Fate (Boku No Hero Academia x Reader) (DISCONTINUED)

Section 5: Old Spider

It's time to bring this case to close and point to the culprit who stole the relic needed for the war. We all stood in the owner's quarters. Sieg sternly stands across from us.

"All right, Mr. Moriarty, tell us what you found out."

"Very well. May I have everyone's attention, please? As you know, a priceless relic was stolen from this estate. Yesterday, my apprentice and I talked to all of you on behalf of our employer, Mr. Sieg, to make sure nothing had been overlooked. To leap ahead somewhat and begin with the conclusion, each of you has your own reasons for being a perfectly viable suspect. Mr. Diarmuid is on the brink of retirement.

Mr. Yan Qing is worried about his subordinates' future. Mr. Izo is concerned with how the growing marine transport industry will encroach on his business. But the one thing you all have in common... is that none of you can throw caution to the wind. Should one of you step out of line, the others will devour you. So, you wait.

Then one day, Mr. Sieg shows up offering to let you bid on an invaluable relic. No doubt the news nearly gave you heart palpitations. Surely, this would be the chance you have been waiting for; a chance for something to change. Am I correct so far?" Moriarty explained.

I see Diarmuid nod, "...I'd say so. Yan Qing and Izo probably realized this, but yes, I have been thinking of retiring. Though of course, I would never do so while leaving my work unfinished."

"And that brings me to my first point. You wish to break this stalemate, so you mean to acquire the relic. This is, however, far from the true equation. While the three mages see it as their ticket to a sure fire victory, and each wishes to get his hands on it no matter the cost... the three gang leaders don't care who gets it, for the stalemate will be broken regardless. Thus, none of them have any motive to steal it. In fact, they have a clear motive NOT to."

"Okay, since it sounds like you've taken me off the suspect list, I'm just gonna ask: what is this motive?" Yan Qing asked.

Moriarty turns to him and asks him a question, "tell me, what would you think if one organization suddenly came into a great deal of money under these circumstances?"

"Well, I'd probably suspect they stole the relic and sold it." He said, and then he smiles like he figured out the answer. "Ah. Got it."

"There you are. In essence, as long as the current state of affairs continues... none of you are free to move any large sums around, whether from selling the relic or anything else. I imagine that would be quite a serious problem for an organization, no? Especially yours, Mr. Izo."

"Well, I wasn't planning on keeping this secret, but I am expecting a nice bit of cash in the near future. If I stole that relic, you'd all only have more reason to suspect me." Izo said.

Moriarty smiles, "precisely. All of this is to say that the three gang leaders each have their own reasons for wanting the auction to go ahead. Even if Mr. Diarmuid had lost it, it would give him the perfect excuse to retire, to gracefully bow out. After all, Mr. Yan Qing's goal was only ever to ensure his subordinates would be accepted by this city. But if either party had stolen the relic, that would cause problems that no amount of money could resolve.

As for Mr. Izo's reasons, well we just went over those mere moments ago. We would seem to be left with one of the mages, but this is just as implausible."

"Why is that" Vlad questions.

"Because the auction's results were far from a forgone conclusion." I answered for him.

"Exactly! If one of them were to engage in foul play, he would still need to wait for the auction's results first. Between his and Mr. Diarmuid's funds, Mr. Alexander was quite confident in his chances at winning the auction. Prince of Lanling was less sure in his bidding prospects, but he also believed he had a chance at charming the relic off of whoever did win. As for Count Vlad, if ended up losing the auction, he had every intention of seizing the relic by force."