chapter -2

 After publishing Don Quixote, I thought the game changer had finally come. But I underestimated the ignorance of this world. Soon, works that blatantly plagiarized Don Quixote began to flood the capital.

There was no proper copyright law, and the patent office only oversaw publishing rights, not the content itself. It was a tragedy brought about by the lack of awareness of 'copyright' in this world's legal system.

"Should we take legal action?" my servant, Sion, asked.

"It's useless," I replied. "They didn't publish my novel without permission, they just plagiarized the content."

Sion, who had become my fan after reading Don Quixote first, looked disappointed. I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

"Why? Are you worried about losing the income from royalties?"

"No, it's just that you worked so hard on your novel, even giving up your allowance, and it's frustrating to see it not receive proper compensation."

In truth, it wasn't that hard to write the novel. I had 'stolen' it from my 'original world', although I did make modifications to fit this world's history and culture. But I understood Sion's feelings and nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget that feeling. It's the readers who need to have that awareness for copyright to truly take hold."

It was useless for just the author to claim copyright. In order to raise our voices, we needed the 'public'. And the best way to attract the public was to reward them with better works.

"In that sense, I'll show you something a little early. But it's just between us."

I took out a stack of papers from my drawer and showed it to Sion.

"Don Quixote, Part 2."

Sion let out a scream of joy and took the papers with trembling hands. His scream was so loud that the butler came to check on us. I sent him away and watched as Sion sat on the floor, reading the manuscript like a madman.

'This is quite amusing.'

In fact, the reason why Don Quixote Part 2 appeared in the original world was also because of the flood of pirated copies. The real Don Quixote's preface and text contained scathing remarks about pirated copies, and I had included similar content out of respect for the original and to express my frustration with the pirated copies flooding the market.

I sat in my armchair and waited for Sion to finish reading. It took until dinner time for him to finish reading the entire manuscript.

"...Wow, Don Quixote is..."

"Did you finish reading it?"

"This will definitely sell! No, it will change the history of this world!"

"That's a bit much... I just hope it can change the situation with copyright law."

The existence of copyright law was essential for the protection of creators' rights and a healthy creative environment. Only then could we enjoy more diverse and interesting works.

My ultimate goal was still the same. To read more interesting novels. To do that, we needed an environment where interesting novels could be conceived.

"Ha, can I read it one more time? I want to relive Don Quixote's journey."

"It's fine, but... it's time for dinner now?"

Sion, who had been reading for hours, suddenly realized the time and let out a sigh. He tried to stand up, but his legs were numb and he sat back down.

"Ugh... I'm sorry."

"Take your time. There's no rush."

After a while, when Sion was able to move again, the servant announced that dinner was ready. I headed to the dining room with Sion.

My father, the head of the household, glanced at me and threw a tantrum.

"Why are you coming out so late? Were you reading that chivalric romance again?"

He pretended to be annoyed, but in truth, he was the one who took care of me the most. I thanked him with my eyes and sat down at the table.

"What's so interesting about such a light novel..." my father muttered.

Then, as if he had just remembered something, he added, "Oh, by the way, there's a novel called Don Quixote or something that's causing a stir in the capital. Have you read it? I don't understand the story because I've never read chivalric romances, but those rats in the central government can't even pay their debts...

"...Don Quixote?"

"Yes. I should read it too, just to keep up with the conversation..."

"It's not that difficult."

"Not difficult?"

"Because I wrote that novel."

There was a sound of a spoon dropping somewhere. The gazes of my family members, who had been eating, all turned to the person who had dropped the spoon. It was my older brother and heir to the family, Eric.

"You're the author 'Homeros' who wrote Don Quixote?!"

"Ah, yes."

It felt a bit strange to hear my pen name out loud. I had chosen the name of the greatest epic poet as my pen name, which now seemed a bit over the top. My face grew hot. It was like a singer choosing the name 'Freddie Mercury'.

"That's ridiculous..."

"I didn't know you read that kind of book either, brother. I thought you didn't read chivalric romances because they were childish."

"Among young nobles, Don Quixote is a god!"

"Isn't that blasphemy...?"

Don Quixote was indeed a great literary work. It was a classic that represented literature, the first modern novel, the most beloved work of writers, the Bible of Spain, and the father of all modern novels. Its influence in the literary world was unparalleled.

But outside of literature, it was questionable whether it had that much influence. In modern times, Don Quixote was known only as 'the madman who attacked windmills'.

'Well, it's a world where cultural industries haven't developed much.'

There were flashy spectacles like monster circuses and magic shows, but there was almost nothing that could be called 'content'. When I thought about it, it made sense that Eric was reacting this way.

Even though the 'publishing industry' itself was not very developed, other cultural industries were even more pitiful, so the relatively large publishing industry had a stronger influence than expected.

"Well, thank you for the interesting read."

"My little brother is that Homeros..."

My brother was still in shock, while my mother, who had been watching us, opened her mouth.

"Is that work Don Quixote really that great?"

At her question, my brother raised his voice and began to explain.

"Of course! These days, if a young noble hasn't read Don Quixote, they're laughed at as being out of touch with the trends. Especially those who are sensitive to trends─"

Eric explained for a while about how much influence the work Don Quixote had. In social circles, not knowing Don Quixote meant being ostracized for being behind the times, and some nobles even dressed up in Don Quixote costumes as a hobby. Hearing this reminded me of the term 'Werther effect' from my previous life.

After the publication of The Sorrows of Young Werther, young men who read the novel began to imitate the protagonist Werther's clothing and commit suicide one after another.

'The power of literature... is greater than I imagined.'

In my previous life in Korea, talking about the power of literature or the energy of literature would have been laughed at. It was a time when people still clung to crude paper books.

But this era was different. The publishing industry was just beginning to take off, and although it was still immature, it had the potential to become a 'popular culture'.

"...I'll have to be more careful with my next work."

I muttered without realizing it.

When Eric heard my muttering, he suddenly stopped talking and looked at me. Then he asked with sparkling eyes.

"Next work?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"By any chance... Don Quixote Part 2?"

"For now, yes?"

Eric's reaction after that was...

Too extreme and burdensome to describe. Thanks to him, the dinner table became a mess.