Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

The full opening of the Imperial Central Library.

And, the access rights to the ‘Imperial Royal Archive.’

What I had gained after the banquet were these two things. Due to losing the bet, I could no longer open the ‘Imperial Royal Archive’ to the public, but the Imperial side had approved my personal access to the archive. It was both disappointing and joyous.

“Is this the Imperial Royal Archive…?”

“This is the oldest library that contains the history of the Empire. Please be cautious, as some of the books are in poor condition.”

The smell of paper. It wasn’t just the aging of the paper and parchment; even the bookshelves that held those pages had absorbed the years, gradually wearing away and taking on a scent—the smell of an ancient library.

The old-fashioned atmosphere of the Imperial Royal Archive held a kind of aesthetic that no book lover could possibly resist. If one didn’t get excited by the smell of an old library, how could they call themselves a bibliophile?

The library of the Kapeter estate, where the air was magically controlled, wasn’t bad either…

But the atmosphere of the archive, like being buried under books, existed not in the realm of practicality or usefulness—but in the realm of emotion, stirring the heart.

I raised a cheer in gratitude to the Emperor, who had granted me access to the Imperial Royal Archive.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! The Sun of the Empire! May He live forever!”

“…….”

The librarian, who had been guiding me through the archive, made a face of distaste, causing the atmosphere to become slightly awkward.

Hmm.

Anyway, long live His Majesty the Emperor.

.

.

.

“Lord, have you returned?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll prepare your bathwater.”

“Ah, okay.”

After a week at the Imperial Royal Archive, I returned home to find Sion, who had become accustomed to receiving my luggage, waiting to greet me.

Since staying up all night at the library had become a regular thing, he seemed to have gotten used to it. So much so that I even had a rest area installed in the Homer Central Library… and yet, here I was again. ꭆＡŊồ₿Еṡ

“Did you enjoy your reading?”

“Yeah. Since it’s stuff I can’t read outside, it was interesting. There were confidential documents about the Empire’s history, preserved diplomatic papers… I even enjoyed seeing how the expressions and rhetoric used by the Imperial family had changed over time.”

The Thousand-Year Empire. The greatest nation that ruled over half of this world.

The Imperial family that ruled the Thousand-Year Empire.

The many emperors who had ascended to the top of that family. The ‘People’s King,’ who handed all power to the parliament; the ‘King of Order,’ who established the framework for a constitutional monarchy; the ‘King of Piety,’ who made the church the state religion; the ‘King of Dignity,’ called the greatest emperor; the ‘King of Victory,’ who ended the Hundred Years’ War…

The further back in time one went, the more stories emerged that differed greatly from the popular image of these emperors.

Despite the nickname and achievements, the People’s King was obsessed with power, the King of Order disliked the complex palace rules, the King of Piety was a cold-hearted man who never attended Sunday Mass, and the King of Victory was a weak man who couldn’t even kill an ant. It was almost puzzling how different they were from the widely known image.

The reason for this could be found in the records of the king of the Empire’s past, when it was still called a ‘Kingdom’… the ‘King of the Wastelands,’ or the ‘King of Contracts,’ as he was known.

[The king who inherited the smallest piece of land, just three inches wide. The King of Contracts made a pact with the power of the ‘Transcendent of Chaos,’ the first black magician, and entered into an agreement. Instead of ruling the largest territory, he couldn’t even control his own destiny. A pact where he gave up his own rights to the world and took the rights of the world for himself, an unfair contract.]

[The King of Contracts was very satisfied with this pact.]

[If he could have everything in the world, he thought that he could easily give up something as abstract as ‘destiny.’]

[After this pact, the King of Contracts expanded his domain through numerous bilateral contracts, marriage agreements, wars, and colonization.]

[And, precisely one day before the ‘New Decree’ was made that would lead the Empire to become an ‘Empire,’ the King of Contracts passed away in his bed, standing at 6 feet 11 inches, without ever witnessing the Empire becoming what it had become.]

A pact that allowed him to hold the power to rule the world, but left him unable to control his own fate.

The Empire was a state built on that pact with the world.

The pact was so powerful that, even though the King of Piety shared power with the church, the King of Order limited power with laws, and the People’s King handed power to the people, it could never be washed away. Only the ‘King of Dignity’ knew how to use that pact to his advantage.

“Sion.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“What would you think if you became the emperor of the Empire and could rule the world, but could no longer do the things you wanted?”

“What do you mean by ‘things you want to do’?”

“Yeah. For example, if I were in your position… everything would succeed except for the cultural revival project. People would praise me, calling me the greatest emperor, gold and jewels would pile up in my treasury… but the literary market would keep shrinking and decaying.”

“Something like that? Hm.”

Sion, who had been resting his chin in one hand and contemplating, nodded before answering.

“I think I would be the same as you, my lord.”

“Really?”

“Perhaps in the past, I might have been tempted by that ‘success’… but, under the name of the Lord, I have already sworn to support your dream. The future you envision… I’ve come to realize that it shines brighter than any treasure. So, I won’t be swayed by the power of the world. Even if the Empire has to fall for your dream to come true, even if everyone turns against you, I will support you.”

“…Is what you want to do supporting me?”

“In this world, there are people who find greater satisfaction in supporting those who run hard, don’t you think? I believe I’m one of those people.”

“That’s kind of you…”

After Sion’s response, I hesitated for a moment, then suddenly felt something odd and asked again.

“Wait, so you’re saying that, like me, you’re sure I will choose ‘literature’ over ‘success’, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Hmm.

“I see.”

I don’t think the day will come when I place something in front of ‘literature’ instead of ‘literature.’

An old memory came to mind.

“Senior! Isn’t reading a book while talking with your lovely girlfriend a bit too much?”

“Ah, sorry. This novel is the first official translation in Korea….”

“What’s more important, me or the novel?”

“Well, of course….”

“Of course you’ll say the novel and make me angry.”

“…Both are important.”

“Ugh. How did I end up liking someone like this….”

“I wonder.”

Come to think of it, I wonder what my junior is doing now.

Are they still working as a translator? I had quite a lot of translated works piled up, and translating them all would be quite a struggle.

The remaining works were tough to translate and weren’t famous novels, so there weren’t many reference materials.

I also think I had a dream about my junior recently….

“Heheh, now that I think about it, living in this ‘world where literature hasn’t fully bloomed’ has been sort of a blessing.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, um. I think my wish has been granted in the end.”

My wish in my past life was to live in a ‘book-centered society.’ A world where literature doesn’t die, isn’t treated as old, and continues to breathe, moving people’s hearts.

In the end, that wish came true.

I was in despair when I reincarnated into this world, where the only literature worth reading was ‘journalistic literature’… but now, people carry a book in their bag and read and write books.

Now, this world cannot be sustained without ‘literature.’

Every year, numerous works are published, and all welfare and culture are closely linked to this ‘publishing distribution.’

My role now is just to add a little more fuel to the fire.

“Let’s go to the vault, Sion.”

“Yes.”

…

…

[The priest cast a spell on the monkey’s paw. He was a very devout man, and he wanted to show how fate governs our lives and what kind of sorrow befalls those who interfere with it.]

…

…

Not long after the Empire’s ‘Millennium Feast,’ Homeros’ new short story was published.

The title of the novel was surprisingly simple, making it hard to guess its contents.

The Monkey’s Paw.

When people saw the title, they assumed Homeros’ new work would be a fairy tale in the form of a fable about a ‘monkey,’ and naturally, the first people to buy the novel were those readers who loved Homeros’ ‘fairy tales.’ They were sensitive readers who adored novels with a soft atmosphere.

And then.

“Heeeek!!!”

“This is a ghost story!”

“So what happened to the son?! Ugh….”

The novel The Monkey’s Paw turned out to be a horror story in the form of a ghost tale.

Those unaccustomed to horror novels trembled with disgust at the eerie atmosphere and miserable developments typical of ghost stories.

Even people who showed no reaction while reading would suddenly recall the novel if they heard a knock or the sound of wind outside the window at night.

Thanks to this, The Monkey’s Paw soon stirred an explosive reaction after its publication.

“This novel, The Monkey’s Paw, is incredibly bizarre and interesting!”

“To grant a wish in such a twisted way… it’s fun!”

Some people were inspired by the strangeness of the ‘ghost story,’ while others were fascinated by the powerful symbol of the ‘monkey’s paw.’

As a result, newspapers with short story sections started to be flooded with ‘horror stories.’

“Argh! Why is there such a scary story in the newspaper?!”

“Tsk tsk, are you really scared of something like that? …Hmm, but where’s the bathroom? Would you mind coming with me? Not because I’m scared, of course. Just that I’m confused about the way.”

Horror stories were dominating the Empire.

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