Chapter 9: Hayashi Yoshiki's Book Signing
"Kusuda Rikumichi"
"March 19th, 17:56, died from being crushed by a steel coil."
"Before death, he was riding in a companion's car, sitting in the passenger seat, heading to execute an organization mission.
During the journey, the vehicle he was in lost control and drifted on the expressway, hitting a guardrail on the passenger side and sustaining injuries."
"After his companion safely exited the vehicle, Kusuda Rikumichi attempted to get out from the driver's side, but was crushed by a steel coil that accidentally rolled off during transport."
The Death Note cannot cause the death of a third party.
That is, only the person whose exact name is written on it will die; it's impossible to write something convenient like "Kusuda Rikumichi drives into and kills an innocent passerby, then is crushed by a steel coil."
Even if written, it would only result in Kusuda Rikumichi suddenly dying of a heart attack.
However, if the passerby's name were changed to a specific name, such as "Kusuda Rikumichi drives into and kills Shinichi Kudo, then is crushed by a steel coil," it would be valid.
Therefore, Hayashi Yoshiki had to specifically add the description "companion safely exited the car" to Kusuda Rikumichi's cause of death, otherwise, such a cause of death that would result in a third party's death would be deemed invalid.
It was fortunate that Kusuda Rikumichi, a minor character who had appeared in the plot with a name, was the one sent to watch Hayashi Yoshiki, otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.
Ring-ring-ring-ring ~ Ring-ring-ring-ring ~
"Hello, this is Hayashi Yoshiki."
"Excuse me, Hayashi-sensei, I am Asamiya Nanae, an editor from Futaba Publishing."
"Asamiya Editor."
"Yes, through our operations and promotion, Hayashi-sensei's new work will be released in three days. Will Hayashi-sensei's book signing also be scheduled for that day?"
"How are the details arranged?"
"The first book signing will be held at Futaba Bookstore in Mihua City.
It will start at 3 PM on Sunday, three days from now, and end at 6 PM.
Does this arrangement work for you?"
"Yes, that works."
"That's great."
"Then we will arrange it according to this time.
Also, I personally recommend that Hayashi-sensei dress up nicely that day, because at that time, you yourself will become a powerful tool for promotion."
"Or we can arrange for a professional stylist to help Hayashi-sensei with his grooming at that time."
"Okay, but a stylist won't be necessary for now… In any case, I'll pay attention to it then."
Hanging up the phone, Hayashi Yoshiki used a pen to mark the Sunday three days later on his calendar—
This was agreed upon when the contract was signed: how many resources the publishing house would invest in promotion, including the operation of book signings and other activities.
It was a good opportunity.
Although he hadn't officially become a Detective yet, it was always right to first increase his fame.
Incidentally, Hayashi Yoshiki was quite confident in his ability to dress himself up.
— — — —
Time moved forward.
Location changed.
The commercial street on Sunday was quite lively, but surprisingly, there was a long queue in front of Futaba Bookstore this afternoon.
"So exaggerated… Shinichi, are you sure you want to queue?"
"…I didn't expect to queue for so long."
"But it's rare, I didn't expect Shinichi to be interested in a book signing."
"It's not interest; I'm just curious."
Facing the gentle laughter of his childhood friend, high school Detective Shinichi Kudo couldn't help but retort.
Then another girl's complaint came from beside him:
"What's the difference in what you're saying?"
"Of course there's a difference!"
Shinichi Kudo rolled his eyes as if he didn't get along with the other person.
"The Kindaichi Case Files" was one of the most outstanding mystery novels he had read recently, especially the complete details, ingenious methods, and almost entirely evil characters in "The Strange Mansion Village Murder Case" that he found very interesting.
It was said that the author who wrote such a mystery novel was a very young person, which was why he was interested in coming to see.
After listening to Shinichi Kudo's explanation, Suzuki Sonoko scoffed.
"I don't get it, Ran, I think we might as well go eat cake nearby; this queue looks like it'll take forever!"
"Sonoko…"
Ran Mouri couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
Actually, she had originally just planned to go out with her best friend Suzuki Sonoko to eat cake and buy books, but then Shinichi Kudo suddenly called and asked if they wanted to go to the bookstore, so their original best friend shopping trip turned into the current situation.
"Oh my goodness!"
"How is it, how is it? Did you get a different photo?"
"So handsome!!"
"Oh ~ wow! Is he really not a celebrity?"
"He's so good-looking…"
"He's really so refined!"
"Hey, let me print this photo!"
Suzuki Sonoko, who had originally looked somewhat unwilling to step into the bookstore, suddenly heard the discussions nearby, turned her head, and found several young women excitedly discussing, each holding a book and a printed photo.
Who were they talking about being handsome?
Intrigued, Suzuki Sonoko involuntarily shifted over, stretching her neck to ask:
"Excuse me, who are you talking about?"
The girls stopped their discussion when they heard the question, and seeing it was a high school girl, they excitedly shared with her, one of them very kindly showing her the photo in her hand.
Just one glance—
"!!!"
Suzuki Sonoko's eyes widened, then she returned to Ran Mouri's side at an incredible speed, as if blown by the wind, grabbing her hand: "Let's go! Ran, let's buy a book and queue too!"
"Ah? Huh?!"
Ran Mouri was practically dragged into the bookstore by Suzuki Sonoko.
Shinichi Kudo, following behind, twitched the corner of his mouth.
Now, he was the one who didn't really want to queue.
But after thinking about it, he still chose to follow behind the two—after all, looking at Sonoko's expression, it was absolutely impossible for her to give up easily.
However, as soon as he entered the bookstore, the scene before his eyes made Shinichi Kudo twitch the corner of his mouth again.
"It's quite exaggerated…"
The Futaba Bookstore, which he remembered as spacious and bright, had become so crowded, and the end of the long queue—the table where the book signing was taking place—was also surrounded by people, almost all of whom were women.
The original bookstore staff and manager were working hard to evacuate, guiding fans who had already finished getting signatures out, while the assistants and Asamiya Editor sent by the publishing house were equally overwhelmed.
Ran Mouri's puzzled voice came from the surrounding noise:
"Sonoko, we should still buy English materials, right?"
"We can talk about that after we finish queuing!"
"…"
That guy moves fast; he's already bought the book?
Shinichi Kudo was a bit speechless.
...
To be continued ....