Furina, Please Let Me Steal Your Heart!

Looking at the remaining 50 points, Luna couldn't help but sigh at how long the road to becoming stronger still was.

However, with the System, it was just a matter of time.

"Finally, let's take a look at my loot."

An oil painting, a gemstone.

Furina's Smile. The composition was clearly identical to the Mona Lisa from her previous life, with the only difference being the subject inside—the person had been changed to Furina.

The dignified posture exuded grace and tranquility, while the barely perceptible smile at the corner of her lips was the finishing touch.

But according to the intelligence she had gathered, this painting was created after Furina got kicked by a cat.

Knowing this, Luna couldn't help but feel a sense of unreliability when looking at the painting.

However, if you asked her if she liked Furina, her answer would be the same as any other person from Fontaine—of course she did.

And like most people from Fontaine, her fondness for Furina wasn't because Furina was a deity... it was because she found Furina to be fascinating.

Furina exuded an indescribable sense of "drama" at all times.

It was as if the whole world was just a stage for her.

"...It actually looks quite cute when you see it this way."

Luna hadn't yet decided what to do with the treasures she had acquired.

She wasn't short on money, anyway.

Well, let's just treat them as collectibles. It wouldn't be right for a Phantom Thief to go through all that trouble to obtain treasures and then just sell them for profit.

Luna picked up the Maiden's Tear once more, examining it carefully.

It was crystal clear, shimmering with a radiant glow... The constantly flowing patterns within it gave it a sense of life that somehow made one's heart race. It was as if this beauty had been built up from layers of sin.

"It doesn't look natural. Is it man-made?"

As Luna muttered to herself, a faint voice seemed to echo in her ear.

"Why..."

"Hm?"

Luna glanced around warily, but no figures were to be seen.

A trick of the light?

"Why would they bring me here...?"

No, wait—this voice...

Luna's eyes returned to the Tears of a Maiden. If her ears weren't deceiving her, this faint voice was surely coming from the gem.

What's going on? she wondered. Is it a mermaid's sister, a gem maiden?

She spoke softly, "Hello?"

"Why..."

"Hello?"

"Why..."

Alright, this isn't exactly a communicator—it repeats itself.

Though Luna could hear a voice inside the jewel, all she ever got was this one phrase.

She pondered aloud, "How strange. Why would a gem make this sound? Wait... hold on."

She recalled something her childhood sweetheart had once said:

When tears contain the strongest emotions, if your perception of water elements exceeds normal levels, you may hear voices within those tears and feel the emotions they hold.

When Luna first obtained this gem, she hadn't heard anything at all. But now, after learning to control water elements—even if her skill was quite basic—it allowed her to perceive the fundamental properties of water. Only then could she hear the voice emanating from the jewel.

Tears of a Maiden...

Is this gem made from someone's tears?

Luna lay on her bed, contemplatively gazing at the jewel in her hand.

"Who are you?"

"Why did you...?"

Luna lowered her hand and sighed. "Just repeating the same words over and over."

Could it be that my water element isn't strong enough?

However, leaving it alone like this made her feel restless. She didn't have any desire to pursue the truth, but ignoring it would prevent her from focusing on anything else.

Let's listen more carefully.

She closed her eyes, taking care to sense every detail.

"Why did you...lock me in a cage...let me go..."

Cage?

"Don't kill me..."

Luna was silent for a moment. She got up and walked over to the boards.

Although she had no evidence, she still thought of what happened twenty years ago, which was still a popular and mysterious topic today.

"The girl trafficking case." She took down that day's newspaper.

Starting from a certain day, every so often, girls around the same age would vanish without a trace, and no one knew how they disappeared.

And the voice in the gem sounded very young.

Luna clutched the gemstone in her hand, thinking, This gemstone is one of the victims—though it's a stretch to believe so without any solid evidence or clues.

She listened intently to the gem's voice for several more minutes.

Still no new information; it merely repeated what it had said before.

With little else she could do, Luna set the gem aside and turned her attention back to the intelligence displayed on the board. In truth, even today, girls continued to disappear one after another.

Some cases were actually murders disguised as abductions, while others seemed to be copycat crimes, each with distinct methods.

Everyone wanted to uncover the truth, but so far, there had been no definitive breakthrough. If they could only understand the modus operandi behind these disappearances, everything else would likely come to light.

"....."

Luna pondered this for a long moment.

How exactly did that merchant acquire this gemstone?

Although I'm tempted to investigate, right now, Fontaine is probably swarming with security patrols and special task forces. Even if I wanted to dig deeper, it wouldn't be easy.

With matters as they were, all she could do was wait for the dust to settle before trying again.

Luna sat on her bed and took out her pistol. "Maybe it's not the act of a Phantom Thief after all."

This matter should really be handed over to detectives and legal experts at the Shadow Court to handle.

But what if we change our perspective a bit? Wouldn't it be fascinating to "steal" the truth?

After all, why should the illustrious Phantom Thief be confined to tangible treasures?

Although this system likely wouldn't provide any rewards for such actions, as mentioned before, the choice of what to steal and what kind of Phantom Thief she'd become was entirely up to her.

"However, that's not something I need to ponder now."

Luna played with the handgun for a while, then picked up Furina's Smile again.

Indeed, it's utterly adorable.

Don't misunderstand; this sentiment was quite normal.

She naturally appreciated cute, beautiful things and people, but that didn't imply any particular inclination on her part.

At most, she might just want to give it a kiss on the cheek.

"...I mean, I'm a Phantom Thief, right?"

In which case, this shouldn't be considered unusual behavior, should it?

As these trivial thoughts crossed her mind, sleep finally claimed her consciousness.

The next day, the Steam Bird Courier published an urgent edition featuring the latest news.

"Phantom Thief Reappears? Who Is Its True Identity?"

The article about the Phantom Thief White Cat boldly dominated the main section, accompanied by an image:

The image showed a disheveled and distressed Marcel clearly crashing out.

(TL Note: Heh)

"It's all the Phantom Thief's fault!"