The Orb Case/Story

The Orb Case - Opening

Alfonse	I...I don't know what to do! I never imagined something like this could happen within the castle's walls!
Whoa! What's with the face, Alfonse? You too, 【Summoner】!		Kaden
Selkie	Looks like you're hard at work thinking! Trying to come up with a new game to play?
Unfortunately, no. Are you familiar with the Orbs we use to summon Heroes? Well, they're missing.		Alfonse
Kaden	So the Orbs just disappeared out of 【Summoner】's room?
Hmm... Hey! Orbs are those round sparkly thingies, aren't they?		Selkie
Alfonse	Right. And without them, we can't summon Heroes here from worlds beyond this one... That means the Order of Heroes can't gain new recruits, which will reduce our effectiveness in battle.
I see. If something that important just disappeared, I understand why you'd be worried!		Kaden
Selkie	Wait—I know where they are!
Well, Selkie? Don't just stand there wagging your tail! Spit it out already!		Kaden
Selkie	Well, you see... Not long ago, I was running around the castle, and I ran past 【Summoner】's room... I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I did see Keaton and Velouria lurking around...
What? Really?! Lurking? Were they planning something?		Alfonse
Selkie	Well, I saw them separately, so... maybe? I was doing laps around the castle, so I passed a few times...
Could...they have taken the Orbs?		Alfonse
Kaden	If you really want to know, it'd probably be easiest to just ask them!
Hm... You're right. In any case, I want more information. It's possible they saw something!		Alfonse
Keaton	Huh? Why would I ever need to go in 【Summoner】's room?
Er, well... You were seen near the room, so I wanted to ask if you saw anything...unusual.		Alfonse
Keaton	Nope! Nothing unusual! Anyway, I'm about to go hunting... Do you mind?
Oh... Right! Go ahead. Sorry for keeping you.		Alfonse
Hm. If Keaton says he didn't go near 【Summoner】's room... Velouria might still know something. We'll see what she has to say!		Alfonse
Velouria	There's nothing interesting over there, so I have no reason to go by 【Summoner】's room...
Er, well... You were seen over by the room, so I wanted to ask if you maybe saw anything...unusual?		Alfonse
Velouria	Whoever thinks they saw me was mistaken. Now, if you don't need anything else, I'll be going...
Huh. So Velouria claims to not know anything about the Orb theft either...		Alfonse
Kaden	I see... So neither Keaton nor Velouria admitted to being where Selkie says she saw them?
Right. And nothing either of them said struck me as suspicious.		Alfonse
Selkie	I swear I saw them! But I also doubt either could be the Orb thief we're looking for.
Yeah, they're both a little odd, but... they're not bad people. Which means there's still a mystery to solve! It's up to me—Kaden, the greatest and most beautiful detective—to catch this Orb thief of ours!		Kaden
Selkie	I wanna play too! I'll be your trusty assistant, Selkie! We'll get those Orbs back in no time!

The Orb Case - C

Selkie	I've been meaning to ask, Daddy... When did you become a "great detective," anyway?
Well, it's a term for anyone who uses keen senses and polished instincts to solve otherwise-unsolvable mysteries! If that's not the very definition of a kitsune with a good nose, I'm not sure what is!		Kaden
Alfonse	Hmm... You're not the only detective on the case. I believe I've also seen 【Summoner】 investigating!
The look on your face suggests we have yet to find any leads... But fear not! I have already cracked the case!		Kaden
Selkie	Whoa! Amazing! Just what I'd expect from a great detective! So who stole the Orbs, then?
Well, I've had my suspicions from the very beginning... You know the owl in the castle's reception hall?		Kaden
Alfonse	Wait a second... You aren't talking about Feh, are you?
That owl was hiding Orbs in her feathers—I saw it with my own eyes! There's no doubt Feh is the culprit!		Kaden
Alfonse	I think you might've misunderstood. You see...Feh brings us Orbs. So that must be what you saw her doing.
Ah, well then... I guess it isn't her! In that case, I'll return to the scene of the crime and rethink things. They say criminals always return to the scene of the crime, so maybe I'll luck out and catch them red-handed!		Kaden
Selkie	Great idea! You're so smart, Daddy! Now, back to the crime scene!
I've heard some detectives revisit the crime scene up to 100 times over the course of an investigation... Sounds like a lot of hanging around, so let's just do a thorough search of 【Summoner】's room now. If you notice anything out of place or see something that could be a clue, let me know, Selkie!		Kaden
Selkie	A clue? You mean...like this? Looks like a hair from Keaton's tail! Hmm... Smells like it too.
Whoa! Selkie, that's more than just a clue—it's undeniable proof!		Kaden
Alfonse	So Keaton WAS somewhere near 【Summoner】's room...
But Keaton denied it, right? And he didn't seem to be lying... Could he have forgotten? Hmm... Maybe it's that— Aha! I've got it! It's rudimentary, my dear Alfonse! Now, let's go find Keaton...		Kaden
Alfonse	"M-my dear"?
Huh? Back again? And you brought Selkie and Kaden too... What do you want this time?		Keaton
Alfonse	Well, Keaton, after you told me you hadn't been anywhere near it... Kaden found a hair from your tail on the floor just outside the door to 【Summoner】's room.
So?! Are you saying I'm a suspect? I told you, I have no reason to go near 【Summoner】's room!		Keaton
Kaden	Keaton, let me ask you something... What part of the castle do you think we are in right now?
Oh, even more ridiculous questions! We're on the second floor of the west wing, obviously!		Keaton
Selkie	We're, uh...on the third floor, actually. And...this is the east wing.
Huh?! No way! I could've sworn this was the second floor...		Keaton
Kaden	Just as I thought! Keaton is not our Orb thief. He just...gets lost in the castle on a regular basis.
Yeah, there's no way anyone so bad at navigation could sneak into and out of 【Summoner】's room...		Alfonse
Selkie	Hooray! You're not the culprit after all, Keaton! Congratulations!
Yeah, that's great and all, but...I'm not sure I follow your logic. Any of it, really.		Keaton

The Orb Case - B

Keaton	So you're still trying to figure out who stole the Orbs, hm? Well, I think we've established that I didn't do it. And Velouria would never do anything like that.
I don't think Velouria would steal Orbs either, but...I'm sure the red hood and ears I saw were hers!		Selkie
Kaden	Oh! Speak of the devil. Isn't that Velouria over there?
Oh, yeah, there she is! Hey, Velou—		Keaton
Alfonse	Wait! Something about her seems a bit off...
Nobody mind me. I'm only mumbling to myself as I walk down the hall. Nothing out of the ordinary...		Velouria
Kaden	I trust you know your own daughter, Keaton, but she's definitely acting like she's up to something...
And on top of that, it looks like she's trying to hide something in her pockets.		Alfonse
Keaton	I don't believe it! I mean...how? How could she have possibly grown into such a ne'er-do-well after a childhood alone in the Deeprealms?
Well, hang on! We don't know for sure that she's the Orb thief... Let's go check her room for clues!		Selkie
Keaton	R-right... Although, as her father, I suggest we ask before snooping through her things...
Huh. That's why you think I'm the one who stole the Orbs?		Velouria
Keaton	Well, it's not that you're a suspect... I mean, I believe you! I know you're not a bad kid!
I don't want to be suspicious of my allies either, but...I need to be absolutely sure. We saw you sneaking around earlier... If you let us look around your room, we can put our fears to rest.		Alfonse
Velouria	Hmm... No.
What? What do you mean, no?! You understand what this looks like, don't you, Velouria?		Kaden
Velouria	Like I have things in my room I don't want the whole world to see? Yeah, no, I get it.
Don't worry, Velouria! I know all about what's in your room, and I'm sure no one will judge you for it!		Selkie
Velouria	Ugh... Fine. But only if everyone promises not to touch any of my stuff.
All right, in we go! Urp! This might have been a mistake...		Kaden
Alfonse	I see some rusty old daggers, a few dead birds, a pile of bones from some manner of creature I've never seen... Velouria, what IS all this?
I'll tell you what it is... It's AMAZING! Did you collect all this by yourself? There's a whole mountain of treasures in here!		Keaton
Alfonse	What?! All THIS is...treasure?
Yup! To Velouria and Keaton, that is. They tend to collect things we might think are a little weird...		Selkie
Keaton	Hey, Kaden! Check out this hair ball! I don't know what it is about it, but it's kinda...perfect, right?
It certainly is something...		Kaden
Keaton	I was worried for a second, but this is great! Just what I'd expect from a daughter of mine!
I see... So it was this junk—sorry, these treasures—that Velouria was collecting, then...		Alfonse
Velouria	Yeah, I don't know much about Orbs, but from what I DO know, I'm not interested... But I was worried I might become a suspect if anyone knew I had all this treasure hidden away. That's why I didn't want to show everyone inside my room...
Y-yeah, that's understandable. I don't think you need to worry about being a suspect anymore...		Alfonse
Selkie	Well, I'm glad we got that all cleared up! But...we still don't know who took the Orbs!

The Orb Case - A

Keaton	We're sure we didn't use the Orbs and then forget? They disappear when they're used, don't they?
We didn't have any occasion to spend Orbs during the window of time they went missing. And just to be sure, I double-checked with 【Summoner】 on that.		Alfonse
Velouria	You know, I saw the owl in—
Oh, we already tried that angle. Apparently it wasn't the owl.		Selkie
Velouria	Oh. Well, never mind, then.
Even I, Kaden, the great detective, am stumped! But at least we were able to prove Keaton and Velouria are innocent...		Kaden
Keaton	Of course we're innocent! We noble wolfskin hate stealing!
But the Orbs are still missing, which means there's still a thief somewhere in the castle...		Velouria
Selkie	Oh, hey! Commander Anna is headed this way! Hello, Commander!
Ah, perfect. I'm glad I ran into you all. Would you mind helping me carry this? It's so heavy...		Anna
Alfonse	What...is that, Commander Anna?
I'm glad you asked! This is a new kind of semi-portable strongbox I've been developing for market. It protects from fire, water, AND lightning. I call it...the SafeCase! It keeps things safe, just in case!		Anna
Velouria	You seem awfully confident... How can you guarantee all that?
I've run tons of tests! I even put some Orbs inside for some final tests, and they came out completely unharmed!		Anna
Alfonse	Wait...
You...		Kaden
Keaton	You just took some Orbs?
And put them in your safe thing?		Selkie
Velouria	And expected no one to notice?
Umm... Yeah, that's right. Why is everyone looking at me like I'm a criminal? Is there a problem?		Anna
Kaden	Care to hear my deductions, my dear Alfonse?
No, that's all right, Kaden. I think I've figured out who the Orb thief was on my own at this point.		Alfonse
Keaton	Well, at least the case of the missing Orbs can now be closed.
Yeah, but the ending wasn't as satisfying as I was hoping! I want another case to solve now!		Selkie
Velouria	I'm shocked we didn't solve this case earlier, to be honest.
What case? You mean the SafeCase? A-and what do you mean it's solved? ...Am I missing something here?		Anna

Scenario
Hearts as One ←		The Orb Case		Reason to Fight →
Keaton	Velouria		Kaden		Selkie

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