Chapter 37 – Hero (1)

Without restraint, he lunged at Mr. Miller.

Yes, "without restraint."

This behaviour alone gave me a rough idea of his personality.

The problem was that such a person was looking for me.

As I flinched, Mr. Miller, still being shaken by the collar, smiled and made eye contact with me, then gestured towards George Newnes with his chin.

Ah, this was his playful expression.

In other words, they were close, and it meant I could trust him.

Well, in that case.

I took a few steps and approached the man who was shaking Mr. Miller.

"Why are you silent? Bring me Hanslow Jin this instant! I've told you before!"

"Excuse me."

"Huh? Ah, sorry about that. It got a bit noisy. But I need to sort something out with my friend here…"

"It's not that."

I couldn't help but smile as I spoke.

"I am Hanslow Jin."

"What? Oh… oh, oh?"

"Yes, it's me."

That's right. It's me.

***

George Newnes.

In modern Korea, he wasn't particularly famous, but in this era, he could be called the "king of magazines," comparable to America's newspaper magnate, Hearst.

He was the creator of magazines that shook London, starting with The Strand Magazine, Wide World Magazine, Westminster Gazette, and Country Life.

He was a media mogul specialising in creating and selling magazines on topics that appealed to the mass market.

So, if someone like him was looking for me…

"Please, you have to help! At this rate, our Strand Magazine will have to shut down!"

What else could it be? It was to fill in for Sherlock Holmes.

As far as I remembered, Sherlock Holmes died in "The Final Problem" in 1894.

But for some reason, Arthur Conan Doyle had killed off Sherlock earlier than in the original history.

I didn't know what triggered it, but because of that, the sales of The Strand Magazine plummeted even more than in the original history, creating a critical situation that a profit-driven company couldn't tolerate.

Although, shutting down seemed a bit of an exaggeration.

After all.

"The other writers currently serialising their work are also outstanding, aren't they?"

"There are some decent ones, of course."

I nodded at that.

Naturally. The authors currently serialising were Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Morrison, Charles Grant Allen, and others.

They weren't as popular as Sherlock Holmes, but were still well-received.

"But I don't want just decent."

"Just decent?"

"I admit their works are good literature. But those authors don't write popular works like Sherlock Holmes or you, Hanslow Jin!"

In other words, they don't make money!

Saying this, he banged his head on the table.

But Kipling wasn't that bad.

Sure, he was an overly conservative, imperialist, and rather despicable person who coined terms like "White Man's Burden" and such, but wasn't he the embodiment of the spirit of the times that this era desired? His sales weren't bad, either.

Yet George Newnes ground his teeth and said.

"That man is in America right now."

"Oh."

"I told him to come to England and concentrate on serialising, but he wouldn't listen! It's still a monthly magazine and serves as a stopgap, but how well can manuscripts sent across the Atlantic understand the public, hmm?!"

Well, that couldn't be helped.

I had no choice but to nod.

Public taste can remain constant but can also change rapidly within a month.

Moreover, the UK and the US at this time were similar yet quite different societies.

In that sense, my popularity in London, even though I was based in Ashfield, was probably because I targeted universally appealing themes like childhood innocence and straightforward success.

"So."

I briefly exchanged glances with Mr. Miller. When he nodded, I asked without hesitation.

"Do you want me to write a new series to replace Sherlock Holmes?"

"Yes. I'll make sure you're well compensated."

George Newnes mentioned the amount he had in mind.

Hmm, it was indeed a considerable sum, as he confidently stated.

... If I hadn't already been running the foundation.

"That's a bit insufficient."

"Wh-what?!"

I smiled slyly and said.

"As you said, the magazine is in crisis, isn't it? Even if it's just one work, it will be published in a competing magazine, and I need a 'justification' to bolster that side. You should add a bit more."

"Well, an author can serialise in various magazines, but still…"

"Anyway! I'm not trying to be unreasonable."

Since there's a cap on the potential earnings from royalties and such, what I wanted was rather something else.

"So, how about sponsoring this foundation?"

At my words, he stared blankly for a moment before bringing his fingers to his chin. After a brief pause.

"…Indeed."

George Newnes smirked. As expected of a businessman called the king of magazines, he was quick to catch on.

"You want to do charity on one hand and get tax deductions on the other?"

There were several advantages to the Newnes family sponsoring this foundation.

First, the benefit of tax deductions. (T/N: Tax evasion is an obligation)

***

Hanslow Jin's royalties earned quite a substantial amount, and since there were no tax benefits for freelancers in this era, the income tax paid was quite hefty.

Additionally, in contemporary Britain, there was a system where investing in a charitable foundation would result in tax deductions.

Given this, the answer was clear. If taxes were to be paid, it was better to pay less and have them used meaningfully.

While this alone was significant, if I had only hoped for this, I wouldn't have made such a proposal.

I wanted to involve him in this matter for more indirect reasons.

Firstly, in this era, personal connections and networks held immense power, to the point where the term "cartel" seemed almost laughable.

Even the lowest-ranked servants found it challenging to get a job without a letter of recommendation, so it was much more so for high society.

Of course, I had the reliable patronage of Mr. Miller, but such businesses were naturally more robust when those connections were intricately interwoven.

Moreover, George Newnes, though self-made, had a father who was an Anglican minister, offering a different route of connections compared to the American immigrant Mr. Miller.

Most importantly, the symbolism of a foundation entwined with two renowned publishing houses couldn't be ignored.

In such businesses, justifications were crucial enough to determine the direction of the venture.

Ideally, I wanted support under royal patronage, but that seemed a bit too much. No matter how influential Newnes was, he likely didn't have the connections to involve the royal family.

Nevertheless, attracting a major figure in the media was beneficial for me.

And this wasn't just beneficial to me. 

George Newnes could also receive tax deductions, improve his image, and gain the justification of investing in the future of popular content as a pioneer of popular media. It was undoubtedly a good deal.

"This is the basic idea. What do you think? I believe it would be quite beneficial for you as well, Mr. Newnes."

"Haha, you're skilled at negotiation. Are you, by any chance, of Chinese origin?"

"No, I'm from Korea."

"Hmm, I think I've heard of that somewhere."

Anyway.

George Newnes stared at me intently once more, then finally laughed heartily and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright! Let's do it that way."

"Very well."

I extended my hand, and he grasped it firmly, shaking it vigorously up and down.

With that, the contract was sealed.

The detailed terms would be drawn up in a contract through our representatives later.

However, this wasn't the end of everything. In fact, the real conversation was just beginning.

After all.

"So, shall we discuss what kind of work will be published? As I mentioned earlier, all I want is something fun! A story that the public will find entertaining. If it's mediocre, even if it's your work, I'll reject it."

"That's only natural."

No writer would think of delivering a subpar piece.

At my response, he looked at me with eyes full of anticipation.

"So, do you have a story in mind? Or perhaps something you've already written..."

It was as if the words "thump thump" were visible behind him, conveying a palpable sense of pressure.

This gentleman... pretending otherwise but clearly very anxious.

In response to his expectation, I too replied firmly.

"No, I don't have anything like that."

"What?"

"We've just agreed, haven't we? Naturally, I need to think about it now."

Though I did have some ideas, they didn't suit the magazine's character or were merely rough, fragmented sketches.

It wouldn't do to proceed with such raw material. I needed to consider its commercial viability, whether the audience would like it, and if it had the potential for long-term serialization.

"Hmm."

He seemed to agree on that point, swallowing a groan and shaking his head.

"Then, give me a moment."

I sat in the town house's reception room, took out a notebook, and slowly began to brainstorm.

Let's see, what I was getting into was a replacement for Sherlock Holmes.

And the magazine I'd be serializing in, The Strand Magazine, had, since its inception, featured works that, influenced by Holmes, tended towards the adult-oriented gothic novels typical of the era.

So then... writing in a similar genre would be a good appeal.

Gothic fiction.

Stories about Frankenstein's monster, vampires, werewolves... tales of ordinary people swept away by beings beyond human resistance.

And yet, warriors of reason embodying Christian moral principles who fight against them.

In contemporary terms, my genre might be similar? No, in this era, it might be closer to the sensation novels.

'In that case.'

I began combining ideas in my head.

Good. If I put this together like this, and add settings suitable for serialization...

When I came to, the notebook page was filled. Rather than being organized, it was a haphazard scrawl, a mess made by my fingers.

Alright, nodding at my makeshift mind map.

"First, the base will involve some mystery."

"Mystery? Do you mean a detective story?"

"Haha, not quite. I'm not skilled enough to write one of those professionally..."

Of course, I enjoyed detective stories like Sherlock Holmes. Even detective comics or orthodox mystery novels by Nishino Keigo were fun.

But, as I mentioned before, detective stories didn't work at all in web novels. It wasn't about the writers' skills, but the serialization format itself that didn't suit mystery novels. So I never wrote one.

I wasn't confident in doing so either.

In this situation, publishing a full-fledged mystery in The Strand Magazine would be akin to gambling. And a gamble with very high odds of losing.

It would be like going all-in with a one-pair hand.

"Instead, I can use mystery as a seasoning."

"Seasoning?"

Seeing the two of them look at me with wide eyes, I responded with a light laugh.

"The theme of this novel is simple. It's about good triumphing over evil."

"Oh."

"I see, if we were to name the genre roughly..."

Glancing at Mr. Miller, I grinned.

"It would be a 'hero' story."