The sun was in Octavia’s eyes, so she couldn’t quite make out Raven’s expression. It seemed to her that he might be smiling, but he also might have looked troubled. He isn’t lying, she thought. But it still might be a trap, so she was wary.
“Haven’t you only stuck around...for the fun of it, or some such reason?”
“That might be it. But the truth is that I don’t really know. Therefore, I’d like to make a request of the detective.”
Raven had come so close that their bodies were almost touching. She pushed back against his chest. “Y-You’re too close, Raven.”
“Detective Octavia.” The movement of his lips as he spoke her name was seductive. Considering all that had just occurred, this was all the more incongruous. But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. After all, he was being sincere. His hazel eyes were clearly troubled. His face was not covered by a mask right now, so she couldn’t help but notice.
“I want you to uncover my true identity, the one even I don’t know,” Raven whispered in Octavia’s ear.
She opened her eyes again. There was a click deep in her heart, where her wishes and his request meshed together perfectly like a pair of cogs.
“What will be my compensation?”
“My salary as your assistant. I’ll even throw in some sweets for you to enjoy at work.”
Not a bad deal.
“No, this clearly won’t do! Isn’t it obvious?! He’s just trying to extract information from you!” cried Hat.
“I’m a detective,” Octavia said after a pause. “I won’t be fooled.”
“That’s right, Octavia! Now that I think about it, if you can steal back the emergency activation key from this scoundrel, then the case will be done and dusted!”
“I have no intention of fooling anyone,” said Raven.
“Just how are you able to tell such bold lies?! I’m actually impressed!” blurted out Hat.
“My first priority is to catch Crow, the Phantom Thief!”
Raven could only blink in response. Hat was also silent.
Octavia stared back earnestly at Raven. “Only then can I focus on your case. Isn’t that right?”
“Ah... Yes. Well, I...suppose?”
“That’s right. It’s pointless for you to try and sneak in ahead of him. I will not let him get away.” Octavia held her head high, full of confidence.
Raven, his expression suddenly sober, murmured, “I wasn’t expecting that reaction.”
“Neither was I,” muttered Hat. “Who knew this good-for-nothing was so inflexible?”
“But don’t worry. I still accept your request.” I’ll take my compensation, too. It’s win-win. I almost feel like the world is on my side.
With the wind blowing against her face and soft earth under her feet, Octavia smiled. She now knew what it was that she wished for.
“I, too, want to know everything there is to know about you.”
She was also sure that one day, she would understand why the man before her had just stopped breathing. The thought of learning this filled her with excitement.
“This concludes our negotiations. I look forward to continuing to work with you, Raven.”
“...”
“Ah, that’s right. I have to say thank you to Ashton as well. He gave me some useful information. I’d like to stay in his good books from now on, as I continue to pursue Crow, the Phantom Thief. The police are an essential source of information for a detective, after all.”
Eliza must be worried, too, Octavia thought. She would make her report to Eliza and, while she was at it, ask her to see that Ashton would be promoted. Everything was just getting started.
Octavia held her head high, but Hat, sitting atop it, looked weary. “In my omniscience and omnipotence, one thing has finally become clear to me. This is not going to work out well.”
“I guess I really don’t understand you after all,” said Raven, smiling sheepishly.
Octavia had never seen him wear such an expression. She could hear an involuntary pounding in her own chest; in a hurry, she turned her back to him. Then, only after she’d taken a deep breath, she turned to face him once more.
“So you say. But even I can’t say that I truly understand myself. Isn’t that true for everyone?”
“I guess so. Now that you mention it, you, too, are a bundle of mysteries to me.”
“Would you like to try solving them? Go ahead. I’ll catch the Phantom Thief, so you can work on that.”
She still didn’t know the first thing about him. So she wanted to know. She backed away from Raven—one step, then another, then a third step.
Then, at last, she threw down the gauntlet between herself and the one who still dwelt deep in his heart.
“Just try and steal my heart, Phantom Thief.”
The thing I want to know most is what you’ll do after hearing that. Spinning away from Raven a final time, Octavia set forth, with Raven following after her a moment later. She decided to do him the favor of not turning to see his expression this time. She had some pity in her heart, after all.
They could not help but pursue each other’s mysteries. They hoped to uncover everything. They knew full well what to call a trap such as this, even as it continued to ensnare them, ever still more inexorably. But it wouldn’t be any fun to solve such a puzzle so quickly!
The sun was still high in the sky. There was still plenty of time until the silhouettes of the detective and queen, and the assistant and Phantom Thief, would fade into the night.