episode_0079

Frieden family mansion.

In fact, there is a hidden space in my room, which can be said to be the second study in the mansion. In fact, it wasn’t particularly hidden because there was no one who would visit someone else’s room (except for the head wizard who occasionally appears through the teleport gate these days). Rather, it was occupying just one side among the bookshelves that filled the wall.

Anyway, if you enter a few passwords to open the entrance to the safe fixed between the bookshelves.

The door to the safe opens, revealing a fairly large space.

It is a magic engineering safe that I once received as a gift from Mr. Kindersley. There were piles of manuscripts that I had ‘translated’ in advance.

Shion, who had walked inside the safe with me, suddenly opened his mouth.

“If the believers of the Homeric Church see this safe, their eyes will light up and they will rush in.”

“Uh, are they still doing that?”

“Recently, it seems like they are trying to change the name of the denomination to the Frieden Church or the Ed Church.”

“It’s not heresy… ?”

“As it is quite an unusual case, the church also allows dual faith.”

“Huh.”

In this world, ‘transcendant’ was not exactly synonymous with ‘saint.’

In the first place, the savior who came to this earth a thousand years ago was also not a transcendent person. In the case of the transcendental person, he may have value as a ‘witness’ in that he saw the angel directly, but the image of the angel was a matter to be dealt with as a theological hypothesis, not a doctrine. God’s evidence is a secondary issue in faith, and among the bishops, there were quite a few priests who could not even handle ‘blessings’ in the first place.

So the fact that I was recognized as a ‘transcendent’ was not a reason to allow belief in me.

But the church just allowed it.

In fact, the funniest place these days is church.

“The Vatican, Imperial Anglican Church, Haren Orthodox Church, Protestant Church, etc. It is said that various churches are also discussing the position of the Master. It is said that a unified council will be held in the ‘holy place’.”

“What’s going on?”

” In the case of the Vatican, ‘transcendence’ is a secular status, not a spiritual status, so it will not recognize it as a miracle and will proceed with the existing beatification procedures. On the other hand, the Haren Orthodox Church is in the position of canonizing the Master as a ‘saint of literature’, and the Protestant priests seem to be saying that it is right to record the Master’s words and make them the second scriptures.”

“What is the Imperial Anglican Church?”

“The Anglican Church… Since it is a church of secular bishops, why not follow the political stance of the empire?”

“Aha.”

The church’s position of not recognizing transcendence as a ‘spiritual status’ is understandable. Isn’t it impossible to canonize all wizards and alchemists who succeeded in transcendence without interacting with the church? However, because Homer’s sanctity could not be denied, rather than acknowledging his status within the church, it was allowed in the form of a ‘dual faith’ like a folk religion.

The Haren Orthodox Church is a group that follows the Sloth King, so this can be seen as the Sloth King’s opinion.

Protestant priests… Well, did you like the consulting that was based on your knowledge from your past life? I do not know.

Anyway, I didn’t have to worry much.

The church will take care of its affairs.

“Well, it doesn’t matter as long as you don’t ask me to attend the council directly.”

“If I am asked to be a witness, can I refuse it?”

“The Vatican is okay, but going to the Holy Land is a bit much, right? I am not a pilgrim.”

“Then, if an invitation comes from a sacred place, I will decline it.”

“I think I put the manuscript somewhere here… There’s so much piled up that it’s hard to find. Zion, can you please look for me too? It would probably be labeled as ‘Kafka’.”

“Okay.”

There was something else more important than the bickering over canonization and beatification.

It is ‘Franz Kafka’.

To put it a little more grandly, it is existence and absurdity. It is a huge symbol that can expand the scope of literature.

In the huge, context-free absurdity created by Kafka, Kafka’s stories and protagonists exist universally, transcending any historical background. In some ways, this is a story closer to a myth than a novel. The writer who created a myth similar to a Greek tragedy was ‘Franz Kafka.’

and.

“Ah, I found it. Transformation, lawsuits, sex, den… Are these manuscripts correct?”

“Ugh.”

“Um, do you mind if I ask what the manuscript is about?”

“Well… Pleasant and humorous content?”

“Contrary to the title, it seems to be a novel with quite a light atmosphere.”

“I guess it depends on the viewer’s perspective.”

“Yes?”

Kafka’s work was also (to borrow the expression of Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Roth) ‘a collection of cringe-worthy humor by a comedian named Kafka.’

Aren’t exaggerated symbols and structured absurdity symbolic techniques of modern comedy?

Although it is obscured by Kafka’s unique grotesque atmosphere, ‘Jewish humor’ using fables was used quite actively in Kafka’s works. So, if you look at Kafka’s work through Philip Roth’s eyes, it would be a very innovative collection of humor.

Of course, there was no need to elaborate on these explanations.

I just chuckled and shook the manuscript.

“Kafka… It’s just Kafka.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure what it means.”

“There is such a thing.”

Infinitely diverse interpretations and absurdly powerful symbols.

In the end, Kafka’s work could only be described as ‘Kafka-like’. No matter how eloquently he described the absurdity of ‘transformation’ and the absurdity of ‘lawsuit’, it was not enough to say ‘Kafka-like’.

So what can I say?

Ultimately, the interpretation of the work is up to the reader.

“If it suits your taste, there will probably be quite a few people who choose ‘Metamorphosis’ as the best novel?”

“You mean from your novel?”

“Uh.”

“… Do you mind if I read it first?”

“Puht, yes.”

.

.

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[One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a giant beetle.]

.

.

.

One day, without any warning, a new book of ‘Homer’ was stocked in all bookstores in the empire.

Transformation.

Even though there was no publicity, the news that ‘Homer’s new work’ had been released spread throughout the empire in an instant. Anyone who loves literature has gone to a bookstore and read The Metamorphosis.

Among them, there were people who borrowed books from the Homer Foundation library and read them.

and.

Countless people have witnessed the new world of novels. I clearly witnessed the protagonist struggling within the trap of the great absurdity of the world.

“What on earth is this about? ?”

“Why did people become bugs? What on earth does this story mean?”

A nightmare with an unclear border with reality. A failed protagonist who wakes up from an absurd dream and ends up miserable in a nightmarish reality where he is still trapped in the dream.

Kafkaesque atmosphere. Absurdly powerful language.

It was a dream expressed in sentences. It was not just a fantasy and beautiful dream, but a nightmare as cold and sharp as reality.

Countless people instantly fell in love with the story.

“I’m not sure what it means, but… It’s fun!”

“Hmm… You are so miserable… . Why does this novel exist? ?”

“Puhaha! Ah, this is so funny… ?”

“What.”

Not long after Transformation was published, naturally, numerous critics poured in their reviews.

Even if the other party is a transcendent person, they are critics who offer cool-headed criticism and interpretation. ‘Kafka’, full of room for various interpretations, was no different from a toy for critics to play with.

“What Gregor Samsa’s Metamorphosis metaphorizes is our life. Just as a person’s fate is to be born suddenly and die in a body unable to work or speak, Gregor Samsa also gradually changes from a pillar of a family to a burden and ultimately reaches his end─.”

“Isn’t it a symbolic depiction of a society that denies an individual’s internal identity and imposes uniform standards, and the process of an individual’s humanity being trampled and turning into a helpless being due to external evaluation?”

Every day, new reviews about ‘Transformation’ poured in.

Numerous readers cited these reviews and praised the transformation. Literary critics were invited from all over the empire, and critics were experiencing a second heyday.

Such was the literary influence of Transformation.

Naturally, it also had a strong influence on arts other than literature.

“Little people can be just as tired as great people.”

“I have become a beetle, but if my strength is needed, I will fight even in this hideous form. Transformation!”

There was a realist play that reinterpreted the alienation and isolation in ‘Metamorphosis’ in a more realistic way, and some readers who were saddened by the death of Gregor Samsa created a bizarre play in which Gregor Samsa protects people with the power of a beetle. did.

The bizarre play about beetles protecting people has become strangely popular with some children and even more adult men.

anyway.

Homer’s new work has had a huge impact on various fields of culture and art.

And Homer himself, who published the novel.

“This time, I made a medicine that transforms you into a beetle. Would you like to try one? ”

“No.”

“It’s a shame!”

“Why on earth are you making something like that?”

I was horrified to see the strange works created by the alchemist in the Library of Transcendence.

“That’s right, it’s because inspiration struck me!”

“… How about making a medicine that will be more helpful to the world?”

“If someone told you, the author of Homer, to publish only ‘books that are helpful to the world’, would you do so?”

“Um.”

I thought for a moment and then answered.

“No.”

“Haha!”

Literature takes precedence over the world.