episode_0054

I took the manuscript I had written and brought it to the publisher.

The ‘mountain of paper’, which was not even bound, fell with a thump and sound on the publisher’s conference table.

“This is the novel I plan to publish.”

“… No, is it too thick? I didn’t expect it to be such a long novel─.”

“We will not charge manuscript fees.”

“Read it first.”

As the editor-in-chief responded, ‘Les Miserables’ was a novel of enormous length. The fandom’s nickname for Les Miserables was ‘The Brick’.

This is due to the characteristics of the novel Les Miserables.

The narrative of Les Miserables unfolds in this way. When a person appears, the person’s identity, behavior, thoughts, history, character, environment, etc. are first explained for dozens to hundreds of pages. The story progresses simultaneously with the explanation of the characters, and if any new background appears during the plot, the background is explained again for dozens of pages.

In the process, it is explicitly stated in advance that ‘this explanation has nothing to do with the plot.’

This encyclopedic description is evaluated as having historical value in itself showing the appearance of France at the time.

“… hmm? Is this a translation? Where is ‘France’?”

“You can think of it as a virtual country.”

“Aha. Is that why you wrote such a long background setting? Is it a historical novel that deals with fictional history? The culture seems to be similar to the Siedel Republic or the Haren Kingdom.”

Due to the nature of this novel, people who first encounter the original version of Les Miserables may find it a bit absurd. This is because the story of ‘Jean Valjean’, whom we commonly know as the main character, is introduced after a whopping 14 chapters.

As I read the book, I thought, ‘Why am I reading nearly 100 pages of stories about monasteries?’ This question sometimes arises.

The editor-in-chief, who didn’t know the story, was reading the novel ‘Les Misérables’ that I had plagiarized with great interest. As the editor-in-chief said, I gave up on localizing ‘Les Miserables’ for this novel!

“Ho… . Interesting, interesting… . It feels like there’s too much information, but strangely enough, it’s not boring at all. It’s like reading an editorial by a great journalist. The vocabulary is so rich that it looks like it was written by a poet.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I felt it even after reading the translation, but your writing skills are truly amazing… .”

This was possible because ‘Les Miserables’ is full of encyclopedic knowledge and journalistic descriptions of Victor Hugo. All the little knowledge about the world of ‘France’ that you need to know in order to understand the novel Les Miserables is contained within the novel.

Therefore, even in modern times, Les Miserables is evaluated as depicting a ‘world’.

It lyrically portrays the fact that history, society, and individuals go beyond simply ‘existing’ and live, breathe, and interact within the context of a certain era. A story about a priest, a story about a monastery, a story about a girl, a story about a battle, a story about an ex-convict─.

In the world where the ‘poor and miserable people’ live, all knowledge goes beyond simply existing as knowledge and becomes a complex organism that allows each other to exist.

The editor-in-chief, who read the entire thick manuscript at an unbelievable speed, nodded.

“Hmm… . Wow, the writing is frighteningly persuasive. As if describing a world that really exists… .”

The editor-in-chief, who read Les Miserables, which is said to be as long as the Bible, in an instant, could indeed be called an ‘expert’.

He seems to read faster than most wizards.

“I don’t know if this will sell well. Still, since the topic is a topic, the Publication Bureau will provide benefits─, um, anyway. It was a very interesting read. Interesting. Leave one press line free for publishing.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

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Les Miserables was published in the Kingdom of Haren. Like other novels by ‘Homer’ or ‘Herodotus’, this novel was not popular from the beginning.

Those who first took interest in the novel were intellectuals with a deep interest in literature.

“They say Sophocles wrote the work.”

“Hmm? You mean that translator? Ivan Publishing’s translation is poor, but if it is a work by Sophocles, it is reliable.”

“I’m talking about creation, not translation. This person. At first glance, I heard it’s a historical novel set in a fictional country?”

Because Sophocles was making a name for himself as a ‘translator’, there were some readers who were interested in Sophocles’ translations.

Thus, ‘Les Miserables’, which was thick enough to be called a brick, became known to people.

[“If you want to know what revolution is, call it progress. If you want to know what progress is, call it tomorrow.”]

[“I just sacrifice one day to gain a lifetime!”]

“Revolutionary novel… ?”

“Tsk, is this a novel influenced by the Publishing Administration again? What on earth do they want─.”

faced numerous criticisms.

This is because the upper class intellectuals who first encountered Les Miserables knew about the ‘secret story’ of the Kingdom of Haren. They knew that the talented but lazy descendants of the dragon were trying to return their power to the people.

And also, it was a position against such ‘republicanism’.

The current king of the Harenites was a king called the ‘Sloth King’, but he simply did not work and did not engage in tyranny or try to ruin the country. Aside from the fact that diplomatic capabilities were at a low level, internal affairs themselves were maintained at a high level by officials.

In addition, the fact that the previous king was a holy prince called ‘King Seonryang’ also served as a basis for opposing such republicanism.

In the opinion of the upper intellectual class, republicanism, which entrusts all authority to the citizens, was no different from putting a gun in the hands of a child. Power without responsibility was thought to be nothing more than self-indulgence.

“Despite the excellence of its description, Les Miserables is nothing more than a nonsense novel full of sympathy for republicans!”

“Les Miserables is a novel full of crude and incompetent stereotypes about ‘ideals’!”

This response from the upper intellectual class soon led to the interest of another emerging intellectual class in the novel.

For those with republican tendencies, Les Miserables was a kind of milestone.

The true and sincere description contained in Les Miserables was reinterpreted as a kind of ‘natural’ and ‘ideological’ thing for them.

“Les Miserables is a true book that clearly shows the contradictions that this world and our society are experiencing!”

“What we need is a revolution! Progress! It’s tomorrow! We cannot take a single step back! We must move forward endlessly!”

It was a confrontation between the intellectual classes that usually took place in the Kingdom of Haren.

Ideological conflict. crash. confusion.

Les Miserables became a symbol of ‘republicanism’ rather than simple ‘literature’ and functioned as a type of participatory literature. Given that most of these were ‘bureaucrats’ of the kingdom, this conflict led to serious administrative exhaustion.

“As long as there are flaws in this society, punishment and order are ultimately just means of oppression that bring people down! What we need is not order, but revolution! Tomorrow is constantly changing! Give back to the people the universal rights given by God! Only republicanism by the people makes us whole! Let’s win the right to change, repent, and move on!”

“Do not be fooled by the propaganda of republicans who deny order and seek to plunge society into chaos! Defend His Majesty the King, our sole ruler and Apostle of the Church! Only under order can we enjoy peace! Obey the order and receive love from God!”

“Long live the revolution!”

” Drive out the reactionaries!”

“Long live republicanism! Long live the nation of citizens!”

“Lord of all Harenites, may you be blessed!”

As a result, the bureaucratic society became paralyzed.

The two intellectual classes constantly opposed, quarreled, dueled, scolded, and despised each other. None of the policies were properly implemented due to mutual interference.

If this conflict continued for a long time, the order of the ‘Kingdom of Haren’ itself would completely collapse.

And there was only one being who could end this conflict.

“Your Majesty! Please grant me an audience!”

“All work has been paralyzed! your majesty! Please save us from confusion!”

King of Haren Kingdom─, Sloth King.

no.

The owner of all Haren people who inherited the blood of the Dragon King.

“… Tsk. You guys are annoying.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Prepare the airship. I will go to the Congress.”

“… Seong-eun is devastated! Your Majesty!”

Clement Le Mans.

He came out of the palace and flew up.

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Until the completion of the airplane due to the Gray Magic Tower and the ‘Principia’, the only thing that could rise into the sky was a huge hot air balloon called a ‘balloon’.

However, flight through balloons had limitations.

This was because it was impossible for the balloon to grow beyond a certain size, and all it could do was float depending on the wind direction.

and.

“Well, what is that… . A huge dragon is flying in the sky… ?”

“Huh profit?!”

A dragon was originally a being that walked among the clouds and ruled the sky.

The Haren royal family also inherited the ‘right’ to rule the sky from their ancestors.

“That’s—!”

“It’s an airship! The Lord of the Harenites has descended in person!”

As the gigantic beast crossed the air, the air trembled and hummed, as if the sky was crying, shaking the world.

It rose at the edge of the horizon as if it were the sun.

No, even the sun was blocked, casting a dark shadow on the ground. Those who did not know its identity crouched and trembled, saying that it was heavenly punishment, while those who knew its identity knelt down and greeted their rightful owner.

A huge ship crossing the sky─.

Airship.

A structure in the sky, to which only the Dragon King’s descendants are allowed, stops right above the council.

I thought something had fallen inside it.

A parachute resembling a bat’s wings─, a sloth king wearing a ‘hang glider’.

descended to earth.

“The subjects of the kingdom meet the master of all Harenites!”

The sloth king took off his hang glider and threw it away, looking around for a moment.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Uh, yes. Rest comfortably. Because I’ll be back soon.”

It was a very light tone for a monarch who reigned as the ruler of all Haren people, but—.

No one present there dared raise their head and point it out.