Chapter 20: Requesting Assistance

Akiwara Yuto made up his mind and prepared to take action immediately.

He already had his own plan: to adapt some foreign mystery works into localized novels suitable for this world, and then submit them to the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award.

However, to achieve this goal, he needed more knowledge, including history, humanities, and specific laws and regulations. Only then could he avoid writing anything unrealistic during his adaptations.

He put down the newspaper in his hand and asked Asano Aiko, who was tidying up the lunch boxes, "Asano, do you know of any bookstores or libraries suitable for research? I want to go find some books to read."

"The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library has a relatively large collection, but it's quite far away, located in Minato Ward." Upon hearing Akiwara Yuto's question, Asano Aiko stopped what she was doing and said in an uncertain tone, "Akiwara, you could also go to the nearest Bunkyo Ward Library, but the collection there might be limited."

Akiwara Yuto weighed his options and decided to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library; although it was a bit far, it was still within his acceptable range.

He greeted Asano Aiko, left the Manga Club to catch the train, and after a journey of about 50 minutes, finally arrived at his destination—the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library is one of the largest public libraries in Japan, housing over 2 million books, 360,000 of which are open to the public. After walking in, Akiwara Yuto gathered a wide variety of books on history, criminal investigation, litigation, and more, then sat down at a desk to read.

First was history; the general history was not much different from his previous life. Aside from the current Heisei era, the periods with the most drastic changes were the Edo, Taisho, and Showa eras, where many major historical events occurred that could serve as backgrounds for novels.

However, there were significant changes regarding historical figures, so he had to be vigilant to avoid errors or omissions during adaptation.

Next was criminal investigation; the main force responsible for investigating cases was the criminal police, which included patrol officers and other security personnel.

Huh, Japan actually doesn't have police academy students who advance through schooling; they are recruited first, then go to the police academy for over half a year of pre-job training, and then go to work at frontline police stations.

Can such "instant" police really be good at solving cases?

Additionally, excluding temporary staff, there are 250,000 official police officers in Japan, which is said to be more than the number of criminals. No wonder the police in his previous life would even manage things like running red lights or stolen trash; it seems they were just bored...

Regarding the law, murder cases pass the statute of limitations after 15 years, leaving many cases unresolved. At the same time, criminals under 20 years old can only be judged by the Family Court, and most only receive light sentences.

Can this kind of sentencing make someone turn over a new leaf? It’s simply speechless; no wonder so many perverted cases in his previous life were committed by juvenile offenders.

Through constant reading, Akiwara Yuto’s understanding of the Japan in this world gradually deepened.

He buried himself in the pile of books, even asking Asano Aiko for time off, and spent over half a week in seclusion to gain a fairly detailed understanding of the general situation—by the time he started writing later, he shouldn't make any jokes about customs or historical allusions.

As for more in-depth parts, such as specialized criminal investigation techniques and the internal police system, he would have to find professionals to ask; these contents could not be found in books publicly available in the library.

Closing the book, he felt a bit tired and prepared to go home. After all, for the past week and a half, he had basically been there from opening to closing every day. Not only was his rear end sore, but his mind was also a bit dazed. Just like now, he kept feeling that a pretty girl at the table to his front-right was secretly observing him.

But life isn't a romantic comedy where a rascal doesn't dream of a bunny girl; where would all these sudden romantic events come from?

Thinking of this, he chuckled, put the book back in its place, straightened his chair, and walked out.

As he walked out of the library entrance, a crisp voice sounded behind him: "Um... excuse me, could I bother you for a moment?"

Akiwara Yuto was puzzled, turned his head to look, and discovered that the person who said this was exactly the pretty girl he felt had been secretly observing him. She was standing behind him, looking at him with a smile.

She was about 20 years old, with long, jet-black hair reaching her waist, held back by a white headband, with only a few thin bangs hanging down, giving her an air of being well-read and sensible. Her figure was very tall and perfectly proportioned, belonging to the type of elegant beauty that people would look back at repeatedly when walking down the street.

Akiwara Yuto’s eyes landed on her face, but his guard went up in his heart. Although he had some confidence in his looks, he didn't think he could make such a pretty girl take the initiative to strike up a conversation.

Could it be proselytizing or a scam? He couldn't afford to be careless. He raised an eyebrow and responded stiffly, "May I ask what you need?"

Seeing Akiwara Yuto's cold attitude, the girl was stunned, as if she hadn't expected her charm to be ineffective. But she immediately reacted, bowed, and said with a smile, "Sorry to bother you. I am Ikawa Akemi from Tokyo Woman's Christian University. I wanted to ask if you are quite knowledgeable about mystery."

Hearing the other party's intention, Akiwara Yuto was surprised; it turned out she had seen him flipping through books in the library earlier.

At that time, in order to look up information, he had gathered a pile of mystery works on the table, though he had put them back before finishing them.

His attitude also became more polite: "I do have some knowledge."

He was a bit curious: did she need help with something related to mystery? However, while one couldn't say mystery enthusiasts were everywhere in Japan, there were quite a few if one looked carefully; there was no need to ask a stranger like him.

Ikawa Akemi got the answer she wanted and felt relieved. Her club was preparing to rehearse a mystery stage play, but they lacked someone who understood mystery, and because the script needed to be kept confidential, it wasn't suitable to look for help within the school.

She hadn't expected to run into someone while researching off-campus; it was truly fortunate.

She stepped forward two paces and bowed: "Our club has encountered some trouble regarding mystery and needs someone to help. Could I trouble you to provide some assistance in this regard?"

Looking at Akiwara Yuto, Ikawa Akemi tried to make her smile even sweeter. As a beauty who ranked high even in a place like Tokyo Woman's Christian University, which was entirely female, she was quite confident in her charm.

She believed that there was a high probability the other party would agree to her request.

She smiled, waiting for his reply. Soon, she heard him say one thing.

"Sorry, I'm busy."