Chapter 141

After a simple warm-up by the host, a middle-aged man wearing a traditional men's kimono walked to the front of the stage, held the microphone, and said, "I am Hehe Shinta, Vice Chairman of the Mystery Writers Association, and I am in charge of this Mystery Writers Association Award and Newcomer Award ceremony."

Akiwara Yuto, sitting in the audience, was somewhat puzzled; after all, isn't this kind of awards ceremony usually presided over by the Chairman? Why is the Vice Chairman presiding?

And the surname Hehe reminded him of the words he had just been relayed... "don't need to worry too much"...

Murata Anka, sitting to the side, seemed to see his confusion and lowered her voice, saying, "It is said that because the current Chairman is unwell, this Vice Chairman Hehe is about to take on the position of the next Chairman."

Hearing this, Akiwara Yuto suddenly realized; if this is the case, then everything makes perfect sense.

Just as the two were whispering, Hehe Shinta, holding the microphone, continued to speak: "... As an organization with over 80 years of history... we are very grateful for the contributions all the writers have made to the association... therefore, we have specially established..."

After speaking for nearly an hour, Hehe Shinta finished the official pleasantries and stated the content that interested Akiwara Yuto the most: "Next, we will present this year's Mystery Writers Association Award and the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award."

After finishing this sentence, he did not step down immediately, but paused slightly, and another man in a suit hurried onto the stage and handed him a list.

Just then, many reporters with long lenses and short cannons walked to the front of the stage one after another, starting to crouch down to take photos and film.

Akiwara Yuto sat up straight, looking ahead, his heart inevitably becoming nervous. The other two candidates beside him, Murata Anka and the other gloomy man, also showed uneasy expressions.

After three minutes, Hehe Shinta, standing on the stage, took the list and announced the selection results into the microphone: "The authors who have won this year's Mystery Writers Association Award and the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award are Sudo Shuichi and Akiwara Yuto, respectively."

Hearing this result, Akiwara Yuto completely relaxed, and he clenched his fists tightly. The two people beside him, however, could not help but show expressions of disappointment.

Immediately afterward, some guests in the auditorium began to applaud, and after a while, the applause grew louder and louder.

Listening to the applause, Kihara Daigo and Takei Kohei, sitting in the partner's seats, were a bit incredulous for a moment, especially Takei Kohei, whose facial expression suddenly became extremely rich.

Confusion, suspicion, surprise, distress—all kinds of emotions could be found on his face.

Why did Akiwara Yuto, a writer who had clearly been blocked by his own efforts, win this award?

You have to know that the difficulty of winning the Newcomer Award is actually even greater than the Mystery Writers Association Award!

Although the Mystery Writers Association Award sounds more impressive, its selection scope is smaller and it has extremely harsh regulations, requiring writers to have debuted for over 15 years and not have won the same award before.

Although the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award carries the name "Newcomer Award," its selection scope is all writers who have debuted for less than 15 years, and even those who have not debuted can submit work. Because the threshold is low, the number of submitted manuscripts received is countless.

Due to such harsh regulations, almost all contracted writers from the four major publishing houses were wiped out, and not a single one was shortlisted.

Looking at Akiwara Yuto, he was actually able to be shortlisted and win in this situation; it is simply unbelievable. Is he a monster?

Takei Kohei bit his lip tightly, and he quickly realized a fact.

Akiwara Yuto, after winning the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award, will inevitably become a candidate heavily promoted by the Mystery Writers Association.

This also means that his previous blockade of the other party must end as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it is very likely that he will be met with dissatisfaction from the Mystery Writers Association.

Takei Kohei frowned and made a decision.

After returning tomorrow morning, he must immediately communicate with the Public Relations Bureau and demand that everyone deny having previously blocked Akiwara Yuto...

Akiwara Yuto did not know about Takei Kohei's plans; his current mood was filled with joy.

He stood up, smiled and signaled to the two people beside him, and then, together with the writer named Sudo Shuichi, was led to the podium by a woman in a kimono responsible for ceremonial work.

During this process, Akiwara Yuto subconsciously sized up this Mr. Sudo, finding him to be about 40 years old, thin, with a serious expression, and looking like someone who didn't joke around.

Akiwara Yuto had some other thoughts at this moment.

When he first debuted, he was even labeled by some as the second "Sudo Shuichi," and it took a long time to shake off that title. As a result, now that he and the other party have won the Mystery Writers Association Award and the Newcomer Award respectively, he expects to be rumored as the "second" again.

It really gives one a headache.

The two followed the woman in the kimono to the middle of the stage. Immediately afterward, Chairman Hehe took two certificates symbolizing honor from the hands of the woman in the kimono.

Under the lights and the gaze of hundreds of people in the audience, he handed these two certificates to Sudo Shuichi and Akiwara Yuto one by one.

But whether it was an illusion or not, Akiwara Yuto always felt that the look Chairman Hehe gave him had an inexplicable meaning.

After the presentation, applause rang out again in the audience, and the reporters also held their long lenses and short cannons, pressing the shutters continuously.

After waiting for a full 3 minutes, the applause slowly became sparse.

Chairman Hehe looked around the audience and then said, "Next, I invite the two winners to share their acceptance speeches."

After saying this, he handed the microphone to Sudo Shuichi, who nodded to express his gratitude, took the microphone, and began to speak.

"I am grateful to the judges of the Japan Mystery Writers Association, and I am grateful to the guests present as well as all my friends. Being able to win the Mystery Writers Association Award today is a tremendous encouragement to me...

"The essence of literature is to find the possibility of exploring one's own development on the foundation of one's predecessors. In this process, I finally understood what I wanted to write and what I wanted to do..."

"Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the Mystery Writers Association once again."

After finishing these words, applause rang out again in the audience, and amidst the flashes of the reporters constantly pressing their shutters, Sudo Shuichi took two steps back and bowed deeply.

Then, he handed the microphone in his hand to Akiwara Yuto, and squeezed a smile from his stern face.

Akiwara Yuto nodded to express his gratitude, then took the microphone and began to deliver his own acceptance speech.

"I am grateful to the Japan Mystery Writers Association and all the guests for their encouragement. I am very honored to be standing in this position today."

Saying this, a series of events that happened today suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The letter received at the door of his room, the words relayed by Mr. Takeda in the auditorium, the inexplicable look from Chairman Hehe at the end, and his own final deduction.

He paused for 2 seconds, and then, under the confused gazes of the people in the audience, continued to speak:

"Besides this, I also want to deeply thank Mantan Society for their 'support'!"