Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 42 The Birth of the Top Hat

Jiang Liu Meili stepped onto the stairs and arrived at the door of the room where Mai Cheng Jingjie was on the second floor.

Before even entering the room, I could hear strange noises coming from inside through the door.

The sound was like the tip of a pen gliding rapidly across paper.

This made Jiang Liu Meili a little curious: Was Maijo Kyosuke writing a new mystery novel?

Peeking inside through the crack in the door.

As expected, Jiang Liu Meili saw Mai Cheng Jingjie sitting at the table, writing furiously on a piece of paper!

Maijo Kyosuke wrote very quickly, completing a whole page of manuscript in less than a few minutes.

Seeing Maijo Kyosuke write without hesitation, Jiang Liu Meili finally understood why Maijo Kyosuke was able to write "A Bellflower" in one night!

-

Kyosuke Maijo was hunched over his desk, writing a mystery novel about yokai, folklore, psychology, and neuroscience.

As for why I wrote this novel, it all started five days ago when Ming Shen Qingyin left her room.

Because I misunderstood Myojin Seine that day, I felt guilty and wanted to find an opportunity to explain to her.

But perhaps I hurt the other person too deeply?

Every time I see Myojin Seiin, I greet her with a smile.

Then the divine voice will ignore it.

It feels like I'm invisible, and just thinking about it is agonizing.

Thus, for the first time since transmigrating, Maijo Kyosuke suffered from insomnia!

Whenever I lie in bed with my eyes closed, tossing and turning...

Maijo Kyosuke could always recall the words that Myojin Kiyone had said to him with tears welling in her eyes:

"When you and Miss Jiang Liu were on the second floor, I saw Sister Jiang Liu sitting in the corridor downstairs!"

"How could someone sitting on the porch possibly leave their socks in your room?"

"Unless you can explain to me that the world seen by the human eye is not real."

"The human eye can also make mistakes!"

"Otherwise, I won't believe a single word of your nonsense again!"

Whenever these words come to mind.

Maijo Kyosuke felt as if he were recalling a famous story segment.

After two days and two nights of sleepless contemplation, Maijo Kyosuke finally figured out what kind of story he should write for his next long mystery novel to wreak havoc on the Japanese literary world!

Is the world we see always real?

If the brain lies for unavoidable reasons and alters memories to justify it, wouldn't that explain why seeing is not believing?

Myojin Seine's words awakened Maijo Kyosuke's memories, and the book whose plot revolved around this idea also clearly appeared in his mind!

Kyosuke Maijo believed that once this book was published, it would definitely cause a huge uproar in Japan!

It might even spark a craze for folklore and supernatural mystery-solving, ushering in a new era of its own!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The knocking on the door pulled Maijo Kyosuke out of his story.

"The door is unlocked, please come in."

As soon as Maishiro Kyosuke finished speaking, Jiang Liu Meili, dressed in a white dress, walked in.

Jiang Liumei's meticulously dressed appearance surprised Maishiro Kyosuke.

But what puzzled Maijo Kyosuke the most was why Eri was dressed like that.

"Miss Jiang Liu? You're dressed so beautifully, are you attending some important ceremony?"

Hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words of praise, Jiang Liu Meili felt that her dressing up today had not been in vain.

"Of course it's an important ceremony, Mr. Mai, you know?"

"Today is the award ceremony for you receiving the 'Edogawa Ranpo Ryuko Prize'!"

Hearing Jiang Liumei's words, Maishiro Kyosuke was somewhat surprised:

"Edogawa Ranpo's Ryusho?"

"Isn't the Edogawa Ranpo Prize awarded around September each year?"

"What is this 'Dragon Ascension Award'?"

Maijo Kyosuke didn't quite understand what Jiang Liu Meili was saying.

Jiang Liu Meili also knew that the matter of the Dragon Award was somewhat sudden, but she still patiently explained it to Wu Cheng Jingjie:

"Mr. Maishiro, after your 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery' was shortlisted, it gained the appreciation of many editors and executives at Kodansha. At the same time, another dark horse, 'Voice of Sarumaru,' also received great acclaim."

"Therefore, the Kodansha executives decided to award you and the author Motohiko Izawa a special prize one hundred days after the last Edogawa Rampo Prize was awarded. This is the Ryu-seo Prize."

"The purpose is to let 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Case' and 'Violet Revelation' face off!"

"As expected! Professor Maijo, your 'The Astrological Murder Mystery' has successfully won the Edogawa Ranpo Ryu-ryu Prize!"

"Today, I'm here to take you to the 'Dragon Award' ceremony!"

When Maijo Kyosuke heard Jiang Liu Meili say this, he finally understood what was going on.

At the same time, I felt a bit emotional, because my appearance had caused a huge change in the parallel world.

In my memory, in the original time and space.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders actually lost to Motohiko Izawa's The Monkey King in the 26th Edogawa Ranpo Award, but this time, it won big!

Little did Maijo Kyosuke know that his resounding victory at the "Edogawa Ranpo Ryusho" competition was not only due to the high quality of his works, such as "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" and "A Bellflower," but also to the silent support and dedication of Eri Murderousa behind the scenes...

-

Ginza, Tokyo.

Wearing a sharp, newly-made suit and with his hair meticulously combed, Maishiro Kyosuke looked at the extravagant top hat in his hand, then at Jiang Liu Meili beside him, and asked with a puzzled expression:

"Miss Eriu? Is Edogawa Ranpo's style of performing at the Ryusho Awards a masquerade ball?"

"Do I really have to wear this ridiculously large top hat?"

Maijo Kyosuke put the top hat on his head, looked at himself in the mirror, and felt that all he needed was a pipe to become a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.

Jiang Liu Meili stood next to Mai Shiro Kyosuke. Although she also felt that Mai Shiro Kyosuke's outfit was a bit too outrageous, she still insisted that Mai Shiro Kyosuke do so:

"Ms. Mai, I only have this one request, you must grant it no matter what."

"Please help me out, considering how long I've spent shopping with you and how many clothes we've bought!"

Seeing Jiang Liu Meili's pleading expression, Mai Shiro Kyosuke couldn't refuse.

He could only nod and put the hat on his head.

When Jiang Liu Meili saw that Wu Cheng Jingjie had agreed, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

-

A red BMW M1 sped through the streets of Tokyo.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Maijo Kyosuke twirled his top hat with his finger, still not understanding Eri's intentions. He could only ask out of curiosity:

"Miss Jiang Liu? Why are you insisting that I wear this hat? Is there some special meaning behind it?"

Seeing that Maishiro Kyosuke kept asking questions, Jiang Liu Meili reached into her bag, took out a magazine, and handed it to Maishiro Kyosuke.

Maijo Kyosuke took the magazine, and the first thing that caught his eye was the picture on the cover.

A single white lisianthus flower is tucked into an extremely extravagant top hat.

Jiang Liumei's answer followed:

"I was originally planning to give Teacher Wucheng a surprise when the magazine was released."

"But since Ms. Maishiro asked, I'll tell you."

"As a mystery writer, Mr. Maicheng, you should know that the origin of mystery novels actually began with Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'."

"But the people who truly propelled detective novels onto the world literary stage are Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series, Dixon Carr's Doctor Phil series, and Ellery Queen's Tragedy series."

"It is precisely because of these literary giants etched in the history of detective fiction that charismatic detectives were created, forming the classic Golden Age of detective fiction, which in turn made detective novels a globally popular bestseller!"

"Perhaps it's a problem of the times, or perhaps it's a stereotype, but these great writers seem to have planned it all out."

"Whether it's Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Dr. Gideon Phil, or Jerry Lane, they all have a top hat in their wardrobes!"

"When I was launching the magazine, I struggled with the name because I wanted it to be easy to understand so that people would know it was a short mystery magazine, but I also wanted people to remember the name of the magazine."

"So after much deliberation, I finally decided to name the magazine 'Top Hat'."

"Because in today's society, unless there are special requirements, not many people wear top hats anymore. And once you think of top hats, you think of those famous detectives. That's why I wanted Ms. Mai to wear a top hat when she entered the award."

When Maijo Kyosuke heard Eri's beautiful words, he also felt that the name of the magazine "Top Hat" was very meaningful.

But when it comes to top hats, the first person that comes to mind for Kyosuke Maijo, a fervent fan of Japanese mystery novels, is not Sherlock Holmes, but Hercule Poirot.

Instead, it was that same villainous detective, who also wore an extravagant top hat and carried a cane, and was jokingly called the most morally bankrupt detective!

Thinking of all this, Maishiro Kyosuke turned his head and looked at Jiang Liu Meili, who was driving:

"Ms. Jiang Liu, for the next issue of the magazine, I want to create a famous detective character who also wears a top hat, and it will be a series."

"I hope you can give me an important page in Top Hat magazine."

Jiang Liu Meili looked surprised when she heard what Mai Cheng Jingjie said!

Because most of the writers I meet on a daily basis are the kind who won't start writing until the very last day before the deadline, let alone write a manuscript on their own initiative!

Now that she has a fast-writing writer like Maijo Kyosuke, Jiang Liu Meili is overjoyed and naturally agrees with delight.

But... Jiang Liu Meili never imagined that the birth of "Top Hat" magazine would lead to Mai Shiro Kyosuke creating the most chaotic detective character in history, bar none...