Chapter 70: Seto Tamae

Upon seeing the visitor, Akiwara Yuto could not help but size her up.

This teacher, Seto Tamae, was dressed in a plain blue visiting kimono; her features were ordinary, much like a traditional Japanese woman—yet she possessed an air of refinement and education.

According to Imamura Yuto, she was nearly 50 years old this year, but Akiwara Yuto felt she looked much younger than her actual age, perhaps only in her early 40s.

He was not surprised; being able to afford such a large villa, she must have spent a considerable amount of money on her own maintenance. As people age, the difference in appearance between those who maintain themselves and those who do not becomes increasingly obvious.

Seeing Seto Tamae, Imamura Yuto immediately stepped forward to say, "Greetings, Senior," and introduced Akiwara Yuto's identity. Akiwara Yuto followed suit, bowing in greeting: "Sorry to disturb you, Teacher Seto."

Seto Tamae was somewhat curious about this "genius" writer who had recently gained quite a reputation within the Manga Club, so she also sized him up for a few moments before bowing in return and saying in a gentle tone, "No need for such formality, come in first."

After saying this, she pushed the door open to let the two enter, gesturing for them to walk inside while saying, "Today is just a literary writer exchange for the Manga Club; the other writers have already arrived."

Following the pebble path in the courtyard, the three soon reached their destination—a sukiya (tea room). In this tea room, six people had already gathered, sitting on the tea mats on the left and right sides.

After Seto Tamae's introductions, Akiwara Yuto learned the identities of these people.

The four sitting on the left were *Tokyo Literature* contracted authors Sugimoto Shuto, Ishii Yu, Yasuhara Ryoda, and Nakamura Koki; the two sitting on the right were *New Novel* contracted authors Hasebe Eisuke and Mizuki Yuma.

Akiwara Yuto felt a bit ashamed to find that he did not even recognize the writers serialized in the same magazine. Just as he finished bowing and introducing himself, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"Yo, isn't this our *New Novel* genius writer, Teacher Akiwara?"

Akiwara turned his head to look and frowned; the person was exactly the one he least wanted to see—Kadowaki Yuma.

After saying this, Kadowaki Yuma sat down in a seat on the right and said in a very rude tone, "Teacher Akiwara, as a genius like you, why have you come to a gathering of us ordinary writers?"

He placed extra emphasis on the word "ordinary writers," and Akiwara Yuto realized his intention: to place him in opposition to everyone else.

Sure enough, after Kadowaki Yuma said this, the expressions of everyone present changed subtly. Seeing this, Imamura Yuto was about to say something, but the host, Seto Tamae, spoke up first.

"Teacher Kadowaki, I specifically asked Imamura to invite Teacher Akiwara here. I believe Teacher Akiwara's talent is worth us learning from, so if you have any objections, please take them up with me."

Although her tone was very calm, the meaning in her words was beyond question.

Hearing this, Kadowaki Yuma's expression shifted. He lowered his head slightly and said politely, "Since it is a guest invited by Teacher Seto, then I will say nothing more. My apologies, I was rude."

Compared to Akiwara Yuto, who had no foundation, Seto Tamae was a genuine veteran writer with connections throughout the publishing industry, and her seniority ranked high in the entire Japanese literary world; he was not willing to offend her.

Akiwara Yuto was somewhat surprised; he had just been considering whether to give Kadowaki Yuma a good scolding, but he did not expect the other man to cave so quickly. He bowed to Seto Tamae to express his gratitude and found an empty seat on the right to sit cross-legged.

Seeing the atmosphere in the room ease, Imamura Yuto also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Seto Tamae shook the bell hanging on the door, summoned a servant to pour tea for everyone, and then knelt in the main seat of the room—the position furthest from the entrance.

As the writer with the most seniority and the greatest fame present, it was only natural for her to sit in this position.

She looked around at everyone and said in an unhurried tone, "Then, let us continue the previous topic: when creating a murder in a mystery novel, how exactly should one design the trick? Teacher Ishii, please continue sharing your views."

Akiwara Yuto took a look and realized the person was *Tokyo Literature* writer Ishii Yu. Upon hearing Seto Tamae's request, he set down his tea, coughed, and began to speak.

"It is shameful to say, but my method of designing tricks is inseparable from my own background in chemistry. When designing a trick, I often look for chemistry textbooks and then, based on the properties found within—such as the combustion of sodium, the dissolution of rust, or the luminescence of magnesium—I conceive and design the murderer's method."

Seeing him pause, Imamura Yuto, who was sitting next to him, interjected, "Teacher Ishii, these methods of yours are already very impressive; after all, most authors wouldn't even think of these methods."

But contrary to Imamura Yuto's expectations, Ishii Yu shook his head. "Teacher Imamura, you don't know, but recently a book critic criticized me, arguing that I have increased the threshold for readers to guess the culprit. After all, if even mystery writers cannot think of these methods, then most readers will be even less likely to..."

Imamura Yuto was speechless for a moment, but Akiwara Yuto felt a stir in his heart. He thought this Teacher Ishii's thinking was a bit too biased; after all, the essence of mystery lies in innovation, and the purpose of writing it is not necessarily to let every reader guess it.

Just like in his past life, Keigo Higashino also used many physical and chemical tricks, and his works were still bestsellers.

However, he did not say these words; after being provoked by Kadowaki Yuma just now, it was not appropriate for him to be too high-profile. It was better to hide his light.

After this Mr. Ishii shared his views, an author wearing square-framed glasses on the right also shared his perspective.

"I agree with Teacher Ishii's point of view. I believe the essence of a work is to let the majority of readers enjoy it. Therefore, I will first design a plot—this plot must be very interesting—and then add a relatively reasonable trick. In this way, even if the trick is not particularly outstanding, readers will finish it in one sitting because of the interesting nature of the story."

Once this view was put forward, there were clearly different opinions among the group. Some thought it was correct—that one should design the trick with the story as a premise—while others believed one should not yield to the readers, but rather design clever tricks.

Amidst the chatter of the group, the atmosphere in the room was quite lively.

Akiwara Yuto did not join the conversation. He had seen similar theories to what they were discussing in his past life; there was nothing novel about them at all.

Seeing that he had remained silent, Seto Tamae took the initiative to ask, "Teacher Akiwara, regarding the design of tricks, what are your views?"

She was genuinely curious whether this "genius" who had been the talk of the town recently was truly talented, or if he was just another product of "hype."

"Teacher Akiwara, you are a 'genius writer' after all; this shouldn't be difficult for you at all, right?"

Seeing this, Kadowaki Yuma also took the initiative to interject, specifically emphasizing the words "genius writer." To be honest, he did not believe at all that Akiwara Yuto had any research on this subject.

He had studied the series of novels the other had written; they were nothing more than thrillers and novelties, belonging to "pseudo-mystery" novels that lacked any real mystery elements. Moreover, he had also learned of the other's background of growing up in an orphanage.

Through this information, he did not believe Akiwara Yuto could say anything of substance, so he went straight to sarcasm.

Akiwara Yuto sighed inwardly; he had wanted to keep a low profile, but he did not expect to be dragged out anyway.

Forget it, I'm not Japanese, so I shouldn't play that game of "reading the air."

He set aside his concerns and, under the curious gazes of everyone, spoke directly: "In my view, there are mainly nine types of trick designs..."