Tired of the yoke of the Divine Justice Alliance, master assassin Hajin Cheon attempts to flee, only to be confronted by martial artists of all... more>> allegiances, both orthodox and deviant. Succumbing to the wounds of his ferocious struggle for freedom, he awakens in the body of Ryang Seo, a prince of the notorious Heavenly Demon Cult who suffers from a disorder that prohibits him from the use of qi. In order to survive in his new life, Hajin must contend with the many dangers and enemies that lurk within the cult. <<less

In the winter of three years ago, the first locked room mu*der in Japanese history was committed.... more>>

All of the evidence pointed to the defendant. It was certain they were guilty. And yet, they were found innocent and released. Why? Because the crime scene was a perfect locked room no one from the police or the prosecutor's office could solve.

"Since the room was locked, it was impossible for the defendant to have committed the mu*der. It's no different than if they had a perfect alibi." That was the argument of the defense, and that was the argument the judge sided with.

The ruling sent a ripple throughout Japanese society. No matter how suspicious you were or how much evidence you left behind, as long as you managed to create a locked room that no one could solve, you were immune from prosecution. With the common anti-mystery fiction talking point "there's no reason anyone would ever actually commit a locked room mu*der" completely overturned, the rate of locked room mu*ders in Japan skyrocketed.

When the police proved unable to deal with the surge of locked room crime, the Ministry of Justice published an official categorization of all known locked room tricks as an investigative aid. When that proved insufficient, Division Zero of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, a police division dedicated solely to solving locked rooms, was created. When that still proved insufficient, locked room detectives, private investigators specializing in locked rooms, were officially licensed by the state and authorized to participate in police investigations. Calling a locked room appraiser, someone specializing in searching buildings for secret passages, is now a common first step in criminal investigations.

On the other side of the spectrum, locked room agents, assassins and crime planners specializing in locked room mu*ders, have become some of the most notorious criminals in Japanese history, and even a cult worshiping the scenes of locked rooms as a way to purify the souls of the deceased has made rapid inroads into Japan.

The protagonist, Kasumi Kuzushiro, is an introverted, somewhat cynical high school student who loves mysteries. Kasumi often finds himself dragged along on bizarre journeys by his flighty childhood friend, Yozuki Asahina. Due to their staggeringly bad luck, these trips often leave them in the wrong place at the wrong time to be caught up in locked room mysteries. Fortunately, another of Kasumi's childhood friends, Shitsuri Mitsumura, is the greatest locked room expert in the world, and can always discover the truth.

Hm? How did a high school girl become the greatest locked room expert in the world?

It's simple.

She's...

Volume 1 was the grand prize winner of the 2022 This Mystery Is Amazing! awards. <<less

Right when Drako Yau, the chairman and game designer of a game company, is about to release the open beta of the game which he has been developing for years, things go awry. Another company suddenly launches a game which can be played using the brainwave technology, Real World. The map, background, game mechanics, and many more; everything is almost identical to the game he has designed.... more>>

Out of curiosity and bitterness, he enters the game, only to find that he cannot log out of it. He has to struggle in what seems to be a game, with his life on the line. <<less

A passenger plane crash-landed by accident. The survivors went through a lot before landing on a mysterious giant island! Soon people discovered that this huge island did not exist on any maps! A killer who was originally going to carry out an assassination mission on the plane became the bodyguard protecting the female politician he was targeting. A young rich couple who were originally going to Hawaii for vacation - the man suddenly died... A wrecked cruise ship landed at midnight...... more>>

Let's leave our fast-paced city lives and embark on a thrilling adventure on this mystical deserted island! <<less

The most dependable (sarcastic) assassin -- Gao Xuan. Developing himself with an inventory of powerful gear. A master of biding his time, backstabbing, and brutalizing... more>> weaklings. Don’t love me. Nothing would come out of this. I am an assassin without feelings. <<less

She, a renowned assassin of the 21st century, actually crossed over to become Su Manor’s most useless good-for-nothing Fourth Miss. ... more>>

He, Jin Empire’s imperial highness, was an emotionless overbearing demonic tyrant with unrivaled talent.

Everyone knew that she was idiotic and good-for-nothing and bullied her as they pleased. But only he, the overbearing tyrant with the discerning eye, wouldn’t let go of her even if his life depended on it.

For the time being, let’s just see how the stubborn versus stubborn clash and play out in this good show of the chaser and the chased. <<less

Ye Hao's life underwent a transformation with just a drop of God's Blood. Full marks, lottery ticket, basketball genius, or swimmer? No, I am now... more>> all-powerful. The stunning school beauty confessed her feelings to me. The formidable female CEO turned out to be my affectionate big sister. The adorable little Loli wanted me as her beloved big brother. <<less

The moment she opened her eyes, she was in a secret room. ... more>>

"Do you remember anything?"
“…No. I don't remember anything. What about you?"
"I don’t remember anything at all."

A faint 30 on the wall. Tinnitus rang in her ears.

"Were you the first to wake up?"
"That seems to be the case. Unless someone is pretending to be asleep."

The man next to her looked away from the people and replied quietly. Then, he was about to say something, but closed his mouth and stared. The clicking sound of the lighter suddenly ceased.

"What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?"

When she asked quizzically, the man finally spoke after a long while.

"It feels like we know each other." <<less

Jiao Yuanju's breathless race against a monstrous snake leads him to the safety of a futuristic city, where humans coexist with genetically enhanced Combat Pets. ... more>>

Struggling to secure his future and support his family, Jiao acquires an unremarkable Azure Snake, hoping it will transform his destiny.

After purchasing a bloodline talisman, Jiao witnesses his new pet evolve beyond ordinary limits, thanks to a mysterious system that binds to him and offers powerful enhancements.

As Jiao explores the capabilities of this system, he must decide how to use his newfound power. But can this system be the key to his ascent as a Combat Pet Master, or will it thrust him into unforeseen dangers? <<less

“The black-bellied beauty gong × the proud seductive emperor shou”... more>>

Li Qingyun is a cruel and foolish king who is notorious for committing all kinds of wicked acts in the Kingdom of Yong. After falling into the water, he woke up and discovered that he was actually the cruel emperor scumbag in a heart-throb novel.

In the plot: He destroyed the protagonist shou’s country, trapped him in the harem, broke his pride, and used all sorts of methods to obtain the protagonist shou. In the end, he was killed in prison by the heartthrob protagonist shou and a group of dog-licking cannon fodder gong—the country was ruined, the family was destroyed, and he died with his eyes open1.

T/L note: 1 死不瞑目: to die with remaining grievances

Li Qingyun looked at the protagonist shou, Dugu Li who had his country destroyed by him and was punished to kneel in the snow, then fell into deep thought. He (Li Qingyun) decided to change his methods, treat Dugu Li well, send him warmth, and change Dugu Li’s hatred for him. In the end, Li Qingyun successfully embraced the beauty.

“A-Li, I won’t force you to do things you don’t want to do anymore. Why don’t you smile at me?”

“A-Li, I will give you as much freedom as possible. Are you happy?”

“A-Li, I want you to be my queen, I want to kiss you, hold you, and pamper you." <<less

After opening his eyes, he found himself on the path to becoming the butler of an assassination family, the Zoldyck Family. ... more>>

There is Zeno, who managed to kill one person each day. There was also Illumi, who had a twisted sense of humor and a strong brother complex, and Kikyo, who was doting and leaned towards being a masochist.

There was also Gatoh, who appeared cold but had a warm heart, as well as the serious Silva. And not to forget, the yet-to-be-born Killua and Kalluto… Noah felt immense pressure being a butler here.

As he trained hard, wanting to leave the Zoldyck, he discovered some unspeakable secrets about himself…

This is a story of a Nen user’s growth from weakness to strength… This is a normal Hunter x Hunter fanfiction. <<less

“For a medical practitioner, there is no righteous or unorthodox faction. There are only patients!”... more>>

Kang Choryang, the Medicine Immortal, treated his patients with kindness and excellent medical skills.

But the repayment for that was a cold blade that pierced his heart…

“…How am I alive?..”

For reasons unknown, the Medicine Immortal Kang Choryang has possessed the body of Sa Seongcheon, the heir to the number one sect in the unorthodox faction — the Black Sky Guild.

His enemy being the Murim Alliance Lord, Neung Unsaeng, he was glad to have possessed the legitimate son of that person’s arch-nemesis, Black Moon Martial God, Sa Gunak, but…

“Isn't this guy a complete, complete... loser?”

…he was also frustrated to find that his dantian is deformed and can’t accumulate internal energy.

“Oh, oh my!”

Then, he realized that his new body has the constitution sent by heaven – it’s a Heavenly Martial Body!

The story of Sa Seongcheon, who heals his dantian and takes revenge on the Murim Alliance Lord Neung Unsaeng, begins! <<less

After ten thousand years of cultivation, he could have achieved immortality. However, his lack of human experience led to his failure to attain immortality.... more>>

Thus, he resolved to immerse himself in a century of human existence, seeking to enhance his journey toward immortality. What he didn't anticipate, though, was that upon entering the human world, he would find himself cast as a son-in-law, facing disdain not only from his wife's parents but also from his beautiful wife herself.

Armed with a wealth of cultivation knowledge, how could he transform his drab human life? <<less

I witnessed a mu*der scene of a villain.... more>>

To make matters worse, he caught me.

I think I hear the sound of death beckoning.

He approaches me, his hand in his coat.

I wonder what he’s reaching for.

A knife? A gun? I guess it doesn’t matter. There’s only one thing I can think of now.

“I’m going to die.”

I wasn’t expecting what he pulled out of his coat.

“Will you marry me?”

“What?” <<less

Min Dojun, the country's top hunter was happily living with his wife, but the hunters' coup took that away from him. ‘If given the chance,... more>> I will kill every single one of them.’ Did that earnest wish reach the heavens? Instead of dying while promising revenge, he found himself back in the past, with a trait that he didn't have before, 'Hunter's hunter? Isn't this a scam?' <<less

Millicent was accused of being a witch and burned at the stake.... more>>

She was brought back to life for some reason, but she kept her past a secret.

Then one day, a request from the Queen came in. She wanted her to kill the five ladies who were considered candidates for the King’s consort.

Millicent complied with her request out of personal vengeance.

Somehow, Millicent got terribly involved with the notorious king. Despite the advice that nothing good would come to attract his attention.

She even got a glimpse of his real face hidden under a nice mask....

“The opposite of indifference is obsession.”

The presence of the king who approached playfully was annoying and unsettling.

Millicent realized.

The fact that she had been moving on his chessboard for some time.

And she knew that the bloody number given to her was not five. <<less

“If we… were not a mismatch from the beginning…”... more>>

I, born as a half-blood between a human father and an Ime mother, faced various persecutions from fellow Ime individuals and grew up without even obtaining a name.

Having inherited the only talent from my deceased father, the skill of drawing, I managed to sustain a living by occasionally selling my body. However, I had a beloved mother to protect.

One day, the Ime village, known for the rumor of the merciless Black Martial Emperor, the king of the Baedal Kingdom and an assassin, was devastated by the extermination led by the notorious Black Martial Emperor. My mother, too, fell victim to their cruel hands.

Devastated by shock and grief, I resolved to seek revenge against the Black Martial Emperor. Disguised as a painter, I successfully infiltrated the Baedal Kingdom’s castle.

Despite appearing slender and having no proper training in swordsmanship, I possess a formidable weapon known as the ‘Ime’s Poison’… <<less

Stabbed 7 times. Massacred 11 times. Beheaded 5 times. Hanged 3 times. Burnt to death 7 times. Drowned 8 times. Run over 3 times. Shot... more>> 12 times. Poisoned 6 times. Strangled 7 times, etcetera… Scarlett was a villainess whose life has repeated 108 times in total. The duke’s redheaded, red-eyed daughter summoned fear and terrorized the nation as a ruthless queen. In all of her 108 lifetimes, she always ended up dying at the age of 28. After 107 lifetimes ending by being killed by one of the five heroes and the flower-minded heroine, she died for the 108th due to an accident. Thus on her 109th life, Scarlett regains all her memories and tries to break free from the loop. Will Scarlett be able to break the chains of the Red Curse? <<less

“Please, become Atalante Blanc.”... more>>

Being proposed by the man she was supposed to kill, in a nutshell, it s**ked.

Atalante went against her foster father’s last words to be a good child, and became the boss of the underground organisation.

She received a request from the Emperor to assassinate the tyrant, Grand Duke Lionel Blanc.

Of course, there was also a suggestion to bewitch him.

‘As long as I finish this, I can wash my hands off from the underground.’

After assassinating the Grand Duke, she dreamt of halting all villainous acts and living peacefully with her group’s members, but what was this?

“What’s your name?”

As the Grand Duke asked for his assassin’s name, he was blushing. His eyes, definitely… they were ones of someone that had fallen in love.

Love potion. Because of that absurd drug, Atalante had stolen the heart that she wanted to cease.

As Atalante was half-forcibly ascended to Grand Duchess’s position, she made a resolution.

Since the situation was like that, she’ll reap a substantial profit before divorcing him, just like the part of a villain. However…

“I don’t have any intention of letting go of someone that’s mine.”

“What?”

“In this world, I only have one person, and that is my wife, you.”

It seems that it would be a little difficult to actualize her resolution. <<less

"Let's date!"... more>>

Because you like me, and I like you too!

On my 10th birthday, along with my past life, I remembered that this world was a romance fantasy novel. In addition to that, my current family will be ruined by the villain! Because of that, my beautiful life at the age of ten had a primary goal: to rehabilitate the villain—the first prince who was abandoned in the palace.

"Oho, you shouldn't use strength to suppress the weak."

"Conversation! Conversation! We have the wonderful means of conversation! Always choose to have a conversation first!"

"If the other party is hurt, even out of courtesy, ask if they're okay!"

Handsome! Well-raised! Someone who likes me so, so much! How could I not like someone like this?

But then... Could it be because he was raised too well?

"I'm sorry, we can't date right now."

"Why?"

"To truly earn your love, I must slay a dragon!"

That was something I said randomly while reading a romance novel...!

"I want to become a man worthy of being by your side. So, I'll catch a dragon!"

Crazy man! How could there be a dragon in this peaceful era! <<less

A part-time job contract. He became the cold CEO’s imitation boyfriend. He merely wanted to earn a few small bucks and live a comfortable life,... more>> but a pity, he was in constant turmoil since then. Well, life had something else for him despite his wishes.“That… beauty, will there be an increase in wages for conversion from ‘boyfriend’ to ‘husband’?” <<less

Ian, who was a hitman, finishes his last mission and drives the knife across his neck.... more>>

[I’ve never seen the place where I woke up after I stopped breathing.]
Somewhere with strange people and endless dark forest.

One could occasionally hear crying at dawn.

As soon as he realized that he was in someone else’s body named ‘Ian’, the high gates were opened, and he met the owner of the mansion, who had blue blood on him; the color of the serpent.

“I’ve been worried a lot since you got back covered in blood.

It’s good to see you breathing fine.”

His hair disheveled and as dark as the night. Tall, dark skinned with slender eyes, the aura around him felt slightly dominant.

[Ah, he’s the man I had already killed.]

Ian realizes the moment he looks at his face,

He can’t think of his name or the reason why I killed him.

The man had a suspicious attitude…. <<less

The struggles between the puppet king and the nobles, in a 22nd-century royal city stained with violence and corruption, where prostitution and violence run rampant, there lives a young man named Ray Arisa, scraping by while running a secondhand bookstore in a corner of the brothel. Ray, impoverished and plagued by illness, seeks to forget the pain tormenting him and spends a night with a randomly chosen partner at the Gaiba, a place where people go to indulge themselves, only to meet a mysterious man affiliated with the political gang Guiger.... more>>

Ray, with his neat appearance and polite speech, and the man, who harbors an unexpectedly violent passion in the bedroom, continue to meet by chance. As their relationship, which started as a simple one-night stand, becomes increasingly complicated... <<less

On the day my husband-to-be was escorted to the execution ground, I entered his household… Yun Lian was destined for wealth but never its fortune. ... more>>

In her previous life, she had arduously climbed up to become an HR director with an annual salary just crossing seven figures. In the blink of an eye, she found herself transmigrated.

In this new world, she embodied a character affluent and beautiful, betrothed to a highly learned man from an illustrious background.

However, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Her prospective in-laws were all villains who had recently been thrown into prison. Her fiancé took upon himself all the blame, ensuring the release of his entire family.

The original owner sought to dissociate herself from this sinking ship by hitching onto the coattails of the newly enthroned emperor. Not only did she kick him while he was down, but she also personally went to the jail to humiliate her fiancé severely. On the very day her fiancé was being led to the execution grounds for beheading, she packed her dowry and, clutching a rooster, defied her entire family’s opposition to enter her fiancé’s now-tumultuous home. The benevolent new emperor decreed that one person’s crime should be borne by that person alone, sparing the rest of the family from punishment but stripping them of their titles and official posts, reducing them to commoners.

Her future father-in-law could not withstand the shock and fell gravely ill. The matriarch of the family struggled to keep everything together, barely hanging on. The mother-in-law knew nothing except weeping. Below them were two young twin brothers and a half-sister.

Yun Lian led this extended family away from the political strife of the capital to settle down in their ancestral countryside. She saw to it that even the mischievous younger siblings started learning practical skills from an early age. The seemingly naive mother-in-law would soon toughen up under the sun’s rays. The aging matriarch, despite her frailty, proved surprisingly spry when tending to livestock or gathering pigweed. And as for the heartbroken father-in-law, Yun Lian ensured everyone was taken care of meticulously. With her legs propped up, basking in the sun and perusing account books, she found life quite agreeable indeed.

In this ancient era, she neither married nor engaged in harem intrigue; instead, she had a bunch of little rascals to manage, which wasn’t so bad.

Just as she settled into this idyllic rhythm, her fiancé – whom she believed had long been executed – suddenly appeared with a group of bodyguards.

The guards knelt and declared loudly, “We respectfully invite the Queen Empress to enter the palace!”

Her handsome fiancé gazed at her with profound affection capable of drowning a person, calling out, “Lian’er~”

Yun Lian: ???

(She is perplexed and surprised by the sudden turn of events.) <<less