Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire

Hero(5)

“Hey, heck…”

The dimly visible spit of Big Ben was pointing at 4 before anyone knew it. I didn’t mean to do this, but it’s been too long.

With my daughter-! With my daughter-!

The door opened roughly as if it were about to be broken. At the end of it sat the young man who had been waiting so long.

I took a deep breath and approached him.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit late…”

“So, why did you kill Sherlock?”

“Gun… huh?”

“Why did you kill him?”

“Huh?”

***

The reunion with the doctor, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, wasn’t the worst… but it wasn’t very good either.

Well, let’s say that’s how the person who set the appointment time came out late.

However, it is because the behavior of the person I met was enormous.

His hair was scattered as if he hadn’t slept in days, and his face was covered in sweat as if it had rained, and his beard was not properly trimmed.

A completely different look from the ‘dappy London gentleman’ I remember.

I wonder if the master of the pub was surprised and ran to him.

“No, Mr. Conan Doyle!! Did you meet a robber?”

“Oh, no. load. Don’t worry. Excuse me, could you bring me a towel?”

“Of course.”

It’s embarrassing because it’s completely different from the nobleman I’ve seen so far… but I still have to say something.

So I just screwed it up.

‘Why did you kill Sherlock?’ As the mouthpiece of many Sherlockians.

Then he paused, ‘Huh? Huh?’ He made a blank expression with the same feeling and then fell silent.

So, how will it come out? would you be angry? Or will you burst into tears? If you think about his personality, you might be able to taunt him quietly…

however.

“okay. That was my sin.”

“······yes?”

What is this reaction?

Contrary to my expectations, I am very warm. I was rather surprised by his face, which did not show even a single hint of anger or impatience.

Rather than ‘that’ Arthur Conan Doyle who was said to have killed Holmes because of something evil, his expression would be suitable for a great Zen master such as the Dalai Lama or a Buddhist monk.

Even so, it was very natural.

what? how?

“Young man, let me be honest.”

“Ah, yes. I will listen.”

“I was tempted.”

uh, well

I didn’t say anything and just stared blankly at Arthur Conan Doyle. It feels like listening to some kind of religious experience, but this.

“… Temptation?”

“Yes.”

I glanced at the master who had brought a wet towel.

The shaggy bald master brought a cloth soaked in hot water, carefully placed the cloth on the table with his log-like forearm… and then ran away.

It seems that he saw through the atmosphere that he would be bothered like me.

“Ah, Jim brought it. I’m sorry. I’m going to wash my face for a while.”

“Yes, yes. Do whatever you want.”

No, if you’re going to run away, I’ll go along with you… I secretly sent a signal to the master again, but he pretended to clean the glass he had cleaned earlier again and insisted on ignoring it.

Well, I can’t help it.

I had no choice but to give up and talk to the great writer who was breathing.

“So, what do you mean by that? Please explain.”

“hmm. yes. I was short of explanation.”

It’s simple.

Arthur Conan Doyle took a sip of the ginger ale I secretly ordered and sighed deeply.

“It’s just that I was stupid, that’s all.”

To write a historical novel was, in the end, just self-satisfaction…

Arthur Conan Doyle said bitterly.

“I was so obsessed with it that I made a big mistake. That… making the child’s death that way… was a choice that, in the end, was tantamount to tearing down the tower I had painstakingly built.”

“Um, yes, but….”

“okay. You seem to know, so I’ll be honest.”

Arthur Conan Doyle declared, opening his eyes brightly shining with intellect and cool-headedness.

“It was my mistake to kill Sherlock. You only left scars on the readers with useless stubbornness.”

That’s right. In the future, there will even be fans who commit suicide due to such incidents… Fortunately, there has been no news that someone has committed suicide yet, so it seems that other Sherlockians have had small hopes like me.

“Um, if that’s what you said?”

“I need to resurrect Sherlock Holmes.”

“Gee, really?!”

“Teacher, are you sure that’s true!?”

“Cancer, of course.”

Not only I, but also the master who was listening carefully, looked at Arthur in surprise.

No, of course I know. Because I know that he eventually wrote ＜The Adventure of the Empty House＞.

But why?

I couldn’t help but wonder.

Originally, Arthur Conan Doyle’s resurrection of Sherlock Holmes failed after he failed to overcome the torch and released a prequel to evolve it, and eventually 10 years after Sherlock’s death, an American publisher pushed for a high-priced contract and insisted on money. Was it because you broke it?

In fact, it is still good that the police station said they were happy that they had obtained the material for a historical novel.

But why did you suddenly give up your stubbornness?

In fact, I came today with the courage to be hated by him.

Somehow I tried to convince him to try writing Sherlock again.

Suddenly? why?

When I was puzzled, he spoke reverently as if he were confessing.

“I had forgotten why I was writing novels.”

“Why are you writing a novel?”

“Well, did I tell you about my father, Charles Altamont Doyle?”

“Oh, no.”

Something came to my mind at first, so I kept my mouth shut and waited for his words.

If the story about John Watson and his father appearing in Sherlock Holmes is correct.

And, if the story of Conan Doyle projecting himself into John Watson is true, that wouldn’t be a very good story.

Arthur Conan Doyle closed his eyes for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“I was a shy person. He was a psychopath who did not suit someone as strong and beautiful as his mother, and an artist who was full of vanity.”

“······yes.”

“Of course I couldn’t draw. He also drew illustrations for my ＜A Study in Scarlet＞. It wasn’t up to the level of an exhibition, but it wasn’t ugly. But… I was just a human being who couldn’t stand failure.”

Arthur Conan Doyle turned his head for a moment and looked at the distant sky.

Although he said harsh words, I could feel the condolences and love for my father in his gaze.

“Looks like he died.”

“Last year. October of this year is the date.”

“My condolences.”

“Thank you.”

“Anyway,” continued Arthur Conan Doyle.

“I didn’t want to be a person who harmed others like my father, so I became a doctor who treats people in reverse… It’s ironic. It seems that the Doyle family has an artist’s bondage. Because I went around and got a job called a writer. Come to think of it, my grandfather, John Doyle, was also a famous painter in Ireland for satirical paintings.”

Oh, I didn’t know that again. Then, does the setting that Holmes’ maternal grandmother came from a French painter family reflect that?

“When I think about the reason I wrote ＜Sherlock Holmes＞, in the end, I wanted to give hope to these Londoners. It is said that what I originally headed for was the public. But, at some point, I was soaked in the reputation of a popular writer, and I abandoned them and tried to sway the critics’ evaluation. I had lost my original intention. The important thing is that it’s not just those few high-ranking people.”

I nodded.

With the feeling of wanting to applaud.

It was a very dramatic change of heart, but whatever.

The most important thing is that I am now making up my mind and rewriting Sherlock Holmes. That was when I thought so.

“This is the book that taught me that.”

Arthur Conan Doyle pulled something out of his bosom.

It was wet with sweat, probably because of the run, but it wasn’t to the extent that I couldn’t identify what it was. No, I couldn’t have known.

That’s it.

“＜Dunbringer＞. Zara who brings the dawn… It’s a really well-made name. It is no different from the book that brought dawn to me.”

“······uh.”

After all, it was a book I wrote.

Arthur Conan Doyle said enthusiastically to me who was lost in spirit.

“Hanslo Jin, if I met him, I would definitely want to say thank you. In a way, he is a benefactor who reminded me of the wrong way.”

“Um, um…”

okay.

“Have you read it? What a piece of art! Although it had a lot of fictional elements mixed in, it contained what I was trying to say with Sherlock Holmes. Hanslo Jean, I think he actually wanted to tell me to write Sherlock again.”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

“Do you think so too?”

“Uh, um, well… It wasn’t that I didn’t have that kind of heart.”

“Hmm? what?”

From noble mtl dot com

Uh, so… it’s embarrassing, but I have to say it, right?

“It’s true that I wanted you to write Sherlock again.”

He frowned for a moment, perhaps feeling something strange about that statement.

Then the eyes got bigger and bigger.

“Wait, that tone is like… no, no way.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I replied humbly, scratching my chin.

“······I am Hanslo Jin.”

***

A few days ago, the Metropolitan Police Department in charge of public order in London.

In the central conference room of Scotland Yard, nicknamed the “Police Captain” or higher, veteran police officers were gathered.

None of them have a face that is not nervous. There were also those who occasionally bit their nails or shook their legs.

What they are waiting for.

This was a matter of prestige for the London Metropolitan Police Department, and a matter of public security for the whole of England at length, and it was an agenda that had to be prioritized above all else.

that’s right.

“Come out, come out!”

what came out

as soon as.

“Hanslo Jin has serialized ‘Mystery Novels’ in ＜Strand Magazine＞!!”

“Is it true!?”

“Wow, thank you!!”

“Hey, it’s time to break the joints!!”

It was according to intelligence. Finally George Nums did it!

The cops all hugged each other and toasted each other.

Scotland Yard has recently been in trouble with the UK Home Office due to poor performance.

The reason was simple.

This is because the ＜Sherlock Holmes series＞, a novel that becomes a publicity medium on its own without paying, ended with the death of the main character as an excuse.

If someone asks, ‘It’s normal to be bullied by the police in novels, is it publicity?’

London is a city where citizens distrust the military and have great anxiety due to a long series of revolutions and subsequent military intervention.

The security vacuum resulting from this was a cause for concern, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, who was well aware of this, took out the smell of the military as much as possible from the police. A lot of effort has been made to make people feel friendly.

It was part of that that they wore blue clothes, the exact opposite of the red coats of the Armed Forces, and created a class system completely different from that of the military.

Although Sherlock Holmes despised and crushed these cops, at least he succeeded in creating an image of working diligently and raising a sense of intimacy.

This can be said to be a feat that could not be achieved even after thousands of pounds of blood tax was poured into it.

but then what

By leaving the ending that way, it became a kindling that only causes riots.

The riots that followed have increased the number of jobs.

“But that is over now!!”

“Ah, Conan Doyle did a good job writing it, but Hanslo Jin is the best these days!!”

“If you think no, bring Sherlock Holmes back to life!!”

Not knowing that he had already made up his mind to resurrect Sherlock Holmes, the police chewed Arthur Conan Doyle like that.

In any case, it was too much to convince the man who reacted as if he was in a game whenever he heard about ＜Sherlock Holmes＞.

Of course, they later go into trouble in another direction due to extreme fanboys trying to climb Big Ben because of this Hanslo Jin’s ＜Dawnbringer＞, breaking into Westminster Abbey, or creating vigilantes, but once they don’t happen now. It’s a thing.

“now! Then, let’s deal with the remaining agenda and finish!”

“Okay, once we finish this, we can finally get off work on time!!”

So, they started distributing the remaining cases. Since the most important agenda was easily resolved, distribution went smoothly.

“Now, the following is an official letter of cooperation for the serial disappearance of Dartmoor, Devon…”

“It’s just swamps and wastelands, isn’t it?”

“A business trip to a place like that, exile?”

“Ah, but it’s a serious matter. It is said that the long-standing aristocratic family line has been cut off there as well. Inheritance is complicated in many ways.”

“Then I hate it even more.”

“Oh, don’t do that.”

“for a moment.”

One of them, middle-aged, pot-bellied Inspector Jones, raised his hand.

Not too long ago, he had dealt with Hanslo Jin’s single boy in the London Stock Exchange case, and he was reputed to have several tortoiseshell snakes in his thick belly.

and.

“Did you say that the line of aristocratic families was cut off in Devon?”

“huh? That’s it.”

“Devon, a noble family…”

Someone’s words passed through his mind.

—Come to think of it, Devon still has a lot of local smells, right?

—A local aristocrat who has accumulated wealth for a long time. In addition, the surrounding farmland is not well developed, so people cannot easily come in and out. The nobles who lived like the kings of a small kingdom in that land, however, could not overcome the trend of the times and only had one descendant left, but in order to take over the legacy, a hidden collateral plotted some kind of secret plan… .

“I have a sense of who I can send.”

Scotland Yard’s smirk, Inspector Jones, smiled.