< Chapter 43: Jules Verne – 1 >
After the awards ceremony ended.
I called back the two people who had been briefly kicked out for trying to duel. I was curious why the two finalists who won the Excellence Award suddenly wanted to fight each other.
“What on earth are you fighting about in the awards ceremony?”
“Oh, Mr. Herodotus! Listen to me! This guy refuses to acknowledge a clear and decisive victory!”
“Aren’t you the one being unreasonable?!”
“A man should behave like a man and accept it!”
“You should act more like an intellectual!”
“Ha! Is being stubborn and denying reality the mark of an intellectual?”
“It’s better than distorting the facts to fit your narrative!”
“You little punk! It’s a duel!”
“Who’s running away? It’s a duel!”
What’s going on here?
The two, shouting at each other, started challenging each other to a duel again.
In the end, the publishing staff and I had to step in to separate them.
Once they finally calmed down, we decided to pull one of them aside to hear his side and prevent another fight.
“Calm down. So, what’s the problem that’s got you two acting like enemies?”
“We had a contest.”
“A contest?”
“Yes! It was a contest to see who could score higher in this competition, and we both received the Excellence Award.”
“Then isn’t that a tie?”
“How can there be a tie in a sacred duel? ‘Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius’—the outcome of a duel is determined by the Lord, and the fact that my name was called first at the awards ceremony is clear evidence that the Lord has chosen me!”
“Pardon?”
Uh, what is he even talking about…? Maybe this is just how people think in this world, but still.
Comprehending the ideas in a world where gods are real is often pretty confusing.
“So, um, what did you say your name was?”
“Hans.”
“Yes, Mr. Hans, your stance is that since your name was called first at the awards ceremony, you won the contest?”
“That’s correct.”
“But from our position, evaluating the works and hosting the contest, the order in which names were called isn’t related to the works’ scores at all. Specifically, among those tied for the same rank—the Excellence Award. So isn’t that a little unreasonable?”
“There are no ties in duels!”
“Hmm…”
“It’s true that we’ve had quite a few duels before, and there has never been a time when it ended in a tie.”
“What?”
Hans was very adamant.
Listening, it seemed this wasn’t the first time they had dueled or competed. Each time, they somehow managed to determine a winner, so they had never had a draw.
This time, their disagreement was born from the nature of the contest.
“Hmm… In that case, how about we extend the competition a bit?”
“A competition?”
“Yes. The problem arose because both of you received the Excellence Award, which means it ended as a tie. So wouldn’t it be best to have another contest in a way both can agree on?”
“Hmm…”
“As Hans suggested, if it’s truly his victory, can’t the Lord decide it this time as well?”
“Though I don’t particularly like it, if Mr. Herodotus sets the stage, I’m willing to accept it.”
That might actually be a good outcome.
Since the means of competition is ‘literature,’ it’s ultimately beneficial for me to see something new. If talented writers compete with their writing, us readers can only gain from it.
“Then let’s call the other person as well.”
…
“Hans and…”
“Johann.”
“Yes, Mr. Johann. I heard from Hans about the situation. You decided to settle this based on the contest results, correct?”
“Then you’ve probably heard the background on how this competition started.”
“Background?”
“Yes. I said Mr. Herodotus’ ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is superior as a detective novel, while Hans insisted that Mr. Homer’s ‘Father Brown’ is better than Sherlock Holmes. Hence, we decided to compete to see who understands literature better.”
“You little brat?! If you say that, Mr. Herodotus is obviously going to give you more points! How cowardly!”
“Did I lie about anything? Your behavior of only saying things that suit your taste without explaining the background is even more cowardly!”
The two started shouting at each other again.
Fearing they’d start fighting again, I quickly intervened.
“Alright, alright, calm down. I think Mr. Homer’s ‘Father Brown’ is a brilliant work too. I get that Hans didn’t mention this to keep things fair in the evaluation. But now that this has happened, I don’t think I can guarantee fairness anymore…”
Pretending to mull it over a moment, I closed my eyes and suddenly nodded like I just had the big idea.
“How about asking Mr. Homer to have a look at our works as well?”
“Mr. Homer?”
“Yes, I have a bit of a personal connection with him.”
“Great! If it’s him, he’ll evaluate the works fairly and objectively!”
“Hans, are you implying that Mr. Herodotus didn’t evaluate the works fairly?”
“You punk?! That’s not what I meant! Mr. Herodotus, don’t listen to that snake’s words!”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. Just please calm down…”
After all, both Homer and Herodotus are me.
So, those two had no reason to fight in the first place. Both Father Brown and Sherlock Holmes are masterpieces after all.
Of course, I had no intention of mentioning that.
If this misunderstanding and argument spark their creativity, it’s something I should encourage. Since it seems they frequently duel, if they were to compete in literary pursuits periodically, I might end up receiving a steady supply of quality works!
“In ‘Sherlock Holmes X Arsène Lupin,’ both of you have written detective novels… This time, let’s decide on something related but slightly different, shall we?”
“Sounds good! Whatever novel it is, I’ll never lose to him!”
“Ha! Who are you kidding?! I’m going to write it perfectly!”
“I’m glad to see your enthusiasm. The theme for your competing novels will be— ‘adventure.’”
Arsène Lupin is both a detective story and an ‘adventure’ story. Sherlock Holmes was popularized by the ‘Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ series as well.
In essence, the theme of ‘adventure’ isn’t new, as it’s commonly found in ‘chivalric literature’ dealing with the heroic journeys of knights.
“Good! I’ll show you that I’m a much superior writer than this Hans fellow!”
“I’ll present a far more interesting work than Johann here!”
“Oh, and since I’m also one of the contestants along with Mr. Homer, we will also write ‘adventure novels’ together.”
“Pardon?”
“You two can judge our novels.”
“…Pardon?”
However, the kind of adventure I intend to spread in this world is a bit different.
The ‘Conan Saga’ can be considered an ‘adventure novel’ in the ‘heroic fantasy’ genre, but the core of heroic fantasy is ultimately about the ‘hero’ rather than the ‘adventure.’
The ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ can also be seen as a grand revenge story set against the backdrop of the world, so it can be labeled as an ‘adventure novel,’ yet its core is about ‘revenge,’ not ‘adventure.’
The same goes for chivalric literature and detective novels.
“I plan to attempt a serialized publication. An adventure novel series by Homer and Herodotus— doesn’t that sound interesting?”
I aim to disseminate the ‘adventure’ genre in this world.
…
To discuss the history of adventure literature, we’ll need to trace back to myths and chivalric literature defined by the ‘Hero’s Journey.’ But when it comes to adventure as a genre, we can reference survival tales like ‘Robinson Crusoe’ and exploration adventures like ‘Gulliver’s Travels.’
Exotic worlds far removed from the mundane. Secrets and mysteries hidden in various places.
Such adventure stories bloomed in the late 19th century and were consistently adored across eras.
“Hey, young master. I brought the world map you mentioned. I’ve gathered memoirs from merchants and sailors’ testimonies, along with relevant materials as much as I could.”
“Oh, thank you.”
And there was one author who stood out in adventure literature.
That’s Jules Verne, who wrote ‘The Mysterious Island’ and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days.’ I was planning to borrow his works.
“This is going to take quite a while to check and translate…”
In reality, I had already translated all the original texts. ‘The Mysterious Island,’ ‘Around the World in Eighty Days,’ ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,’ ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth,’ ‘From the Earth to the Moon’… All translated.
The problem is that we can’t ignore historical accuracy when it comes to adventure stories. While we can somehow manage with ‘The Mysterious Island,’ localizing ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ to fit this world’s culture and geography is going to take way too much time.
“…Besides, isn’t ‘teleportation’ possible in this world?”
Let’s put ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ on hold for now. So what do I have left?
“Alright. The exploration story will be ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.’”
‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.’
You’re the one I’ve decided on.
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