Puzzle III

The building of EggMuffin's workshop looked very weird to Suzume.

There were large wheels, fourteen doors, and two of those doors were sideways. Suzume wondered how a person entered those sideways doors. Standing before the building were four girls and two boys. The girls were brunette, purplette, and blackette, while the boys were brunet and blonde respectively. They were wearing clothes suitable for a mechanical engineer and cute cinder-style goggles on their heads. 

'I wonder if they are waiting for Mr. Eggmuffin...Is he even inside?' Suzume thought, thinking about returning to the shop later. 

"Where in the bloody heck are Luke and Mr. Layton? They told us they'll be here." The blonde asked, looking around. 

"They're probably still at the museum, I guess." The brunet shrugged, leaning against the wall, and crossed his arms. "One of you girls got his phone number. Call or text him."

'Nope. I'm out.' Suzume turned around and walked back to Garget Street. 'Speaking of calling or texting, I need to dig into how to get myself a steam-powered mobile phone...But first, I should check out Japantown...' 

Japantown was more like a steam-powered mini version of Mochinoki City, her hometown back in her native country. Suzume was confused by the appearance of the Steam Bison's Japantown. Should their Japantown be based on Tokyo, like the other Japantowns in Los Angeles, California, and other cities around the world? Why Mochinoki City? There was nothing special about her hometown. 

Suzume walked through the Japantown. The area featured a shopping mall, a teahouse, a ramen shop, a Japanese restaurant, a bento shop, a bathhouse, a Japanese garden, a watchtower, a yakiniku restaurant, a wagashi shop, a Buddhist temple, and a village plaza. 

Tourists were walking around, enjoying their time in the area. The residents were working at their own shops and restaurants, interacting with their customers. The residents were Japanese-Americans. Suzume wondered if they knew the Japanese language, as she had heard that Japanese-Americans grew up speaking English. 

'I'm hungry.' Suzume sighed as her stomach gurgled. 'A ramen bowl will do.'  When Suzume looked at the ramen shop, there was a long line of people. 'Darn it. I guess I'll head over to the bento shop.'  

Luckily for her, there were only three people in line at the bento shop when she arrived. She waited for her truth while she looked at the shopping mall that was across from the bento shop. She could hear some Japanese pop music playing from inside the mall.

Suzume smiled softly. It was an English-dubbed version of the opening of her favorite shoujo, idol, and magical girl anime, Yoh Pear-Chan. She actually liked the English dub version. Since there were differences in Japanese and American cultures and languages, some of the lyrics were changed or added. Overall, the opening was mostly faithful to the original Japanese version. 

"I have no idea Pear-chan is popular in Steam Bison,' Suzume thought as she watched a young girl in a Pear-chan costume walk out of the shopping mall with her mother. She was waving a toy magical wand just like the one from the Yoh Pear Chan anime. 'Innocence...'  Suzume smiled sadly. 

"Madam," A female Bento shop employee called out to Suzume. "May I have your order?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Suzume looked back at the worker, realizing she was the only one in line now. "I will have a fried chicken bento box." 

Suzume felt a chill. Her instinct caused her to anxiously spin around to see who watched her from a distance, but she did not find a single person. All she had seen were tourists and residents interacting with each other and children playing tag. She blinked, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. 

"Here is your bento box, Miss. That'll be five dollars and forty-four cents." The employee said.

"Oh, thank you." Suzume paid the employee and carried her bento box as she headed towards the village plaza. "Huh?" Suzume noticed Coindar was jumping from barrel to barrel in an alley. 'Why is he here? Ehh, I don't give a shit.' Suzume kept walking to the plaza. 'I hope he doesn't follow me.' 

Located at the Steam Bison Precinct, on the third floor, inside a dark office, a black-haired man was facing the window while speaking to someone on a mobile phone. The window had opened blinds, delivering a source of light into the office. The man was wearing a black suit. 

"I see. So, those fools had failed to capture Tetsuya Mizuno's daughter." The man spoke in a tone of unhappiness. "And to make things worse for us, that fucking kid has to interfere. Hmph. You will get your item, Mr. Howard, and in return, I will get the girl. That's our agreement." He bit his bottom lip in anger. "I have no idea what you are speaking of. The girl's father is still here in Steam Bison, investigating his own case. It would be a matter of time until she runs into him. Anyway, make sure that the kid keeps his distance from her at all costs." 

He ended the phone call and placed his mobile phone in his suit pocket. 

'Tetsuya, how would you feel if your own daughter were here, searching for you?' 

The man smirked as there was a knock on the door. It was Johan.

"Sir, the Commissioner had summoned you to his office."

"I am coming, Mr. Williams." The man called out and turned around, heading towards the door.