Chapter 21 – Educational Book (2)

Let's be honest.

I came from an era of cinematic universes, where a mobile game, Mushroom Wonderland, topped the cumulative sales charts for years, and where a husband-and-wife duo sharing a pen name dominated the web novel scene.

In other words, I had somewhat let down my guard regarding the concept of collaboration between authors.

Although co-authored works sold less than solo ones, I had some experience with joint projects.

However.

I overlooked one thing.

That my collaborator was Lewis Carroll.

"No, I said to keep it simple! Why are you already trying to use calculus?!"

"What do you mean! Calculus is Newton's greatest achievement! It's the most excellent theory that reflects the idea of mathematics in reality!!"

"That's none of my concern."

"As long as it's fun, it's fine!!"

"Do you think kids and you are the same? There are limits, you know!!"

The difference in perception of mathematical knowledge and popular literature.

"And! You have no understanding of rhythm! Why are you butchering sentences like that!?"

"No, this way they read it easily! From my point of view, I find your writing harder to understand! Why is your story so flat!?"

Conflicting writing styles.

If you ask which is more serious, I think it's the latter.

Fundamentally, I am practical.

After years of writing web novels, I've honed the craft of making my writing as easy and quick to read and understand as possible.

The conclusion I've reached is efficiency.

I specialise in embedding the stories I want to tell quickly and effectively into the reader's mind.

But Lewis Carroll is the complete opposite.

This man writes purely as he pleases. Should I say he's a typical genius with talent?

Moreover, his writing process is closer to composing music.

Each sentence acts like a musical note, and when read aloud in rhythm, it feels like singing.

But can you include a lot of content in a song?

Of course, in operas or musicals, it's possible. But they are several hours long, with multiple people taking turns to sing.

Ultimately, as written notes, the efficiency of content compared to the sentences is extremely low.

That's why the story is simple.

And we are collaborating?

It was a recipe for disaster.

"This won't work."

In the end, I reached a conclusion.

"In this case…"

"This case?"

Did he think I was going to quit? Lewis Carroll swallowed hard.

"Let's divide the work completely."

"W-What?"

"I'll handle the main framework of the story. You think about the formulas and tricks to include. Then I'll revise your writing."

Dividing the framework and the details.

There was no other way.

Since it's an educational book, it doesn't matter if the content is somewhat light. After all, it's for children.

As long as I set the main framework, Lewis Carroll wouldn't be able to arbitrarily include difficult university-level mathematics. There would be formulas suitable for the story.

And if I maintained a tight writing pace, I could suppress the rhythm he insisted on. The amount of progress would be fixed.

"And, let's make the setting as unfamiliar as possible."

"U-Unfamiliar? Won't that make it difficult…?"

"Well, not in that sense. Let's call it the alienation effect. Combining familiar elements in an unbalanced way creates interest."

It's similar to the principle of a high school girl being fine after being hit by an anti-aircraft missile.

Blending familiar things in an unbalanced way creates interest in the incongruity. It's the wonder of the unknown.

Although this technique is hard to use in web novels where stable 'familiar taste' is popular, the writer is Lewis Carroll, isn't he? So I should utilise it to the fullest.

Then the question is what to mix...

I started tapping the table while thinking.

First, I ruled out the highest-quality isekai educational manga related to mathematics in my mind.

It's hard to turn that into a novel.

But the medieval fantasy base itself is usable.

After all, it's the most familiar 'battle genre' of this era.

Then, mathematics.

What's the characteristic of mathematics? The most obvious 'rule'. The answer is clear.

And it must be something that this mathematics enthusiast teacher will keep finding interesting.

Battle genre. And rules.

The answer that comes out by combining these two.

"Alright, it's decided."

I slowly began to explain the general outline of the work to Lewis Carroll.

The novelist, a mathematician and teacher, seemed to take an interest in the work itself, but still appeared hesitant.

"Will this be alright? I'm not sure…"

He hesitated, but I spoke with conviction.

"I think you'll like the world setting too, Mr. Carroll. You might even want to live in it."

He didn't seem to understand yet, but he would soon see the value of this work.

"Well then, let's get started."

***

"Welcome, Mr. Mark Twain."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Bentley."

Richard Bentley Jr. shook hands with the small but robust author, feeling nervous. He couldn't help it.

Mark Twain was already a legend in Anglo-American literature.

The adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer were not mere children's books.

They accurately stabbed at the heart of America, promoting social reform and contributing to the independence of American literature from British literature.

In other words, just serialising these books in their magazine could elevate the publishing house's prestige.

Therefore, Bentley treated Mark Twain with the same level of respect as Hanslow Jin and Henry James.

"First of all, we are immensely grateful that you allowed us to serialise and publish your masterpieces─."

"Cut the flattery and get to the point."

"Oh, yes."

And then he quit.

Yes, that's what authors are like, Bentley thought with a wry smile. It was a hollow laugh, too.

Mark Twain also smiled broadly as he watched Richard Bentley Jr.

The third Bentley. Despite his title sounding aristocratic, this British man was polite to an American author from across the pond.

To Mark, who was a natural-born rebel, nothing pleased him more.

"Well, the contract talks are already concluded at the New York branch. So, sell our Tom and Huck well."

"Don't worry. Our publishing house strives to deliver the works that authors put their heart into to readers in the best possible form."

"I know that too. Switching to weekly serialisation. Genius."

"Ah, ahem."

Bentley cleared his throat, having been struck at a sore point.

Mark Twain, even more pleased with Bentley's candour, laughed heartily and nodded.

"Yes, I heard about it on the ship here. They say your monthly magazine has now become an entirely different publication?"

"Yes, including your works, children's literature will be concentrated in weekly serials, and we've decided to include adult novels in the monthly magazine."

"So, who suggested writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer first? You? Or Hanslow Jin?"

Flinch─!

It was the latter.

Mark Twain nodded as he watched Bentley flinch as if he had been pricked.

Of course, thought Mark, now I can go back to America and collect my $10 from Nicola. He laughed heartily.

"So, it was Hanslow Jin! I definitely felt it while reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn even with its British poise. This writer is undoubtedly of the same ilk as me."

"Ahem. Is that so?"

"Yes, so Mr. Bentley—"

Richard Bentley Jr. felt as if he had become a buffalo.

Not that he wanted to go wild, but he felt like he was being led around by an American cowboy's lasso.

And that cowboy, Mark Twain, who embodied the rugged frontier spirit of America, looked at Bentley with burning eyes and said,

"I want to meet Hanslow Jin."

"...That's not for me to decide, Mr. Twain."

"Ah! Of course, I respect his wishes. But can you at least pass on the message?"

"That, I can do…"

Bentley hesitated for a moment.

In fact, many authors wanted to meet Hanslow Jin. To put it bluntly, many authors, whether in a good or bad sense, had been influenced by Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book that had recently saved the failing publishing house.

Even H.G. Wells had expressed a desire to meet Hanslow Jin.

Bentley had thought it wasn't the right time and turned him down.

But if it was Mark Twain, what should he do?

Fundamentally, Hanslow Jin would likely appreciate a writer like Twain, and given Twain's indiscriminate enthusiasm, it was unlikely to cause a significant problem.

However… on the other hand, this aggressive approach might be exhausting, Bentley worried. If Hanslow Jin's writing got interrupted now, the publishing house could face another burning crisis, much like the recent ordeal with Street Magazine.

Recently, editors had even been commuting under the protection of Scotland Yard.

At that moment.

Knock-knock—

"Ah, sorry."

"It's fine. Come in."

Bentley nodded and opened the door after Mark's permission.

A recently hired female editor came into view.

"Maria, what is it?"

"Sir, it's a call from Hanslow Jin."

"Hanslow Jin? What's it about?"

Usually, they were the ones making the calls, so Bentley reacted that way.

"Isn't he somewhere else now? He said he was meeting Lewis Carroll."

"Yes, that's correct."

Mark Twain's eyes sparkled at the mention of Lewis Carroll, but Bentley said nothing more.

It wasn't like he was a politician. Why hide who was meeting whom?

Besides, just as Twain was curious about Hanslow Jin as a children's author, it wasn't strange for him to be interested in Lewis Carroll.

After all, Carroll was the writer who, more than anyone, suited the title "Wizard of Words."

It was only natural to be curious about Carroll meeting Hanslow Jin.

So, Twain, with his stubborn American cowboy attitude, stayed put, and Bentley had no choice but to take the call in Twain's presence.

And then.

"Yes, yes. Mr. Jin, this is Bentley. I heard you were meeting Mr. Carroll... What? In London now?"

"So, you mean, the authors are collaborating... Textbook... No, not that..."

"Thank you, but actually, there's someone here in the US who wants to meet you... Mr. Mark Twain... What? You'll come right away?"

Jackpot. A broad smile spread across Mark Twain's face.