Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 34: Sherlock Holmes

< Chapter 34: Sherlock Holmes – 5 >

“Even if the editor said that, as a writer, it was something you should not have done! It’s all my fault! I sincerely apologize!”

The writer named Lionel Balzac bowed deeply, his whole body trembling. It seemed he had not done this because he had some sort of assurance.

Rather, it seemed he had been so desperate that he hadn’t had time to consider the consequences.

“First, lift your head. It’s uncomfortable to talk while you’re bowing like that.”

“Yes!”

He was very different from the image I had in mind. The shabby-looking man trembling in front of me and avoiding my gaze was neither aristocratic like Maurice Leblanc nor did he exhibit any of the rakish charm his name ‘Balzac’ might suggest.

“Alright. You said you needed the manuscript fee?”

“Yes….”

“I won’t ask what circumstances led you to steal someone else’s character just to earn the manuscript fee.”

There was no need to inquire why he needed the money. It wasn’t uncommon for writers to be poor. That’s why nobles sponsored writers, and magazines bought manuscripts at cheap prices to print them. What was important lay elsewhere.

“Do you have a novel you want to write?”

“Excuse me?”

I wanted to know if this person had any intention of writing ‘his own’ novel. If he did, I had no intention of punishing this poor writer. After all, I was a plagiarist who stole literature from my previous life due to my own impoverished heart, and punishing him wouldn’t set any good precedent in the literary world.

And—

“As a writer, don’t you have a story you want to tell? Not a novel that plagiarizes someone else’s character to ignore and belittle them.”

“‥‥‥.”

Though I wasn’t a writer, I knew what kind of creatures writers were.

I had met several in my previous life, and in this life, I had even taken aspiring writers and published books with them.

I had supported academy students when they wanted to publish their own books. In that sense, writers were quite predictable humans.

“I… I want to write a romance novel. Not something too obscene like a popular novel, not something as tragic as ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther,’ but a story where two people face conflicts, ultimately understand each other, and find happiness.”

“A romance novel, huh….”

Writers always wanted to tell ‘their own stories.’

“Alright.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll write you a letter of recommendation for Homer Academy.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Go and learn.”

As a reader, I was more interested in reading this writer’s ‘genuine’ work than the ridiculous counterfeit titled [Haxen the Phantom Thief VS Sherlock Holmes]. After all, it was the forced inclusion of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ that ruined the story of The Hollow Needle.

This author could have written a better novel. I took out a ‘card’ from my pocket and handed it to him after writing a recommendation with a pen. It was a card made as a character product of ‘Arsène Lupin.’

[I’ll visit again once you have the genuine items ready.]

[-The Gentleman Thief, Arsène Lupin-]

[Please accept the person bringing this card into the ‘Homer Academy.’]

[-Herodotus-]

Lionel stared blankly at the card for a long time. Then he looked up at me.

“Thank you!” he said, bowing deeply once more. This time, he wasn’t trembling.

* * *

“Are you the editor who was in charge of Mr. Lionel?”

“Ah, well, there seems to be some misunderstanding─, this was entirely Mr. Lionel’s independent action, I bear no─.”

“Mr. Lionel is more suited to romance novels than detective novels.”

“Excuse me?”

The editor who had been in charge of Mr. Lionel was fired after it was revealed that he had made similar suggestions to others besides Mr. Lionel.

The company, Mini and Life, had no intention of making enemies with ‘Half and Half,’ the most popular publisher recently.

As this fact became known, other editors began to more actively check whether a writer’s work had any potential copyright violations.

While it didn’t matter to the editors if the author got sued, they realized their own jobs could be at risk.

As a result, it became an opportunity to raise awareness about copyright. Even if writers still plagiarized, editors would now cut out any problematic parts.

And then.

“I’m planning to create a foundation to support writers.”

“A foundation?”

“Yes. I will need some help from President Kindersley.”

“Haha, if it’s something like that, just leave it to me!”

I poured the immense wealth I had accumulated into establishing a foundation. It was a foundation to support the publication of writers’ works and to ensure they could maintain a basic livelihood. Support would be provided in various areas such as education, healthcare, and childcare.

“What will you name the foundation?”

“A name….”

For the welfare foundation’s name, I could simply call it [Homer & Herodotus Artists Welfare Foundation], but since I owned the rights to the two most recreated characters in genre fiction history, I wanted to use their names instead.

[Holmes & Lupin Artists Welfare Foundation]

[Founder: Homer, Herodotus]

Thus, the first welfare foundation for artists in the empire was established.

* * *

The two most renowned writers in the empire, Homer and Herodotus, jointly established a ‘welfare foundation.’

Once its existence became known, requests flooded in from people wanting to sponsor the foundation.

Nobles sought it for honor, merchants for vanity, and readers for their fandom.

Each had their reasons for wanting their name associated with this foundation.

It was perhaps a chance to leave their mark on history.

“Please, accept my money! I want to support the artists too!”

“I don’t care if my name isn’t mentioned! I’ll dedicate my entire fortune, just let me be a part of this with the two writers!”

The problem was that too many people wanted to contribute.

The ‘Holmes & Lupin Artists Welfare Foundation’ operated entirely on the royalty profits of Homer and Herodotus’s works. Even this alone was a staggering amount of money. But with the additional support from various wealthy patrons, it became too much to be used solely for supporting artists.

“Let’s split the foundation in two.”

“Excuse me?”

“Aren’t children the future writers? We should take this opportunity to ensure that children receive proper education without being forced into labor.”

[The Little Prince & Alice Children’s Welfare Foundation]

[Founders: Homer, Herodotus]

The foundation, originally established to support artists, was divided into the ‘Artists Welfare Foundation’ and the ‘Children’s Welfare Foundation’ after several procedures. Particularly, the welfare of children required astronomical budgets.

President Kindersley, with the cooperation of the ‘church,’ created a structure that utilized the existing social welfare infrastructure of the church to support the children.

“Is writer Homer truly a saint sent down by the Lord?”

“But what about writer Herodotus…?”

“Maybe Homer is the savior of the new era, and Herodotus is his apostle?”

“What?”

During this process, an irreverent rumor spread that writer Homer was the ‘savior of the new era.’

Universal welfare for children had always been the eternal aspiration of the church. Since the savior descended to this land, the church had been at the forefront of improving children’s rights by operating orphanages and establishing schools.

However, even the church couldn’t perform miracles like writer Homer did.

“We will also sponsor the foundation! Please, accept my money!”

“We want to support the same cause as the author Homer. Even if it takes all my wealth, please give me the opportunity to contribute to the foundation.”

A miracle.

Yes, it was a miracle.

A miracle where countless people volunteered to support children out of their own will, considering it an honor.

Homer had recreated a miracle on this land that no one had achieved since the Savior.

“…This confirms it.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“The Holy See officially approves the beatification of ‘Homer.’ From this moment, the title for the author Homer will be changed to Venerable and will receive the same respect as the bishops in each region until the official beatification ceremony is held. Cardinal Garnier, please arrange a meeting with Venerable Homer to decide the date of the beatification ceremony.”

“Understood.”

Meanwhile, during the council convened at the Holy See to beatify the author Homer.

The very Homer, who had triggered all these events, was…

“Welcome to the Academy, Lionel Balzac.”

“Th-thank you for welcoming me, Author Homer.”

“I’ve heard about you from Author Herodotus. He said you’re a very talented writer.”

“R-really?”

…enjoying the thought of nurturing a new writer at the Academy.

* * *

“I heard you want to write romance novels.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Tell me in detail what kind of romance novel you want to write.”

“Uh, well… It’s about two people from different social standings who face various conflicts and misunderstandings but eventually overcome them and find happiness.”

“Ho, that sounds interesting.”

“Thank you….”

“So, I’ve prepared something in advance.”

“Sorry?”

I took out a manuscript from my bag.

A textbook for romance novels whose plot endures even to this day. The direct ancestor of countless contemporary romantic movies and dramas.

[Pride and Prejudice]

Jane Austen’s masterpiece and the eternal classic of romance, Pride and Prejudice. I planned to instill the structure of this ‘romance novel’ into the writer named Lionel.