Takato Yoichi said, "Magic has always involved many dangers. I didn't think much of it at the time. After finishing my advanced studies, I returned to my family home in the United Kingdom.
"When I got home, I found a mountain of accumulated emails. And among all those letters—"
He felt around in his pocket and took out an old notebook. "It was lying quietly among them."
"After opening it, I discovered that every page recorded magic tricks carefully selected by Kingu Reiko. I thought my skills had already reached the pinnacle, but when I saw her concepts, I understood what a true genius was."
Jiang Xia curiously looked at the notebook. "I remember the hotel manager saying that after Miss Kingu died, her Magic Notebook disappeared. It was suspected to have fallen into the hands of her apprentices—so there were two copies?"
"That's right." Takato Yoichi glanced at the "Clown" across from him. "The one those four snatched away was probably the backup she left behind."
He ignored his shifty-eyed colleague and lowered his head, flipping through the notebook in his hand with a nostalgic look. "After receiving this notebook, I came to Tokyo to watch a performance by the Fantasy Magic Troupe, where several of Kingu Reiko's apprentices performed.
"I thought it would be a reunion between fellow apprentices... but instead, I saw one familiar trick after another. Every one of them was recorded in that notebook.
"What was surprising was that the troupe members claimed those tricks were their own creations. They never mentioned the deceased Kingu Reiko at all."
"What happened next is easy to guess." Takato Yoichi lightly stroked the notebook in his hand. "Clearly, several of her troupe members murdered my mother together, then divided up the fruits of her life's work."
"?" Hashimoto