It was Sunday afternoon.
The first day of display ended with nothing happening. The same went for today, too, with little out of the ordinary. There were four more hours left for the challenge.
But no signs of the fake Red… Maybe our security was too tight?
Rio was in the display room, taking a TV interview. There were news stations all over the scene here, waiting for Red to appear. The clock was ticking on the public challenge, and they wanted to hear from Rio, it seemed.
“If Red doesn’t show up, do you consider that a victory for the museum?” a female reporter asked, holding out a mic for Rio to answer.
“Red will show up. The Blue Star they stole the other day is comparable in value to the Red-Hot Crown we have on display now, but together their worth multiplies many times over. With the Crown currently on public display, this is Red’s only chance to get it.” Rio didn’t seem nervous at all as she answered with ease.
“I see. However, I must point out that the police presence appears sparser than I would have expected. What is your strategy for guarding the Red-Hot Crown?”
“We’re relying on a flawless computer defense system. Having police officers and security guards stationed around the display would make it harder for visitors to fully enjoy the event. Since this is meant to be a chance for everyone to appreciate the gemstone, we wanted to create a more enjoyable viewing experience,” Rio replied without hesitation.
Behind her was a middle-aged detective who had a sort of bittersweet look. He must’ve been thinking about how it was usually his job to talk to the press.
I myself was leaning up against a wall, watching the interview. We had been on guard for two days straight, so I was starting to get tired.
Nevertheless, the display room was packed with people. Since there was a limit on how many people could enter the area at once to keep things from getting too chaotic, the line stretched out of the building.
“I bet they’re here to see Phantom Thief Red more than the jewel,” Daiki said from next to me.
“There’s no telling if Red is in this crowd or not,” Kento said with a sigh as he looked out at the crowd.
“That’s why we’re here, eh? Let’s trust our plan.”
Hearing this breathed some life back into me, and I pushed myself off the wall.
We’re almost through, so I’m gonna give it my all until the very end!
“There she is! Asuka!”
Huh?
I heard a voice I recognized, then turned to find Misaki, Yuzuki, and Kei.
Wh-why are you guys here?
“We wanted to surprise you. And maybe see Red if we got the chance,” Misaki said, sticking her tongue out at me playfully.
“Um…”
I didn’t know how to react and stumbled over my words. I was in the middle of waiting for the fake Red to appear, after all. I wasn’t in the mood for playfulness.
What’s more, Rio was—
“Oh, nice. You should show your friends around, Asuka.”
Ah, there she is. She finished her interview.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“We’ll be fine with just the three of us. Or do you not trust me?” Rio said with a devilish grin.
“No! That’s not the case at all!”
“Okay, I’ll go show them the display, then,” I said, before taking Misaki and the others through the display room.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Wow, so this is the Red-Hot Crown,” Misaki said, staring intently through the glass case at the gemstone.
“It really is beautiful…and look, there’s even a blurb. It says here, ‘The Red-Hot Crown, a gemstone owned by the prince of a desert country, is part of a set with the Blue Star, a gemstone owned by the princess of a coastal country.’ I heard about this on TV the other day.”
Yuzuki looked at the Red-Hot Crown with glimmering eyes.
“The story about the prince and the princess, right?” I said. “I heard about it from Rio.”
We continued to talk about it as we left the display. There was a long line behind us, so we couldn’t spend too long there.
“There’s a second part to the story,” Kei added.
Oh? A second part? Now that you mention it, I didn’t learn about what happened to the prince and princess who sent each other the gemstones.
Do you know, Kei?
“The princess’s country was attacked by a third nation, not the prince’s.”
Whaaat?! And what happened then?
“Her country wasn’t very strong militarily, so they struggled to defend themselves. And because of the poor relations with the prince’s nation, they didn’t get any help.”
“So what did the prince do about it?” I asked.
“At the rate things were going, the princess’s nation was on the verge of collapse, and the prince had no idea what would happen to her. He desperately convinced his father, the king, to send troops. He revealed their secret enduring love that had blossomed despite the relationship between their countries, and he wanted to help her and rebuild peace.”
“And?! How did it all pan out?!”
“The king decided to place faith in his son and sent troops.”
“All right! Go king!”
“It was just in the nick of time, too. The princess’s castle was surrounded by enemy forces, on the verge of falling, when the prince’s army arrived. His troops saved the day and defended the kingdom. Afterward, the prince and the princess married, and their two nations united as one.”
“So they got married! That’s nice…”
Misaki, Yuzuki, and I all looked at one another with a shared look of relief.
“These gemstones are considered to be the reason the two nations became one, so this Red-Hot Crown and the stolen Blue Tear have tremendous historical significance.”
✦ ✦ ✦
You don’t say.
Kei always knew everything. He was like a walking encyclopedia.
“Asuka, did you show them around?”
I turned to find Rio was standing next to me.
“Yes, I did. This is Misaki, Yuzuki, and my cousin, Kei.”
I introduced the three of them to Rio. Misaki and Rio both politely bowed, but Kei just stared at Rio.
“Aren’t you worried about getting the visitors of the museum involved?” Kei said out of nowhere to Rio.
Hey! Kei! Don’t be rude!
“I take it you don’t like my challenge?” Rio said, without appearing annoyed by the remark.
“You think that Red changed, right? If so, don’t you think Red might have changed to start taking hostages, too?” Kei asked, his expression unmoved.
“……………!” Rio seemed bothered by that. “I thought about it, but regarding their safety, I…”
Just as Rio went to answer Kei…
RING-RING-RING-RING-RING-RING-RING!!!
…a loud alarm rang out throughout the museum.
“What’s that? A fire?”
“We should probably get out of here.”
“Where’s the emergency exit?”
The visitors started to clamor more with every passing second.
“No! It’s Red!”
“Yeah! It’s got to be!”
“Red’s here!”
And then they started to completely panic.
People started rushing to the exit, shoving by one another, including the people in front of the display.
This is bad. Very bad.
The security team and police wouldn’t be enough to calm this number of people.
A wave of visitors came rushing at us. I tried to weave my way through the crowd, toward the Red-Hot Crown, but to no avail.
As I struggled to push my way to the display…
BANG!
A flash of blinding light burst in the room with a loud boom.
“Agh!”
“My eyes!”
The people in the display room were screaming now.
Watch out! Is it Red?!
Crack!
I heard the sound of glass breaking, and an alarm went off at almost the exact same time. I looked over at the display and caught a glimpse of a familiar weird pair.
It’s them! They showed up! I’m not gonna let them get away this time!
I started running toward them but couldn’t get past the wall of people trying to go in the opposite direction. I saw one of the Reds throw something onto the ground. In an instant, smoke welled up around them, expanding out into the room.
A smoke bomb!
I watched through the haze as the big and small fake Reds leaped out of the room.
Shoot! They’re getting away!
“Argh! So reckless! There’s nothing elegant about this approach! That’s no Phantom Thief Red!” Rio shouted angrily.
“Rio, we have more important things to worry about…”
The fake Reds were no longer anywhere to be seen in the room.
I turned to Kei, who made his way to my side.
“Let’s move, Asuka.”