L/R: Licensed by Royal (Licensed by Royalty)

I've heard about you.

So you two are L/R?

I'm Rowe Rickenbacker.

Jack Hofner.

How do you do, again.

And, which one of you is the L and which is the R?

Such a lame question.

Whichever you like.

And moving on to the weather at a glance.

A well-developed low pressure front is still stalled over our sky...

causing nation-wide rain.

From around midnight on, both rain and winds will become more severe...

so please be careful.

Will we make it?

I think we'll manage, Professor.

Why do they have to move forward the departure time on such short notice?

They say the airport may close due to strong winds.

Have a safe trip, Professor.

Gotta run!

This is the final boarding call for the last flight of the Aurora.

Passengers please report to terminal 1 gate 5 immediately.

You must be Mr. Freud.

Welcome aboard.

And she is your companion, I presume?

Yes, she is. Thank you.

Please hurry on board.

Cheers.

Cheers.

The taste of success.

Isn't it too early to celebrate, Professor?

No matter.

This one's for our making it on board this airship in time.

But I'm amazed we arrived at the airport so quickly.

The traffic must have been light due to the bad weather.

Must have been.

I am a lucky man.

Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Was the meal to your satisfaction, sir?

Most splendid.

Thank you, sir.

Incidentally, the cooking time of the chickpeas...

Were they too soft?

The cooking time was the same as usual.

I see.

Yes, there have been no changes.

Your shoulder.

A message for you, sir.

What?!

So, he's requesting a change in the meeting place?

Apparently.

It says here that the information has been leaked.

But who?

Good evening, Professor Freud.

Mr. Jack Hofner, it's been a while.

Yes, I believe since the Bauld affair two years ago.

I do not know how to thank you for that.

I never would have thought he was...

Excuse me for getting straight to the point, Professor.

But I must collect the "package" from you.

The Royal Museum's treasured item, "The Mermaid's Foot."

How much do you know?

We've heard that in recent years...

a large number of the Royal Museum's treasures...

have been circulating outside the country.

But there have been no reports of thefts from the Museum.

The articles in circulation are not authentic objects...

but limited to questionable items.

They were authenticated by the Royal Family a few centuries ago...

but if re-examined by other countries...

their authenticity will soon be revealed as false.

In a way, they are a disgrace to Ishtar's history.

Thanks to Kanor the 1st, Ishtar's economy was devastated under his reign.

He was awfully fond of everything that was considered a treasure...

and kept collecting items from overseas, such as precious stones...

china, fine arts, stuffed specimens, and so on.

Many of the objects were phonies...

but regardless, he purchased them at high prices.

And those phonies received certification of authenticity...

by the Royal Family as well.

Back then, nobody would dare defy the king.

The Royal Family's authentication was always absolute...

and that determined its value.

The Royal Family were the ones who determined the value of everything...

and the people always honored it.

But that is not so, now.

You think so?

It's just as well, but now is not the time to argue that.

Very well.

The Mermaid's Foot is the property of the Royal Family...

which was donated to the Royal Museum.

You are aware of that?

It was a gift from a man who claimed to be a messenger...

from the Emperor of Qin, in ancient China.

Will you not return it?

For what?

It would go straight back to the bottom of the warehouse...

only to fall into decay in neglect...

without ever seeing the light of the day.

You are committing a crime, Professor.

I know.

But who will ever be hurt by it?

Our country, Ishtar, and the Royal Family's honor will be stained.

I see Mr. Hofner, exactly the sort of response I would expect...

from a member of the Royal Agency L/R.

Please return it.

Professor.

Professor!

What is it?

Please come with me immediately!

In his room...

What happened?

Please hurry!

Someone you know?

The man I was supposed to meet.

The buyer of the Mermaid's Foot, to be more precise.

And why was he murdered?

The initial plan was to meet at the restaurant of this airship.

But he sent a letter at the last minute...

saying that he wanted to change the meeting place.

And the murderer, believing that the meeting was already over...

assaulted this man.

That means...

Oh, no!

He'll be coming to my room!

Linda, back to the room!

Yes, sir!

Are you all right?

Yes.

The Mermaid's Foot!

The Mermaid's Foot! It's gone!

They parachuted five minutes ago.

Yes, the Captain has told you...

our flight plan and approximate location.

The number of culprits is unknown...

although the number of parachutes sighted was just one, white colored.

Yes, thank you.

To be on the safe side, we're having all of the passengers accounted for.

Thank you.

It seems that the flight itself has been unaffected...

so we will continue the trip unless you have any objections.

No, please.

We have set up checkpoints on the major roads...

for a 10 kilometers radius surrounding the thief's expected landing point.

Thank you.

Well, you do not need words of thanks from me, I suppose.

Well.

I had no idea that someone had an eye on the Mermaid's Foot.

I should have been more careful.

My mistake.

It's not your fault.

At least, either I should have remained in the room...

or contacted the crew and had you remain here.

Well, maybe so.

Miss Linda... was it?

I'd like you to tell me the circumstances...

how you discovered the body.

I excused myself, thinking it was not appropriate...

for me to hear the conversation you two were having.

Then I heard some sort of loud commotion downstairs...

so I proceeded in that direction.

Stop it! Hey, what are you doing!?

Professor! Professor!

That's all.

I see.

You didn't touch the door?

No, it was open to begin with.

I didn't touch anything.