Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 136 The Greatest Masterpiece of Police Novels

Chapter 136 The Greatest Masterpiece of Police Novels

"He's dead, right?"

Hearing what Yu Shan Hideomi said, Jiang Liu Meili asked with some sadness.

Uyama Hideomi sighed heavily, scratching his arm again as if trying to shoo away imaginary insects: "That's right, he's been dead for more than half a year."

"Because the weather was quite hot at the time, it rotted until only half of it remained—"

Uyama Hideomi scratched his head in frustration, his expression grim: "Rather than finding the corpse terrifying, what frightens me is actually the cause of that guy's death."

"Later I called the police and found out that the guy wasn't short of money. Although he wasn't rich, he wasn't so poor that he would have suicidal thoughts."

"But the more I feel this way, the more guilty and uneasy I feel."

"Because it would make me think that it was my negligence that caused him to not receive a reply, which made him disheartened and led him to have suicidal thoughts."

"Back then—every time I closed my eyes, I would be consumed by self-blame, always thinking, if I had replied to him sooner, perhaps things would have turned out differently?"

Uncharacteristically, Uyama Hideomi pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag: "Teacher Maishiro, Miss Jiang Liu, do you know?"

"I don't regret going to see this guy, nor do I regret going to the building across the street to look at his room."

"My biggest regret is that I shouldn't have looked at that person's picture. If he were just a rotten corpse, half of it would be gone. To be honest, my nightmares would probably only involve the rotting body. Gradually, I was able to convince myself that it was just a terrible nightmare."

"But after I saw that guy's picture, I realized that he was a real person who had lived, and I couldn't deceive myself into thinking that it was just a nightmare."

"From then on, the face in that person's photo became closely linked to my dreams. Compared to the fear of the corpse, I was more afraid of the guilt that would arise from seeing that guy's face."

Upon hearing what Hideomi Uyama said, Maishiro Kyosuke seemed to have thought of something and tentatively asked, "So—Mr. Uyama, even after five years, do you still dream about that person from time to time?"

'

A bitter smile appeared on Uyama Hideomi's unpleasant expression: "Of course I will—but I'm used to it."

"Because I know that even if time could turn back and I were given another chance, I still couldn't save him."

"So, whenever I dream of him, I can only sincerely hope that he is happy on the other side, or in the next life, without so many troubles."

Uyama Hideomi pursed his lips, his sorrowful expression turning into a smile: "So, Mr. Maishiro, it is truly remarkable that your work was published in less than a week."

After hearing about Hideomi Uyama's experiences, Kyosuke Maishiro finally understood why Hideomi Uyama was so happy and excited to help him publish his book when he met him.

Perhaps—at that time, he was also making up for his past regrets.

Uyama Hideomi shook his head, shaking off the unpleasant memories, and raised an eyebrow at Maishiro Kyosuke, smiling as he said, "However, it's indeed difficult to fool Maishiro-sensei. The reason I'm so happy this time, besides the fact that 'Summer of the Ubume' was published so quickly, is that there's something even more exciting I want to tell you, Maishiro-sensei!"

Both Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Misaki showed curious expressions upon hearing what Uyama Hideomi said.

"What is it?"

As Hideomi Uyama looked at Kyosuke Maijo, his stomach rumbled inappropriately.

Uyama Hideomi rubbed his stomach somewhat sheepishly, then extended his right thumb and forefinger as if raising a wine glass: "How about we find a place to eat and chat?"

Inside a high-end Japanese restaurant in Ginza.

Uyama Hideomi got to drink the seven-twenty-kan beverage he had never drunk before, just as he had wished.

A very satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Maijo Kyosuke's concept of alcohol is very simple: as long as he can get drunk, he doesn't care about the quality of the alcohol at all.

Seeing that Uyama Hideomi had already drunk two or three glasses, Maishiro Kyosuke quickly stopped him from pouring another: "Mr. Uyama, stop drinking and tell me about that other happy thing!"

Jiang Liu Meili put a large piece of sushi into her mouth, covered her mouth, and looked at Yu Shan Hideomi with the same curious expression, wanting to know what good news Yu Shan Hideomi had brought.

When Uyama Hideomi saw that the two of them were looking at him, he looked apologetic: "Look at me, I was so busy drinking that I almost forgot about the important matter."

"The good news I'm happy about is—"

President Noma believes that Ms. Mai's "A Bellflower" and "..." published in the magazine "Top Hat" are...

"The Convergence" and "The End" have both received very good reviews.

"Not only did the first and second issues of 'Top Hat' sell 800,000 copies, but it also became the third best-selling short story mystery magazine in Japan."

"This shows that these two short detective stories can still be of use."

"In addition, Ms. Maishiro has very few works now. Even if you include 'Summer of the Ubume,' which is currently in production, she only has two full-length novels."

"Therefore, President Noma and Department Head Mikoshiba hope that you, Ms. Maishiro, can write a few more short stories and publish them in the 'Top Hat' magazine. Once you have six stories, they can be collected and published as a book!"

"This will not only give you, Mr. Wucheng, another published work, but also help protect the reputation of Top Hat magazine."

Uyama Hideomi, without anyone noticing, refilled his glass, took a small sip, and continued, "As for the royalty issue, Mr. Maishiro, you don't need to worry about it. Since you are a guest writer for Kodansha, even if your work is first published in the 'Top Hat' magazine, your royalties will not be reduced because it is not the first publication."

"President Noma specifically stated that all calculations would be based on the highest tier of 14%, plus the previously agreed-upon 2%."

With the increased royalties, Mr. Wucheng, your work will ultimately receive 16% royalties!

"This is something many writers wouldn't even dare to dream of!"

Uyama Hideomi finished his drink, a satisfied expression on his face: "However, President Noma asked me to give you a suggestion, Mr. Maishiro, and I hope you will consider it."

Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Miri did not reply, but looked at Uyama Hideomi and gestured for him to continue.

Uyama Hideomi refilled the glass: "President Noma received the challenge letter from Takarajima yesterday, and I reckon Professor Nishimura Toshiyuki has probably contacted you as well."

Maijo Kyosuke nodded, took out Nishimura Toshiyuki's challenge letter, which was stained with the smell of whiskey, from his pocket, and tossed it onto the table: "He's already here, about an hour before you arrived, Mr. Uyama."

Uyama Hideomi looked at the challenge letter, then at Maishiro Kyosuke to confirm, "If nothing unexpected happens, Maishiro-sensei, you've accepted the challenge, right?"

Before Maishiro Kyosuke could speak, Eri Ryumi interjected, "Mr. Uyama? President Noma's suggestion wouldn't be... that he disagrees with Maishiro-sensei accepting Nishimura-sensei's challenge, would it?"

Uyama Hideomi reached for the challenge letter on the table, and while looking at the rules on it, slowly shook his head: "Miss Jiang Liu, you're completely wrong."

"In fact, President Noma may understand Ms. Maishiro's personality better than we think."

"So when President Noma received the challenge letter from Takarajima, he was 100% certain that Mr. Maishiro would accept the challenge from Mr. Nishimura."

"Because the reason why President Noma invited Ms. Maishiro to become a guest writer for Kodansha was not because he was interested in Ms. Maishiro's works."

"You might find it strange to hear me say something about Miss Jiang Liu."

"In fact, President Noma has only read Maijo-sensei's 'Summer of the Ubume' so far, and has not read any of her other works at all."

"Simply put, it was Mr. Maishiro's arrogant remarks at the Edogawa Ranpo Ryusho Awards that made President Noma think that Mr. Maishiro was an interesting person."

"In President Noma's words, he likes the arrogant feeling of Ms. Maishiro. It is precisely because of this courage to fight against the whole world that President Noma had the idea of ​​supporting Ms. Maishiro."

Maishiro Kyosuke swallowed the sushi in his mouth and looked at Uyama Hideomi, who was still drinking, and asked, "So? What advice does President Noma want to give me?"

Uyama Hideomi looked at Maishiro Kyosuke and smiled, "Mashiro-sensei, don't be in such a hurry. Overall, President Noma has learned from our feedback that you are a writer with a versatile style."

"He can write about the poignant and twisted love in 'A Bellflower,' as well as the unprecedented and unparalleled grand scale of 'The Astrological Murders,' not to mention the wonderful structure of 'Convergence' and the magical solution in 'Summer of the Ubume.'"

"So—President Noma's opinion is that, Mr. Maishiro, you don't have to write your short story collection in the same style and on the same subject as other writers."

"Instead, I'll take a different approach and write a book where each story has a different theme and style!"

"For example, 'A Bellflower' is a classic mystery combined with a twisted and tragic love story."

"The Convergence is an abstract, classic mystery with a near-collapse-like ending."

"The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates is a logical flow reasoning story with a lot of foreshadowing and plot twists."

In short, these three short mystery stories all possess completely different styles!

Upon hearing Uyama Hideomi's words, Maishiro Kyosuke understood President Noma's intentions.

I briefly considered what Hideomi Uyama had just said.

A police mystery novel popped into Maijo Kyosuke's mind: "How about the next one is a police-style psychological deduction?"

When Uyama Hideomi heard Maishiro Kyosuke's words, he was stunned for a moment, completely wondering where Maishiro Kyosuke had gotten his inspiration from: "Police novels? Psychological reasoning?"

"Ms. Mai, you're not kidding me, are you?"

"Although President Noma's intention was to have as many styles as possible, so as to better promote the 'versatility' of Mr. Maijo."

"But—isn't this leap a bit too big?"

"The range of 'police style'—combined with psychological reasoning—is as surprising as your attempt at hard-boiled mystery."

"But this is also a huge stylistic leap!"

Maishiro Kyosuke wasn't surprised by what Uyama Hideomi said; he simply shrugged indifferently and said, "I had a flash of inspiration while listening to Mr. Uyama's story."

"So I decided to try a style that combines police fiction with psychological reasoning."

"As for whether the writing is acceptable?"

"After this book signing event is over, I'll write it down as soon as possible. Once you've read it, you'll know whether it's feasible or not."

After finishing his sentence, Maijo Kyosuke drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

The masterpiece of short police fiction, "The Third Statute of Limitations," came to mind.