Chapter 01

Don Quixote

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Don Quixote

This world is trash.

I’ll make it clear. This damned medieval fantasy world is a trashy place.

I'm not talking about modern genius theories, civilization praises, or horrible hygiene concepts.

Rather, this world is one where magic civilization has developed, and minimal awareness of hygiene under some form of religious rationality has spread. There were conveniences here that were incomparable to real-life hand sanitizers, like Clean Magic.

So, what’s the problem?

"It's really boring..."

It was boring.

There were some flashy spectacles like monster circuses and magic shows, but those outdoor hobbies were just limited-time amusements.

More static hobbies... content that could be enjoyed at home was lacking in this world.

I'm not asking for something like YouTube or internet broadcasts. After all, there's no internet in this world.

As someone who prided himself on being a reading enthusiast in my past life, I thought just a few decent literary works would suffice.

"This kind of firewood novel is the trending work in the capital now?"

"Yes, Young Master Ed."

However, this world couldn't even satisfy that minimal expectation.

No, damn it, all that existed were vulgar novels filled with strange depictions or dime-a-dozen chivalric literature that seemed mass-produced.

And when you look for non-vulgar literature, you encounter weird writings that are hard to understand, like puzzles or poems.

"Burn this trashy novel right now and bring me a crossword puzzle."

"Understood."

Yeah.

I was suffering from severe novel apathy.

It had been too long since I read an interesting novel. When I first read chivalric literature, it was grandiose but somewhat entertaining. However, after reading dozens of chivalric literatures with the same content but different names, now I would gag just by reading the first sentence.

"Sigh... Life is really boring."

Although I was born into a prestigious noble family and had an affluent childhood...

People cannot live by bread alone, and a reader without novels to read is like a soul that has died.

All I had were those chivalric literatures with the same content. If copyright laws existed in this world, those novels would have all been banned from sale.

The contents were so predictable that I felt I could write one if asked.

"Should I really try writing one?"

Inspired by the thought, I picked up the pen I was using for crossword puzzles and started scribbling.

A noble knight who protects the lady and upholds religious duties. A special birth and destiny. A wizard who delivers prophecies to the hero and the trials he must overcome to become one.

As I wrote, I felt deflated and put down the pen.

What's the point of writing this? It would just be adding another piece of firewood to the pile of countless firewood.

"...No, no, right?"

While leaning back in my armchair and mulling over the futility, I suddenly had a thought and sprang to my feet.

If this world only has novels that copy other novels...

I just need to increase the reference materials. I will personally advance the genre literature.

Of course, I don't have such creativity, but...

"If it's references, they're all in my head."

I know hundreds of masterpieces that don't exist in this world.

What if I 'plagiarize' those masterpieces and release them here?

"This is the cheat of a modern person...!"

I was the only one in this world who knew the literature of Earth.

...

Even if I were to plagiarize works from my original world, I wasn’t a person with perfect memory who could reproduce every work exactly.

In fact, most of the novels I remembered only roughly.

But, knock and it shall be opened to you, seek and you shall find. It just so happened that this era was one where chivalric literature was in vogue.

And I knew one great masterpiece that emerged during the chivalric literature trend.

"...Young Master, I've brought the chivalric literature works you mentioned."

"Ah, put them there."

"I thought you were tired of chivalric literature?"

"I am."

Don Quixote was a novel that critiqued chivalric literature.

The basic narrative structure of Don Quixote follows chivalric literature. The only difference is that the protagonist of chivalric literature is a mad old man, and his appearance, as seen by others, is depicted as very comical.

Unlike existing chivalric literature that venerates noble and chivalrous knights,

This novel portrays a comical and boastful knight.

"But you have to know something well to criticize it properly."

"...I see."

In the crazy world of Don Quixote, Don Quixote is an honorable knight who knows chivalry.

So, to write this novel, I had to know chivalric literature well.

That's why I ordered all the renowned chivalric literature in the capital. My servant seemed to not fully understand my intentions.

The servant cautiously opened his mouth, reading my mood.

"You bought so many popular novels this time that the lady might be a bit angry. Your allowance might be cut off for a few months."

"So what?"

"...Pardon?"

"I've read all the readable books anyway, so what's the point of cutting off my allowance?"

"...That’s true."

All my allowance goes into buying books.

Other than that, it’s just bookmarks and bookshelves. While books are relatively expensive, they weren't ridiculously pricey like in a real medieval period.

Thanks to the magical engineering printing technology.

To compare... it's like a hardcover book in Korea that has been hit directly by the fixed book price system and inflation?

"And, I can make quite a bit of money by selling books."

"Are you saying you plan to not only read but also publish books yourself?"

"I'll show you once it's done, Sancho."

"My name is not Sancho, it's Sion."

"Once you finish reading, you'll want to be called Sancho."

Sancho is as charismatic a character as Don Quixote.

If Don Quixote, filled with chivalry and courage, is an illusion, the cowardly but capable Sancho is reality. Fantasy shines because of reality, and reality carries weight because of fantasy.

Fantasy and reality complete each other.

"...Young Master Ed seems so confident that I’m getting curious."

"You'll feel very lucky to be the first to read it."

"I'll look forward to it."

Despite his words, he didn't seem very expectant.

Reading and writing are different, and just because one reads a lot of chivalric literature doesn’t mean they can write good chivalric literature.

He probably thought my work would be no different from the chivalric literature I treated as firewood.

"...Well, even if it's firewood, it’s fun. It’s fun."

The reason why mass-produced novels are mass-produced is that there is a constant demand for them.

People like me, who got tired of chivalric literature, are actually the ones who read a lot of chivalric literature. In a way, one could say that those who criticize chivalric literature the most actually love it the most.

This was also the theme of Don Quixote.

At first glance, it seems to criticize the absurdity of chivalric literature, but it’s actually filled with an immense affection for it. If someone can spend time listing the 100 shortcomings of chivalric literature, it means they are that devoted to it.

So, Don Quixote shouldn't be just a novel that criticizes chivalric literature.

Instead, it should appeal to people about the charm of chivalric literature in the most sincere way possible. Just as Don Quixote and Sancho complete each other, fantasy and reality complete each other.

Don Quixote also has to be a novel that completes chivalric literature.

"Alright, let's read until my eyes fall out...."

There are many books to read.

I have read many books.

From now on, I have to read all these chivalric literatures until I can recite them by heart.

Only then can Don Quixote burn these books.

...

One day, a novel started trending in the capital.

Don Quixote.

This chivalric literature, which gained positive reviews among critics who usually harshly criticized chivalric literature, began to trend among some avid chivalric  literature readers.

It gradually became well-known, to the point where no one in the capital didn’t know its name.

Just because of a single book, the entrance standards for the Academy’s knight department soared. Many people dreamed of 'chivalry' while looking at the mad old man Don Quixote.

"It is the true duty and privilege of a knight... no, it's not a duty, but a privilege!"

And the people most influenced by this novel were, naturally, the nobles who usually prided themselves on their refinement and wealth.

Even nobles who used to dismiss chivalric literature as shallow praised Don Quixote.

In social circles, it became a trend to wear paper helmets and dress as itinerant knights in imitation of Don Quixote.

Among them, there were even people who truly went mad.

"Who is truly mad, the dreamer or the one who does not dream?"

An old duke known as Iron-Blood suddenly started a knightly quest.

This caused the administration of the duchy to paralyze, leading to the duke’s son hastily taking over his father’s duties, creating a farce.

Indeed, a single novel changed the atmosphere of society.

And Ed, the author of that novel, was...

"Going crazy."

[Knight Quixote of La Mancha]

[The knight Don Quixote who mistook windmills for dragons]

He was hitting his forehead while looking at the pirate copies blatantly plagiarizing Don Quixote.