episode_0001

This world is trash.

I will assert this. This damn medieval fantasy world is a trash world.

I’m not talking about modern man’s genius theory, glorification of civilization, or terrible hygiene concepts.

Rather, this world was a world where magical civilization was developed, and minimal awareness of hygiene was spread under its own religious rationality. Like Clean Magic, there was also a convenience that could not be compared to real-life hand sanitizers.

So what’s the problem?

“It’s really boring… .”

It wasn’t fun.

Although there were some spectacular attractions of their own, such as monster circuses and magic performances, such outdoor hobbies were ultimately entertainment that could only be enjoyed for a limited time.

A slightly more static hobby… The world lacked content that could be enjoyed at home.

I’m not looking for things like YouTube or internet broadcasting. It’s a world without internet to begin with.

As someone who was proud of reading as a hobby in my past life, I thought that a few good literary works would be enough.

“This kindling-like novel is popular in the capital now?”

“Yes, Master Ed.”

However, this world could not properly listen to even such minimal requests.

No, fuck it, the only popular novels that existed were either pornographic stories filled with bizarre descriptions or article literature that looked like it was printed in a factory somewhere.

However, if you look for literature that is not popular, you will come across strange lines of writing that are difficult to understand whether it is a puzzle or a poem.

“Burn this trash novel right away and bring me a crossword puzzle.”

“Okay.”

okay.

I was now suffering from severe novel insensitivity.

It’s been too long since I read an interesting novel. When I first read article literature, although it was lengthy, it was still fun in its own way, but after reading dozens of article articles with the same content but with people’s names changed, I now feel like I’m vomiting just by looking at the first sentence.

“Ha… . Life is really boring.”

Thanks to being born into a noble family that was considered prestigious, I had a good childhood… .

Man does not live by bread alone, and a reader’s soul dies if there are no novels to read.

But all I had was article literature with the same content. If copyright law existed in this world, these novels would have all been banned from sale.

The content is so clear that I think I could write it if they asked me to.

“Really try it?”

As the thought occurred to me, I picked up the pen I used to do the crossword puzzle and wrote it down.

A noble knight who protects the Lady and upholds her religious duties. Special birth and destiny. A wizard who delivers a prophecy to such a hero and the trials he must overcome to become a hero.

As I wrote it down, I became frustrated and put the pen down.

What do you do if you use something like this? There’s just one more kindling on top of all those kindlings.

“… No, no, right?”

As I was leaning on the armchair and contemplating the futility, something suddenly occurred to me, so I kicked off the chair and stood up.

If there were only novels in this world that were copies of other novels.

All you have to do is increase the number of references you can refer to. I develop genre literature myself.

Of course, I don’t have that kind of ‘creativity’… .

“If there is a reference worth referencing, I have it all in my head.”

I know hundreds of masterpieces that do not exist in this world.

What if you ‘plagiarize’ those masterpieces and release them into this world?

“This is a modern cheat… !”

In this world, only I knew Earth’s literature.

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Although I originally plagiarized the world’s works, I had a perfect memory, so I couldn’t write all works equally.

Rather, most of the novels I only remembered the rough plot of.

But if you knock, it will be opened to you; if you seek, you will find. Coincidentally, this was a time when ‘chivalric literature’ was popular.

And I knew of a great masterpiece that came out during a time when knightly literature was popular.

“… Master, I brought you the knightly literature you mentioned.”

“Ah, leave it there.”

“Aren’t you tired of article literature?”

“It’s true that I’m sick of it.”

Don Quixote was a novel that criticized knightly literature.

The basic narrative structure of Don Quixote follows that of knightly literature. The only difference is that the main character of the knightly literature is an old man who has gone crazy, and what people around him see is portrayed in a very comical way.

Unlike existing knightly literature that reveres knights who are noble and know chivalry.

This novel describes a rather ridiculous and pretentious knight.

“But, you have to know how to swear properly and how to swear.”

“… I see.”

In the world of the crazy Don Quixote, Don Quixote is an honorable knight who knows chivalry.

So, in order to write this novel, I first had to know a lot about knightly literature.

That’s why I told you to buy all the famous knightly literature from the capital. Although the attendant seemed to not understand very well.

The servant looked at me carefully and opened his mouth.

“Your wife was a little angry because you bought too many popular novels this time. Maybe your pocket money will be cut off for a few months.”

“So?”

“… Yes?”

“I’ve read all the books worth reading anyway, so what’s the point in giving up my pocket money?”

“… That’s right.”

All of my pocket money goes into buying books.

The only other items are bookmarks and bookshelf. Although books were expensive items, they were not prohibitively expensive like in the real Middle Ages.

This is thanks to the printing technology created through magical engineering.

If we had to compare… What about hardcover books in Korea, which have been hit hard by the fixed book price system and rising prices?

“And, if you sell the book, you will make a lot of money.”

“In the end, reading it is not enough and you want to publish it yourself?”

“When I finish using it, I will show it to you, Sancho.”

“My name is Sion, not Sancho.”

“When you read it all, you too will want to be called Sancho.”

Because Sancho is as attractive a character as Don Quixote.

If Don Quixote, full of chivalry and courage, is a fantasy, Sancho, who is timid and capable, is reality. Fantasy shines because there is reality, and reality has weight because there is fantasy.

Fantasy and reality complete each other.

“… Since Master Ed is so confident, I am curious.”

“You will feel extremely lucky to be able to read that book first.”

“I look forward to it.”

Contrary to what he said, he didn’t seem to be expecting much.

Reading and writing are different, and just because you read a lot of article literature doesn’t mean you can write article literature well.

You would think that the work would come out not much different from the article literature that I treat as kindling.

“… Well, even though it’s kindling, it’s still fun. The fun is.”

The reason why mass-produced novels are mass-produced is because there is constant demand.

People like me who are addicted to article literature are people who have read a lot of article literature. In a way, it could be said that he was criticizing knightly literature because he loved it more than anyone else.

The theme of Don Quixote was also like this.

At first glance, it appears to be criticizing the vainness of chivalric literature, but more than that, Don Quixote was a novel filled with affection for chivalric literature. If a person can take the time to list out 100 shortcomings of knightly literature, doesn’t that mean he or she is a person who is very devoted to knightly literature?

Therefore, Don Quixote should not simply be a novel that criticizes knightly literature.

Rather, the charm of knightly literature must be appealed to people in a more sincere way than any other knightly literature. Just as Don Quixote and Sancho complete each other, just as fantasy and reality complete each other.

Don Quixote must also be a novel that completes chivalric literature.

“Shall I read until my eyes fall out? .”

There are many books to read.

There are many books I have read.

From now on, I have to read all those article literature to the point where I can memorize it without even looking at it.

Only then will Don Quixote be able to burn those books.

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One day, a novel began to become popular in the capital.

Quixote.

This chivalric literature, which became known by receiving positive reviews from critics who were usually harsh critics of chivalric literature, began to become popular among some readers of chivalric literature.

And gradually, its name became known, and now it has become so famous that there is not a single person in the capital who does not know its name.

Just because of one book, admission to the academy’s knight department skyrocketed. Many people dreamed of ‘chivalry’ while looking at Don Quixote, who was just a crazy old man.

“That is the duty and duty of a true knight─, no! It’s not a duty, it’s a privilege!”

And of course, the people who were most influenced by this novel were aristocrats who boasted culture and wealth.

Even nobles who looked down on chivalric literature as vulgar and shallow gave Don Quixote high praise.

In social circles, it was popular to imitate Don Quixote by wearing a helmet made of paper and dressing up as a knight-errant.

Some of them actually went crazy.

“Those who dream and those who do not dream, who is crazy?”

An old duke called Iron Blood began his journey as a knight.

As a result, the administration of the duchy was paralyzed, and a skit broke out in which the duke’s son hurriedly exercised his authority on behalf of his father.

Literally, one novel changed the very atmosphere of society.

And Ed, the author who wrote that novel.

“I’ll go around.”

[Article Quixote de La Mancha]

[Donkeyho, the knight who mistook a windmill for a dragon]

I was tapping my forehead while looking at pirated copies of Don Quixote that were blatantly plagiarized.