July 27th
Today was the day to get a close up with Alice. Ren packed Morgana in his bag and started to head out. Leblanc was open, and there was a man already at the counter eating some curry. Sojiro noticed Ren making his way out. "Heading out? Don't come back too late."
"Don't worry, I'll be back later." Ren said before exciting Leblanc.
Zenkichi was the man chowing down on the curry and boy was he loving it. "Man, Boss. This curry is fantastic!"
"Oh, thanks." Sojiro replied casually. Some things didn't change, such as barely talking to customers despite the business.
"So, that was the kid in the flesh, huh?" Zenkichi thought to himself, glancing at the door as Ren left. "Now, I wonder what he could be up to today?" Considering the hot topic lately, he could wager a solid guess as to what Ren was doing. But he'd wait it out for now.
.
.
Hifumi and Mika were at the TV station, waiting for the interview with Alice to begin. She hadn't arrived yet and people were just talking and sitting down. "Thanks for bringing me, Mika."
"Anything for you, Hifumi-chan." Mika said with a smile. "When you said you needed my help for 'work'," she used air quotes to remain subtle. "I just had to help. Besides, I hate Alice. So anything that can be used against her, I will gladly take."
"You…hate Alice?" Hifumi blinked. "What did she do to you?"
"Ugh, make her atrocious fashion line." Mika rolled her eyes and groaned. "I had to model in it to help her show it off. It's so hideous! The only reason it's been getting any attention is because I was the one who made it work."
"I…see." Hifumi just let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Besides, she's so fake. I can see through her transparent act." Mika added. "Fake can see through fake." No, she didn't hear the irony within her statement. "If there's a model's career I want to ruin, it's hers."
"…Right. We're still deciding on that." Hifumi was at least glad Mika was willing to help her. "I'm also glad you didn't wear the cat suit either."
"You said you were doing thieving stuff, was I not supposed to dress up for the occasion?" Mika tilted her head.
"…That's…not really how it works." Hifumi rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't going to get into the details and Mika didn't really need to know either.
"Huh? Fumi?" Ann and Ren approached the two of them. When she saw Mika she groaned. "Oh. You're here too."
"I asked to see Alice too." Mika waved her hand dismissively at Ann. "Because I want to insult her the moment she opens her mouth."
"…Is that professional?" Ren asked.
"No. Also, I almost forgot about you." Mika only barely remembered Ren. She didn't even remember his name. She knew why they were here, but Hifumi asked her not to spill the beans. After all, the others didn't know that Mika knew, just as Ren had a number of people who knew he was a Phantom Thief but kept quiet.
"Oh dear lord…" Ann just sighed. She and Ren were seated in the second row, with Hifumi and Mika in the front.
"I wasn't going to miss this chance." Hifumi whispered to Ann. "Plus, someone has to keep her in check. She might actually go onto the stage…"
"Yeah. Good point." Ann knew Mika would do anything within reason. And Mika's reason was a lot. Soon enough, the studio began to fill up with audience members, and the only person left to arrive was just Alice.
"So, this is going to be live, huh? I'm kinda nervous…" Morgana said while in the bag. "You still good?"
"Hey, stay in the bag…!" Ann whispered harshly to Morgana. "If they find out we brought a pet here, they'll kick us out!"
"A pet…" Morgana frowned. But he understood the circumstances and slinked back into the bag. "You guys do your best to blend in."
"We'll be fine. All we're gonna do is watch." Ann said.
"Should I also make efforts to blend in?" Sophia asked from Ren's phone.
"Yeah, you just hang tight for a sec, Sophia." Ann said.
"No prob." Sophia responded.
"Here she comes…" Hifumi said.
"Miss Alice on the set!" The AD shouted. Alice walked onto the stage and people gasped excitedly. She walked over to her seat and sat down.
"Holy crap…" Ann's eyes widened. "She really is adorable…!"
"Ugh." Mika made a loud gagging sound. "I hope she trips on the frills of her dress."
"Cutting back from commercial!" The AD said. "Back in five…four…three…"
"And now, onto the Hottest Meet-and-Greet segment of the show." The cute female announcer opened up. "She has taken the fashion world by storm and conquered it! Please welcome the designer, Alice Hirragi!"
"Thanks for having me!" Alice waved cutely to the excited crowd.
"Ugh, she's so fake…" Mika rolled her eyes again.
"Thank you for joining us, Alice. You sure have been keeping busy these days, haven't you?" The male host asked.
"It's only thanks to all my fans that I've been able to do what I do." Alice replied with a cute smile.
"And what a number of fans you have! Talk about strong support." The male host said. "Am I to assume you designed the outfit you're wearing today?"
"It's very cute." The female host added.
"Thank you so much!" Alice beamed. "The theme of my current line is 'Alice in Wonderland'. I feel like fashion is a rare and beautiful thing that can take anyone into a world built on their dreams. You can find a side of yourself that maybe you didn't even know you had. Fashion does so much for us. I try my hardest to focus on that whenever I design a new piece."
"…" Hifumi was keeping her ears peeled out for any lies. But so far, Alice was speaking nothing but the truth.
"Such wise words from a successful industry veteran!" The woman said. "What inspiration originally spurred you into fashion design, if you don't mind?"
Alice glanced away for a moment. "To be honest, I was very shy growing up. I didn't have any friends at school. I would get so lonely…"
"Cry me a river." Mika muttered.
"I wanted to change so much." Alice continued. "I just didn't know how to do it. But then, one day, I saw the most beautiful dress in the shop window. When I put it on, the whole world felt new. It was like I was hit with this blinding ray of light. I really can change! That's what wearing it made me think. I strive each day to give that same feeling to every person who tries my designs. I want to be a ray of light to others. That's what inspired me to enter the fashion industry."
"I definitely wanted to change when I put on that dress. Change into something that didn't make me want to gag." Mika was not letting up in her scathing comments.
"Really…huh…" Ann felt draw in by Alice's words. They felt so genuine…
"Now I can see why the young people love you so much!" The male said. "How do you handle all the dating…rumors…" His words slowed down and his expression changed. "Huh…?"
"….?" Alice tilted her head curiously.
"Uh…are you okay?" The woman looked over to her co-host worriedly.
"Is this some kinda scripted thing?" Someone in the audience asked.
"What the…?" Ren furrowed his brows.
"Alice, I…" He suddenly gasped as if he was hit with a life changing revelation. "I love you, Alice! Please spend the rest of your life with me!" The man shot from his chair, getting down to all fours in front of Alice.
"What!?" Alice's eyes widened. The audience was shocked as well.
"H-Hey, what's gotten into you!?" The woman asked, taking this a bit personally.
"I didn't realize it until now, but I love you!" The man said, insisting on these sudden feelings.
The woman was getting a little annoyed now. "Stop it, eheh..! This bit's going on a little too long."
"I mean it! I can't live without you!" The man continued.
"Haha…." Mika's laugh was a little too loud, But she couldn't help it.
"T-This is really out of the blue…!" Alice waved her hands.
"And what about ME, asshole!?" The woman said.
"Snrk…" For as much as Mika didn't like Alice…the drama that suddenly spiked was too juicy to not enjoy.
"Weren't they already engaged?"
"Is this real?"
The numerous whispers of the audience filled the studio.
"Cut to commercial! NOW!" The AD shouted. This was sudden and extremely ridiculous. They had to cut this immediately, even if news of this was already going to spread like a wildfire.
"That was…" Hifumi was rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"I'm begging you Alice! PLEAAAAAASE!" The man begged before Alice.
"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU!?" The woman was on the brink of tears. This was her fiancé, and he was begging for another woman to marry him!?
"…." Alice didn't say a thing. But there was a subtle smirk drawn on her lips at the chaos in front of her. There was a very loud gasp from her biggest hater, Mika, who absolutely caught that tiny glimpse of arrogance.
"I knew it…!" Mika said. But before she could even try calling Alice out on it, the filming was canceled and everyone was ushered out of the set.
.
Ren, Ann, Hifumi, and Mika were in the hallways now after that disaster. "That was…live on TV, wasn't it?" Ann had a hard time processing what it was she just witnessed.
"It sure was." Mika said. "Did you see that smirk on her annoying little face? I saw it! She totally set that up somehow. I don't know how, but that was not the face of an innocent woman. I would know."
"Do you hear yourself when you talk sometimes?" Ren asked. Mika ignored him, but mostly because she was in the high of being vindicated with her dislike of Alice. "It's possible that she set him up somehow…" They couldn't exactly talk about the specifics since Mika was around.
"…It's like he had a change of heart." Hifumi said. Speaking in those terms made it easier.
"It's like that…? It would make sense." Ann could see the dots connecting. But this just made her sigh.
"Ann?" Hifumi looked at her worriedly.
"Alice said…she wants to be a ray of light." Ann sighed. "That's what I wanted to be too. I read about her in a magazine once, and…I just really felt where she was coming from. It's why I asked to come to the show in the first place. I wanted to see her in person."
"Oh, please." Mika let out a small laugh. "I've already seen her in person and I can tell you that it was a load of crap. I shine pretty bright though, so just look at me."
"…" Ann wasn't going to bother refuting part of that. She was starting to think Mika might actually be right…
"Well…" Hifumi was about to say something to try and cheer Ann up, but…
"Ahahaha! Man, that was great." Alice's voice was heard somewhere within the hallway.
"She's coming…!" Hifumi exclaimed.
"Quick, let's hide…" Ren said.
"Oh, I can't wait to see how this will turn out." Mika said, hiding on the right side of the hallway, while Ann and Ren hid on the right.
"That looks like her…" Morgana poked his head out from the bag.
Alice was walking down the hallway with her manager. She was waltzing down as if she owned the place, while her manager followed tentatively behind her. "Miss Alice! This is a public hallway. Please, you must keep your voice down." The manager said nervously.
"Eh, it's fine!" Alice said dismissively. "See? No one in sight. Anyway though, did you see that lady's face? She totally lost it up there!" Alice was taking far too much enjoyment from this situation. "All those cushy talking head types make the best faces when things stop going their way."
"Miss Alice…do you think you can stop doing these things?" The manager asked.
"Huh?" Alice tilted her head, staring at her manager quizzically. "What do you mean? I was the victim in that outrage, so what it is that you want me to stop doing?"
"I…I don't know how you're doing it, or why. But after seeing that, there's something that you…" Based on his tone, the manager was clearly biting his tongue on his suspicions for a while, but he couldn't anymore.
However, this was clearly the wrong choice. Alice's innocent smile turned into a twisted, sadistic one. "Oh. So you want me to punish you again." Alice started taking slow steps forward, while the manager backed away fearly.
"N-No! Wait, please! I'm sorry!" He stumbled back and fell onto the ground.
Alice smiled and raised her heel, practically slamming it down onto the man's rib. "Oops! What a terrible accident. Just like what happened on set. I'm still upset over it too, you know." The sweetness in her voice betrayed the smile on her face. "You're supposed to take my side, you know? Or are you going to end up broken, like my last manager? Do you want to get stuck up in your room like he is?"
"Gah…!" The manager could only grunt.
Alice glanced to the side, bored. "Well, it doesn't matter. I don't like toys that don't do as their told…"
"Stop…!" The manager pleaded.
"Then beg me to forgive you until it hurts as much as you hurt me with your words." Alice demanded. "I just had the most wonderful idea! Why don't you do what you did yesterday? Grovel with your face all messed up with snot. I'll take another video if you'd like."
"This is horrible…" Hifumi was stunned with the cruelty of what she was seeing. If they weren't in the hallway…
"I knew that chick was messed up…hey, Hifumi-chan. Just say the word and I'll totally…" Mika wasn't even being petty about this anymore. "Huh-?" Suddenly, Ann, Ren, and Hifumi sprinted from around the corner to intervene. They couldn't watch this anymore, and Mika decided to follow behind.
"Hey, stop!" Ann demanded.
Alice immediately turned around, removing her heel from her manager's chest. The sadistic expression she wore was immediately replaced with shock; she thought the hallway was empty and didn't expect a single soul to interrupt her fun. "A-And who is this?"
"Cut the sadistic crap. That's too far." Ren said with a low tone. He was taking it personally, because Alice's Shadow subjected him to similar behavior in her Jail, and he still intended to pay her back for that.
"It was WAY too far! You said you wanted to be a ray of light for people. How the hell does THAT help!?" Ann demanded to know.
The manager stood up by this time. Alice ignored him and tried to think of a response for being caught red handed. Plus, she recognized Ren from the other day. Why in the world was he speaking out against her despite the fact they're friends on EMMA!? "Oh! Haha…we were just…playing around." She glanced back to her manager. "Weren't we."
"Y-Yeah…" The manager said quietly.
"So you'll get the car now?" Alice asked. The manager meekly nodded and walked off.
"Don't drag other people into your lies." Hifumi narrowed her eyes at Alice.
"I knew I was right to hate you." Mika crossed her arms.
"Oh, wow!" Alice clasped her hands together. "You're Ann Takamaki, aren't you? And it's so nice to see you again, Mika. Thank you so much for modeling my fashion designs for me, you looked so cute!"
"W-Wha…you know who I am…?" Ann was shocked.
"Are you trying to make me throw up?" Mika wasn't hearing it.
"And you're Hifumi Togo! I've seen you on a few magazines as well, you're just adorable!" She said. "Hey, so is it true that you and Takamaki-san are…"
"W-…Wha..?" Hifumi was caught off guard by that.
"Actually, now is such a great time." Alice pulled out a few different cards, one for Ann, Mika, and Hifumi. "I really admire all three of you. Would you like to be friends? You obviously got EMMA, right? My keyword is…"
"Don't bother." Ann shook her head. "I'd never accept someone who treats another person like that."
Mika took one of the cards, and then proceeded to rip it in half. "As if I'd ever consider being associated with you willingly."
"Same here." Hifumi agreed.
"Ah, that's too bad. But I do appreciate honesty." Alice said.
"Something you appear to be lacking. How ironic." Hifumi did not mutter this. It made Alice blink in surprise. She heard Hifumi was a generally soft spoken, so she didn't expect such a comment to leave her.
"Hey, you…" Alice stared at Ren. "You were at the 705 the other day, weren't you?"
"Ren, Fumi. We're leaving." Ann said, storming off mostly due to her anger.
Mika stayed behind for a bit, looking Alice over. "I hope people see you for who you really are: a fraud." After tossing her hair over her shoulder, she made her exit as well.
"Bummer." Alice sighed. She got caught red handed and didn't manage to do what she wanted. "But why is that guy still walking around freely? I know I handed him one of my cards. So why won't he obey…" This was going to irritate her for a while.
.
Hifumi stayed behind, planning to meet with Ann and Ren a little later at the subway. She just wanted to stick behind in case Mika did something brash. Luckily she didn't have anything to worry about. "She was far worse than I thought…"
"Psh, that answers my question about her last manager." Mika huffed. "I remember seeing her old manager at the photoshoot I was win. He must have said something she didn't like, because they left and he wasn't seen again."
"That's so horrible…" Hifumi shook her head. She'd seen different types of cruelty during her time as a Phantom Thief, she's never witnessed that kind of brutality in reality.
"You guys are gonna take care of her, right?" Mika asked Hifumi.
"Yes, we won't let her cruelty stand." Hifumi replied resolutely. "We're going to expose her for…"
"Oh, Hifumi-chan, you know I don't care about that." Mika said. Hifumi was about to get a little dramatic, but instead she deflated. "I just want people to see her for the fake that she is. And I hope she cries a little too."
"Of course…" Hifumi should've expected as much.
"I have to leave on my modeling trip soon. But I'll be damned if I miss out on seeing Alice cry." Mika was looking forward to the Phantom Thieves getting back to action. For the wrong reasons.
"You're going on a trip?" Hifumi tilted her head. "Where to?"
"Let's see…" Mika pulled out her phone. "I'll be all over the place. Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa, and Sapporo. I'm going pretty busy this summer, so I hope you won't miss me too much!"
"Wow. I'm a little jealous. Keep me posted, won't you?" Hifumi gave Mika a smile.
"Don't worry, I'll give you some sneak peaks!" Mika teased.
"H-Hey…!" Hifumi shook her head, blushing a bit from Mika's tone. No matter what, Hifumi would always fluster easily.
"Bye bye, Hifumi-chan~" Mika winked and made her exit before Hifumi could say anything.
"I wish she'd stop flustering me like that…" As if it was hard. Hifumi fixed her pout and went to meet up with the others.
.
.
Ren, Ann, Morgana, and Hifumi returned to the hideout. Ann explained everything that happened to the others. "And then I stormed out and we came back here. Sorry about that, by the way, I was just so upset…"
"You have nothing to apologize for." Haru shook her head. "You did a fantastic job finding out about Alice."
"Once Lady Ann and the others had Alice on the ropes, she whipped out her phone and tried adding them on EMMA right away." Morgana added.
"I don't know how much she knows about EMMA…" Hifumi began. "But based on her how quickly she tried to act, we can assume she's aware of her actions. She knows that EMMA is the reason people are so frantic about her."
"I wonder how she managed that…" Sumire couldn't think of it as a coincidence.
"She gets them into her Jail, then takes their Desires so they'll do what she says…" Ann was so upset that someone like Alice could really be so horrible…. "I suspect she's been doing this for a while now."
"That certainly explains things." Makoto said.
"If there is a time for us to act, it would be now." Yusuke was on board with the idea. He needed no further convincing.
"There is a small problem though…" Morgana had to be the bearer of bad news. "I detected something like a Treasure when we were in there before, but I don't know if it was actually one."
"Question. What is a Treasure and why must we take it?" Sophia asked.
"A Treasure is the product of the Ruler's desires. Usually we steal it to enact the Change of heart." Morgana explained.
"And if there is no Treasure?" Sophia asked. "And why is changing her heart necessary? She only needs to be stopped." She was hinting towards a more direct approach.
"We would be unable to change her heart." Hifumi said. "And, well…we don't want to hurt Alice. It's par for the course that we cannot leave a Palace without fighting their ruler, but that's our last resort. If we injure Alice's Shadow too badly, it could result in her being killed."
"That's the last thing we want." Ren said.
"Death…" Sophia thought it over for a bit. "That is an acceptable outcome." Sophia's callous, analytical decision did surprise the group. For a moment, they forgot she was an advanced AI with her own way of thinking. "I'm humanity's companion. I am supposed to determine the best choices for humanity. Alice Hiiragi makes people suffer every day. We should ensure she stops this as soon as possible. Why not do so?"
"…That's not how we do things." Ren said calmly. "People can change."
"…I do not understand. I want to understand, but I cannot. Where is the flaw in my logic?" Sophia was being genuine. She presented, in her opinion, the most optimal solution to their problem.
"I get where you're coming from, Sophia." Morgana started. "We could easily take care of Alice in the Metaverse and help the people she's hurt. The Metaverse is a dangerous place: you can kill someone while not putting yourself in danger at all. But still, that's just not how we do things."
"Killing someone doesn't change anything." Haru said, looking down at her hands. She remembered that day, she and that man made a deal. A deal that essentially put his life in her hands, and she wanted him to answer for his crimes. Not just that, but her father too. They knew first hand what it was like to even remotely be responsible for someone's death. It was a heavy burden on their shoulders and in those weeks, it felt like the world was crashing down on them. "It's easy to see someone doing a bad thing and wish for them to die, but that's all it is. That's said by people who don't have any stake in what's going on."
"Haru…" Hifumi frowned. She knew she was talking about her father.
Haru shook her head, giving Hifumi a slight smile. "It's like Ren-kun said." Haru looked towards Sophia. "People can change. People deserve the chance to change, and we help them as the Phantom Thieves. If we went so far as to kill them, we'd be no better than them. A person's life is more than just theirs, it affects the people around them as well. When someone dies, that's it for them. You don't get to talk to them anymore. Things said or left unsaid…that's it."
"…Mm…" Hifumi nodded slowly.
"Yeah…" Sumire also nodded in agreement. Makoto, Futaba, and Yusuke also agreed with this statement silently.
"Haru's right." Ryuji smiled. "It won't do us much good if we gotta stoop to the bad guy's level to beat 'em."
"We never kill." Makoto insisted. "We steal the desires of the wicked and make them change their ways.
"That's why we're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." Sumire beamed.
"Of hearts…" Sophia repeated. "Of course, I've got it! I don't have a heart, that's why I can't understand the logic of the Phantom Thieves. If only I could understand how hearts work…if I did that, I could become an even better companion…." It sounded like she was mulling something over.
"Sophia?" Futaba glanced Sophia's way.
"I've got it! I will join the Phantom Thieves." Sophia stated. "I need to learn more about the heart so I can become an even better companion. Ren, Sumire…may I join the Phantom Thieves? I need to learn more about the heart, and about the Phantom Thieves."
"Of course you can join!" Sumire said.
"You're already one of us." Ren said with a smile.
"Thank you!" Sophia was beaming.
"Thank you for joining us." Yusuke said.
"Welcome to the Phantom Thieves!" Ann said.
"Should we pick her codename?" Hifumi asked.
"Hm…" That was a tricky one. Ren wasn't sure where to begin.
"Oh yeah, NOW the nostalgia's flowing!" Futaba giggled. The rush of picking out a codename, it had been so long since they did this.
"How about something soft like Marshmallow, or Blancmange?" Ann suggested.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" Hifumi glanced at Ann.
"We're doing desserts? What about Croquemboche?" Futaba suggested.
"That's not going to work!" Hifumi shook her head.
"Yeah, those aren't exactly easy names to say or call out in the heat of battle!" Ryuji agreed with Hifumi. Too many syllables.
"What if we went along the same lines we did we Mona-chan, since you met her in the Metaverse?" Haru had an idea. "Like…how about Sophie?"
"That's basically her name!" Ryuji said.
"But it's cute…" Sumire grinned. "I wish I thought of it. I was getting stuck thinking of dessert names too." The girls were hungry.
"I like it." Sophia smiled cutely.
"You do?!" Ann was a little disappointed that Marshmallow wasn't the option.
"I want to be Sophie." Sophia said.
"Then you'll be Sophie in the Metaverse, and Sophia in reality." Morgana said.
"Radical, dude." Sophia replied.
"She's picking up on the language very fast…" Sumire said with a sweat drop.
"I am constantly learning new things from the internet as we speak." Sophia explained.
"Please be careful on what you pick up." Sumire pleaded.
"It appears we're getting back in action. It would reflect poorly on us if we left those in trouble to suffer." Yusuke said.
"Alright!" Ryuji looked to Ren. "Since you're the guy with all the connections, you can get in touch with our suppliers!"
"One step ahead of you. I texted Iwai and Takemi earlier asking when they'd be available." Ren said while picking up his phone. "And it looks like they responded…! …Oh."
"Oh?" Ann looked at Ren. "What's that mean?"
"…Iwai said he's out of town on business, and Takemi said she's out for the summer." Ren started to deflate. They…didn't have this problem last time. "So…we are without our usual suppliers. Okay." He didn't think he'd have to plan for this...
"Do you need help? If you would like, I'm happy to lend a hand." Sophia was prepared to offer her services. "What do you need?"
"As it turns out, the people we usually get our supplies from our unavailable." Hifumi said. "We relied on them a lot in our previous missions, so it is no understatement that our success in the Metaverse is going to be very hampered by their absence."
"The medicine we usually procured was much more effective than anything you could find online as well." Makoto added. They met an unexpected hurdle…
"Why not just order supplies online?" Sophia suggested.
"We could do that, but we don't have the time." Futaba shook her head.
"No prob. The Net has it all." Sophia was confident in that. "Ryuji, what would you like?"
"Huh?" Ryuji wasn't expecting to be called upon. "What do I want..?" That was such a broad question, he wasn't sure what to say.
"Yes. Ask for anything you like." Sophia replied.
Ryuji thought this was a bit much, and that Sophia was simply exaggerating. So he decided to go with the most off the wall pick imaginable. "Okay, a gold bar."
"Are you serious!?" Ann looked at Ryuji incredulously. "A gold bar? Really?"
"Ryuji-senpai, that's…" Sumire shook her head.
"Oh, come on. It was just a joke." Ryuji waved his hand.
"Okay. I've got it. Please wait." Sophia said. Suddenly, everyone glanced at Ren's phone.
"Hmm? Got what?" Ryuji asked.
The door of Leblanc opened up and a voice called out. "Hello! Expedited Delivery!"
"What the?!" Hifumi stared at the stairs. "There's no way…" And yet, within a few minutes, everyone found themselves crowding around a closed box sitting upon the table. Nobody could say a word. They were too nervous and the tension filled the air.
"….Well. Someone should open it." Yusuke said.
"Ryuji, this is your doing! Open it!" Morgana demanded. If there was a real gold bar in that box…Ryuji had to take responsibility for it. But the chances of that were so low…they had to be.
"What!? ME!?" Ryuji gasped.
"He's right. You must open it." Hifumi said, bracing herself.
"Ugh! Fine…! Shit, this is prolly gonna be fake, or some toy…" With that in mind, he opened the box and…there it was, in all its golden splendor. A true gold bar.
"…..Is that real?" Haru said with a sweat drop.
"Hoooly shit…" Ryuji's voice began to rise as the reality of the situation set in. "What have I done…?"
"Wh…wha…wha…wha…" Futaba couldn't even make a coherent sound. She was too shocked.
"Yes, my eyes can't be fooled. There's no doubt. That's real gold." Yusuke was oddly the calmest one about this, but internally he was just as shocked as everyone else.
"No way is this real!" Ann refused to believe it.
"….I…I have so many questions about the legality of this…." Hifumi could never be prepared for seeing a genuine gold bar. She never thought she would lay eyes upon one in reality in her lifetime.
"…" Sumire's face just went pale from the shock. She had absolutely no words. A weak gasp of stunned shock escaped her.
"W-Well…we'll never be short on money ever again….." Ren rubbed the back of his neck.
"Wow!" Haru's upbeat tone just continued to relay the shock she felt. "Now I can open my café early! It's like a dream come true…ehehe…ahahaha…." And it broke down into nervous laughter.
"That needs to go to the police!" Makoto blurted out. "Right away! Oh, wait. Would then even believe it showed up like this? Is this a crime!?"
"I-It's okay!" Futaba was trying to calm everyone down.
"Alright. Did that solve your problem?" Sophia asked.
"Where did you get this!?" Ren asked.
"I found an online vendor with expedited deliver." Sophia said.
"And where'd you get that gold bar!? The dark web!?" Futaba panicked.
"Correct, Futaba. It's fine. No laws were broken." Sophia said. "The transaction was made with cryptocurrency. I will send you an invoice for reimbursement." Naturally, this caused panic.
"We have to reimburse you?!" Morgana could not believe this.
"…H-How much did this cost again?" Ann asked.
"…At least a few million." Futaba mumbled.
"I feel sick." Hifumi needed to sit down and she did.
"…" Sumire still didn't say anything. Another shocked, weak noise escaped her when she heard about the cost.
"….send it back." Ryuji said.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Sophia didn't quite catch that.
"SEND THE EFFIN THING BACK!"
