Chapter 246.3: The Fans' Locations (Part 3)

That wording made it sound like there was something at the church that differed from Fuzzy Dice's actions during the heist. Mira began to ponder what that could be, but the detective was too impatient to let her think for too long.

「It's something to do with the peculiarities of the church.」

Saying that, the detective explained how Fuzzy Dice acted around the church. Usually he moved around by jumping from rooftop to rooftop, but he would always go down to the street and walk through the church's front door.

He never stepped on the roof of a sacred place like that, and he also behaved calmly inside, without running or jumping around. Once he had left the evidence there, he would also leave through the front door, completing his actions at the church.

For some reason, his behavior was much more subdued when near the church, so the detective investigated why that was, and arrived at the same conclusion as the fans'.

It was rather simple really, Fuzzy Dice had a lot of respect for the Gods and the church.

「Though he only started entering through the front doors after his third heist. I wonder what prompted that change.」

Jokingly, the detective said that maybe someone had reprimanded him at the church, as that was something he could relate with. It sounded like the detective had some history in the church as well.

「Hm... I see. But how does that correlate with the fans being there?」

Even though he was a thief, and stealing was seen as a sin, he still had respect for the church. Then again, Gods were real in this world, and churches were their symbols, so if he made a mess there, he would certainly be punished for it.

Mira could understand that much, and it explained why he would behave better when visiting the church. But she still could not see the connection between that and his fans.

For a moment she started wondering if they wanted to pray alongside their beloved Fuzzy Dice, but the truth of the matter was much more simple when the detective explained it.

After watching Fuzzy Dice's work from afar for so long, the fans would want to feel a closer connection to him.

They could only watch him from nearby buildings or through fences when he worked, making it impossible to see him from close up. Eventually they would get fed up with that situation and would want to be closer to him to satisfy their desires.

While outside of the mansion, he would only move by jumping across rooftops, so only physically skilled fans would be able to follow him or get close. Waiting for him on the rooftops was an option, but that would anger the owners of the houses, and could even give Fuzzy Dice a bad reputation, so the fans prohibited that amongst themselves. Though the detective also believed that they were doing that to keep each other in check.

Fuzzy Dice did not have the same manners over at the Spellcasters' Union though. He would arrive from the rooftops, enter through a balcony or a window, and then vanish. That meant he was only visible for a few seconds before he vanished again, so that was not enough for them to be satisfied.

And so, they gathered around the church instead.

「As I mentioned, Fuzzy Dice jumps off the rooftops to enter the church, so that means he's standing at the same height as all his fans.」

After a certain incident, the church had started cordoning off an area in front of it for Fuzzy Dice to land on, which the fans could surround and wait for his arrival.

Usually that meant that they could get as close as three meters from him, and in some cases he would even look at them.

That was like a dream come true for many fans, and they would get to experience it twice as he entered and left the church. That was the sole reason why those fans would move from the mansion to the church.

(That sounds like stuff I saw on TV before with celebrities...)

Mira's mind wandered off to other situations, but at least she understood what was happening now.

「Now, I know I just said that they wouldn't be satisfied waiting for him here at the Spellcasters' Union, but as you can see, the street is packed with them. Now, do you know what they might want?」

Mira and the three sisters all nodded along, understanding everything the detective explained. The detective looked pleased with himself seeing that, and so he continued talking about his findings from the fans, explaining everything in verbose detail like he was explaining some sort of crime scene.

「By gathering at the church, they get to see Fuzzy Dice from close up and rejoice in that. And once they do that a couple of times, yet another new emotion wells up in them.」

New fans would watch Fuzzy Dice in action at the mansion and get filled with excitement. Then after some time they would go to the church and rejoice in his presence. Now, what could they possibly want at the Spellcasters' Union after that?

The detective spoke garrulously about it, mentioning how those that gathered at the Spellcasters' Union had been fans for the longest time. What they wanted to gain there was a glimpse of the final act. In other words, they wanted to see him off after he had completed his mission.

「Like I mentioned before, Fuzzy Dice destabilizes the magic seals on the evidence, which causes a huge ruckus inside the Union, and uses that to sneak away.」

If there was no one there, he would just leave the evidence and get out. If there were a lot of people, he would use Illusory Body to blend with the people and get out without anyone noticing. And the one time the detective hired many armed adventurers to stop the thief, he would leave the whole building destroyed, and then the detective had to pay for repairs.

This time he had instructed the people in the Union to remain still the moment Fuzzy Dice appeared, so that even if he used Illusory Body, he would reveal his identity when attempting to leave.

At the same time, the detective also mentioned that lately, the fans at the Spellcasters' Union would also look forward to seeing how Fuzzy Dice would thwart the plans of the detective.

They were always excited to see how Fuzzy Dice would adapt to whatever awaited him, and that was another reason why the fans liked the detective too, as he made things more interesting. 「This time I've made sure to be even more thorough than ever before, so it won't be easy for him,」 added the detective, his eyes gleaming at the incoming challenge.