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The man who had bought the cloak muttered that all of a sudden. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he meant, and he explained that the beginner adventurer with the second half of the joker card was gone.

“Wait what?!” Another adventurer shouted, and after they all looked around in a hurry, they realized that it was true.

That man who had said he was asked to deliver the second half of the reward was nowhere to be seen.

“It can’t be. Are you telling me…that was Fuzzy Dice all along?” Another adventurer said that, and the detective nodded. That was the most likely explanation.

It had been a really daring moment to step out like that, so the detective had not even considered that possibility. While the adventurers talked about that, they eventually reached the conclusion that Fuzzy Dice was simply amazing.

Fuzzy Dice always seemed to vanish into thin air when he left, and they had all witnessed that from really close by. That experience turned their nervousness for being suspects into excitement.

But then one of the adventurers raised his voice, saying “I just noticed something…” and everyone fell silent.

He had just remembered the barrier, which was supposed to emit an alarm when someone crossed through it. But there had been no alarm. So maybe Fuzzy Dice had just changed his disguise, and was still hiding somewhere nearby.

That brought back the tense environment from earlier.

Meanwhile, Mira turned to look at the device generating the barrier, which was next to the detective’s wheelchair, and raised her voice. “Are you sure that barrier is still up?”

Then everyone looked at the detective again, as he was the one managing the device.

“It should…” The detective leaned to the side to look at the device, and after a short pause, he muttered, “What in the world…”

Just as Mira had pointed out, the device had been turned off. Everyone began to mutter wondering when that had happened, when the detective thought of a moment.

“It must’ve been then…” Saying that, the detective chuckled in defeat.

Fuzzy Dice had turned off the device back when he came out in disguise and dropped the second piece of paper. He had said it was the sheet with the instructions to hand over the reward, but now the detective knew that it had been a distraction to turn off the barrier.

“So I guess he’s gone now…”

Another adventurer commented that. Everyone had been busy with the display of Warrior Skills, and then the spellcaster affinity tests, that Fuzzy Dice had plenty of time to slip away.

“That’s incredible.”

Once again, the adventurers began talking with each other and admiring Fuzzy Dice’s skill.

Then the Union workers approached them, as they had just finished removing the security spells on the evidence, and were curious why everyone was so animated. The adventurers quickly explained what happened, mentioning how the detective’s plan had been really thorough, but Fuzzy Dice had still been a step above and magnificently thwarted everything.

“He beat you again, detective.”

Even Julius muttered that with chagrin, feeling like there was nothing more they could do. Everyone started to think the same, Fuzzy Dice had slipped away through the detective’s fingers once again.

But the detective’s gaze was still sharp, not ready to give up yet.

“No, I’m not so convinced yet.”

The detective replied as he glanced amongst the adventurers. That was a strange response for them, who were already commending Fuzzy Dice’s impressive performance.

“What do you mean? Do you still have another plan?”
“I really don’t think there’s a way to find Fuzzy Dice after this.”

Some of the adventurers were curious to know what the detective had in mind, but others still felt like Fuzzy Dice was already gone. Amidst that, the detective continued talking with a confident voice.

“He disabled the barrier while we weren’t looking. So he had plenty of time to sneak and get away, completing his escape.”

The detective activated the barrier again as he spoke, almost like he was trying to make sure that everyone was on the same page. Then he added, “There’s something I’ve noticed recently,” and paused.

“Hm? What did you notice?”

One of the adventurers asked exactly what the detective was hoping for, grinning the moment he heard the question.

“Well, I noticed that he’s far more righteous than I had expected.” Saying that, he revealed his most recent discovery.

Before, he always thought that Fuzzy Dice would use any opportunity to sneak away undetected. But that was only the impression he gave as he was always running from one place to another.

In truth, he would actually remain in the Union, hiding amongst the other adventurers there, leaving together with them once things calmed down. That was the detective’s idea.

But such a claim obviously confused everyone, making them wonder how the detective had arrived at that conclusion.

“It’s simple, really. He always prepares everything meticulously so there’s not a single casualty, and that includes making sure that all of the seals on the evidence have been neutralized successfully.”

With a devious smile, the detective turned to look at the front desk, where all the evidence was being gathered now that it was safe to handle. They just had to combine that with the information provided to the church, and they would be able to lawfully prosecute the Doles Company.

Mentioning that the company’s fate was sealed now, the detective proceeded to reveal something else he had done.

So far, he had never deliberately counted the number of adventurers present. Not when they split up between those who knew each other and those who did not, nor when they split up between warriors and spellcasters. But he had tallied up their numbers mentally.

“You never mentioned a number..? But why does that matter?”

The detective was still not telling everything, prodding the adventurers to continue asking questions.

“During the first split, Fuzzy Dice was certainly amongst those no one recognized…”

With a hint of delight that they kept him talking, the detective explained his reasoning. There had been four times when he had verified the number of adventurers present.

The first time was when they split into those who knew each other, the second time was when the warriors performed their Warrior Skills, the third time was when they conducted the spellcaster affinity tests, and the fourth time was after the barrier had been disabled.

“During the first count, there were twenty four of you who knew each other, and thirteen left. The second time there were six warriors and seven spellcasters. The third time there were seven warriors and six spellcasters. And the fourth time…”

At that point the detective paused dramatically, panning his eyes across all of the adventurers present, and then announced loudly.

“Twenty five and twelve. Fuzzy Dice sneaked over to the group of those who know each other while everyone was distracted by the barrier being turned off.”

Embracing the moment, he swiftly turned his wheelchair around and moved it to the adventurers gathered away on one side, loudly saying, “Isn’t that right, Phantom Thief Fuzzy Dice.”

Saying that, he stared intently at the adventurers and there was a moment of complete stillness.

“It…it’s not me!!”
“Not me either!”

The adventurers there began to move away, as if trying to escape the detective’s gaze. They began to disperse, joining with those they knew, their big group splitting into many smaller ones.

Once they all left, the Union fell silent again. There was only one adventurer left from the group. He did not have any standout features, looking like the average middle level adventurer one would see anywhere.