The Phantom Thief Matsuda's Fair Trade

The naive and inexperienced Matsuda Jinpei became bound to a Phantom Thief System, and thus began his life as a phantom thief.

??Yet this phantom thief, hailed as the Rose Beneath the Moonlight, always left behind something equal in value to what he stole, or even more valuable. The Rose Beneath the Moonlight believed in fair trade and equivalent exchange.

??But as time passed, Matsuda discovered that the higher his Thief Points got, the more things he could steal. So when Matsuda saw his friend get blown up, he put on his phantom thief costume that night and stole his friend's death, giving it to the bomber instead. But when Hagiwara Kenji woke up, he found that the first gift he'd received from little Jinpei was gone.

??To exchange for your life, this phantom thief accepts the first gift you ever received. This deal is approved.

??????????????????????????????????????????????----The Rose Phantom Thief

??When Matsuda saw his friend, who worked twelve jobs a day, put on a red phantom thief costume at night, he stole his friend's loneliness and gave it to a rich man in high society who did nothing but indulge himself. The next morning, when Furuya Rei woke up, he discovered that his childhood friend had returned. But he was tied up from head to toe. After his childhood friend untied him, he found a card left on him.

??Your fatigue, worries, and loneliness, in exchange for your friend's life. This deal is a bit of a loss, but since it's your first time, you get a discount. So this is a fair exchange. This phantom thief approves. No more being lonely.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????, The Rose Phantom Thief

Date Wataru, who should have died in the car accident, somehow survived. All that remained at the scene was a small card, which read:

??I'll take the memory of not knowing the secret behind your two friends' disappearance in exchange for your life. I know this isn't a fair exchange, but since this is your first time trading with me, I'll give you a discount. Hope you're not so unlucky next time.

??, The Rose Phantom Thief

??Most of the time, Matsuda would sit in a tree and listen to the wishes people made at dusk. He would pick a lucky person and steal the thing they hoped to get, then give it to them. But in return, those who had their wishes granted and received what they wanted would lose something. Matsuda believed that what they lost had to be something else that mattered most to them, since equivalent exchange was essential.

??Then he would give the things they traded away to other people.

??The things these people exchanged might be helpful to them, or they might not, but there was no point regretting it. The Rose Phantom Thief was fair, after all. He had never broken a promise.

??

??And so a legend slowly spread across the world: the Rose Beneath the Moonlight. If you made a wish to the setting sun at dusk, a phantom thief dressed in rose-red would come to grant it. But what would he take from you? Perhaps it would be something the Rose Beneath the Moonlight considered an equal exchange.

??Hagiwara Kenji: "It's true. I thought I was going to die, but the next day, I somehow woke up. Then I noticed that the stuffed bear little Jinpei gave me when we were kids was gone. It was the first gift Jinpei ever gave me."

??Furuya Rei: "Honestly, I really dislike phantom thieves, but I have to admit the legend is true. He brought my childhood friend back, and from then on, my life was no longer lonely."

??Matsuda Jinpei stood silently nearby, smiling faintly.

??I wonder who will ever truly discover the Rose Phantom Thief's identity. Who knows?

But I think the other magician beneath the moonlight would be very interested in this fellow phantom thief. After all, he's curious about how he does it, too.

??Two phantom thieves clash. Who will win? Why are they both after the same gem? And what price did the person who traded with the Rose Beneath the Moonlight pay for that gem?

??The crows in the night seem to have their eyes on the one hailed as the Rose Beneath the Moonlight. Where will he go from here? How will he fight back?

??Let's look forward to the Rose Phantom Thief's fair trades.

??Matsuda Jinpei: So why is my name so awkward? What Rose Phantom Thief? What the heck? Never mind, I'm too lazy to come up with a name, so I'll go with it.

Theme: Fair exchange. Everyone has to abide by it.