Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

The Fortunate King and the Lazy King were surprisingly well-matched conversational partners.

Both were sovereigns seated at the pinnacle of power, their ascension influenced not by their own will but by the “noble bloodline” they inherited, and they shared the experience of enduring less-than-pleasant reigns.

Thanks to these shared experiences, the two adult men could comfortably enjoy the “Arabian Nights” themed attractions without any awkwardness.

“The model of the giant Roc bird is rounder and less majestic than I had hoped.”

“Tsk, this is an amusement park for children. Naturally, the rides are designed to provide thrills, not fear.”

The Lazy King escorted the Fortunate King with uncharacteristic politeness, while the Fortunate King, with an informal demeanor, grumbled at him.

If any subjects familiar with them witnessed this scene, they might have been quite taken aback.

This was because their behavior was starkly different from their usual personas.

The Lazy King surprisingly seemed to relish this situation of “bowing his head” to another, and the Fortunate King, understanding his personality, found it tiresome and distasteful.

“Is it permissible to call the founder of the kingdom a ‘winged lizard’? The subjects would faint in outrage at such irreverence if they heard.”

“Well, what can they do? Harren Kingdom no longer belongs to the lineage of lizards. It is entirely ‘mine’ now. Though it was not something I desired… in Harren, the only irreverence is against the ‘Eternal King,’ and under the Eternal King, everyone is equally dignified.”

“You’ve undertaken a troublesome task.”

“I took the advice of a wise friend who built this amusement park.”

“In my view, that friend Homeros knows nothing of people’s hearts. He may be wise but not particularly insightful.”

“Yet, did Your Majesty not also benefit from his wisdom?”

“…What exactly do you know?”

“One doesn’t need to know to see certain things.”

When the Lazy King gestured toward his own eyes, slit like those of a snake, the Fortunate King clicked his tongue once again and fell silent.

The lineage of dragons that ruled Harren.

Eyes that discern truth from lies and pierce beyond what is visible.

An ominous gaze that paralyzes people like frogs before a snake.

A powerful mystic eye that commands all living things.

A fate that governs everything beneath it.

It was undeniably extraordinary.

Yet, unfortunately, the destiny bestowed upon the Fortunate King was heavier and stronger than the “dragon’s lineage.”

Thus, while Harren Kingdom was called the “Kingdom of Harrenians,” the Empire was simply referred to as “the Empire.”

This was why the Lazy King spoke with deference to the Fortunate King.

Even though the emperor of the Empire was merely a “non-governing monarch” under a constitutional monarchy, their authority established a perfect hierarchy.

“…One day, I’ll pluck out those eyes of yours.”

“I’d appreciate it if you left one eye. I need it to read books.”

“You sound just like that author, Homeros.”

“It’s natural for friends to resemble one another, isn’t it?”

“Tsk.”

“Haha.”

And so it was.

In their shared disinterest in their own “authority,” the emperor of the Empire was destined always to lose to the king of Harren.

“…Indeed. I was neither wise nor insightful. But how could that be my fault? I never wanted to be a damn emperor.”

“I understand.”

“You don’t understand. At least, your siblings weren’t all lazy bastards like you, trying to push the throne away.”

“…….”

“My siblings, on the other hand, were all damn greedy, competing for the throne. Only I, being lazy, had no desire for it. And ironically, it was I who trampled over my throne-seeking siblings to become emperor. Pathetically so….”

Since the days of the great Founder King, who established the Empire in the Wastelands, the emperors of the Empire had lost control over their own fates.

They could only be swayed by destiny.

Reflecting on the fate carved into him from birth, the Fortunate King cautiously shared his thoughts.

“Do you know the quickest way to seize the throne?”

“Hmm, is it to kill all the competitors?”

The Lazy King responded from the perspective of someone embroiled in a succession struggle.

After all, both the Fortunate King and the Lazy King were born as inevitable existences due to their noble bloodlines.

However.

“By taking it from the king who already holds it.”

The Fortunate King’s answer was more fundamental and universal.

“An incident occurred during the succession struggle. It wasn’t a major one. But the person injured in the incident happened to be the late king, the great predecessor.”

“…….”

“Power is indivisible, even among kin. Our predecessor king was far from a loving father. He was a cowardly and petty man, terrified of having his power usurped by his own children. While the world revered him as the Iron-Blooded King, the twisted nature of our family’s destiny makes it impossible to see the truth from outside the walls.”

A thousand-year empire.

The greatest nation ruling over half the world.

The great imperial family that governed this thousand-year empire.

The emperors who reached the pinnacle of the imperial family.

The “People’s King,” who handed all power to the parliament.

The “King of Order,” who laid the foundation for constitutional monarchy.

The “Pious King,” who made the church the state religion of the Empire.

The “Dignified King,” considered the greatest emperor.

The “Victorious King,” who ended the Hundred Years’ War.

All of them died cursing their own fates.

The People’s King, despite his title and achievements, was obsessed with power.

The King of Order hated the complicated rules of the court.

The Pious King was a lapsed believer who didn’t even attend Sunday Mass.

The Victorious King was a timid man who couldn’t harm even an ant.

Only the Dignified King knew how to use this system, but that was because he, despite his name, was a man who despised himself.

The destiny of the imperial family cannot be understood properly from outside the walls.

Rather, it can only be grasped faintly when viewed in reverse.

The Iron-Blooded King, father of the Fortunate King, was no exception.

He was a petty coward, a vile and small-minded man who prioritized his own safety over the prosperity of the Empire.

“Can you even imagine how much of a coward the late Iron-Blooded King was? How desperately he worked to keep his children in check, how deeply he trembled in fear as he watched the blood dripping from his own hands? Can you even fathom it?”

“…….”

He was no ordinary coward.

An ordinary coward would not try to kill their own child out of fear that the child might kill them.

Especially if such fear were nothing more than the paranoid delusion of someone in power.

“That man was a terrible human being. As terrible as my so-called ‘Fortune.’”

If one were to make an analogy to the title of “Fortunate King”…

People easily say that the Fortunate King “luckily” inherited a noble lineage and grew up without want.

As they always do.

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[“The doctor is plotting to assassinate Your Majesty. It’s not certain. But when the life of the great Sultan is at stake, sacrificing the innocent is better than sparing the guilty.”]

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In his childhood, the Fortunate King had three older brothers.

Why so many sons were born to the family is unknown.

Perhaps it was because the Iron-Blooded King had hoped for delicate, doll-like daughters who wouldn’t pose a threat to him.

In other words, the Fortunate King’s three older brothers were all large, fierce, capable, and hungry for power.

So much so that the Iron-Blooded King lived in nightly terror at the thought of his children usurping his authority.

“Looking back now, he was a fool who felt jealousy rather than pride at his children’s competence. No, it would have been better if he had simply been an idiot… Unfortunately, he was quite adept at protecting his own safety. What a tragedy.”

One day.

The Iron-Blooded King officially announced the start of the “succession contest.”

He declared that his sons should stop at nothing to crush and consume each other, to compete, suppress, and emerge victorious to earn his recognition.

Only the victor would inherit the Empire’s glory.

The dramatic proclamation caused a stir among the Empire’s gossipmongers, who declared, “The merciless Iron-Blooded King drives even his children to the brink to find a capable successor.”

“In reality, it was nothing more than a cowardly emperor’s scheme to pit his competitors against each other and secure his own position.”

The Iron-Blooded King became astonishingly bold in safeguarding his power and safety.

Under his rule, the Empire was consumed by endless bloody factional struggles.

Many vassals brought the heads of their competitors to the Iron-Blooded King as tribute, and those branded as his enemies rarely lasted three days before meeting their demise.

In this horrific struggle, no one dared to oppose the Iron-Blooded King directly.

Those seeking even a sliver of power did nothing but endlessly kill one another to gain his favor.

In politics, at least, he seemed to be quite capable.

“Come to think of it, the late head of the Fríden Count’s family, Homeros’ ancestral home, was also a beneficiary of this strife, wasn’t he? He was rewarded with a golden manor for his achievements… Anyway, having a father who regarded his children as mere political pawns was far from pleasant. Soon enough, my brothers regarded one another as mortal enemies, willing to draw swords if it meant taking the other down.”

They bribed each other’s servants, poisoned food, disguised assassins as attendants, and spread slanderous rumors without hesitation.

When the stewards died at a rate of one per day, the Iron-Blooded King began using the position of royal attendants to keep undesirable nobles in check.

The Empire was in a state of madness during that era.

Only the fourth prince, the Fortunate King, remained outside the vicious power struggle.

As a weak prince uninterested in power, his lack of ambition spared him from danger.

“My brothers tried to win me over with sweet words, coaxing me while also threatening me not to side with the others. Perhaps they thought I was walking a tightrope… Well, thanks to that, I was safe. If they had bothered me, they would’ve only given their enemies a pretext.”

Thus.

As the princes’ competition for the throne reached its peak.

An incident occurred.

“I made a wish. A wish that my brothers would stop fighting each other.”