episode_0005

When I arrived at the publisher’s reception room, a man with unusual energy was waiting for me.

I rolled my eyes and took in the mood. Next to the man, two people with weapons hidden under casual clothes stand as if to guard him, and behind him, a woman who appears to be a maid is bowing her head.

“You are the author of Homer who wrote Don Quixote. Because I declined the invitation, I came here in person.”

And, the word ‘invitation’ came out of the man’s mouth.

When I realized the situation, I immediately got down on one knee and showed respect.

What kind of lightning is this?

Before I knew it, President Kindersley had run away from the reception room. Should I hand my next work over to a competing publisher?

“… The subjects of the empire meet the noble prince.”

“I apologize if my sudden visit was rude.”

“How rude. It’s not even possible.”

“Looking at the fact that you declined the invitation, it seems like you consider it rude enough. Or was there a special reason?”

Cold sweat broke out on my back.

No, does it make sense for someone the size of a prince to come and visit in person like this just because his invitation was rejected once?

“Well, the invitation was so generous that I just didn’t dare accept it.”

“That’s not up to you to decide.”

“I’m sorry… .”

“When I read Don Quixote, I thought he would be a more courageous person, but he seems weaker than I thought.”

Who wouldn’t be nervous in a situation where if you say one wrong word, your head will be blown off?

“Haha… .”

“To be honest, I was a little curious. I wonder how great of a person he is that he refuses an invitation from the royal family.”

“I’m sorry that it didn’t meet your expectations.”

“No, this is just as interesting. For example, age. It looks like you haven’t had your coming-of-age ceremony yet, is that correct?”

“Yes… .”

“The author of Don Quixote is such a child. If the critics who praised Don Quixote found out about this, they would be shocked.”

While I was being questioned by the prince, which was almost like an interrogation.

The maid standing behind the prince cautiously opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty. I’m sorry, but there’s lint on your clothes.”

“Hmm?”

“I will organize this in a moment.”

“Ah. Do that.”

Thanks to the maid, I was finally able to take a breather.

I wondered if cleaning up the lint was important enough to be included in the prince’s conversation, but I guess the sensibilities of those in high positions would be different. Looking at the prince’s attire, it would not be strange to say that he has myelopathy.

The prince, who had cleaned up the lint on his clothes, continued speaking.

“To be able to write such a great work at such an age makes me look forward to the future. Rather, I was impressed.”

“Thank you… .”

… hmm?

It seems like the tone of speech has changed.

“Wow, the introduction was long. What came to you was… Because I want to support you. There is nothing more meaningful than supporting an artist with a bright future.”

“… It’s an honor.”

The royal family supports artists.

It wasn’t that rare. Isn’t it a tradition that has been going on since the Middle Ages for those who can afford to support artists to enhance their reputation and show off their knowledge?

“However, since this is my first time supporting a literary artist, I have some concerns about the method. Usually, when you sponsor an artist, you usually request a portrait in return… Isn’t it impossible to ask a novelist to write a biography? How is support for literary artists usually provided?”

“… If it is a form of sponsorship for a work, you can write a word of gratitude to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the preface of the work.”

“If I sponsor you, will you be able to have the sponsor’s name written on all of your novels?”

“It’s not a very difficult request, but… .”

However, something was strange.

It sounded like they were intentionally avoiding the use of ‘certain words’.

Let me think about it.

“… Your Majesty the Prince, whose name do you want written in my novel?”

“Hmm? You’re asking the obvious. If the name of the sponsor is not written down, whose name will be written down?”

“So, I am asking who the sponsor is.”

“… It’s rude for a mere writer.”

Okay, this clears things up.

I somehow feel like the main character of a mystery novel. Maybe it was because of the tension running down my spine, but I got a little excited.

“I apologize if this is a rude question. By any chance, His Royal Highness the Prince standing in front of me… Aren’t you actually his substitute?”

“You can call it an open mouth─.”

Just as the man was about to raise his voice.

One of the guard knights who was guarding him next to him opened his mouth, interrupting the man.

“Enoch. Stop it.”

“… Sorry.”

” was done. Deception doesn’t always work.”

and.

Are they even predicting this situation and setting up a ‘stand-in station’?

It must be difficult to be a member of the royal family.

It’s a dual band. I really couldn’t imagine it. I was slightly impressed and spoke to the ‘maid’ who was standing quietly behind me.

“… Even in this situation, the maid is very calm.”

“Yes?”

“Would this statement of mine be a problem?”

That’s right too…

“His Royal Highness.”

Because that maid was the ‘real’ prince.

The atmosphere in the living room instantly froze at my sudden remark. Is this correct? That’s correct, right? I didn’t make a mistake, right?

“… How did you know?”

good. That’s correct.

“Please speak lower. Your Majesty.”

“Because this is my natural way of speaking. There’s no need to use an arrogant and condescending tone just because you’re a member of the royal family, right?”

I hope people will also consider the position of the person receiving the honorific treatment from the royal family.

Honestly, it’s very burdensome.

“So, how did you know? Usually, we move on when we admit that Enoch is a fake.”

“Because of the arm.”

“Your arm?”

“When women usually use their arms, they naturally move away from their breasts. However, when I was removing the lint from the clothes of the man named Enoch, I saw the movement of his arms and knew that it was a man.”

It was knowledge I had seen in mystery novels, but I had no idea I would be able to use it like this.

“And what?”

“Yes?”

“The prince may have had unusual tastes, so he ordered his attendant to dress as a woman, right? I don’t think that’s proof that I’m the prince.”

“Ah, after removing the lint, the tone of the person named Enoch suddenly changed to be more favorable. Maybe that’s some kind of signal… I thought it was a warning.”

“Warning… Is it?”

“Yes.”

This prince personally came to the publisher because he was a fan of Don Quixote.

“The prince who loves Don Quixote cannot stand by and watch the author ridicule the work because of his young age.”

Anyone who is driven by fan spirit will sympathize.

If the author of your most beloved work turned out to be a child, wouldn’t you be more likely to express admiration rather than disdain?

“… You thought I was a prince for just that reason?”

“Hmm, if these reasons aren’t enough… .”

To be honest, I guess I hit about half of it.

“Does the writer need a grandiose reason to recognize passionate readers?”

“… Phew, haha! The author is a very interesting person.”

“Was I just rude?”

“It was extremely rude.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m just kidding. I just came here because I wanted to see the author’s face, but I had no idea that they would find out that I was the ‘real’ prince.”

The prince giggled for a long time, wondering what was so fun.

Did they use magic at all? Anyone can see that it looks like a woman and has a woman’s voice, so it feels like there’s a bit of cognitive dissonance.

Thanks to this, the tension eased a little.

“Life as a member of the royal family must be very tiring. You even disguise yourself as a woman to hide your identity.”

“Ah, I did this look because it’s my preference.”

“… Yes?”

What did I just hear?

The prince, who was smiling brightly, covered his mouth with his hand and whispered softly as if he had not heard anything wrong.

“Don Quixote mistook a girl named Aldonsa who lived in the village for Princess Dulcinea, right?”

“Ah, yes… .”

“If there are people who want to believe that they are knights, isn’t there also someone who wants to be mistaken for ‘Princess Dulcinea’?”

It’s the idea of a madman. Covering his mouth and smiling, he was clearly a madman.

The unfortunate thing is that the madman was the third prince of the empire.

I could only nod my head and pretend to sympathize.

“Of course, that’s right.”

“Of course! I thought the author of Don Quixote would understand.”

“Ah, yes… .”

“Do you know that? It seems that there are people in this world who are born with different appearances on the outside and on the inside.”

“Yes… . Because inner sense and identity are not necessarily identical to the body.”

I had no idea that in this world, I would be telling a story that would only come out of 21st century PCism.

“Oh my, you understand! The bishops of the Church who claim the unity of souls never admit it… Our God loves beauty. How can there be beauty in a world where only obvious and visible things have value?”

“Ah, yes.”

Why am I having this conversation with the prince of the empire?

Is this perhaps a dream?

“What do you think, author?”

The conversation about sexual identity continued for nearly 30 minutes.

It was the longest 30 minutes of my life.

.

.

.

“Are you keeping me alive?”

“Oh my, Enoch. If anyone hears this, they will think that I kill people carelessly. How can you be considered royal if you don’t spare the lives of your people?”

Inside the carriage returning to the imperial palace, the prince was leaning in his chair with a satisfied smile.

Because I was born with this kind of soul, I have lived my whole life in a ‘profane’ body.

He could only go out from behind the shadow of his lieutenant, and even that was only possible with permission, so he spent most of his time inside the palace.

I naturally fell in love with popular novels… .

The work ‘Don Quixote’ was a ray of light in such a dark world.

“I am afraid that rumors will spread. If one person’s life can prevent an unholy act, wouldn’t it be right to do so?”

“Then the quickest way would be to take my life.”

“… sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

“No. Um, would you like to look outside there? People’s expressions are very bright. Right?”

Since the development of magic engineering, the appearance of the empire has changed greatly.

People’s living standards have improved, and the number of people who now want education and entertainment, rather than just making a living, has increased. Monster circuses and magic performances developed, the influence of the imperial family decreased, and the power of the parliament increased.

The world is changing very quickly.

Everyone was proud of the change. I had no doubt that this world was moving forward. I forced myself to look away from the side effects.

Mana has been polluted, great forests have been destroyed, and new mutant monsters are appearing all over the world. People say that this world is moving forward, but in reality, it is no different from a magic locomotive rushing like crazy without even knowing where it is going.

“Do you see those people dressed as knights over there? What about the people giggling with books in their hands?”

“… To be honest, everyone seems crazy.”

“Hehe, isn’t that too honest? Well, that’s true.”

However, one novel is changing this world.

People no longer criticize the past as barbarism. Justice is not dismissed as a fantasy. Courage is not ridiculed as being formidable.

We must be wary of excessive romanticism toward the past, but this world has been looking too far ahead.

“If the world is going crazy, it would be crazy to be too upright.”

Even if you stumble in the past, shouldn’t you prevent yourself from jumping off the cliff?

.

.

.

“The amount of sponsorship… How much?”

I thought I made quite a lot of money from Don Quixote’s royalties.

It wasn’t.

“… Boss.”

“Four!”

“I will forgive you for running away, leaving me and the prince alone in the drawing room.”

“Haha… . Okay, thank you… .”