novelraw Chapter 9 Watson, Run!
Chapter 9 Watson, Run!
"Woof woof woof—"
The barking of dogs and the sounds of chewing and swallowing coming from outside the window woke up the hungover Maijo Kyosuke.
Opening his somewhat dry eyes, Maijo Kyosuke sat up in his bare house.
I was incredibly thirsty, and my throat felt like it was on fire.
I looked up at the pure white moonlight shining through the narrow window above the room.
Maijo Kyosuke grabbed his watch and glanced at it, finally understanding why he was so thirsty.
It was already 9 p.m. on January 3, 1980 (Showa 55).
After drinking with Uyama Hideomi and returning home, he had been sleeping soundly in bed for more than ten hours!
Maijo Kyosuke put the watch on his wrist and filled a plastic bottle with water from the tap.
He crushed the bottle with a snap and gulped down the water.
The cool water quickly revitalized Maijo Kyosuke's dehydrated body and also activated his brain.
At that moment, Maijo Kyosuke suddenly realized how deadly the barking and chewing sounds coming from outside the window were to him!
Because the house where Maijo Kyosuke lives is a dilapidated detached house in Adachi Ward, one of the poorest areas in Tokyo, with the street right outside the door.
Because when the original owner died, he left behind very little money.
To fill his stomach, Maijo Kyosuke had no choice but to buy a lot of chicken, fish, and beef from a cheap supermarket to keep himself from going hungry.
It was winter, and to save on electricity, Maijo Kyosuke placed the food outside the window to prevent it from spoiling.
Don't feel embarrassed about it, Tokyo's tiered electricity rates are the most expensive in the world!
The refrigerator in the original owner's room was an outdated model with an alarmingly high power consumption. Just running it, along with other miscellaneous items, would cause Maijo Kyosuke to pay nearly 10,000 yen more in electricity bills every month!
Thinking of all this, Maijo Kyosuke hurriedly opened the small window of the room and looked down, but the scene in front of him almost made him faint with anger!
Chicken, fish, and even beef that Maijo Kyosuke usually wouldn't eat were scattered all over the place.
The black bag containing food that I had tied to the window was already badly chewed up.
A little girl, about seven or eight years old, dressed in a red bread-like outfit and wearing a red cotton hat, was squatting on the ground like a firefighter, standing below her window with a yellow and white Akita dog on a leash.
The Akita dog happily ate the food that had "fallen from the sky," while the little girl squatted to the side watching happily, completely unaware that Maijo Kyosuke was staring at them with a terrifying gaze!
Although yesterday Hideomi Uyama had agreed to Kyosuke Maishiro's request to allow the Astrology Murder Magic to be entered into the Edogawa Ranpo Award.
He even patted his chest and guaranteed that astrological murder magic must be included in the list!
Fueled by alcohol, the two talked about their ideals, their aspirations, and even the impact that the publication of "Astrology Murder Mystery" would have on the Japanese mystery literature scene!
But we forgot to talk about the most important thing.
That is, how should Maijo Kyosuke's royalties be calculated!
With his royalties still unresolved, Maijo Kyosuke couldn't possibly survive for more than a few days on just the few coins he had in his pocket!
Seeing his food being eaten, Maijo Kyosuke was filled with rage!
He grabbed a baseball bat he used for self-defense and climbed out of the window.
"You dare eat my food! I'll stew you alive today!"
The little girl heard the sound coming from above her head and slowly raised her head.
What came into view was an extremely ferocious face!
When the little girl saw Maijo Kyosuke climbing out of the window with a baseball bat in his hand and a fierce look on his face, she was so frightened that she jumped up and her red hat fell to the ground!
"Watson! Run!"
"Someone terrifying is coming to eat you!"
The little girl picked up the hat, shook off the snow stuck to it, put it back on her head, then sniffed hard and pulled the Akita dog to run away into the distance.
The Akita dog named "Watson" was very intelligent. Upon hearing the little girl's words, he immediately picked up a piece of beef and followed behind Little Red Riding Hood!
"You stinky kid in the little red hat! Stop right there! Don't run away!"
Although Maijo Kyosuke wasn't particularly large, he was blinded by anger, and the windows of the dilapidated house were so small that he got stuck in one of them.
He could only watch helplessly as Little Red Riding Hood turned around, stuck out her tongue at him, and then, leading Watson the dog, hopped and skipped away into the distance.
When Maijo Kyosuke climbed out of the narrow window.
Little Red Riding Hood and Watson the dog had long since disappeared!
"hateful!"
Maijo Kyosuke poked the remaining food on the ground with his baseball bat.
They discovered that "Dog Watson" was utterly depraved, having left teeth marks on every single piece of meat!
Under these circumstances, these foods are definitely inedible.
Wearing only thin clothes, Maijo Kyosuke stood alone on the street.
The biting wind blew by, making Maishiro Kyosuke's hair stand on end, but no matter how cold the weather was, it wasn't as cold as Maishiro Kyosuke's heart.
Money's running out, food's almost gone!
Although they were transported to Tokyo, they found themselves in a situation akin to that of the apocalypse.
Maijo Kyosuke looked at the food on the ground with worry, knowing that if he didn't do something soon, he would starve to death!
Thinking of all this, Maijo Kyosuke immediately ran back to the house.
He started rummaging through the ill-fitting suit.
Although it's a bit premature to discuss royalties with Hideomi Uyama now.
But at this moment, only Hideomi Uyama can help him!
If nothing unexpected happens, then something must have gone wrong.
After searching every pocket of the suit, Maishiro Kyosuke practically tore the suit to shreds, but still couldn't find Uyama Hideomi's business card.
Thinking that he hadn't left his contact information with Uyama Hideomi yesterday.
Doesn't that mean that neither he nor Uyama Hideomi can contact each other now?
Thinking of this, Maijo Kyosuke immediately pulled out the newspaper at home and found Kodansha's phone number in it.
He put on a suit and ran to a phone booth about 500 meters from his house, wanting to contact Uyama Hideomi.
However, it was during the New Year's Day holiday, so all of Kodansha's employees were on holiday.
Maijo Kyosuke wasted 50 yen coins, only to be met with a despairing busy signal.
He touched the few coins he had in his pocket.
Maishiro Kyosuke clenched his fist tightly!
The reason I ended up in this situation is entirely the fault of Little Red Riding Hood with her runny nose and the wicked dog Watson!
It's best to avoid running into those two guys again!
Maijo Kyosuke angrily wrapped his coat tighter around himself and headed towards home...