Chapter 185: Can You Take Me as Your Disciple?

Hearing footsteps, Akiwara Yuto subconsciously raised his head and looked toward the open shoji door, but he froze the moment he saw who it was.

A woman with a slightly slender build, wearing a blue yukata, walked in—her hair was pinned up, revealing a delicate neck and dainty ears. Her features were refined, her eyes exceptionally bright, and she possessed an air of independent confidence.

Akiwara Yuto had originally intended to take his leave, but for some reason, his heart stirred, and he halted his movements.

The woman in the yukata walked in and, frowning at the girl who had run in earlier, said, "Mina, we have a guest. Mind your manners."

She then turned to Akiwara Yuto, bowed her head, and said, "Hello, I am Toyama Miho. It is our first time meeting; please treat me well."

Akiwara Yuto snapped out of his daze and immediately returned the greeting: "I am Akiwara Yuto. It is our first time meeting; please treat me well."

For some reason, his heart had suddenly skipped a beat just now—something that had never happened since he transmigrated into this world.

But after thinking it over carefully, he felt his reaction was highly inappropriate. If he were to fall for someone just by seeing them once, wouldn't that be nothing more than being led by his desires?

As of now, he knew nothing about her other than her name.

"Akiwara-sensei, this is my eldest daughter, Toyama Miho," Toyama Shuichi said with a smile from the side, then patted the girl's head. "And this is my daughter, Toyama Miho."

Toyama Shuichi continued, "Miho has already passed the independent admissions for the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters. When the cherry blossoms bloom next April, she will be heading to Tokyo to attend university and settle down."

After saying this, he sighed gloomily, "Poor me, this old father."

"Dad, don't I still exist?" the 15-year-old girl said with dissatisfaction, showing an expression of disdain.

"Yes, yes, there's still Miho," Toyama Shuichi said, smiling as he patted her head again.

Hearing this news, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

The University of Tokyo was the top institution in Nihon, with a status equivalent to the top universities back home. In his past life, even if he had worked himself to the bone, his grades would have barely scraped the minimum cutoff for the key university he attended.

If not for the memories of those works from his past life in his mind, the gap between him and her would likely be as vast as heaven and earth.

Just then, Toyama Miho also walked in, knelt on the tatami, and asked with a puzzled tone, "Akiwara-sensei? May I ask if you are the author of *The Devotion of Suspect X*?"

When she first heard the name Akiwara Yuto, she had suspected it might just be a coincidence of names, but upon hearing her father address him as "Sensei," she was 70 to 80 percent certain.

Akiwara Yuto nodded, openly acknowledging his identity.

"That's wonderful," Toyama Miho smiled, a smile that made Akiwara freeze for a second once more.

But he immediately heard her continue: "Akiwara-sensei, I am a fan of your books and really love your writing style. I have written an article myself and hope you can offer some guidance."

After Akiwara nodded, she stood up and left the tea room.

Seeing this, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but look at Toyama Shuichi, who was teasing his daughter, and gave him a questioning look.

The man had introduced his daughter to him, but once she arrived, he hadn't mentioned anything in that regard. What was the meaning of this?

A helpless expression appeared on Toyama Shuichi's face.

His eldest daughter, Toyama Miho, had a very independent and strong-willed personality. After rejecting his suggestion that she attend Kyoto University, she had gone off on her own to take the independent entrance exam for the University of Tokyo.

If he had said anything unnecessary in front of her just now, he likely would have lost face.

Thus, he hoped that after Akiwara Yuto saw how outstanding his daughter was, he would put in some effort himself...

Following footsteps in the hallway, Toyama Miho returned with a stack of papers, knelt on the tatami, and said politely, "Akiwara-sensei, I hope you will take a look."

Akiwara Yuto hesitated for a moment but still took the manuscript.

Her demeanor didn't look like that of a fan at all; rather, it felt more like a student seeking guidance from a teacher.

In other words, if another writer had come today, this Toyama Miho would likely have claimed to like their work as well and then asked them to critique her writing.

Forget it. Since she had made such a request, he would just play the role of a tool for once; it wouldn't take much time anyway.

Just then, Toyama Shuichi suddenly coughed and pulled his daughter, Toyama Miho, away, saying he wanted to see how her homework was coming along. The latter, though reluctant, was still dragged away.

For a time, only Akiwara Yuto and Toyama Miho remained in the tea room.

Akiwara Yuto didn't think too much about it and picked up her manuscript, gauging its thickness—it was probably over 30 pages, roughly ten thousand words.

He looked at the title first and found it was called *The Deceased Mother*.

Under Toyama Miho's nervous gaze, he turned past the title page and began to read.

"The story takes place in a slum in Osaka. The police receive a report from a tenant in an apartment building that a foul odor is coming from the room next door, and there is no response to knocking.

Upon receiving the report, the police arrive quickly and have the building manager open the door. They immediately discover the corpse of an elderly person who had hanged themselves.

The police don't think much of it; suicide cases among the elderly in Nihon are endless, so it isn't worth much attention.

Therefore, they simply comfort the neighbor who reported it and notify the elderly person's daughter.

But among these police officers, a newly hired officer feels that something is not quite right.

According to knowledgeable people nearby, the elderly person's daughter visits and cares for them every so often, so why is it that she didn't know about it even after the corpse started to smell?

Furthermore, a notebook was found at the scene, but other than the daughter's name, it was basically blank. However, there was a torn page in it.

These two suspicious points keep the new officer conflicted. But when he tells his superiors about these things, he is told that it is obviously a suicide, so it is better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

The new officer is indignant and decides to investigate privately. After a series of tailing and probing, he finally learns the truth.

Because the daughter could not bear the hardship of caring for her parent, she had quietly written 'I hope you commit suicide' in her notebook. Moreover, she had even placed the rope and other tools in a corner of the kitchen where the parent could find them.

Just like that, in order not to be a burden to her daughter, the elderly person chose to end their own life and used the rope to do so.

After obtaining evidence and a confession, the new officer immediately reports this to his superiors and has the daughter arrested.

But just as the prosecution is preparing to indict and sentence the daughter for 'inciting suicide,' the new officer learns new information from the hospital.

That is, the day before the suicide, the elderly person had learned from the hospital that they were suffering from cancer. In order not to add a burden to her daughter, she decided to end her life...

And the rope she used to commit suicide was also purchased by herself, not provided by the daughter.

But by this time, the charges had already been confirmed and could not be changed.

The superior warns the new officer that if he dares to do anything more, he will be fired or transferred.

Faced with his own interests, this new officer who firmly believed in 'justice' falls into hesitation..."

After reading the whole story, Akiwara Yuto felt an indescribable sensation in his heart.

This newly hired officer had insisted on justice at the beginning, even going against his superiors, and through constant effort, had sent the person he saw as the murderer to prison.

But the facts he investigated were all wrong. The true reason for the elderly person's suicide was likely her own decision, not the result of the daughter's incitement.

But by this time, the prosecution had already made the corresponding judgment based on the suspect's confession provided by the new officer. If the judgment were to be changed, everyone, including the new officer, would have to bear significant responsibility.

In short, this work is less of a detective story and more of a satire.

It includes the perfunctoriness of the Metropolitan Police Department, the impatience of children in caring for the elderly, and the protagonist's hesitation when dealing with justice for others versus his own interests.

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto had finished reading, Toyama Miho looked at him carefully for a few moments and then asked cautiously, "Akiwara-sensei, do you think this work can be published?"

Akiwara Yuto hesitated for a while and then gave an objective reply: "It's enough to be published, but I think there are still some problems."

Toyama Miho became serious and asked, "Please offer your critique, Akiwara-sensei. You don't need to worry about my feelings."

Akiwara Yuto nodded and began to express his views.

"Regarding the protagonist, his humanity feels too abrupt; there's a sense of inconsistency. For example, he can uphold justice at the beginning, but he hesitates when his own interests are at stake, so you should add some background for him."

Toyama Miho nodded in confusion, waiting for Akiwara Yuto to continue.

"For instance, since the theme of this work is a mother, you could give this police officer a background of having a mother he is very close to who is suffering from a serious illness. At the beginning, he thinks of his own mother, so he keeps pursuing the murderer. But in the end, he has to consider the trouble his unemployment might cause his mother, which is why he falls into hesitation. That way, everything becomes very logical."

Toyama Miho listened very carefully. After all, although her father was a professor in the Faculty of Letters, he only had a deep understanding of literary theory. His level regarding concrete literary creation was actually limited.

After finishing with the protagonist, Akiwara Yuto talked about the design of the trick, pointing out that the idea of the woman letting her mother commit suicide through a diary was too abrupt and should be supplemented with a step-by-step process. For example, the relationship between mother and daughter had always been good, the mother couldn't bear to see her daughter suffer, the mother's own background, and so on.

In this way, the reader could accept the trick of induced suicide in their heart.

Miho Toyama was completely convinced. She had thought that after much deliberation, her work was foolproof, but she never expected so many flaws to be pointed out.

It seemed that compared to a well-known author like Mr. Akiwara, she still had a long way to go. His guidance had saved her a great deal of effort.

However, was there any way to get him to guide her more?

Miho Toyama hesitated for a moment before immediately making a decision. She knelt with her knees together, and then, to Yuto Akiwara's surprise, she performed a *dogeza*.

"Mr. Akiwara, although it is very abrupt, I would like to ask you... could you take me on as your disciple?"