Chapter 15

Interval Three “And that was how Enhancedia destroyed the museum and solved the mystery of the phantom thief…” Jim sighed deeply. He lowered his gaze, stretched out his right arm, and placed his left over his chest, slowly continuing the theatrical gesture. “Aaah! You! Do you even know what you’ve done?!” He sprang to his feet and started shouting, both eyes open as wide as they could go. “The entire museum is ruined! Eighty percent of the exhibits are either destroyed or damaged! Do you understand how many hundreds, thousands, even billions of stels of damage this is, considering the value of the museum itself?! No, it’s not even an issue of money!” “So which is it?” “Both! As a patron of the arts, I simply can’t forgive this atrocity…!” “We didn’t destroy the art museum. Just the main museum.” “That’s not the point!” Jim flailed his arms and spun around several times, Norman watching him with a squint. “…” “It’s your job to minimize damage from these incidents! What were you doing?! You’d better think of a good excuse because I’m recording this for posterity!” “There was nothing I could have done.” Norman gave a quick nod to the enraged Jim. “Miss Lonsday is more valuable than all the art you speak of.” “…” His tone was utterly serious and without a trace of humor, even taking Jim aback. He gave Norman a look of complete disbelief for several seconds. “Well, whatever.” Changing course, Jim sat quietly in his chair. “Filzy Mule. It’s the belief of Cartesius that one needs to have a strong sense of self to become an Unlaw as a child—but I’ve never seen such an old one before, either. Apparently, age has no effect on awakening.” He spoke smoothly, like his earlier agitation had never happened. “I remember her from when I visited the museum. She explained the exhibits to me a few times and seemed like a gentle old woman. I never imagined she’d turn into an eccentric phantom thief like that, hopping around in costume. It’s very troubling.” “I was wondering why she was so eccentric, but now that I know she’s your acquaintance, it makes sense.” “Ha-ha-ha! You don’t get to tell me that!” Jim laughed three times and shrugged. “Still, the ability to infiltrate anywhere is useful. It’s unusual to see someone reach Category Three in the field. It would have been useful to keep her.” Norman didn’t even flinch. “…Do you have nothing to say for yourself?” “Not really. Actually, my whole body hurts, and talking is starting to be a bother.” “Then it’s time for the final tale! We’ve been following the ranks in order so far, so if we continue…!” “…No, there’s no rank above that. Category Three is it.” “Then let me hear it!” The locked-room murder with Tear Blossom. The serial murders with Hellhound. The phantom thief case with Jewel. And lastly… “This is the whole reason you’re being interrogated! Last week, the first limited express train between this city and the capital went missing! It arrived hours late, and most of its passengers were killed in a dreadful train crash!” “It was a horrible ordeal.” “The only survivors were you and Fairy—Airystep! Tell me what really happened!” “…What really happened, huh?” Norman gave a short, mocking laugh. “It’s nothing major, just a tale about ideals.”