The Phantom Thief's Bold Proposal
Charlotte shook her head vigorously in response to Elysia's modest offer. "Nonsense! It's truly exquisite! Miss Elysia! I like your cooking skills so much that I was wondering—would you consider working with me?! Since you graduated from the prestigious Windom University's Department of Business Administration, I'm sure you'd handle the accounting work without any trouble at all!!!"
"Of course! If you'll have me..."
"You're hired!! Hired!! Hiiiired!!!!"
Charlotte announced Elysia's acceptance in her usual dramatic tone. Han Seong-il, who naturally agreed with her opinion, kept nodding along to show his support.
"Oh my~! Thank you so much! When should I start coming in...?"
"Hmm! The sooner the better, I think!! When can you start coming in?!!"
"Hmm... If we do a commuting arrangement for the time being, I could start tomorrow. However..."
"However...?"
"During the commuting period, I'll need to prepare for my move... so until the move is complete, I'll only be able to handle either maid duties or office work..."
"I see!!"
"Moving by yourself as a woman isn't easy. Would that be alright...?"
"Of course it is!! You need time to adjust to the work anyway, so that's perfectly fine! And moreover!!"
"Moreover...?"
"Our detective assistant, Seong-il, can help Miss Elysia with her move!!!"
'What the fuck? This bitch...?'
Seong-il glared at Charlotte, stunned by her attitude of trying to turn him into a moving laborer without even asking for his consent. Seeing his expression, Elysia waved her hands apologetically.
"No, it's fine..! I feel a bit bad about burdening Mr. Seong-il right from the start... especially with that look on his face right now.."
'Shit!!'
Seong-il, stung by Elysia's words, quickly composed his expression and began making excuses.
"Not at all!! As the assistant to a great detective, it's only natural to help a new colleague! Don't worry about the move at all!"
"Oh my...? Really...? Then I'll bring over some light luggage little by little every day. Could you help me carry the heavier moving boxes this coming weekend...?"
"Huh? Uh, sure..."
"Hehe..! Thank you! I'll pack everything properly, so I just need you to handle loading and unloading the luggage onto the magic carriage!"
"Yes! O-of course!"
Though he had no desire to do it, Seong-il found himself swept up in the pace set by Charlotte and Elysia. He swallowed his tears of blood and had no choice but to agree to sacrifice his precious weekend helping with her move.
'God damn it....'
Charlotte stood up and patted Seong-il hard on the back as he forced a bright smile while desperately holding back the urge to burst into tears.
"Wow!! Seong-il!! Spending the weekend cozily moving with such a beautiful woman!! Isn't that practically a date?! I'm so jealous!! So jealouuuus~~!!"
'You... just wait. Really.'
Seong-il burned with inner rage at Charlotte's words, which felt like fanning the flames of an already burning house. He hid his true feelings and answered with a forced laugh.
"Ahaha!! I guess so!! Wow...!! What an honor, right!? Ahahaha!!"
Whether she knew his true feelings or not, Elysia blushed slightly as she replied.
"Oh my~ What are you two saying, you're making me embarrassed... hehe..."
"Ohohohohoh!! Youth really is a wonderful thing!! Ohohohoh!"
'Ha.... If outsiders saw you, they'd think you were fifty years old... when you're the same age as me at most...'
Seong-il finally failed to maintain his expression due to Charlotte's relentless teasing and glared at her from behind. As if to soothe him, Elysia smiled brightly and spoke in a coquettish tone.
"Oh my~ After this move is finished, going on a date with Detective Assistant Seong-il doesn't sound bad at all~"
"Eh...?"
Seong-il was flustered by her sudden advance. And Charlotte, who was egging it on—
"Ohohohohoh!! See that?! Seong-il-kun!!"
Though Seong-il's irritation hadn't completely subsided, with two beautiful women continuing to pamper him, his anger gradually faded. In the end, he grinned and answered them.
"Haha!! Just leave it to me!!"
The next day.
"Ugh!"
"Miss Elysia! Would you let me carry that luggage for you?"
Elysia had brought her moving boxes with her when she arrived by magic taxi for work. Seong-il went out to greet her, took the luggage from her hands, and carried it up to her room on the second floor.
"Even though our pay is quite good, taking a taxi for your commute must be a bit burdensome."
"Not at all~ If I'm going to be partners with the great detective, this much of an investment is necessary~"
"Yeah. That's true. To be partners... Huh? What? Partners?"
Seong-il felt a chill run down his spine at the unexpected word that slipped from Elysia's mouth. He turned around on the stairs and looked down at her.
"Why...?"
Elysia looked up at him with an innocent expression on her beautiful face, as if she had no idea what he meant.
'Did I hear that wrong?'
Thinking he might have been overly sensitive, Seong-il shook his head, answered her, and turned back around.
"Ah... it's nothing!"
"Hehe..."
Elysia's mysterious chuckle, which seemed to know everything and nothing at the same time. Feeling as heavy-hearted as the heavy luggage he carried, Seong-il headed to the empty room on the second floor.
After opening the door and setting the luggage down on the floor, he told her,
"There! I'll leave the luggage here for now! Until the move is complete this weekend, don't worry about any office work. For the time being, just focus on organizing the second-floor room and your maid duties!"
"Understood~ Partner~"
The word "partner" popping out of her mouth once again sent another shiver through Seong-il.
"Um..."
"Yeees...?"
"Why do you keep calling me 'partner'...?"
"Oh my? Do you really not know...?"
Having said that, Elysia stepped right up to Seong-il, pressing her body against his as she continued.
"You really~ don't know?"
As she pressed close, Seong-il instinctively stepped back and bumped into the wall. Elysia pressed her body even closer against his.
"Hmm... Our partner is surprisingly innocent, isn't he...?"
So saying, Elysia brought her face so close to Seong-il's that their lips were nearly touching. She exhaled hot breath from her nose, teasing his face, while one hand gently stroked his manhood.
"D-don't tell me you...?"
"Oh my? You've finally noticed~ Our partner?"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"Why..? What makes you think I've gone crazy..?"
"What else?! You're our enemy! The Metropolitan Police Department hired us and gave us the position and money specifically to catch you! And the very target we're supposed to apprehend just waltzes in here on her own two feet? Have you lost your mind?!"
At Seong-il's outburst, Elysia—no, Luphtesia—smiled mysteriously as she replied.
"Not at all~ Think about it carefully. The fact that the Metropolitan Police hired you to catch me means, conversely, that your jobs only exist because of me, right?"
"...?"
"You don't understand...? Simply put, the position of Special Advisor to the Metropolitan Police is one that could disappear at any moment if I weren't around."
"No.. what kind of bullsh—"
"Think about it! When the Phantom Thief Luphtesia sends a notice and attempts a theft, her success rate has been 100% until now!"
"And...?"
"But~ what if, suddenly, whenever a certain detective appears, the Phantom Thief's crime success rate drops to around 50%...?"
"What...?"
"The Metropolitan Police can't stop the Phantom Thief at all with their own abilities... but when that detective shows up, it becomes 50%...?"
"Hmm...."
"Then how do you think people would view that detective...?"
"...."
Seong-il was beginning to understand her logic. When he remained silent and simply stared at Luphtesia intently, she smiled brightly and continued.
"Public opinion would naturally elevate that detective, and the Metropolitan Police, under pressure from that public opinion, would rely on her even more. Therefore, the detective's position as Special Advisor would become even more secure, right?"
"...."
"But~ what if~ in that situation, that detective who has earned the Metropolitan Police's deep trust were to secretly exchange information with me—not exactly colluding, but close enough—and continuously leak internal information from the Metropolitan Police... what would happen then...?"
"Hmm...."
"With that internal information, I could easily escape the pressure from the Metropolitan Police, right? And would the Moriarty Detective Agency suffer because of that situation? Not at all! The higher her fame rises and the stronger her position becomes as my rival, paradoxically, the easier it becomes for me to extract information from the Metropolitan Police. So I'll deliberately lose to her on purpose to steadily increase her reputation! Then Charlotte Moriarty will become Windom's greatest detective! Because! Charlotte would be the only detective capable of 'somewhat' preventing the Phantom Thief's thefts that would otherwise be completely unstoppable. The people of Windom City would have no choice but to rely on her."
"....So what you're saying is?"
"Yes! We're in a symbiotic relationship. We can complement each other."
"Ha... So it's like a crocodile and a crocodile bird, huh?"
"Exactly!"
After saying that, Luphtesia lightly embraced Seong-il's chest, then gently bit his ear and whispered into it.
"Just so you know, if Detective Charlotte and I enter this symbiotic relationship, our Detective Seong-il will benefit greatly as well..?"
"What kind of bullshit..!"
"Doesn't four times a month ring any bells?"
"!!"
"What would you do if I got caught after taking the treasure from the 'Secret Room'?"
"Well, if you don't get caught, then there's no problem...."
"Aigoo~ Stop pretending to be so naive!"
"..."
"No matter how much I want to keep my promises, what if I keep getting caught or forced into days of constant escape? Would you say, 'Hey! Why aren't you coming to see me while you're being chased around?'"
"Hmm..."
"If you act as a stepping stone in the middle to ensure my safety, Charlotte becomes famous! I become safe! And you get to have me stably! Well.. if that alone isn't enough, we could also share the spoils!"
"Hmmm....."
"So there's nothing strange about me coming to the Moriarty Detective Agency like this, revealing my face and identity, and requesting negotiations!"
"....Have you never considered that I might betray you?"
"Puhaha! You think I wouldn't have prepared for at least that much...?"
With those words, Luphtesia silently pulled out a crystal from her bosom and handed it to Seong-il. He took the crystal without thinking, and a recorded video began playing from it.
『Teacher! Let's join hands! If you accept, I'll give you an artifact!!』
ㆍㆍㆍ
『Fine. I accept. But I have two more conditions.』
The video clearly recorded the entire conversation and transaction between Seong-il and Luphtesia in the warehouse of Duke Aibek's mansion.
"!!!"
"Partner~ If you don't betray me, I will never betray you either. There's no benefit for me in betraying you anyway!"
"...."
"However... if you hand me over to the Metropolitan Police, I suppose I could at least make one last desperate struggle...?"
"Ha...."
Seong-il felt a throbbing in the back of his head from her schemes.
'This bitch is really playing me like a fiddle..? Should I just say fuck the Game Master and everything and smash her right now?'
As Seong-il's expression hardened from rage and killing intent began radiating from his body, the flustered Luphtesia started acting cute toward him.
"Aigoo... Don't get so angry~ If I didn't trust you, Partner, would I have come to you like this?"
"Hmm..."
"The reason I showed you the crystal wasn't to threaten you, Mr. Seong-il, but because I genuinely want to form a long-term cooperative relationship with you!"
"...."
"Otherwise, would I have been crazy enough to openly reveal my bare face and identity to you?"
"Hmmm...."
Seong-il felt that her words made sense. He suppressed the killing intent that had surged up and began to respond.
"Huu... Fine. Your logic seems reasonable, so I'll hold back for now. But if we examine your logic closely, the ones who ultimately suffer losses are you and Charlotte. Not me!! I'm just being played by your hands without any significant benefit! To be frank, your argument that I can stably have you four times a month is just a self-serving reinterpretation of an agreement we already reached! Isn't that right?"
"Hmm..."
"Therefore, we need to renegotiate the terms of our contract. If not, I'll throw away all concerns about honor or whatever and completely destroy you. Understand?"
"Whoa~ Whoa~ Why are you being so extreme~"
"Unlike you, I don't have any particular reason to cling to this world, you know?"
"....?"
Luphtesia looked bewildered as words more fitting for an apocalyptic cultist came from Seong-il's mouth. To calm him down, she brought out a carrot and continued speaking.
"Alright! I'll admit that you are the one taking the biggest loss in this unofficial three-way deal! So what can I do to earn your trust?"