What Era Is It, Still Writing Traditional Diaries

The next morning, Miyauchi Hiyage woke up and checked his phone.

The top headline was about Kaitou Kid successfully stealing the target gem again last night and outsmarting the police.

The second headline was a criminal warning from Cat's Eye.

It was always one phantom thief or another; the Japanese police really had it tough. He hoped their year-end bonuses could withstand it.

Moving his eyes away from the news, Miyauchi Hiyage searched for other things.

Regrettably, he couldn't find any messages from Miss Miko seeking help or comfort.

Did this world not have Yotsuya Miko?

Or did Yotsuya Miko not receive the diary?

Or had she not yet decided whether to post on Twitter?

However, Miyauchi Hiyage himself couldn't have imagined the truth was even more absurd than he thought.

Who would have known that Yotsuya Miko would mistake the suddenly appearing diary for a vengeful spirit and choose to ignore it!

"It's fine if there's no feedback from Yotsuya Miko; it was just a tentative probe anyway," Miyauchi Hiyage didn't dwell on the matter too much.

After all, in a sense, the absence of news from Yotsuya Miko was good news.

What's more, during his search, he unexpectedly found a short ghost story on the blog of Kasumigaoka Utaha, posted just three hours prior.

Miyauchi Hiyage had only written about the Yin-Yang Eye in his diary yesterday, and today he saw Kasumigaoka Utaha's ghost story.

It was clear this was no coincidence.

"So, the person who has the diary is Kasumigaoka, huh... Normally, I should call her Kasumigaoka-senpai. Is she planning to stop pretending and reveal herself to the other diary holders?"

Miyauchi Hiyage felt no great emotional fluctuation.

After all, he had already narrowed it down to her and Eriri Spencer Sawamura. Even if both of them possessed a diary, it wouldn't surprise him too much.

So, this ghost story was something she wrote overnight after seeing his diary entry yesterday, fueled by inspiration?

Miyauchi Hiyage read the story.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was quite sensible; she didn't directly use the setting where the stronger the spiritual power, the more ghosts one could see.

If Yotsuya Miko truly existed in this world, writing like that might expose her to other psychics.

In this ghost story, Kasumigaoka Utaha simply followed Yotsuya Miko's template, writing about the terrifying moments experienced by a girl who suddenly gained the ability to see ghosts.

Although the story was only a short segment and the content was simple, her writing style was indeed good. She effectively conveyed the girl's inner turmoil and fear upon encountering a ghost for the first time.

"As the first diary holder I've confirmed, when your Love Metronome is published, I'll definitely buy three copies to contribute to its sales."

Miyauchi Hiyage mentally gave Kasumigaoka Utaha's ghost story a thumbs-up.

Chapter 27: The Girls' Diary Club

After appreciating Kasumigaoka Utaha's ghost story, Miyauchi Hiyage got up to attend to his actual business.

In the morning, he sent his parents back to Asahigaoka. Before leaving, he bought Renge a recorder, hoping to see the birth of the Recorder Great Demon King and Nyanpasu the next time he returned to Asahigaoka.

In the afternoon, he found a nice apartment for Kouka, less than a ten-minute walk from school.

Then, he took Kouka to Shibuya and Ginza as previously discussed, buying her some trendy clothes and accessories.

They also passed by the Cat's Eye Cafe. Miyauchi Hiyage wanted to treat his second sister to another cup of unsweetened black coffee, but she escaped under the pretense of needing to use the restroom.

He only glanced from afar through the cafe window at Kisugi Rui, who was inside tidying up.

As expected, she was a top-tier onee-san.

After settling Kouka in, he would have a period of time completely to himself before the start of the school term.

[I haven't found Miko's Twitter, but I plan to take another trip in a few days to see if I can run into her again, and then I'll confirm.

However, I did find a new ghost story written by Kasumigaoka-sensei. The story is very good, and I like it a lot. I hope everyone can go support it and also look forward to the official release of Kasumigaoka-sensei's Love Metronome.

If I have time, I might even attend your new book signing event.

If you can recognize me at the signing, there will be a mysterious surprise for you.

Also, while browsing trending topics this morning, I saw news about Kaitou Kid and Cat's Eye.

Kaitou Kid makes a cameo in Conan's movies every couple of years, but Cat's Eye is a name I heard a long time ago.

Honestly, when I was a child in my past life and found out that the Cat's Eye sisters were being broadcast on TV, I only dared to sneak a few peeks when my parents weren't around. Thinking back now, it's quite amusing.

But then again, there really are a lot of phantom thieves, big and small, in this world. And every moderately famous phantom thief has to send a warning letter to the police before acting; it really makes things difficult for the Japanese police.

I wonder if Lupin III is in this world. I couldn't find him online, so maybe he's hidden, or perhaps he hasn't debuted yet?

In my past life, Conan and Lupin III had a movie crossover, so there's a decent chance Lupin III exists in this world.

However, I only did a casual investigation; I didn't spend too much effort.

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 me through the internet to check my water meter?

This monkey-like man, he can steal any treasure he sets his sights on. The forces he's provoked since his debut are all more terrifying than the last.

There are villains who intend to conquer the world, organizations that rule entire countries, and even many supernaturally powered villain BOSSes.]

Dealing with that guy always means a pile of trouble follows him.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is also a textbook example of a classic femme fatale, influencing a large number of creators in my previous life.

In Conan, Conan's mother and Hollywood's soon-to-retire actress Chris Vineyard were modeled after her, personifying the good and bad sides respectively.

Speaking of which, the Black Organization, which Conan hasn't solved in thirty years, would probably be dealt with in a single movie in Lupin III.

I wonder if I'm giving the Black Organization too much credit by saying that?

Compared to them, Kaitou Kid and Cat's Eye are much more approachable.

Hmm, if I get the chance, I'll ask Touko for an autograph. I'm sure he wouldn't want his identity as a phantom thief exposed by me.

Kasumigaoka Utaha knew full well what kind of impact her ghost story blog post would have.

In fact, after seeing the mysterious person's diary entry today, she had already received several private messages from new followers within just half an hour.

The most surprising to her was Hoshino Ai.

The other party had messaged her using an alt account, directly sent her a private LINE contact, and invited her to chat in a special group.

Kasumigaoka Utaha hesitated for only a moment before adding the other party as a friend.

Regardless of whether the other party was the real Hoshino Ai, they were definitely a diary holder.

She was indeed curious to see what kind of people the other diary holders were.

Immediately after, she was pulled into a group chat that currently had only four members.

Ai: "Welcome, Ms. Kasushiko, to our diary appreciation club. I am Hoshino Ai."

Ai: "This group was created by me. After I created it, only people who hold a diary can enter. It can't be searched from the outside, I specifically spent some Reading Points to make it happen."

Ai: "So it's very safe to talk here, no need to worry about messages leaking!"

Evil Eye Strongest: "The number of fated individuals who have signed a contract has increased again, a truly celebratory occasion. My right eye is starting to ache faintly; I believe this is all the guidance of the Evil Eye."

Chitanda Eru: "Hello, Ms. Kasushiko. I am Chitanda Eru. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kasumigaoka Utaha glanced at the two people in the group chat besides Hoshino Ai.

These two didn't seem to have been mentioned in the diary.

If there was any connection, the mysterious person had mentioned a chuunibyou girl's story, which could be somewhat related to this "Evil Eye Strongest."

But from Chitanda Eru's polite greeting, she couldn't glean anything at all.

Kasushiko: "I am Kasumigaoka Utaha. As you probably know, I'm the Kasumigaoka Utaha from the prologue of the novel that the mysterious person copied into the diary. Kasushiko is my pen name, but calling me that is fine too."

Kasumigaoka Utaha introduced herself directly. At this point, if she wasn't embarrassed, then the embarrassment would fall on others.

However, in this group, her identity was clearly not the most awkward.

Ai: "I am Hoshino Ai, the one mentioned in the diary. The disqualified idol who got pregnant at 16, gave birth to two reincarnators, and was ultimately killed by her own fan."

Upon reading this, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt like covering her face and leaving the group.

Her prologue was only written in the diary, and besides failing at chasing men, there wasn't anything particularly shameful.

Hoshino Ai, on the other hand, had all her dirty laundry exposed in the diary by the mysterious person!

Should I say something to cover up the awkwardness now?

Fortunately, Chitanda Eru followed suit with a message, helping to dissipate some of the awkwardness.

Chitanda Eru: "My name doesn't seem to have been mentioned in the diary, but the diary did mention the Classics Club, which is about to be disbanded. If nothing unexpected happens, I will join that club after school starts."

Chitanda Eru: "However, I'm not a rich young lady. It's just that my family is quite respected by the locals... And I'm not curious about everything!"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: New Permissions for the Diary

Chitanda Eru's statement appropriately diffused some of the awkwardness.

In the small group of only four people, after this special round of self-introductions, the discussion quickly turned to the diary.

They talked about their reactions after receiving the diary on the first day, their speculations about the mysterious person's identity, and their worries about the existence of vengeful spirits and yokai.

Kasumigaoka Utaha also learned that the true name of the chuunibyou-like "Evil Eye Strongest" was Takanashi Rikka.

Takanashi... a rather rare surname in Japan. Truly worthy of a protagonist.

Regarding the phantom thieves mentioned by the mysterious person in the diary today, the four of them didn't have many thoughts.

After all, even though the news reported daily about which phantom thief successfully stole certain treasures under police guard, and these phantom thieves even had a considerable following online.

In reality, these phantom thieves were too far removed from their lives, completely unrelated to their daily existence.

Let alone phantom thieves, they had never even encountered a detective, a normal profession in Japan, the four girls.

In comparison, the truth about the existence of vengeful spirits and ghosts in the world naturally captured their attention more.

After all, five Reading Points could unlock beginner-level Yin-Yang Eyes. If there were no ghosts in this world, why would this function be available?

Ai: "I'm currently thinking about whether I should save up some Reading Points to unlock the Yin-Yang Eyes. Since it can be turned off voluntarily, I just need to check if there are any vengeful spirits around me before sleeping, right?"

Chitanda Eru: "I'm also a little curious. If vengeful spirits exist in the world, would ordinary ghosts also exist?"

Chitanda Eru: "A very important relative of mine disappeared when I was little, but they promised me they would return. I want to use the Yin-Yang Eyes to confirm this possibility."

Chitanda Eru: "It's just that I'm a bit timid. I'm afraid that if I open my spiritual sight, the vengeful spirits will discover me right away, so I'm still hesitating..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "If you really want to try, you could watch a few horror and thriller movies first to get used to it."

Ai: "I can recommend some for you. I've been watching Japanese and Thai horror films recently. Although I'm a bit scared to sleep with the lights off at night, it's still somewhat effective."

Ai: "Thinking about it, Miss Yotsuya Miko's life must be really difficult. Even when I know I'm watching a horror movie, I often get startled. She, on the other hand, is in that kind of environment all the time, seeing everything but having to pretend she sees nothing to deceive those vengeful spirits."

Chitanda Eru: "I also think that Miss Yotsuya Miko must be a very strong girl. I'm a bit curious how she manages to persevere in that kind of environment; just thinking about it makes me feel a little helpless..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "After all, she's the protagonist of that story. If she couldn't persevere, the story wouldn't be able to progress."

Chitanda Eru: "Mmm, even though I've had the diary for a week, seeing the protagonist say that still makes me a little shy..."

Evil Eye is the Strongest: "Hahaha, as for me, I completely accepted this premise on the very first day I got the diary. If my Evil Eye isn't the protagonist, then no one can be!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha rubbed her forehead.

Although she thought this "Evil Eye is the Strongest" was most likely a chuunibyou girl, they hadn't met, so who could be sure about something like that?

What if what she said was true?

In any case, she decided to observe a bit longer.

However, seeing Chitanda's comment suddenly made her think of something.

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "Speaking of which, today is the seventh day since we got the diary. It seems like new permissions for the diary can be unlocked. I'll go check it out first."

Ai: "I'm researching it too. There are quite a few new functions, even features like alarms and memos have been added. These functions are quite useful for me. You'll know once you write 'Diary Permissions' in the diary."