episode_0014

My request to President Dorling to write a new work was simple.

“I would like to hire an illustrator.”

Illustrator.

There was a need for an artist to bring life to fairy tales.

“Yes! We will invite the best artist in the empire!”

“Oh, I already have someone in mind as to who it will be.”

“Yes?”

“Could you please bring me the list of people who participated in the last ‘contest’?”

The 2nd creative contest for ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.’

The format of the contest was free. Epic poems, novels, plays, and other creative works of any kind were permitted.

And among them was a picture.

The person I’m looking to hire is one of the artists who participated in the contest.

“Do you want to ask the winners of the contest?”

“I am not a winner. Rather, he was one of those who was eliminated right away… .”

“Yes… ?”

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a work with a rough and dreary atmosphere.

The winning work of the contest also had no choice but to choose a painting style that suited that atmosphere.

I looked through the list, found a name I had been eyeing in advance, and showed it to the boss.

“Please hire this person.”

“This writer… ah! This person would certainly be suitable for illustrations of fairy tales. Then we will contact you as soon as possible!”

A participant who submitted a ‘deformation’ drawing that succinctly simplifies Hyde’s appearance.

With this person, you will be able to perfectly recreate the fairy tale of your past life.

“By the way, how should I explain the new fairy tale to the author and illustrator?”

“Please tell me this is a fairy tale about a prince who came from a little star in the night sky.”

“I understand!”

the little Prince.

That was the title of the work I was going to plagiarize this time.

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[“I am responsible for my roses… … .” The Little Prince repeated.]

The Little Prince is a children’s book classified as ‘children’s literature’.

It was also the book that had the title of being translated into the most languages in the world. There are even versions translated into Jeju and Gyeongsang dialects.

The children’s book that was consistently loved by so many people was The Little Prince.

“It’s a children’s book written by you… I’m looking forward to it.”

Zion accepted the manuscript with a reverential attitude and began to read The Little Prince.

In the quiet room, only the sound of paper turning was heard.

It didn’t take long for Zion to read the entire storybook. Shion wiped his moist eyes with the back of his hand and handed the manuscript back to me, scared that it might get wet.

Shion couldn’t hide her sad expression even after wiping away her tears.

I opened my mouth in a slightly quiet voice.

“… I feel like I’ve forgotten too many things. I am… This is the first time I’ve ever felt so frustrated… , I’m not sure how to say this… .”

Shion’s eyes wavered.

The manuscript in my hand, the sunlight streaming in from outside the window, and Zion’s eyes couldn’t focus on any of them.

But he was clearly looking at something. Perhaps something you could call your inner self.

“About myself… There are times when I feel worried. What do I want to do? Oh, of course it’s fun to work as the master’s attendant… Sometimes, I feel empty. So, um, yeah. Actually, I wasn’t very satisfied with myself.”

I don’t know much about the magic or mystery of this world, but I know one thing about the mystery that existed from my past life.

“… However, this children’s book scolded me.”

Books change people.

“My chest feels tight… I feel like I’ve come to my senses. Like discovering a rose among the stars… .”

The Little Prince penetrated deep into the heart of Zion and moved it.

“Master.”

“Yes, Zion.”

“I have something I want to do.”

“Okay. Tell me.”

“I would like to pledge my loyalty to you, Master.”

“… Huh?”

Shion got down on one knee and bowed his head.

He looked like a knight swearing loyalty to his lord.

“Various novels written by you… The books you showed me… Articles to be written in the future… My soul has become accustomed to your literature.”

“Uh, yes.”

“Because I am not smart, I do not understand the ‘development of literature’ that you envision, but… I want to follow your path. If there is an obstacle, we will remove it, if it is raining and windy, we will block it, and if you need a foothold, even the floor will be there. I want to see your dream come true.”

“Ugh.”

“So, I would like to pledge my loyalty to you, Master.”

I was a little embarrassed.

It was too sudden.

“Will you accept my loyalty?”

“… okay. Zion.”

I nod my head and give permission.

Zion took the oath of allegiance.

“Sion, the third son of Baron Orhen. I swear in the name of the Holy God that I will serve Master Ed as my master of body and soul.”

“… Ed, the second son of Count Frieden. I vow in the name of God that I will maintain my honor and faithfulness as a lord as long as Zion is loyal to me as my servant.”

In this world where God exists, the oath made in the name of God is absolute.

It wasn’t something to be done carelessly, but… It’ll be okay.

If what Zion wants is for my dream of ‘development of literature’ to come true, then this will definitely come true.

no.

It has already been accomplished to some extent.

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Publishers of Dorling Kindersley.

I went to the boss with a manuscript containing a brief idea for the illustration.

Dorling read the manuscript I handed him and nodded several times with admiration. I also read the Little Prince’s lines out loud from time to time.

If Shion reflected on herself while reading the story of The Little Prince, President Dorling was simply enjoying it as literature.

“Huh. This work is also really good! But who is the person named Léon Bert written in the tribute?”

“It’s a secret.”

The Little Prince is a work that author Saint-Exupéry dedicated to his friend named Léon Berthe.

When moving the manuscript, the original tribute was kept intact.

This is not just out of respect for the original author. The Little Prince’s tribute to Léon Berthe was already part of the fairy tale in itself.

[All adults were once children. (But few adults remember that.)]

[So, I rewrite my tribute like this.]

[To Léon Berth as a child]

Thanks to this tribute, The Little Prince is completed as a ‘fairy tale for adults.’

Of course I couldn’t explain this, so I just passed it off as a secret.

Boss Dorling, who was reasonably convinced, nodded.

“I really like this book. Does it feel like a thrilling first love? Good… Wouldn’t it be difficult for children to understand? There are also many satirical contents… .”

The Little Prince is a satire on a complex and irrational society.

If it was a difficult book, it was a difficult book.

“Boss. Who are the readers of fairy tales?”

“Yes? Uh, that… Isn’t it a child?”

“No.”

“Yes?”

“Fairy tales are sold to adults with children.”

“… Aha.”

A fairy tale is a book that an adult reads to a child.

And ‘The Little Prince’ was a fairy tale that had very different feelings as a child and as an adult.

“Children are much wiser than we think.”

“Well, sometimes I feel like children are much better than adults.”

Adults cannot look at the world as purely as children.

When children listen to fairy tales and empathize with the Little Prince’s voice, adults feel ashamed while reading the Little Prince’s words.

There are not many adults who can be confident in front of a child.

An adult like that is either an absurdly shameless person.

“I think I was smarter when I was younger! I feel like my head isn’t working very well these days. Hehe.”

There are only people who are outrageously honest with themselves, like Dorling, who kept an old publishing company alone.

“You are still wise enough.”

“Hehe, thank you. I feel like I am filled with energy thanks to the author! Today is overtime!”

“Work while taking care of your health… .”

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It didn’t even take a month for The Little Prince to become the most loved book in the empire.

The value of the name Homer’s new work was enough to make everyone look for the book at least once.

Anyone who has read The Little Prince has fallen in love with this wise and loving work.

“The Little Prince is an oasis that comforts weary hearts… .”

“Isn’t the reason why the desert is so beautiful is because the Little Prince is there?”

People who were tired and struggling were comforted by reading The Little Prince.

People who blindly ran for success came to reflect on themselves after reading The Little Prince.

Just like the fox tamed the little prince.

Just like the little prince tamed the fox.

The Little Prince tamed people’s souls and made them think about what was ‘really important.’

“What kind of person is the author of Homer?”

“A writer who can write a story like this must be a cultured and kind person.”

Don Quixote made Homer a great writer, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde made Homer a charming writer.

But The Little Prince achieved what those two works could not.

The Little Prince made Homer a ‘beloved’ writer. Anyone who has read The Little Prince cannot help but respect the man who wrote the story.

“Son, would you like to go to the park with dad today?”

“Good! But you don’t have to go to work… ?”

“That’s not important. What’s really important is what you can’t see… .”

The Little Prince gave peace to those who read it.

However, not everyone found peace in this fairy tale.

“Talking fox… Phew… I also want to be tamed… .”

“The author of Homer is clearly a ‘gentleman’.”

“Find the illustrator of The Little Prince! I need to commission a painting!”

Among the suspiciously rich, strange tastes began to spread.