Tokyo Mystery Writers

What are the second and third conditions?

Maijo Kyosuke asked Tatara Katsuyuki curiously, thinking to himself that he could accept any request as long as it wasn't too unreasonable.

After all, it was the manuscript of "Mr. Altmore's Hands," based on my experience from my previous life of spending a long time on Coal Stove, Yahoo, collecting autographs, manuscripts, autographed cards, and envelopes.

Thomas Burke, the author of "Mr. Altmore's Hands," was not as famous as his contemporary Conan Doyle.

However, the historical significance and collectible value of this work may far exceed that of Conan Doyle's manuscript!

After all, more than forty years later, Conan Doyle's manuscripts are still frequently seen at auctions, but Maijo Kyosuke has never heard of the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands"!

Tatara, gently tapping the safe containing the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands" with his fingers, made his second request:

"My second condition is that I want the manuscript of 'A Bellflower' for my collection."

Maishiro Kyosuke and Jiang Liu Meili exchanged a glance, feeling Jiang Liu Meili squeeze their hands tightly. They nodded in unison.

"Alright, Mr. Tatara, I grant your second request."

Yoshikatsu then stated the third condition:

"My third condition is that no matter what works you publish in the future, Mr. Wucheng, you must give me three personally signed copies."

"Note my requirement: all published works, not what works you have written."

Upon hearing Tatara Katsunori's words, Maishiro Kyosuke wore a puzzled expression.

"Mr. Tatara, what's the difference between my written works and my published works?"

Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Tatara Katsuki smiled and took out three books with different packaging from the bookshelf behind him, along with "The Astrological Murder Mystery," and laid them out on the counter.

He then smiled and said to Maishiro Kyosuke:

"Ms. Wucheng, I don't know if Editor-in-Chief Jiang Liu has mentioned these things to you, but please allow me to elaborate so that you don't misunderstand the requirements of my third condition and cause trouble for our future cooperation."

After finishing speaking, Tatara Katsumi pressed his hand on the leftmost book, "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystic Code," and said:

"Mr. Maishiro, as you can see, your book 'The Astrological Murder Magic' is published in the 'New Book Classification' format, but 'New Book Classification' does not mean a new book. It is just a specific format. Its cover is made of coated paper, the inner pages are made of offset paper, the size is 18.4×11.4cm, and the general price is two to three thousand yen."

Tatara then moved his hand to a book that was two sizes smaller and much shorter than the "New Book Review," about the size of an adult's palm:

"This type of format is called a 'paperback' or 'pocket book.' Most of them are inexpensive versions launched by publishers to attract the lower-end market. They are 15 x 10.6 cm in size. Because their inner pages are made of lightweight offset paper with reduced grammage, they are very inexpensive, and the price is generally between 1,000 and 1,500 yen."

Tatakagi then pointed to the next beautifully packaged book with an ornate cover:

"Hey, this one is even wider than the 'new book edition,' it's the 'single volume,' also known as the 'hardcover,' measuring 20 x 14 cm. These are mostly collections of short stories by the same author, or books that sell very well, and publishers only grant this privilege to release this version."

"Because the covers of the 'single volumes' are mostly made of high-quality coated paper, and heavy-weight offset paper is also selected, the price has increased considerably, to around three to four thousand yen."

After introducing the specifications of the first three books, Tatakagi pointed to the last book, which looked very luxurious, and said:

"Finally, there is the so-called 'Collector's Edition,' also called 'Special Edition' or 'Collector's Edition,' which is 22x15cm in size. Simply put, only when a book sells more than 400,000 copies will the publisher choose to release a 'Collector's Edition' for it."

"As you can tell from the name, the significance of the 'Collector's Edition' lies in collecting rather than reading. Generally, this level of edition has a very small print run, and you can only buy it if you are in a rush or under specific conditions."

"In addition, the 'Collector's Edition' has a redesigned cover, is bound, and uses the best pure paper, so the price is mostly very high, generally ranging from five thousand to ten thousand yen."

"In addition, there are different versions of the 'Collector's Edition'."

Tatara Katsuyuki then pulled an old book with a cloth cover from the bookshelf:

"This type of edition is generally called a 'collector's edition.' Most of the time, only the representative works of top bestselling authors, national authors, or deceased authors can be published in this edition. The size is also 22x15cm. As for the price, it may be around six thousand to fifteen thousand yen."

After finishing his speech, Tatara Yoshikatsu looked at Maijo Kyosuke with a faint smile on his face:

"Mr. Wucheng, I believe you are already familiar with the specifications of these different versions of the book."

"My third condition is that whenever your book is published in a different version, you must send me three personally signed copies so that I can keep them as a collection."

Tatara reached out and patted the safe containing the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands," raising an eyebrow:

"Teacher Wucheng, Editor-in-Chief Jiang Liu, if you agree to my three requests, the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' will be yours."

Faced with this request, Jiang Liu Meili squeezed Mai Cheng Jingjie's hand hard without thinking, as if she was so excited that she wanted to crush Mai Cheng Jingjie's palm.

Maijo Kyosuke wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what Jiang Liu Meili meant.

Putting aside the fact that I am just a new writer with some fame, even the great writer Edogawa Ranpo, with all his personally signed copies added together, could not possibly be worth more than 50 million yen!

Thinking of all this, Maijo Kyosuke didn't hesitate at all, immediately nodded excitedly, and stretched out his hand, saying:

"Very well! Mr. Tatara! I agree to all your requests! I wish us a pleasant cooperation!"

Kyosuke Maijo and Yoshimasa Tatara shook hands briefly, then reached out to take the manuscript of "Mr. Ultraman's Hands".

But before he could even touch the safe, Katsunori Tatara stopped him:

"Ms. Wucheng, don't worry, you haven't given me the manuscript for 'A Bellflower' yet."

"Once I get the manuscript, I'll give you the manuscript of 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' along with the transparent safe. After all, the manuscript is nearly fifty years old. To ensure that the manuscript doesn't deteriorate, get moldy, or oxidize, it's best to keep it safe in this safe."

Upon hearing Tatara Katsunori's words, Maijo Kyosuke realized that he had been making a fuss over nothing.

But this overwhelming joy didn't allow Maishiro Kyosuke to think too much.

Maijo Kyosuke happily took Eryu Mimi's hand and walked out of "Tatara Used Bookstore," intending to return to Kodansha together to retrieve the manuscript of "A Bellflower"...