Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 33: Sherlock Holmes

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[Phantom Thief Haxen VS Sherlock Holmes]

The story serialized in the magazine ‘Mini and Life’ was a mystery novel that blatantly exploited the fame of Sherlock Holmes. The content was not particularly remarkable.

Most of it revolved around a phantom thief named ‘Rines Haxen’ outsmarting the detective Sherlock Holmes.

The unique aspect was how the structure of the ‘mystery novel’ used in Sherlock Holmes was quite cleverly adapted. Surprisingly, the completeness of the novel as a mystery was not bad.

“Shouldn’t we protest to the magazine company? We must demand mediation immediately—.”

“No, um, honestly, as long as a decent work comes out, that’s enough for me….”

My evaluation of this work was simple.

“This isn’t interesting.”

“Pardon?”

“It seems he’s not on the level of Maurice Leblanc.”

It was not interesting.

Maurice Leblanc, infamous among Sherlockians for his ‘Arsène Lupin’ series, was still an exceptional writer. In the Francophone world, Lupin’s popularity even surpassed that of Holmes.

But this ‘Phantom Thief Haxen’ work… honestly, it wasn’t at that level. While influenced by Sherlock Holmes, it still had many immature parts.

“How should we handle this….”

In the realm of imperial law, the scope of copyright does not include the names of characters—proper nouns. It’s not that they are an exception; they simply are not detailed enough.

There were not even sufficient precedents yet.

So, it was a problem that could be punished if the empire chose to do so. In that case, this would become a precedent.

Attempting such a tightrope walk meant that this person wasn’t an ordinary individual.

“The author’s name is… Lionel Balzac?”

Hmm. I kind of liked the name. It was a name perfect for annoying translators. Of course, the spelling would be different.

Seeing that he was writing such a piece by mimicking the structure of a mystery novel that had just taken shape, it seemed he had quite a talent for writing.

“Do you know who he is?”

“I’ve never heard of the name Balzac as a family name. He’s probably a commoner or using a pseudonym, wouldn’t you think?”

“That must be it. Hmm.”

Various keywords swirled in my mind.

Sherlock Holmes. Maurice Leblanc. Phantom Thief Haxen. Balzac. Plagiarism and character copyright….

And then I decided.

“Alright. I’ve decided.”

“Shall we prepare a lawsuit?”

“No. We’ll serialize another novel in Half and Half.”

“…Pardon?”

As a Sherlockian, I naturally had various reservations about publishing ‘that novel.’ But, since there was now a volunteer willing to act as a punching bag, this was rather a fortunate turn of events.

“I was wondering how to change the names of the characters in this work… but I can just take them from here.”

A detective novel riding on the fame of Sherlock Holmes and creating the archetype of the great thief ‘Arsène Lupin’, this is a magnificent adventure story.

As an English literature major, it might be hard to view it favorably, but as a reader who loves novels, it’s hard not to be fond of it.

“Let’s show what a real thief is.”

The gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin.

There would be no more Arsène Lupin copying Sherlock Holmes. Instead─.

“Arsène Lupin VS Rines Haxen. Hmm. It doesn’t sound bad.”

Only Arsène Lupin, who plagiarized Rines Haxen, who in turn plagiarized Sherlock Holmes, would remain. It would be quite a sight when The Hollow Needle is serialized.

Does this author Lionel know how glorious this is?

It’s no less than having his character’s name inserted between the two most famous characters in the history of detective novels! Future detective novel enthusiasts would envy him, calling it a reward.

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to just punish him? I’m curious why you are going to such lengths, young master.”

“Well, detective novels are also genre novels….”

It was a somewhat impulsive decision.

“I liked the name.”

“Are you referring to Lionel?”

“No. Balzac. It’s a name that seems like it would produce many interesting works.”

“Is that so…?”

* * *

[Shock! Herodotus announces simultaneous serialization of two works!]

[Meet the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin series now at ‘Half and Half’!]

* * *

Arsène Lupin is a detective novel and an adventure novel at the same time. Among them, it’s an adventure novel with somewhat fantastical and mystical elements. In a way, it was a novel very typical of the French.

“This is interesting…. Personally, I might like it better than Sherlock Holmes…?”

“Please take care of it this time as well.”

This novel was also completed with the advice of Millie Cléang.

In particular, Millie Cléang, being a deep fan of the ‘Conan Saga’, greatly liked the adventure novel Arsène Lupin. She even evaluated it as more interesting than Sherlock Holmes.

The completed novel was serialized together with Sherlock Holmes at Half and Half.

“A new work by Herodotus, huh? Couldn’t he just publish two Sherlock Holmes stories in this time?”

“Exactly! Of course, since it’s Herodotus’ novel, it would be interesting, but right now I’m dying to know what happens next in Holmes!”

People expressed concerns about whether the serialization of Sherlock Holmes would slow down─.

“But this is also incredibly interesting…?”

“Bring the next issue! What happens next!”

Once the Arsène Lupin series was officially serialized, the opinion that they should just serialize two Sherlock Holmes stories instead of ‘this’ disappeared. This was because the Arsène Lupin series was just as interesting as Sherlock Holmes.

Particularly, the unique character of the rogue and the eerie yet fantastical atmosphere characteristic of the Lupin series deeply captivated people’s hearts.

“It’s great that there’s more to read! This is the joy of life! So, when is the next episode coming out? What? In a week?”

“Argh! This is hell!”

The people who eagerly awaited the next episode of Sherlock Holmes now had to also eagerly wait for the next episode of Arsène Lupin. It could indeed be called the hell of serialized novels.

“Could Herodotus be a demon sent by the Lord to test us…?”

“To cut the story off at such a critical moment! How could anyone do such a thing?”

Some people, based on the once-circulating ‘Saint Homer theory,’ even claimed that Herodotus was a ‘disciple of the devil’ opposing Homer. Of course, it was such an impious story that no one took it seriously.

It merely indicated how great the people’s thirst for the ‘next episode’ had grown.

The frequency of attempts to raid the publishing house, only to be suppressed by detectives from the Whiterack Detective Agency, also increased.

And there was a problem that inevitably arose when famous works were serialized at the same time.

“Arsène Lupin is the true gentleman! He protects the ladies under any circumstances and always upholds justice!”

“Ha! But he’s still a thief, isn’t he? Sherlock Holmes is the real hero! He pursues justice and brings criminals to the stand!”

It was the ‘VS game.’

‘Sherlock Holmes VS Arsène Lupin’ was one of the never-ending debates from past lives to the modern age. In this world, the two works were being serialized simultaneously. Naturally, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Arsène Lupin’ became subjects of comparison.

“Arsène Lupin is a righteous thief!”

“Where is there such a thing as a righteous thief? A thief is a thief, whether big or small!”

“He’s better than a drug addict!”

“He’s better than a petty thief who relies on crime!”

“Duel!”

“Duel!”

The gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, who prioritized his homeland and justice, and the eccentric yet justice-pursuing and cheerful Sherlock Holmes.

The debate over which of the two characters was better was endless.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this debate continued all day long in every pub, park, street, and shop in the Empire.

“What about the rogue Haxen?”

“Haxen? Oh, you mean that fool who caused an accident after being bested by Arsène Lupin?”

The rogue Haxen was evaluated as a supporting character of some significance in Arsène Lupin.

Few people remembered the work titled [The Rogue Haxen VS Sherlock Holmes]. And then.

“Author! I love you!”

“A man’s love is a bit…”

“Haha!”

Ryan, the president of ‘Half and Half,’ cashed in on the popularity of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Arsène Lupin’ by producing and selling various character merchandise.

He directly copied the strategy used for The Little Prince. In some ways, it was even more effective than for The Little Prince.

The essence of character merchandise was ultimately appealing to the charm of the characters.

“Most of the profits have been sent to your account, so please check it! You’ll be quite surprised! Haha!”

“Oh, yes.”

My wealth increased once again. Maybe I should implement a publication support policy for aspiring authors. Establishing an arts foundation might be a good idea too. But first─.

“Hello. I’m Manny Clever, president of Mini and Life.”

“Yes. I’m the author Herodotus.”

I planned to meet the author Lionel Balzac. He seemed to have a knack for learning structure. I wanted to make him a student at our academy and fill his head with novels.

* * *

“Hello.”

“Who are you…?”

“I’m the author Herodotus. Is this where Lionel Balzac─.”

“Sorry! I have no face to show! Please, have mercy!”

Hmm, this wasn’t the image I had in mind.

“I did it because I needed money! The editor said they would increase my manuscript fee if I wrote like this… I’m truly sorry!”

“Hmm?”