March 31, Friday.
Originally, today was supposed to be a special day for high school students. Classes ended very early, and both afternoon periods were scheduled for physical education. As a result, nearly all members of the Occult Research Club chose to leave early.
Even if they skipped the two P.E. classes, the teachers wouldn't make a fuss.
After lunch at the club, everyone headed together to the Beika Museum.
However, when they arrived outside the museum, they found the place heavily surrounded by layers of police.
Although the museum remained open, the police were busy setting up security measures, clearly preparing for something serious.
"It's about that Thief," Sonoko got straight to the point.
"Mom's prepared to deal with the challenge from that Thief, but the curator of the Beika Museum is very concerned about the exhibits being targeted."
"After all, for the curator, this exhibition is extremely important to the museum. He can't afford even the slightest mishap."
"It was also based on the curator's advice that Dad and Mom agreed to let the police get involved."
To the curator, the last thing he wanted was an incident during the exhibition—especially if any of the painstakingly borrowed exhibits were stolen by a Thief.
If that really happened, it would generate serious negative press for the Beika Museum. The owners of the exhibits would likely be calling that same night to request their pieces be pulled early. That's something the curator definitely couldn't accept.
So, in the end, the curator opted for the safest route—
Call the police!
The police handle murders, so naturally, they also have to deal with theft.
"Totally reasonable," Kaguya nodded slightly. "That's the logical thing to do."
"There are so many exhibits in this round at the Beika Museum, and most are gems from around the world. If any of those were lost, the museum's reputation would be ruined."
"Although Sonoko's mother is willing to gamble with that black pearl, the curator has to consider the safety of all the exhibits. The best choice is to hand them over to the police."
"It's always best to let professionals handle professional matters. No matter how unreliable the police may be at times, they're still far better than an untrained museum staff."
"This Thief case is just too big this time."
"Especially since it's the same Thief who caused a major stir twenty years ago."
Ran had taken the time to seriously investigate the matter.
"I found out that this Thief has been showing up repeatedly on the island in the past six months. The Second Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department has been outmaneuvered multiple times. That's probably one of the reasons why the police increased their presence here."
"That's right! That Thief is a total villain!"
Just as Ran finished speaking, a girl with long black hair suddenly jumped out beside her.
Ran instinctively looked at the girl's face—then paused, as if looking into a mirror.
For a moment, Ran was disoriented. Who was this girl who looked so similar to her?
Ran wasn't the only one stunned. The other girl looked just as confused when she saw Ran's face.
"Eh? Eh!!"
Nakamori Aoko stared at Ran in shock. She didn't understand why the girl standing in front of her looked so much like herself.
"It really does seem..."
The others also turned their gazes toward Aoko and then looked back at Ran. Their eyes went back and forth between the two, confirming the uncanny resemblance.
"You and I really do look alike..."
If Ran didn't know for sure that her parents had a strong relationship and frequently met up in secret, she might have suspected some kind of affair.
"Uh, hello. My name is Mouri Ran. May I ask who you are?"
"Ah, hello, I'm Nakamori Aoko."
Aoko quickly came back to her senses and responded.
"Sorry, I almost suspected my parents of cheating."
"Same here..."
Ran couldn't help nodding, agreeing completely with that thought.
"Ms. Nakamori, are you familiar with that Thief?"
"Of course. My dad is a detective with the Second Investigation Division. Because of that Thief, he keeps getting played for a fool!"
As she spoke, Aoko gritted her teeth. Every time she recalled the state her father came home in, she wanted to wring that Thief's neck.
"It's all that Thief's fault! Not only does he mess with my dad like a toy, he also makes him work overtime constantly. If it weren't for him, my dad wouldn't be treated like a total clown!"
From her tone, it was obvious that Aoko's resentment toward the Phantom Thief Kid came entirely from how her father had been affected.
Being repeatedly humiliated at work, constantly criticized, and forced to work overtime for no reason—anyone would find that infuriating.
The girls around her could all understand why Aoko had such strong feelings against the Thief.
"By the way, you don't actually like that Thief, do you?"
Aoko needed to make this point clear.
She knew that, even though the guy was a Thief, he somehow still had fans. Some people even came just to see him make a fool out of detectives. Aoko didn't have the words to scold that kind of behavior, but she certainly didn't want to associate with anyone who admired that thief.
"No, definitely not," Ran quickly waved her hands to deny it and then grabbed Sonoko's hand.
"The Thief's target this time is my friend's heirloom. We came here to check on the situation."
"I see."
Aoko finally understood. She hadn't expected to meet someone directly targeted by the Thief.
"The Thief has already sent a notice, but it seems no one's cracked the code yet."
She looked around and then moved closer to Sonoko.
"I don't know what the code means either, but I saw my dad rushing out early this morning. He probably figured out the meaning of the note."
Aoko still had faith in her father's ability. After all, he had been battling the Thief for a long time.
Even though the Thief continued to escape, he was more experienced than other detectives in handling this kind of case.
(To be continued.)
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