Chapter 17 Section 5

When I returned to Pilatus, many onlookers had already gathered in front of the gate.I explained my connection to the incident to the doorman policeman and he let me in. The relevant police officers headed by the Okawara police department are still in the room of Shunsuke Hida.When I entered, the police department had just met a young man, neither fat nor thin, neither tall nor short, in a white shirt, with smooth skin and a bald head, reminiscent of a hard-boiled egg with its skin peeled off. The young man bowed to the police department, walked out of the room with his head slightly down, without even looking at me.As he passed me, I smelled soap on him.

"How is the mayor's daughter?" Ogawara Police Department saw me and asked.He sat in the easy chair Hida Shunsuke sat in a few hours ago, leaning back pretendingly.I don't know if he is careless or too dull. "Still in a coma, it seems to be a slight faint." "Really? It's great that nothing major happens." "By the way, is that the third disciple Baishi just now?" I asked the police department. "Yes, I just came back, and I asked him about the situation. It is said that when the incident happened, he was calling Huotian from the phone booth on the old bookstore street. Suddenly the phone was cut off, and no one answered when he called again. So he came back in a hurry."

"How far is Old Bookstore Street from here?" "If you drive, it will take about ten minutes faster. But he said that he came back by bicycle, so it will take about an hour." "It's hard to prove it." "That's right. However, it is impossible to shoot the victim with a crossbow while talking on the phone." I already know that in this world, cell phones don't exist. At this time, there seemed to be movement in the back room, that is, Shunsuke Hida's workshop where the eucalyptus was discovered, mixed with voices. "Still investigating the scene?" I asked.

The police department shook its head. "It's from the publishing house. He said he was looking for something, so I asked someone to accompany him." "Looking for something?" "I heard it's a manuscript, a novel." "Manuscript..." I opened the door, and there was a short and fat man, with his shirt sleeves rolled up, looking through the drawers of the desk.The policeman next to him looked serious. "Should there be a manuscript?" I looked at the man's back and asked. The man turned his thick and short neck and turned his head. "you are……"

"My name is Tianxiayi, and I'm a detective." "Mr. Detective Tianxiayi..." He repeated as if confirming, then tilted his head slightly, "Tianxiayi? Tianxiayi... oops." "What's wrong?" "Please wait a moment." He took out the notebook from the jacket pocket on the chair next to him, unfolded a piece of white paper inside, looked down, and turned around with an ah. "What is this piece of paper? Is there something wrong with my name?" "Excuse me. This is my business card. I'm Mr. Hida's editor in charge. It may be more accurate to say that." The name of a publishing house I have never heard of is printed on the business card, and his name Udogawa so and so.

"I heard that you are looking for manuscripts?" I asked, looking at the square business card and Udogawa's round face. "Yes. There should be one here. I must find it." The writers were all killed, but the editor was still thinking about the manuscript.His professionalism left me speechless for a moment.It turns out that the world is different, but the essence of editing is the same. "Have you asked him to write? How do you know if he has written it?" According to my experience in the original world, even if today is the deadline, the writer may not be able to finish writing.

But Udogawa said confidently: "No, there must be some manuscripts." "why?" "Yesterday I received a call from him. It seems that he has written a lot, and he told me to pick up the manuscript in two or three days." "Is it okay if the manuscript is not finished?" "Of course." He said with an editorial face, "Because Mr. Hida passed away, a special issue about commemoration will definitely be published next month. Therefore, there must be works by Mr. It doesn't matter even if it is not completed. No. , it should be said that unfinished works are more contagious. We even thought that if we found a completed manuscript, we would treat it as an unfinished manuscript, and only publish two-thirds of it, and then publish it after a while The remaining one-third claimed to have found precious manuscripts."

"Aha..." I didn't know how to comment and looked at him in admiration.It's amazing! "That's how things are." Udogawa looked around, "I want to bring back my husband's manuscript today anyway, but I can't find it now." "Approximately how many pages are there?" "It should be more than a hundred pages, and the title is 'The Murder at the Inclined Pavilion'." "Murder incident?" This word is very new in this world. Udogawa picked up the white paper, shook it, and said: "This is the outline sent by Mr. Huotian in advance: the stage of the story is a European-style villa built on a hillside. One night, the master held a banquet and invited Old friends and local celebrities gathered together. After the banquet, most of the guests went back, and only a few friends with better relations continued to drink. However, the traffic between the villa and the city was damaged, and the communication was also interrupted. The villa was completely isolated. Unfortunately, it was snowing again outside. In this case, a guest disappeared. Everyone looked around, and finally found the body of the guest. He was in the Someone was murdered on a slope. There is a cable car in the villa, but it takes tens of minutes to take the cable car back and forth. None of the other guests have left for a long time. Who is the murderer? How did he commit the crime—” the editor breathed out Reading this, looking up at me, as if to see my reaction.

This is a Benge mystery novel, I thought.In this world where there is no such book in the library and the concept of basic reasoning is missing, Shunsuke Hida is trying to create such a novel?As a social mystery novelist, why did he do this? "Also, the name of the character responsible for solving the puzzle in the novel, that is, the protagonist of the novel, is like this." Udogawa said, pointing to a part of the outline and showing it to me. Detective Tensakaichi, who happened to attend this banquet, is about to challenge this mystery. ah?I couldn't help rubbing my eyes, and looked at it carefully again.

"One in the sky?" "Yeah. Your name is Tianxiayi. It's not just a coincidence. He probably got inspiration from your name. Did you and Mr. Huotian know each other a long time ago?" "Maybe." I suddenly remembered.It's a news report. Mayor Hino knew about me from the newspaper.It seems that there is such a report: The detective Tianxia with a clear mind successfully cracked the murder case of the Shen family... Perhaps Hida Shunsuke also read that report.When he started writing this mystery novel, he borrowed my name, modified it slightly and gave it to the protagonist.

However, when I talked about it, Udogawa was very surprised. "The Murder at Bishen's House... Is there such a report? I have always read newspapers carefully, but in my memory, there seems to be no such report." "I saw it with my own eyes." "Really? It must be because I didn't pay attention." Udogawa still looked uneasy. "Let's not talk about that." I said, "When did Hida-san start writing this kind of novel? It's the kind of novel that unravels the unsolvable mystery of the murder." "Ah, this is the first time. Haven't you never read this type of novel before? You have never read such a novel, have you?" Udogawa raised his voice, as if to say to me: You The question is as stupid as it gets. "So, Mr. Hida will be the pioneer of this kind of novel?" "That's right." It seems that my words are in line with his intentions, and he nodded vigorously, "After this novel is published, it will definitely become a hot topic in the streets and alleys. After all, it represents a new type of novel Birth. Mr. Hida will definitely continue to live in the literary world." Speaking of this, Udogawa suddenly became depressed. "Oh, well, Mr. was murdered, what can I say. It's a huge loss, the murderer is too hateful." He looked back at the bookshelf and sighed, "Now is not the time to lament, If you can't find Mr.'s manuscript, you can't announce to everyone how important and epoch-making something he did during his lifetime. Mr. Tianxiayi, you seem to be the prototype of the protagonist of this novel. Regarding the manuscript, Mr. Tell you Did anything happen?" "Absolutely not." "that's true." Udogawa looked at his watch, as if he felt that he had wasted time, shook his head, and continued to search. I walked out of Shunsuke Hida's room and went to the first floor.Next to the communal kitchen are the rooms of the three disciples.There are whiteboards with names posted on each door. I knocked on the door marked "Akagi". "Wait a minute," said a low voice. I saw Akagi trembling through the crack of the door, so I said I had something to ask him. "Please." He seemed reluctant, but let me into the room anyway. The disciple's room is indeed very small, only about six squares in size. A bed, a table, and some daily necessities fill up the entire room.He made me sit on the chair at the table while he sat on the bed. "I heard you were questioned by the police." "Ok……" "They don't suspect you now, do they?" "Fortunately, I was with Miss Xiaolu at that time." Akagi scratched his scalp. "What a disaster." "Ah, I understand how the police feel. Because, I do hate the teacher." When I heard the weak-looking Akagi say the word "hate" through gritted teeth, I couldn't help but look up at him. "My works are always devalued by him." I remembered the scene when Hida scolded Akagi. "It's always the same. The teacher said the same thing. The characters are not portrayed enough. This kind of thing is not a novel. Go back to the countryside. I don't know how many times he has said this." "Is your work the only one being scolded?" "I don't know. I don't know how the teacher evaluates their works." "Then...why did Mr. Hida belittle your work so much? Is it because you really don't write well?" Akagi shrugged his round shoulders and said, "My own words are not convincing, but I don't think so." "That's why?" "Maybe it's because..." Akagi hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Jealousy." "Jealousy... jealousy of what?" "That is to say..." He spread his hands and said, "I am young and talented." "what……" I thought he was joking, but it looked like he was serious.I really can't understand that when he said such a thing, he didn't feel embarrassed at all. "You may think I'm arrogant." Akagi seemed to see through my thoughts. "No, how should I put it, it's self-confidence." "I want to start a revolution in the world of fiction." He clenched his right fist, "In a completely fictional world created by the author, incredible events happen, and then a protagonist who solves the mystery appears—I think Write a novel like this." I stared at his somewhat childish face.It turned out that this young man also wanted to write a mystery novel. "Mr. Hida seems to be writing it. It's called 'The Inclined Museum Murder Incident'. Have you heard of it?" "No, I haven't heard of it, but I don't think it is possible for the teacher to write that kind of novel." Akagi replied firmly. Walking out of Akagi's room, I came to Aono's room. "I think the teacher's talents have been exhausted." After I relayed what Udogawa said to me, Aono said coldly. "It's really ruthless." "It is true that he was all the rage as a socialist writer, and we voted for him with admiration for him and aspirations for writers, but what the teacher has written recently is really bad, without any aggressiveness, and without any Challenging. No matter what he writes, it's a reprint of an old story, an imitation of previous work. I can't believe that he can write the kind of work you just said." "However, it is said that he wrote such a work, but only left a sketch." "If that's true..." Ao Ye hesitated at first, but quickly continued, "I'm afraid it's plagiarizing someone else's work." "Oh? Whose work?" "I don't know that." "That is to say, it's not your work?" "Well, no." "You're not interested in that kind of novel, are you?" Aono stared at me, was silent for a while, took a piece of paper from the top of the pile of manuscript paper on the table, and handed it to me. The title of the novel, "The Swastika Murder Incident" was written on it. "The future will be the era of this kind of novel. I want to use this kind of novel to set off a revolution in the novel world." His thin body trembled slightly for a moment, like a soldier trembling before going into battle. There is no bed in Shiraishi's room, so when he sleeps, he spreads a quilt on the tatami.Therefore, a low dining table can be placed in the room, and we sit opposite each other across this dining table.I crossed my legs while he sat on his knees.For him with a monk's head, this sitting method is more suitable.He probably loves to be clean. There is a towel rack in the corner of the room, and there are three towels hanging on it. "I don't think Mr. has fallen." He straightened his back like a practicing monk. "It may be more appropriate to say that the times have changed, and it can also be said that his works are no longer suitable for readers' tastes." "Are you saying that this is no longer the era of social mystery novels?" "No, it's a question of the way of expression. Even if the same material is used, the cooking method is different, and the taste is different." I took a liking to his crisp and clear way of speaking.Shunsuke Hida's favorite disciple is probably also this young man. "What do you think of this novel written by Mr. Huotian? It seems completely different from what he wrote before." "I can't comment on works that I haven't read." Shiraishi was right, and that's actually the case. "It is impossible to judge Mr.'s true intentions only through a summary. Conversely, at the stage of writing the summary of the work, no matter who wants to challenge the epoch-making work, the question is whether it can be completed in the end." "I agree with you. Unfortunately, it seems that the manuscript has not been found yet." "So, isn't it possible that the teacher can't write this kind of work at all?" Baishi said calmly. I began to want to spoil his gesture. "What if you? Can you write this type of novel?" Shiraishi didn't show the slightest bit of distress.He stood up without saying a word, and picked up a notebook from another low table. "Look," he said. I opened the notebook, and the text on it was densely packed, like a novel. The name of the work is "The Chamber of Secrets". "Where did you know the word Chamber of Secrets?" Baishi replied with a straight chest: "I figured it out myself." After meeting with the three disciples, I went outside.There are far fewer police officers.I looked around, wondering if the Ogawara Police Department was still there.Fortunately, our amiable and lovely police department is standing at the door to issue instructions to a subordinate. "Police," I called. "Are you going back?" "Not going home." He seemed indignant, and said, "I'm going back to the county police headquarters." "Have you found any clues?" "Well, a lot. But, I won't tell you. I can't always lose to a layman detective like you." The police department said maliciously. "Do you still insist that the murderer fled into the woods?" "This..." The police department turned his head away, twitching his nose.What a man who can't lie. "The murderer..." I looked at his side and said, "It's inside." "What?" The police department became serious, and then looked suspicious again, "You are lying, don't talk nonsense!" "What's the point of me telling such a lie?" "However, if the murderer is inside, there are only you, the mayor's daughter, and three disciples. His family members have all traveled abroad." "Isn't it enough to have so many suspects?" "However, everyone has an alibi. For a moment, I thought Akagi was suspicious, but he seemed to be with the mayor's daughter all the time." "You can't look at a certain person alone. To solve the mystery of this incident, you must look at the overall situation." "Overall..." Ogawara police department crossed their arms and whispered with a blank face, "I don't quite understand what you mean." "Anyway, I have basically solved the incident. Okawara Police Department, I have something to ask you." "What's up?" "I would like to ask you to cooperate with me in conducting an experiment, and then ask all relevant personnel to gather in Shunsuke Hida's room." "Experiment... what do you want to do?" "You will know after watching it, please look forward to it." I closed one eye and signaled to the police department.