I exchanged device codes with the MITRON patissier, the Crow Devil King’s agent, and parted ways.
After looking around the area near the hotel and finishing shopping for my daily necessities, I received a call from Jeon Muyeong saying that the two of them might be returning late.
‘Should I take a rest until they come back?’
There are so many variables added because of the Phantom Thief Neon’s ruse of making a big announcement.
Since I had little to no information anyway, I thought it was best to sleep as I wouldn’t be able to plan anything.
The time difference between Korea and England is nine hours.
That wasn’t a small difference and I thought I would have a difficult time adjusting since it’s been a while since I traveled abroad, but I was surprisingly okay.
When I was young, it took me a few days to get used to the time difference because of my nerves.
Nerves from being out of town or because of upcoming chess competitions?
That I don’t know.
It could be because I had a long deep sleep this week, but when I woke up from my dreamless slumber, I didn’t have a hard time at all compared to before.
‘Is it because I’m a player now?’
When I woke up, Jeon Muyeong and Sung Gukeon weren’t back yet.
I checked the time on my device and confirmed that not a lot of time had passed, but it felt like so since I had a good sleep.
I also had a lot of messages in my inbox.
The first thing that caught my eye was the message from my student.
[Yeom Junyeol] Hello, teacher.
[Yeom Junyeol] Did you go back to the dorms? You were gone when I came back home.
[Yeom Junyeol] (Stamp)
The stamp was of Hongryong looking at the sky with a gloomy face.
I didn’t tell him since he’s busy with his work as the student representative and the case with Playlist!
Fortunately, Yong Jegun seemed to have told him what happened judging from Yeom Junyeol’s text messages that came after a few minutes.
[Yeom Junyeol] Jegun hyung said you left for England, teacher. But I’m worried since Jegun hyung looked a little too happy while talking about your whereabouts.
I wonder just what Yong Jegun said that made my student worry.
But thinking about it, I think I’d be worried too if Yong Jegun talked about someone with his ecstatic beaming face.
Since that that someone will be involved in something that Yong Jegun would find amusing.
[Yeom Junyeol] Though maybe Jegun hyung is just happy because he had an argument with his friend.
What does that mean?
I didn’t immediately get what he was saying so I read his message twice, thinking that I might’ve misread something.
It’s a bit strange that Yong Jegun would feel happy because of an argument, but considering how much he enjoys making fun of his friend, I kind of understood it.
Yong Jegun’s only friend is Kim Shinrok.
They must’ve fought after we left the country.
‘Kim Shinrok must’ve scolded Yong Jegun for enjoying his reactions when Sung Gukeon is around.’
Looking at the big picture, Yong Jegun seemed to have done it for the sake of his friend.
But from Kim Shinrok’s perspective, he was sudden;y confronted with his past.
‘Kim Shinrok seems very sorry about Sung Gukeon thinking that his teacher was dead…’
Sung Gukeon takes his time to celebrate Teachers’ Day and Kim Shinrok’s death anniversary without fail each year.
I remembered Sung Gukeon and Sung Siwan’s conversation back on Teachers’ Day this year.
— Gukeon hyung! Did you come to see your past homeroom teacher? Or did you get hurt again? Did you use an item recovery card?
— Long time no see, Siwan-ah. I injured my arm yesterday when attacking an otherworld. My teacher would’ve been very worried if he saw me.
Kim Shinrok was Sung Gukeon’s homeroom adviser for three years.
‘It could be a teacher from elementary or middle school, but I’m pretty sure it’s Kim Shinrok.’
Because of Sung Gukeon’s personality, even if his teacher had been dead for over ten years now, he wouldn’t dare show any injury to him.
That’s how loyal and affectionate my playable character is.
‘Still, there’s a limit to my involvement between the two.’
Kim Shinrok didn’t give a definite answer whether he would accept my proposal or not.
The only thing I can do now is to wait for Kim Shinrok’s answer.
While I was organizing my thoughts and checking other messages, another text came from Yeom Junyeol.
[Yeom Junyeol] Euishin-ah, I told you to rest…
[Yeom Junyeol] (Stamp)
It was a message from Yeom Junyeol my sunbae.
The attached Hongryong stamp was the same, but his way of speaking was completely different.
I felt proud of Yeom Junyeol’s effort to maintain this student-teacher and hoobae-sunbae relationship.
“We’re back. Sorry it took so long.”
While skimming through the other messages, Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong returned.
The two didn’t look as tired as they did when they first left the hotel.
It seems like they’re accustomed to the busy schedule of a lawmaker and his primary aid.
They took off their suit jackets and headed straight to the conference room, so I followed them in.
“Did you see the news? The Phantom Thief Neon returned Big Ben to its original state.”
Jeon Muyeong showed me the news as soon as we sat down.
The hologram showed Big Ben in its original state, without the huge neon signs in its body.
The Phantom Thief Neon’s light skill, Magician’s Silk Hat, can not only send one thing to another place but also bring it back.
He seemed to have retrieved the neon signs after letting his energy wave reset.
Perhaps it’s according to a philosophy that art should be left as it is.
Or maybe it’s just to destroy evidence.
“The media broadcasted the magic show of the Phantom Thief Neon live! There were many famous players watching, and I’m sure some Fomorians were watching too, but he deceived all of their eyes!”
Sung Gukeon laughed, seeming like he enjoyed the fact that the Fomorians were deceived.
The media was talking about the rare magic show done by the Phantom Thief Neon.
Other reports and topics began to arise since it has been a few hours, but the talk on the Phantom Thief Neon was far from dying down.
“Some players seem to have a plausible analysis.”
“Let’s see what they have to say.”
Jeon Muyeong played one of the news videos.
It showed a famous British magician player as a guest in a news broadcast.
The magician player, famous for his magic tricks using item cards, presented his analysis.
— What I noticed was the record left when the announcement of the Phantom Thief Neon appeared on Big Ben.
— You mean the footage taken by recording devices around the area?
— Yes, let’s look at and compare the videos.
The magician classified dozens of recording devices around the area into two categories.
Those that can detect energy waves and those that cannot.
He summarized his analysis of recording devices capable of detecting energy waves.
— The Phantom Thief Neon has done sophisticated manipulation to the recording devices.
— Manipulation?
— Yes. As soon as the neon signs appeared, all the recording devices that can detect energy waves were manipulated to transmit a pre-recorded image for about a split second. I reviewed all the footage to catch that one second.
— I understand that the association and the police are obtaining and analyzing footage from recording devices in nearby houses as well.
— It’s possible that their recording devices were manipulated by the Phantom Thief Neon as well.
The magician shook his head and floated another hologram.
— A photographer player who was on an unscheduled tour took pictures of the surroundings by chance with a professional device. I have the photos and videos that the player took. Here comes the real identity of the trick used by the Phantom Neon Thief.
The magician player showed several screens that cut the video in frame units.
It showed Big Ben from a distance and a blurry screen on top.
At full magnification, the shape of something was barely visible.
A giant silk hat.
The light skill of the Phantom Thief Neon was caught on tape.
‘Nothing was caught when he retrieved the items, but he’s caught when he first put the items. They captured it well.’
Pointing to the traces of energy waves and the silk hat, the magician player concluded.
— The trick is a light skill, a unique ability of Phantom Thief Neon. This silk hat could be his signature.
I knew someone would figure it out since his act was bold in the first place, but I can’t believe someone figured it all out.
Indeed, the magician seemed like a professional.
He finished the interview and the next news story came out.
It was about the large number of rare species moving along the Celtic Sea, and the rare animals previously seen in the North Sea seemed to have gone there too.
‘How the hell did they get there?’
It’s always fascinating how their movement process was never witnessed.
How do they manage to travel unseen when there are research groups that specialize in studying rare animals?
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Jeon Muyeong turned off the screen.
“New invitations.”
Perhaps he didn’t have time to print it this time, so Jeon Muyeong floated a hologram.
It showed invitations and envelopes similar to what we saw on the Red Lion’s private jet.
However, the shape and the color of the envelope were subtly different, along with the scrawled handwriting.
‘The content looks similar though…’
The first page of the invitation matched what I remembered.
“The time and place on the new invitation from the Fomorian Demon Race have not changed.”
“So it’s exactly the same?”
“No, the schedule has been left blank.”
Sung Gukeon flipped to the second page.
It was empty.
‘They left it blank. They adjusted the schedule and didn’t want to reveal it.’
The original invitation presented by Sung Gukeon and Jeon Muyeong showed the major scheduled events.
The guests’ arrival, the time for dinner, party games, tea time, and the auction.
We built our plan around that schedule, but it’s completely scrapped since the new invitation didn’t contain any details.
“It seems like they’re wary of the Phantom THief Neon. That doesn’t mean they canceled the auction, but they must’ve tightened the security.”
“Phantom Thief Neon has the ability to move things remotely and leave little to no trace of energy waves. It’s natural that they’d be on the lookout since it’s an auction.”
“Haha! There had been a lot of stories of the Demon Race getting caught off-guard for underestimating humans!”
I also know a story like that.
However, it seemed difficult to expect such a development in this heist.
“We should be fully prepared and leave too.”
Sung Gukeon opened up a map.
It showed the location and the internal structure of the party hall.
“There’s a possibility that this internal structure is altered.”
“Still, even if they use a skill to do that, the area would remain the same and they will not be able to eliminate or move the pillars in positions that support the weight of the building.”
The information we have was limited, so just as Sung Gukeon said, we have to be fully prepared.
After the meeting, we didn’t sleep a wink until the time for the Halloween party.
We simulated every possible scenario we could think of.
And on midnight of October 31st, the Halloween Party began.
