"Yes. She's a senior colleague of my mother’s who has taken care of me since I was little, but it seems she was scammed and lost several million yen..."

"I heard before that you have connections with the police, Mamoru-san, so I was hoping I could get some advice."

"That’s quite unfortunate. May I hear the details?"

"Of course, actually..."

I relayed to Mamoru-san everything my mother had told me about the incident.

"...I see. So by the time she realized it was a scam and contacted the police to freeze her bank account, there was no money left in it."

"Yes."

That evening, after she had handed over her card, her husband found it suspicious and checked their account balance, only to discover that the several million yen that should have been there had disappeared. He immediately contacted the police, which is how the fraud was discovered.

They went through the proper procedures and froze the account where the money had been withdrawn, but it had already been emptied. The police are tracking the individual who withdrew the money through security cameras, but the perpetrator has yet to be caught.

"From what you’ve told me, this criminal group seems highly organized. Preparing fake bank employee and police uniforms, along with counterfeit business cards, suggests they are repeat offenders with a well-planned scheme. Unfortunately, in cases like this, once the money has been withdrawn, recovering it is nearly impossible..."

"That’s what the police said as well. If the fraudsters are caught, would there be any chance of getting the money back?"

"Well... If the money is still in their possession and they used traceable bank accounts, then there’s a possibility it could be returned. However, since they seem to be professionals, there's a high likelihood they’ve already moved the money elsewhere or erased their account records, making the situation quite difficult."

"...I figured as much. But if there's even the slightest chance of getting the money back, I want to track down this group. Mamoru-san, I know you're busy, but could you help me?"

"Of course! I'm honored that you’d come to me for help. I’ll do everything I can to assist you!"

"Thank you so much!"

Mamoru-san’s support was invaluable. On my own, I wouldn’t even know where to start.

"I'll begin my investigation on my end. I'd also like to ask Shinozaki-san a few questions, if possible."

"Sure, I'll have my mother gather the details. But since she’s feeling really down, I’ll try to limit how often we ask her things."

"Understood. I’ll compile only the necessary questions and send them to you by email."

"Got it. I appreciate it."

After enlisting Mamoru-san’s help, I returned home with Fūsuke. When I arrived, Fūsuke and Fuka-chan were happily playing together. Since I’m usually the only one playing with Fūsuke, it’s nice for him to have Fuka-chan for a change.

As soon as I left the apartment, I received a message from Mamoru-san listing the questions he needed answered. The questions were carefully worded to be considerate of Shinozaki-san, asking things like when and where she handed over the bank card and which police station she reported the incident to.

Seeing no issue with the questions, I forwarded them to my mother. Since both she and Shinozaki-san happened to be at work that day, they replied within an hour. I then immediately sent the responses to Mamoru-san.

Afterward, I tried to think of ways I could use my Great Mage abilities to help and even researched fraud cases online, but I couldn’t come up with anything useful. Before I knew it, the entire day had passed. My brain could only do so much. Tomorrow, I should consult Abe, Watanabe, and Kawabata—at least they might have better ideas than me.

The next morning, just as I was about to ask everyone for advice, I received a call from Mamoru-san.

What could it be? I had only sent him the information from Shinozaki-san yesterday evening. Did he already find a lead? Or maybe he had additional questions?

"Good morning, this is Tachihara."

"Good morning. Sorry for calling so early."

"No problem, I'm on summer break. Is this about yesterday?"

"Yes. I’m calling because I’ve found what seems to be the fraud group’s hideout. I’d like to go over the details with you, so could you come over to my place again?"

"Huh!? Wait, the fraud group’s hideout!? You only started investigating yesterday evening, right!?"

"Yes. It was quite a challenge this time. I had to go through all possible suspects and locations one by one. I’ll explain everything when you get here."

"...O-Okay! I’ll head over right away!"

No way! He found their hideout in less than half a day!? How? Just what kind of methods did he use?

I had way too many questions. For now, I needed to hurry over to Mamoru-san’s place and get the full story.