As for carrying this black mark and ending up as a suspect…
“No.”
Alice shook her head lightly in denial, but she did explain:
“After the Association went into lockdown, Clara and I met in private. It wasn’t something I could bring up openly.”
“Did you tell the Administration Bureau about this?” Kamui asked.
“But they’ve already summoned her for questioning. When she arrives, she’ll certainly repeat all of this as testimony.”
Met in private?
Clara hadn’t mentioned any of that to me this morning…
Kamui thought it over and asked again:
“When you two went in, hadn’t the relic been stolen yet?”
“I’m not sure. Right now, we can’t determine the exact time of the theft. But during the time I took Clara to the elevator, the storage room door wasn’t properly shut. That’s the most likely window for the theft, and the Administration Bureau agrees.”
So, she was the one who brought Clara into the storage room without authorization, and then left the door open while she was away—she bears indirect responsibility. And this top-tier hero has neatly washed her hands of all blame.
As a result, since I happened to leave the Association building at that time, and my button was conveniently found in the storage room, I become the prime suspect for the relic theft?
That’s far too hasty a way to pin a crime.
It’s like they’re just grabbing anyone to close the case.
“Miss Kamui, I’ll take my leave now.”
Alice stood up to say goodbye.
“What exactly did you come here for?”
“To show you the evidence and confirm that the button is indeed yours. You’d already confirmed it was yours before you brought it in, hadn’t you?”
Going on instinct, Kamui didn’t trust Alice.
After all, she was an AI. The emotions she displayed didn’t seem genuine to Kamui.
She pressed further:
“Are you trying to shift the blame onto Clara, making me mistrust her?”
“You seem to trust Miss Clara a lot. That’s really enviable.”
Although there was no solid evidence, Kamui had a vague feeling that Alice’s motives weren’t entirely innocent.
“But I have no ill intentions. I also believe you and Miss Clara are innocent. After all, you retrieved the relic in the first place. If you wanted to steal it, you wouldn’t have waited until now…”
Kamui couldn’t tell from Alice’s tone whether she was sincere—after all, in the strictest sense, she had no heart.
Alice put on her headphones, stood up from her seat, and added:
“She should almost be here. I’ll leave the rest to you and the Administration Bureau.”
Alice left the temporary interrogation room, leaving Kamui alone in front of the collapsed table, tapping her foot to vent her frustration.
“…Tch, what was her point in coming?”
After a long while, the interrogation room door finally opened again.
The middle-aged, balding man came back in with Clara, carrying a new chair. He had Clara sit next to Kamui.
Clara shot Kamui an apologetic look, then looked up at the agent across from her and said:
“Just like I told you a moment ago, Miss Kamui is absolutely innocent in this incident. That button is just something I accidentally dropped at the scene.”
“The real mastermind behind the theft is someone else. If you pin it on her, you’ll only make yourselves a laughingstock.”
Before letting Kamui and Clara meet, the agent had already spoken with Clara.
Clara continued negotiating:
“Since you’re asking us to prove our innocence, why not let us assist with the investigation? Just give us some freedom to move around inside the Association building. That should be fine, right?”
“She can’t. But you’re not a suspect yet. I can give you the authority to investigate inside the Association building, but I’ll be accompanying you…”
The man raised a hand and waved. An invisible energy enveloped the interrogation room.
That was magic power.
“You’re a Magic Girl too?” Clara asked in shock.
“I’m a Magician. Don’t think only Magic Girls can use magic.”
The man explained with a grumpy tone, then added:
“This magic seals off the inside from the outside. Neither electrical signals nor sound can get out.”
[The connection is indeed cut.]
[No casting medium used, just a casual wave of the hand, and such an effect. I want the data for this magic.]
No, you can just forget about that.
At least she wasn’t a suspect yet. If she attacked an Administration Bureau agent, she’d definitely end up in jail.
Clara thought this over, then looked at the man with pleading eyes and asked:
“So, you still don’t believe us?”
“Words are empty. I need evidence. My job is to doubt everything—not just you, but World Tree Technology, evil organizations in conflict with the Association, even some of the Association’s employees—they’re all on our suspect list.”
The man pushed up his glasses as he faced Clara, his bald head and glasses both gleaming under the light.
“Although I haven’t named you as a suspect, we do have our doubts about you.”
“Ah…”
Clara shrank back a little and muttered quietly:
“I’ll think of something…”
But even if she got the permission to search, where would she even start…?
Kamui, who seemed to be deep in thought, suddenly spoke:
“Did the Association go into lockdown yesterday at noon?”
The bald man glanced at Kamui, but still answered affirmatively:
“As soon as the relic theft was discovered, the emergency plan was activated. All Association staff haven’t left the building since yesterday.”
“Then the Administration Bureau took over the scene, assumed command, and blocked off all entrances around the building. Except for summoned heroes, no ordinary person could get in.”
Kamui continued:
“Is there a possibility that the relic hasn’t been moved out yet and is still somewhere in this building?”
“Of course, that’s possible. We’ve considered it too. After we moved in yesterday, we searched the entire building top to bottom, but found nothing.”
Indeed, if Kamui could think of it, the Administration Bureau would have too.
“Who was the first to discover the theft? Was it Miss Alice?”
“No, it was the storage room administrator.”
“Regular inspections? When was the last check?”
“The night before.”
Now it was Clara who was questioning the Administration Bureau agent.
But he didn’t intentionally withhold anything. As long as it helped solve the case, he didn’t mind giving Clara these insignificant clues.
Urged on by Nyx, Clara asked again:
“The surveillance was deleted? Did you find any clues from the operation logs? Or was it an external hack?”
The bald man nodded.
“Yeah, there were indeed signs of a hack that morning.”
She actually hit the mark?
Clara pointed at Kamui and asked:
“Then do you think she looks like some kind of tech expert?”
“Hey, hey!”
Even if Clara’s point was valid, Kamui still felt insulted.
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Well that was rude.