The next morning, Miyauchi Hiyage got up and checked his phone.
The top headline was about Kaitou Kid successfully stealing his target gem last night and making fools of the police again.
The second was a crime notice from Cat's Eye.
Every day, it was either this phantom thief or that phantom thief. The Japanese police really had it rough. Hopefully, their year-end bonuses could hold up.
Moving on from those news stories, Miyauchi Hiyage searched for something else.
Unfortunately, he found no messages from Miss Miko asking for help or comfort.
Was Yotsuya Miko not in this world?
Or had Yotsuya Miko not received a Diary?
Or had she not decided whether to post on Twitter yet?
But Miyauchi Hiyage had no idea that the truth was even more absurd than he imagined.
Who could have known that Yotsuya Miko would treat the suddenly appearing Diary as a Vengeful Spirit, then choose to ignore it?!
“It doesn't matter if there's no response from Yotsuya Miko. It was only an experimental probe to begin with.” Miyauchi Hiyage did not dwell on it.
After all, in a sense, having no news from Yotsuya Miko was good news.
Moreover, while searching, he unexpectedly found a short ghost story that Kashiko Kasumi had posted on her blog three hours ago.
Yesterday, Miyauchi Hiyage had written about Spirit Vision in his diary. Today, he saw Kasumigaoka Utaha's ghost story.
Clearly, that was no coincidence.
“So Kasumigaoka has the Diary, huh? Hmm... logically, I should be calling her Kasumigaoka, Senpai. Is she planning to stop pretending and lay her cards on the table with the other Diary holders?”
Miyauchi Hiyage did not feel particularly shaken.
After all, he had already narrowed it down to her and Eriri Spencer Sawamura. He would not have been too surprised even if both of them had diaries.
So this ghost story was something she had rushed out overnight after inspiration struck from reading what he wrote yesterday?
Miyauchi Hiyage read through the story.
Kasumigaoka Utaha had been fairly sensible. She had not directly used the setting that the stronger one's Spiritual Power was, the more ghosts and monsters one could see.
If Yotsuya Miko really existed in this world, writing that might expose her to other spiritualists.
In this ghost story, Kasumigaoka Utaha had merely followed Yotsuya Miko's template and written about the terrifying moments experienced by a girl who suddenly gained the ability to see ghosts.
Though it was only a short segment and the plot was simple, her writing was indeed good. She conveyed the girl's conflict and fear upon encountering a ghost for the first time extremely well.
“As the first Diary holder I've confirmed, once your Love Metronome gets published, I'll definitely buy three copies to contribute to its sales.”
Miyauchi Hiyage gave Kasumigaoka Utaha's ghost story an approving like in his heart.
Girls' Diary Enthusiasts Club
After appreciating Kasumigaoka Utaha's ghost story, Miyauchi Hiyage got up to handle some proper business.
That morning, he took his parents back to Asahigaoka. Before leaving, he bought Renge a recorder, hoping that when he returned to Asahigaoka next time, he would witness the birth of the Recorder Demon King and Nyapasu.
That afternoon, he found Guanghua an apartment with a nice environment, less than ten minutes from the school.
Then, as promised, he took Guanghua to Shibuya and Ginza to buy some currently fashionable clothes and accessories for her.
They passed by Cat's Eye Cafe on the way. Miyauchi Hiyage had wanted to treat his second sister to another cup of unsweetened black coffee, but Guanghua escaped on the excuse that she needed the restroom.
He only glanced through the cafe window from afar at Kisugi Rui, who was inside cleaning up.
She truly was a top-tier mature beauty.
After settling Guanghua in, he could spend some time entirely to himself before school started.
I couldn't find Miko's Twitter, but I'm planning to take that train again in a few days and see whether I can run into her once more. I'll confirm it then.
But I found a new ghost story written by Kashiko Kasumi-sensei. It was very good, and I really liked it. I hope everyone can support her, and while we're at it, look forward to the official release of Kashiko Kasumi-sensei's Love Metronome.
If I have time, I might even attend your new book signing.
If you can recognize me at the signing, there'll be a mysterious surprise for you.
Also, when I woke up this morning and checked the trending topics, I saw news about Kaitou Kid and Cat's Eye.
Kaitou Kid could make a guest appearance in one of Conan's movies every few years, but Cat's Eye was truly a name I had not heard in a long time.
To be honest, back in my previous life, whenever I found Cat's Eye airing on TV as a child, I only dared sneak a few glances when my parents were not around. Looking back, it was pretty amusing.
But then again, there really were a lot of phantom thieves in this world. And every somewhat famous phantom thief had to send the police a notice before acting. It really was hard on the Japanese police.
I wonder whether Lupin III exists in this world. I couldn't find him online, anyway. Either he's been hidden away, or he hasn't debuted yet?
In my previous life, Conan and Lupin III had a crossover movie, so there was still a good chance Lupin III existed in this world.
Still, I only looked into it casually and did not put much effort into it.
After all, who would want to get involved with someone like that for no reason? What if he found out I was investigating him and traced the internet cable over to check my water meter?
This monkey-faced man never failed to get whatever treasure he set his sights on. The forces he provoked after debuting were more terrifying than the last.
There were villains bent on conquering the world, organizations that ruled entire countries, and even quite a few villain bosses with supernatural powers.
If I ever ran into this guy, there would definitely be a mountain of trouble following right behind him.
Mine Fujiko was also a textbook example of a classic bad woman, influencing a whole host of later creators in my previous life.
Conan's mother and Chris Vineyard, that Hollywood actress who was about to announce her retirement, were characters modeled after her, respectively embodying her good side and bad side.
Come to think of it, the Black Organization that Conan had spent thirty years failing to resolve would probably only be worth one movie over in Lupin III's world.
I wonder if saying that gives the Black Organization too much credit?
Compared to that, Kaitou Kid and Cat's Eye were definitely more down-to-earth.
Yeah, if I get the chance, I'll ask Toichi for an autograph. I'm sure he wouldn't want me exposing his identity as a phantom thief, either.
Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally understood the impact that posting that ghost story blog entry would have.
In fact, after reading You Know Who's diary today, she received several private messages from newly followed users in just half an hour.
The one that surprised her most was Hoshino Ai.
The other girl messaged her from an alternate account, directly sending her a private LINE account and inviting her to chat in a special group.
Kasumigaoka Utaha hesitated only briefly before adding her as a friend.
Whether the other person was truly Hoshino Ai or not, she was definitely a Diary holder.
Kasumigaoka Utaha truly wanted to see what the other Diary holders were like.
Soon after, she was pulled into a group chat that currently had only four members.
Ai: "Welcome to our Diary Enthusiasts Club, Kashiko Kasumi-sensei. I'm Hoshino Ai."
Ai: "I created this group. After creating it, only people holding a Diary could join. It can't be searched for outside the group. I specifically spent some Reading Points to make that happen."
Ai: "So it's safe to talk here. We don't have to worry about messages leaking out!"
Strongest Evil Eye: "The number of people fated to sign the contract has increased again. What a cause for celebration. My right eye is beginning to ache faintly once more. I believe this is all the guidance of the Evil Eye."
Chitanda Eru: Hello, Kashiko Kasumi-sensei. I'm Chitanda Eru. It's very nice to meet you.
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the two people in the group besides Hoshino Ai.
It seemed neither of them had been mentioned in the diary.
If there was any connection at all, You Know Who had briefly mentioned a story about a chuunibyou girl, which had some relation to "Strongest Evil Eye."
But Chitanda Eru's polite greeting revealed absolutely nothing.
Kashiko Kasumi: "I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha. You should know me—the Kasumigaoka Utaha from the opening of that novel You Know Who copied into the Diary. Kashiko Kasumi is my pen name, but it's fine to call me that directly."
Kasumigaoka Utaha introduced herself outright. At times like this, as long as she was not embarrassed, it was someone else's problem.
However, her identity clearly was not the most embarrassing one in this group.
Ai: "I'm Hoshino Ai, the one mentioned in the diary—the failed idol who got pregnant unmarried at sixteen, gave birth to two reincarnators, and was ultimately murdered by her own fan."
Kasumigaoka Utaha nearly wanted to cover her face and leave the group when she saw that message.
Only the opening of a novel had been written into the diary for her. Aside from failing to win over a man, there was nothing especially humiliating about it.
But You Know Who had written all of Hoshino Ai's dirty laundry into the diary!
At a time like this, should she say something to hide the awkwardness?
Fortunately, Chitanda Eru promptly sent a message as well, easing the awkward mood.
Chitanda Eru: "It seems my name has not been mentioned in the diary, but it did mention the Classics Club, which is about to be disbanded. Unless something unexpected happens, I'll join that club after school starts."
Chitanda Eru: "But I'm not some wealthy young lady. My family is simply respected by the local people... And I'm not curious about everything!"
New Diary permissions
Chitanda Eru's message timely dispersed some of the awkwardness.
In the small group of only four people, after that unusual round of introductions, they quickly began discussing the Diary.
They talked about their reactions upon receiving their Diary on the first day, their guesses about the identity of the mysterious person writing the diary, and their concerns about the existence of Vengeful Spirits, monsters, and such.
Kasumigaoka Utaha also learned that the real name of the somewhat chuunibyou Strongest Evil Eye was Takanashi Rikka.
Takanashi... That was a rare surname in Japan. Truly worthy of a female protagonist.
As for the phantom thieves You Know Who mentioned in today's diary, none of the four girls had many thoughts about them.
After all, although the news constantly reported that some phantom thief had successfully stolen some treasure under police guard, and those phantom thieves even had a considerable number of supporters online—
In reality, those phantom thieves were far too distant from their lives and had nothing to do with them.
Forget phantom thieves—even detectives, a normal profession in Japan, were people none of the four girls had ever encountered.
Compared to that, the truth that Vengeful Spirits and ghosts existed in the world naturally attracted their attention much more.
After all, five Reading Points could unlock basic Spirit Vision. If there were no ghosts in this world, why would that feature be available?
Ai: "I'm wondering whether I should save up some Reading Points to unlock Spirit Vision. I can turn it off whenever I want, so I just need to check whether there are any Vengeful Spirits around me before going to sleep, right?"
Chitanda Eru: "I'm a little curious too. If Vengeful Spirits exist in this world, could ordinary ghosts exist as well?"
Chitanda Eru: "Someone very important to me disappeared when I was little, but he once promised me he would come back. I want to use Spirit Vision to confirm whether that possibility exists."
Chitanda Eru: "I'm just a little timid. I'm afraid those Vengeful Spirits will notice me as soon as I activate Spirit Vision, so I'm still hesitating..."
Kashiko Kasumi: "If you really want to try it, you could watch a few horror movies and thrillers first to get used to them."
Ai: "I can recommend some! I've been watching Japanese and Thai horror movies recently. I'm a little scared to sleep with the lights off at night, but it does help a little."
Ai: "Now that I think about it, Miss Yotsuya Miko's life must have been really difficult. Even knowing I'm watching a horror movie, I still get startled all the time. But she was constantly in that kind of environment. She could see everything clearly, yet she had to pretend she could not see anything and deceive those Vengeful Spirits."
Chitanda Eru: "I also think Yotsuya Miko must be a very strong girl. I'm curious how she kept going in that kind of environment. Just thinking about it makes me feel helpless..."
Kashiko Kasumi: "Well, she's the protagonist of that story. If she couldn't keep going, then the story wouldn't be able to continue."
Chitanda Eru: "Um, even though I've had the Diary for a week now, hearing someone called a protagonist still makes me a little embarrassed..."
Strongest Evil Eye: "Hahaha, I completely accepted that setting on the very first day I received the Diary. If I, the Evil Eye, am not the protagonist, then no one can be!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha rubbed her head.
Although she thought this Strongest Evil Eye was most likely a chuunibyou girl, they had never met. Who could be certain about something like that?
What if she was telling the truth?
For now, she would continue observing.
But when she saw Chitanda's message, something suddenly occurred to her.
Kashiko Kasumi: "Come to think of it, today is the seventh day since we received the Diary. It seems we can unlock new Diary permissions now. I'll go take a look first."
Ai: "I'm looking into it too. There are quite a lot of new functions, even things like alarms and reminders. Those functions are actually pretty useful to me. Just write 'Diary permissions' in your Diary and you'll see them."
Before you continue