1

The Lucky Pendant is gone from the banquet hall. People are calling this flawless crime as the work of a mysterious thief. Now, it's up to me to hunt them down. After all, that is the true meaning of the invitation that was sent to me.

First, I need to identify the suspect. Naturally, the mysterious thief covered his tracks meticulously... But no one vanishes without a trace. The witness accounts were hazy, but they gave me enough to piece together a profile.

A hat. Dark clothes. Hair and coat billowing in the wind. And an accessory around their neck, dyed in crimson...

I knew this profile. The same as the one behind those other cold eases. I let them slip through my fingers back then due to a lack of evidence... But this time, I won't let that happen.

2

A square clock tower stands right in the heart of Amoris. To its east lies the banquet hall - even more massive than the tower. I believe it's the largest building in the city.

My investigation confirms the thief's trail started at the clock tower and led to the banquet hall. And their escape route after the crime... was twisted and tangled. Just like a maze.

If I retrace their steps starting from the clock tower, I should be able to find where that rat is hiding.

3

Following the trail of clues, I finally arrived at the mysterious thief’s secret lair. I never expected him to be hiding in such a secluded place. I was half-skeptical when I first accepted the request from the banquet host... But now that I’ve been given this second chance, I must finish this job successfully for the sake of my name as a detective.

As I stepped inside the building, a pitch-black interior devoid of any light awaited me. And then, from beyond that darkness, a familiar voice drifted through the air. "I’m glad we could meet again like this, Ciel." That familiar resonance... there was no mistaking it. It was the voice of the mysterious thief.

"You want the pendant back, don't you?" I nodded instinctively at their words. "Then, prove your worth." The response from the mysterious thief was, as always, impossible to read.

4

Proving my "worth."

The mysterious thief brought up a similar story upon our encounter a few months ago. It was about winning a game against them. Last time, I lost and missed the thief by a hair's breadth. I tried to corner them with more people than I have now, but they seemed to have seen through everything already.

Things are different now. I’ve realized that for them, numbers don’t matter. Which is also precisely why I came all the way here alone. I’m not sure why they're so obsessed with this proof thing... But if that’s what it takes to get the pendant back, I’ll have to play along one more time.