Chapter 17: Death note Test and Yoko Okino's Phone Call
"Mihua TV Station Murder Case!?"
"An Excellent Mystery Novelist is Also an Excellent Detective"
"Police's Fastest Solved Case Record!"
"A Mystery Novelist's Method of Solving Cases"
"A Mystery Novelist's First Deduction Show!"
Last night's live broadcast of Mihana TV Station's evening news fermented overnight, and on the second day, it exploded with considerable popularity.
Many morning newspapers discussed the matter, and professional mystery publications even made it their front-page headline.
Hayashi Yoshiki himself paid a little attention to it.
However, upon seeing that many news headlines were prefixed with the title "Mystery Novelist," he realized that Futaba Publishing was likely behind the hype.
After all, with that title out there, more people would come to buy his books.
But this was exactly what Hayashi Yoshiki wanted.
Whether it was a Detective or a mystery novelist, it was his own fame that was being brought up.
In this world where Detectives hold a very high social status, this matter basically had no downsides.
"Let's continue the test today."
Hayashi Yoshiki opened the death note and tore off a blank page from it—the texture of the death note's paper had no special features; it was just like that of an ordinary, good-quality notebook. However, it was very easy to tear off, and it almost never resulted in uneven edges.
Taking a pen, Hayashi Yoshiki began to write on it:
"March 28th, 10:47 AM, arrived at Beika Town 3-chome, 16-banchi, stayed at the entrance of Kawano Sushi for 15 minutes, then left."
"Afterward, on April 16th, 10:08 PM, died from a knife wound."
The death note allows one to write the cause of death and the circumstances of death first, and then write the target's name, which will still be effective.
However, after writing this content, Hayashi Yoshiki neatly folded this page once, then tore the paper along the fold.
The words he had just written were also split in two.
"A page or fragment torn from the death note still retains the note's effect."
"For the death note to be effective, one cannot write a person's name across multiple pages. However, if it's the front and back of the same page, even writing the surname on the front and the given name on the back will be effective."
These were the rules clearly recorded in the death note.
However, it did not record whether writing the target's surname on the left part and the given name on the right part of a torn page would be effective.
Hayashi Yoshiki first wrote "To Misawa" on the left page, then "Tomoya" on the right page, and then joined the two pieces along the tear, thus forming "Misoya".
After doing all this, and waiting until the time was about right, Hayashi Yoshiki took the two torn pages and the pen, tidied himself up, and then left.
The spring in March was still a bit cool, but today's weather was very good. The sun was bright, and the wind was gentle, the kind of day that felt comfortable all day long.
Mihana City's pace was always leisurely.
There were many shops around the residential area, including a cafe where Hayashi Yoshiki was a regular.
"Hello, I'd like a Cialo Latte, please."
"Okay."
The staff quickly began to prepare it.
After a short wait, Hayashi Yoshiki received a packed coffee.
He found a bench outside and sat down, opening the coffee lid. The lightly roasted coffee, with a hint of biscuit aroma, blended with milk, creating a very sweet taste.
Cialo means "light-colored" in Italian.
He took a sip of the steaming coffee, then checked the time, realizing it was already 10:51 AM.
He did not appear.
"It's not feasible."
"I see, even if it's the same page, once torn, it becomes two independent sheets of paper."
"But I wonder if it would work if I glued them together..."
However, doing so would defeat the purpose of this test.
According to Hayashi Yoshiki's idea, if this method worked, he could write the names of threatening individuals in separate parts beforehand, and then, in a critical moment, stick the two pieces of paper together to fulfill the condition of 'writing the full name,' thereby causing the person's death... but in the end, it was unrealistic.
After crossing out all the previous content, Hayashi Yoshiki began writing again.
There were many things he wanted to test.
After finishing this round of writing, he quietly waited for the time to arrive.
Just a moment later,
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling! Ding-a-ling-a-ling!"
The public telephone booth next to Hayashi Yoshiki's location suddenly rang—
Hayashi Yoshiki glanced at the time on his watch and smiled slightly.
"Miyazaka Michiko"
"March 28th, 11:03:09 AM, out of a whim, look up and call the public telephone booth next to Kawano Sushi Restaurant at Beika Town 3-chome 16-banchi, hang up after 30 seconds."
Miyazak Michiko, or Michiko Miyazaki.
The use of the death note is not limited by language; names and causes of death written in Japanese or Chinese will take effect. So, would translating the target's name into English or other languages and writing it down also work? This was precisely what Hayashi Yoshiki also wanted to test.
The test was indeed successful.
Hayashi Yoshiki deduced: Translating the target's name into another language and writing it in the note can also trigger the effect. The underlying logic might be achieved through the writer's subconscious—as long as the writer subconsciously believes it is a correct translation, the note can take effect.
"I need to test it a few more times..."
"If they all prove true, I can consider learning some less common languages."
Although Hayashi Yoshiki was always very careful, he still had to consider the risk of the note's content being accidentally seen by others, so it would be safer to record things in a language that others couldn't understand.
And then there were other tests—
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling~"
Just as Hayashi Yoshiki continued to write, his phone rang.
He picked it up and unlocked it, seeing "Yamagishi Sakae" displayed. Hayashi Yoshiki pressed answer.
"Hello? Yamagishi-san."
"Good afternoon, Hayashi-sensei."
However, it wasn't the voice of his agent, Yamagishi Sakae, that came from the other end of the phone, but a sweet female voice: "This is Yoko Okino."
"Miss Yoko?"
"Yes." Yoko Okino's voice was pleasant, but for some reason, she sounded very listless: "I saw the news last night. I never expected something like this to happen... But Hayashi-sensei, you were really amazing! You're just like a great Detective.".
"Thank you. But Miss Yoko, is something wrong? You sound very tired."
"Yes... Actually, I called because I wanted to ask Hayashi-sensei if you know any reliable Detectives?"
"Detective?"
"Hmm... Recently, it seems like someone has been following me, and even secretly breaking into my residence..."
Yoko Okino's tone carried a hint of fear. As an actress, she couldn't quite control the tremor in her voice: "So I got your number from my agent and wanted to ask if there's a good Detective who can help me."
"Stalking and illegal entry, you say? I understand. I happen to know a Detective who will definitely help you wholeheartedly. I'll text you his location."
"Okay, thank you so much, Hayashi-sensei!"
...
To be continued