Chapter 127: It Was for Society!

The next morning, Chiyoda Ward, at the home of Akiwara Yuto.

He was wearing pajamas when he received a call from Anjiu Bookstore.

The familiar voice of Anjiu Jin Gangyi came through the receiver, "Akiwara, I just got a call from the *Adachi Shimbun*. A reporter says they would like to interview you."

"An interview? Me?" Akiwara Yuto was a bit confused.

Generally speaking, book critics publish their reviews directly in newspapers or journals; there is no reason to interview the author, just as one doesn't need to go specifically to see the chef just because the sushi tastes good.

Seeing Akiwara Yuto's confusion, Anjiu Jin Gangyi said, "The other party is named Sakaguchi Keito. He says he is a reporter for the Social News Department of the *Adachi Shimbun* and wants to interview the author of *The Death of a Mystery Novelist*, Akiwara Yuto."

After a pause, Anjiu Jin Gangyi pressed further, "Akiwara-sensei, did you write a book called *The Death of a Mystery Novelist*?"

As he said this, he felt a bit uneasy. Could it be that Akiwara Yuto was going to collaborate with another publisher or move to a major publishing house? Otherwise, why hadn't he told him about this?

Akiwara Yuto was actually quite surprised to hear this. He had assumed that the online serialization of *The Death of a Mystery Novelist* had ended in failure, and he hadn't expected it to attract anyone's attention.

However, upon hearing Anjiu Jin Gangyi's question, he admitted it quite frankly: "It was a serialization I previously posted on a website, and I intend to have Anjiu Bookstore publish it later."

Although he intended to have Anjiu Bookstore publish it, he felt the contract's profit-sharing terms needed to be changed.

After all, now that the book had gained online exposure, it could be considered a steady stream of income; there was no need for Anjiu Bookstore to invest a large amount in advertising fees, so conceding 5% of the profits was the absolute maximum.

Hearing Akiwara Yuto's words, Anjiu Jin Gangyi, though still puzzled as to why he would serialize it online, felt relieved and replied, "Akiwara-sensei, what about the interview? Will you accept?"

Akiwara Yuto thought for a moment and decided to accept. After all, a bit more exposure was for the best, even if it was for so-called social news.

"Please provide my address to them, and tell them to schedule it for 9: 0 AM the day after tomorrow."

"Understood," Anjiu Jin Gangyi replied, and then ended the call.

Putting down the receiver, Akiwara Yuto went to the dining room, took some bread he had bought at a convenience store from the fridge, and began reading the newspaper he had received that morning while he ate.

At that moment, he saw a headline that interested him—"Mystery Writers Association Award and Mystery Literature Newcomer Award to Announce Shortlist Soon"—Akiwara Yuto put down his bread and began to read carefully.

"According to relevant members of the Mystery Writers Association, the submission process for this year's Association Award and Newcomer Award has concluded and is about to enter the initial screening phase. Works that pass the initial screening will be submitted to five judges for the final round of selection to determine the ultimate winning works..."

After finishing the content, Akiwara Yuto fell into deep thought.

When he had first started collaborating with *New Novel*, Asano Aiko had informed him of the importance of winning awards, so he had considered other channels to win one at the time to increase his reputation in the literary world.

He had chosen this Newcomer Award competition and adapted a work from his memory to submit.

It should be known that to adapt this work, he had even entrusted Asano Aiko to use her connections to find an insider at the Metropolitan Police Department to consult; beyond that, he had read quite a lot of relevant material at the library.

It could be said he had put in quite a lot of effort!

But unexpectedly, after submitting, he never received any reply, making him think the adapted work hadn't resonated and had sunk without a trace.

As it turned out, it was only just entering the initial screening!

The administrative efficiency was truly slow.

Though, perhaps one couldn't say that; after all, this was a national-level award, and it was normal for it to be a bit slow to review submissions from all over the country.

Looking at it this way, he still had hope of winning this heavyweight Newcomer Award...

Akiwara Yuto put down the newspaper, feeling a bit excited.

But soon he told himself not to expect too much; after all, the setback he encountered with the Mantan Society Literature Award was still hard to forget.

Forget it, he should just focus on preparing for the interview the day after tomorrow.

Time quickly reached 9: 0 AM the day after tomorrow. Akiwara Yuto was sitting at his desk organizing *The Death of a Mystery Novelist* into a manuscript when he suddenly heard the "ding-a-ling" of the doorbell downstairs.

He went downstairs and opened the door to find a young man in a suit standing outside. The man had a light brown complexion and didn't look much like a Japanese person.

Upon seeing Akiwara Yuto, the young man bowed politely and greeted him: "Nice to meet you. I am Sakaguchi Keito, a reporter from the Social Department of the *Adachi Shimbun*. Please treat me well."

After finishing this sentence, he straightened up and respectfully handed over a business card.

Akiwara Yuto took the card, introduced himself politely, and invited the other party into the house.

Sakaguchi Keito nodded, said "Excuse the intrusion," changed into slippers at the Xuanguan, and followed Akiwara Yuto to the living room on the second floor.

After accepting the tea Akiwara Yuto handed him, he said "Thank you" and asked, "Akiwara-sensei, can we begin the interview now?"

Akiwara Yuto nodded and sat down cross-legged.

The two sat around a coffee table and began their face-to-face conversation.

Sakaguchi Keito took out paper and pen and said, "Before the interview, I would like to understand your personal background first. Could you briefly elaborate?"

Akiwara Yuto nodded and replied, "I was born in Hokkaido, an orphan, and grew up in a Fuli Academy."

Following that, he repeated the story he had told Asano Aiko when he first submitted his work, describing the tragedy of his childhood.

After all, this was the true experience of the original body, so it wasn't exactly a lie.

Moreover, the more tragic the background, the more it tended to evoke sympathy from readers, which could serve as a motivation for them to purchase the work.

Sakaguchi Keito took notes while thinking to himself.

If he was from an orphanage, then there was no way to confirm if Akiwara Yuto was Ainu, but the other party had prominent facial features, and it was in Hokkaido, after all...

But his skin tone was a bit different... Could he be mixed-race...

He thought for a moment and continued to ask, "The purpose of my visit this time is to interview you, Akiwara-sensei, about why you put the article *The Death of a Mystery Novelist* on the internet. Could you briefly explain?"

The corners of Akiwara Yuto's mouth twitched unnaturally.

The purpose of putting it on the internet was just to drive traffic; if he had known the traffic-driving effect was so poor, he might not have put it up in the first place.

But he couldn't say it like that; he had to think of a more high-sounding reason.

Akiwara Yuto was silent for a moment, then answered with a feigned air of profundity.

"It was for society!"