After lining up again and entering the cruise ship more formally, the two walked toward a corner. Jii, who had already changed his appearance, lowered his head slightly.
"Master, was there an accident?"
"Um."
Kaito nodded slightly.
"This incident really exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect that Mrs. Suzuki would play such a big ga. To ss with , she actually threw her heirloom into a pile of real and fake items."
"I originally thought that she wouldn't hand it over so easily. But when I saw that the black pearls on her chest were translucent, I knew that she really did it."
Only then did Jii understand why the young master had reacted like that.
No matter how much planning there was, as long as Mrs. Suzuki casually handed out the Dark Star, all of Kaito's plans would co to nothing.
And Jii finally understood why the young master chose to give up.
This wasn't about wanting to give up, but about losing all other options and being left with only that.
This wasn't a matter of winning or losing anymore. The one who defined victory and defeat had removed all her own risk and left no choice for him but defeat.
In the end, he had no choice but to accept the loss.
"Besides, your switch failed, and even your identity was exposed."
"!?"
Jii was slightly startled, then realized why Kaito had suddenly co over and pulled him away.
He glanced at the black pearl on his chest.
"Is this… real?"
"Um."
Kaito nodded. The black pearl on the old man's chest was real.
"It's clearly a real black pearl, though its quality is probably not as good as the Dark Star, and its color isn't pure. But there's no doubt that the value of this black pearl isn't low."
"At least over a million."
Jii couldn't help but suck in a breath when he heard this. He wasn't shocked at the price itself, but at Mrs. Suzuki's boldness.
Looking around, everyone here had been given a black pearl accessory.
"I observed that over 30% of the people received black pearls of this grade. Each one worth more than a million."
"And then there's Mrs. Suzuki, wearing pure, translucent black pearls."
"Black pearls are made of calcium carbonate, which is easily corroded by acid. As ti goes by, no matter how pure, a black pearl won't stay translucent. That ans it's a brand new pearl."
"And there were several people at the venue wearing black pearls similar to hers."
"As for those that et the Dark Star's standards, there are quite a few. By my estimate, at least 20% of them are real black pearls, and among these 20% there is the only genuine one. The Dark Star."
"Faced with this situation, even my dad might not be able to figure out where the real one is."
With that, Kaito lowered his head helplessly.
"As for those associated with the Suzuki conglorate, their black pearls don't et the Dark Star's requirents. In other words, Mrs. Suzuki really did scatter the Dark Star among the genuine and fake ones."
"This is no longer sothing that can be solved through speculation or observation."
Having lost the ability to read human nature and use it, Kaito also lost the ability to find the real Dark Star.
That was what forced him to surrender.
In a match of wealth, decisiveness, determination, and will to win, he had been completely defeated.
It was really ironic. He was the one who had invited Mrs. Suzuki to a duel, but in the end, he had no choice but to run away when he saw the result.
Faced with this kind of situation, Kaito had no choice but to retreat. Otherwise, Mrs. Suzuki and the police really would have sent him to jail.
Once he was caught, everything would be over.
If he failed to uncover the organization that assassinated his father, it might even draw that organization's attention to him, bringing fatal danger to his friends.
As long as you carry any concerns in your heart, you will be restrained when facing soone who has none.
And that was exactly how Kaito felt when facing Mrs. Suzuki.
He was usually soone with no taboos, but this ti he felt completely restrained around her.
Especially when he guessed that Jii was being targeted, he admitted he was completely panicked.
He could admit to failure, but he could not allow himself to be caught by the police.
His immaturity might even have caused Jii to be arrested.
Jii carefully thought about the situation the young master had been in. It really was hopeless. Even Toichi would likely have been helpless under these circumstances.
A real Dark Star scattered among thousands of genuine and fake pearls. Even the best thief couldn't steal it without any clues.
That was no longer a trick. That was true magic.
"So, I told you. The outco this ti was already decided."
Just as Kaito and Jii finished speaking, Akako, dressed in a bright red one-piece gown, walked over with a glass of wine.
"My divinations have generally never gone wrong. I warned you about this before you acted."
Kaito glanced at Akako. He wasn't surprised by her sudden appearance and just sighed.
"Who would have thought your divination could be so accurate."
"Hmph! I am the heir of the famous Red Magic. Do you think my divination is a joke?"
Akako snorted unhappily.
As the legitimate heir of Red Magic, she knew that nowadays most people didn't believe in things like divination or magic. However, these things had once truly existed.
But as tis changed, there were fewer and fewer heirs, and fewer and fewer people with magic power, so magic declined.
"Then, Miss Akako, can you predict who has the real Dark Star?"
"Hmm? You still have sothing on your mind?"
Kaito simply waved his hand.
"Forget it. Mrs. Suzuki has already done this, and I've already shown through my actions that I've given up. I'm just a little curious whether she really scattered the Dark Star or used so kind of trick."
Akako pursed her lips, but didn't refuse.
"If it's just to satisfy your curiosity, that's not hard."
(To be continued.)
***
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