"Constantly imagining methods of murder and the states of victims' deaths... Heh, that explains it."
Inside a dimly lit bar,
Gin and Vodka seemed to be idle, currently watching the program on the TV at the end of the bar—"All Japan Detective Agency."
Looking at Hayashi Yoshiki, who was speaking eloquently on the show, Gin chuckled.
Vodka also grinned:
"This kid is really popular, heh heh. If those fans knew he'd killed someone, I wonder how they'd react."
"Don't get sidetracked, Vodka," Gin tone was neither salty nor bland. "He didn't kill anyone."
"...That's true."
Both of Hayashi Yoshiki's actions, no matter how one looked at them, were merely simple accidents. Not a drop of the victims' blood splattered on him.
Although he couldn't get a handle on this kid, Gin's interest in him grew stronger.
He was a very promising talent...
The spontaneous sense of expectation made Gin's lips curve upwards.
He would find another opportunity to test this kid's abilities later. However, since the other party was indeed quite conspicuous recently, Gin temporarily postponed it.
"By the way, Aniki, regarding these smuggled firearms information..."
"Nothing to worry about. Just as planned, we'll make the deal at Tropical Land Park later."
"Okay, I've called him to prepare the money. He should understand what we mean."
The two casually finalized their plan for the day's operation—extortion.
This time, someone from the Organization had secretly photographed evidence of a company smuggling firearms. So, Gin and Vodka were to take the negatives and extort 100 million Japanese Yen, and then drive that company away to build a new laboratory on their land.
"That woman in this commercial is quite pretty, actually."
Just then, the TV program switched to a beverage commercial, and Vodka glanced at it and commented.
Gin paid no attention.
In the Yomiuri TV studio, after the three on stage heard the director's cue, "Going to commercial break," assistant host Ayako Nagai's expression immediately relaxed.
Matsuo Takafumi, on the other hand, immediately covered his abdomen with a pained expression: "It really hurts..."
"What's wrong, Mr. Matsuo?"
"I'm sorry, my stomach hasn't been right since this morning," Matsuo Takafumi smiled apologetically at Hayashi Yoshiki, then turned to the staff beside him. "By the way, could you please confirm where Mr. Suwa is right now?"
"Okay."
The staff member nodded.
Soon, Matsuo Takafumi received news from the staff that Michihiko Suwa was in the mixing room on the fourth floor monitoring the program. Upon learning that everything was proceeding as he had planned, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.
He would kill him later!
Matsuo Takafumi secretly hated in his heart.
The "All Japan Detective Agency" program was something he and director Michihiko Suwa had created together, costing him a great deal of effort and emotion to achieve its current success. However, that fellow Michihiko Suwa gradually became dissatisfied, feeling that while Matsuo Takafumi guaranteed viewership, his ceiling was limited.
He planned to kick Matsuo Takafumi out, replace him with a popular beautiful celebrity, and then add some adult content to the segment. This way, the program's ratings could probably double.
But Matsuo Takafumi couldn't accept it at all.
However, as a program host, he couldn't possibly override the director. Michihiko Suwa even explicitly stated that this was his last episode—they would directly transition after leveraging the popularity Hayashi Yoshiki brought to this episode.
(Just you wait, Suwa!)
Matsuo Takafumi was seething internally, his killing intent growing stronger.
In this situation, after the commercial break, the show resumed filming—
Matsuo Takafumi straightened his posture and quickly adjusted his expression.
"Welcome back to 'All Japan Detective Agency.' I'm your host, Matsuo Takafumi."
"Let's return to the topic we just discussed."
"Mr. Hayashi, as a mystery novelist, in your opinion, what is the easiest method or modus operandi to solve a case?"
"Under similar conditions, the easiest to solve should be a shooting case."
"Shooting?"
"Yes, compared to some concealed killing mechanisms or weapons, the traces left by a shooting are the most direct and almost impossible to hide. And from another perspective, the bullet holes left by a shooting are also the easiest traces for the police to identify. The method is direct, which will save a lot of time in solving the case."
"I see..."
Listening to Hayashi Yoshiki's words, Matsuo Takafumi suddenly felt a little flustered.
But thinking of the scenario he had planned for so long, he forced himself to calm down—he was absolutely confident that he wouldn't be easily seen through. Besides, this was just a mystery novelist who could only talk big, not some famous detective.
It was Ayako Nagai who suddenly boosted Matsuo Takafumi's confidence:
"Speaking of shooting, Mr. Matsuo, as a shooting enthusiast, your marksmanship is truly excellent! It's said your skill can compare to professional shooters!"
Upon hearing this, his pupils constricted. He hadn't expected her to reveal this fact at this moment, and quickly waved his hands modestly: "No, no, although I did practice abroad for a while, comparing it to professionals is too much of an exaggeration."
"Eh~ Mr. Matsuo is usually very proud, but on stage, he becomes humble."
"Hmm, while I can't compare to professionals, I'm actually only just that little bit off."
At Ayako Nagai's words, Matsuo Takafumi instead stood up, pinched his index finger and thumb to show a small gap, and said with his head held high and chest out.
This stark contrast amused many audience members.
The program quickly moved to the next segment, the quiz with prizes:
"And now, the highly anticipated 'The Culprit Is You' segment is about to begin."
"Next, we will play a 4-minute VCR. After watching it, please guess who the real culprit is."
As the two hosts' voices faded, the director immediately cut to the VCR, allowing the three on stage to rest.
Taking advantage of this moment, Ayako Nagai took Hayashi Yoshiki, the guest, to the backstage monitor and watched the VCR together.
It was a 4-minute crime short film.
The short film showed the scene when the culprit made their move, left some evidence, and then gave the audience four options, A, B, C, and D, to guess which one was the culprit.
"It's really well-filmed, the production team really put effort into it this time."
As the VCR was about to finish, Ayako Nagai praised.
Hayashi Yoshiki was noncommittal, and instead asked, "What about Mr. Matsuo?"
"Oh? Mr. Matsuo?"
Ayako Nagai looked left and right.
Speak of the devil, Matsuo Takafumi appeared, beads of sweat on his forehead, running over breathlessly, one hand still clutching his stomach:
"I'm here, sorry, my stomach hasn't been feeling right since this morning... But I'm fine now. The VCR is almost over too, let's hurry back to record the show."