Tokyo Mystery Writers

Kyoko Mikoshiba reached out and pushed open the door to the coffee shop.

Kenzaki Mitsuki rubbed her frostbitten cheeks and walked in:

"Two cups of hand-drip coffee, preferably with Blue Mountain beans; if not, please give me two cups of Yirgacheffe."

Kenzaki Mitsuki sat on a chair near the window, rubbing her exposed calves repeatedly, trying to relieve the itching and pain caused by the cold air.

When Mikoshiba Kyoko saw Kenzaki Mitsuki's exposed legs, a look of helplessness appeared on her face:

"Mitsuki, I told you a long time ago, the weather in Tokyo has been getting colder lately."

"I told you to wear more clothes. You don't exercise often, and you dare to wear so little. Aren't you afraid of catching a cold!"

Kenzaki Mitsuki and Mikoshiba Kyoko are not only classmates, but also family friends.

Kenzaki Mitsuki's father, Kenzaki Fanxiang, created the "Kenzaki Group," a large-scale conglomerate spanning finance, real estate, electricity, logistics, and more—there's nothing they can't do.

However, Kenzaki Fankyo, who has a keen business sense, has always had a dream: to step into the publishing industry!

Unfortunately, despite planning ahead for over two decades, Kenzaki Fanxiang has never been able to break into the publishing industry.

After all, whether it's Kodansha and Kobunsha under the Otowa Group, or Shogakukan, another leading publisher, these long-established publishing houses mostly have a history of nearly a century!

Even the all-powerful Kenzaki Group couldn't squeeze into such a competitive environment.

Although Kenzaki Fan-hyou did not succeed in entering the publishing industry, he met Mikoshiba Yasunori, an elite sales manager at Kodansha, by chance. Because the two shared similar interests and both loved reading, they formed a deep friendship more than 20 years ago.

Therefore, Kenzaki Mitsuki and Mikoshiba Kyoko attended the same schools from childhood, and remained inseparable throughout middle school, high school, and university.

It can be said that the two are not related by blood, but their relationship is better than that of blood sisters.

Kenzaki Mitsuki made a funny face at Mikoshiba Kyoko after Mikoshiba Kyoko said something to her.

He then pulled out four copies of "The Astrological Murder Mystery" from his bag and handed one of them to Kyoko Mikoshiba.

"Let's take a look together. Although you, Kyoko, like Uncle Mikoshiba, have always preferred mystery novels with a strong setting, and you like authors like Asimov and Juzo Umino."

"But...Mr. Maishiro is truly a once-in-a-century genius..."

"I wonder if Kyoko has read 'A Lisianthus Flower' in Top Hat magazine?"

"Such beautiful writing, such a twisted love story, such a tragic ending—it brought tears to my eyes!"

"Although it used the same trick as Mr. Osaka Keikichi, both the writing style and the storytelling are far superior to Mr. Osaka Keikichi's!"

"I would say that before Ms. Maijo's debut, the person I thought could save classic mystery novels was Mr. Tsumabuki, who was known as the 'Trick Magician'!"

"But now it seems I misjudged things. Ms. Maishiro was the one sent by heaven to save classic mystery!"

Kenzaki Mitsuki was clearly captivated by Maijo Kyosuke's "A Bellflower," and uttered a series of praises.

But Kyoko Mikoshiba clearly had no interest in classic mystery novels. She simply tossed the book "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" in her hand, then looked at the three books in front of Mitsuki Kenzaki, and asked with a puzzled expression:

"Mitsuki, you're the young lady of the Kenzaki Group, why don't you have your butler buy you books?"

"Besides, if you're so eager to see the first edition, why don't you call me and ask my dad to save you a copy?"

Upon hearing Kyoko's words, Kenzaki Mitsuki's face showed strong resistance:

"Should I ask Uncle Mikoshiba to save a copy for me? Of course not!"

"It's obvious you haven't read Mai Cheng's 'A Bellflower'!"

"I'm still not convinced by Ms. Mai's powerful writing style!"

After speaking, Kenzaki Mitsuki took out a copy of "Top Hat" magazine from her bag and waved it in front of Kyoko:

"Hey! Watch this first! After you finish watching 'A Bellflower,' you'll know how amazing Ms. Mai is!"

Kyoko reached out and took the "Top Hat" magazine with surprise, but she was still puzzled.

"Great? What does that have to do with having my dad bring you books?"

Kenzaki Mitsuki pressed her hands on the three copies of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery" on the table one by one, and explained with a smile:

"Of course it matters! If I ask Uncle Mikoshiba to bring me the books, he's such a rigid person, he'll only give me one. But I want three!"

Kyoko Mikoshiba tilted her head, looking at Mitsuki Kenzaki with a puzzled expression:

"Three books? Do you have three pairs of eyes? What do you need so many books for?"

As Mikoshiba spoke, she recalled that there was a library of more than 500 square meters in Kenzaki Mitsuki's villa, and she had gotten lost in it when she last visited.

"I know you, Mitsuki, love collecting books. Whether it's a first edition, a paperback edition, or a collector's edition, you'll collect all the books you like. But three books..."

Kenzaki Mitsuki raised her index finger and wiggled it from side to side, speaking with an expression that was a mix of childishness and maturity:

"Others are others, but Teacher Wucheng is Teacher Wucheng!"

"For other authors, buying one edition for collection is enough."

"But for a genius like Mr. Mai, we must offer him the utmost respect!"

"One copy for my own reading, one for my collection, and one to lend to others, so they too can experience the charm of Ms. Wucheng's writing!"

Although Kyoko Mikoshiba is the daughter of the head of the sales department at Kodansha, her passion for mystery novels is not as fervent as that of Mitsuki Kenzaki.

Because Kyoko Mikoshiba is a loyal fan of science fiction, she is not interested in so-called love stories. After all, Isaac Asimov and Juzo Umino, the "founding father of Japanese science fiction," are her true idols.

But seeing Kenzaki Mitsuki praising Maijo Kyosuke so highly, coupled with her father's high regard for Maijo Kyosuke.

Kyoko Mikoshiba slowly opened the magazine "Top Hat" and intended to appreciate "A Bellflower," which is hailed as a masterpiece.

"This is?"

Kyoko Mikoshiba opened the magazine "Top Hat" and a picture of a person that looked like it had been cut out of a newspaper caught her eye.

"This person... looks so familiar, like I've seen them somewhere before..."

Koki's hand suddenly appeared on the magazine, as if someone had discovered some secret, and she wanted to take the picture away.

Unfortunately, Kenzaki Mitsuki wasn't someone like Mikoshiba Kyoko, who had won the Tokyo Karate Championship. Before she could even react, the design was snatched away by Mikoshiba Kyoko.

"Mitsuki, what is this?"

Kenzaki Mitsuki looked at the image in Mikoshiba Kyoko's hand, momentarily unable to meet her gaze. She could only blush and look out the window, pouting as she said:

"Well... Kyoko, you know I really admire Mr. Maishiro!"

"So I cut out the photo of Ms. Maishiro participating in the Edogawa Rampo Ryusho from the newspaper and made it into a bookmark."

Kenzaki Mitsuki's voice grew softer and softer, and her face became increasingly red.

But Mikoshiba Kyoko didn't find anything to be ashamed of; she just felt that this person looked too familiar.

"Mitsuki, don't you think this person looks familiar?"

"Like that long-haired lecher we encountered in the hot spring at the Long Life Bath?"

Upon hearing Mikoshiba Kyoko's words, Kenzaki Mitsuki recalled having the same thoughts when she first saw the photograph.

However, due to her admiration, Kenzaki Mitsuki was unwilling to admit that the guy was Maijo Kyosuke:

"They just look a little bit alike! The photo is so blurry, and it's even black and white."

"How could it possibly be that lecherous guy hiding in the hot spring?"

"How could someone like that possibly write such a good book as 'A Bellflower'?"

Kyoko Mikoshiba doesn't have any idol worship bias towards Kyosuke Maijo; she trusts her own eyes more.

So he raised an eyebrow at Kenzaki Mitsuki, a curious look on his face:

"Mitsuki, how about we go to the Longevity Soup again?"

"You might even run into your teacher, Mr. Mai, there! After all, that guy insisted that 'The Astrological Murder Mystery' was his work!"

Kenzaki Mitsuki was unwilling to admit that the teacher she admired, Maishiro, was the pervert she had met last time.

But since we have nothing else to do and the weather is so cold, going for a soak in a hot spring and, incidentally, clearing up Ms. Mai's name would be a wonderful thing...