“Mmm! It’s so yummy!” I said with a mouth full of karaage-style fried chicken. We’d finished morning classes, and it was lunchtime.

All my classmates had put their desks together to make little tables.

“You know, Asuka, I think you’re at your happiest when you’re eating your packed lunch,” Misaki said, sitting across from me with a look of disbelief on her face.

“I mean, duh! I’m exhausted after having to deal with those numbers and read in a cryptic language that isn’t Japanese…”

“It’s just math and English…,” Kei murmured to himself.

And those two classes are the big problems for me!

I turned around and shot a glare at Kei, who was eating behind me.

He never had lunch with us. I’d invited him a few times, but I guess he wanted to use the break for reading. He was always reading something really complicated while he ate.

Look at him. He’s acting so distant, like usual. You’d think he could stop studying for a second to enjoy some food.

I shrugged and returned my attention to my own table.

My bento lunch box for the day was chicken, rice with mixed beef and burdock, an omelet with carrot bits, and a colorful salad made from lettuce and tomato slices.

I had to stop myself from drooling all over everything when I opened it up.

Nice one, Dad! Another perfect lunch!

Once I was done with the chicken, I was about to dig into the omelet when…

“Uh? Did you notice the hallway sure is quiet today?” Yuzuki said, turning her head in that direction.

Hmm? She’s right… The hallway is usually louder. There’s always someone out there making noise during lunch…

What’s going on? Did something happen?

Now I was interested. I got up and headed over to the door to peer out.

“Is that who I think it is…?”

“Yeah…”

There were a bunch of students chattering quietly among themselves. They were all looking in the same direction, so I followed their eyes to see what all the fuss was about.

Hmm…?

There was a girl wearing her school uniform walking straight down the center of the hallway. Her hair was done in a short bob, and she was looking forward with sharp eyes. She was slender, about my height, and had a grown-up vibe.

Not only that, but she also didn’t seem to mind all the attention. She was walking with so much confidence that the other students seemed to move out of the way for her.

Whoa, she’s kinda cool!

There was something else attention-grabbing about her—her uniform. She was dressed like a high schooler in the middle school building.

This was probably why everyone was being so quiet. The high school was in an entirely different building than the middle school, so she’d come quite a ways to get here. We almost never saw the big kids in our building.

I watched as she walked in my direction, until she stopped right in front of me.

Uh?! Why’d you stop?!

She was standing up tall and straight—even the way she stood was different from the regular kids.

Is this what they mean when they say someone has an aura to them?

I looked up a bit at her.

Huh? I’m starting to get nervous.

Her light-brown eyes met mine, and I felt like I was getting sucked into them.

“Hey. Are you in this class?” she asked.

“Um, uh, yes…,” I said awkwardly.

“I heard there was a girl named Asuka Kouzuki in this class. Is she in today?”

Huh…? Y-you mean me?!

I blinked a few times while I stared at the older girl.

I don’t think I recognize her… We’ve definitely never met before.

“Wait… Are you her? Are you Asuka Kouzuki?”

She must’ve realized what I was thinking from my reaction.

“Yes, I am… What do you—?”

Before I could finish my sentence, she latched on to me with a hug.

Wagh! What the heck?!

“I’m Rio Kiyose, a second-year in high school and head of the Phantom Thief club. I’ve been wanting to meet you!” she said energetically. Her eyes were even more intense than before.

Wait…did she just say, “Phantom Thief club”? Does our school even have one of those?!

She didn’t figure out that I was Phantom Thief Red and come here to confront me about it, did she…?

Class was over for the day, and I was walking through the halls of the high school building. The gates to the middle school and the high school were separated, facing each other about three hundred feet apart. That was why whenever you wanted to get to the high school, you had to leave the middle school grounds, walk outside, then enter through the high school front gate.

Walking it for the first time made me realize that it was a long way from the high school’s front gate to the actual building. This walk is gonna be so painful when I’m running late.

Not that it matters if you’re on time…

“She said…the clubroom for the Phantom Thief club was in a separate building.”

According to President Shiori, Rio would be in the clubroom after school.

The club itself was in the building with the music and art classrooms, separate from where the classrooms were. I’d gone to this spot during the culture festival, so I had a general idea of how to get there.

There should be a separate path from the front gate. Although…

As I walked through the school courtyard, I could feel the glances of my senior alumni peeking over at me.

Looks like this school uniform makes me stick out like a sore thumb. I actually might be starting to get a little nervous…

I arrived at the building, and there was a floor guide at the entrance. It must’ve been there for new students to quickly figure out where they wanted to go.

The guide included a floor map with each of the rooms and club names. The literary club, the home economics club, the photography club, the drama club, the culinary arts club, the computer club, the mystery research club…

Many of these clubs did something for the culture festival. I didn’t notice the Phantom Thief club back then, though.

Oh! There it is!

As I worked my way through the map, I found a room with PHANTOM THIEF CLUB written on it. It was on the second floor.

I went up the stairs and stood in front of the club entrance. There was only one door to the classroom, so it must’ve been a smaller one.

I could hear voices coming from the inside. I wasn’t sure if any of them belonged to Rio, but there were people there.

Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door.

“Yes!”

I heard an answer shortly before the door opened from the other side.

It was Rio, and her face brightened up the second she saw it was me.

“Asuka!” She held out both hands and tried to hug me.

“Wh-whoa! Hold on!”

Panicking, I held out both hands to push her back.

Did she just try to hug me? Is that a thing she does? I’m definitely not used to that.

“C’mon! Come inside.”

Before I could get my bearings, Rio grabbed my arms and pulled me into the clubroom.

“Waaagh!” I stumbled after her.

There was a brown wooden table in the middle of the room with metal folding chairs surrounding it. There, two boys were sitting at the table. Both of them were big and tall. The room seemed pretty chill, and the students seemed comfortable.

Wow…

They looked like adults.

“A guest? That’s unusual,” one of the boys said.

He had short hair, broad shoulders, and a dark suntan. I could tell from his wrists and neck that he was muscular. He must be into some kind of sport.

“She’s the girl I was telling you about yesterday, Daiki. The middle schooler who was at the Sky Towers.”

“Ah, you did mention something about that.”

Okay, so the boy was named Daiki. He nodded, seeming to recall what Rio had told him.

“Your terrible memory can be astounding,” the other boy said. He was slender, with long, pin-straight hair that fell just above his shoulders. His sharp eyes, framed by glasses, gave him a more reserved appearance.

“He’s right, Daiki. Sometimes, I wonder if you’re even listening to me,” Rio said with annoyance before looking at me. “Let me introduce these two. The tall one is Daiki Sawahashi. He’s practically an animal with how athletic he is—every sports club is trying to recruit him. And this guy in glasses is Kento Okihara. He’s a bit of an eccentric—one of the top students in the high school, always ranking in the top three, and full of random trivia you’d never learn in class. We’ve been friends since middle school.”

The two shrugged at their introductions, but Rio ignored their reactions and turned to me.

“And this girl is Asuka Kouzuki, a middle school student who was at not only the Sky Towers incident but also the hijacking of the Flower Song. She’s our highly anticipated new club member!”

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?”

When I got to my classroom the next morning, something felt different. Usually, mornings were loud, with people talking to each other, but it was unusually quiet.

Hmm? Is it just me, or is everyone looking at me…

My eyes met with Misaki’s. She glanced uncomfortably toward my desk.

I turned my head to look and found…

Uh-oh!

It was Rio, sitting in my chair with her legs crossed. Even from across the room, I could feel the intense aura of anger radiating from her.

Yeah… I get why everyone is so quiet now…

Everyone was looking at me—they wanted me to do something about her.

Wh-what am I supposed to do? I’d rather not get involved if I can…but I can’t leave her like this.

All right.

I slowly approached Rio.

“Um, Rio?” I said gingerly, and she turned toward me.

Wow, she looks so scary! You know what, maybe this was a bad idea.

I’d never seen anybody so angry. I reflexively stepped back when our eyes met.

“You see the news yesterday?” Rio said, holding back the rage in her voice.

“What news…?”

The news of the fake Red flashed in my mind as I said this.

“The news about Phantom Thief Red!”

WHAM.

Rio slammed a fist on the desk, causing the entire classroom to go completely silent.

Seeing everyone’s shock brought Rio out of her rage, and her expression began to soften.

“Sorry… I have a hard time staying calm when it comes to all things Red.”

Guess she was mad at Red and not me.

Although, wait… Technically, that is me.

“Asuka, I want to talk to you later after school. Could you make some time for me?”

“You want to talk?”

Seeing as this was Rio, it obviously had to do with Red, and seeing as Kei was still doing his research, I figured maybe I could learn something from talking with her.

“Okay.”

“All right, I’ll see you in the clubroom after school, then,” she said, before quickly leaving our classroom. Nobody said anything for a little bit after she left.

“That girl’s like a typhoon, isn’t she?” Misaki said from next to me.

That’s for sure. But why was she so mad at Red? Even if it was about the news from yesterday, was there any reason to get that angry about it?

My bad feeling got even worse.

I went straight to the clubroom after school.

“Coming in.” I knocked on the door before opening it.

“Oh, you’re here.”

It was Daiki. He was sitting on a chair near the door, big and stout, folding his strong arms in front of his chest.

Toward the back of the room was Kento, who looked up from the book he was reading. He had a sharp, keen look in his eyes that softened with a smile as soon as he saw me.

You know, seeing Kento read a book whenever I see him reminds me of Kei. Although, he’s also too nice to be Kei.

So where’s Rio… Oh?

She wasn’t in the clubroom.

“Sorry. A teacher needed Rio’s help for something. She’ll be here in a minute,” Daiki said, seeing me look around the classroom.

“You don’t need to stand while you wait. Take a seat.”

He pointed to a folded-up chair.

“O-okay.”

I unfolded the chair and placed in on the side of the room before sitting.

The room was quiet.

Ugh… This is so awkward…

Thinking about it, it was my first time being alone with these two without Rio. When I’d come before, Rio did all the talking, so there wasn’t a dull moment.

I’m starting to get a bit nervous.

Even though the silence was awkward, it wasn’t like I had anything to talk about, and the other two didn’t seem to mind me being there, either.

Daiki was still sitting there with his eyes closed, and Kento had his nose in a book.

Though neither of them was as independent as Rio, they seemed to enjoy doing their own thing.

Whatever the case may be, I have to wonder why these two would join such a niche club.

This one was her friend in middle school, right?

I glanced over at Daiki. He must’ve noticed me, because he opened his eyes and looked straight at me.

He tilted his head slightly to the side with a “Hmm?”

Now’s my chance to ask.

“So, um… How did you guys become friends with Rio?” I asked the question that was on my mind.

“You want to know?”

Sure do!

“When I first started at the middle school, she came up to me out of nowhere and asked, ‘You! Are you satisfied with this school?!’ At the time, I didn’t really think too much about it, but she disliked the way we had so many rules and regulations on how we were supposed to look and act, and she wanted us to use our heads and think for ourselves.”

Whoa! That’s the first thing she said to you? Yup, sounds like Rio, all right.

“Honestly, at first, I was like, ‘Who is this girl?’ but there was something true about what she said. So I started hanging out with her. I think Kento has the same story.”

I looked over at Kento, who was nodding quietly without looking up from his book.

“And once she got going, there was no stopping her. When she first ran for student body president, she won everyone over almost immediately with just one speech. After she became president, things really got interesting. She started noticing problems around the school that the rest of us never even thought about, and she found ways to solve them, even when they seemed impossible. She showed us a kind of freedom at school that we didn’t even know we wanted.”

Wh-whoa! So what President Shiori said about her changing the school from the bottom up was true.

“She’s a bit of a strange one on the day-to-day, though,” Daiki said with a chuckle.

That’s true… She’s definitely weird.

“Sorry for the wait.”

The door slid open, and Rio came in.

Her steps were loud and heavy as she walked to the opposite side of the table in the middle of the room.

“Let’s get started. I’ll tell you why I brought you all here today,” she said, looking at the three of us. The expression on her face was intense. “You guys all know about the case on Phantom Thief Red from yesterday, right?”

I knew that was why she called me over.

“About how they stole some paintings from a museum?” Daiki answered.

“Yes! Phantom Thief Red sneaked into a museum and stole expensive artwork.”

You could hear her anger in the way her voice shook.

“Phantom Thief Red always does that, if you think about it,” said Daiki.

“It’s not anything like he always does!!” Rio shouted, slamming the table with her fist. She leaned forward until she was pressed up against it. “Phantom Thief Red doesn’t steal for his own benefit. He only takes things that criminals have stolen from innocent people. But this time, he just up and stole from the actual owner! This is definitely not like always!”

“I—I know, Rio. I saw the news yesterday, too. What I meant to say was that it seems strange, is all.”

“Yeah, duh! Phantom Thief Red would never do such a thing.”

You tell them Rio! You’re exactly right. ’Cause it was a phony.

“Perhaps it was an impostor?” Kento said, looking up from his book.

There you go!

That’s exactly what I wanted to hear from one of this school’s top students. Sharp thinking!

As I thought this in my head, I gave a big nod.

But Rio shook her head. “No, it was the real Phantom Thief Red, all right.”

Whaaat? But why? How can you say that with such confidence?

“I contacted the police working on the case about it last night,” Rio said, biting her lip out of frustration as she did.

It was Sunday night, and I was inside a thirty-floor building—in my Red outfit, obviously.

Kei had found information that there was a stolen diamond here—the Blue Star. It was a large sapphire gemstone that’d been stolen from a museum two weeks ago.

We had information that the owner of this building had ordered the theft so that he could sell it abroad.

Which meant it was time for us to intervene!

We were going to take the Blue Star back and find some evidence to get the owner of the building caught.

That’s what we do, after all—Phantom Thief Red.

Just because there was a phony running around didn’t mean we needed to stop doing our thing.

Nope! If anything, we needed to do Red work now more than ever.

“Everything seems fine so far.”

I heard Kei’s voice in my earpiece. He was in a different place where he had a good view of the building.

He had a blueprint of the building that he’d acquired beforehand, and he was actively hacking the security CCTV monitor to see what they saw and help navigate for me without getting caught.

I looked around to make sure there were no security guards present. The lights were all off, so the hallway was pitch-black, but I could see thanks to my night vision scope.

Though it wasn’t that late, there weren’t many people in the building that day because it was a Sunday.

Yup, all clear.

“The area thirty feet ahead of you is a blind spot for the security cameras.”

“Got it.”

I confirmed where the security cameras were and moved forward, slinking against the wall.

The gemstone we were after this time was on the twentieth floor, so I still had three floors to go.

I reached some stairs at the end of the hallway, but they were closed off.

“You’ll need to go to the opposite end of the hallway; there are more stairs there.”

Okay.

Carefully, I stepped back into the hallway, making sure to stay aware of my surroundings.

That’s when it happened.

Huh?!

I almost blurted this out loud when I looked down the hall but managed to stay quiet.

There were people down the hall. Two of them.

But they weren’t security… There was no way Kei would let any guards slip by him.

I could tell that they weren’t wearing patrol uniforms, either. They were dressed in all black—very suspicious.

“Kei! There’s people here! Two of them, and I don’t think they’re security. Do you see anything?” I said quietly so that they couldn’t hear me.

“……!” Kei gasped under his breath. “Okay, I’ll look into it now.”

Of the pair, one was taller and one was shorter. They both looked like men.

“The indoor security team consists of ten members. Right now, there are two patrolling the tenth floor and two on the second. Aside from the cameras I hacked and blocked, the rest are functioning normally. There’s no way a regular person could have made it to this floor.”

“Then who are these two in front of me…?”

“My guess is they came to steal the Blue Star.”

“So we’re not the only ones here to do that?!”

“I didn’t expect them to show up at the same time as us, but it is an incredibly valuable gemstone. The real question is, how did they know the Blue Star would be in this building…?”

That’s true…

“The only reason we were able to figure it out is because you worked your magic. I doubt some random burglar would be able to find out…”

“We should assume they aren’t just ordinary burglars. This building is heavily guarded, with only two viable routes of entry. The first is the one you went through, but there was no sign anyone else used it before you. The other route would require at least two people to pull off. I didn’t consider it, since you were infiltrating solo, but it’s possible they went with that route to slip past security unnoticed.”

“But wouldn’t that mean they were able to figure out one of the two routes you came up with? Just who are these guys?”

“Y’all gonna sit there yappin’ all day, or come on out and play? We know you’re there. Or are you just stalkin’ us, huh?”

Huh…?!

When I realized it, the pair was already looking this way.

They found me! And they sound like they’re from Kansai?!

I leaped out from behind the wall into the middle of the hallway. We were in a spot that couldn’t be seen on the security camera.

“Whew…,” I sighed as I entered the living room.

Breakfast was ready for me on the kitchen table.

“You’re awake? I heard you had quite a day yesterday.”

My dad motioned toward the living room TV with his eyes. They were already talking about it on the news.

The female newscaster and the male expert were sitting next to each other.

“We have received a report from the police that, last night, Phantom Thief Red successfully stole the Blue Star. The security team, found asleep at the scene, had the thief’s signature card in their pockets. Authorities have confirmed that the gemstone was a previously stolen item,” said the lady.

“Yes, as stated during the police press conference, it was stolen from the WQ Museum,” added the expert.

“That being said, we’ve yet to hear word from its rightful owner that the gemstone has been returned.”

“Yes. Normally, when Phantom Thief Red goes up againstcriminals, they leave the details written on their card. Or when they retrieve stolen goods, they either find their way to the police or their original owner. This time, while Phantom Thief Red did leave their calling card behind, it has been over half a day with no sign of the Blue Star…”

Argh! This is all their fault! They pinned the blame on us again!

I turned off the TV.

“Let’s not get too upset now,” my dad said, turning to me. “You met the fakes, right? What were they like?”

“They were a couple of goofs! They were telling jokes to each other in a Kansai accent the entire time…”

“Which was why you let your guard down.”

Oof… My dad’s on the mark, but I can’t say anything back.

I fell right into their trap. Kei even tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen.

If I hadn’t fallen for their trick, maybe I would’ve been able to trail them more…

Thanks to Kei’s navigation, I’d been able to escape from the building, but it was really close.

“They used your hotheadedness against you, I feel like. You’ve never met them before, have you?”

Of course not!

“Good…morning…” Kei dragged himself over to the living room with a blank look on his face.

He’s always such a zombie in the mornings. But that’s not important right now!

“Kei! How could you get any sleep last night?! I got tricked, and I almost got caught by the police!”

“But you didn’t…so there’s no problem.”

“Well, yeah, thanks to you, I guess. But the bad guys still got away!”

“We’ll have…another chance…”

“Oh?”

Kei picked up the newspaper and flipped through some pages before handing it over to me.

You want me to read the paper?

I curiously cocked my head to the side a bit as I took the newspaper, looking down at the page Kei had opened it to.

Uh……………?

I stared blankly at the contents with my mouth wide-open. There was giant font glaring back at me that said:

I CHALLENGE PHANTOM THIEF RED

The enormous words took up an entire page in the newspaper.

Wh-what is this?! Who would do that…?

“It says on the bottom of the page,” Kei said, and I glanced down toward the bottom of the page.

The name, TONY Kiyose Museum, was written there.

“You’ve heard of TONY, right? They’re one of the largest electrical appliance companies in Japan and globally. Kiyose is the name of the head of TONY—and it should ring a bell.”

“Kiyose”…?

“It’s Rio!”

Right, Rio’s last name was Kiyose.

Wait, did she do this?!

I took another look at the newspaper page. Under the large font that said, I CHALLENGE PHANTOM THIEF RED, there was an explanation of what the challenge would be.

“It says here that the TONY Kiyose Museum will be displaying one of the world’s most expensive rubies, the Red-Hot Crown, for two days. ‘If Red can steal it before the time is up, then you may have it’… Wait, they’re doing what?!”

Why would they do something like this…?

“They’re trying to bait us out.”

“B-but! Red would never accept a challenge like this.”

“Yup. We wouldn’t, but the only ones who know that are you and me. The fake Red stole for themselves once, and they aren’t returning the Blue Star, either. It’s all over the news, so the world thinks we only works for ourselves now.”

That’s not true, though!

But even it did make the news, and no matter what people thought, we had no reason to accept the challenge.

We didn’t have a reason to steal that jewel.

No matter what the world thought, we were a righteous thief—definitely not the type to get baited by some challenge and steal out of anger.

But…what about the fake Red? They just might do it.

What would happen if the fake Red went and stole the Red-Hot Crown? If they succeeded, it would tell the world that Red stole to be selfish.

And if they failed, it would mean Red failed.

I don’t like either of those!

The duo might even get caught, which would make it look like they’d been the real Red the entire time. They’d already fooled the police, after all.

We were the only ones who could prove they weren’t the real Red, but it’s not like we could up and say, “We’re Red,” to the world.

Argh! What are we gonna do?!

School was over for the day, and I was in front of the Phantom Thief Club.

Kei wanted me to go and see what Rio’s intention was with the challenge.

I held my hand out to knock on the door, but before I could, it slid open, and Rio came out.

Wagh!

We almost bumped into each other, so I had to dodge to the side.

“Whoops! Ah, Asuka! Perfect timing. I was just going to see you.”

Rio was looking for me?

“I actually stopped by to talk with you…”

Hearing this, Rio gave a big nod.

“That’s what I thought, and I think we want to discuss the exact same thing.”

So the public challenge from this morning?

“Let’s go.”

Huh? Go where?

Rio grabbed my hand and started walking with vigor, pulling me along with her.

Hey, waaait!

The luxury vehicle came to a stop.

For some reason, I was riding inside it.

It stopped before a large gate.

When Rio brought me out of the school, she’d taken me to a jet-black luxury car that’d been waiting for us, which we both hopped into.

The car belonged to Rio’s family! And the inside had these really fancy seats, with up to four people able to sit in the back facing each other.

And not only that! We were even served tea.

I couldn’t actually get myself to drink the tea, though, because I was afraid of spilling it. Daiki and Kento—in addition to Rio, obviously—drank their tea without even giving it a second thought.

Not five seconds passed before—

HUMMM—

—a low humming sound could be heard as the gates slowly opened.

Whoa, cool!

I didn’t have time to be surprised, though, as the car started up and drove through the gate. Beyond it, there was a place like a giant royal garden with sprawling, well-kept green trees and flowers blooming everywhere.

Before long, we could see a building that had been hidden from the gate.

“What is this place…?”

My eyes went wide as I gazed up, taking in the sight of it. It was a three-story brick house, but you could tell just by looking at it from the outside that it was absolutely ginormous. It had the width of maybe five normal houses…

Is this where Rio lives?!

The car parked just a little bit in front.

“Welcome home, Madame.”

An older gentleman with graying hair and a tailcoat opened the door for us.

“I brought some friends with me, Jeeves. Please take them to the guest lounge. I will get changed.”

“Very well, Madame.”

The man in the tailcoat bowed his head down as he said this.

J-Jeeves?! Is this man a real live butler?! I’ve never seen one of those before!

“I’ll head up for now. I’ll see you guys soon.”

Rio handed her bag to a maid who was waiting nearby before walking inside.

It was Friday evening. I was standing in front of the museum where the Red-Hot Crown was set to display from the next day on. I’d ended up agreeing to spend the night here. I actually thought Kei would say no, but when I asked him…

“That should be fine. It works to our advantage.”

If that was what Kei said, then it was best I took his word for it.

So I decided to spend the night at the museum with Rio and the others. Rio was a short distance away from us, talking to somebody over her cell phone.

“Okay. Right on time,” Rio said before closing the call and looking toward us. “The Red-Hot Crown will be here soon.”

“Huh? Isn’t it supposed to go in the museum?”

“I’m having them let us hold on to it while the security team finishes preparations in the museum. We also wouldn’t want Red coming and stealing it while it gets transported. We’re working together with the police for this, and since it was so sudden, they still need a little more time to get ready.”

“When will it get here?” Daiki asked.

“Yeah… Three minutes, give or take,” Rio said, looking at her watch.

“Soon then, huh?” Kento said in a slightly nervous tone.

I was pretty nervous as well. I kept looking around. The museum is so big, it looks like a park. There are also ten-foot walls lining the outer edge of the grounds, meaning it won’t be easy getting in. Although, I bet that the little acrobatic Red could probably find an easy way over.

As I thought, four cars came one after another into the museum grounds, just like Rio said they would.

The cars parked, and from the first three emerged multiple big men in suits. All of them were paying close attention to their surroundings.

Those must be the police.

More men got out of the final car shortly after, and one of them had an attaché case.

The man holding the case approached Rio, with around ten more buff guys waiting behind him.

This is an impressive security outfit…

We followed after Rio and the men into the museum. The museum was a three-floor building made from orange bricks, and its door was large, thick, and made of wood.

Two of the security guards stood by the door, holding it open for us to get in. Once we were through, he closed it and let down its shutter, too.

I looked around the museum. I’d actually come straight here after school, only making a brief pit stop at home to get my things for the overnight stay, so I hadn’t seen the inside of the museum yet.

The lights were a warm color, the floor was covered with a soft wine-red carpet, and the walls were a pale beige.

We passed the reception area, and there was a sign directing the visitors through the museum. We were probably supposed to follow it down the hallway, but Rio and the others took a different path in the opposite direction.

We went through two more rooms before reaching an empty one with nothing on display.

It wasn’t a large space by any means, but it also wasn’t too small. There were no windows, either.

In the middle of the room was a glass case, with ropes around it to keep people from getting too close.

“The security system is turned off, right?” Rio asked as she examined the glass case.

“Yes.”

She nodded and looked around.

“I’m going to open it,” Rio said before unlocking the attaché case.

Inside it was the large ruby that she’d shown me before.

Rio, who was wearing gloves, took it out of its carrying case and into the glass case. She then put the glass back on the case before backing away.

“Turn on the security system.”

Rio gave the orders, and one of the security members used a walkie-talkie to contact someone else. Guess the system was actually being operated somewhere else.

Before long, we received word that the security system was on, and Rio let out a small sigh of relief. A few members of the security team and people who I could only assume were police all left the room. They must’ve gone to their posts.

It was a huge museum, so it made sense that there were so many people there to guard it. That said, there must’ve been fifteen security guards and officers remaining in the room.

Rio came over to us.

“Our match with Red starts now and will last for another two days. Until then, we won’t have a moment’s rest.”

“I know, I know.”

“We’ll move according to plan.”

Daiki and Kento responded, showing confident smiles.

It was eleven at night. After eating a late dinner at the museum restaurant, we went back to the room where the Red-Hot Crown was on display and got into our sleeping bags.

It didn’t take long before I heard the loudest snoring on the planet coming from Daiki. Kento was asleep, too, as far as I could tell.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to fall asleep right away. Though in a bit of a tired daze, I stared up at the museum ceiling, slowly nodding off, until I eventually did fall asleep.

I suddenly woke up again, though, to utter silence. I looked at my wristwatch, and it was two in the morning. The night watch was still on guard, making their rounds.

Huh?

I turned to my side to find an empty sleeping bag. It was the one Rio had been using.

Maybe she went to the bathroom?

Curious, I slowly slipped out of my own sleeping bag to go check.

Daiki and Kento were completely still; they were both fast asleep. I was almost worried if they would be able to wake up in the event something actually happened…

I left the room, giving a small wave to the security guard before going down the hallway. There were security guards out there as well.

They were looking around the building, periodically contacting one another over their walkie-talkies. This would allow them to know something was happening if they didn’t receive a response back.

I heard that Rio got the best of the best for her security team, and I could tell this was the case.

The front door was sealed tight with a shutter, so we needed to take a separate entrance that only approved personnel could use. This door was the same as the accommodation facility—it required fingerprints to access.

The security here is pretty much perfect. I bet even Kei would have a hard time finding a route in.

The issue was, what would the fake Red do?

We were dealing with the thieves who stole the Blue Star, so we couldn’t let our guard down.

On top of this, due to the security presence, I couldn’t contact Kei so easily. The only reason I’d pretended to use the bathroom before was so I could leave the room and contact Kei, but he said I should just stay on watch for now. Though, it sounded like he had a plan of his own up his sleeve.

Huh…?

At the end of the hall, I could see Rio sitting on one of the lounge chairs. She was alone, staring outside a window.

There was a different air about her. It was like there was something heavy on her mind.

Before I could muster up the courage to talk to her, she realized I was there first.

“Is that Asuka? What’s up?” she said to me.

“Oh, no. I just couldn’t sleep, is all… What about you?”

“I’m way too excited to sleep right now,” she said quietly, but there was a keen look in her eyes—even more than there usually was.

“Would you like to have a little chat over there, maybe?” Rio pointed outside the window.

There was a small courtyard around there, I think.

“Why not? I don’t think I’m gonna be falling asleep anytime soon either way.”

Rio and I both went down the hall toward the courtyard. The exit here also required fingerprint verification, of course.

“Wow… This is so pretty.”

The courtyard was lit up with blue, red, and white colors. The garden was thoroughly maintained, and the stone tiles gave off a royal feel. I walked toward the edge of the garden to get an close-up look, when…

“Stop right there, Asuka.”

Huh?! What?!

Rio grabbed my shoulder from behind as I took my first step forward.

“Watch out. There’s an alarm with an infrared sensor and security cameras set up just beyond here.”

No way… That was close.

I slowly pulled my foot back.

“We should be okay here.” Rio sat down on a nearby bench, and I sat next to her. “Why would Red change like that?!” she suddenly blurted, like it had been eating away at her this entire time. “Red was supposed to be heroic. There were so many people who believed in him, and then he just changed his mind out of nowhere!”

Rio punched her leg.

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.”

I split up with Kei and ran down the hall. The security was busy dealing with the panic, so they wouldn’t notice me slip away. I’d staked out a room earlier that seemed relatively unused, and just as I expected, there was no one inside.

In a flash, I changed into my Red costume. Once I put on the earpiece, I could hear Kei call out to me.

“You ready?”

“Yup. How are Misaki and Yuzuki?”

“They’re fine. They both managed to evacuate.”

All right. That means I can focus on this.

“My analysis of the fake Red duo aligns with Kiyose’s. While they’re skilled infiltrators, they don’t have the hacking or phantom-thievery expertise that we do. Because of that, I didn’t think they’d even attempt a heist that required them to make a direct approach, but…”

“Is something wrong?”

It was strange for Kei to stumble over his words.

“It’s nothing—there’s just something on my mind.”

“And that is?”

“It doesn’t matter at the moment. Right now, we need to focus on catching the fake Red. They got away last time because we slipped up.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

“I’m not trying to blame you for it or anything. It’s both of our faults. Anyway, let’s work together to make sure it doesn’t happen again, okay?”

“Okay!”

I carefully emerged out of the closet and into the hallway. There were no security guards in sight, but it wouldn’t take long for them to get here. After all, we had the best of the best working for us.

“There are guards coming from the hallway to the right. I want you to head down the left path and make your way into the ceiling.”

Following Kei’s navigation, I went left and found an air vent that would let me get into the ceiling. I could hear the security team’s voices as I did.

“Don’t worry, men. Our security is rock-solid. Red won’t be leaving this building. Just stay calm and stick to the chase!”

If I got caught, they would assume I was the one who stole the gemstone and not the fake Red.

I used a wire to hoist myself up into the ceiling, then waited for the security team to pass by before following Kei’s navigation to a different vent.

I found myself taking a peek through one of the vents below, and what I saw shocked me.

What’s going on…?

“I see, so that’s their plan.” Kei knew exactly what was happening just by catching a glimpse through my camera. “We need to move, Asuka! We’re headed somewhere else. I know what their aim is now.”

“Huh?! Not the courtyard? But that was where Rio set up her trap…”

“They know it’s a trap. They took a different route in.”

“What do you…? Ah, never mind!”

I almost asked Kei to explain himself, but we didn’t have time for that.

I’ll have to trust Kei for now!

I continued my way through the ventilation system.

“You’re going to hop down from here. You can’t use the vents beyond this point. Be careful.”

“You got it.”

I found a spot where there were no people under the vents and dropped to the floor.

Tap.

Barely making a sound, I landed on the floor below.

“Follow this hallway, and there should be a door at the end of it—that’s our goal.”

“Our goal? Meaning the fake Red will be there?”

“No, they won’t be here yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“They will need to get ready before they can come here.”

There was a door at the end of the hallway.

“That’s the door.”

Following Kei’s directions, I opened the door. Carefully, I looked into the room. It was large and empty. There were no tables or chairs, and there were tall shelves lining its edges.

“Red is gonna come here?”

“Yeah, I know they will. Trust me,” Kei declared.

Okay. Then there’s only one thing I need to do.

I need to get ready for the fake Red duo to come!

Clack, clack…

I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door.

I was hiding quietly behind one of the shelves, waiting for the door to open.

Ka-chak… Creeeak—

I heard the door open, and through it came…two security guards!

The pair of guards walked toward the far end of the room, their sharp eyes scanning the area carefully.

Ah! They’re coming this way!

I could feel my heart beating faster; I put my hand over it to calm myself.

After I made sure I recognized them, I was ready to go.

Tap.

I jumped out behind them, landing with a light sound that made both guards jolt in surprise. They quickly spun around to face me.

“What’re you doing here…?” said the smaller of the two security guards.

“You two need something on the roof, fake Reds?” I said with confidence.

“Wh-what do you mean?! You’re the real Phantom Thief Red! We’re gonna catch you!”

“Go ahead, call for backup… I’ll wait.”

The two glared back at me.

“Well, shoot. If the jig is up, no point in fakin’ it anymore!”

They scoffed to themselves before removing their uniform shirts.

I clenched my fist and ran at the fakers.

“Hey!”

The fake Reds were caught off guard by my charge and split up into two directions.

“Whaddaya think yer doin’?!” the little one wailed.

I’m taking back what’s not yours!

I pumped my feet to run even faster, closing right in on the small one.

He wasn’t ready to fight yet, so I took this chance to send a punch toward his stomach.

“Wagh! Oh, no, ya don’t!” The little man twisted and turned, barely avoiding it.

Let’s see you try that again!

I whirled around for a spin kick.

“Youch!”

The little man blocked with both arms, but he was sent back with the impact. I then turned to the larger of the two.

“Wait! S-stop! T-time out!”

“What?” The big guy raised both his arms. “I give up.”

Uh… Huh?

“I give up, so don’t hit me!” He looked like he was about to start crying. “You’re too strong, too fast. Ain’t no way we can beat that.”

“You tell ’er!” the little guy said over to the side, nodding with his hand over his belly.

Wh-what the…?! They’re making it seem like I’m the bad guy! You guys are the ones who stole from the museum!

“It’s fine, Asuka. They’re giving up, so let’s tie them down,” Kei said seriously, although even he seemed thrown off by the turn of events.

Sigh…

I let out a small sigh in my mind. I’d been so ready for a fight, but they just gave up.

I guess this is probably better than them being too tough, though. It is somewhat of a letdown either way.

I could think about it later. Instead, I used a rope I had ready to tie the two up. They both cooperated.

When I finished, I got up and shot them both a glare.

“Why did you guys fake being me?”

“…………”

The little one turned away without saying anything, and the larger one had his mouth tightly shut. Neither of them wanted to talk.

“I’m going to ask you one more time. Why did you claim to be Red for your heists? There has to be a reason.”

I kept glaring at them both.

“We ain’t gonna tell ya honestly either way, so try ’n’ figure it out on yer own,” the little one said, sneering.

Oh? Is that right? So that’s how you’re gonna act in this situation, huh?

“Right… Well, seeing as you’re both so acrobatic, you’ll probably survive a fall from the roof,” I said, grabbing the smaller one and hoisting him up—which was simple, given how light he was.

“H-hold yer horses! Now, let’s not be rash!”

“I’m not holding any horses.” I moved over to the fence on the roof.

“All right! Al; right! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” the little one screamed, and I plopped him back down. “Ow, ow, ow! You could be a li’l nicer… How’re ya so strong anyhow?!”

“Wanna say that again?” I shot him another glare, and he shrank in on himself a little. “So? Why?”

The little one didn’t look like he was going to talk, so the bigger one answered for him.

“It was that smug magician.”

A smug magician…?

Wait… I’ve heard that before…

“What was that doggone name again…? Fantatister?” the big one continued, unable to recall completely.

“Hey! If yer gonna say it, git it right! It’s Fantasista!” the little one blurted out.

“Ah! That’s it! Fantasista!”

F-Fantasista?! W-wait! Why do these two know about him?!

“I knew it…”

I squatted down, covering my face, and the little one smugly addressed me.

“…Can’t yap no more, huh? Sorry ’bout that. Your vision will come back soon enough.”

“We’ll be long gone before then, though.”

I could head the sound of the rope I tied around them falling to the floor.

But then—

“Oh? You guys are good at undoing ropes.”

“?!”

—the two of them turned around to find me getting up.

I was wearing my sunglasses. Normally, I used these for their night vision, but that was turned off, so they were just regular sunglasses.

“I’m fine, thanks to these.”

“I can’t believe you figured it out so fast on your own.”

“Heh. That was thanks to Rio.”

“Kiyose?”

“When she brought me to her house, she gave me the chance to hold the Red-Hot Crown, so I can still remember how heavy it was.”

“Ah, I see. So when you took their gemstones, you knew they were fakes due to their weight. What about the flash-bang?”

“I didn’t see that coming—I just guessed there would be something more to the fakes, so I was ready to move when it kicked off.”

“So it was pure instinct…”

“Well…yeah… I mean, it’s not like I had time to ask you, so I just pretended their trick worked.”

“I’m impressed. All right, now…”

“…it’s our turn!”

I got down low in a fighting stance.

“What the heck is goin’ on? This ain’t how this was s’posed to go at all…”

The fake Reds backed up.

“I’m not gonna let you get away.”

“Aw, shoot. If it’s a fight ya want, it’s a fight yer gonna get, y’hear?!”

The fake Reds both put their hands up, ready to tussle.

Looks like they’re finally ready to go. I’m not gonna let you get any cheap shots off this time!

TAP.

I kicked off the ground and rushed at them. I stayed low to the ground and went for the little one first with a punch.

“Hey! That was close!”

The two of them stepped to the right and left, and my fist only caught air.

“Try this on for size!”

The little one and the big one both came at me from either side, each unleashing a spinning kick.

Whoa, wait!

I blocked the kick coming from my front with my hands, but the kick from behind hit me in the back, sending me forward.

“Owwww!”

The spot where I got kicked was throbbing with pain.

Those two! They’re so hard to fight!!

“We used to be synchronized swimmers!” said the bigger one.

“She ain’t gonna know that’s a joke, ya doofus!” the little one teasingly corrected him.

Their comedy routine always takes me out of the fight, but I know I can’t let my guard down.

“Who wants seconds?! Hup!”

The little one chucked a small ball at me.

What is that?

I moved my head to the side to dodge it.

It was the morning of the next day. I turned on the TV, and the news was talking about what had happened the previous day. On the upper right-hand corner of the screen, there was a headline that said The Fake Red, Caught Red-Handed! in big letters.

“Last night, police released a statement confirming that the recently stolen paintings and the gemstone known as the Blue Star, initially believed to have been taken by Phantom Thief Red, were in fact stolen by a pair of impostors. The motive behind the impostor’s use of Phantom Thief Red’s identity remains unclear and is currently under investigation.”

The screen then changed to show Rio, wearing our school’s uniform.

“I knew it was a fake all along. That was why I wanted to set a trap in such a public way.”

There were reporters and journalists holding out microphones and recorders for Rio to speak into.

“But there was no reason to doubt that the thief was real at the time.”

Rio glared at the reporter, who flinched in response and backed up a bit.

“Do you honestly think Phantom Thief Red would do something like this? I have a harder time believing everyone would be so convinced that it wasn’t an impostor. There was almost no evidence.”

None of the reporters could say anything in response. They were the ones who’d reported that Phantom Thief Red had a change of heart and started to steal for their own personal gain, after all.

“Although, it appears that I wasn’t the only one who thought that.”

“Detective Hibiki Shirasato was convinced it was a fake as well. When I reached out to him about capturing the impostors, he just said that Red could take care of it.”

The reporters started murmuring among themselves. I heard someone say, “Can someone go confirm that?” before I turned off the TV.

Mm-hmm. Everything’s back to normal now. Welp! Time for school!

It was lunchtime. I was eating with Misaki and Yuzuki, when the hallway, which was bustling with students, suddenly grew quiet.

Hmm? This feels familiar…

“Is Asuka here?”

It was Rio, Daiki, and Kento. Everyone made some space, particularly for Daiki because he was so big.

“Yeah! I’ll be right back…”

I let Misaki and Yuzuki know I was going to go really quick.

“Yup. Tell us more about yesterday when you return.”

“Of course!” I said, before heading over to Rio and the others. They were waiting at the door, but we decided to move into the hallway so we didn’t block it.

“I saw you on the news this morning! You were answering all the questions.”

“Yeah…”

Oh?

Rio seemed a bit down.

“Is something the matter?”

“…………”

Rio didn’t say anything.

“Oh, you know. She’s upset because she was so close to Phantom Thief Red yet so far away,” Daiki said, answering for her with a bit of a wry smile.

Ah, yeah. That makes sense for Rio.

“We were in the same darn building…,” Rio said, her shoulders slumped. She was a shadow of her usual energetic self.

It’s almost like she’s sick or something…

“We’ve already explained to her that it isn’t as if Red will show himself in the first place,” Kento said with a troubled look.

Mmmm. I want to help cheer her up.

Kei said this, too, but it was thanks to her that we even had a chance to catch the fake Red in the first place. If she hadn’t sent out that public challenge, then those two may very well still be on the loose.

So the last thing I want to do is let Rio be down in the dumps about it.

“B-but I’m sure the real Red is really grateful that the phony was finally caught…”

I tried planting the idea in her head, but Rio’s eyes stayed fixed to the ground as she sulked. My suggestion must’ve had no effect—or so I thought, until…

“You really think so…?” She perked up.

“Y-yeah!” I nodded vigorously. “I’m sure they are! You helped out so much!”

I tried to be really emphatic about it.

“It was thanks to the public challenge that the fake Red came out from hiding in the first place. I bet— No, I’m sure they’re thankful for it!”

I watched her usually happy expression slowly return to her face.

“You know what—you’re right! You could say, it was my way of paying him back!” she said with her usual energy.

You did, Rio. More than you’ll ever know. I just wish I could tell you that.

“It isn’t enough, though. I still owe him so much!” she said, holding a clenched fist out.

Oh…?

““Sounds about right,”” Daiki and Kento said a little wryly, though you could clearly tell they were glad to see her back to her normal self.

“We’re gonna keep following Red’s activity!”

Ha-ha-ha…

Looks like the Phantom Thief Club will live on. She really did more than she ever could to repay us, though…

Honestly, the fact that our work is making people happy is reward enough.

Hmm…?

I realized that Kei was nearby. When I glanced over at him, his eyes squinted as he smiled slightly. He was looking at Rio and the others.

He probably feels the same way. No matter what the dangeris, if we can make people this happy, it’s worth it.

Hello there! This is the author of Phantom Thief Red, Shin Akigi.

This volume featured a fake Phantom Thief Red. The Red brand must be pretty famous now for there to be a fake… Although, they were hardly like the real deal.

Now that you’ve seen the phonies for who they are after reading this volume, let’s bring back our character interviews to see what they thought about them!

With that said, today’s interview will be with the muscle and executor of Phantom Thief Red’s operation (and kind of an animal in Kei’s opinion)—Asuka!

“Hey, guys! Wait a second, this introduction sounds insulting…”

No, no, no! Not at all! Kei is the one who thinks it.

“What did you just say?”

You know what, never mind… (I mean, you look like a lion staring at its prey right now…)

Okay, so the reason I wanted to interview you today was to ask what it takes to be a phantom thief like you.

What do you do for practice?

“Hmm, nothing in particular, really. I guess climbing buildings without ropes and sparring with my dad.”

Hmm, that sounds pretty particular, actually… What about something regular people can do?

“Regular people? Let me think… Wait, you made it sound like I’m not a regular person?”

I mean, you’re not! No regular person could be Phantom Thief Red, after all!

“I guess… Somehow, it feels like you’re just making it sound nice…”

You might be overthinking it. So, have any ideas?

“Let’s see… Jogging, maybe?”

That is pretty regular.

“It’s important to stay in shape, after all. Phantom thievery requires stamina every step of the way; you can’t do anything when you’re really out of breath. When it comes to stamina, you want to do a lot of eating and exercising!”

You definitely eat a lot.

“I’m my happiest when it’s mealtime! I only accepted this interview because you agreed to take me out for steak tonight!”

Yeah… Of course.

(Steak… My wallet hurts already…)

“What’s wrong? Why did you just peek into your wallet?”

Oh! It’s nothing!

Let’s finish off with a message for the readers.

“Kei and I are going to keep working hard as Phantom Thief Red, so please keep cheering us on!”

Thank you!

(I can already hear her stomach rumbling as she leaves the interview… I hope I’ll have enough to cover tonight’s bill.)

Now, then!

Today’s interview is a little special, because we have one more guest!

It is the rival of Phantom Thief Red, the Middle School Detective, Hibiki Shirasato.

“Hello. I heard you would be interviewing me today.”

Yes, I will be!

(A simple interviewer… That’s what I am. Definitely not the author…)

So how did you become a detective?

“It just happened, really. I come from a long line of police officers, so they were always talking about cases at home. I’ve been interested in them ever since I was little…”

Ah, yes. You solved the Hanasato case when you were an elementary school student.

“How do you know that?”

Huh…? Oh, uh, well…rumors…

(Whew, that was close. It might’ve been a problem if he figured out my identity.)

Let’s change the subject. What do you need to become a detective?

“What do I need…? You need to always remain calm and never give up.”

Oh… That’s not what I expected to hear. I was expecting something along the lines of “an analytic mind” or “observational skills.”

“Yes, those are both important as well, but even the brightest brain and the sharpest eyes aren’t useful if the person can’t keep their nerves under control.”

Yes, yes. What do you mean by “never giving up,” exactly?

“When the detective gives up, it means the case will go unsolved. It means that the people hurt by the crime will never get closure. To never give up means to pursue a case no matter how difficult it may seem.”

Ah! But being a detective does mean you need to use your head, right? Like when you solve secret messages.

“Yes, indeed. How about I leave you with a secret message?”

A secret message from Hibiki! Sounds interesting—let’s hear it.

“It’s u;kkfwrtiymews.”

Wh-what am I looking it? I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean…

“I’ll give you a hint: left.”

But what does that…? And there he goes.

“Left”? That’s his hint?

Hmm, I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean.

Something tells me this is going to keep me up at night like Kei’s riddle did.

But yeah, Hibiki never gives up.

Sounds to me like Phantom Thief Red is going to hear more from him.

Though, I’m sure Red will pull through somehow!

And finally, Asuka did some pretty dangerous things this volume, so make sure not to try and do it at home, okay?

For now, though, I’ll be seeing you next time!

Shin Akigi