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

“If you love me, you must change for me!”... more>>

With just one sentence from Ye Linghan, Ji Ran went from an Alpha to an Omega. Ji Ran endured adverse reactions after changing his physique and endured Ye Linghan’s repeated injuries. After Ye Linghan divorced him, heartbroken Ji Ran turned and left. As wished, Ye Linghan realized his mistakes and wanted to remarry Ji Ran. <<less

I come from a distant place,... more>>

Looking up, the stars change their patterns, and looking down, there are mountains and plains,

In the vast and boundless universe, she silently fades away when I am unaware,

You call her the long-extinct Blue Star, but I call her home...

In short, this is the story of Earth humans transmigrating into the notorious interstellar male zerg, struggling for survival in a different world.

(Zerg Unit Story; one couple per story~) <<less

An Rugu just graduated from university and returned to her small, mountain village to inherit a rundown Daoist temple.... more>>

The Daoist temple is simple and solemn, but there are no visitors, and there is no money for incense.

She heard that doing livestreams can earn money, so she decided to give it a try.

But her livestream isn’t singing and dancing—she tells fortunes.

——————

A divination livestream appeared on the Shark streaming platform, and the netizens who saw it dismissed it at first.

[It’s 2021, and there are still people who practice feudal superstition.]

[Look at you, you scam artist.]

But soon enough, the comments changed completely.

[Ah, master, you said my head was a little green, and my boyfriend who has been with me for ten years really cheated on me!]

[Master, you said that I was facing a bloody disaster. Thank you, master, for saving my life.]

After becoming popular, An Rugu somehow took over the task of promoting the Netherworld and became its spokesperson to the living.

Livestream divination to the living during the day—live attraction for ghosts at night.

[My grandpa came to me in a dream and told me to burn more paper money, so he can reward the streamer with dream money. Damn, the Netherworld really exists?!”]

[F*ck! The thief cried and returned the money to me after seeing the appearance of Hell in the livestream. He said he doesn’t want to go to Hell in the future.]
—————

Slice of life—except that An Rugu’s daily life consists of livestream divinations, conversing with denizens of the Netherworld, and running a halfway home for ghosts who don’t want to reincarnate yet.

Oh, and she also manages a small Daoist temple atop a pretty mountain with a magnificent view of the sky, rising through the clouds. <<less

‘Anyhow … I think I transmigrated into a romance fantasy novel.’... more>>

The problem is—I opened my eyes in a wake room. Within a coffin. At the funeral of this body’s owner. To make matters worse, I had read so many novels that I couldn’t remember which one I was in.

‘Ta-da~ you thought I was dead, right? I was not!’

On the other hand, I think I’m a villainess. My family is cold-hearted, and the servants shrink and shun me, often crying while looking at the air next to me. But it doesn’t matter! I’ll exploit my master in romance fantasy to get rid of my villainess tag!

But then, I found a strange pattern.

“What exactly is this?”

[How to summon •••]
‘Is it summoning formation to summon something like spirits or dragons? That’s good. A villainess needs at least one ability to protect herself.’

“Meow~”

‘But why was I chosen by a three-eyed leopard-patterned cheese cat, rather than spirits or dragons? Well, it doesn’t matter because it’s cute!’

A monster lives in Count Rohanson’s household. A creature lurking beneath the skin of the late Lady Evangeline.

“I’m Gabriel, commander of Paralos Knights. I’d like to know more about young lady Rohanson.”

‘Knight Commander, pitch black hair, azure eyes … Gabriel must be the male lead!’

“How foolish. You don’t even know your place. I’m not interested in you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just curious about you.”

‘How come? Aren’t I the villainess? Go find your partner, the female lead!’

My aim is to use my summoning circle to protect myself! I’ll also look after Pudding the cat and Jelly the werewolf.

“By the way … why does everyone keep trembling whenever they see me?”

A story about a heroine who thinks she’s in a romance fantasy novel and the unsettling events that happen to those around her. <<less

In Meng Zhao's eyes, the former Lu Shichen was like a skin wrapped in paper. He looked calm from a distance, but looked disgusting up close. Back, everyone was after Lu Shichen, but Meng Zhao felt that he was so fake that he aroused his disgust.... more>>

Meng Zhao didn't expect that one day he would see Lu Shichen once again. What was more expected was that Lu Shichen had got himself involved in a mu*der case and become the primary suspect in the case. . . And the person responsible for solving the case happened to be Detective Meng Zhao.

Author: You two, please describe your views on each other.

Meng Zhao: A mad dog who is extremely good at pretending.

Lu Shichen: A wild dog that can’t be beaten to death.

Lu Shichen x Meng Zhao: The mortal enemies finally get married.

(The one with the bad temper is Shou)

Suspense, solving the case, the plot line and the emotional line <<less

I, a mere con artist, was unjustly imprisoned in Tantalus, the Abyssal Prison meant for the most nefarious of criminals, where I met a regressor.... more>>

But when I used my ability to read her mind, I found out that I was fated to die in a year…

and that the world would end 10 years later. <<less

Ever since he traveled to this world, Shen Qianling has been troubled by three things the most. The first is too many fans, the second is too many fans, and the third is too many fans.... more>>

Qin Shaoyu: “Another group of people came from down the mountain and said they wanted to learn how to make rainfall from you”. Shen Qianling was shocked, “when did I master this skill?” <<less

【Host, host! I might be late, but I, the Femme Fatale Conquer System, am here to accompany you!】... more>>

【Now, let's first conquer Momoana, a legendary female emperor who boasts looks and wits.】

Shu Yichao: "Charge, my nomads! Show them our unrivaled archery!"

And so, Momoana died.

【My host, I'll assume what happened earlier was an accident. We have to succeed for the next one. Our next conquer target is Purin, a lofty and cold sorceress.】

Shi Yichao: "Clear the mobs and stack skeletons! I shall bring the undead calamity upon the world!"

And so, Purin died.

【...Maybe you didn't hear me clearly, my host. I said court her, not cull her. Our next target–】

Shu Yichao: "Build the hive and spam the worms. My hive mind shall devour the world! Who can compete with me?"

【...】

Shi Yichao: "Halleluyah! I have finally gotten rid of every single one of them! Speaking of which, System, it has been a long time since you last spoke to me?"

【I'm tired. Just go and destroy everything.】 <<less

Ning Shu had dropped dead. But in a burst of good fortune, she became a task-taker in charge of counterattacking for the pitiful cannon fodders. Thus, Ning Shu, in one world after another, took... more>> all kinds of life roles and encountered all kinds of “you’re heartless, you’re ruthless, you’re making trouble for no reason” people. She encountered all sorts of white lotus flowers, green tea b*tches, scheming b*tches, by the batch.

“Does any true beauty still exist in the world?!” Bellowed Ning Shu angrily. “You annoying tr*sh! I’m just here to counterattack, please don’t get in the way of me completing my task.” Transmigration main character, reincarnation main character. There’s only a lazy task-taker, no indestructible main character halo. Ning Shu had no choice, but to painfully gather moral integrity in each of the worlds. <<less

Humans, once the masters of Earth, were losing their place to the inexplicable phenomena known as Objects.... more>>

And this is a story about becoming an Object and living worry-free in the Seoul of such a world. <<less