Puzzle X

On the eastern side of Steam Bison, Zen's group, Serpent Phantoms, and Inferno Shadows were in a household in the underground. Some members were seated in chairs or on the floor, while the rest stood or leaned against the wall in the meeting room. An old-fashioned speaker was on a podium. They were chatting or complaining with each other about random topics. Everyone became silent when Viktoria, Lenna, Freya, and Emma entered the room.

"So, what is in the menu this time?" Roger smirked at Viktoria. "Our fourth or fifth attempt at getting the girl?"

"How pathetic!" Zen snickered at Roger. "You fools can't even kidnap one girl!"

"You're the one to talk, crapface!" Zackery joined in the headbutting, mockingly laughing at Zen. "Your leader got caught, and now she is behind bars for kidnapping one of the Mayor's daughters!"

"Yo! At least we did succeed with the kidnapping!" Nebula proudly said so.

"Yeah! You losers! So bow down to us!" Reyson jumped excitedly.

"Hell no! Y'all got y'all IQ asses kicked by that damn detective kid and his old ass mentor!" Roger reacted in a very annoyed manner. "The Mayor's daughter ended up rescued, so y'all still fail at the kidnapping!"

"Shut yo bitch ass up, fool!" Zen exclaimed at Zackary, humiliated by Roger's truthful words.

"Is that all you got as an insult, dumbass?!" Zackary burst out in laughter. "No wonder your leader failed!"

"Leave Natasha out of this!" Nebula shouted at Zackary, now infuriated.

"Let's go, asshole! You and I! Here and now!" Zackary cracked his knuckles, smirking at Nebula, and was now in a fighting position. "I am bored as fuck anyway!"

"How about you fools..." Viktoria took a deep breath as her right eyebrow twitched; she was about to lose her temper. "...SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR A SECOND?!"

The thugs glared nastily at each other before they returned to their spots in the meeting room.

"Thank you!" Viktoria sighed in annoyed grief. "My brother, Viktor, has a lot to say about our next scheme," Viktoria darted a glare at the speaker on the podium. "Or maybe not.." Viktoria muttered, knowing her brother and his ambiguity.

"Thank you, Viktoria." Viktor's cold voice spoke out from the speaker. "I will take it from here."

"His name is Viktor?" Zen gaped in surprise, having a goofy expression.

"We should have known," Roger muttered, rolling his eyes, annoyed.

"I will get to the point," Viktor's voice was calm and collected, mixed with minaciousness and chilliness. "Steam Bison will have a festival in the upcoming weeks. Everyone will be delighted by the festival. So, we will use the festival week to initiate our schemes."

"And I suppose our scheme is the same?" Freya asked, having her arms crossed coldly.

"Yes," Viktor answered Freya. "We must capture the girl and get the item at all costs."

"Really?" Lenna scowled at the speaker. "The girl had proved herself to be effective in self-defense, and that damned detective kid keeps interfering with us. That boy is making a joke out of all of us at this point." Lenna narrowed her eyes in anger. "We struggled to capture the girl in the uncrowded areas, so what made you think we succeeded in the festival week? She will be surrounded by crowds of people."

"Lenna does have a good point," Nebula agreed. "Even if that kid and his mentor are too occupied with the mysteries, the girl would never be alone; there is a chance she may have bodyguards with her at all times."

"Yeah! This scheme is absurd!" Zackery exclaimed harshly in disfavor. "Did you forget about the police?! The High Commissioner will have the cops all over the damn place in that week!"

"The hell, Viktor?!"

"I thought ya know better than this!"

"We ain't getting paid enough for this shit!"

"No wonder we are screwing up!"

The thugs started to rant like mad dogs. Viktoria facepalmed in displeasure at her brother's plan. Emma was too occupied with texting on her steam-powered flip cell phone to even care about the risky plan, though she was also scowling. Lenna was gritting her teeth in anger. Freya showed contempt on her face.

"SILENCE!" Viktor's voice bellowed throughout the meeting room.

Everyone quieted their opposing views on Viktor's festival scheme.

"We must get the girl and the item. No matter what. Do what you please. We will meet again in a week before the festival week. This meeting is over."

Viktor's voice faded from the speaker. Everyone was quiet for a while. They looked at each other, confused about what had just happened.

"You heard him. Leave." Viktoria exited the meeting room alongside Lenna, Emma, and Freya.

"Let's rob a bank! I'm bored as shit!" Zen exclaimed, stomping out.

"Sure thing, boss." Nebula and Reyson obeyed, following Zen.

"Let go fuck some shit up in Garget Street!" Roger barked out his order to his lackeys.

"HELL YEAH!" The Serpent Phantoms members roar in excitement as they run out.

"Wanna join us?" Roger smirked at Zackary.

"Nah. We're heading back to our hideout. See ya." Zackary grinned as he and his Inferno Shadows lackeys exited the room together.

"See ya around, fools." Roger laughed and was the last one to leave.

Suzume sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. The smoke is just getting to me." Suzume responded. 'Someone is plotting against me.' She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. 'just know it.'

Suzume was not used to the attention. Well, the attention was more on Luke, but still. She felt inferior to him, a boy who was five years her junior. As Luke interacted with the residents, who greeted him in excitement, Suzume felt she was a nobody, just an empty shell in the background.

"Hey, Miss Suzume!" Shion's voice called out to her.

"Hey," Suzume turned around to face Shion, running to her. She felt so relieved. "What's up?"

"I got something to show ya!" Shion grabbed Suzume's hand and dragged her to the alleyway. "A little girl told me to give you these love letters..." Shion pulled out five envelopes with heart stickers from her tote bag. "...from your admirers!" She grinned at Suzume.

"What?! What the hell do you mean?!" Suzume's cheeks flushed. She took a step back in surprise. "There's gotta be a mistake, Miss Shion!"

"Look at you! You are so cute when you are so flustered~." Shion's expression brightened.

"I'm not cute!" Suzume exclaimed, embarrassed by Shion's teasing.

"What is going on here?" Luke approached the girls in the alleyway in curiosity.

"Oh, hey, Triton! Suzume is just freaking out because she got love letters!" Shion responded excitedly.

"Oh, you are already popular, Miss Mizuno." Luke smiled at Suzume.

"No," Suzume just gave Luke a unimpressed stare. "I'm just very confused."

"Yep! Miss Suzume is NOT used to adoration." Shion said, grinning at Suzume.

"Oh, believe me. I've been there once," Luke shrugged, still smiling. "I've gotten used to it."

"It makes sense. You are the Great Detective Luke, as that bird says." Suzume sighed and grabbed the letters from Shion. "Anyway, where is the mobile phone seller, Triton?"

"He is actually over there." Luke pointed at a selling booth at the end of the alleyway.

"Hi, Detective Luke!" A young man with ginger hair and green eyes cheerfully waved at him.

"The hell?" Suzume raised an eyebrow, confused. "I didn't even see him there."

"Well, the love letters must have distracted you~" Shion giggled.

"Ugh." Suzume frowned in displeasure. She walked ahead of Luke and Shion.

"So, Mr. Layton said he will be at Eggmuffin's workshop," Shion said to Luke. "Do you have an idea where it is?"

"Yes, I do. I needed to head there." Luke answered.

"Cool! I hope you do not mind me tagging along!"

"The more, the merrier, Miss Hibiki. Miss Mizuno can come with us, too."

Suzume shivered in discomfort. Why was he inviting her? Unlike him and Shion, Suzume planned to search for that woman, Lenna, today.

"Besides, Mr. Eggmuffin keeps track of the people who visit his workshop," Luke mentioned. "So, if you are looking for someone, there is a chance he may know."

Suzume froze. Luke did NOT just go there.

"Oh, really?!" Shion exclaimed in curiosity. "So, what type of job does this Eggmuffin have?"

"He is an inventor. He is a descendant of the original inventor of Steam Bison."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I need to meet this guy!"

Suzume turned her head towards Luke. The boy just smiled softly at her; there was also softness in his gaze. Shion has a very exciting expression.

'Does he really want me to go to the workshop with him so bad?!' Suzume's expression had turned pale, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She looked away from him and flusteredly hustled her way towards the phone booth. 'That brat! He will pay for this!'

"Hello, Miss! You must be one of Detective Luke's-" The mobile phone celler greeted Suzume when she arrived at his booth, but his eyes widened in surprise when she suddenly slammed her hands on his table. "... clients....." He blushed at her.

"You got a steam-powered flip phone?" Suzume stared into his eyes, demanding.

"Of....course....Miss...." The seller stammered. "I owed Detective Luke a favor. I will give it to you for free, Miss."

"No, thanks. I'd rather pay for it. How much is it?"

"Miss Mizuno..." Luke spoke behind her. "You do not have to pay for it...."

"Yeah, Miss Suzume! Just get the free phone!" Shion encouraged her. "It is so rare to get free stuff, you know! Live a little!"

'Easy for you two to say!' Suzume's face lost its color. 'The last time I was offered a free phone, I was scammed out of it!' Suzume recalled a memory of that day back in her hometown, Mochinoki City.

"..." Luke blinked at her. Then, he smiled knowingly at her. "Do not worry. Mr. Jones is not a scammer if you're thinking..."

'HOW IN THE HELL DID HE KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING?!' Suzume gaped at Luke in shock. 'Is he a mind reader or what?!'

Luke kept staring at her. His soft smile remained.

'Quit smiling at me in that way,' Suzume turned her eyes away from him. Her cheeks heated up. 'He has the same smile as Takamine...' Her heart yearned for Kiyomaro sometimes, despite the breakup with him before she arrived in Steam Bison. 'That's why I did not want to interact with Triton much. He reminds me of Takamine...'

"Miss...?" Mr. Jones finally spoke to her after a moment of silence.

"Fine," Suzume breathed, giving in. "I'll take the damn phone for free."

"Is something the matter, Hershel?" Clark Triton asked. "Please speak to me, old friend."

Layton looked at Clark. He and Clark were longtime friends. They attended the same university and studied archaeology together. Clark worked at the Steam Bison museum as an employee. They were still in the museum, waiting for the director to return from an important call in his office.

"I am thinking about Miss Mizuno..." Layton answered.

"Who?"

"She is a young Japanese lady whom your son met recently," Layton said. "She is a tourist in Steam Bison, but I feel there is more to her than meets the eye. I'm sure Luke has the same thought of me. Besides-"

Clark picked up a cup of tea from the coffee table and sipped from it. He looked at Layton again.

"She reminded me of someone we met at the university years ago."

"What kind of physical features does Miss Mizuno have?" Clark placed his teacup back on the saucer.

"Maroon-colored hair and burgundy-colored eyes," Layton answered clearly.

Clark gasped, his eyes widened in shock. There was silence in the small meeting room. All Layton and Clark could hear was the grandfather clock ticking in the room.

"Do you think Miss Mizuno is her daughter?" Layton asked quietly.

"Let us not jump to conclusions, Hershel. Her physical looks and presence in Steam Bison could be a coincidence."

"Luke would have disagreed with you if he were here."

"What do you mean?" Clark raised an eyebrow at Layton, confused.

"We've learned Miss Mizuno is searching for her missing father."

"Has she ever contacted the Steam Bison police? From my knowledge, a group of Japanese detectives was summoned to the police department about four months ago, and one went missing soon after."

"You mean to tell me..."

"Yes," Clark's expression was stern. "He could be the girl's father."