Putting aside the excitement and frustration of obtaining the Sequence 5 Marionettist, Ren turned on the TV to relax for a while.
Today was the weekend, and since they had just attended a banquet yesterday, the Occult Research Club had no scheduled activities.
When he turned on the TV, the morning news was covering an incident that had happened earlier.
[A major robbery occurred at the Beika Bank branch in Beika-cho 5-chome, Tokyo, at around 16:21 yesterday afternoon.]
[According to the preliminary police report, two masked criminals armed with what appeared to be shotguns broke into the bank. After controlling the scene for 15 minutes, they escaped with approximately 1 billion yen in cash.]
"Yesterday at around 16:00… right around the time for the banquet boarding."
Hearing this, the first thing Ren thought of was the boarding time for yesterday's banquet.
The Suzuki Zaibatsu's banquet was well known in Tokyo. It was a large-scale public event, and with Phantom Thief Kid 1412 involved, nearly the entire city knew about it.
Because it was so public, naturally some people would use it as an opportunity to act.
The Kid case was handled by the Second Investigation Division, but because of the heavy media attention and its direct connection to the Suzuki Zaibatsu, the Metropolitan Police Department had more than just the Second Division at the port, in order to save face for the police.
With the Tokyo police force already stretched thin, the banquet further tightened manpower. Some people clearly took advantage of that.
"Act when police resources are scarce?"
Ren wasn't surprised something like this happened in Beika. Crimes like this were far too common here.
But the amount, 1 billion yen, made him pause.
An important character in the story also had a certain connection to that sum.
Could there be a link? Ren couldn't help but wonder.
With that doubt in mind, he took out the maple leaf gold coin imbued with strong spirituality.
The 1 billion yen robbery yesterday had been committed by Akemi Miyano.
The coin flipped high into the air and landed in his palm, giving him an answer accurate enough for him to be sure.
As expected, the answer was yes.
"It really is her."
Ren understood instantly, but then another question arose.
"So, should I get involved?"
Akemi Miyano's fate was a tragedy, and he had no interest in watching tragedies play out.
From Isumi, he had learned that once you decide to act, you cannot hesitate.
"Well, I still can't accept that ending."
He wasn't willing to let Akemi's bad ending happen.
This time, he would have to step in.
"Since the 1 billion yen robbery happened yesterday, did something go wrong on their end as well?"
He needed more than a simple yes-or-no pendulum reading.
Ren took out the tarot cards crafted from the River of Eternal Darkness, shuffled them, and quickly drew three.
The reversed Wheel of Fortune, upright Death, and reversed World.
These three cards revealed the robbery's outcome.
Three thieves, each with a clear role. A strong man handled the muscle. A middle-aged taxi driver, skilled at navigating every street around the bank, was the getaway driver. And a beautiful young woman served as the inside plant, scouting the bank and finding the perfect moment to strike.
It was a simple team composition, but each role was well-defined.
Before the robbery, they were united. But once it was done, greed took over.
Instead of splitting the loot three ways, each wanted it all for themselves.
"The muscle wanted to kill the others and take everything."
"The driver just wanted to get away with the money."
"The young woman wanted to silence them both and use the money to save her sister."
From his divination, Ren could observe their actions as though from a third-person view.
The reading revealed each of their motives.
"In the end, the driver managed to secretly transport all 1 billion yen away, which led the other two to start hunting him down."
"This driver really is something."
A middle-aged man with no particular physical advantage had managed to pull off a switch right under their noses, transferring the money away without them noticing. That took skill.
"The driver knew exactly what kind of people the others were. If he stayed there foolishly, it would have ended badly. Better to run immediately."
Ren admired the driver's quick thinking, but in the end, he was just an ordinary man. Could he really avoid two people chasing after a billion yen?
Unless he could leave Japan illegally right away and completely hide overseas, changing his identity, he would still be found.
Japan might not have as much street surveillance as some countries, but there were plenty of detectives here who could track someone down.
"Sure enough, it's going to end up with Ran's father."
That result wasn't surprising.
Ren shook his head slightly. At the same time, he had already made up his mind on how to handle Akemi Miyano's situation.
This time, he would act personally.
It wasn't suitable for Miwako to get directly involved, but he could at least ask her to keep an eye on things.
Having decided, Ren immediately called Miwako.
She picked up after only a few rings.
"Are you free? I have something to discuss with you. It's about yesterday's 1 billion yen robbery."
Huh? You already know about that?
"I saw it on the news this morning. And someone I'm interested in is involved in this case."
You… have your eyes on the robber?
"It's hard to explain over the phone. How about we meet and talk in person?"
…Alright. But explain it clearly first. I want to hear the detailed reason.
(To be continued.)