Chapter 88: The Mysterious Incident

"I have no enemies at all."

- Thorfinn (Vinland Saga)

...

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is Gotham Channel 7, and I'm your host, Recie White. Recently, the famous gemstone 'Hope Diamond' has caused quite a buzz as it is being exhibited at the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center."

"As soon as news of this legendary diamond broke, it became the target of many thieves, including the rising star of this year, Phantom Thief. According to Phantom Thief's notice, he will appear tonight at 7:51 PM and steal the 'Hope Diamond.'"

"It may not seem like much, but this is Phantom Thief's fifth crime, if you count the first one that was thought to be a prank by mistake."

"Each of his crimes is high-profile and bold. He not only sends out notices before committing the crime but also treats the crime as his personal magic show. He even does magic tricks in public without fear, toying with the cops whenever he wants."

"It is rumored that besides the Phantom Thief, there is another legendary thief who wants to steal the 'Hope Diamond'. Can the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center protect the diamond well in the face of such a tough challenge? Let's see what happens."

At the entrance of the Orpheus Jewelry Exhibition Center, Dean checked the news report on his phone while walking inside.

After taking a few steps, he feels someone patting his shoulder from behind.

He turns around and sees Dick staring at him with a serious expression.

"What's wrong, Dick?"

Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I want to tell you a secret."

Dick cautiously looked around, then whispered to Dean, "Actually... I'm Robin!"

"What did you say?!"

Dean was startled when he heard this and froze on the spot as countless thoughts raced through his mind.

'Why did he suddenly reveal his identity for no reason?'

'What is he trying to do?'

'Could it be a test of my reaction?'

'But why?'

'Have I done anything strange?'

Seeing Dean's stunned expression, Dick burst into laughter.

"Happy April Fool's Day! You got scared, huh? Hahaha..."

Looking at the smug Dick, Dean's mouth twitches uncontrollably.

"Haha, you as Robin? Then I might as well say I'm a Phantom Thief too."

Dean glanced at Dick with disdain.

"Heh, I won't fall for that. If you want to prank me, you'll have to come up with a better story."

Dick smirked confidently.

"Alright, the joke's over. Did you come here just to play a prank on me?"

Dean sighed in frustration.

"Of course not. I'm here to tell you that something's happening at the 'Hope Diamond' exhibition hall."

"What happened? Did someone steal it?"

Dean narrowed his eyes.

"Luckily, not yet. Let's talk about the details inside the exhibition hall. They're still arguing in there."

Dick pointed to the hall behind him and told Dean to hurry up and follow him.

Without any more delay, the two of them immediately rushed to the exclusive exhibition hall of 'Hope Diamond.'

"I still can't understand why they added an extra box. It's impossible to see the details of the diamond like this. What's the point of the exhibition, Mr. Orpheus?"

Dean heard a questioning voice coming from inside before even entering the hall.

It sounded like it was Lily's voice.

"An additional box?"

Dean walked into the exhibition hall with a puzzled expression and found Henry, Kim, and Lily inside.

Lily was confronting Henry with anger on her face, while Kim stood helplessly between them.

Dean immediately looked at the ice at the center of the exhibition hall; its shape and size were not much different from yesterday, and the diamond was still inside.

The biggest difference was that today, the 'Hope Diamond' inside the ice was not frozen directly.

Instead, it was protected in a translucent blue box and then frozen.

Moreover, there were strange symbols faintly drawn in this box.

Probably this was the "box" that Lily mentioned just now.

"I don't want to add an extra box either, Ms. Lily, but you should have heard about what happened late last night. I had no choice but to do this."

Henry spoke with an uneasy expression in response to Lily's question.

"I absolutely cannot let my staff experience an accident again!"

"That was just an accident! You don't really believe in the curse of the diamond, do you? Even though I work for the Smithsonian Museum, I have to say that it's a big marketing trick!"

Lily argued firmly.

"In addition, even if the diamond really is cursed, why do you think that box-like thing is useful? Just because it is covered in symbols that no one can understand?" she asked.

"What happened late last night?"

Dean turned to ask Dick.

"The worker who was in charge of putting the diamond on ice died last night in a car crash."

Dick's face became serious as he talked about it.

Even though it was very cold in the exhibition hall, it was still above the point where ice would melt.

So, even the ice blocks that were over three meters tall couldn't stay frozen all day long.

The exhibition was open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.

During the thirteen-hour exhibition, it was important to keep the ice block containing the 'Hope Diamond' protected.

For this reason, the exhibition hall had staff members who were responsible for handling the ice block.

After closing the exhibition around 8 p.m., they would turn off the cooling system and let the ice naturally melt to get the diamond.

Then they would spend all night refreezing new ice blocks.

However, yesterday, the employee who melted the ice and got the diamond died in a car accident on the way home after work.

While it wasn't unusual for accidents to happen, there was a critical part at play here, the 'Hope Diamond,' a diamond rumored to bring bad luck or a curse.

The employee died after touching the "Hope Diamond," and the legends about the diamond were very scary.

The staff inside the exhibition hall naturally assumed it was due to a mysterious curse of bad luck.

In response, Mr. Orpheus somehow got a small box to keep the 'Hope Diamond' and claimed that it would protect others from the curse of bad luck.

Whether the box was truly magical or not is unclear, but Mr. Orpheus firmly believed in its curse. His idea made the other staff members afraid as well.

But Lily, who planned everything in the exhibition hall with extreme caution, did not agree.

She believed that there was no need for any changes in terms of safety or effectiveness.

Especially since Mr. Orpheus' small box had a faint blue color, even though it was transparent, this made the diamond look a little darker when looked at from outside of the ice block.

It could even be mistaken for a fake diamond by someone knowledgeable about these things.

Lily thought that all of this was not needed and went against the original purpose of exhibiting the 'Hope Diamond.'

As a result, the two began to argue.

...

A/N: If we reach 1, 400 power stones today, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.

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