As expected, the internet quickly exploded with reactions. "Oh my god, is this technique too fancy for a short story? Is Mr. Hachiman being extravagant? He used such an exquisite time trick just to write a short story for fun?"
"Uh, do you think Mr. Hachiman has started writing motives with his feet? Such a wonderful murder method just to cover up the stealing of pornographic videos or something—it's a bit shocking." Many noted that the murderer's motive in this case was too bizarre. Is this really the same Mr. Hachiman who wrote such a shocking motive in "Malice"?
"Shut up! You guys are vulgar! You don't understand erotica at all! No, you don't understand real style at all!" Isn't it true that in mystery writing, especially in new mysteries, one must use both the heart to devise tricks and the feet to create motives? How can we perfectly combine the two?
"Wow, wow, wow! I still prefer the social-style Hachiman who writes about erotic videos. Is this still the Hachiman who cares about society and can see through the evil in our minds?" The social mystery enthusiasts were completely devastated. Although they were impressed by the wonderful tricks in the story, they couldn't accept such a bizarre motive.
"By the way, does Mr. Hachiman enjoy watching erotic videos in private? It seems like he's a bit obsessed with it, even crafting a motive specifically for that." This is blatant speculation. Hikigaya thinks he could even become an honorary moderator of the Nofap Forum. He is determined to spend his life writing mystery novels.
"Let's talk about something serious. This story really showcases Mr. Hachiman's strong ability to create orthodox works. Such excellent techniques seem to come easily to him. There are too many twists, Mr. Hachiman." As for why Hikigaya didn't change his motive and insisted on using erotic videos that might damage his reputation, it was primarily to divert readers' attention. Readers who love orthodox reasoning tend to read very carefully, so they are likely to spot some loopholes in the trick of the story. To keep these serious readers from noticing the details, he had to concoct a very ridiculous motive.
When everyone focuses on the pornographic videos, they will naturally pay less attention to the story itself. Frankly speaking, it's challenging to perfect the techniques in short mystery novels; finding loopholes is nearly inevitable. I think Nishizawa Yasuhiko in a previous world must have thought the same.
———
"Hikigaya-kun, are you a pervert? I really didn't see that." When Hikigaya read the email sent to him by Haruno, he felt that his character had been tarnished. So he decided to send "Dismantling and Transfer," which is set to be serialized next month, directly to Yukinoshita Haruno, hoping she would understand what a real pervert is.
Hikigaya had previously stated on Twitter that "The Causes of Disintegration" is a collection of short stories written for fun, exploring various possibilities of dismemberment through small tales. In the first story, "Disintegration of Guardian," a younger brother cuts off the arms of his own bear to divert the eldest sister's anger away from the second sister. In the second story, "Dismemberment and Lifting," the murderer dismembers a body to make it easier to move. The third story he sent to Haruno, "Dismantling and Transferring," involves shifting the blame by dismembering a body, and the method is even more absurd.
"Wow, junior, are you finally willing to let me see a serious series first? I'm so touched, sobbing." Yukinoshita Haruno's response was somewhat pretentious, but her genuine happiness was evident. She opened the manuscript of "Dismantling and Transfer" on her computer. In the story, a man and a woman are on a blind date. This isn't their first meeting; the woman once spotted the man in a bookstore, where he was reading a pornographic magazine.
Haruno was speechless. She had just finished writing the script for the last story and was now delving into erotic magazines once again. "You're so playful, Hikigaya-kun," she thought.
Across the room, a man felt awkward as he overheard a nearby table discussing a recent murder case. To divert attention, he decided to share the conversation with Haruno. The plot unfolded: a man had gone out to dispose of garbage in a pile of black garbage bags. He looked anxious, as if he were handling a particularly challenging load of trash. However, it wasn't a designated garbage collection day, and as he left his house, a group of people led by a female salesperson began to criticize him.
They started to corner the man, and in that moment, one of the black bags he was carrying fell to the ground, revealing its contents—a decomposed corpse. The police arrived quickly and discovered that the body belonged to the woman who had lived with the man. Even though he was caught in the act, the man insisted that he hadn't killed anyone and had no idea there was a body in the bag. He claimed that the bag had been in his home, and he simply packed it with other trash to throw away.
In truth, the male protagonist was a scumbag. He was two-timing; he was living with one woman while having a female lover. He suspected that his lover had come to his home, quarreled with his partner, killed her, and framed him. However, the lover had a solid alibi. She admitted that she had intended to confront the hostess at the man's house but backed off upon seeing the saleswoman at the door. Due to her excitement, she later broke her leg. Her claim of having encountered both the saleswoman and the hostess was confirmed by the salesperson.
After absorbing this bizarre story, both individuals on the blind date fell silent. Eventually, Haruno spoke first, recounting her experience at a bookstore where they had previously met. She recalled seeing a middle-aged woman who had purchased a large number of erotic magazines all at once and loaded them into her car.
"Why would a middle-aged woman buy so many pornographic magazines?" the man speculated wildly. He theorized that the murderer of the hostess might be the female salesperson. Perhaps there had been an altercation during a sales process that accidentally led to the hostess's death. At the time, this detail seemed insignificant.
However, a surprising turn of events occurred. While the couple was at the sale, the female lover had arrived and seen the saleswoman, complicating matters for her. Desperate, she resorted to dismembering the hostess, placing the pieces in a black garbage bag, and storing it in the man's home. She then visited a nearby bookstore and bought a plethora of pornographic magazines, an act witnessed by Haruno on the blind date.
After buying the magazines, the lover brought them to the man's house, tore out the erotic pages, and covered the man's room with them. She even pasted some of the pages on the walls, creating an overtly erotic atmosphere. When the male host returned home, he was understandably shocked by the scene. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, he realized something was amiss. If the hostess returned and saw this mess, how would he explain it?
In a panic, he began packing all the erotic magazines into a black garbage bag. His mind was in chaos, and he didn't register that there was already a bag of garbage in the room. He simply combined the packed magazines with the existing garbage. Naturally, he couldn't leave the garbage at home; that would expose him to scrutiny. So, he decided to dispose of everything on a non-collection day, running into the female salesperson and her group that was already waiting.
In the end, as the blind date concluded, the man shared his reasoning with Haruno, who found it thrilling. They both enjoyed their time together, and thus, "Dismantling and Transferring" was finished.
"Wow!" Haruno exclaimed, slapping her right cheek in disbelief at what she had just read.
——————