Puzzle XIII

The following morning, the moment Suzume overheard a man's voice shouting about someone named Natasha breaking out of prison, she knew it was a perfect opportunity to sneak out of the Allinston estate. Suzume quickly changed out of her sleepwear and redressed in yesterday's outfit; a maid had kindly washed her pinafore dress for her last night. Suzume poked her head out of her guestroom and saw butlers and maids sprinting back and forth. The steam-powered robots were rolling around, doing their daily tasks as usual. 

Suzume slinked out of her guestroom and closed the door behind her quietly. 

"Geez, lady. It's barely the morning, and you want to leave, eh?" Alfendi emerged from his guestroom, right next to hers. "Well, you should do so before Mr. Allinston does a lockdown." 

"That's funny. You usually try to stop me from leaving cuz of Triton." 

"Does Detective Luke really make you feel that nervous?"

Does Suzume really need to explain herself to a six-year-old child? Obviously, a 14-year-old boy with a keen eye would sniff the enigmas out of her. Suzume just nodded to him, her expression showing discomfort at the mention of Luke. 

"I got it. Follow me. I know a secret path in the estate." Alfendi walked ahead of Suzume. 

"Is it the same one that we used yesterday?" Suzume followed the red-haired child, wondering if it was the underground elevator. 

"No. It is a different one. This estate is full of secret passages." 

"Oh...so, where are Triton and Mr. Layton? I doubt they're still sleeping in their guest room because of the noise." 

"They're in a meeting room with Mr. Allinston and his daughters." 

A group of police officers in sharp-looking uniforms ran past Alfendi and Suzume, too occupied to even notice them. They veered to the corner and entered through a door. They were inside a mini library. 

"Detective Luke uses this library sometimes," Alfendi mentioned. "Anyway,  the secret passage is here." He pulled a book out of the bookshelf.  

The bookshelf swung open, revealing the secret passage. 

"The passage should lead you to outside of the estate."

"Thanks, Alfendi." Suzume smiled at him. "If Shion asks you about me, just tell her to text me." 

"How about Detective Luke? You know darn well he is so interested in you right now."

"Ah, yes. He sees me as a mystery for him to solve. See you, kid." Suzume responded to Alfendi dismissively as she hurried to the secret passage. 

The door closed behind Suzume. The secret passage was dark. Suzume took her mini flashlight from her skirt pocket and used its light to guide her through the darkness. 

She really hoped Shion, Alfendi, and the others were okay back in the estate. Her fight with Katana last night was still fresh in her mind. Katana was the second reason why she wanted to leave the Allinston estate. She didn't want to risk Katana returning for a rematch or bringing her "friends" with her to cause trouble. 

Suzume's classmate and clubmate, Reina Fujiwara, slammed her against the wall in the restroom. Suzume stared at Reina blankly. The silver-haired girl glared at Suzume with a scowl. 

"What in the actual fuck, Miss Mizuno?!" Reina shouted in Suzume's face. "Why would you give up your spot to a nobody like Yoshida?!" 

"Because Miss Yoshida is a better singer than me," Suzume admitted. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Do you really underestimate your own talent so much?!" 

"Unlike you and Yoshida, I do not have talent." 

"Why would you even say that about yourself?! You are the daughter of Takara Miyama, an incredible singer from the 90s! You must have inherited her singing, right?!" 

"Even if it were the case," Suzume said Unemotionally. "I'm not interested in becoming a pop idol. Choir is enough for me, Miss Fujiwara." 

"No. You're just too afraid to show your true potential," Reina said darkly to Suzume. "You're a rival of mine. I expected you to show your full resilience, not half-assed, you coward."

"Coward?" Suzume's eyes flashed in bitterness. "You don't know a damn thing about me."

"I do know one thing about you," Reina said, cupping her cheeks. Suzume started, her eyes widening in confusion, and she shook with anxiety. "You poor girl. You've lost someone so dear to you..." Reina smiled pityingly at Suzume, her eyes filled with sympathy. 

Suzume doubted the look in her clubmate's eyes on that day was genuine. Suzume ended up in the back alley of Inventors' Quarter. She saw Eggmuffin's Workshop in the back. She still needed to go there to seek information.  

"Hey, there, cutie!" 

"Dude, hold up! I also want to chat with her!" 

"Eh?" Suzume faced a pair of teenage boys, wondering what they wanted from her. "Wait, I remember you two from T Bone Street on that day when my roller case was stolen. You two were talking about Triton and Mr. Layton." 

"You do remember us," The blond-haired boy smirked. "My name is Hector Goldman."

"And my name is Davis Jones." The brown-haired boy winked at her. "How about you hang out with us today?~" 

Suzume just stared at the boys, perplexed by their attention.

"What?"

"We want to know more about you." Hector insisted. "Like, do you have a boyfriend, chicka?"

"I used to have one," Suzume answered honestly, still feeling awkward about the boys' attention on her. 

"So, you're so single?~" Davis grinned happily. "The dude must have been a loser~."

"Actually, I'm the one who broke up with him," Suzume responded with a correction. "And I'm not interested in dating." 

Hector and Davis jaw-dropped at Suzume. 

Suzume sighed. Why was she wasting her time with these foolish teenagers? They're obviously hitting on her, and she wasn't impressed. She was already dealing with one nosy teenage boy. 

"Sorry, boys. I'm too busy to fool around with strangers." Suzume walked towards Eggmuffin's Workshop.