Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 223 An Unprecedented Multiple Solutions!

Upon hearing Inspector Kodera's words, Asakura's face showed deep confusion: "Boss, do you mean—the murderer is still hiding there?"

"But Inspector Imagawa has already conducted a search—that's completely impossible, isn't it?"

Inspector Kodera shook his head: "Don't worry, I know Imagawa has already searched the place. Besides, if Uesugi Akira wanted to let the outsider go, there would be no need for him to deliberately create a locked room."

"The setup of the secret room also becomes meaningless; it would only raise suspicions that it was an inside job, which would have the opposite effect."

"Therefore, the last possibility, which is my conclusion, is..."

"Lord Kenshin committed suicide!"

"He shot himself in the head with a Derringer pocket pistol and died instantly!"

"Isn't the old man suffering from severe neurasthenia?"

Asakura shook his head and said reluctantly, "Although I initially believed that Kenshin committed suicide—"

"But Kenshin shot himself in the back of the head. Would someone commit suicide aim for the back of their head?"

Inspector Kodera sighed: "Do I really need to explain this?"

"Do you remember what Imagawa said? The body was sitting in a chair, but the deceased's neck was turned ninety degrees to the left."

"His body was facing the west wall, but only his face was facing the south window."

Asakura shook his head again: "Look out the window. Why is Lord Kenshin looking out the window?"

"Is there something wrong with this strange pose?"

Inspector Kodera prompted, "Asakura, please recall carefully: when did Kenshin die? What did Uesugi Akira say?"

Asakura, recalling Uesugi Akira's words, exclaimed in surprise, "Kenshin died at 3 a.m., and Uesugi Akira said there was thunder and lightning at 3 a.m.!"

Inspector Kodera nodded: "That's right, it's lightning!"

"The following is my speculation, but I think it's pretty close to the truth."

"When Kenshin pointed the gun at his temple, ready to fire."

"Just then, lightning flashed and thunder roared outside! The earth shook violently!"

"In short, the thunder outside the window was incredibly loud. Because Duke Kenshin suffered from severe neurasthenia, he was startled and looked out the window!"

"But because he was so shocked, the muscles in his index finger suddenly tightened, and he accidentally pulled the trigger of the Deringer pocket pistol!"

"And so, a bizarre corpse with its head turned to the left and a gunshot wound to the back of its head is revealed!"

"If we review the case again, the problem will be easily solved!"

"Uesugi Akira's motive for creating the locked room was to cover up the reason for Kenshin's suicide!"

Upon hearing Inspector Kodera's words, Asakura frowned: "But—why would Uesugi Akira build a secret room?"

"Wouldn't it be more convenient to leave some footprints at the entrance?"

Inspector Kodera curled his lip: "That makes sense, but back then, Mitsuru was still gazing at the entrance of 'Okunomiya'."

"Akira Uesugi doesn't want Mitsuru to know the truth about his father's suicide, otherwise it would be that the two of them conspired to stage the scene."

"Uesugi Akira's profession is a doctor, so he can quickly determine the time of death."

"Akira Uesugi realized at the time that throwing away the murder weapon would not solve the problem, because doing so would create a "locked room".

"However, there is one fortunate aspect: the gunshot wound was to the back of the head, and a normal person would never suspect it was suicide."

o

"Therefore, Uesugi Akira used this to create the illusion that Kenshin had been murdered."

"Although there are other ways to disguise it, such as leaving footprints on or outside the window."

"But outside was pure white, unmarked snow. If the footprints left weren't thorough enough, people would become suspicious, so I had no choice but to throw away the pistol."

"Turn the venue into an 'escort room'!"

"On the one hand, it was to deny that the pistol was somehow sent outside by Kenshin."

"

"On the other hand, it's to prove that it wasn't me and Chong who took the pistol out of the locked room and threw it away, but the murderer!"

'

"Kenxin is already a corpse; it's impossible for him to have put the key in his pocket."

"There are actually many ways to meet the first condition."

Asakura interjected, "Boss, but why did Uesugi Akira choose 'creating a secret room'?"

Inspector Kodera continued, "Because Akira Uesugi is hinting at us."

"His hints are quite interesting."

There are two sets of secret rooms on site.

One is a "room escape room", and the other is a "snow escape room".

"Because the two 'locked rooms' are interconnected, a normal person would assume that both 'locked rooms' were created by the same person."

"So Akira Uesugi wants us to believe it."

"If the killer could design a 'locked room,' they must also be able to escape from the 'locked room in the snow'!"

"And then let's pin our hopes on finding the killer who never existed in the first place!"

Asakura still refused to accept this answer: "But—why must Uesugi Akira have concealed his suicide?"

"Is it for the insurance money? Or for some other reason?"

Inspector Kodera frowned: "What are you talking about! Insurance money and the like are nothing compared to an inheritance!"

"Uesugi Akira won't be subject to unwarranted suspicions, which will actually make things easier for him."

Asakura was still puzzled: "So? Why go to all that trouble to 'create a secret room'?"

What exactly is Akira Uesugi thinking?

Inspector Kodera said with a sigh of relief, "The reason is simple: it's about faith!"

"Akira Uesugi was an extremely devout believer, and he deeply abhorred suicide!"

"He wouldn't allow anyone in his family to commit suicide, and he absolutely wouldn't allow outsiders to know that a family member had committed suicide!"

"Although he was not related to Duke Kenshin by blood, Duke Kenshin was still his father in every way."

"The father's suicide is tantamount to fundamentally denying his faith!"

Upon hearing Inspector Kodera's words, Asakura remained silent for a long time before sighing, "What a sad story."

Inspector Kodera shook his head and said with a smile, "Yes, it's quite sad, but Asakura, this is just my speculation, don't take it seriously."

Asakura was somewhat surprised by Inspector Kodera's words: "Boss, this is really not like you."

Inspector Kodera smiled and said, "Indeed, there is no evidence at all. Besides, in another six months, Uesugi Akika will be my brother-in-law."

Upon hearing Inspector Kodera's words, Asakura's brows relaxed: "I see. It seems this case is entering a labyrinth."

"Shall we continue our search for that unseen killer a little longer?"

"By the way—boss, about wanting to get a new car?"

Inspector Kodera smiled and nodded: "It's no big deal. You can change jobs in six months."

Koji knew very well that this bait was necessary.

Then he led Asakura out of the living room, where it began to snow again, covering everything.

Otto Penzel saw this, and his expression turned strangely eerie: "It was suicide!"

"Ms. Maishiro! You—you—while you wrote a very interesting 'locked-room mystery,'—I just can't accept suicide!"

Gonda Manji also looked puzzled: "If it was suicide, then what about the clue button you gave us before, Mr. Maishiro?"

7

"Isn't this just a fake notification?"

Noma Genjiro, Maruta Chika, Hirayama Yumeaki, and Kasai Kiyoshi all stared at Maishiro Kyosuke with strange expressions.

We want a reasonable explanation from Maishiro Kyosuke.

Seeing that all six of them were looking at him like that, Maijo Kyosuke spread his hands and shrugged: "The story isn't over yet. The most exciting part is in the last page you hold in your hands."

"When you finish reading the last page, all your questions will be answered!"

With the same feeling of wanting to trust Maijo Kyosuke once again, Kasai Kiyoshi opened the last page of "Nostalgia" —

"Is there anything you don't understand? Come on! Tell me!"

McCarteau's condescending tone was filled with unusual confidence.

I always felt that this guy was hiding something behind the scenes.

"Meyer, who is that person in the 'Mist Chamber' at three in the morning?"

Who attacked Duke Kenshin?

"And how did that person get out of the 'Palace of the Deepest Palace'?"

"You're not going to say that none of that is relevant to this case, are you?"

I'm furious. Our agreement was that if we couldn't find the murderer, I would publish this lousy article!

In the end, was my cousin's cornea donation all for nothing?

However—if this case is full of loopholes, it's understandable that I can't find them.

A puzzle without an answer, an unfair puzzle, simply doesn't count.

If we can successfully defeat Mercato!

Maybe we can get the bet cancelled, the publication cancelled, and even get him to help us get corneas!

McCarteau's voice came through: "You third-rate writer, there's just no way to deal with you."

"I need to explain in detail for you to understand."

"Listen up! I'm about to start explaining."

"First, in the prologue, in the description of 'between the clouds,' there's a scene where a button falls down."

"The owner of the button is unknown, but the police have not been able to find the button."

"This means that the button has been taken."

"So when were the buttons taken?"

Upon hearing McCarteau's words, I immediately replied, "Of course it was taken after it fell!"

McCarteau shook his head: "Here, I wrote, the button 'remains there forever.'"

Although the word "forever" is somewhat vague, at least one thing is certain: the button wasn't taken away on the spot.

"So when were the buttons removed?"

"Excluding that time, it can only be after dawn."

"That means it only includes the period before and after the body was discovered."

"But during this period, no one can enter or leave the entire Palace of the Inner Palace."

"The button couldn't have been taken by the cat, since the cat was hissing at the time."

"If we follow this scenario step by step..."

"The only person who could have picked up the button was Uesugi Showa and Uesugi Mitsuru."

"Uesugi Akira may have been discovered before the body was found."

"After the body was discovered, and while Uesugi Akira was calling the police, Uesugi Mitsuru was picking up the button."

"As for why he picked up the button? Because the button would reveal his identity, and in this situation, the button clearly belonged to Uesugi Showa and Uesugi Mitsuru."

I frowned at McCarteau's cryptic tone: "We can't generalize! Maybe—that button belonged to Duke Kenshin?"

McCartney shook his head: "If the button belonged to Duke Qianxin, then there would be no need to pick it up. It's precisely because that button would reveal his identity that we need to pick it up."

"Moreover, there is another clue that proves it is not Kenshin's button."

"Can't you tell?"

I'm a little angry. What on earth could this broken button have to do with the case?

McCarteau, seeing my outburst, was actually quite pleased: "Don't you know what independent thinking is?"

"Listen carefully! The popped button bounced off to the right."

"In other words, the unidentified person was wearing clothes that overlapped on the right!"

My expression changed drastically when I heard what McCarteau said.

Although not all women wear clothes that are closed on the right.

Some women also wear clothes that overlap on the left.

However, clothing with the right lapels overlapping the left is definitely women's clothing!

McCarteau continued, "Don't mistake this for a man who 'has a penchant for cross-dressing.'"

"Shall we take a look?"

Who among those present was a woman?

"There's only one person, and that's Chongla!"

When I heard McCartney's words, my head felt like it had turned to mush: "Uesugi Mitsuru is a woman?"

McCarteau gave me a disdainful look: "That's right, she's a woman. The story's over, haven't you realized it yet?"

"If that weren't the case, why is it that the older brother can become a doctor, but the younger brother is opposed to becoming a policeman?"

"The older brother is also single, so why does the younger brother's lack of marriage cause Duke Kenshin so much worry?"

"So, Mitsuru Uesugi is a policewoman."

I can't accept this!

"But! The article uses the term 'brothers'!"

McCarteau continued, "The term 'brothers' is not 'brothers' in the narrow sense. As the ancients said, 'Brothers are those who are close to their father, and by extension, all those of the same surname and clan.'"

"The same goes for 'adopted son.' Any child who is adopted can be called 'adopted son,' just like the term 'them.' We use 'them' whenever a male is mentioned, unless all the children are female, in which case we use 'them.'"

"them"

'

"You're completely wrong to assume that the characters '昭' and '充' are male just because you see them."

Unable to refute this, I decided to try a different approach: "If that's the case, then the person at 'Okunomiya' was Uesugi Mitsuru, but why would Uesugi Mitsuru attack Kenshin? I just can't figure it out!"

McCarteau listened to me and enjoyed it.

I was constantly on guard against him, but I still fell into his rhythm.

"That's just your misunderstanding. I didn't say a word about Chong attacking Duke Qianxin. On the contrary, it was Duke Qianxin who attacked Chong."

"The reason is perfectly normal: Chong is a woman, and Qianxin Gong is a man; the two are not related by blood."

"Chong is a criminal police officer who has received combat training. As a result, Kenshin failed to succeed and was knocked unconscious. But deep in Chong's heart, he must have been left with serious trauma."

"Moreover, Lord Kenshin suffered from severe neurasthenia."

"Once he regained his senses, Kenshin fell into extreme self-loathing and couldn't understand why he had attacked Uesugi Mitsuru!"

"then----"

McCarteau made a gun shape with his hand and placed it on his temple: "Just at that moment, there was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder outside!"

I was dumbfounded: "Isn't this too much of a coincidence?"

McCarteau said nonchalantly, "Most detective novels rely on this kind of trickery."

I was still unconvinced: "Fine! Even if you're right, then explain to me how Uesugi Mitsuru left 'Okunomiya'?"

"If she left through the snow, wouldn't all the previous explanations be invalidated?"

McCarteau chuckled wickedly, "You're really pushing your luck. But the truth is very simple: Uesugi Mitsuru didn't use any tricks at all."

"She simply walked away."

"From 'Okunomiya' to 'Sagano Mansion'."

"Meyer! Where are the footprints?"

McCarteau said nonchalantly, "The snow makes the footprints disappear! In heavy snow, footprints will be covered up completely in just five minutes. Didn't I write that in the book?"

I recalled Imagawa's words: "But—that would only work if it were snowing, right?"

"Didn't Imagawa already check with the weather bureau? The snow had stopped by 3 PM!"

McCarteau continued, "Oh dear! You've misunderstood again. When do you think the fight between the Uesugi father and daughter took place?"

I had a bad feeling: "What time? It happened at three o'clock, didn't it?"

McCarteau looked at me mockingly: "How simple-minded. This happened before that."

Upon hearing McCarteau's words, I flipped through my manuscript with a "whoosh": "What's going on? Isn't it clearly written in the novel? It's three o'clock!"

Upon seeing the time recorded in the manuscript, I was filled with remorse. I realized that the clock in McCatob's trap had sped up—

McCarteau, unconcerned by my regret, continued, "The article never mentioned that it was three o'clock; it only mentioned that the pendulum clock struck three times on its own."

"But clocks aren't gods, they can run fast too."

"That clock was thirty minutes fast, which is why Mitsuru Uesugi went to the living room to watch a movie at 2:30."

"It wasn't that Uesugi Mitsuru misremembered the time; rather, she thought it was three o'clock because the clock struck three times while she was fighting with her father."

"Although she was still shaken, she went to see a movie to avoid worrying her brother, but she arrived thirty minutes early."

"Then Kenshin woke up just after three o'clock, and then 'thunder struck and he turned around'."

I found it hard to accept: "If the clock was slow, didn't Inspector Kotera and the other police officers notice?"

McCarteau shrugged. "It's simple. By the time the police and Inspector Kodera arrived, Mitsuru Uesugi had already set the clock back."

"To put it simply, after discovering Kenshin's body, when Uesugi Akira returned to the Sagano mansion to call the police, Uesugi Mitsuru picked up the button and turned the clock back."

"As for the reason? Uesugi Mitsuru didn't know that Kenshin died by suicide. When she saw the gunshot wound to the back of his head, she must have assumed that Kenshin was murdered. The only person who knew the truth about the suicide was Uesugi Akira."

"Mitsuru Uesugi was very worried about being suspected."

"Because she wasn't a doctor, she couldn't possibly know the exact time of Kenshin's death, nor when the snow stopped, and she certainly didn't understand that the environment had become a 'snow-covered chamber'!"

"After all, it was snowing heavily outside when Uesugi Mitsuru left Okunomiya."

"Under these circumstances, she naturally assumed that Duke Kenshin had been murdered. Desperate to cover up her conflict with him in the early morning, she picked up the button and adjusted the clock!"

"Because if the police find out that the clock in 'Kasumi's Room' is thirty minutes fast, then they will connect it to the fact that she went to the living room thirty minutes early."

"As a criminal police officer, she did not want her reputation to be damaged, so she took a series of reasonable actions."

I was somewhat discouraged, but I still decided to find a flaw in Mercator's writing: "What about the gunpowder reaction? If it were suicide, wouldn't there be a gunpowder reaction on the hands?"

"But you didn't mention it at all in your article, so I think this clue is unfair!"

Mercato calmly picked up the manuscript and turned to the page where the body of Duke Kenshin was discovered:

His head drooped downwards like a withered leaf, the gunshot wound on the back of his head still vividly visible.

It reminds me of a bursting watermelon.

The rough hands swayed weakly, and the morning sun shone through the east-facing window, illuminating the old man's back.

1

"See that? Rough hands."

"I wrote it very clearly in the prologue: Kenshin was wearing gloves and holding a wine glass."

"It is obvious that the gunpowder reaction of Kenshin occurred on the gloves. Both the gun and the gloves were taken by Uesugi Akira. The gun was thrown into the bamboo forest, and the gloves were burned or whatever."

I—I have utterly lost—

Although McCarteau was despicable, his plan was indeed very meticulous.

"But, Mel, didn't you say that?"

"The claim that Duke Kenshin was murdered is utter nonsense!"

McCarteau said nonchalantly, "That's what I told you, not something from a novel. It doesn't matter if it's nonsense."

"It's normal for a conversation to contain a few lies; you're just too naive to believe everything."

"You—you're so stupid—hahahaha!"

"However, seeing your deflated expression, how about I give you a satisfactory answer?"

"Kenxin was murdered, but the question is, who murdered him?"

"The person who fired the shot was the deceased himself."

"He erased himself from this world."

"He died by his own hand, because he was the one who killed him. So no one helped him. He committed the crime alone."

"Now my clue is completely correct!"

"Shall we go? Let's go have dinner?"

Hearing McCarteau's lighthearted words, I felt I couldn't accept it: "Suicide! I can't accept it!"

"Suicide is a voluntary act, not something forced upon you; it is not murder!"

"Furthermore, you also said that in the case of the murder of Duke Qianxin, there were no accomplices, no subsequent accessories, or psychological accessories!"

"But isn't Uesugi Akira a complete accomplice?"

McCarteau frowned upon hearing my words: "What's wrong? Still nitpicking the words! You haven't improved at all!"

"I kindly offered you a gentle, albeit misleading, answer, hoping you'd thank me, but instead you're clinging to the truth?"

"Since that's the case, I might as well tell you everything."

"But you can't regret it after you hear it."

McCarteau began his strange narration: "There are two facts in this story."

One is "Uesugi Kenshin died by suicide".

"The other one is that 'Uesugi Kenshin was murdered'."

7

"In your opinion, these two events seem to be irreconcilable like fire and water."

"But there is such a commonly used theory in mathematics."

"If A = B, A' = C and B ≠ C, then A ≠ A'."

"If you substitute this formula into the facts we just discussed, you'll discover a very interesting phenomenon."

"It proves that the murdered Uesugi Kenshin and the suicided Uesugi Kenshin were two different people," which is very logical.

"However, in this novel, there is only one Uesugi Kenshin, so the other person is not Uesugi Kenshin."

"If I add my special note, since Uesugi Kenshin was murdered, the Uesugi Kenshin who died by suicide is not the real Uesugi Kenshin, but an imposter!"

I shook my head when I heard McCarteau's words: "This—how is this possible?"

McCarteau continued, "Let me finish what I have to say, and I will give you a satisfactory answer."

"If there is an imposter, who is it?"

"One thing is certain: Officer Imagawa knows what Uesugi Kenshin looks like. If the Uesugi siblings lie and claim that the imposter is Uesugi Kenshin, almost no one will believe them."

"Because Uesugi Kenshin was a well-known financial tycoon."

"Such financial giants are bound to have been on television."

"In any case, someone of his caliber could not possibly be impersonated."

"That's where the contradiction arises."

"Since Uesugi Kenshin cannot be impersonated, then who could be the imposter? It's quite simple, isn't it?"

"The Uesugi Kenshin who appeared on TV, the one called the financial tycoon Uesugi Kenshin, is an imposter."

"In that case, the Uesugi siblings' adoptive father is also fake."

"But Uesugi Akira was determined to conceal the truth about his father's suicide, and even created a double-locked room," which shows that he firmly believed that the person who committed suicide was Uesugi Kenshin.

I think I understand now: "Meyer, when were these two switched?"

McCarteau shook his head: "They weren't switched. The person who adopted the Uesugi siblings was also an imposter."

Confused, I pressed further: "Did Uesugi Kenshin have a twin brother?"

"Or is it as Mr. Hargreaves suggested?"

"Is there at least one person in this world who looks exactly like me?"

McCarteau shook his head again: "There are no twins, and no two people look alike."

"Think about it, Uesugi Kenshin's past."

"After ruling out twins and people who look alike, Uesugi Kenshin could only have been switched at birth before he became famous and a public figure."

"At that time, he was the son of a small landowner."

"Being jealous of someone can escalate into something more serious, even leading to mutual hatred."

Hearing Mercator's words, I sensed something was wrong: "Takeda Shingen—"

This completely overlooked name has actually appeared here!

McCarteau smiled and nodded. "Now everything is settled, isn't it?"

"Takenda Shingen rose through the ranks thanks to his talent, eventually becoming a financial tycoon. This man was the true adoptive father of the Uesugi siblings."

"The 'King Kenshin' I used in the text is the affectionate nickname that everyone gave to Takeda Shingen, the chairman of the Uesugi Group."

"You can go back to my manuscript; I've never mentioned 'Kenshin-gong' in any person's words in the article—it refers to Uesugi Kenshin."

"Furthermore, in our conversations, I always called this imposter Kenshin 'Lord Kenshin,' never 'Uesugi Kenshin.'"

"Alright, now we've exposed the imposter's true colors."

"Next, we need to find the person who actually killed 'Uesugi Kenshin'."

"It is known that Uesugi Kenshin was murdered, the murderer acted alone, and the only person who knows about the crime is the murderer himself."

"The most important point is that the killer is on that list of names."

"Then the 'imposter,' Takeda Shingen, is the murderer!"

"So, the ultimate truth is that the person who committed suicide was Takeda Shingen."

"The person who killed Uesugi Kenshin was Takeda Shingen."

"Regarding the two questions in the reader challenge."

[1. How are sealed rooms formed?]

[Second, who was the murderer of Uesugi Kenshin?]

"The correct answer is to explain why Uesugi Akira created the secret room and that the person who killed Uesugi Kenshin was Takeda Shingen."

"As for why Takeda Shingen killed Uesugi Kenshin, it doesn't matter at all."

After hearing what McCarteau said, I was completely speechless.

McCarte then pointed his index finger at the tip of my nose: "Miss, do you know what?"

"The former director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory once set a question in the composition exam."

"Have students compose fugues based on given topics."

"Shostakovich, who was an excellent student at the time, copied the wrong notes and was unable to complete the fugue no matter what."

"He initially thought the problem was unsolvable, or even a trap, but later he realized that he had copied the problem incorrectly."

"The former dean told him that if he couldn't compose a fugue, he would have to find the mistakes in the problem himself, correct them, and then compose the piece."

o

"Mibukuro, do you understand now?"

"Please keep your initial agreement. I have no sympathy for you; you didn't solve the locked room puzzle," and you didn't guess the killer either.

"As per our challenge, you will have to publish this article under your own name. If you have anything to hate, hate yourself for your lack of reading comprehension skills."

After speaking, McCarteau left the room.

At this point, I fully understood Mercator's methods.

He deliberately presented the "suicide" excuse to me.

Then, with his lengthy explanation, he made me overlook the "narrative trick" that he had hidden in the text from the very beginning!

But—I've already lost, and no amount of regret will change that.

McCarteau is a man of his word; he will certainly publish that satirical story in my name.

What should I do? — The New Year has just passed, and I am filled with worry, staring blankly at the twilight sky in the distance.

After reading all the answers to "Nostalgia", Gonda Manji suddenly burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Ms. Mai, you! You really tricked me!"

"If you only present the argument of suicide, I can only say that this is a mediocre work. But the final twist, although somewhat unscrupulous, manages to plant a double narrative trick in a short story."

"Moreover, it incorporates all the elements of 'classic mystery' and is written flawlessly!"

"Truly a work of genius!"

"Throughout the history of detective fiction, no one has ever been able to blend so many elements in a single short story!"

"To say that 'Nostalgia' is the culmination of classic detective fiction is no exaggeration!"

"This time, I lost—but I accept it wholeheartedly!"

After finishing speaking, Gonda Manji turned to look at the people beside him: Hirayama Yumeaki, Kasai Kiyoshi, Otto Penzel, Maruta Chika, and Noma Genjiro.

The five members of the "challenge team" smiled when they heard what Gonda Manji said, and then said in unison, "We lost."

Kasai Kiyoshi smiled and said, "Although I lost to Mr. Maishiro this time, just as Mr. Gonda said, I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

"Because, let alone short mystery stories, even long mystery novels mostly only have one or two..."

One core trick, more than three core tricks, seems to be quite rare.

"But Ms. Maishiro is different. It seems like Ms. Maishiro's inspiration is inexhaustible. She managed to cram in enough elements for other writers to write five novels in just one short story!"

"This is absolutely... truly astounding!"

Maruta Chika nodded in agreement: "Yes, this kind of element, any writer could probably write a very long story about it."

"Speaking of which..."

Maruta Chika stopped mid-sentence, lost in thought, and then looked at Jiang Liu Meili sitting diagonally opposite her, saying, "Meili-mei, I have an idea—"

Jiang Liumei was drawing a six-dimensional table for the reasoning in "Nostalgia" when she heard Maruta Chika's words and looked up: "Chika-nee, what do you say?"

Maruta Chika organized her thoughts for a moment before speaking: "I think it would be a waste if we didn't make good use of the fact that Maishiro-sensei was able to write so many mystery elements in 'Nostalgia'."

"How about—just write all the mystery elements of 'Nostalgia' on the cover of the eighth issue of 'Top Hat' magazine?"

"Although I know that using a title like 'narrative trick' gives me a sense of being completely exposed."

"However, even though the short mystery story 'Nostalgia' mentions a narrative trick," it doesn't affect the reading experience at all.

"Like me, I knew from the beginning that Ms. Mai would use narrative tricks," but even so, I was still completely fooled by her in the end!

"This feeling is actually more interesting!"

Maruta Chika's suggestion can only be a suggestion.

Don't tell her she's President Noma's secretary and girlfriend.

Even if she is the wife of the president of Kodansha, if she wants to interfere in the "Top Hat" magazine, she has to discuss it with Jiang Liumei first and get Jiang Liumei's approval.

Because Jiang Liu Meili is not only the editor-in-chief of Kodansha's short story mystery magazine department, but also the founder of the magazine "Top Hat".

Jiang Liumei tapped her lower lip with a pen cap, pondered for about two or three minutes, and then smiled and said, "Sister Zhijia, your suggestion is very good, I'll take it."

"The cover of the next issue of Top Hat magazine, which is the eighth issue, will be designed according to the way you suggested, Zhijia."

"The cover of The Top Hat magazine features a snowy field with thunder and snow, with only cat paw prints on the snow. A black cat wearing a black top hat stands on the snow, and then the thundering sky is filled with all the mystery elements from the Nostalgia series."

Maruta Chika was delighted to hear that Eri had adopted her suggestion: "Great! Let's take this opportunity to have our challenge team discuss what elements we saw in Maishiro-sensei's 'Nostalgia'?"

"Let me start with the simplest example. In 'Nostalgia,' Ms. Mai used a double-locked room technique. The first is the 'room lock' in 'The Room of Kasumi,' and the second is the snow-covered lock in 'The Palace of the Deepest Valley.'"

Seeing that Maruta Chika was looking at him, Noma Genjiro said, "I haven't read many mystery novels, so I don't really resonate with the mystery elements you mentioned. But what I found most interesting was Uesugi Mitsuru's 'timetable' being thirty minutes late, wasn't it?"

"I was truly shocked when I saw McCarteau say the clock was thirty minutes slow!"

"Because I never imagined that a casual remark by Uesugi Akira could be used as foreshadowing!"

"Furthermore, this foreshadowing is closely linked to the 'locked room in the snow,' although it was caused by an accident, and the 'locked room in the snow' is also dispensable in the overall case."

"But this unexpectedness and coincidence are truly amazing!"

"A different writer could have even written a long novel!"

After Noma Genjiro finished speaking, he turned to look at Hirayama Yumeaki beside him.

Hirayama Yumeaki then continued, "In 'Nostalgia,' Maijo-sensei used the element of 'a work within a work.' Although McCarteau appears to be teasing Mibukuro Sanjo, in reality, McCarteau is engaging in a dialogue with the reader through his work."

"In a sense, it has a strong 'meta' feel to it, which is similar to the so-called 'breaking the fourth wall' in theater."

"I wonder—will Ms. Maishiro ever write a work that makes full use of the 'meta' element in the future?"

Otto Penzel picked up the thread: "In 'Nostalgia,' Ms. Maijo used as many as three narrative tricks," the first being a gender narrative trick targeting Mitsuru Uesugi, the second being McCartney's reader challenge and character list, which included a textual narrative trick, and the third being an "identity narrative trick" involving "Uesugi Kenshin" and "King Kenshin."

"Adding the reader challenge inherited from Ellery Queen's *The National Series* equals two elements of mystery."

Kiyoshi Kasai continued, "In 'Nostalgia,' Ms. Maishiro incorporated elements of foreshadowing and logical reasoning—very pure 'orthodox' mystery fiction elements."

"Whether it's about 'buttons,' 'black cats,' or even subtle foreshadowing elements like 'thunder,' 'believers,' and 'gloves,' a logical chain can be derived from them all!"

"The sheer volume of information it contains rivals even the logically-driven masterpiece, *The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate*, by Professor Wu Cheng!"

"Furthermore, in Ms. Mai's 'Nostalgia,' there is also the disappearance of the murder weapon and the strange arrangement of the corpse. Although it is a suicide, the arrangement of the corpse is also strange."

Seeing that everyone had finished sharing their opinions and it was his turn to conclude, Gonda Manji smiled and said, "You five have each mentioned so many elements of 'Nostalgia,' how could you forget the most important element?"

The five people in front looked puzzled upon hearing Gonda Manji's words: "The most important element?"

Gonda Manji nodded, then said, "Most importantly, of course, is the locked-room motive revealed by Inspector Kodera in the short story 'Nostalgia'."

"Righteousness!"

"What's most important for influencing future generations is the 'lecture notes on reasoning'!"

The concept of "reasoning lecture notes" was first introduced by Professor Dixon Carr in his book "The Three Coffins."

"His 'Secret Lectures' have stood the test of time, influencing countless writers throughout history!"

"Later, there were also lecture notes on missing persons written by Agatha Christie in 'The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim'."

"A poisoning lecture written by Professor Dixon Carr in 'The Green Capsule Mystery'."

7

"Lecture notes on the faceless corpse written by Professor Seishi Yokomizo on 'The Black Cat Hotel Murder Case'".

"Ellery Queen's formulaic murder lectures on 'The Nine-Tailed Cat'".

"Looking at the mystery lecture notes I just mentioned, apart from Professor Seishi Yokomizo's 'Faceless Corpse' lecture notes, almost all of them are by Western authors."

"But now, I am honored to announce!"

"We in Japan now have an author who can write 'mystery guides'!"

"This is a feat that words cannot express!"

"But I'm honored to be here to witness it firsthand!"