Chapter 45
Translator: True Detective
Turned the Literary Circles Upside Down
It felt like dreaming.
And feeling like having a nightmare at that.
Would it be this feeling that Saran, the female protagonist of The Oblige of Deception, felt the moment she heard Ancelo's shocking confession?
To think that the true identity of Anna Moore, who was predicted to be the newcomer who would save the Empire's literature──no, furthermore the overall culture, which was being tainted by the demonic clutches of Homer, was Noel Grace.
"Because Noel Grace is Homer, and Homer is Noel Grace..."
Are you saying I just highly praised what was written by a person who does things like entertainment novels and commercial works, and selected it as the grand prize winner?
Not only Robert Burton, who strongly recommended it adding his selfish desire wanting her to become a rival to Homer, but also the other judges who empathized and agreed with it felt dizzy before their eyes.
Polarization of wealth.
Extreme class disparity.
To think the one who wrote a work that scathingly pinched such social problems and deception was Homer.
『Kuaaak! Noel Grace! Are you saying you are the strongest even in pure literature!』
It became a situation where they couldn't just laugh it off like this.
"Why... why did you hide yourself and submit the entry?"
Robert, stopping the award ceremony halfway and asking like that with a trembling voice out of a desire to deny reality.
Now Robert also knows that Noel Grace is Homer.
Because fellow authors who recognized her informed him.
When they ran into each other before, he only knew that Homer was a woman and an eccentric noble, but he didn't know her physical description and attire, so he could just move past it...
Now he ended up knowing it even if he didn't want to know.
"Because I thought I wouldn't receive a fair evaluation if I submitted it under my real name or pen name. I wanted to be recognized purely for the artistic value."
At the question asking what her ulterior motive was for borrowing her maid's name to submit the entry, Noel spoke nonchalantly, as if she had no other intentions.
"I didn't expect you to view it this favorably. I thought it would be around a newcomer award at best even if things went well..."
Did you like the pure literature work I wrote that much?
At the strange smile that seemed to ask that, Robert was at a loss for words.
Although it was the result of various factors acting and selfish motives being added, The Oblige of Deception was certainly a good work.
He selected it with the meaning that he looked forward to her future even more, telling her to take the grand prize, cheer up, and engage in good creative activities... but this ended up becoming a sort of self-destructive move.
"Why..."
So Robert could not help but ask.
"Pardon?"
"I cannot understand why you write things like entertainment novels when you can write such a text."
At those words, Noel blinked her wide-open eyes and suddenly nodded her head.
'As expected, people don't change easily.'
Clara was just a special case; a normal person is like this.
Especially the older a person is, their stubbornness, no, their obstinacy is bound to be tremendous.
In the first place, she didn't stand in this spot with the meaning of an uprising of commercial authors or anything like that.
She only planned this with the thought of landing a refreshing blow on the guys acting annoyingly.
She had no intention of seeking understanding for doing commercial works, nor did she have any intention of getting into a war of words arguing that commercial works like entertainment novels are also works.
"Thank you for the award. I will continue to work hard in the future."
Since she landed the blow she was going to land, she decided to take what she was going to take and go back.
'Still, he doesn't say things like ghostwriting or whatever.'
It's a relief that he cleanly admitted it instead of denying reality and saying things like bring the real original author, Anna Moore.
It must be because he knows that not doing so is at least less ugly.
'If he had tried to deny it and go for a mud fight, I was going to show him what a real mud fight is... so it's a bit of a pity.'
It means that even the elders of the literary circles possess enough wisdom to avoid the act of ruining their own authority with their own hands.
So utilizing that wisdom, from now on they will treat Homer like a cow looking at a chicken, or a chicken looking at a cow, no matter what she does, as if avoiding it because it's dirty.
That was enough for Noel.
Because she wasn't trying to have a life-or-death struggle in the first place anyway.
However, other authors, more accurately those who had skepticism about the existing methods of the literary circles, thought differently.
"Is a generational shift finally taking place?"
"Has the moment arrived to clean out the age-spotted old fogeys of the literary circles!"
"I never liked how they tried to make creation stereotyped since before, saying it's not writing if it's not pure literature."
"Whether it's commerce or art, we should be able to do it freely! Why do we have to walk on eggshells?"
"The times are changing. Now we must write not to enlighten the public, but to commune with the public. Exactly like Homer!"
"Noel Grace, she is definitely an angel who appeared to sound an alarm to the stereotyped literary world and give freedom of creation!"
"Even an author capable of receiving the grand prize at the Aurelion Golden Tablet Literature Award does commercial works... shouldn't I be able to be a bit proud too?"
When the fact that Homer won the Aurelion Golden Tablet Literature Award made headlines, they took it as a signal flare for reform.
It was an incident like a symbol that the wave of change blocked by authority... began to flow.
Not covering an incident like this is something that cannot happen even for a reporter who doesn't know what journalism is.
Let alone for a person claiming to be a proper reporter, it was naturally an agenda worth getting an interview for and formally writing an article about.
However, articles about this matter didn't come out as much as expected, and there were two reasons for that.
One was because the literary circles wanted to pass over this matter as quietly as possible.
『Nothing happened.』
Because it was an incident practically no different from their disgrace, they wanted to bury it like this.
Because media outlets and reporters nodded their heads at such influence from the literary circles, it felt quiet for making headlines.
The other reason was because interviewing Noel Grace, a noble young lady flying high, was not an easy task.
Her actions were truly stimulating and it was true that article materials poured out abundantly, but the fact that there wasn't a single interview article about Noel was due to the sense of distance of being a noble young lady.
However, eventually, there was someone who jumped over that obstacle and boldly took action.
"I am Edward Colvin. Lady Grace, I beg of you risking impoliteness. Could I ask for an interview just until the train arrives?"
It was Edward Colvin, the chief editorial writer of Golden Page, the most famous newspaper in the Empire.
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Usually, when one becomes a chief editorial writer of a newspaper, rather than running on foot in the field, they are bound to write commentaries in the kitchen or make dishes called articles using tips or sources brought in by reporters below them.
However, Edward Colvin was different.
Was it because he was quite young for a chief editorial writer?
He was a style who still ran on foot in the field and wrote based on what he found out.
So that must also be why he rose to the position of chief editorial writer at a young age.
And this time again, he caused an incident with that diligence and boldness.
He succeeded in getting an interview with Noel Grace.
Noel, who originally intended to win the grand prize at the Aurelion Golden Tablet Literature Award and immediately return to the Viscountcy.
But where do the affairs of the world flow according to her heart?
Since she came up to the Imperial Capital, she handled 'this and that' over several days and was only just barely able to return, but while waiting for the Magic Train to arrive, she was met with Edward's charge.
It couldn't be helped even if he heard he was impolite without prior contact, but originally Edward hadn't intended to cover Noel either.
With the approaching academy enrollment, as spectacular figures were scheduled to enroll, he was on his way to the northern part of the Empire to do a more in-depth coverage about that, and coincidentally discovered Noel.
So he absolutely couldn't just pass by, and charged in prepared to get his shins kicked.
And Noel, highly evaluating such Edward's courage, withdrew the Viscountcy's knights who looked ready to devour Edward and decided to grant the interview.
"Thank you very much for granting this interview amidst your busyness, Lady Grace! No, would it be better to say Author Homer here?"
"Ah, well... it is fine to call me whatever is comfortable for you, Mr. Reporter."
"Yes, then I will call you Author Homer. Because that will suit the theme of today's interview as well."
This was an opportunity practically designated by God.
Because not just as a reporter, but personally, as a person who writes, he had definitely wanted to have a conversation with Homer at least once.
Edward, who had no intention of missing this good fortune even a little, conducted the interview with a momentum like a foal with its tail on fire at the cafe until the Magic Train heading to the Viscountcy arrived.
He couldn't help but be urgent.
However, it's problematic to forget courtesy just because you're urgent.
First, after congratulating her on winning the literature award and exchanging pleasantries, he slowly began to get to the main point.
"How does it feel to become an icon of the times symbolizing the change in the literary world?"
"Well. I have never particularly thought of it that way. I am just doing what I want to do, and I have no intention of changing the world with it or anything like that, so I'm only bewildered that you say so."
"However, it is a fact that Author Homer's existence triggered change, isn't it."
That's originally how it works.
Regardless of the person's intentions, matters are interpreted and proceed.
It's easy to understand if you think of a giant in mythology.
It is said that a giant as massive as a mountain caused vibrations like earthquakes every time it took a step.
Did they intentionally stomp their feet causing 'earth rumbles'?
The giant was just walking, but the earth's axis shook as if there was an earthquake, and those caught up in it were in an uproar.
Noel's actions were exactly like the footsteps of such a giant.
At the question asking if she truly had no thoughts about the current situation where the literary world was shaken by footsteps taken without much thought, Noel calmly took a sip of coffee.
And,
"It seems the causal relationship is reversed."
She answered like this.
"Doesn't fluctuating this much over a mere few volumes of entertainment novels mean it wasn't that solid to begin with and there was dissatisfaction?"
Saying, you should have done well then.
It felt as if he had heard someone say if there is no bread, shouldn't they just eat cake.
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