RBCT Chapter 161 The Wonderful Aftertaste of "Two Bottles of Seasoning"
Chapter 161 The Wonderful Aftertaste of "Two Bottles of Seasoning"
Chapter 161 The Wonderful Aftertaste of "Two Bottles of Seasoning"
Inside a luxurious Chinese restaurant private room in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
Maishiro Kyosuke sat next to Eri Mimi, while Uyama Hideomi sat on the other side of Maishiro Kyosuke.
Looking at the braised grouper, braised abalone, and golden soup chicken with fish maw laid out on the table—as well as various other expensive ingredients.
Maijo Kyosuke was briefly filled with unease.
It's bizarre—it's just too bizarre—
Although I am now considered a somewhat well-known mystery writer in Tokyo.
But it hasn't reached the point where we can squander money so recklessly.
Looking at the dishes laid out on the table, each one was quite expensive.
Even excluding those bottles of obviously expensive wine, the dozen or so dishes alone would probably cost over 500,000 yen!
Don't say that Maijo Kyosuke is unsophisticated; the problem is that most people have never seen a scene like this before!
"What is it? Mr. Yushan, Miss Jiangliu?"
"Did either of you win the lottery?"
"Why did you suddenly prepare such a delicious meal, and every single one of them is so high-end?"
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Uyama Hideomi quickly waved his hand, "Maishiro-sensei, what are you thinking about?"
"Even if I won the lottery, I wouldn't be willing to order such expensive dishes!"
"All of this was arranged by President Noma!"
"Ms. Mai, you don't know yet, do you?"
"The sales department has completed all the statistics. Mr. Maicheng, your 'The Astrological Murder Mystery' plus 'Summer of the Ubume' has sold a total of 1,035,000 copies!"
"In other words, Ms. Maishiro!"
"From this moment on, you are no longer 'new writer Kyosuke Maijo'!"
"It's actually 'the famous author, Kyosuke Maijo'!"
"Since you, Ms. Mai, are not yet twenty-five years old, you have not only successfully entered the ranks of well-known writers."
"He also became the youngest mystery writer in Japanese history to achieve a total sales volume of over one million copies!"
"So, President Noma arranged this celebration banquet to commemorate your achievement of surpassing one million in total sales!"
As soon as Yu Shan Hideomi finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open.
Noma Genjiro, heavily pregnant, and Mikoshiba Yasunori, dressed in a suit and carrying a safe, walked in from outside.
If Maijo Kyosuke hadn't known these two, he would have thought they were local thugs entrenched in Shinjuku, here to do some strange deal.
Noma Genjiro's attitude towards Maijo Kyosuke was very friendly from the beginning.
Because Kyosuke Maijo is not only Kodansha's cash cow, but also a deadly weapon that could allow Kodansha to regain its position as the number one mystery publisher in Japan!
When his father, Eiji Noma, was alive, he told him this.
The business world is like a battlefield. Although the battlefields are the same, the arena and environment are ever-changing.
Other companies can tell their employees, "Work if you want, leave if you don't. If you're not willing to work, there are plenty of people who are."
But the publishing industry cannot do that.
Because the foundation of the publishing industry does not lie with publishing companies.
But it's the producers, namely the writers and cartoonists!
You can offend anyone, but unless absolutely necessary, try not to mistreat or offend your writers and cartoonists.
Otherwise, once their contract expires, they might switch to another company, catching you off guard, and you'll have nowhere to complain!
Noma Genjiro never respected anyone in his entire life.
Noma Genjiro doesn't take seriously anyone, not even the president of Kobunsha, who has a long-standing feud with him, or the president of Bungei Shunjusha, Sendou Kippei, or even the Otowa Group's Otowa Yoshiaki!
The only person he truly respected was his own father, Eiji Noma.
Therefore, Genjiro Noma, facing Kyosuke Maijo, a writer who might help his Kodansha return to its peak, not only cannot be negligent in the slightest, but must also give Kyosuke Maijo the highest respect!
"Ms. Maishiro! Long time no see!"
"I remember the last time we met was on January 16th when we were discussing the contract. I never imagined that more than half a month would have passed in the blink of an eye."
Maijo Kyosuke and Noma Genjiro shook hands politely.
Then, Noma Genjiro snapped his fingers at Mikoshiba Yasunori behind him: "Yasunori, bring out the gift I gave you to celebrate Maijo-sensei's total sales surpassing one million."
Mikoshiba Yasunori nodded and then placed the safe he was carrying on the dining table.
"Click one "6
The latches on both sides of the safe popped open simultaneously.
A dozen or so pieces of glass were presented in front of Maijo Kagaku.
Between those glass panes were sheets of yellowed paper covered in English writing, giving them a mysterious feel.
However, if someone else were to present these dozen or so yellowed pieces of paper as a gift, it would definitely be a disappointment.
But in his previous life, Maijo Kyosuke was, by all accounts, a "collector of mystery novels".
Furthermore, since Genjiro Noma said that this was a gift he gave himself to celebrate his total sales exceeding one million, this item is definitely not an ordinary thing.
Mikoshiba Yasunori took a half step back, pointed to the row of glass, and gestured for Maishiro Kyosuke to get a closer look.
Out of curiosity, Maijo Kyosuke picked up the first pane of glass on the right and looked up. He saw the English words "The" written on it.
Two Bottles of Relish.
The title translates to either "Two Bottles of Seasoning" or "Two Appetizers".
Upon seeing this line of English text, Maijo Kyosuke's pupils dilated involuntarily.
Because I am very familiar with this story, it is Lord Lord Dunsony's famous mystery novel "The Two Bottles of Seasoning"!
"This is—this is the manuscript of Lord Lord Dunsony's famous work, 'The Two Bottles of Seasoning'?"
Noma Genjiro patted Maijo Kyosuke on the shoulder with his thick hand: "Maijo-sensei certainly has a lot of 'reading experience,' you can accurately name the author just by glancing at them."
"It seems Miss Jiang Liu is right, Mr. Wu Cheng, you really do enjoy collecting these kinds of things!"
Maijo Kyosuke quickly scanned the words on the manuscript, then picked up the remaining dozen or so pages and read them one by one. The more he read, the more excited and agitated he became.
"President Noma, where did you get this manuscript from?"
Noma Genjiro's legs seemed unable to bear the pressure of his large physique, so he pulled out a chair, sat down, and said with a smile, "Mr. Maishiro, the total sales of your two books, 'The Astrological Murder Magic' and 'Summer of the Ubume,' have reached 1,035,000 copies, making you a recognized well-known author."
"As a guest writer for my Kodansha, I naturally have to send you something to celebrate."
"But I didn't know what you liked, so I asked Mr. Yushan and Ms. Jiangliu. I learned that you like to eat Chinese food and also like to collect manuscripts signed by famous people."
"So I found this manuscript in my father's collection and gave it to you."
After Noma Genjiro finished speaking, seeing Maijo Kyosuke looking at the glass containing the manuscript with a serious expression, he continued to explain, "Mashiro-sensei, don't worry. Although my father isn't a great collector, he is still the president of one of the top three publishing houses in Japan. Even if he doesn't know the value of something, the people he knows will help him appraise it."
Therefore, this piece, "Two Bottles of Seasoning," is absolutely a genuine manuscript!
Upon hearing Genjiro Noma's words, Kyosuke Maishiro quickly shook his head: "President Noma, you've misunderstood. I'm overjoyed to receive such a valuable gift; how could I possibly doubt its authenticity?"
"I just want to see what the differences are between the original manuscript and the current Japanese translation."
After finishing speaking, Maishiro Kyosuke carefully placed the glass containing the manuscript back into the safe, a happy smile on his face.
When Noma Genjiro saw the expression on Maishiro Kyosuke's face, he seemed to have thought of something and asked curiously, "Mr. Maishiro, the way you look so happy is exactly the same as when my father walked into his collection room."
"But I've never understood what's so good about this kind of thing?"
"To me, no matter who wrote it, it's just a piece of paper. Paper should have the value of paper. Why does it become so precious in the eyes of you collectors?"
"Could it really have some magical properties?"
Based on his previous interactions with Genjiro Noma, Kyosuke Maijo discovered that Genjiro Noma was essentially a capitalist.
In his eyes, art, the quality of books, tricks, alibis, and the impossibility of committing a crime are all unimportant.
Because in Noma Genjiro's mind, he only cared about whether what this person wrote made money and whether it could bring profits to his company.
In other words, Genjiro Noma didn't have a passion for mystery novels, which made him even more ruthless.
This idea is very pure, and it is also one of the reasons why Genjiro Noma was able to gain a foothold in Japanese publishing even when he was at a disadvantage.
When faced with Genjiro Noma's questions about the manuscript, Kyosuke Maijo was actually quite understanding.
Thinking of this, Maijo Kyosuke pointed to "Two Bottles of Seasoning" in the safe and explained to Noma Genjiro, "President Noma doesn't like collecting things, so it's normal for him to ask this question."
"If I were to give an objective evaluation, whether it's a personal signature or a manuscript, as President Noma said, it's really not very useful. They're just paper, no different from any other paper."
"But why are they able to fetch such high prices? And why do they bring joy to us collectors?"
"This question is very simple; it can be answered with just one word."
"This one word is love!"
Noma Genjiro waved to Maishiro Kyosuke, Eri Misaki, Uyama Hideomi, and Mikoshiba Yasunori, signaling everyone to relax and take their seats.
He then looked at Kyosuke Maishiro with great interest and asked, "Mr. Maishiro, what is the meaning of 'love'?"
Maijo Kyosuke brought the safe to his face and continued explaining with a smile: "There are many kinds of love: compassion, tenderness, affection, adoration, fondness, true love, passion, and, more specifically, worship and admiration—"
"Collecting is both a hobby and an act of worship."
"Although a manuscript is essentially paper, it is the author's own handwriting on the paper."
"If a work is very popular and inspires admiration for the author, then people will naturally want to get closer to the author."
"Excluding a few extreme cases, this can be achieved for the vast majority of people by obtaining the author's autograph and manuscript."
"It's like painting. Even though the printed version is almost identical to the original, why is the original so valuable?"
"The reason for this is that the original painting has a so-called 'faith' bonus, and the same applies to the text; text also has a soul."
"Collectors are after something akin to a faith, so they're overjoyed to acquire an author's manuscript!"
Noma Genjiro was clearly hungry. He picked up his chopsticks and ate the food on the table while nodding as if he understood: "I understand, but I don't fully understand. But none of that matters. As long as Ms. Maishiro likes this manuscript and is happy, that's all that matters."
"After all, I really don't understand the specific value of this manuscript called 'Two Bottles of Seasoning'."
"However, the price for my father to have it in his collection room should not be less than 30 million yen."
Looking at the manuscript in the safe beside him, Maijo Kyosuke smiled and said, "President Noma, this story, 'Two Bottles of Seasoning,' was written around 1930. As soon as it was written, it received a lot of praise from writers."
"For example, in 1946, Ellery Queen invited twelve writers to vote on short detective stories, and Thomas Burke's 'Mr. Altmore's Hands,' Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Stolen Letter,' Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Red-Headed League,' and Anthony Berkeley's 'The Brink' were all selected as the top ten."
"And Lord Dunsani's 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' was also selected!"
"And that's not all. Over twenty years ago, Edogawa Ranpo compiled a collection of short mystery stories from around the world, divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the structure of the mystery," while the other part is praised for its lingering, enigmatic charm."
"This peculiar aftertaste" is a term coined by Edogawa Ranpo, referring to a story that, while lacking surprising plots or supernatural elements, leaves a unique and lingering impression after reading.
"These are all famous pieces, and this one, 'Two Bottles of Seasoning,' is also on the list!"
"I was fortunate enough to obtain the manuscript of Thomas Burke's 'Mr. Altmore's Hands,' which was priced at fifty million yen by the shop owner at the time."
"To be honest, 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' is not as good as 'Mr. Altmore's Hands,' but 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' is a masterpiece that pioneered a certain type of work."
"Its fanbase is enormous; if it were on the market, it would likely be even more sought after than 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands'!"
"If 'Mr. Ultraman's Hands' is worth 50 million yen, then 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' might be worth around 70 million yen."
Noma Genjiro was sipping champagne. Even though he had long suspected the manuscript was valuable, he almost choked when he heard Maijo Kyosuke's words: "Seventy million yen?"
"What story does this manuscript tell? What genre of work did it pioneer? How could it be worth over 70 million yen?"
"You know, 70 million yen could buy a decent house in Bunkyo Ward!"
When Maijo Kyosuke heard Noma Genjiro's words, he was about to start explaining the story of "Two Bottles of Seasoning".
But seeing that Genjiro Noma was eating, he smiled and said, "President Noma, I think we should eat first."
"The story of 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' may seem a bit cliché now, but the fact that it was praised by Edogawa Ranpo as a representative of 'wonderful aftertaste' still has some impact."
Hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Noma Genjiro's curiosity was piqued even more: "Mashiro-sensei, just say what you want to say. There are no outsiders here, so let's just treat this as a casual chat among friends over a meal."
Seeing Genjiro Noma's nonchalant attitude, Kyosuke Maijo didn't refuse. While eating, he slowly said, "The excellence of 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' lies mainly in two points. The first is its extremely short length."
"Compared to our current short stories which are 20,000 to 30,000 words long, 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' cannot be called a short story; it can only be called a very short story, since the entire text is only 8,000 to 9,000 words long."
"As for the second excellent point, it's that 'Two Bottles of Seasoning' utilizes the trick of hiding a corpse to its fullest extent."
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"With the appearance of the final paragraph, it transcends the scope of simply deciphering a trick!"
Maijo Kyosuke picked up a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, and continued, "The story begins with a salesman named Smithers."
"The product Smithers is promoting is a meat sauce called 'Nannanmo.'"
"He also has a mysterious roommate named Lin Lai."
"One day after Smithers got off work, he and Lin Lai were bored and started talking about a strange thing that had happened recently."
"A young woman named Nancy and her boyfriend Stig stayed in a cabin for five days. After that, Nancy disappeared, and the two hundred pounds she had on her were transferred to Stig's bank account."
"Nancy's parents immediately called the police after discovering her whereabouts, wanting them to investigate their daughter's whereabouts."
"Even though the police monitored Stig for two whole weeks, they couldn't find any clues, because since Nancy disappeared, Stig had been living in the cabin, and apart from going to the vegetarian store to buy groceries, he was cutting down trees in the yard."
"Stig is actually a vegetarian."
"But this is what baffled the police. There were ten pine trees in the yard of the cabin. For a week, Stig went to cut down the trees three times a day and then cut them into two-inch pieces of firewood, which he then stacked neatly."
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's explanation, Noma Genjiro looked puzzled: "Chopping down trees? That seems really strange, doesn't it?"
After taking a bite of his rice, Maijo Kyosuke continued, "Yeah, it's strange. And Stig even bought a large meat cleaver and a large file. It doesn't seem normal no matter how you look at it."
"Given this situation, the police have begun to suspect that Stig killed Nancy and is preparing to dismember her body."
"However, due to the lack of conclusive evidence, the police could only continue to monitor Stig as a condition for his arrest."
"During this time, Stig continued to cut down trees every day, and the police also sent people to investigate Stig's chimneys and sewers to see if there was any burning or disposal of the bodies, but unfortunately they found nothing."
"This case will likely remain unsolved."
"Lin Lai is very interested in this case, but his interest isn't in Stig's method of disposing of the body; rather, it's in why Stig went to cut down trees every day?"
"Just as Lin Lai was racking her brains, Smithers told her that he had met Stig twice before, and that Stig had bought two bottles of 'Nannanmo' brand condiment from him, saying that the condiment tasted good."
Lin Lai didn't think there was anything wrong with it; she just casually remarked, "Your sauce sounds pretty good. Bring me a bottle next time; I want to use it in my salads."
Smithers was about to nod at Linley's words, but then shook his head and said, "Nannanmo brand sauce can't be used in salads because it's for seasoning meat dishes."
"When Lin Lai heard Smithers' words, a strange expression appeared on her face, or rather, when Lin Lai heard Smithers' words, a look of as if she had seen a ghost appeared on her face."
Noma Genjiro had never heard this story before and found it quite interesting: "So—Lin Lai knows the truth about the case, right? Ms. Maishiro?"
Maijo Kyosuke nodded and continued to reveal the mystery of "Two Bottles of Seasoning": "Lin Lai learned that 'Nannanmo' brand seasoning sauce is a meat-based sauce and cannot be paired with vegetables, but Stig is a vegetarian, so she uttered a very famous line."
"Everyone makes mistakes, and Stig might very well mistakenly use 'Nannammo' sauce on vegetables the first time."
"Making a mistake once is possible, but there will absolutely not be a second time!"
"So, Smithers, Nancy must have been killed by Stig!"
"Smithers, quickly notify the police to come here. I need to provide them with clues about the crime; make sure they keep a close watch on Stig, find incriminating evidence against him, and arrest him!"
"Murder is terrible in itself, but it becomes even more horrifying if the killer is determined to cover up his crime!"
""
Smithers was somewhat confused by Linley's words, but Linley remained unwilling to tell Smithers the truth, only saying that the world is full of troubles, and many things are better left unknown than known.
Although Noma Genjiro hadn't read many books, he was a smart man, and he provided the clues for "Two Bottles of Seasoning" to this extent.
Noma Genjiro guessed the answer to "Two Bottles of Seasoning" almost without thinking, and said with a smile to Maijo Kyosuke, "It was eaten, right?"
"Nannanmo brand" seasoning sauce, is it for eating with meat, right, Ms. Mai?
Noma Genjiro pondered for a moment, then continued, "But there's one thing I still don't understand: why does Stig keep cutting down trees?"
"Compared to the method of disposing of the body, Lin Lai and I seem to agree on one point: I am more concerned about Stig's reasons for cutting down the tree."
Maijo Kyosuke took the last page of the manuscript of "Two Bottles of Seasoning" out of the safe and read aloud from it: "Perhaps you would like to close the book here and not read any further, because the murder stories that everyone likes to read are all a bit romantic, but in reality, the real cases are much more vicious, hateful and horrifying."
"Mr. Lin Lai had a brief meeting with the police and provided his own leads; I couldn't hear what they were saying."
"But as the police were leaving, I heard them ask Mr. Linley, 'Mr. Linley, why did Stig cut down the tree?' Mr. Linley calmly replied, 'It was simply to have a good appetite.'"
After telling the story of "Two Bottles of Seasoning," Maijo Kyosuke put the glass containing the manuscript back into the safe.
But they didn't see the disbelief flashing in Noma Genjiro's eyes at all!
"Although the story is indeed a bit old-fashioned, it's still interesting to think that it's a work from nearly fifty years ago."
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"I still want to applaud this author!"
"After all, the so-called method of hiding the body seems to have been revealed halfway through the story."
"But this motive for cutting down the tree has a strange, unsettling aftertaste that sends chills down your spine."
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