People in Tokyo, the world is clear

This includes bizarre offshoots, including the age-old art of stealing, and new methods that involve simply plagiarizing foreign literary works, exploiting loopholes in domestic laws, and carrying almost no moral risk.

But there is also the most mysterious and unpopular genre among them.

That is, the legendary thief of destiny.

It is a bit weird to describe this kind of thieves in detail.

But it can also be put simply - it means stealing other people's luck, and achieving success by standing on the failure of others at a very low cost.

A vivid example is what the girl who calls herself Yukiko is doing now.

Standing behind the young man, directing him to keep inserting coins to attack the machine that had just swallowed up a large number of game coins from a loser.

Looking at the screen where no prize was awarded, he slowly frowned.

It wasn't until the ding ding sound of winning was heard that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he looked at the reward coins that jingled down from the prize dispenser, and then looked at the other coin basket that was almost dry.

He seemed to be thinking about something, pinched his chin, and remained silent for a long time.

"Have you got a clue?"

Lin Sen stood up, walked to the child and observed her expression.

After a long time, I finally heard her whisper after closing her eyes:

"It seems that, as I expected, this feeling..."

Finally, she opened her eyes and gave a firm answer:

"That Robin Jiro must have been a gambler."

"What kind of stream-of-consciousness reasoning is this?"

Chapter 119: The Phantom Thief

"I was born with a very strong ability to profile. I think it's a talent that could lead to a career as a detective."

Yukiko said in a voice that was almost boastful:

"I've asked some of my family's elders, friends who work at the Metropolitan Police Department, to explain many cases, both large and small, to me. In about 70% of those cases, I was able to profile certain psychological and personality traits of the criminals who were eventually apprehended, using traces collected at the crime scene."

"So powerful?"

"Mr. Itsuki can certainly choose to believe."

"right."

Make it look like the real thing.

Lin Sen was not sure how much exaggeration there was in it.

Generally speaking, children of this age, whose minds and personalities are not fully mature, still have some instinct to brag.

Moreover, compared to when I was younger, I know how to consider the authenticity of my words and hold back a little, so that I won't cut open the tiger's belly with a sliding tackle, nor will I suffer a fatal injury that I can recover from in three days.

Therefore, it is of course unclear how much truth there is in Ms. Yukiko's words.

I didn't touch her fur because of this - at this point, I just continued to play with her.

Even have the urge to tease, try to tease the other person:

"Come to think of it, I've had money stolen from my house before. Before we analyze the ultimate villain, Robin Jiro, would you mind helping me catch the little demon here?"

"Where was it stolen?"

"The amount in my previous apartment wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. The people next door, and even the entire floor, had their windows open, and I was the only one who got hurt because I kept my windows closed."

After this, continue to describe some details from memory - try your best to restore the whole picture of the incident.

The girl who was listening pinched her chin, her eyes blank, as if she was lost in a long thought.

About two minutes later——

"Did you get that money suddenly?"

"It is."

"Before that, you didn't have the habit of closing the windows every time you went out, right?"

"...right."

I was a little stunned at this point, and I looked at her in a different light, as if I were looking at a girl who had accurately found the entry point without much thinking.

Subconsciously, I put on a serious expression and listened to her slowly begin to speak:

"Did you file a case with the Metropolitan Police Department at that time?"

"Have."

"The officer who took your statement didn't ask you about the details of the window, and you didn't mention it, right?"

"Yes. So... I asked about it later, but nothing came of it."

"Is the attitude of the local police officers not serious? Or insensitive?"

"...really."

"It's more likely that the crime was committed by someone who is familiar with the floor, or even a recurring criminal. The possibility of a thief being a thief is very small."

Yukiko pushed up her glasses. "Let me guess... You were having some financial troubles, right? And people around you were moving?"

"!"

This really makes me lose my composure.

Reach out and tap the girl's shoulder:

"It scared me a bit. It's like you were the one who possessed the thief and stole from me."

"Just a few brief profiles." The girl shook her head, unsurprised. "Could you also tell me...were you involved in any other minor financial disputes at the time?"

"Do gambling debts count?"

Lin Sen recalled the situation when he first crossed over and mentioned this point.

But all I got from Yukiko was a shake of the head:

"Maybe not so much. Are there any others? Small, immediate, and more related to individuals rather than organizations."

"Maybe not."

"What about neighbors, friends, and acquaintances? Are they troubled by related issues?"

"."

After a brief moment of daze, the young man suddenly widened his eyes, looking a little surprised, and glanced at the girl with glasses who had already seen the clue from his expression and raised the corners of her mouth.

"...have."

That was an event that was almost forgotten deep in memory.

When March was just reborn, he led Miss Ito to fight against an unreasonable apartment landlord:

"That is to say, there was indeed a good friend who lived next door at that time. She had some minor disputes with her landlord, and I was the one who intervened to resolve it. Could it be..."

"I feel like Mr. Itsuki has grasped the answer himself. Do you want to hear more from me?"

"Listen."

Lin Sen straightened his face.

Listen to the girl clear her throat:

"The profiling results show that this is very likely an experienced repeat offender. However, this time, your act was somewhat revengeful. A skilled thief wouldn't deliberately rummage through drawers and destroy unrelated furniture. This is a mistake only a novice with inadequate skills would make. You might have done it out of a provocative or demonstrative mentality."

"...It really is."

"The perpetrators, due to their connections, are at least familiar with the conditions on a single floor of the apartment building. They also tend to commit crimes over a relatively long period of time, usually around times when the apartment's residents are changing. In this situation, unless they're extremely unlucky, the chances of being witnessed are significantly reduced to almost zero."

"My other neighbor...just happened to move away at that time."

Lin Sen thought of Miss Kurosawa, the wild dog whose lease was also expiring at that time.

It seems that everything is not as bad as we thought at the beginning, but someone is deliberately adding insult to injury.

"The perpetrators typically stay in the area for a long time and are well-informed about the local police presence. As far as I know, there haven't been any major police deployments in Shinagawa Ward in the past decade. I'd imagine the thieves even know which officers are most likely to be slacking off during shifts."

"..."

"Due to their understanding of Tokyo's migrant workers, the perpetrators knew they didn't have a strong desire to pursue the matter. While these migrants face considerable pressure to survive, they still have their hometowns as a psychological refuge. After exhausting all available resources, and with no results, these young people, due to their busy lives, are more likely to accept the consequences."

"He's really invincible."

Lin Sen straightened his chest and suddenly felt a little awe.

Apart from some childish aspects of her personality, the girl next to me does have more detailed thinking and analytical skills than her peers.

So the old things that had almost been put aside suddenly came up, almost making people grit their teeth.

The image of a sarcastic old man emerged in my mind——

"It seems quite likely that he's the one... I still remember what he said, 'a stinky country bumpkin who came to Tokyo to beg for food.' I thought it was just prejudice... but now it seems like he was speaking his mind."

"I'm quite familiar with several police branches in Shinagawa... Do you need my help to investigate this matter further? Or does the Sasagawa Clan's son-in-law have his own methods now?"

"A prince consort? Unbelievable."

There is a saying that goes "go with the flow".

When Miss Yukiko showed an inclination to help, he was naturally happy to play dumb.

And also understand her purpose:

"If you agree that I will do it, Mr. Goki will owe me a small favor."

The girl narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. "I haven't decided yet. But I can promise I won't ask too much of you. I'll see how things pan out in the future."

"Does my favor have value?"

"For someone as interesting as you, I kind of enjoy the feeling of having something on your side. Oh, and one more thing... when you mentioned a certain neighbor friend just now, you used the word 'she', right? Does your wife know about this 'she'?"

"...Let's just look at Robinjiro in the distance."

It's really a bit scary.

When the girl reveals such a terrifying ability to analyze details, if you continue to chat with her about daily life, I guess it will just be like the players in Werewolf who get angry and the more they talk, the more they explode.

It’s better to keep some of the original taste of privacy.

Only in this way can we know that the relationship between us is that of friends.

After making such a determination, he stopped talking about personal matters, which only caused the girl to cover her mouth.

"It seems that you are a little afraid of me?"

"That's true. I realized that Miss Yukiko has some strength, so I had to hide away from her."

As he spoke, he keenly caught the smug expression on the girl's face.

Then he had an idea, and to her surprise, he stroked her head for the second time today.

——After all, he is still a child in terms of age.

No matter how much she shows off her skills, deep down she still craves for recognition and rewards, especially for people like herself who are recognized by her.

This is not just a random guess - in fact, from getting along with each other, you can feel that smart girls express such needs very clearly and openly.

I followed her hint and took action immediately to satisfy her.

Then the eyes under the glasses narrowed slightly.

After enjoying it for just a moment, he reached out and gently pulled down the young man's hand.

"Your behavior once again proves what I said before... Mr. Itsuki, you know how to manage your boundaries. It seems that when I'm with you in the future, I can slowly start to take off more clothes..."

"?"

"It refers to the useless shell of the mind."

After adjusting her state with satisfaction, she turned to the more crucial topic for the two of them:

"So, it's time to continue profiling that fate thief, Robin Jiro."

Perhaps because of the warm-up just now, the girl thought very deeply and for a long time this time.