origin doesn’t matter!”

“Isn’t Homer actually from the Republic of Sidell?”

“Who the hell is this guy?!”

It was utter chaos.

“Sir, what should we do…?”

“…Ignore them.”

* * *

“Sir!”

“Ah, yes, President. What is so urgent that you had to use the communication sphere…?”

“A, a guest has arrived!”

“Is it Lady Es by any chance?”

“Ah, no. That is… well…”

“Take your time and explain.”

“The Lazy King has come… personally?”

“…What?”

* * *

The Lazy King.

The king of the Harren Kingdom, located in the eastern part of the Empire.

He was the bishop of the Eastern Church and the legitimate ruler of the Harren people.

“Haha, are you Homer, the writer?”

“…Yes.”

He was standing right in front of me now.

Alone, wearing ragged clothes, without any guards.

If it weren’t for the magic identification badge made of platinum, I would have mistaken him for a vagrant who thought himself a king.

“Nice to meet you! I enjoyed all your works. Don Quixote. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Little Prince. The Sorrows of Young Werther. Alice in Wonderland. Even Hamlet! They were all masterpieces that touched my heart. Haha!”

“Thank you….”

“But, you certainly have the look of a Harren. Are you of mixed blood?”

“That is…”

“Just kidding! You are too handsome to be a typical Harren. Haha!”

“Hahaha…. Thank you….”

I had no idea what was happening.

He was a king.

Not just any king or some prince from the Empire, but the absolute monarch ruling over the eastern kingdom.

And this person was now standing before me.

In the capital of the Empire, no less. How was I supposed to understand this situation?

“The reason I came to see you is simply to support your writing activities.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s all! Were you expecting some other reason? Haha!”

“Ah, well, that is…”

“I know there have been various rumors lately. That Hamlet was written to criticize me, for instance, such absurd nonsense.”

“…”

“If possible, I’d like those rumors to spread even more. To the point where people are talking about dethroning me!”

“…What?”

I truly, utterly, did not understand.

I couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation at all.

“How much do you know about the ‘royal family’ of the Harren Kingdom?”

“Well, um, nothing at all.”

“The Harren royal family… well, to put it simply, they are hybrids with the blood of an ancient species. It’s not known to the public, but most of the kingdom’s officials are aware. That’s also why the Harren royal family is so reclusive… Anyway, that’s the gist of it.”

Was this really information I should be hearing?

“Do you know about ‘dragons’?”

“…If you’re referring to the ones in the Bible or myths, yes.”

“The blood of dragons runs in the veins of our Harren royal family.”

Were there really dragons in this world? As if to answer my question, the Lazy King’s pupils split vertically, transforming into the slit pupils of a snake.

“That’s all there is to it.”

“Pardon?”

“Proof that the blood of dragons flows in our veins. These eyes are the only evidence. It’s laughable, really. To think that something like this is enough to make someone a king….”

“Excuse me?”

“To get straight to the point, I had no intention of becoming a ‘king’. But because I have the highest concentration of dragon blood, I was made king.”

“Ah….”

This was a world where mysteries existed. It wasn’t so strange that a king would literally have blue blood.

“Even if I said I didn’t want to be king, the officials and other royals wouldn’t listen… Anyway, that’s how it is. Then, your work caught my eye.”

“My work… sir?”

“Hamlet, to be precise. That play has become quite popular in the Harren Kingdom. After reading it, suddenly, many people began to criticize me….”

“Haha….”

“Well, if people continue to criticize me, won’t the officials eventually remove me from the throne?”

“I see….”

At that moment, I understood this ‘Lazy King’.

He was the same type of person as my father!

“So, I came to ask you to continue your writing efforts. Preferably works that would make people criticize me even more!”

“…I will do my best.”

“Haha! Then, I shall take my leave! May the blessings of the gods be with you!”

…Better not to think too deeply about it. I should go to bed early today. I’m tired….

* * *

“Hehe, it’s been a while! Did you miss me, Sir?”

“…Yes. It has been a while, Lady Es.”

“It seems you’ve been involved in some interesting events while I was away?”

“Interesting events, you say?”

“I checked the teleportation entry and exit records of the Magic Tower… and found that someone came directly from the Harren royal family.”

“…”

“Oh, don’t be so tense. If you keep being so stiff, I’ll start feeling a bit hurt.”