[Phantom Thief Haxen VS Sherlock Holmes]

The story serialized in the magazine “Mini and Life” was a mystery novel that clearly aimed to exploit the fame of Sherlock Holmes. There wasn’t anything particularly special about the content.

Most of it revolved around a phantom thief named “Rines Haxen” outsmarting the detective Sherlock Holmes.

The unique aspect was that it pretty cleverly applied the structure of the “mystery novel” used in Sherlock Holmes. Surprisingly, the overall quality as a mystery novel wasn’t too shabby.

“Shouldn’t we protest to the magazine company? We need to demand mediation right now—.”

“No, um, honestly, I’m fine as long as a decent work comes out…”

My evaluation of this work was simple.

“This is boring.”

“Pardon?”

“It seems he isn’t on the level of Maurice Leblanc.”

It was indeed boring.

Maurice Leblanc, notorious among Sherlockians for his “Arsène Lupin” series, was still a fantastic writer. In the Francophone world, Lupin’s popularity even surpassed that of Holmes.

But this “Phantom Thief Haxen” work… Honestly, it didn’t come close. It might have been influenced by Sherlock Holmes, but it still had numerous immature aspects.

“How should we handle this…”

Under imperial law, the range of copyright doesn’t include character names—proper nouns. It’s not that they’re exempt; they just aren’t detailed enough.

There weren’t even enough precedents yet.

So, if the empire wanted to punish someone, this was certainly a situation where they could take action. In that case, this would become a precedent.

Given that he was trying such a thin tightrope, it seemed this guy wasn’t your average Joe.

“The author’s name is… Lionel Balzac?”

Hmm. I kind of like the name. It’s definitely a name that could annoy translators. The spelling would probably be different, of course.

Just by imitating the recently established structure of a mystery novel to write something like this, it looked like he might actually have some writing talent.

“Do you know who he is?”

“I’ve never heard of the name Balzac as a family name. He’s probably a commoner or using a pseudonym, wouldn’t you think?”

“That makes sense. Hmm.”

Various keywords spun around in my head.

Sherlock Holmes. Maurice Leblanc. Phantom Thief Haxen. Balzac. Plagiarism and character copyright…

And then I decided.

“Alright. I’ve made my decision.”

“Should we prepare to sue him?”

“No. I think we should serialize another novel in Half and Half.”

“…Pardon?”

As a Sherlockian, I had various reservations about publishing ‘that novel.’ But since someone had volunteered to be the punching bag, this was actually a lucky break.

“I was wondering how to change the names of the characters in this work… but I can just take them from here.”

A detective novel riding on the fame of Sherlock Holmes while creating the archetype of the great thief ‘Arsène Lupin’—this is a magnificent adventure story.

As an English literature major, I might find it hard to view favorably, but as a reader who loves novels, it’s hard not to feel fond of it.

“Let’s show everyone what a real thief is.”

 The gentleman thief Arsène Lupin.

There would be no more Arsène Lupin copying Sherlock Holmes. Instead…

“Arsène Lupin VS Rines Haxen. Hmm. That doesn’t sound half bad.”

Only Arsène Lupin, who copied Rines Haxen, who in turn copied Sherlock Holmes, would remain. It would be quite a spectacle when  the Hollow Needle was serialized.

Does this author Lionel realize how glorious this is?

It’s basically having his character’s name inserted between the two most famous characters in the history of detective novels! Future fans of detective fiction would probably envy him, calling it a reward.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just punish him? I’m curious why you’re going through such lengths, young master.”

“Well, detective novels are genre novels, after all…”

It was a bit of an impulsive decision.

“I just like the name.”

“Are you talking about Lionel?”

“No. Balzac. It sounds like a name that would come up with plenty of interesting works.”

“Is that so…?”

* * *

[Shock! Herodotus announces simultaneous serialization of two works!]

[Meet the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin series now at ‘Half and Half’!]

* * *

Arsène Lupin is a detective novel and also an adventure novel at the same time. Among them, it’s an adventure novel mixed with somewhat fantastical and mystical elements. In some ways, it was very much a typical French novel.

“This is interesting… Personally, I might even prefer it to Sherlock Holmes…?”

“Thanks for taking care of this once again.”

This novel was also completed with the input from Millie Cléang.

In particular, since Millie Cléang was a big fan of the ‘Conan Saga,’ she found the adventure novel Arsène Lupin to be incredibly appealing. In fact, she even rated it as more interesting than Sherlock Holmes.

The completed novel was serialized along with Sherlock Holmes at Half and Half.

“A new work by Herodotus, huh? Couldn’t he just post two Sherlock Holmes stories instead during this time?”

“Exactly! I mean, sure, it’s Herodotus’ novel, so it’ll probably be interesting, but right now I’m dying to know what happens next with Holmes!”

People were worried that the serialization of Sherlock Holmes would slow down…

“But this is also incredibly interesting…?”

“Bring on the next episode! What happens next!”

Once the Arsène Lupin series was officially serialized, the suggestion to serialize two Sherlock Holmes stories instead of “this” disappeared. This was because the Arsène Lupin series was just as entertaining as Sherlock Holmes.

Especially the unique character of the rogue and the eerie yet fantastical atmosphere characteristic of the Lupin series captivated people’s hearts in deep ways.

“It’s great to have more to read! This is the joy of living! So, when’s the next episode coming out? What? A week from now?”

“Augh! This is hell!”

The people who were impatiently awaiting the next episode of Sherlock Holmes now had to eagerly await the next episode of Arsène Lupin. It could very well be called the hell of serialized novels.

“Could Herodotus be a demon sent by the Lord to test us…?”

“To cut the story off at such a critical moment! How could anyone do such a thing?”

Some people, citing the long-gone ‘Saint Homer theory,’ even claimed that Herodotus was a ‘disciple of the devil’ opposing Homer. Of course, nobody seriously believed such a blasphemous tale.

It merely showed how intense people’s thirst for the ‘next episode’ had grown. The frequency of attempts to storm the publishing house, only to be suppressed by detectives from the Whiterack Detective Agency, also increased.

And there was an issue that was bound to arise when famous works were serialized simultaneously.

“Arsène Lupin is the true gentleman! He protects ladies in all circumstances and always acts justly!”

“Ha! But he’s ultimately still a thief, isn’t he? Sherlock Holmes is the true hero! He chases justice and puts criminals in the dock!”

It was the classic ‘VS game.’

‘Sherlock Holmes VS Arsène Lupin’ was a never-ending debate that dated back to previous lives and continued into modern times. In this world, the two works were being serialized simultaneously. Naturally, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Arsène Lupin’ found themselves compared.

“Arsène Lupin is a righteous thief!”

“Where can you find such a thing as a righteous thief? A thief is a thief, big or small!”

“He’s better than a drug addict!”

“He’s better than a petty thief reliant on crime!”

“A duel!”

“A duel!”

 The gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, who prioritized his homeland and justice, versus the eccentric yet justice-pursuing and cheerful Sherlock Holmes.

The debate over who among the two characters was superior raged on relentlessly. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this argument went on all day in every bar, park, street, and shop across the Empire.

“What about the thief Haxen?”

“Haxen? Oh, you mean that fool who messed up after getting bested by Arsène Lupin?”

The rogue Haxen was viewed as a somewhat significant supporting character in Arsène Lupin. Hardly anyone remembered the work titled [Phantom Thief Haxen VS Sherlock Holmes]. Then.

“Author! I love you!”

“A man’s love is a little…”

“Haha!”

Ryan, the president of ‘Half and Half,’ cashed in on the popularity of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Arsène Lupin’ by creating and selling various character merchandise.

He completely copied strategies used in The Little Prince. In some ways, it was even more effective than with The Little Prince.

The essence of character merchandise was ultimately about appealing to the charm of the characters.

“Most of the profits have been sent to your account, so check it out! You might be quite surprised! Haha!”

“Oh, yes.”

My wealth increased once again. Maybe I should start a publishing support program for aspiring authors. Establishing an arts foundation might also be a good idea. But first—

“Hello. I’m Manny Clever, the president of Mini and Life.”

“Yes. I’m the author Herodotus.”

I was planning to meet with the author Lionel Balzac. He seemed to have a knack for learning structure. I thought I’d make him a student at our academy and stuff his head full of novels.

* * *

“Hello.”

“Who are you…?”

“I’m the author Herodotus. Is this where I can find Lionel Balzac—?”

“I’m so sorry! I have no face to show! Please have mercy!”

Um, this wasn’t quite the image I had in mind.

“I did it because I needed money! The editor said they’d increase my manuscript fee if I wrote like this… I’m truly sorry!”

“Hmm?”