Before Hikigaya attended the award ceremony, there was another significant event: the third part of "Malice" was officially published in the June issue of "All Readings." Countless mystery fans eagerly grabbed the magazine, quickly flipping to the "Malice" page to read it carefully. They were curious about how Mr. Hachiman would continue a murder case where the murderer had already been caught.
"Malice" has returned to the level of the first installment, boasting more than 25,000 words. The chapter titled "Detective Kaga's Monologue" recounts Detective Kaga's investigation into the motives behind the crime committed by the confessed murderer from the previous chapter.
"Do you think there are really such detectives in real life? They've already caught the person, the evidence is solid, and the murderer has confessed, yet they're still working hard to investigate the motive. It seems like they're not busy enough," one netizen complained. He wondered why, since the criminal had been apprehended, they didn't just transfer the case to the prosecutor's office and wait for the prosecution, instead of wasting police resources on what he saw as trivial motives.
"There must be something wrong with people who seek reality in virtual reality..." replied another netizen, who preferred to remain anonymous.
"I think this is the romance of social mystery. In orthodox mysteries, no one cares about the motives, and no writer would write extensively about them. But Mr. Hachiman uses a significant amount of space to explore this. Looking back at the history of mystery novels, is there any precedent for this?" This comment came from a die-hard fan of social reasoning, who was excited and felt that Mr. Hachiman was doing something unprecedented in the realm of mystery fiction.
"Yes, the process of uncovering the truth is never boring, and the courage to pursue the truth, even when others are unwilling, is always admirable."
"But after saying all this, what is the truth? What conclusion can we draw from this series?" another reader questioned.
"Look, he's anxious again," someone else remarked.
At that time, the mystery literature department at Chiba University was gathered as usual, but this meeting was different; two figures were missing. One was the director, who had informed the group that he had other commitments and could not attend. The other was a junior student with a very soft voice, often overlooked by her peers who were more focused on mystery novels.
In reality, the two absent individuals were in a ramen restaurant outside the school. After finishing the latest chapter of "Malice," they had decided to meet for a bowl of ramen together.
"It's no wonder Mr. Hachiman has gone to such lengths to uncover the motive. He's taken social reasoning in a direction we never expected," the president said, expressing admiration for Mr. Hachiman while also finding it increasingly difficult to understand his work.
"I agree, Senior. After reading this series, I think Mr. Hachiman's ambitions are so vast that I can't predict them," replied the freshman, who had just finished his last mouthful of ramen.
"You always have different opinions. Please share them again today," the director encouraged. Over the past month of discussions with the junior, he had discovered her impressive knowledge of mystery literature and her understanding of potential plot developments in various novels.
"I'm sorry, Senior. You mentioned that Mr. Hachiman's work is a mystery novel unlike any seen before. No writer has ever made finding motives the main focus of a story. Moreover, based on the ending, there are clearly many clues that the author hasn't revealed to us, and since the chapter's main narrator is the detective, there's no possibility of his deliberately misleading us. I truly have no way to analyze it," she explained.
"Is that so? Well, let's forget about it for now. How about we go shopping this afternoon instead?" suggested the director, opting not to press further.
"Okay," she agreed.
Meanwhile, opinions online remained largely unchanged.
"We definitely know that the murderer has a hidden agenda. But what is that hidden agenda? Is it because the deceased stole his love? That seems too superficial."
"And that wasn't his love. She was a married woman, and they were merely having an affair," a reader sharply commented.
"If the murderer is really the deceased's shadow writer, then what was the point of killing the other person? Will that person still exist without the shadow?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the murderer's terminal illness. He doesn't have much time left to live, so he decided to kill."
"Is there any logic to your conjecture..."
As Hikigaya Hachiman read these discussions online, he felt a swell of pride. He watched helplessly as some readers almost stumbled upon the truth, only to be dismissed by others. A group of people fell deeper into the stereotype established in the first chapter, which led them further away from the actual truth.
After finishing his online browsing, Hikigaya began preparing for the award ceremony this Saturday. He still needed to rent a suit, but he decided he wouldn't comb his hair back again. Instead, he would simply part it in the middle to show his forehead. As for the watch worth 500,000 yen, he wouldn't wear it either, as the prize for winning the award was a famous watch engraved with his name. Wait, why did he think he would win the prize? Opening champagne at halftime was not advisable, anyway.
Regarding his acceptance speech, Mr. Arisugawa had advised him to write it as long as possible. Acceptance speeches for literary awards are typically complete articles and shouldn't be muddled with short acknowledgments like thanking others.
Hikigaya did indeed write a carefully constructed speech of moderate length. It contained nothing grandiose or overly modest; it was pragmatic and sincere, ensuring that it did not come off as aggressive or insincere.
The more he prepared, the more Hachiman felt he deserved the award. After all, it would be a waste of effort to prepare so thoroughly just to be a runner-up.
While checking for any omissions in his preparations, Haruno suddenly called.
"Hello, Hikigaya-kun! Are you free this Saturday? Do you want to go horseback riding with me again? I'll take you to the big horse farm in the suburbs."
Her energetic yet playful voice was unmistakable.
"I'm sorry, Senior. My family and I are going on a trip together this weekend, so let's talk about it next time."
That was a lie. Hikigaya's parents had to work on weekends, and Komachi had plans with friends. The truth was, he would be alone at home.
"Oh, well, I'll have to wait until next time."
Haruno's voice sounded a bit disappointed, which made Hachiman feel guilty. Sometimes, his lies to cover up his true identity left him feeling numb. He didn't want to become someone who relied on deceit to interact with others.
"I need to find a way to tell my true identity to the Senior Sister... lying isn't a solution."
Hikigaya resolved to make that confession.
"Hehe, now the last doubt has been cleared. He will definitely show up at the venue that day. I really want to see your expression, Mr. Hachiman—especially that panicked look you had when you ran into me by chance."
Haruno said, sticking out the tip of her tongue as she glanced at the hung-up phone.
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