Crown
“Aside from what you turned over to the Vatican Museum, do you have anything else?”
“To be honest, I don’t much want to sell it. But there’s no point in keeping it if it’s just going to sit around unused.”
He had already decided to cover the cost of buying a house in Seoul by selling off land, so he had no intention of parting with any more relics. Still, the reason for putting it up for auction was simple enough: there was no use in keeping something he had nowhere to display.
“At least tell me roughly what it is. The international auction Sotheby’s is hosting is coming up, and we’re preparing the pamphlet now. If it’s an important piece, we’ll slot it in.”
Of course, if it turned out to be a minor relic not worthy of an international auction, they planned to leave it out.
“It’s King Arthur’s crown.”
“……”
Jake doubted his own ears.
“W-What did you say?”
“I said it was the crown once worn by King Arthur in the past.”
“D-Do you have a photo?”
“I’ve got one I took before. I’ll send it to you. But whether I sell it or not, I’ll need to think about it a little longer. The more I think about it, the more I feel like it’d be a waste.”
* * *
Buzz.
Jake snatched up his phone at once and unlocked the screen. Then he stared hard at the single photo that had just arrived by text.
“!”
Th-this is real too!
The jeweled crown was studded with gems, the design was steeped in old-world grandeur, and the body itself was made of gold. It was obvious at a glance that it was the real thing.
“D-Damn it. He had King Arthur’s crown too……”
That forced him to rethink what was happening right now.
“Ah! Madeline……”
So that’s why James could sell off the land without a second thought.
If they had found the crown, then no matter how expensive the others were, they were all more or less the same in comparison.
...Because this was the greatest relic of them all.
Among the relics left behind by kings in history, the most symbolic one could be called the crown. And if it was King Arthur’s crown, then its value was beyond guessing.
Jake quickly picked up the phone again. While the call was still ringing, one of the staff outside came in looking for him.
“Director Jake. Madame Madeline from the British Museum is here now…….”
“Tell her I’m on a more important call right now. Later.”
“She’s already outside.”
“Tell her to wait! This call comes first right now!”
King Arthur’s crown was more important than the British Museum. It was insulting even to compare them.
“Ted! It’s Jake.”
-Oh. Jake. You sound unusually lively today. What is it now?
“Another relic connected to King Arthur has turned up.”
-Hahaha. This international auction is going to be quite the spectacle. What is it this time?
“King Arthur’s crown.”
-!!
“I’m certain it’s authentic.”
-...Does the client say they’ll entrust it to us?
“Not confirmed yet.”
-Then we need to handle this, even if it means cutting the fee to the bone. The publicity from this international auction will be enormous.
“It’s the same client who entrusted us with King Arthur’s gold coin before. If we adjust the fee, the rest will also…….”
-Leave it to Jake. I’ll allow as low as one percent.
“Thank you, Ted. I’ll make sure it happens.”
* * *
“What, has this fellow been boiling a cannon with his tea……”
While James talked to Jake, he had to pull the phone away from his ear more than once.
-You must! Do you understand?! You have to entrust it to us! James!
“All right, all right. I said I understood.”
Jake was shouting so loudly James’s ears felt numb.
-And do not reveal anything about it to the Vatican under any circumstances.
“The British Museum either, I suppose?”
-Of course. If she hears about this, even the land sale could become uncertain. We’ll delay any disclosure of related information as long as possible.
“I see.”
It was a relic that utterly eclipsed King Arthur’s gold coin, and if the crown had been found, it was reasonable to assume the chances of discovering any other relics had dropped sharply.
-And we intend to present it as a surprise appearance at the very end of the international auction.
“Won’t that reduce the final hammer price? You’ve already cut the fee so drastically……”
Jake had already begged James to hand it over to Sotheby’s while offering to slash the fee to a fraction of what it should have been, and from James’s perspective there was no reason to refuse. But if it was put up for auction without anyone knowing, there was a real chance the final price might not live up to expectations.
-We’ll give the big spenders a separate heads-up before the auction. It’s the kind of piece no one but them would dare bid on. As for the British Museum, we’ll tell them after the land sale is complete.
“Good. It really was the right call to leave it to Jake.”
-Thank you, James! With this relic, I’ll rewrite auction history.
Jake was convinced that King Arthur’s crown would shatter the highest price ever recorded in auction history.
* * *
“Yes. Ah. So that was the place. I just received the location by text.”
After ending the call, Cardinal Augustino turned back to the group waiting for him in the distance and said, “We’ll rest well today and move out tomorrow. Everyone must be tired after such a long journey. And for a task this important, I think we need time to prepare both body and mind.”
“...Yes. I’ll inform the Swiss Guard.”
Priest Stefano silently swallowed his irritation at Cardinal Augustino’s decision to delay another day, even after the location had just been confirmed.
I knew you’d do this.
The location the chief of the treasury had passed to Cardinal Augustino was already under watch by the FBI and armed police from the United States.
You’re never getting away.
He had heard that the Vatican was also coordinating with Italian police. The plan was to trace the numbers stored in the phones of the men they arrested this time and drag in every last one of them, down to the final man.
* * *
Cardinal Augustino waited until everyone had scattered to rest, then quickly switched on the anti-tapping device and picked up the phone.
“The location’s confirmed. Frank.”
-Where is it?
“Near Red Rock Canyon, west of Las Vegas. I’ve got the latitude and longitude too, so I’ll send them right over. There’s a large boulder at the site. The note says three meters east from the boulder, then seven meters north, then ten meters east from there. The buried depth is two meters, so your people will have to dig a bit.”
-What about movement on your side?
“I’ve got everyone under control. They won’t be moving today. No need to make this harder than it has to be.”
-...David, when are you planning to separate from them?
“Tomorrow, when they head off to find the relic, I’ll slip away. By the time they realize I’ve gone, it’ll already be far too late.”
-Then what are you doing next......
After talking with Frank for some time, David could finally feel his own mission drawing to a close. Once he’d heard in detail where to go after leaving the group, how to get his passport and ticket there, and what else needed to be done, it already felt as though the work was finished.
“Good. Good. You really did prepare everything well.”
-Don’t let your guard down until the very end. The Vatican Museum blueprints you have are just as important as this relic.
“Heh. If everything goes as planned, I’ll see you in a few days.”
-I’ll come meet you at the airport.
“Ha. The boss himself is welcoming me?”
-Not you. The materials you’re carrying matter more.
“You know how to talk…….”
-Hurry up and send the location.
“Fine.”
* * *
Their conversation flowed straight into the earpiece of the Swiss Guard captain, standing far away.
“At last, the chance to catch them has come.”
* * *
It was late at night before David finally received a text.
Buzz.
[The item has been secured. A message came from them.]
“Heh. Success.”
He thought all that remained now was to quietly slip away from the group and become a free man.
It’s over. Now it’s really over.
* * *
The next day dawned.
“The Swiss Guard is ready, Your Eminence.”
“Let’s depart.”
A few vehicles left the hotel, and Cardinal Augustino held his bag close to his chest as though it were precious.
I should get out even faster. If I go too far into the forest, it’ll take too long to make my way back out.
He had already smuggled out the Holy Grail, so he could see no reason to go any farther. And if they discovered that the site had been dug up, things could spiral out of control.
There’s the car they prepared for me... over there!
He checked the vehicle, then called Stefano as they reached the entrance to Red Rock Canyon.
“Priest Stefano.”
“Yes, Your Eminence.”
“You already know the exact location of the Holy Grail, I presume?”
“Yes. I received the text you sent this morning.”
“We’re not far from it now, so I’ll get out first and check the surroundings as I go up.”
“Ah... are you sure that’s all right? You must still have trouble walking after the accident before.”
Stefano had raised the issue fully aware of the answer.
“I’m completely healed. A little walking won’t hurt; it may even do me some good.”
At those words, the priest only gritted his teeth inwardly.
...What on earth happened to Cardinal Augustino?
“I’d like to approach the Holy Grail while offering a prayer of deep gratitude with every step. So I would prefer to remain alone. You understand, yes?”
“...Of course, Your Eminence. Then I’ll have the car stop.”
The vehicles pulled over, and Cardinal Augustino slipped out at once.
“See you shortly. It won’t take long, so please search for the Holy Grail first. Digging it up will take some time.”
“Yes. Then we’ll begin the excavation at once.”
Cardinal Augustino saw the car off with a gentle smile. He kept smiling until the red taillights of the last vehicle disappeared, and the instant the car vanished from sight, his expression changed completely.
“Damn it, I went too far talking to that guy!”
Thud.
David broke into a run toward the car prepared for him. As he ran, he stripped off the purple vestments and yanked free the white Roman collar that marked him as a priest.
Swish.
“Hah. Finally, I can breathe.”
David flung the Roman collar behind him, then pulled open the car door and leapt inside.
“I’m free! Hahahahaha!”
Vroom.
As the car started down the road, the grass in the nearby brush rustled and a few heads rose up.
Click. Crackle.
“Monitoring team. Vehicle departure confirmed. Continue pursuit surveillance.”
Click.
-Roger.
Far behind, a black car was starting up after David’s car had passed.
* * *
By then, Priest Stefano and the Swiss Guard were deep in the woods, meeting an American government official.
“Thank you for your hard work, brother.”
“Not at all. This was the easiest operation I’ve ever been part of.”
Thanks to the wiretap on David’s phone, they already knew every detail of the men’s plan, and all the information had been relayed in real time.
“The men arrested here can also be extradited to Italy in the future at the Vatican’s request.”
“Thank you. The chief of the treasury will also pass along any further cooperation with the United States as it moves forward. Please discuss the rest with the captain of the guard.”
After finishing his conversation with the American official, Stefano cast a bitter look down toward the foot of the mountain.
...You still haven’t found him, Chief of the Treasury?
The handling of the criminals they had arrested this time could wait, even if it took a while, but the real Cardinal Augustino, who had gone missing, weighed on him. Yet with no word at all from the chief of the treasury even now, it was hard to hold on to hope.
“Hah.”
At Stefano’s sigh, the captain of the Swiss Guard stepped forward.
“Let us go, then. We should also prepare to return.”
Stefano was the one actually in charge of this deployment.
“Understood. What time did he say his flight would leave?”
Now that every one of the men had been arrested, David’s next move had also been laid bare.
“From what I heard, the flight is scheduled for this evening. It’s headed for Naples International Airport……”
“Then there’ll be Italian police waiting at the airport.”
“Of course. We can’t leave the seeds of evil lying around.”
“Then let’s go as well. The Pope and the chief of the treasury will be waiting for us.”