Chapter 21
<21>
But the newspapers continued to spout nonsense.
"Anonymous police sources, claiming the figure is too powerful to reveal their identity without causing national uproar!"
Thus, all the city's prominent figures began to be suspected of being the Thieving Crow.
Mrs. Doris Hunt, who appeared at a charity auction event to help crime victims.
However, the suspicion directed at this person and that person collapsed in an instant, like a deflating balloon. A person locked up in a detention cell couldn't possibly appear in public.
But conspiracy theories are as tenacious as weeds, sprouting anew the moment they are uprooted.
Was the Thieving Crow's arrest actually a government fraud against the public?
The Thieving Crow's arrest is a lie.
It's a staged show to boost the approval ratings of the incumbent mayor, who is seeking re-election ahead of next year's elections, which is why the culprit's face and name are not being revealed.
As baseless suspicions turned towards the city government, the Eden City Police Bureau released the confiscated evidence.
The Hoplis Diamond, which the Thieving Crow failed to steal.
A kitchen knife with a dazzling rose pattern etched onto its blade.
A pair of ordinary-looking brown boots.
And a black umbrella, its fabric damaged but still capable of lifting a person about a foot off the ground.
Only after the famous umbrella was revealed did the fabrication theories subside considerably.
However, the media and the public still couldn't shake their doubts, as the suspect's photo and identity were never released.
"Fools! The Thieving Crow has been arrested."
An old woman, seated at the head of a grand table and looking at the newspapers, swept all the inflammatory papers to the floor, spitting out scathing words.
"Claire Kent did not return to work."
Claire Kent.
Gemma Steel, who had been masquerading as...
The old woman had discovered the Thieving Crow's identity before the Police Bureau did.
The old woman stroked a white cat sitting on her lap, watching her subordinates gathered around the table like a hawk, and recalled that moment.
"Oh, you poor dears must have been startled. I have some treats, if you wouldn't mind giving them to me."
"Why give them such things?"
Give them money.
The robot cats couldn't eat such treats; they were nothing but food scraps. But...
'Wait, this is...?'
The chicken jerky wrapped around a fingernail-sized dried fish was familiar.
'It's the same as what I saw the night the Scarlet Queen's Heart was stolen!'
She and her subordinates had also gone to steal that giant ruby that night.
'But that conniving creature beat us to it!'
It was the perfect scenario: steal it, then frame the Thieving Crow, and there would be no need to worry about being tracked by the police.
In any case, after returning empty-handed, she found the robot cats she had sent to scout the museum each carrying one of these strange treats in their mouths.
"You rascals, not doing your job! Where did you get that?"
"Meow, meow, meow!"
According to the robot cat translator...
[I received this from a woman who works at the museum.]
"Is that so?"
The Thieving Crow who fled through the window that day was wearing a museum employee's uniform.
"What did that woman look like?"
[She had ivory skin, black fur, and brown eyes. However, I don't remember her face.]
The hair that fluttered as she flew into the sky was definitely black.
'And she doesn't remember her face?'
Wasn't that the common testimony of everyone who had encountered the Thieving Crow?
The woman who gave the cats the peculiar treats was the Thieving Crow. But then, a woman introducing herself as Claire Kent gave them treats that couldn't be bought anywhere.
'You are the Thieving Crow, Gemma Steel.'
The old woman shifted her gaze from the treats to the woman.
Blonde hair and green eyes.
It was different from her appearance that night. It was well-known that the Thieving Crow could change her appearance at will.
Her cat-like, aloof face was clearly etched in her memory. Whether it was magic, sorcery, or technology, it meant she hadn't used any method to make people forget her face.
'This is the Thieving Crow's true form.'
It also matched the appearance of Gemma Steel that she vaguely remembered.
Finally found.
She had unleashed vast sums of money and manpower to catch the Thieving Crow, only to find her lurking in the Police Bureau, which had been circling her front yard like a familiar haunt.
Thus, the culprit was found, but the jewels were not.
She had attached a tracking cat to the woman in the square that day, but before she could even attempt an abduction, the police had arrested her first.
"Doctor, where is Claire Kent now?"
The old woman asked an elderly man in a white coat among her many subordinates, who sat rigidly on either side of the table.
"She is being held in the underground detention facility at Police Bureau headquarters."
"Have you found the Scarlet Queen's Heart?"
The man shook his head with a grim expression.
"Kent is denying that she stole it. The police searched her home but haven't found it yet, they say."
"Is that so? Hmm..."
As she pondered, stroking the white cat on her lap, a subordinate wearing a black eyepatch over one eye offered an opinion.
"Once she's in the hands of the police, security will be even tighter, making it difficult to retrieve the ruby."
"Then we must extract Claire Kent before that."
The old woman immediately began discussing the plan and assigning roles to her subordinates, giving a stern command.
"No mistakes will be tolerated. Disperse."
At that moment, everyone rose in unison, placing their fists over their hearts. The rallying cry of the subordinates echoed mightily.
"For the day when Natural Meeting Pursuers conquer the world!"
The secretary's office at the entrance to the Police Chief's office.
Two men, summoned by the Chief, sat side-by-side on a sofa.
While waiting for their guest to arrive, Raven sat rigidly, staring blankly at the wall with a stern expression.
Chase, on the other hand, sat in a relaxed posture. He scanned the newspaper on the coffee table with interest, then murmured in a voice only Raven could hear,
"You won this time."
"This time? Let's be clear. I always win."
A pair of deep blue eyes, which had been fixed on the wall, turned towards the newspaper Chase was reading.
Raven Hunt, hunting the crow.
The newspapers, this one and that one, were filled with reports that Raven's strategy had captured the Thieving Crow.
This was because the Eden City Police Bureau, unwilling to let the Central Investigation Bureau steal the credit, had detailed the operation.
In reality, it wasn't Raven who caught the Thieving Crow, but the human heart she possessed.
She steals, but never harms others.
She kicked Raven away precisely to save his life.
'So, if my life is truly in danger this time, what choice will that unyielding woman make?'
Raven had made a bet with Chase.
Herd the culprit onto the roof.
While Raven confronted the culprit, Chase would intervene and fire a blank round.
Raven would pretend to be shot with a live round while trying to protect the culprit, then tumble off the roof.
If the Thieving Crow tried to save him then, Raven would apprehend her his way; if she tried to escape, Chase would apprehend her his way.
That was the bet, and Raven had won perfectly.
The fewer people who know a secret, the higher the probability it will be kept. It was a bet and an operation known only to a select few within the organization.
Now that everyone knew, praise poured onto Raven, who had accurately identified the culprit and devised the plan.
"How does it feel to be a superstar?"
Chase asked, flipping through the newspaper filled with praise for Raven. Raven, knowing it was sarcasm, didn't reply.
"By the way, I'm surprised you trusted me."
What was that supposed to mean?
Raven's eyes narrowed.
"You weren't worried that I might swap the blank rounds for live ammunition and pretend it was an accident?"
He meant, weren't you worried I might take the opportunity to kill you? Who did he think he was calling a coward?
"As you said, I trusted you."
"...What?"
"I trusted that, despite your dull mind, you wouldn't be foolish enough to kill me in front of everyone."
