Chapter : 1357

"Stolen," the guard repeated firmly. "Thieves broke in. Smashed the case. Took the Heart. Left a mess. Now move along, citizen. Investigation in progress."

Lloyd stumbled back. This was a catastrophe. Without the Heart, he couldn't scan it. Without the scan, he couldn't build the brain. Without the brain, the Aegis was a statue. Without the Aegis, Beelzebub would turn him into paste.

"This is bad," Lloyd muttered. "This is very, very bad."

He retreated to a nearby bench and sat down. He needed to think. Who would steal a relic that didn't work? It was a paperweight. A heavy, useless paperweight. Unless... unless someone knew what it really was.

As he sat there, wallowing in his misery, he saw a familiar figure approaching. It was Mina. She looked refreshed and ready for a day of research. She was holding a notebook.

She saw the guards. She saw the tape. She saw Lloyd sitting on the bench looking like his puppy had died.

She walked over to him. "Lloyd? What is happening?"

"It's gone," Lloyd said hollowly. "The Heart. Stolen. Last night."

Mina's eyes widened. "Stolen? That is impossible. The museum has magical wards."

"Apparently, the thieves had a key," Lloyd said. "Or a really big hammer. The guard said it's a crime scene."

Mina looked at the museum, then at Lloyd. She sat down next to him. "This is... unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" Lloyd laughed bitterly. "It's a disaster! My entire plan relied on looking at that thing!"

"Mine too," Mina said. "I needed to study the runes."

They sat in silence for a moment, united in their disappointment. Two scholars, defeated by a burglary.

"Well," Lloyd said, standing up. "I'm not giving up. I didn't come all this way to look at an empty pedestal."

"What will you do?" Mina asked.

"I'm going to find it," Lloyd declared. The "humble professor" mask slipped, revealing a glimpse of the Major General. "I'm going to find the thieves, kick down their door, and take my rock back."

"That sounds dangerous," Mina noted.

"I'll be subtle," Lloyd lied. "I'll use my contacts. Ken's friend, Silas. The bookshop owner. He's a retired thief. He'll know the underground."

"And I," Mina said, standing up as well, "will use the official channels. I have academic clearance. I can access the city archives. I can look at the police reports. I can research the history of thefts in this city."

Lloyd looked at her. "We're splitting up?"

"It is more efficient," Mina said. "You go into the shadows. I will go into the light. We will see who finds it first."

"It's a race," Lloyd grinned. "I like races. Loser buys dinner."

"Deal," Mina said. "But be careful, Lloyd. If someone stole the Heart, they are not simple bandits. They are professionals."

"I like professionals," Lloyd said. "They usually have better loot."

Lloyd left Mina and headed for the lower districts of Ramos. This part of the city was darker, dirtier, and smelled of sulfur. It was where the miners lived. And where the criminals hid.

He found the bookshop Ken had told him about. It was a small, dusty place called "The Silent Page." The sign was hanging by one nail.

Lloyd walked in. A bell chimed. Behind the counter sat an old man with a glass eye and a scar running down his cheek. He was reading a book about gardening.

"Silas?" Lloyd asked.

The man looked up. "Who's asking?"

"Ken sent me," Lloyd said. "He said you owe him a favor. Something about a poker game in the capital."

Silas grunted. He put down the book. "Ken. That big stone wall of a man. How is he?"

"In love," Lloyd said. "It's disgusting. Anyway, I need information."

"Information costs," Silas said.

"Ken said the favor was free," Lloyd countered.

"Ken isn't here," Silas grinned, revealing a gold tooth.

Lloyd sighed and slapped a gold coin on the counter. "The Golem Heart. Stolen last night. Who did it?"

Silas snatched the coin. "Big news. Everyone is talking about it. But nobody knows who the crew was. It was clean. Too clean. No alarms. No magic signatures. Like ghosts."

"Ghosts don't steal rocks," Lloyd said. "Someone hired them. Someone local?"

"Maybe," Silas said. "There's a man. Lord Wilfred. He owns the mines. He's the richest man in Ramos. He's been trying to buy that Heart for years. Offered millions. The museum always said no."

"Lord Wilfred," Lloyd repeated. "A collector?"

"A hoarder," Silas corrected. "He collects weird stuff. Ancient weapons. Cursed artifacts. If it's old and dangerous, Wilfred wants it."

"Interesting," Lloyd said. "Does he have a private collection?"

Chapter : 1358

"A fortress," Silas said. "Up on the High Crag. Guarded by mercenaries. Hard to get in."

"I like a challenge," Lloyd said. "Thanks, Silas."

"Watch your back," Silas warned. "Wilfred isn't just a collector. He's a tycoon. He owns the city guard. If you poke him, he'll poke back. Hard."

Lloyd left the shop. He had a name. Lord Wilfred. The greedy mining magnate. It fit. A rich man who couldn't take 'no' for an answer hires pros to steal the toy he wants.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Mina was in the Ramos City Archives. It was a beautiful building, filled with sunlight and the smell of old parchment.

She showed her permit from the Royal Academy. The librarian, a young woman who looked bored, led her to the "Recent Crimes" section.

Mina didn't look at the recent crimes. She looked at the property records. She looked at the history of artifact transfers.

She found a pattern. Over the last ten years, dozens of rare artifacts had disappeared from private collections in Ramos. Police reports were filed, investigations were opened, and then... nothing. The cases were closed due to "lack of evidence."

But Mina noticed something else. In every single case, shortly after the theft, Lord Wilfred's mining company made a large donation to the City Guard pension fund.

"Bribery," Mina whispered. "He steals what he wants, and then pays the police to look the other way."

She dug deeper. She looked for records on Wilfred. He wasn't just a mine owner. He was an amateur historian. He had published papers on "The Lost Technology of the Ancients."

She found a request form from six months ago. Wilfred had petitioned the city council to buy the Golem Heart for "preservation purposes." The request was denied.

"He tried to buy it legally," Mina deduced. "They refused. So he took it."

She wrote down her findings. It was circumstantial evidence, but it was strong. Wilfred had the motive, the money, and the history.

She checked the time. It was late afternoon. She needed to find Lloyd. They had to compare notes.

She left the archives and walked back towards The Scholar's Rest. As she walked, she passed a newsstand. The headline read: MUSEUM HEIST BAFFLES GUARD. LORD WILFRED OFFERS REWARD FOR RETURN OF ARTIFACT.

Mina scoffed. "Offers a reward. How clever. He steals it, then offers money to find it, making him look like the hero. He is a snake."

She found Lloyd sitting in the common room of the inn. He was drinking ale and looking at a map of the city.

"I found something," they both said at the same time.

Lloyd grinned. "You go first."

"Lord Wilfred," Mina said. "He has a history of stealing artifacts and bribing the guards. He tried to buy the Heart six months ago."

"Bingo," Lloyd said. "My contact said the same thing. Wilfred is our guy. He's a collector with deep pockets and no morals."

"So what do we do?" Mina asked. "We can't just knock on his door and ask for it back."

"No," Lloyd said. "We need proof. Hard proof. Or..."

"Or?"

"Or we break into his house and steal it back," Lloyd whispered.

Mina looked shocked. "Steal it back? That is burglary!"

"It's 'aggressive recovery'," Lloyd corrected. "He stole it first. I'm just returning it to its rightful owner. Me. I mean, the museum."

"Lloyd," Mina warned. "He has a private army. Silas said his house is a fortress."

"Every fortress has a weakness," Lloyd said. "We just need to find it. But first, I need to know why he wants it. Is it just for his collection? Or does he know what it does?"

"If he knows what it does," Mina said gravely, "then he is not just a thief. He is a threat."

"Exactly," Lloyd said. "So, tomorrow, we investigate Wilfred. We find out what he's hiding. And then, we plan a heist."

"I cannot believe I am conspiring to commit a crime," Mina sighed. "My mother would be so disappointed. Or proud. It's hard to tell with her."

"She'd be proud," Lloyd assured her. "Now, finish your tea. We have a crime lord to catch."

The next day, Lloyd decided to dig deeper into Lord Wilfred's business. If Wilfred was just a collector, the Heart would be sitting on a shelf. But if he was something worse, there would be signs.

He met with Ken's contact, Silas, again. This time, they met in a back alley behind the bookshop. It felt more appropriately clandestine.

"What do you have?" Lloyd asked.