Chapter: 32
“Hey, Young Master. The response to ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is absolutely off the charts!”
“Isn’t it always like that?”
“This time it’s something else entirely. Some readers even tried to storm the publishing house to get their hands on the next chapter of ‘Sherlock Holmes’!”
“Okay, that’s a bit overboard… but come on, it’s Sherlock Holmes.”
There are many ways to hook readers in a work, but in the world of ‘serial novels,’ the technique called ‘cliffhanger’ often takes the spotlight.
In simple terms, it’s a way to leave the story hanging like a cliff.
You end the story at a moment of conflict or when a new mystery pops up. And the ultimate cliffhanger maestro? Detective novels, of course.
The structure of a mystery novel—with its problem segment followed by a solution segment—amps up the tension to the max, making readers dive into the story headfirst.
“It’s just human nature to be curious about the next story of Sherlock Holmes.”
“Human nature… really?”
“Yup.”
And ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is basically the Mona Lisa of detective novels. There hasn’t been a work that gets readers itching for the next chapter quite like it.
“The charm of Sherlock Holmes himself probably pulled readers in too.”
“Come to think of it, was it you who suggested that the detectives at the Whiterack Detective Agency dress up as Sherlock Holmes for security?”
“Nope, that was all the President of Half and Half. That guy’s got a pretty good sense of style.”
‘Sherlock Holmes’ is the most ‘remarkable’ character in all of literary history. He’s the most filmed character from my past life and also one of the biggest used characters in literature.
Given that, the strategy of the President of Half and Half to focus on promoting the character was spot on.
“Well, once the next part comes out, this frenzy will die down, so no need to sweat it too much.”
“Is that how it goes?”
The first long novel, ‘A Study in Scarlet,’ spends half its length explaining that ‘this guy was actually a sad sack.’ It fits well into the ‘first hook’ of a detective novel, saying the criminal isn’t just some heartless monster.
But honestly… it’s kind of dragging on.
Personally, I prefer short stories over long ones.
And above all—
“The moment a stellar character becomes truly attractive… is when they lose to their own preconceptions.”
More than the notorious first long novel ‘A Study in Scarlet.’
More than ‘The Sign of the Four,’ where Holmes’ character really starts to show.
There exists a particular work that truly makes Sherlock Holmes sparkle.
“Let’s look forward to the moment that woman makes her entrance.”
“That woman… that’s from the third story, huh? It was definitely a really captivating episode, but… I’m not so sure it’s as fun as some of the others.”
Oh, right.
Sion has read ‘all’ the Sherlock Holmes stories that I “borrowed” from.
Since he wasn’t following the episodes in order, it’s tough for him to enjoy all the good bits.
“Sorry about that, Sion.”
“Pardon?”
“Just… sorry.”
* * *
[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]
[A Scandal in Bohemia]
[To Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman.]
[To Sherlock Holmes, ‘she’ was always ‘that woman.’]
[“She was a woman so beautiful that a man would gladly lay down his life for her.”]
Irene Adler.
She only shows up once in the short story ‘A Scandal in Bohemia,’ yet she’s the female character that leaves the biggest mark across the entire series. She’s also the woman most often reimagined by Sherlock Holmes fans.
Thanks to her appearance in that short tale, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ became the most ‘enchanting’ character within the Empire and in literary history.
* * *
The deerstalker hat and caped coat, the pipe, and the magnifying glass. This was a common sight in the Empire. Every detective donned the outfit that screamed ‘Sherlock Holmes.’
In fact, plenty of people who weren’t even detectives wore Sherlock Holmes outfits just to look dapper.
“Thanks to Sherlock Holmes, business has picked up! People are looking at us with more respect these days!”
“Exactly! I mean, when people thought of ‘detectives,’ didn’t it just mean we were the pathetic losers cleaning up after the nobles? Or worse, just drunks roughing up folks while trying to play cops?”
“To be fair, that wasn’t far from the truth. Haha!”
Before Sherlock Holmes shuffled into the scene, the image of a ‘private detective’ was pretty dismal.
Even in the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ stories, Holmes liked to call himself a ‘consulting detective’ and looked down on actual ‘detectives.’
But at the end of the day, people saw Sherlock Holmes as a detective.
This helped boost the overall image of the ‘private detective’ profession.
“Nowadays, it feels rewarding! We get to take down the bad guys and sometimes lend a helping hand to the needy, and I think, ‘Ah, this is why I became a detective.’”
“What’s up with you? Has the money-hungry man lost his marbles?”
Even private detectives were digging this wholesome image.
In fact, after ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ more detectives started to emulate Holmes’ actions in the stories. The media-driven image genuinely influenced the actual profession.
“Watson, the only thing left after eliminating the impossible is the truth, no matter how unlikely it seems.”
“Puhahat! It doesn’t suit you at all, so cut it out. And besides— if anyone’s Holmes, it’s me. Why am I the Watson, huh? Why are you Holmes?”
“Shut it. Watson.”
“Puhuhat.”
There was even this bizarre phenomenon where merchants and nobles suddenly started favoring hiring folks named ‘Watson’ for secretary or attendant positions.
Some even started lying about or changing their names. It looked like the people who read Sherlock Holmes had taken up calling their companions ‘Watson.’
“People go on about ‘Homer’ being a god or something, but for us detectives, ‘Herodotus’ is the real deal!”
“Exactly! Herodotus is a god!”
“Honestly, aren’t the novels written by Homer… kind of dull?”
“That’s a risky take… If you don’t want to get pounded by Homer fans, better keep that opinion to yourself.”
And thus, the name ‘Herodotus’ skyrocketed in popularity all thanks to Sherlock Holmes.
* * *
Irrespective of the mass appeal, the investigative rhetoric of ‘deductive reasoning’ presented in the Sherlock Holmes series began to permeate police organizations, including the patrol and guard units.
The ‘Imperial Capital Police Force,’ responsible for overseeing the capital’s security, was one of the most directly affected organizations by Sherlock Holmes’ influence.
“Are we really this capable…?”
“Uh, we don’t even know how to detect fingerprints…”
“I mean, there’s still no police force set up in the countryside, right?”
“We do less than private detectives…”
That’s because they didn’t grasp the majority of the investigative techniques employed by the police in Sherlock Holmes. It hadn’t even been a decade since the Empire’s General Police Law was passed.
The blending of patrol units, guard units, and police forces happened for this very reason. The pilot police force was still a disorganized mess. In this process, the novel ‘Sherlock Holmes’ itself served as a kind of guideline.
“Um, doesn’t it seem like we should just proceed this way…?”
“Seems like it, doesn’t it…?”
The Empire’s police force was quickly starting to take shape. And during this, the ‘Imperial Capital Police Force’ and its higher authority, the ‘Special Administrative Agency for the Enforcement of the General Police Law of the Empire,’ even sought advice from ‘Half and Half.’
“Author!”
“Yes, President.”
“We’ve gotten a request from the Empire, what should we do?”
“Special administrative consultation for the enforcement of the General Police Law…? Well, face-to-face sounds tricky… I’ll draft something and send it over.”
Soon, the ‘Imperial Metropolitan Police Agency’ was formed based on the framework proposed by ‘Herodotus.’
This modern police organization was established to ensure citizen safety, apprehend criminals, and maintain public order, and it hit the ground running, achieving outstanding results from day one of its official operation, establishing itself as a pillar of the Empire’s stability.
“You have the right to remain silent, but you may be subjected to torture. You have the right to an attorney, and anything you say can be used against you in court.”
“Why go through all that just to arrest a criminal?”
“Don’t you know? It’s what they told us to do.”
“Seems kind of impactful. I might start doing it too.”
In short, the Empire’s public order was on the up and up.
All thanks to a single novel.
* * *
“Lord Ed!”
“Yeah, Sion. What’s up?”
As usual, I was kicked back at home, enjoying a novel when Sion burst into the room in a tizzy, panting as if he’d been sprinting for his life.
“Something big is happening!”
“Something big?”
“Yes! Someone’s using your character Sherlock Holmes and—”
“Is it another plagiarism issue?”
Sherlock Holmes is such a magnetizing character, it’s no surprise he gets endlessly reimagined. It wouldn’t be shocking if someone rolled out a plagiarized ‘Sherlock Holmes’ work.
“It’s not plagiarism, but more importantly, you really need to read this!”
“Hmm?”
Sion handed me a magazine. It was a serial novel magazine called ‘Mini and Life,’ made from cheap pulp like ‘Half and Half.’ I occasionally read it too.
I took the magazine from Sion and casually skimmed through it. And then it hit me, I completely understood why Sion was all flustered and blushing.
[Arsène Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes]
“Wow….”
So, Maurice Leblanc exists in this world too.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
