Ranpo had no reason to enter a museum. He had no interest in history or culture, nor did he have any care for the displays. And yet, here he was, wandering around the halls full of fancy displays. Of course, he wasn’t the type of person to aimlessly wander; while it may appear that way, he noticed something peculiar about the museum and decided to visit.
The feeling he had was something he often called his “detective senses”. Although, it could be better described as gut instinct. It was this feeling that often lead him to various crime scenes.
He happened upon a rather quiet room; the contents inside must appear uninteresting to most visitors, the detective quickly determined with a brief look around the area. It was indeed a bland room, there was no doubt about it. The only display he found remotely relevant was the fancy necklace with a fancier jewel embedded in it. He approached to look at the display properly, squinting his eyes while examining the gem.
However, he was interrupted by a well-dressed man who had been reading a book nearby. He was likely in charge of guarding this necklace. He didn’t seem to notice it, though; of course, nobody except a great detective like himself would be able to notice the difference so quickly.
He glanced towards the necklace again while he answered the man. “Mm. It’s pretty fancy lookin’…”
Art reacted before he could catch himself, eyes widening in shock for just a flash before he had schooled his expression into something more guarded. He imagined that it still looked strained, but it was the best he could manage.
His gaze cut to the necklace again in a misguided attempt to see if what this stranger just said was true. Art wasn’t a jeweler, and he hadn’t been tasked with actually examining the piece before his job began. As much as he would’ve liked to be able to independently verify whether or not it was genuine, he just wasn’t qualified to do so.
That left him with a number of options, none of them exactly ideal. What he chose mainly depended on exactly how much he wanted to reveal to the man standing beside him. He was ambiguous at best and downright shady at worst, and also potentially smart as hell, none of which made Art keen on sharing with him any more information than he had definitely figured out by himself.
Still, Art had to grapple with the fact that this stranger might be his only ticket to some vital information. While he wanted to take that possibility seriously, it also... grated on him, on his pride as a detective. This man had seen in a glance something that could render all of Art’s own efforts moot in seconds flat, and as irrational as it was, that really annoyed him.
All of this he considered in a brief pause before fixing the stranger with the same polite smile as before, this time with a bit more of an edge to it. What he decided on was caution, briefly suspending his judgment.
“And why would you say that?” he asked, keeping it as brief as possible. He would’ve liked to tack on something like, “You’ve only just glanced at, haven’t you?” maybe entirely out of spite, but he bit his tongue.
