[player] It's Aoi!
[player] Aoi stated she was alone at night the day before yesterday, but Toku was here too... So, were they both in on it?
[Aoi] That's slander!
[Jane] Hmm... We cannot rule out the possibility that Toku was hiding, which led Aoi to mistakenly believe she was alone that night.
[-] Suddenly, Fuuka Minami walks over to Aoi with a commanding presence, lifting Aoi's chin with her folding fan to reveal her pale face.
[Fuuka Minami] I was there when you gave your testimony.
[Aoi] Yes, boss...
[Fuuka Minami] You said Ms. Ume saved you, right?
[Aoi] That's right. I've been at Bamboo Cloud since I was twelve, so I would never betray...
[-] Unexpectedly, Fuuka Minami walks over to Toku while Aoi is speaking and signals the bodyguards to stomp on Toku's hand.
[Toku] AHHHH!!!
[Aoi] Toku!
[Fuuka Minami] Hehe, it was Bamboo Cloud that saved you, not him, so relax.
[Aoi] You're right...
[Fuuka Minami] Okay, I'll give you a chance to call the police. The facts are clear. Just tell them you caught a colleague stealing the priceless Heart of Divinity, and I'm sure they'll be here in no time.
[Fuuka Minami] Here's the phone.
[-] Aoi accepts the phone with shaky hands.
[Fuuka Minami] Oh! Right! If we let the police handle the theft of something this valuable, the jail time will probably start at fifteen years. But you'll be making a great contribution, Aoi.
[Aoi] Fifteen years?!
[Toku] Hmph! Nice try. I don't get scared that easily.
[Ume] An inside job, armed robbery... The combined sentence may even exceed fifteen years.
[Fuuka Minami] Oh, and because he's being reported, he won't have the chance to turn himself in and get a reduced sentence. Bamboo Cloud will never hire someone convicted of an inside job. Thirty years from now, when Bamboo Cloud's businesses have spread throughout One Han City, I can only wonder where he'll make a living!
[-] Aoi starts crying and goes to Toku.
[Aoi] Toku, just return the jade...
[Toku] What are you saying?! I don't know you!
[player] Toku, Aoi's neck is completely unscathed.
[Toku] So?
[player] I saw the thief strangling Aoi from the window. And yesterday I was "lucky" enough to... uh, experience this firsthand at a friend's place... Even now, the bruise on my neck still hasn't faded... So, if you weren't working together, why isn't there any bruises on Aoi's neck?
[Toku] I...
[-] Toku turns ashen. He hesitates to speak but ends up looking down in silence.
[Jane] Some investigations are definitely best handled by you alone! It's truly frightening!
[-] Ume mutters to herself as she starts recording on her phone.
[Ume] The proposal for the removal of the employee safety hotline has been retracted. Although it hasn't been used throughout the years, it's necessary under special circumstances. To be sent to Take.
[Fuuka Minami] Once the case is solved, Bamboo Cloud will compensate you with double the medical expenses...
[-] I rub my neck. Well, if I had to say so, this brush with death was quite worth it since it became a key piece of evidence against the suspect's defense.
[Jane] Now that I think about it, they probably carefully planned to make you the eyewitness of the robbery, as it would excuse them from employee negligence and keep them from being suspected of doing an inside job.
[player] So I was part of their plans...
[Jane] It's quite an interesting turn of events, even in my career as a detective! But why did they specifically target you? And how did they know when you would be eating there?
[player] I don't think that was part of their plan. Their performance was for all the guests on the second floor of Bamboo Inn...
[-] After saying that, I cast a guilty glance at Ume. Noticing her remain completely composed, I brace myself and continue.
[player] However, due to certain reasons, I was the only guest present on the second floor that morning. So, their performance didn't go as planned...
[-] Ume's brows twitch a little, and I take a moment to pray in silence for Bamboo Inn.
[Fuuka Minami] Everything is clear now. Hand over the Heart of Divinity.
[Fuuka Minami] I personally have no interest in getting the police involved, though that doesn't mean Bamboo Cloud's retaliation and punishment will be less severe than jail time.
[-] Toku is already restrained by the bodyguards, but he still refuses to give in and shouts at the top of his lungs.
[Toku] The Heart of Divinity has always belonged to Northland! We're simply returning it to its rightful owner!
[player] Northland? Its rightful owner?
[-] In my bewilderment at Toku's attempts to struggle free on the ground, I suddenly notice a tattoo on his neck that looks like a turtle.
[-] It looks familiar... But where have I seen it before? As I try to place it, my detective instincts from the last two days kick in, and I instinctively snap a photo to keep it as a clue.
[-] Before I can figure that out, Fuuka Minami suddenly orders the bodyguards to search Aoi and Toku, but they find nothing.
[Aoi] Toku, where did you hide the jade?
[Toku] Northland gave birth to us and raised us. Rilla, we can't repay it like this!
[Jane] Looks like we won't be getting anything from our thieves. Hoho... Where could he have hidden the Heart of Divinity?
[player] We searched Toku's dorm room earlier, but there was no trace of the jade. Could he have passed it to another accomplice?
[Jane] According to the dorm manager, Toku never left after returning yesterday, not until Ms. Ume brought him here. If he did pass it to someone else, the only possibility is he did it on his way back from the auction house to the dorm.
[player] Oh! Then Wang's testimony will be very important!
[Ume] Wang? The one who's very close to Toku? I know who that is.
[-] Jane snaps her fingers and gives me a thumbs-up.
[Jane] Right! Wang saw Toku returning to the dorm. Maybe he has some clues for us! Ms. Ume, we're counting on you!
[-] Ume calls Wang and puts him on speaker. We quickly explain the situation to Wang, and the latter tells us what happened that day...
[Wang (Phone)] Yesterday morning, I went to Bamboo Cloud to grab a limited roast goose. But I was in such a hurry that I ran into someone near the auction house and made him drop his roast goose. So, I agreed to buy him another one.
[player] Roast goose? That makes me hungry... Sorry, please continue.
[Ume] Start from the point that's relevant to the case.
[Wang (Phone)] It's relevant... At least it will be in a moment. When I returned to the auction house with the roast geese, that person I ran into was gone.
[Wang (Phone)] I waited and waited outside the auction house, but that person never came back. It was then that I caught Toku rushing out of the auction house. At that time, I wondered--wasn't he supposed to be on leave because of his injury? What's he doing here? Talk about dedication... Oh, Ms. Ume, don't get me wrong. We should all be as dedicated to our work as we are to Bamboo Cloud's roast geese!
[Ume] Get to the point.
[Wang (Phone)] Okay, okay. So I asked him what he was doing there, but he just ignored me.
[Wang (Phone)] Something felt off about him, so I followed him out of concern for his well-being. But he went straight for the dorm and shut himself in his room, refusing to open up no matter how hard I banged on his door. Well, since I had roast goose to enjoy, I returned to my room soon after.
[Wang (Phone)] Ms. Ume, let me be clear. I only saw him go straight for the dorm, and then I went to enjoy my roast goose. He didn't say anything to me!
[-] Once the call ends, we do our best to extract the valuable information within Wang's roast geese story.
[Jane] According to Wang's testimony, Toku didn't make any stops on his way back from the auction house to the dorm, nor did he have any opportunities to hide the Heart of Divinity somewhere else.
[Jane] And based on the dorm manager's testimony, we know Toku didn't leave or make contact with anyone upon his return. So, he couldn't have moved the Heart of Divinity as well.
[Jane] Now, after searching Toku and Aoi on the spot, we've still failed to locate the Heart of Divinity. So...
[player] The most likely answer is that it's hidden within the auction house itself!
[-] Fuuka Minami agrees with our deduction and sends Ume to organize a search of the exhibition area. Meanwhile, she leads Jane and me to search the employee lounge while the others remain on the spot in the "company" of the bodyguards.
