Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 40: Father Brown

“Most things seem to be going according to your plan, young master. This contest will be popular as well.”

“Plan? It’s not that serious… I just said, ‘It would be nice if this happened.’ We were lucky.”

Since pledging his loyalty to me, Sion had been actively helping with my ‘hobbies.’

These were various tasks related to literature. He handled things that were too difficult or time-consuming for me to do directly, such as gathering and reporting on literary issues and rumors.

In my previous life, I could have obtained information on literary trends through a ‘reading community’….

In this world, however, the only way was to have someone gather the information in person. Thus, I received a lot of help from Sion.

“There might be more participants in this contest compared to the ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ contest.”

“Ah, there will definitely be more. Probably overwhelmingly so.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s a mystery novel. Given the nature of both works, the character fandoms are extensive.”

The number of participants in these kinds of ‘fan fiction’ contests is determined by the size of the fandom.

And the [Sherlock Holmes X Arsène Lupin] contest had a particularly clear fandom.

The unique charm of the mystery genre itself, combined with the appealing characters of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Arsène Lupin,’ made all readers of mystery novels essentially part of the ‘fandom.’

“I hope many interesting works come out of it.”

“Hmm, but if there are too many entries, reading them all could be a chore. Most participants might not be very skilled at writing, don’t you think?”

“That’s true. Forcing myself to read uninteresting novels is indeed tiring… But even that kind of fatigue has its own enjoyment.”

“Do you plan to read each one personally this time as well?”

“Yes.”

I answered without hesitation.

I didn’t know how many readers would participate in this contest, but I intended to read every single entry myself.

Rather than creating a ‘filter’ and risking missing a pearl hidden in the mud, it was better to count each grain of mud myself.

“…You are quite determined when it comes to reading, young master.”

“I can’t compromise on my hobbies.”

“Won’t you be short on time?”

“Well….”

Considering the submission period for the contest entries and the evaluation period afterward, the schedule would indeed be tight.

But still.

“If it’s about reading, I can do it all day long.”

“…I see. Then I will make preparations so you can read comfortably.”

“Yes. Thank you as always, Sion.”

“It is my pleasure, young master.”

* * *

Half and Half Publishing House.

I reviewed the contest entries with President Ryan of the publishing house and President Kindersley, who had come to help.

“There are so many entries! It seems like a lot more than during the contest we held at Kindersley Publishing for ‘Homer.’”

“Indeed. It’s going to be worthwhile to read them.”

Thinking back, I wasn’t the type to read a lot of books in my previous life.

One novel of around 300 pages per day was the most I could manage. Anything more, and I didn’t have enough time to read. (Researching for translation didn’t count as ‘reading.’)

Compared to some friends who could read books at a library level, I was certainly lacking in reading.

The biggest issue was my ‘speed.’ Due to my occupational habit as a translator, I’d often slow down my reading by looking up notes or the original language.

However, this issue was resolved in quite an absurd way after I was reincarnated into this world.

“Why was this book excluded as a candidate, author? I thought it was a very interesting and unique novel!”

“Ah, that’s because it’s plagiarized. It took sentences and events from several lesser-known novels and mixed them up. ‘Valley of the Blue Spring,’ ‘Black Cross,’ ‘Rills and Heine,’ ‘Garic Walk,’ ‘The Man with a Gun,’ ‘The Village without a Caretaker,’ and others.”

“You read all of those…?”

“I’ve read all the books published by Kindersley Publishing, and most of the popular ones from other publishers too.”

“What?”

“There are many interesting books.”

Thanks to reading ‘all’ of the famous novels in this world, I could immediately recall related novels without needing to look up notes or references.

In other words, I could achieve in-depth reading even through speed reading.

Of course, if it was a novel with deep wordplay like those written by ‘Rolls Camel,’ I would still read slowly, savoring each sentence.

But for mystery novels, which were more focused on ‘tricks’ and ‘information,’ it didn’t take me even an hour to read a single book.

“Is that really possible…?”

“If you have the knack for it.”

“Is it really just a knack…?”

In my past life in Korea, there were people who created and lectured on ’10-minute reading methods.’

I did have some doubts about whether that could really be called reading. Just cramming the plot into your head didn’t count as ‘reading.’

I believed the joy of reading lay in the ‘process,’ so I deliberately read slowly if it was a truly good book.

But if the purpose was to ‘weed out’ novels that did not adhere to the basics, it was possible to dismiss one work in ten minutes. It seemed to take about that much time to review the work of new translators in my past life.

It was the difference between hobby and work.

“If my laziness causes me to miss out on a good novel, that would be regrettable. So, I end up reading more novels. Even if a novel looks terrible, I still give it a read.”

“Still, for someone like you, Herodotus, can’t you tell if a novel is good just by the first sentence?”

“Well, of course, a sloppy novel does show from the first sentence, but─.”

I picked up one of the entries and placed it among the ‘accepted’ works.

President Kindersley, who had been reading along, frowned but seemed intent on reading more since I had deemed it ‘accepted.’

It made me smile a little.

“If you judge a novel by its first sentence, wouldn’t the other unread sentences feel unfair? Father Brown, like Sherlock Holmes, can deduce someone’s occupation just by looking at their collar, but he listens to their story first to avoid prejudice. Holmes occasionally gets into trouble due to his preconceptions.”

“Haha! You must have enjoyed reading Father Brown too! As expected, it was very entertaining, just like a Homer novel! Still, I think your Sherlock Holmes stories are the best mystery novels!”

“Pfft.”

“Haha.”

“Why are you laughing?”

President Ryan, who didn’t know that I was ‘Homer,’ joined the conversation.

This made President Kindersley and me burst into laughter.

Only President Ryan remained confused, tilting his head. I wondered if there would be an opportunity to reveal to President Ryan that I was ‘Homer.’ I wasn’t sure.

“This should be enough for today. Is it alright if I take the remaining entries home to read?”

“Of course! Do as you wish, Herodotus! Haha!”

“Thank you.”

“Not at all!”

* * *

Father Brown was a mystery novel about contradictions.

This novel didn’t require grand tricks or logical rationality. The author of Father Brown, ‘G. K. Chesterton,’ deeply understood the contradictions and distortions people create for themselves.

He had the intuition to see through sloppy but extraordinary crimes born from misunderstandings.

This methodology of ‘psychological deduction’ influenced the novels of the Queen of Mystery, Lady Agatha Christie, and her ‘queenly’ powers extended to the modern era, influencing many Japanese mystery novels.

If you read those quirky, misunderstanding-filled ‘Japanese mystery novels,’ you could say you were reading works influenced by Chesterton.

And these ‘internal human contradictions’ transcended time and worlds.

Anyone living in any era who read ‘Father Brown’ would inevitably understand how thoughtfully it was written.

“…Hahaha. Truly, thank you…. I can’t even begin to imagine how I could repay this kindness…. You, Homer, are truly a benefactor to all beastmen.”

And it was the same for the ‘beastmen.’

Born unable to forget the ‘instincts of the beast,’ the beastmen had been persecuted for a long time. Representing them, Grey, the gray wolf, bowed his head to me in gratitude.

“What did I do? It was all possible thanks to the church’s consideration.”

“This has truly…. It has been the long-cherished desire of all beastmen for a long time…. Really, it’s been such a long time…. Haha…. If I were to die today, I would have no regrets….”

The reason Grey was so grateful to me was simple.

Originally, beastmen were a race not blessed by the human Lord, and therefore, they couldn’t receive ‘baptism.’

“That a mere half-beast like me… could receive baptism….”

I had received baptism from the Protestant priests I got to know through ‘Father Brown.’

“Uh, are you okay? You’re crying….”

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just the foolishness of old age…. I was so happy I couldn’t contain my emotions….”

I hadn’t intended to introduce Grey to ‘Protestantism’ from the beginning.

I introduced him to Protestantism purely at the church’s request.

* * *

[“How did you figure all this out? Are you a devil?”]

[“I am human.”]

[“And because I am human, all devils are within me.”]

After finishing ‘Father Brown,’ on an ordinary day when I was reading trending mystery novels and contemplating which novel to plagiarize next, Protestant priests came to see me with a ridiculous request.

“We would like you to rebuke the Venerable.”

“…Pardon?”

“Please, we beg you.”