Tokyo Mystery Writers

Seeing Jiang Liu's embarrassed expression, Maishiro Kyosuke felt a little sorry for her.

He decisively walked to the phone and hung up.

Jiang Liu Meili, holding the microphone, paused for a moment, then looked at Mai Cheng Jingjie with surprise, clearly somewhat angry, even changing her usual form of address:

"Kyosuke Maijo! What are you doing?!"

"Don't you want the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' anymore?"

"I...I finally managed to get my mom to agree!"

"You know what? This is the first time I've ever asked her for help since I started working!"

Jiang Liumei's voice suddenly became much louder, causing the shop owner next to her to grip the knife in his hand even tighter.

Seeing Jiang Liu Meili's state, Mai Shiro Kyosuke reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, saying very solemnly:

"I want it, of course I really want it..."

"However... I still hope to obtain the manuscript through my own means, rather than by making you suffer in order to achieve my goal."

"If I had to choose between the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' and you."

"I would not hesitate to abandon the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' and choose you instead."

"I'm sorry, Miss Jiang Liu, I really don't want to see you compromise because of me."

Although Jiang Liumei was still angry, she felt less angry after hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's heartwarming words.

After all, Maijo Kyosuke's actions just now were clearly for his own benefit:

"But... Ms. Mai, that's fifty million yen..."

"Currently, apart from my mother, it seems that no one can come up with such a large sum of money all at once."

With a hint of reluctance, Maijo Kyosuke glanced at the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands" in the safe.

She then bit her lower lip hard and looked apologetically at the antique bookstore owner:

"Boss, I'm sorry to trouble you. Please put the manuscript away."

"I really want the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands,' but I really can't afford that much money right now."

"I'll bring it home once I've saved enough money..."

"If it had already been bought by then, I can only say that we were destined to be apart."

After speaking, Maijo Kyosuke reached out and grabbed Eri Miri's hand, and walked towards the door of the antiquarian bookstore.

After all, a short pain is worse than a long one. Instead of getting caught up in this, I should go home and write more, save up 50 million yen as soon as possible, and buy the manuscript.

Just as Maishiro Kyosuke was about to leave with Eri Miri, the shop owner behind them called out to stop them:

"Mr. Wucheng? Miss Jiangliu?"

"Please wait a moment!"

Upon hearing the shop owner's words, Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Ryumi turned around at the same time.

The antique bookstore owner took out a pair of glasses and a newspaper from the cabinet, examined them carefully for a while, and then looked up in surprise and asked:

"Maishiro Kyosuke? Eri Miri?"

"Who are you two? Mr. Maijo, who won the Edogawa Ranpo Ryu-chō Prize? And Editor-in-Chief Eru of Kodansha's magazine department?"

Maijo Kyosuke nodded, took Eri Ryumi's hand, and moved closer to the newspaper the antiquarian bookstore owner was holding. He noticed a line of small print written in the corner of the newspaper.

[The winner of the Edogawa Ranpo Ryusuke Prize, Keisuke Maijo, may have an ambiguous relationship with the editor-in-chief of Kodansha's magazine department. There may be more to the story behind Keisuke Maijo's achievement of the Edogawa Ranpo Ryusuke Prize...]

Jiang Liumei looked at the newspaper, her face flushing slightly, and murmured:

"This... newspaper... how can it be so utterly nonsensical..."

The antique bookstore owner tilted his head, looked at the two people's hands clasped tightly together, and raised an eyebrow with a smile.

He then pulled out a magazine and a book from the bookshelf behind him.

"The 'A Lisianthus' in Top Hat magazine, and this book, 'The Astrological Murder Magic,' are your works, Professor Mai Cheng, right?"

Maishiro Kyosuke nodded upon hearing the shop owner's words:

"Boss, I didn't expect you to be reading my book too."

The owner of the antiquarian bookstore patted the magazines and books with his hand, a faint smile appearing on his face:

"I not only watched it, but I really enjoyed it. The twisted and tragic love story in 'A Bellflower' made Suzue seem like she really existed, and the grand and astonishing plot in 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' also left me in awe!"

"Teacher Wucheng, I've read each of your two stories more than three times."

"The same goes for Editor-in-Chief Jiang Liu. Although the magazine 'Top Hat' was able to sell 500,000 copies thanks to the popularity of Teacher Wu Cheng's 'A Bellflower'."

"However, Jiang Liu's ability to select manuscripts is beyond doubt. Although other short mystery stories in the magazine 'Top Hat' pale in comparison to 'A Bellflower,' they are still good short mystery stories of the same era."

After the antique bookstore owner finished speaking, he reached out and patted the safe containing the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands," then looked at Maijo Kyosuke and smiled:

"I can tell that Ms. Mai Shiro really likes this manuscript."

"So... how about we discuss the terms?"

"If you are willing to cooperate with me, I would like to give this manuscript to Teacher Wucheng as a gift."

Upon hearing the secondhand bookstore owner's words, Maishiro Kyosuke's face lit up with joy, but he wasn't blinded by the temptation. He immediately countered with a question:

"What are the terms of cooperation? What do you want to cooperate on with me?"

The antiquarian bookstore owner wiped the dust from his hands, which had just been used to inventory the books, with a handkerchief and extended his hand to Maishiro Kyosuke:

"Mr. Mai, we've been talking about the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' so much that we forgot to introduce ourselves."

"My name is Katsunori Tatara, and I am the fifth-generation owner of this 'Tatara Used Bookstore'."

Maishiro Kyosuke and Tatara Katsuyuki shook hands, and Tatara Katsuyuki continued:

"My antiquarian bookstore has been in business since 1880, and February 1st of this year will mark its 100th anniversary."

"Although Tatara Used Bookstore is not a well-known shop in the bustling Jimbocho, it is, after all, a 100th anniversary celebration, so I think we should celebrate it in a big way."

"However, I haven't figured out who to invite to make 'Tatara Used Bookstore' more lively."

"It's a coincidence that I met Teacher Wucheng and Editor-in-Chief Jiang Liu today. It's fate that we met. So, my thoughts are very simple."

"I would like to invite Mr. Maishiro and Editor-in-Chief Jiang Liu to come and support the centennial celebration of 'Tatara Old Bookstore' on February 1st."

Upon hearing Tatara Katsunori's words, Maishiro Kyosuke and Eruru Miri exchanged a glance, then asked in unison:

"Mr. Tatara, do you mean that if we attend the centennial celebration of 'Tatara Used Bookstore,' you will give us the manuscript of 'Mr. Altmore's Hands'?"

Seeing the excitement on the faces of Maijo Kyosuke and Erika Eri, Tatara Yoshikatsu quickly reached out and pressed his hand against the safe containing the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands":

"How is that possible! Even if we invited Chairman Miyoshi Tetsu, Professor Chen Shunchen, and Mr. Gonda Manji, it wouldn't cost fifty million yen!"

"That was just the first request I mentioned! I have three requests in total, and I can only give you the manuscript if you agree to all of them."

When Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Miri heard Tatara Katsuyuki's words, a hint of disappointment appeared on their faces.

But... as long as there's a chance to get my hands on the manuscript.

Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Miri still wanted to hear what other requests Tatara Yoshino would make...