The sweet, fragrant smell of demi-glace sauce reached my nose.
Mm-mmm!
Dinner tonight was my dad’s famous beef stew. It was one of my favorites.
My dad, still wearing his apron, brought out three bowls and set them down on the table for us.
Today was his restaurant’s day off. That’s why he made something that normally takes a while.
Unfortunately, my uncle was running late because of work, but beef stew was perfect for times like these, since it was easy to reheat.
“All right! That’s everything,” Dad said as he brought out a big bowl of salad for us, which he set down on the table.
“Kei. Dinner’s ready,” I called over to Kei, who was watching the news on television.
“……………”
He didn’t respond, though.
Is there something interesting on the news today?
I turned around to get a look for myself.
There was a female newscaster and an older man in a suit who looked like an expert in a news studio.
“And now, on to today’s top story. At five o’clock this afternoon, Phantom Thief Red struck again, this time targeting the XY Museum, where several valuable Renaissance paintings were stolen. Authorities have confirmed that a genuine Phantom Thief Red calling card was left at the scene. Interestingly, the stolen artwork is not classified as previously stolen, leaving the thief’s motives unclear. The police have launched a full-scale investigation, dedicating all available resources to tracking down Phantom Thief Red’s whereabouts.”
Um, huh…? Did they say Red…?
Wait, what?!
Both me and Kei, and my dad, were all at home today at five o’clock!
I stood up in front of the TV.
“What’s alarming about this case is that none of the art stolen by Phantom Thief Red has any ties to known criminal activity,” the expert stated with a serious, regretful expression.
“And why is that?”
“Each piece is highly valuable, meaning Phantom Thief Red may have stolen legitimate artwork this time.”
“And if that’s the case, what does it imply?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“It could mean that Phantom Thief Red’s motives for these thefts have changed.”
“Changed”?! What’s this guy talking about?!
“Namely, it’s possible they’ve chosen to use their talents for monetary gain. Given the current climate, it wouldn’t be surprising.”
“If that’s true, however, Phantom Thief Red—once known for their chivalrous style of theft—would have strayed from their original path… A truly unfortunate turn of events.”
The newscaster summarized the story before moving on to the next news piece.
Uh…
Um…
What are they saying?!
Phantom Thief Red has new motives?
We’ve strayed from our path?
The heck we have! What’s going on here?! I didn’t do anything!
“There’s a fake,” Kei said calmly.
“A fake?! So there’s someone out there pretending to be Phantom Thief Red and going around stealing legitimate paintings?”
“That’s right. That’s the only feasible explanation. That said, I don’t know why they would pretend to be Phantom Thief Red. Even if they want to pin the blame on us, perfectly re-creating our card would take a lot of effort.”
What do you mean? They barely talked about the card on the news.
“Exactly. They didn’t say there was a possibility that it was a replica, meaning the police believe it is the real thing.”
No… So even the police have fallen for it… Is that card really that easy to replicate, though?
“It isn’t. To start off with, there’s only a handful of people who have ever even seen the card. The police always collect them at the scene of the crime. So a regular person would never have access to one. Not only that, but the cards also use a special holographic image that makes them difficult to replicate. The police believing they’re the same cards means they’ve replicated that as well.”
“The holo, uh, thingy is that shiny part of the card, right?”
“That’s correct. While it’s not impossible to copy, the impostors would need an actual card to create a replica that would fool the police.”
“So the fake Red has one of our cards?!”
“Precisely. They’re using our name to try and pin the blame on us while they make off with expensive paintings.”
“Those rats! I’m not gonna let them get away with this!”
Kei turned around and went straight to his room. He was going to do some research.
All I could do was rely on Kei for now. He would find the information we need.
You just wait, you big phony!
Although…I wonder how that news sounded to Rio? I have a bad feeling about this.