Funinna, please let me steal your heart!

Urgent document? Could it be that there's a result? Funina's eyes lit up. She quickly went to open the door, took the document, and carefully read through it.

"Hmm, I see..."

She slammed the documents onto the table.

"Take a look at this!"

At noon the next day, inside the Chiori-ya.

Chiori, Navia, Luna, and Xia Worei all gathered together.

The eye-catching document caught Xia Worei's attention, but Qianzhi was more concerned about one issue.

Why do we need to discuss this in my shop?

With her arms crossed, Funina said proudly, "Of course! Because you never get any customers here!"

"what?"

“I… I mean, Chiori-ya is a suitable place.” Funina’s eyes darted around.

Inazuma women are terrifying.

Chiori sighed, "This is a clothing store. I really can't understand why you always come here and do things that have nothing to do with clothing."

"Isn't it fine?" Luna said with a smile.

"It's not good at all; customers can't come over anymore."

"Then I'll buy you."

Chiori responded calmly, "Take her away, Xia Worei. She's trying to buy and sell people."

Luna moved behind Navia: "Then I'll buy Nana."

"Then you'll have to buy the Rosebush Club too, okay?" Navia said with a smile.

Xia Worei glanced at Luna but didn't join in the three's bickering.

"I didn't expect Lady Funina to come in person, I'm very grateful. May I ask what brings you here?" She bowed and asked.

"No need to ask further, you'll understand once you see it!"

Xia Worei picked up the document and quickly glanced at it.

"Is this a research report from the Academy of Sciences?"

Funina puffed out her chest: "Yes! I handed over the Maiden's Tears and Les to the Academy of Sciences for research and analysis, and the results were exactly as I expected. They have one component that is exactly the same."

"If my reasoning is correct, this component is the one that can turn a person into a non-human object!"

"As for why the people who drank Les didn't change shape, it's probably because—the amount wasn't large enough."

In other words: not a lethal amount.

Funina raised a smug expression and burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Well then, praise my wisdom! My lovely people, this is certainly decisive evidence."

"Keep your voice down," Chiori said.

"Uh, cough... Anyway, that's it." Funina immediately lowered her voice.

"Thank you very much, Lady Funina. Please accept this."

Luna promptly handed a box of pastries to Funina as an offering.

"As expected of the person who will be performing on the same stage as me, they have excellent judgment."

Funina took the pastry, sat down in the chair, picked up a fork, and started eating.

Even though it was just sending things over for analysis and research, they acted as if they had already made a huge sacrifice.

But this didn't seem out of place at all in everyone's mind as Furnessa, so no one else cared.

"...Did Lady Funina not sleep well?" Luna suddenly asked.

Just as Funina was about to put the pastry in her mouth, she stopped when she heard her question.

How can you tell?

"You're overthinking it! Don't try to interpret the actions, expressions, and words of deities. Overthinking is a major taboo for detectives, isn't it?"

Luna smiled and said, "Yes, I must have misread it."

"As long as you know."

Neither the Phantom Thief White Cat nor she could be treated carelessly. Funina secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, everyone else's attention was on the clues.

Navia said seriously, "If this ingredient increases, it can cause people to..."

Xia Worei pondered for a moment and said, "Hmm, turn into liquid."

"I've never heard of such a thing. And generally speaking, if you really dissolved a person, shouldn't it turn into blood?"

Navia murmured, "And it's almost like Fontaine's prophecy."

The three of them turned their gaze to Funina.

The pastry in Funina's mouth suddenly lost its flavor.

"Lady Funina, do you know anything?"

"Huh? Well..."

Of course I don't know!

As Funina racked her brains trying to figure out how to change the subject, Luna placed a cup of black tea in front of her.

"Predictions may not come true, but the case itself is more important now."

"indeed......"

Xia Wore continued, "Let's share the information we've gathered. I've been investigating the Carres case, mainly the Cabrière Merchant Guild's estate."

Seeing that the topic had returned to its original state, Funina felt relieved.

If only the woman in the mirror could tell more.

But sometimes, knowing more isn't necessarily a good thing.

Especially for my role.

Funina thought absentmindedly as she took a sip of her black tea... It's so hot!

"What did you find?" Navia asked earnestly.

Xia Wore raised a finger: "To dissolve the other party at the most opportune moment, one must observe Carres, Jacques, and the third party simultaneously, without attracting everyone's attention."

"The only location that can achieve this is a second-floor window."

Xia Wore raised her second finger:

"There were only three people on the second floor at the time: one was Marcel, one was a man named 'Mongt', and the other...whose identity and name are unknown."

Generally speaking, one would immediately suspect a third party with unclear information.

But this would play right into their hands.

"It's practically like telling you to go find out about this third party," Luna said.

“That’s right, it’s very likely a cover-up,” Xia Worei agreed.

Navia then raised her hand.

"I have information that allows me to further filter the answers; in other words, I have the opportunity to filter out the wrong ones."

Navia smiled and said, "Don't underestimate our Thorn Rose Society's intelligence network. During the period of patience and waiting, I also had people investigate a lot of clues—especially the creator of the Maiden's Tears."

"Its name is 'The House of Phantom Gems'."

"And his name is Montgomery!"

Chiori exclaimed in surprise, "I thought it was just a rumor to fool children."

The Mysterious Jewel family is a barely known legend.

If a child leaves the house after 9 p.m., the Phantom Jewel House will capture them and take them into the darkness, turning them into beautiful gems.

The court investigated it in connection with the series of missing teenage girls.

After all, rumors don't appear out of thin air.

But naturally, nothing was found, since the missing persons were all young women, not children, and the gemstones were nowhere to be found.

“Case studies that use urban legends as a basis for crime are not uncommon,” Luna pondered.

Navia nodded: "I also noticed it because of the word 'gem,' and we found what appears to be the base of the Mythical Gem family."

"Really?" Funina exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, now that we have everyone's information, everything can be put together."

The Tears of a Young Girl is just one product in the criminal industry led by Les.

They use Les' raw materials to dissolve people, then turn them into gemstones and sell them for exorbitant prices.

Perhaps even more "gems" have already entered the market.

"Furthermore, the Phantom Gem family seems to have acquired a considerable amount of jewelry, metals, and ores, such as 'Celestial Star'..."

[Treasure Discovered: Celestial Star]

“'Wind Conch Stone'..…”

[Treasure Discovered: Wind Conch Stone]

“'Ten-ring coins' and so on.”

[Treasure Information Found: Ten-Ring Coin]

Does this guy actually have so many treasures?