"Onizuka Yamato's level increased by 1 for killing Shinichi Gotoda."... more>>

I'm just a company employee who happened to kill someone, and as a result, I choose to live my life by killing people and continue to raise my level.

If I'm going to kill, I'm going to kill bad guys! <<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

Physically confronting your abusive superior might be cool and satisfying when it happens in a drama, but, as Kazuo Sugishita is learning, it's less cool when you're sitting at home afterwards, terrified to learn how you'll be punished when you return to work the next day. The sentence he faces sounds surprisingly lenient - just a temporary reassignment to the company's entertainment department while things blow over. But he changes his mind when he gets the specifics: Kazuo has been assigned as manager-in-training (read "servant") to Shiro Hoshizono, the "Star Watcher": A pompous, showoff-y, completely insufferable talent with no actual talents except using his sickeningly sweet words and foreign model looks to seduce lonely middle... more>> aged women into paying for the privilege of hearing him speak.

The day after his new assignment, Kazuo and Hoshizono leave for Saitama Prefecture, where Hoshizono has been recruited to become an image character for a campground in the mountains, alongside a group of other colorful characters, including a romance novelist with the looks of Cleopatra but the personality of someone's grandpa and a UFO obsessed conspiracy theorist.

But the morning after their arrival, their host is found strangled to death in his lodge, the road back is buried in an avalanche, and... you can probably see where this is going.

Turns out, despite how he comes across normally, Hoshizono is actually a genius detective!

The novel features a unique chapter naming scheme where each chapter is titled as a three to four sentence summary of its own contents, focused upon what information about the case is discovered and what evidence appears, for ease of reference.

A nominee for the 50th annual Mystery Writers Association of Japan Award, long story category. <<less

I seem to have killed the original male protagonist.... more>>

A man lay on the ground, bleeding profusely, while I held a dagger in my hand.

“What is this body? Where is this place, and who is this man?”

Before I could grasp the situation I was in.

“Your Excellency? Is something wrong? I’m coming in!”

I was going to be framed as a mu*derer.

A voice, mysterious in nature, echoed in my head, like it was reciting words from a book.

[There was only one way for ‘Julia Reitz’ to escape the Duke of Bolev’s residence.]

I barely fled the mu*der scene whilst following the narration, but the voice continued speaking words I could not comprehend.

[What Julia Reitz sought for could only be fulfilled by Amon Spencer.]

Amon Spencer, the knight pursuing me.

Hold onto him.

***

“Do you mean to pursue the criminal as a team?”

[Julia spoke of the real cause behind Duke Bolev’s death.]

“Yes, I have information.”

We decided to form a temporary alliance for mutual benefit.

That was obviously it…

[Behind Amon’s firm expression, there was a hidden emotion sweet enough to melt anyone down.]

[It was love.]

Their contractual relationship, which she expected to end once the real perpetrator was identified, was changing. <<less

In this world, There are Confucians, Daoists, Buddhists, Demons, and Arcanists.... more>>

Xu Qi'an, a police academy graduate, suddenly finds himself waking up in a prison, set to be exiled to the frontier three days later...

His initial goal was to protect himself in this world with no human rights and to be able to live a leisurely life as a rich man.

...

Many years later, Xu Qi’an looks back on the past, with long-dead enemies and friends, as well as the numerous bones he has left behind.

As the Yangtze River flows eastward, the waves wash away the heroes; right and wrong, success or failure will all turn into nothing but history.

However, just like the sun’s rays gleaming over the towering mountains, after each sunset, a new sun will rise. <<less

Haruka, consulted by a friend who ran into a ghost at school, goes to the Movie Research Circle to see a man with mysterious powers.... more>> However, the person who meets her there is an affected young man with terrible bed hair and sleepy eyes. What does Haruka consult him about? A confinement and mu*der case at a women's university, a false su*cide case... The great detective who can see the spirits of the dead, Saitou Yakumo, takes these cases on in this astoundingly high-speed spiritual mystery! <<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

Cheng Jin: He is good at observing people’s behavior and analyzing it, and ultimately achieving the goal of solving cases- it can be regarded as psychoanalysis*... more>>

Yang Simo: He has emotional defects and antisocial personality disorder.
_

*Psychoanalysis: a system of psychological theory and therapy which aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques such as dream interpretation and free association. <<less

Suspicious cases, blood and family tangles.

Count Dundresses, favored by Anisha, Emperor of the Linton Empire, was found dead in a terrible condition.... more>>

Nas Moetton, who was working as an investigator under the Ministry of Police, who wished to become a doctor, takes on the case and finds out the culprit, but his reluctance does not go away.

.

“Miss Nasu, I’m thinking of asking for dinner on the excuse of being the minister for treatment, but are you busy today?”

“Can you pretend that the rumor that you and I are dating, for the time being, is the rumor being true?”

A big conspiracy lurks behind the case.

Unexpected facts and reversals become uncovered as we approach the truth.

And even a sweet romance that happens unexpectedly.

Will Nass be able to survive in a swirling event?

Who is the true love of the two men approaching her?

And, who really killed the Count? <<less

To avoid being pursued by the detective Shan Qingyun, the playboy Chu Yizhen had to pretend to be a hooligan and street punk. When the... more>> detective was provoked, life wouldn’t be easy for Chu, who was a real Prince. Now Chu finally understood: he shouldn’t have hit on Shan Qingyun in the beginning! He regreted it but it seemed to be too late. <<less

Private detective Du Han accepted a seemingly ordinary case: help a woman investigate her cheating husband.... more>>

But after boarding the cruise ship, deaths occurred one after another.

Werewolf card that fell on the scene, and the seemingly gentle tourist who really helped him…. <<less

Katsumi Yuuto, mistakenly summoned as a hero to defeat the Demon King in another world, lands in the world of Astoria as a regular person without receiving any power from the goddess. However, the Remiel Kingdom, which failed in summoning the hero, fears the condemnation from all over the world and decides to treat Yuuto as the hero.... more>>

Forced to fight as a hero, Yuuto, in the midst of battle, witnesses his beloved childhood friend, Miyako Kagurazaka, who was also inadvertently summoned like him, being killed by one of Four Heavenly Kings from the Demon Army. Vowing revenge, Yuuto acquires the means to fight over many years and successfully defeats the Demon King including the mastermind, the goddess. However, immediately afterward, he is swallowed into the interstice of dimensions and regains consciousness in modern-day Japan before he was summoned to another world. <<less

The once wealthy and powerful Ryuuzen clan has been all but destroyed. Their misfortune began in 1960, when a majority of the family was wiped out when their vacation villa was buried under a landslide. However, search and rescue teams discovered something even more shocking: A majority of the bodies they discovered showed obvious signs of having been mu*dered before the landslide.... more>>

As though it were a trigger, what came to be known as "The Curse of the Ryuuzen Clan" spread throughout the descendants of the family's only survivor. By mu*der, by su*cide, by accident... it seemed none who held the name "Ryuuzen" could live to see the age of 35, and now, the family has been reduced to a single woman, lying in a hospital bed, days away from death.

Kamo Touma was once just another of the endless parade of sleazy tabloid journalists looking to exploit a prominent family's tragedy to sell magazines, but Ryuuzen Rena's kindness melted his frozen heart, driving him to quit his old job and become an investigative journalist specializing in overturning cases of false arrest. Eventually, he and Rena were married, but now, the curse threatens to steal away their happiness.

Kamo prays for a miracle, and his prayers are answered by the Hourglass of Miracles, an artifact spoken of in rumors and urban legends, said to grant one wish to anyone who obtains it.

"Meister Hora", a guide for those who obtain the hourglass, tells Kamo there is only one way to break the curse and save Rena: He must travel back in time to the year 1960 and catch the culprit of the original Ryuuzen Family massacre.

Who was the culprit of the mu*ders that took place almost 60 years ago? Why did they steal away the lives of the Ryuuzen clan? What is the true nature of the "Curse of the Ryuuzen Clan?" And perhaps most mysteriously of all... What is Meister Hora's goal in all this?

Winner of the 29th annual Ayukawa Tetsuya Award. <<less

[System + Reasoning to Solve Cases + Single Female Lead] ... more>>

Deliveryman Su He accidentally got involved in a mu*der case, and at the same time bound a top-tier selection system! As long as he makes a choice, he will get a reward! With the help of the system, his life trajectory gradually deviates: Hey, I want to call the police, Mingjia Community, Building 2, Unit 603, someone committed mu*der... Yes, I'm safe now... Two people died... The mu*derer? Well, I locked him outside the door... I have no relationship with the deceased, I'm a deliveryman...

Officer Wen: Why do you, a deliveryman, always appear at the crime scene?...

Su He smiled and said, "If I say this is a coincidence, do you believe it?" <<less

A figure strolled along a trail, taking in the beauty of the flowers. Wherever she went, mu*ders seemed to follow in her wake.... more>>

She sought out a secluded spot under a crooked peach tree, closing her eyes to rest.

Out of the blue, a bundle came flying over a towering wall, and landed squarely into her arms.

She unwrapped the bundle revealing a freshly severed human head.

“Amituofo.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she steadily placed the head on the branches of the peach tree. Then she flapped her clothes, and airily departed from the scene. <<less

The love-hate relationship of a killer female teacher and an iron-willed, upright criminal policewoman.... more>>

Starting from junior high school, Jiang Qinglan finally had light in her life. To support herself and her useless, wastrel father, Jiang Qinglan had to start working as a prostitute at the age of 13, doing unspeakable things. Verbal and physical abuse, going to school with a battered face, were only a matter of course.

Before Xue Yunxin appeared, Jiang Qinglan had never known what others called “love.”

She gave her manhua to read, took her out for fun, and gave her food. They did everything friends and family were supposed to do. Xue Yunxin was the light in Jiang Qinglan’s heart.

“Yunxin, will you leave me?”
“No! I’ll always be with you!”

After growing up, when thinking of these words, Jiang Qinglan only felt ridiculous. Liar!

And Xue Yunxin, who’d already become a criminal policewoman, had never expected that her reunion with Jiang Qinglan would be at the arrangement of a mu*derer. She’d also never expected that, one day, she would stand in opposition to her own lover. <<less

In this city of Rosetta, where magic dwells in secret. Lizelle, who had no memories from when she was very young, was saved from a... more>> monster by Count Albert, a young man who manipulates magical flames. In exchange for protecting the girl, who was an ‘Ephemera’—a wonder drug that will bestow great power to demons, Albert demanded her to assist in investigating a certain incident he was following. Furthermore, she was ordered to work as a maid in the Count’s residence…?! This encounter with a demon Count, weary of his longevity, will change the life of the girl forever. A romance fantasy set in the city of hazy mist—. <<less

One moonlit night, Detective Kusaka Daisuke of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Investigation Department, 1st Division, managed to catch some criminals red-handed in the middle of an... more>> illegal drug deal. Struck by one of the perp's bullets, the detective sought refuge down one of the city's many back alley and stumbled upon a beautiful blond boy. The boy's eyes shone red, his skin unearthly pale like a porcelain doll. He called himself Luca, and against all logic, mysteriously aged into a young man before Kusaka's very eyes! What will become of this chance encounter? Find out in this modern-day fantasy set in the bustling streets of Tokyo. <<less

One day, the police arrest a man named Akihiko Noguchi. He is charged with violating the Misdemeanor Law by carrying a stun gun and handcuffs... more>> without a valid reason. However, the police had other aims. The police are looking for evidence and a confession during his 20-day detention, and Noguchi is trying to get away with ...... In between, this mystery film depicts the life of a young boy until he turns into a monster. <<less

Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.... more>>

Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.

"Since when have you been watching me?"

Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.

"From the very beginning." <<less

It’s been three years since I signed up as a tester for my employer’s detective action game and got stuck.... more>>

On the verge of becoming stagnant, rotten water, I was transferred to a dating simulation game.

Just as I was about to celebrate the end of a life chasing after the tails of criminals and screaming at the top of my lungs, a torn and shattered crimson system window appeared in my mind.

[system: The player’s passive skill ‘Quality of a Detective’ has been activated. Crime rate within a radius of 1km increased by 5%.]

What should I do with this?

It feels like I’ve brought disaster to the peaceful world of dating simulation.

*

“Let me ask you one thing. Why do you dislike me so much?”

“I don’t dislike you.”

[♥SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester’s favorability rating is -10 ♥]

“Ah, yes~! the noble one is putting up with me, so I should just disappear.”

Now, I must never see this person again.

As I made up my mind and grasped the doorknob, it happened.

‘Ding.’

[♥Affection Event:

‘Hope to Get Closer’ Event Triggered! ((っ´ω`)♥(´ω`⊂ )) Heart pounding!

Spend time with him in the secret room and increase your affection! Increased likability opens the chamber exit!]

Crazy, what is this, let me out, what did I do wrong!!! <<less

Lu Wen was reborn as a bionic housekeeper.... more>>

He thought he would do just simple housework in this life.

On the first day he was taken home by his employer, he received two instructions:

“Don’t go to the third floor.”

“Dig a hole in the backyard that can bury an adult, and dig a little deeper.”

What should he do now? Is this fate of MC? <<less

A light novel adaptation of Bungo Stray Dogs manga, written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa, that focus on the past of Dazai... more>> Osamu before he joins the Armed Detective Company. <<less

Ji Yao, the criminal investigation team leader, came home from work and knocked on the door of his new neighbour’s house. “Doctor, I broke the skin on my finger, and it hurts so much!”... more>>

Han Xi: “Sorry, police officer, forensic doctors only see dead people.”

Ji Yao leaned against the door and said, “I’m dead.”

Han Xi quietly watched him act: “Cause of death?”

Ji Yao smiled playfully. “Seduced to death by a certain beauty.”

Han Xi slammed the door. “Get out!”

One day, a long time later, he stood in front of her, and with a bang, a bullet hit his chest.

His breath was weak, but his smile was gentle. “It doesn’t hurt, and I can’t die. Don’t cry.” <<less