After a long while, Princess Es, who had been teasing in the publisher’s reception room, finally left.
I leaned back on the sofa in the reception room, letting out a sigh and quietly closing my eyes.
How much ti had passed? I heard the door open, followed by a familiar voice.
“Author! The guest has left.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, President.”
President Dorling Kindersley.
At first, she had appeared to be a sowhat clumsy young entrepreneur, but now she exuded the presence of a seasoned businesswoman.
It had been quite a long ti, after all.
Co to think of it, it had been a long ti. I had been working with her since the publication of Don Quixote… It had been over 10 years.
Yet, she was still doing the sa things as back then, which made chuckle a little. Back then, the prince had suddenly arrived, and I had been sweating and exhausted in the reception room, just like now…
“President.”
“Yes?”
“The publishing company has really grown, hasn’t it?”
“Hehe, it’s the publishing company that discovered the ‘Hor’ author, you know. I told you, didn’t I? Don Quixote would beco the ‘Bible,’ and Hor would beco ‘God!’”
“Ah, I rember now. Back then, I thought you were being a bit too dramatic…”
In the end, it wasn’t I, but President Kindersley who had been right.
Even though I had known the value of immortal classics, I realized that I still harbored so doubts about the power of literature itself. It was likely because of my mories from Korea.
But in the end, Don Quixote beca the ‘Bible of Literature’ in this world as well.
As long as the Bible remains immortal, it becos a language that will never disappear. It gave certainty about the ‘power of literature.’
As a translator who had devoted my life to literature, this was a very pleasing thing.
After all, translators are essentially foolish people who want to prove that literature, as an ‘art,’ transcends eras and cultures and is universal. In that sense, how joyful and delightful it is that literature still holds sway in the ‘other world.’
Not sure how she interpreted my smile, President Kindersley mischievously explained a recent issue.
“You wouldn’t believe how many complaints we’re getting from people saying they can’t sleep at night because of The Monkey’s Paw.”
“Really? I don’t think The Monkey’s Paw is that scary of a work…”
“Well, it’s not necessarily because of The Monkey’s Paw itself.”
“Huh?”
“It’s because of all the horror short stories inspired by The Monkey’s Paw that have been pouring out in the newspaper serials. Newspapers have such high accessibility that it’s becoming a bigger issue.”
“Ah, I see.”
Hmm?
“But are people complaining to our publishing company about that?”
“Hehe… seems so.”
“You must be having a hard ti.”
“It’s alright! I do this because I want to, after all. Hehe.”
The literary market had grown so much that nowadays, people no longer just read the one novel I plagiarized and get lost in it.
The world was vast, and there were many books to read.
In fact, if the only book worth reading at this point was the classic I plagiarized, I would have been the one in despair.
But even so, the novels I plagiarized still had a huge impact on the literature of this world. Not just as ‘works,’ but by creating genres and trends.
That was probably why this delicate situation had arisen.
“President Kindersley, do you not plan to expand your business into pulp fiction or newspapers?”
“Well… yes.”
“Why not? Considering the influence you have in the publishing market, not expanding seems odd, to be honest.”
“I’m a bibliophile…”
“Ah.”
Not a book lover, but a bibliophile.
She was soone who loved collecting books. Not satisfied with just reading books in libraries, she had to own and store them on her bookshelves.
For this reason, she seed to have an aversion to cheap paper used for newspapers or pulp fiction.
“People say that even if the paper gets old and disappears, the story remains forever… but for , I want the sentences I love to remain exactly as they are, forever. The shape of the printed words, a drop of ink, a single sheet of paper, and if possible, even the scent of the hardcover… I want to preserve it all. That way, I feel like I can re-create my emotions forever.” 𝑅ãℕ∅ꞖĘȘ
“I understand.”
“Oh! Speaking of re-creation, I completely forgot. I actually had sothing I wanted to consult with you about.”
“Yes?”
Suddenly clapping her hands, Kindersley hurriedly began explaining sothing.
“The troupe wants to adapt one of your works for a performance script.”
“Hmm? Didn’t I entrust the copyright contract entirely to you? You could have done it without consulting …”
“That is… it’s a slightly different type of contract than usual.”
“Excuse ?”
“It’s an area I’m not very familiar with, so I think it would be best for you to see it yourself.”
.
.
.
“I am Mack, a White Mage operating the Filanergia Theater.”
“…Ah, yes. But a White Mage? Isn’t it usually the Purple Magic Tower that runs theaters?”
“Ah. The theater I run is not a ‘magic theater.’ It’s a new form of performance known as a ‘movie,’ which isn’t very popular yet due to competition from magic theaters.”
“Ah, I see.”
It sounded like a cinema that showed films using a projector.
The White Mage raised his voice enthusiastically, explaining about movies.
“I believe that this ‘movie’ is the future of art. Although it hasn’t garnered much attention from audiences yet, the day will co when people will recognize the charm of moving images!”
“So, this ‘movie’… does it have advantages over magic theater?”
In this world, ‘magic theater’ was a dium that surpassed the realism of 4DX films from my previous life.
From personal experience, the ‘magic theater’ of this world was far more imrsive and intriguing than movies from my past life.
“Of course! First of all, once it’s fild, there’s no need to bring actors on stage every ti, so the long-term profitability increases. With just the film, you can show the sa content anywhere, so distribution becos advantageous.”
“Hmm.”
“And while theater is ‘performing arts,’ movies are ‘screening arts.’”
“…Ah.”
“Those who enjoy theater may argue that the charm of ‘performing arts’ lies in the synergy between actors and the audience. But I believe that art should be eternal. Eternal value, the single most beautiful mont of life, a masterpiece created with countless hours of effort… capturing it out of the flow of ti and displaying it for all to see—now that is true art, worthy of dedicating one’s life to, isn’t it?”
The mont the man finished speaking, I knew instantly.
This person.
He was the sa type of person as .
“If monts that might be the most valuable in life simply faded into faint mories and disappeared, known only through the anecdotes of a few, wouldn’t that be such a waste?”
“Yes, that’s true….”
“Every ti I watch the actors perform, I feel regretful. To think that only a few hundred or thousand people in this theater can witness such beautiful acting… isn’t that excessively extravagant? When I first saw the video caras created by the White Magic Tower for observation, I thought, ‘This is it.’ Using such technology rely to record the paths of pedestrians on the street is a waste! These thoughts filled my head completely.”
Just as I was captivated by the beauty of literature and beca a translator…
This person, too, was captivated by the beauty of acting and ca to operate a theater.
“That’s why I ca to see you, the writer, to get permission. Even though many plays are adaptations of your works, movies can be replicated and reproduced, so the existing contracts for plays might cause issues.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“So, I’d like to first show you our technology. Recently, we’ve even achieved color screening—”
“No need for that.”
“Excuse ?”
The mage seed flustered, perhaps misunderstanding my response, and tried to explain further.
I smiled lightly and extended my hand to him.
For soone like this, I could provide all the support they needed. Even if it wasn’t literature, people who loved ‘art’ always deserved encouragent.
Moreover, art was fundantally about mutual support and being a source of inspiration for one another.
“As it happens, I have just the right work in mind.”
The mage, who had been staring blankly at my hand, suddenly snapped out of it and shook hands enthusiastically.
In my mind, a famous fairy tale was passing by.
A masterpiece that, alongside “Alice in Wonderland,” beca one of the most famous fairy tales and gave birth to an immortal the song, “Over the Rainbow.”
A great symbol that dominated fairy-tale literature centered on a ‘girl’ protagonist, alongside Alice.
“Is it possible to create a transition from black-and-white to color in the movie?”
“Ah, yes! I’ve never tried it, but it should be possible!”
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The ti had co to introduce this world to the revolutionary marketing concept of “simultaneous release of movie and original novel.”
.
.
.
[“A cyclone is coming!”]
[And sothing strange happened.]
[The house spun two or three tis, then slowly floated into the air. Dorothy felt as if she were riding a balloon up into the sky.]
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