Chapter: 34
“Even if the editor said that, it was something you should never have done as a writer! It’s all my fault! I sincerely apologize!”
The writer named Lionel Balzac trembled as he bowed deeply, his whole body shaking. It seemed he hadn’t done this out of some sort of confidence. Rather, he was clearly so desperate that he didn’t even have time to think about the consequences.
“First, raise your head. It’s hard to talk when you’re bowing like that.”
“Yes!”
He was nothing like the image I had in mind. The shabby man trembling in front of me, avoiding eye contact, was neither aristocratic like Maurice Leblanc nor did he show any of that carefree charm you’d expect from the name Balzac.
“Alright. You said you needed the manuscript fee, right?”
“Yes….”
“I won’t ask what circumstances led you to steal someone else’s character just to earn that fee.”
There was no need to go into why he needed the money. It’s not like being a writer was particularly profitable. That’s why nobles sponsored writers and magazines bought manuscripts for pennies. What mattered was something else entirely.
“Do you have a story you want to write?”
“Excuse me?”
I was curious if this fellow had any intention of writing ‘his own’ novel. If he did, I had no intention of punishing this poor writer. After all, I was basically a literary shoplifter from my past life, and throwing him under the bus wouldn’t exactly set a noble example in the literary community.
And—
“As a writer, you must have a story you want to tell. Not a novel that plagiarizes someone else’s character just to mock it.”
“‥‥‥.”
Now, I’m no writer, but I have a pretty good read on what writers are like.
I’ve met quite a few in my past life and in this one, I even took aspiring writers under my wing to publish books together. I’d supported students at the academy when they wanted to publish their works. In that sense, writers are somewhat predictable creatures.
“I… I want to write a romance novel. Not something too scandalous like junk novels, nor as tragic as ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther,’ but a story where two people face conflicts but ultimately understand each other and find happiness.”
“A romance novel, huh….”
Writers always wanted to write ‘their own stories.’
“Alright.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll write you a letter of recommendation for Homer Academy.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Go and learn.”
So as a reader, I was far more interested in checking out this writer’s “genuine” work rather than some ridiculous knockoff titled [Haxen the Phantom Thief VS Sherlock Holmes]. After all, it was the forced inclusion of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ that wrecked the story of The Hollow Needle.
This author had the potential to write something better. I pulled out a ‘card’ from my pocket and scribbled a recommendation on it before handing it over. It was a card made from the character ‘Arsène Lupin.’
[I’ll return once you have the genuine items ready.]
[-The Gentleman Thief, Arsène Lupin-]
[Please accept the person bringing this card into ‘Homer Academy.’]
[-Herodotus-]
Lionel stared blankly at the card for quite a while. Then he lifted his gaze to meet mine.
“Thank you!” he exclaimed, bowing deeply once more. This time, he wasn’t trembling.
.
.
.
“Are you the editor in charge of Mr. Lionel?”
“Ah, well, there seems to be a misunderstanding—this was entirely Mr. Lionel’s independent action, and I bear no—”
“Mr. Lionel is better suited for romance novels than detective novels.”
“Excuse me?”
The editor in charge of Mr. Lionel was fired when it was revealed that he had made similar suggestions to others besides Lionel.
Mini and Life definitely didn’t want to start beef with ‘Half and Half,’ the hottest publishing house right now.
Once this information became public, other editors started double-checking to ensure writers weren’t stepping on any copyright toes.
While it didn’t concern editors if authors got sued, they realized it could put their own livelihoods at risk.
So, it ended up raising awareness about copyright issues. Now, even if writers tried to plagiarize, editors would be proactive in cutting out the problematic bits.
And then.
“I’m planning to set up a foundation to support writers.”
“A foundation?”
“Yeah. I’ll probably need a little help from President Kindersley.”
“Ha! If it’s about that, just leave it to me!”
I poured my immense wealth into establishing a foundation. It was aimed at supporting the publication of writers’ works and ensuring they could maintain at least a basic living. Support would cover education, healthcare, childcare, and more.
“What will you name the foundation?”
“A name….”
For the welfare foundation, calling it the [Homer & Herodotus Artists Welfare Foundation] would be easy enough, but since I owned the rights to two of the most reimagined characters in genre literature, I figured I might as well put their names to good use.
[Holmes & Lupin Artists Welfare Foundation]
[Founders: Homer, Herodotus]
And so, the empire’s first welfare foundation for artists was born.
.
.
.
Once people learned of the existence of the “welfare foundation” jointly established by the two most renowned writers in the empire, Homer and Herodotus, the requests to sponsor it came pouring in.
Nobles sought it for prestige, merchants wanted it for vanity, and readers for their fandom.
Everyone had their reasons to get their names on this foundation. After all, who wouldn’t want a shot at going down in history?
“Please, accept my money! I want to help the artists too!”
“I don’t care if my name isn’t mentioned! I’ll sacrifice my entire fortune, just let me join the two writers!”
The real problem? Too many people wanted to contribute.
The ‘Holmes & Lupin Artists Welfare Foundation’ operated solely on the royalty profits from the works of Homer and Herodotus. Even that alone was an astronomical amount of money. But with further support from wealthy benefactors, it became way too much to justify purely for ‘artist support.’
“Let’s split the foundation.”
“Huh?”
“Kids are the future writers, right? Here’s a chance to make sure they get the proper education without being whisked off to labor camps.”
[The Little Prince & Alice Children’s Welfare Foundation]
[Founders: Homer, Herodotus]
Originally set up to support artists, the foundation was split into the ‘Artists Welfare Foundation’ and the ‘Children’s Welfare Foundation’ after a few procedural tweaks. Particularly for children’s welfare, astronomical budgets were required.
President Kindersley, with the cooperation of the ‘church,’ built a structure to utilize the church’s existing social welfare infrastructure to support children.
“Was writer Homer really a saint sent from above…?”
“But what about writer Herodotus…?”
“Maybe Homer is the savior of this new era, and Herodotus is just his trusty sidekick?”
“What?”
Amidst all this, an irreverent rumor spread that writer Homer was the ‘savior of the new era.’
Universal welfare for children had always been the church’s eternal dream. Since the savior’s arrival, the church had been making strides in lifting children’s rights through orphanages and schools. But even the church couldn’t pull off the miracles Homer did.
“We will also sponsor the foundation! Please, take my money!”
“We want to follow in the footsteps of author Homer. Even if I have to give up all my wealth, please let me help the foundation.”
A miracle.
Yeah, it truly was a miracle.
A miracle where countless people voluntarily stepped up to support kids, seeing it as an honor to do so.
Homer had pulled off a miracle on this land that hadn’t been seen since the Savior walked among us.
“…Well, that settles it.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“The Holy See has officially approved the beatification of ‘Homer.’ Effective immediately, the author Homer will be titled Venerable, receiving the same respect as bishops in their respective regions until the official beatification ceremony. Cardinal Garnier, please coordinate with Venerable Homer to set a date for the ceremony.”
“Understood.”
And during the council held at the Holy See for Homer’s beatification…
The very Homer, who sparked all these events, was…
“Welcome to the Academy, Lionel Balzac.”
“Th-thank you for the warm welcome, Author Homer.”
“I’ve heard from Author Herodotus about you. He says you’re quite the talented writer.”
“R-really?”
…excitedly thinking about 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 of differing social standings facing conflicts and misunderstandings but eventually overcoming them and finding happiness.”
“Ho, that sounds intriguing.”
“Thank you….”
“So, I’ve prepared something in advance.”
“Excuse me?”
I pulled out a manuscript from my bag.
A textbook for romance novels whose plot carries on to this very day. The direct ancestor of countless modern romantic movies and dramas.
[Pride and Prejudice]
Jane Austen’s masterpiece and the eternal classic of romance, Pride and Prejudice. I planned to cram the structure of this “romance novel” into the writer named Lionel.
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