"Out of the way! Is En here!?"
"Hmph... You again?"
The Master reacted with blatant disgust as Rommelo swung the door open with a deafening clatter and marched into the shop.
Ignoring the owner's remark, Rommelo closed the distance to En. She stared back at him, her face tight with tension, as he loomed over her with an overbearing air.
"I’ve finally caught you! It’s time you confessed to your crimes!"
"Eh...? W-what do you mean by that?"
"Don’t bother playing dumb! I know you had your hand in another robbery last night! We have a witness who saw the moment it happened—someone who provided a description that matches you perfectly! They even testified that the culprit slashed the victim with a blade during the struggle!"
"I-I don't know anything about that! I didn't take a single step outside last night!"
"She’s right! I stayed at En's house yesterday, and we were together the whole time! I can testify with absolute certainty that En didn't do anything!"
"What...? Hmph! As if I’d trust the word of an acquaintance! For all I know, you’re just coordinating your stories to protect a comrade! Besides, the crime took place in the dead of night. Unless you stayed awake to watch her every second, how can you prove she didn't slip out while you were sleeping?"
Armed with this new testimony from the witness of the previous night's robbery, Rommelo seemed to have already convicted En in his mind. He was intent on cornering her.
Jinba, perhaps feeling that Rommelo was going too far by badgering the girl and ignoring Melt’s alibi, stepped in to restrain his colleague.
"You’re being far too high-handed, Rommelo. It’s true you have a witness, but this girl is also providing testimony that asserts the suspect's innocence. When two accounts conflict, the first step should be an investigation to resolve the discrepancy. Your method of suspecting someone based on a one-sided perspective is wrong."
"Shut up! I am the one in charge of this case! Even if we are both members of the Security Force, I’ll have a meddling bystander keep his mouth shut!"
Jinba tried to reason with him calmly, but Rommelo refused to listen. After snapping at his fellow officer, he turned his sharp, accusatory gaze back toward En.
Before anyone realized it, several Security Force members—likely Rommelo's subordinates—had entered the shop and were moving into position to seize En.
As Melt and the others watched with growing apprehension at the volatile atmosphere and the officers' aggressive behavior, one of the guards placed a familiar object on the table.
"Hm...? This is...!"
"What? Do you recognize this? It’s a piece of evidence left behind at the crime scene. I haven't looked into it in detail yet, but it seems I can skip the trouble of an investigation now."
"This is Yugo's...? Why do you have this?"
The item the guard had produced was the compact-type communication device that Yugo had accidentally left behind at the shop.
While Melt and the others were left reeling, wondering why such a thing would be found at a crime scene, Jinba provided Rommelo with the facts.
"Rommelo, this belongs to a young man named Yugo who was at this shop yesterday. Apparently, he lost it during his visit and is currently out searching for it. If we bring him in and hear his story, we might learn something."
"No, there’s no need for that. I can see the whole picture now! As I thought, the culprit is you, En!"
"E-Ehh!?"
For some reason, Rommelo had constructed a narrative where En was the culprit based solely on the presence of Yugo’s property at the scene. He pointed a finger at her, huffing with excitement.
As Melt and the others looked on in shock, he proudly began to spin his fabrication for everyone to hear.
"This man called Yugo didn't drop this compact; it was stolen from him! Stolen by En when he visited the shop yesterday. Her true nature as a thief simply got the better of her! But because this girl is Yugo's friend, En knew she'd be caught if anyone saw her with it. Therefore, she kept it hidden on her person while the girl was staying over—and that led to a fatal mistake during the crime. She accidentally dropped her loot while fleeing the scene. Isn't that right!?"
"T-that's... you're wrong! I didn't steal anything, and I didn't commit any robbery!"
"Enough with the excuses! With witness testimony and suspicious evidence, I have more than enough to haul you in! We’ll hear the rest of your story in the interrogation room. I’ll make sure you confess to every last crime...!"
"This is ridiculous! It's all just your delusion! It’s wrong to arrest En when you don’t have a shred of proof that your theory is correct!"
"Quiet! I’ll find the decisive evidence during the follow-up investigation! This is a necessary measure to ensure no evidence is destroyed in the meantime!"
Ignoring Melt’s protests, Rommelo barked orders at his subordinates to take En into custody.
The guards moved to follow their superior's command—but before they could reach her, two shadows blurred through the room. Pushing past the officers, the newcomers lunged forward and stood in front of En, shielding her from the approaching men.