Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

Chapter 68: Side: Christmas Truce

Let’s take a moment to talk about the history of ‘Earth.’

Originally, the ‘Christmas event’ that people celebrated together was a kind of… local cultural tradition.

It was a holiday culture where close neighbors gathered together to celebrate in rural areas.

This tradition began to fade during the urbanization of the Industrial Revolution.

Despite several efforts in the Victorian era to revive Christian traditions, industrialization stripped away humanity from society.

Factories demanded more labor and higher productivity, and the high population density caused by urbanization became a major factor in destroying infrastructure and social safety nets.

People were no longer treated as ‘humans’ but as ‘parts.’

Yes, parts.

The Industrial Revolution turned humans into parts. Now, when people broke down, they could be discarded and replaced at any time.

“Indeed… it’s terrifying. It reminds me of the appearance of the Empire a few years ago. When I think about it, wasn’t the Empire before Don Quixote also filled with a strange fervor for progress? Factories producing magical tools and the propaganda pouring from printing presses… Looking back, it was a rather grim atmosphere. Just as that grim atmosphere was about to peak, you published ‘Don Quixote,’ and the Empire’s mood changed dramatically.”

“Ah, indeed, there was such an atmosphere. It was around that time that the magic trains were fully spread across the Empire…”

“In the sponsorship certificate sent by the royal family, there was praise written about supporting ‘the creator of Don Quixote, the most cheerful and brave knight who made sure the old traditions wouldn’t be forgotten and commemorated the old era.'”

“…I remember now.”

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Anyway, contrary to the common misconception of modern people, the people of that era were also very wary of the ‘end of humanity.’

They knew that something was ‘breaking.’ Many people warned about and criticized the end of morality, and several policy and academic alternatives were proposed in response.

Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ was one of the most successful policies.

At least they managed to preserve Christmas.

After Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol,’ interest in child welfare gradually increased, and charitable donations became noticeably higher in Britain. Workers began to enjoy turkey and plum pudding with their families during Christmas dinners.

When carols rang out on the streets, everyone enjoyed them together, and children decorated Christmas cards, eagerly awaiting gifts.

And that was it.

Despite all those efforts, people were still treated as ‘parts,’ and modern people found a simpler solution, ‘nationalism,’ instead of a fairy tale solution where everyone became good and shouted ‘stop!’ ???Ó?È?

If people were just ‘parts,’ then they might as well embrace the pride of being the part of the greatest machine.

“This was a very efficient shift in thinking. Now, ‘parts’ began to take pride in being members of society, claiming to serve the nation. The ‘state’ and ‘nation’ began to function as one living being. Of course, it wasn’t without its flaws. People could now deny ‘traditional morality’ but still claim to be righteous. They could argue that it was patriotic to add more laborers to promote the nation’s development.”

“The image of Conan the Barbarian and his vile and eccentric civilization comes to mind. I remember Conan’s confident and manly image was quite popular. Rather than the high-ranking individuals who spoke of order while acting in contradictory ways, stories from taverns often praised Conan’s barbaric justice as being more righteous.”

“Really?”

“Yes. After that, the oppression of workers due to status or capital decreased. It didn’t receive the best reactions, though. Some even criticized the ‘Conan Saga’ for encouraging worker violence.”

“…Well, it’s not that important. Where were we? Ah, yes, nationalism. An ideology that equates the people with the state…”

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Capitalism. Nationalism. Enlightenment. Imperialism?.

In modern times, these ideologies are classified into various categories, but in that era, they were a tangled, chaotic reality.

In that process, people gradually became ‘parts.’

Christian traditions completely collapsed, but no one considered it a problem anymore.

Not because they didn’t know it was a problem, but because, even though they knew, it had already happened, and they couldn’t make it an issue anymore.

Perhaps they had become a little too complacent.

Anyway, despite all those problems, society somehow kept going. In fact, productivity increased, and national prestige rose.

The people of that era were not as foolish as modern people think. They were neither immoral nor irrational.

They were just as rational as modern people.

In other words, they made the same mistakes that we make every day.

The mistake of thinking, “Well, everything is fine now, so it’ll be fine.”

And then.

The shots were fired in Sarajevo.

“Are you saying that the assassination of one archduke led to a world war?”

“Well, to summarize, yes… but in the end, the era itself had been festering. It was like a spark falling onto a powder keg, setting off a chain reaction that led to a massive explosion.”

“Hmm… I can somewhat understand, but isn’t it a bit extreme?”

“Those who commit crimes are always running toward the edge of a cliff. Humans can maintain a certain level of goodness, but when it comes to bad things, they can’t maintain that level. They only rush downhill.”

“That’s a line from Father Brown. I understand. It’s probably better to talk about other problems rather than admit from the start that everything was wrong.”

“Exactly.”

“So, did you help the Kingdom of Harren’s restoration for that reason? The people of Harren consider themselves noble ‘Harrenians’ and ‘citizens of Harren.’ It doesn’t seem too different from the ‘nationalism’ you spoke of.”

“Hmm?”

“Until recently, the Kingdom of Harren had closed its diplomatic channels due to the Lazy King. At that time, the Empire was increasing its military spending due to the rise in ‘mutant monsters’ on the borders, but it was a well-known story in social circles that it was actually a precautionary measure against the closed-off Harren Kingdom.”

“…What?”

“You didn’t know?”

“This is the first time I’m hearing of it… Anyway, so war broke out? As always, the war that seemed like it would end quickly stretched on for a whole year before anything meaningful happened.”

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The ‘War to End All Wars,’ despite its grand name, was not as magnificent.

In fact, it was miserable.

The advanced weapon technology forced a brutal and efficient form of warfare called ‘trench warfare.’

All the soldiers were stuck in trenches, spending endless, miserable days as parts of the front lines.

The worst part was.

No one could predict when the war would end.

A war that was expected to end in a few months dragged on for over a year without bringing any significant change.

Like that.

The first Christmas on the battlefield arrived. The soldiers held a modest Christmas celebration, singing carols inside the trenches.

Despite the horrifying war that sought to erase humanity, the spirit of Christmas was remembered by everyone.

Yes, everyone present remembered the “spirit of Christmas.”

Not just the comrades who shared hardships in the allied trenches, but even the “enemy” hidden in their trenches aiming their rifles.

The Christmas carols spreading from the allied trenches reached the enemy trenches, and soon, Christmas carols could be heard from the enemy side as well.

The soldiers decorated the trenches with Christmas ornaments and lights.

The sight of small Christmas trees lined along the front resembled the streets of Christmas.

And then.

A soldier, holding a Christmas tree, stepped out of the trench. Naturally, the enemy should have opened fire—

But no one did.

“A miracle, isn’t it?”

“It’s the miracle of Christmas.”

“…Although I know this is a story you created, my lord, somehow, it feels like something that could really happen. If moving people’s hearts is a miracle… your literature has always created miracles.”

“Even a miser like Scrooge is moved to send his worker home and gift a turkey on Christmas. That’s the power of Christmas. It’s the power of the work A Christmas Carol.”

“No, um. Even without referring to that specific work… Looking back, I feel like your literature has always created miracles. There are even stories about how your works caused the massive pogroms against beastmen in the West and South to completely vanish.”

“…That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Additionally, regarding A Christmas Carol, it seems that nobles have recently been volunteering to serve children directly. In the past, it was common for them to donate to foundations to elevate their noble prestige, but now they’ve begun serving and donating purely out of personal compassion and conscience, without any regard for such honor.”

“Hmm….”

“My lord, you’ve changed the world. You’ve moved people’s hearts. At this moment, I think I might understand a little more about the ‘future of literature’ you dream of.”

“…….”

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Sion explained to me how my works had changed the world and what positive impacts they had brought.

Some stories were mere rumors, while others were famous enough that I had heard of them myself.

However, since I entrusted most external affairs to Sion, many of these stories were new to me.

And.

The conclusion I reached after hearing all of it was this:

“…Wasn’t this world in a much more precarious state than I thought?”

The world, without the “literature” I plagiarized, seemed to have been in an unimaginably unstable state.

And.

Perhaps it still is.

Literature transforms the truths we ignore into scandals—but those scandals are destined to be forgotten over time.

No, they inevitably are forgotten.

The lessons literature imparts are dismissed as “antiquated,” and those who pursue visible results and profits will mock literature itself as “useless.”

“…….”

To be honest, I didn’t care about this world’s fate or future enough to worry about it.

Even if the “mistakes” this world made due to forgetting its lessons turned into something so catastrophic that it annihilated humanity, it wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with. Such worries were for politicians and scholars.

But.

This was just a belated sentiment, a realization that struck me suddenly.

The people in this world who love literature are, in the end, just “people.”

Wise humans who walk outside of literature.

As long as people remain “wise,” this world’s literature will eventually be forgotten.

The value of literature, the lessons it teaches, its power, and its influence—

All these will be dismissed as relics of the past, and an era will come where reading is merely regarded as a slightly refined hobby.

Just like in my “past life.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you drink, senior.”

“Why? Want to buy me a drink?”

“That’s not what I meant… Hehe. But if you’re offering, I’d gratefully accept.”

“You’re so transparent.”

“No! I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that, well, you don’t drink or smoke, right? You don’t seem like someone who particularly cares about health, so I found it a bit curious.”

“With books around, why would I need something like cigarettes?”

“Is it that reading is the only drug the country allows, or something like that?”

“Well, close enough.”

“You really do love reading, senior….”

“No, it’s not that kind of drug. Hmm. It’s more like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Reading is far more harmful than things like drinking or smoking. Surprisingly costly, you get buried in books all day, so you don’t really have other hobbies, and since you can’t connect with general trends or topics, you end up drifting away from the community….”

“Ugh. For some reason, I can relate to that, and it hurts.”

“You can’t enjoy two harmful things at once. If a bookworm also drinks and smokes, they’re really just throwing their life away—”

“Senior.”

“What?”

“The editor-in-chief is glaring at you from behind.”