Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

The second prince of the Empire, Abel, was a person who valued traditional values.

However, among them, he was particularly interested in a more popular and lower-class ‘tradition,’ rather than the upper-class culture commonly referred to as ‘aristocratic society.’

To put it simply, he was an ordinary, father-like figure who could be found anywhere on the streets.

When his younger sibling, who could do no wrong in his eyes, clumsily spilled food, it was Abel who would take out a handkerchief before the maid to clean it up.

He was not exactly the noble type.

In fact, in today’s world of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary systems, it was often the local nobility who placed more importance on ‘noble manners,’ like the lords of dukedoms.

On the other hand, the noble members of parliament, who could be heard yelling at each other in the halls, lacked dignity.

Politicians, if necessary, could roll in the mud without hesitation.

The bureaucrat nobles who served the imperial family for the sake of the Empire’s order lacked refinement.

As for the royal family, which reigned over all these nobles, they did not have to adhere to the same etiquette.

As long as there was no incident like the prince suddenly experiencing an identity crisis and dressing as a woman, ruining the royal family’s reputation, simply existing as ‘royalty’ was enough.

Thus,

Abel’s concerns were aligned with what ‘ordinary people’ might worry about.

“…Idris, isn’t that dress a little too extravagant?”

“Ah, brother! I told you not to call me Idris…”

This was about his younger sibling (?). Who was wearing a revealing dress and stepping out in front of others.

During her days of cross-dressing, Lady Es had always worn clothing with frills that concealed her figure, along with jewelry that covered her neck and wrists.

But now, fully transformed into a woman,

She was wearing a dress that emphasized her ‘femininity,’ as if savoring the change.

While Lady Es was choosing an overcoat to wear over her dress, Abel couldn’t help but feel uneasy and worried.

“But Idris, you were originally a man…”

“Why can’t His Highness the Second Prince mind his words?”

“……”

“Your Highness, could you please fulfill one small request from your cute niece?”

“…What request?”

“When you speak, please consider the position of the person who might overhear. It’s not just the two of us in this palace… Wouldn’t it be troublesome if we weren’t careful with our words?” ɌÃƝȮꞖÈ𐌔

“Oh, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

At that moment, a maid entered and informed Lady Es that the banquet would begin soon.

Lady Es smiled brightly and responded.

“I’ll have a quick chat with His Highness the Prince, just a little family talk. Is that alright?”

“Understood.”

The maid bowed and left.

Lady Es greeted the prince with a noble demeanor.

“Your Highness.”

“…Yes, Lady Es.”

“Please ensure that His Majesty does not take up a sword. Understood?”

“……”

.

.

As they made their way to the banquet hall, Prince Abel let out a sigh.

Lately, he had been preoccupied with many things. His younger sibling becoming a woman, the restoration of diplomacy with Harren leading to many public events, his pet dog giving birth, his potted plants withering away… So much had changed, and he was feeling a little exhausted.

On top of all this, he had been tasked with preparing for the Empire’s new millennium imperial banquet, which made him sometimes resent his father.

Meanwhile, his older brother, the crown prince, was busy meeting with soldiers in the northern regions to personally hunt monsters, so most matters concerning the prince were handled by Abel. Fortunately, Idris’s substitute, Enoch—who had now formally inherited the title of Prince Idris—was helping quite a lot, though their relationship was still a bit awkward, and they didn’t exchange many words.

Anyway,

For these reasons, Abel was suffering from burnout.

If he wanted, he could build a tea room with gold and set up columns with jewels and porcelain.

He could wield power with a single finger, commanding countless people, and he could create rivers of alcohol and forests of meat. But… such things held no value to him.

What Abel truly hated was the current exhaustion, the helplessness, the sense of being burned out, the way the atoms of his soul seemed to slip away like sand, leaving him feeling drained.

So, recently, he had started letting go of his responsibilities. If he could trust someone to handle it, that was enough. He didn’t even check on the progress.

Even when he entrusted the preparation of the imperial banquet to Homeros, he didn’t feel concerned.

If anyone was trustworthy enough to handle it, it was the benefactor who had turned his younger sibling into a woman, and the ‘Transcendent of Literature,’ Homeros.

And today was the day to check the results.

Abel’s expectations for the banquet were simple. He wanted to quietly spend time behind a pillar or on a balcony, avoiding the attention of the nobles trying to strike up a conversation with him, and slip away before the nighttime banquet reached its peak.

Then, he would sleep soundly in his bedroom.

That was all he wanted.

“What is… this?”

“Oh, it’s an aerobatic display of the fighter planes developed by the Blue Magic Tower.”

The banquet Homeros had prepared was unusual from the start.

“And the one piloting the plane is His Highness the Crown Prince. It seems the military specially arranged this.”

“…My brother?”

.

.

The banquet prepared by Homeros truly had many unimaginable, bizarre things.

Aerobatic displays by fighter planes, a massive banner hanging under Harren’s airship with a congratulatory message for the new millennium, a giant aquarium passing beneath their feet, sparkling ice mist like jewels, fireworks that seemed to explode like stars in the sky, and Duke Kapeter in his wandering knight attire, appearing out of nowhere to eat a turkey and then disappearing…

No matter how one looked at it, it was a banquet that far surpassed what could be supported by the imperial treasury.

It seemed like holding banquets every day for a year would bankrupt the imperial family. If they only held one banquet for a week, they might already be broke.

He couldn’t understand how all of this had been prepared.

The budget he had approved for this event could not have covered such extravagant preparations, so was there some miracle of budget creation involved…? Perhaps Homeros, the Transcendent, could have managed it.

Anyway,

There was a certain thrill in watching it all. At first, Abel had only wanted to finish quickly and return to the palace, but as more and more new things kept popping up, he found himself excited to see what would come next. It had been a long time since he had felt such excitement.

Finally,

The ‘charity auction,’ which could be considered the highlight of the banquet, began at the center of the hall.

.

.

.

.

“Ah! Homerus, the writer!”

“The Empire’s subject greets His Highness, Prince Abel the Second.”

“Thank you! Truly… it was an even more splendid banquet than I had expected.”

“It was all thanks to the help of many people. I didn’t do much myself.”

In reality, I didn’t do much at all.

I simply recalled memories from my previous life and suggested, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have something like this?’ Then, before I knew it, mages and merchants had all gathered together to make it a reality.

When I mentioned needing magical materials, the Eternal King surprised me by bringing one of Harren’s national treasures, a dragon scale. I declined, saying there were plenty of scales gifted by the “Transcendent of Dragon Slaying” in my treasury, but the Eternal King seemed even more astonished upon seeing those scales. I’m still not entirely sure why.

“You are quite humble, Homerus.”

“…Thank you.”

“By the way, where were you headed?”

“Ah, I was on my way to the charity auction. After all, isn’t the highlight of any banquet the charity auction?”

“A charity auction? What is that?”

“Well… you could think of it as raising funds for charitable purposes through the auctioning of items. There are plenty of people willing to pay a high price for the cherished belongings of famous figures, after all.”

“Hm? Is the welfare foundation running low on funds these days? If necessary, the Imperial Household could offer sponsorship….”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

If anything, there’s so much funding that it’s becoming a bit of a headache.

For the record, the funds raised from this charity auction were planned to be used for soldiers (not the sword-wielding hero type, but actual soldiers). Since “The Great Gatsby” gained widespread fame during the World War as part of military reading collections in my past life, I thought it only fitting for the proceeds to be used for soldiers here as well.

In this world, many soldiers were injured or lost their lives fighting monsters on the borders. No matter how much weaponry advanced… the fact remained that it was a job requiring people to risk their lives.

“Your Highness, wouldn’t this be a good opportunity for you to contribute one of your cherished items to the charity auction? It doesn’t have to be anything expensive… as long as it’s meaningful.”

“A meaningful item….”

After a brief moment of contemplation, the prince nodded his head.

.

.

.

“Homerus’ handwritten manuscript of ‘The Great Gatsby’ has been sold to bidder number 24 for 20,000 gold coins.”

“Whoooaaa─!!! I bought it─!!!”

“Ugh… if only I hadn’t overextended while expanding the merchant guild….”

The handwritten manuscript of “The Great Gatsby” was sold for the astronomical sum of 20,000 gold coins.

The manuscript bore traces of Homerus’ thoughts and revisions, left intact as they were. Of course, those traces actually came from Ed’s painstaking efforts during the “translation” process, but no one besides Ed himself could have known that.

“Congratulations, Homerus.”

“It’s nothing. Everyone must have bid extra high because it’s for a good cause.”

And thus, another line was added to the legend of Homerus.

“Next up was His Highness the Prince’s item, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s a fountain pen engraved with the Imperial Seal—.”

“Ah. If it’s that one, I too received one as a gift from Lady Es.”

Prince Abel of the Empire seemed a bit nervous.

The thought of his contribution being put up for auction left him with sweaty palms.

“The next item is the ‘Golden Fountain Pen’ submitted by His Highness, Prince Abel the Second! This fountain pen, bearing the Imperial Seal, grants its owner the privilege of staying as a guest in all official residences of the Empire’s administrative branch. In particular, this fountain pen was produced during the reign of the current Emperor when he ascended the throne—.”

A golden fountain pen that granted guest privileges in all official residences of the Empire.

It was a gift that every member of the Imperial Family had a few of.

Being a rather rare item, the price quickly climbed. Watching the competition over his item, Abel felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

As people clawed at each other to get their hands on his possession, a twisted pleasure slowly crept up within him.

But that emotion was soon replaced by another.

“21,000 gold coins.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“Ah! T-The bid has been raised to 21,000 gold coins!”

A familiar voice called out a bid higher than the one for “Homerus’ handwritten manuscript,” as if it were only natural.

That voice, echoing like in a cavern, caused Abel to turn around with a ghostlike expression.

“…Father?”

“If it’s an item symbolizing the authority of the Imperial Family, surely it should sell for more than some mere bundle of papers.”

Standing there was none other than Abel’s father and the current Emperor of the Empire.

“…I greet the master of the Empire.”

“Pretend you don’t know me. This is an incognito visit.”

“It seems everyone who would know has already figured it out….”

“Part of the charm of an incognito visit is watching people pretend not to know while they actually do.”

“You’re as unpleasant as ever, I see.”

“And you’re as disrespectful to your father as always.”

It was the “Fortunate King,” Abraham.

“The person standing beside you… must be the famous Homerus?”

“…Ed of the House of Fríden greets the master of the Empire.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!