Chapter 166: The Invisible Guest (Free Chapter)

Time passed quickly. Under the arrangements of the *April Youth* editorial department, Akiwara Yuto's manuscript soon finished the processes of proofreading, typesetting, and more, and was sent to the printing plant for printing and distribution.

By Monday morning, this batch of *April Youth* books had already been delivered to bookstores throughout Tokyo via the Kakeokan logistics system.

……

Setagaya Ward, Yamazaki Bookstore.

Asano Aiko picked up a stack of books, walked to the literary section she was responsible for, and began her daily work.

Looking at the different types of books on the display table and shelves, she began to think.

How should these books be positioned today?

She first placed the stack of books in her hand on the display table and tidied up the bookshelf.

Then, after a rough glance, she moved the *New* journal, which had originally been on the middle-lower shelf, to the very bottom position.

After all, this journal had been selling worse and worse lately, and readers had even complained that the quality of the articles inside was terrible.

Since that was the case, its spot should be given up to books that sold better.

After finishing the bookshelf, Asano Aiko turned her gaze to the display table and began to think again.

On this display table were the stand-alone books and journals with high popularity and sales recently.

But the tastes of readers and the market often changed, so the positions on the display table were not set in stone.

For example, the four slots on the bottom right of the display table originally held *The Matter of Spiriting Away* by popular author Sudo Shuichi.

But because of the series of news regarding Akiwara Yuto recently, *Manslaughter*, *Death of a Mystery Writer*, and *The Devotion of Suspect X* had become even better sellers.

So, to increase overall sales, Asano Aiko compressed the display space for *The Matter of Spiriting Away* to just one slot, to make room for those three works by Akiwara Yuto.

Asano Aiko picked up a copy of *Manslaughter*; the book band on it bore the words "Mystery Literature Newcomer Award."

Seeing this line, Asano Aiko's thoughts were a bit complex.

Two months ago, she had accompanied the staff of Ankyu Bookstore to hold a book signing for this Akiwara-sensei inside the store.

She hadn't expected that not long after, he would have already earned such an honorary title.

He was truly worthy of being the "talented writer" recognized by book critics!

Just as she was feeling sentimental, the manager's voice came from behind her.

"Asano, the new issue of *April Youth* has arrived. You're in charge of arranging the display."

Asano Aiko turned around, then bent over to take the books handed to her.

"Understood, I'll arrange it. It goes on the bookshelf, right?"

In her view, the recent sales of *April Youth* were also disastrous, so putting it on the display table was a waste of space; just slotting it onto the shelf would do.

But to her surprise, the manager didn't respond, but instead smiled.

"Where you arrange it is up to you, but I suggest you take a look at the cover of this book first."

After saying this, the manager waved his hand and left.

Asano Aiko, having taken the books, was left with a look of confusion.

She thought for a moment, then placed the stack of *April Youth* on the display table and pulled one out to look at it.

On the cover of this magazine was a gray storm cloud, and beneath the cloud was a man with only half his face visible.

Directly above these images was a line of text: "*The Invisible Guest*, by Akiwara Yuto."

Seeing this name, Asano Aiko was surprised.

Hadn't Akiwara-sensei just released a stand-alone book?

How could he have released another work so soon?!

Did he not need to brainstorm when he wrote?

Come to think of it, why was he collaborating with *April Youth* again?

Holding her doubts, Asano Aiko opened the magazine, found Akiwara Yuto's work, and began to read.

But as she read, she found herself becoming engrossed.

……

The story took place in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.

At 6: 0 AM on this day, a noblewoman wearing high-end formal attire walked into a luxury hotel and pressed the elevator button for the 13th floor.

As the elevator doors slowly closed, this woman, who looked to be in her 40s, straightened her clothing and checked her appearance.

The elevator doors opened, and the noblewoman stepped out, walking along a corridor decorated with ukiyo-e paintings until she reached the end, where the hotel's presidential suite was located.

The noblewoman took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and behind it was a man with sleepy eyes.

Seeing the man, the noblewoman bowed and said, "Are you Mr. Sukō Nobuyuki? I am Watanabe Saki, the lawyer in charge of your case. Lawyer Matsui introduced me. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The man named Sukō Nobuyuki was not yet fully awake and only nodded in response.

"Give me a few minutes to change."

After saying this, Sukō Nobuyuki opened the door and gestured for Watanabe Saki to come in and wait.

As for himself, he walked to the bathroom deep inside the suite and closed the door.

Watanabe Saki walked in; she first closed the door behind her, then looked around: directly in front of the presidential suite, the television was on.

And on the TV screen, an NHK live broadcast was reporting the news.

"Today's headline is the funeral of Morita Makiko. According to the Metropolitan Police Department's speculation, the suspect who killed her is likely her wealthy lover, Sukō Nobuyuki, but the latter claims he was framed..."

Watanabe Saki was watching the screen when a voice came from behind her.

"Lawyer Watanabe, I thought you would be here later."

Watanabe Saki turned around, saw the client who had already changed his clothes, and replied with a smile, "Mr. Sukō, some circumstances arose, so I arrived a bit earlier."

Sukō Nobuyuki was a bit confused. "I can't get through to Lawyer Matsui right now, but he told me you could be trusted and that there were no problems with my case."

He had originally hired a lawyer named Matsui, but that person had been tied up with other matters and had entrusted him to this female lawyer named Watanabe Saki.

Watanabe Saki said sternly, "Mr. Sukō, the situation has changed temporarily; you have to appear in court today."

"What?!" Sukō Nobuyuki was surprised. "I didn't receive any notification. What happened?"

"The prosecution says they have found an eyewitness who may have an adverse effect on your case. Therefore, the court has summoned you and requires you to arrive at the Tokyo District Court by 9: 0."

Watanabe Saki paused, then added, "There are only three hours left until the trial begins. I need more of your testimony!"

Hearing this request, Sukō Nobuyuki hesitated and replied, "I have already told the truth about all the facts."

But Watanabe Saki shook her head. "Your previous testimony is still incomplete, so you need to supplement it further."

After saying this, she sat on the sofa, facing Sukō Nobuyuki.

"If there are more details, I can make them believe you are innocent. Don't worry, up until now, I have never lost a case."

Sukō Nobuyuki frowned and began to think. He did not doubt the claim about never having lost a case.

He knew that this female lawyer introduced by an acquaintance was known for her ruthless methods and would stop at nothing to win.

But he was still very hesitant, responding, "The police are monitoring me 24 hours a day, making me feel like I'm in prison."

Watanabe Saki pretended not to hear his words and said very forcefully.

"Mr. Sukō, we still have 180 minutes to go over the ins and outs of the time, so please stop nagging and work with me. Excuse me."

After saying this, she took a timer out of the bag she was carrying and pressed the button.

Seeing this, Sukō Nobuyuki could only swallow hard and sit opposite this forceful female lawyer.

Seeing his action, Watanabe Saki nodded with satisfaction and began to ask, "On the day of the incident, the hotel where you and the deceased were was more than 300 kilometers away from your home. Why did you go there?"

Sukō Nobuyuki shifted his gaze to the side.

"At the time, someone knew about the affair between Morita Makiko and me and threatened to tell my wife, demanding that we go there. For the sake of my family, I had no choice but to follow his instructions."

He paused, then added, "The other party demanded 50 million yen and promised to help me hide this matter. In my view, this amount of money was far less than the property loss I would face from a divorce."

Watanabe Saki took out a notebook and wrote this down.

Then she looked up and asked in a skeptical tone.

"But why would the other party make you go to a place more than 300 kilometers away? Don't you find that strange?"

Sukō Nobuyuki waved his hand.

"What does it matter which hotel was chosen? My current trouble is that the prosecution is charging me with murder! Lawyer Watanabe, please just focus on that!"

After this, a dispute broke out between the two—Sukō Nobuyuki only wanted to be acquitted, but Watanabe Saki demanded to know every detail.

After 10 minutes, Watanabe Saki paused for a moment, frowned, and said, "Let's not talk about that for now, Mr. Sukō. First, tell me briefly about the email you received inviting you to the hotel."

Sukō Nobuyuki breathed a sigh of relief, then began to speak as he recalled.

"Before receiving that email, we had already waited for nearly two hours and were just about to leave. But suddenly, I received that email, and it was actually sent to me using Makiko's email account."

"At the time, I was with Makiko, and we were both very surprised. But we still followed the address in the email and went to the Yamanashi Sakamoto Hotel, and checked into Room 715."

"After waiting in the room for a while, I suspected it was a trap and intended to leave. But just as I was packing my wallet and clothes in front of the mirror, someone attacked me from behind, and then I lost consciousness."

"When I woke up, I found a statue in my hand. And at this moment, there was a knock on the door outside."

"Only then did I discover that Makiko was lying on the floor, and next to her was the cash I had brought. I called out to her desperately, but she didn't respond at all. Just then, the police from the Metropolitan Police Department broke in with a master key and saw this scene."

"This saddled me with the charge of being a murderer."

After finishing this, Sukō Nobuyuki's eyes turned red, and he even shed tears.

Watanabe Saki was silent for a moment, then took out a document and read it.

"According to the police report, the witness heard a scream that day, but he claimed that no one left your room at the time. And according to the police inspection, the door lock and door chain of Room 715 were both in their fixed positions. Besides that, the hotel had locked all the windows to prevent risks. As for other entrances, they have all been checked and could not be breached by force."

Watanabe Saki looked up and met the eyes of her client.

"Mr. Sukō, I'm sorry, unless the murderer was spirited away, it can only prove that you killed your own lover, Miss Morita Makiko!"

Sukō Nobuyuki slammed the table hard and retorted, "No, listen to me explain!"

……

As Sugihara Aisa was wondering how this Mr. Sugo would defend himself, she saw that the text ended abruptly right there.

This left her speechless for a moment!

She felt an urge to vent that she just couldn't suppress!

Yet, Sugihara Aisa had to admit that she was already curious about how the story would develop next.

Who exactly killed Morita Makiko?

How did he commit the murder in this locked room?

And how would Sugo Nobuyuki clear his name?

Sugihara Aisa struggled with it for half a day, only to find herself still completely baffled.

She looked at the display stand, thought for a moment, then removed a standalone volume with slightly declining sales from the top right corner and placed the book "April Youth" there instead.

With a work by Akiwara Yuto, "April Youth" would definitely sell even better!