Chapter 403: The Phantom Thief

"Momo-senpai, have you made your choice?"

"Yeah, I have."

Momo nodded calmly, then showed the page to Rinji and pointed to the heart-shaped balloon.

"This one."

Looking at the image, Rinji's brow furrowed slightly.

"This design…"

"…"

Maki and Momo watched Rinji nervously.

Having a boy give a heart-shaped balloon to a girl during the Shuchiin Festival had a pretty obvious implication.

"This balloon… doesn't seem that hard."

Fortunately, Rinji either didn't realize what it meant, or even if he did, he didn't care.

Even after the Ishigami confession misunderstanding, Rinji still didn't believe giving a heart-shaped item counted as a confession—especially in a competition.

"Momo-senpai, how about picking another one?"

"No, this one."

"Alright then."

Rinji picked up a balloon and started twisting it. At the same time, Maki began making her crab.

Both of them were very skilled. In their hands, a simple balloon kept transforming like magic.

After just two minutes, both Rinji and Maki finished.

In Maki's hands was a crab-shaped balloon; Rinji's was heart-shaped.

"This is so simple, can we really call this a competition?" said Rinji.

"It counts. Let's just say you win this time," said Maki nonchalantly as she flipped her side ponytail.

"Something feels off."

"Nothing's off."

Momo picked up both balloons—the crab from Maki and the heart from Rinji.

"Thanks for your gift."

"…Whatever. As long as you're happy, Momo-senpai."

Rinji took out his wallet.

"How much for the balloons?"

"Free. A few balloons aren't worth much." Shijo Maki waved impatiently. "You're done now, so go. We've got more customers coming."

"I'm still a customer. Your attitude needs serious work."

Rinji left Class 2-B with Momo.

Just before exiting the classroom, Momo stopped and turned to Maki.

"Thanks."

"No need. From the moment I saw you, I felt like we're in the same boat."

As she said that, Maki looked off to the side, her gaze vacant, her aura dimming slightly.

"It's like… we have the same scent."

"...?"

---

In the hallway, Momo hugged the heart-shaped balloon made by Rinji. Though her face still looked cold and distant, she was clearly in a good mood.

Rinji walked beside her, checking his phone.

It was a message from Shirogane, saying she'd be arriving around 1 PM. Rinji replied that he'd meet her at the school gate.

Today was a special day.

It was the final day of the Shuchiin Festival, and also the day Shirogane was going to try reaching his final goal.

Whether he and Kaguya would make it would depend on his performance today, so Rinji planned to help him out during the bonfire event.

Judging from the missing balloons earlier, Shirogane had already begun "privatizing" the Shuchiin Festival. So next…

"Rinji-kun, there you are."

"Hmm? Oh, Fujiwara-san."

Rinji turned to see Fujiwara rushing over.

Aside from her usual school uniform, she now wore a Sherlock Holmes-style detective hat.

"Rinji-kun, do you know what happened today?"

"What are you referring to?"

"Obviously the disappearance of all the heart-shaped balloons! You're so dense, Rinji-kun." Fujiwara laughed.

When she arrived, Momo instinctively hid the heart balloon behind her back. She didn't want everyone knowing about it.

"Oh, that? Yeah, I noticed."

"Then do you know the riddle the phantom thief left?"

"Huh?"

"This!"

Fujiwara held up a card in front of Rinji.

On the card were pictures of clocks, and at the bottom, it read: "oo's o-space," signed by Arsène Lupin.

It was clearly made by Shirogane.

"A phantom thief has appeared at Shuchiin!"

"Looks like it."

"You don't seem surprised at all." Fujiwara tilted her head.

"Fujiwara-san, have you forgotten how you usually refer to yourself?"

"My title? 'Love Detective'?"

"Exactly," Rinji smiled. "If there's a detective, of course a phantom thief would come to challenge them. So, Fujiwara-san, this is a challenge specially made for you."

"Eh!? Really!?"

Fujiwara stared at the card in disbelief.

"Prepared just for me?"

"That's right. I think the thief is waiting for someone clever enough to solve the riddle. And that person is none other than Shuchiin's own 'Love Detective'—you." Rinji patted her shoulder seriously. "This is your chance to make a name for yourself—or rather, to prove to the thief that you're a worthy rival."

"I see! I must rise to the occasion!"

Fujiwara grinned confidently and adjusted her detective hat, looking motivated.

"Then I'll get going, Rinji-kun. I'm going to solve that riddle!"

"Yeah, go for it."

Rinji smiled and waved her off as she ran away.

"The meddling detective is finally gone."

"…Wasn't that whole thing clearly something Shirogane came up with?" muttered Momo.

"It really was the president... wait, you knew?"

"I'm sort of an accomplice to Shirogane," Momo replied flatly. "That guy clearly did all this for that Shinomiya heiress. He thinks no one notices, but plenty of people have figured it out."

"That's to be expected. They draw a lot of attention even on normal days."

"By the way, there's a place I want to check out. Will you come with me?"

"Hm? Momo-senpai, where do you want to go?"

"There."

She pointed to a small tent set up along the hallway.

On the tent was written: "Witch's House."

"..."

Seeing that tent, Rinji's expression turned a little strange. He and Hayasaka had visited that place just yesterday.