episode_0006

Sponsorship of an artist is encouragement to continue ‘creative activities’.

This may simply be a tribute out of fan sentiment, but it is more like a threat to show the next work as soon as possible.

‘Are you saying that your creative activities are hindered by your hardships in life? I’ll give you money. write.’

‘Is your income unstable due to ups and downs? I’ll give you money. write.’

‘Do you feel like your creative work is not receiving fair evaluation? I’ll give you money. write.’

Although it feels very simplistic, it is basically no different from this. Artists call the products they create ‘works’ rather than ‘products’, but those who are truly powerful truly ‘consume’ art.

Therefore, I, who received support from the prince, had to continue my writing activities.

In fact, even if it wasn’t for money, I was planning to release more works from ‘Past Life’ in this world for the development of literature. In that respect, the prince’s and my goals were no different.

“I need to publish a new work… !”

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It’s been 30 minutes since I sat in front of a sheet of pure white paper and stroked a fountain pen.

I have no inspiration.

It wasn’t that I suddenly woke up to a desire to create and started creating unique works.

“I don’t know what kind of work to write… .”

“Any work you write will be a great masterpiece!”

“Uh, thank you.”

A masterpiece will come out. Because I will plagiarize masterpieces from my past life.

But I don’t know which work to plagiarize.

“Zion. If you were a reader, what novel would you like to read?”

“Yes? Oh, well, I think I’d like to see a humorous yet touching novel like Don Quixote.”

“Well, I guess that’s the general reaction.”

“Yes?”

“There is such a thing.”

There were many works that came to mind. Anna Karenina, The Little Prince, Les Miserables… It would be fun in its own way to solve science fiction.

However, it was not enough to simply plagiarize literature from a previous life.

This is because my goal is to ‘increase the number of interesting novels.’ In order to do that, a ‘genre’ novel that could serve as a reference was needed. It is enough for pure literature to bloom after that.

“I wish I could write a mystery novel… .”

“If it’s a mystery novel… Is this something where the detective is the main character? It seems a little difficult.”

“No, well, in terms of genre, mystery novels and thrillers are also okay.”

“Yes?”

All (genre) novels use three plots: ‘mystery’, ‘fantasy’, and ‘romance’.

For example, knightly literature is a combination of the fantasy plot of ‘the hero’s journey’ and the romantic plot of ‘the knight protecting the noble lady’. This fundamental plot becomes the framework of all novels.

And if you were to look for the most lacking plot in this era, it was, of course, ‘mystery’.

Foreshadowing and twists, suspense and mystery, questions and answers, tracking and analysis. This is because the plots of these detective stories are the result of being deeply influenced by modern rationalist ideas.

“But it’s not normal for me to use that… .”

The problem is that magic and mystery exist in this world.

In order to apply the mystery novels I know, such as ‘Sherlock Holmes’ or ‘And Then There Were None’, to this world, the stories had to be rewritten from the root.

“Are you feeling burdened?”

“If it’s a burden, it’s a burden.”

“I guess it’s because of the donations.”

“That’s it too… .”

Thinking about the prince made my head ache again.

The third prince of the empire who identifies himself as a ‘woman’. Thanks to small clues, we could tell that it was a man, but on the outside, it was clearly a woman. There was no uvula, and the voice was thin.

And he had a fairly advanced understanding of ‘soul’.

It’s so advanced that if you’re caught in a church, you’ll be accused of being a heretic.

“Zion, what do you think the soul is?”

“Soul… What do you mean? Mmm, immortal spirit and life… I think I heard that.”

“What about the relationship between the soul and the body?”

“As a spiritual body with individuality, it combines with the physical body to form a perfect form… Is that correct?”

Zion’s answer was religious.

Most people in the world probably think similarly. Except for the prince, who was unable to achieve complete union of soul and body from birth.

That did not mean that the prince was an unbeliever or an indifferent person.

Rather, the prince arrived at his own religious answer based on his own experience. This is the romantic answer that the union of soul and body is more beautiful because it is imperfect.

“From my perspective, neither statement is correct… .”

The mind and body influence each other.

It works at a complex level, including hormones, tendencies, and socialization. That’s why they sometimes go astray in serious ways.

A person who belongs to ‘male’ at some level defines himself as ‘female’ at another level.

“What we call mind or instinct are actually not one thing… Hmm?”

I think I’ve definitely read a novel that deals with this topic.

So, that novel is definitely it.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde… .”

At that moment, a strange confidence took over me.

This is it.

“… Zion.”

“Yes, master.”

“Prepare data research.”

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[I have come closer to the conclusion that ‘human souls are not one, but two’ in two aspects: ethics and intellect.]

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a mystery novel.

The plot of the novel was that Dr. Jekyll’s friend Utterson tracks down a strange character named ‘Hyde’ who is connected to Jekyll. Because I knew the ‘answer’ to this novel, the way I wrote the work also went back from ‘answer’ to ‘question.’

The answer part where Jekyll and Hyde’s identity is revealed was written first, and the foreshadowings about it were added one by one later.

The unforgivable crime committed by Hyde, the scene in which Hyde’s sinister nature is blatantly depicted, and the testimony of those around him about Hyde. By adding ‘foreshadowing’ and ‘questions’ one by one, it soon became a proper mystery novel.

“This is fun.”

This time, it was again the responsibility of my faithful servant ‘Sion’ to be the first to read the completed puzzle.

Shion accepted the bundle of manuscripts I gave him with an excited expression.

“This novel is quite short.”

“Because there is no need to include as many episodes as Don Quixote.”

The style of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is close to hard-boiled.

Hyde’s crimes are described dryly and harshly. The rough description, contrasted with the shuddering reactions of those around him, makes the reader feel a strange sense of fear.

Shion sat down on the floor again and read the manuscript.

It would have been fine to read while sitting in a chair, but he seemed so excited that he didn’t even have time to look around.

“… .”

I could tell that he was immersed in the novel just by looking at his eyes moving left and right like crazy.

I even found myself trembling from time to time.

The reaction was quite interesting, so I started watching without realizing it.

About an hour passed like that.

“Ah… ?”

A sigh flowed from Zion’s mouth.

It was a sigh that seemed slightly shocked when hearing an unexpected fact.

Only then did Zion take his eyes off the manuscript and look at me for a moment.

And soon I turned my attention to the manuscript again and finished reading the novel. Because there wasn’t much left, it didn’t take long for Shion to read the entire novel.

Shion closed the manuscript and sighed in a voice whose shock had not yet subsided.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were the same person… .”

“It was quite a shocking twist, wasn’t it?”

“Really, I didn’t expect it at all. No, looking back now, there were enough clues to guess, but I don’t know why I completely believed that it was someone else. As if possessed by a devil… .”

“That’s the beauty of mystery novels.”

“… The whole time I was reading the novel, I felt like I was committing a sin.”

Zion confessed with a mesmerized look, like a person going to confession.

“I feel uncomfortable, scared, and a part of my heart feels uneasy… Captivated by a strange mystery… It felt like reading a banned book. Even if I was curious about that ominous secret, I had no choice but to skip to the next chapter.”

“Have you ever read a banned book?”

“Oh, no! This means that this is how you would feel if you read a banned book!”

It was a little suspicious that he was vehemently denying it while waving his arms, but it wasn’t that important.

“So, was it fun?”

“Yes! The ending of this novel will probably be on my mind all night long.”

“But you can’t go somewhere and talk about the ending?”

“Of course! I’ll take it as a secret to the grave!”

good.

Now all you have to do is publish it.

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News of the publication of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ quickly spread throughout the empire.

Thanks to his reputation as the author of Don Quixote, all first editions of Don Quixote were sold out much faster than when the first volume was published.

“Hey, have you read ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ written by Homer this time?”

“Ah. I haven’t had time to read it yet. Again, this is a great masterpiece, right? I heard that the last twist was especially great.”

And, there was a problem that was bound to arise the moment mystery novels became famous.

“That’s right! At the end, it is revealed that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are actually the same person, and it gives me goosebumps─.”

“This bastard?!”

It was a spoiler.

“It’s a duel!”