Hearing Barbara's words, Dick's pupils shrank sharply.
For a split second, his breathing even stalled.
"From the way you're talking…" he asked carefully, unable to hide the tension in his voice, "don't tell me you've already solved it?"
Barbara let out a small, satisfied laugh on the other end of the call.
"What do you think?" she replied confidently. "If I hadn't figured it out, wouldn't it be pointless for me to ask you these questions?"
She paused deliberately, then added teasingly, "You've been staring at that Notice box for days now, haven't you? Turning it over in your head again and again, dying to know what it really means."
"Barbara," Dick said urgently, "don't mess with me. Just tell me—now."
His impatience was obvious.
Barbara chuckled softly, clearly enjoying the moment, but she soon dropped her playful tone and spoke seriously.
"Alright. First question—do you know Roman numerals?"
"Roman numerals?" Dick frowned. "Of course I do. But what does that have to do with Kaito Kid's Notice box?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Even if you use Roman numerals, twenty times three still doesn't equal four."
"That's because you're looking at the numbers the wrong way," Barbara said calmly.
"Those numbers—'20', '3', and '4'—aren't meant to be taken at face value."
Dick froze.
"Then what are they supposed to be?"
"They aren't numbers," Barbara said. "They're sequences."
"…Sequences?"
She continued patiently, "Do you remember the seven basic symbols used in Roman numerals?"
Dick replied almost instinctively.
"I for one, V for five, X for ten, L for fifty, C for one hundred, D for five hundred, and M for one thousand."
He stopped mid-sentence.
A spark flashed through his mind.
"Wait."
His voice sharpened.
"If '20', '3', and '4' are treated as positions in the alphabet…" he muttered, thinking out loud, "then we convert them into letters first, and then interpret them using Roman numerals…"
His eyes lit up—
Then immediately dimmed.
"No. That doesn't work," he said quickly. "If we follow modern alphabetical order, three becomes 'C', which is one hundred, four becomes 'D', which is five hundred—but twenty becomes 'T'. And 'T' isn't even a Roman numeral."
There was a brief silence on the line.
Then Barbara spoke, her tone suddenly deeper, more meaningful.
"That's because Kaito Kid isn't using modern conventions."
Dick listened intently.
"The Roman Empire was built on a polytheistic culture," Barbara said. "But after the era of Caesar the Great, Christianity gradually replaced it. Ancient Roman culture faded into history."
She paused before continuing.
"The Notice box references Mars, the Roman god of war, and Caesar the Great, a central symbol of ancient Rome. That isn't coincidence."
"Kaito Kid is telling us to use ancient Roman rules."
Dick's breath caught.
"In ancient Rome," Barbara continued, "the alphabet was different. The letters J, U, and W did not exist."
Dick's eyes widened.
"That means…"
"The twentieth letter," Barbara said, "is not 'T'."
"It's 'V'."
Dick inhaled sharply.
"And 'V' equals five."
Barbara's voice carried a hint of triumph.
"Exactly."
She continued, "So the equation isn't twenty times three equals four. It's V multiplied by C equals D."
Five times one hundred.
Five hundred.
Perfectly consistent.
Dick's thoughts snapped into place.
Everything aligned.
The fog cleared instantly.
He spoke rapidly, excitement flooding his voice.
"If that's the case, then the poem makes sense."
He recited softly:
> If twenty multiplied by three equals four,
Then I shall arrive at a non-existent time,
When Mars has passed the tenth day and night,
Following the guidance of Caesar the Great,
I come to claim the blood-stained dragon egg ruby necklace.
"If the first line establishes Roman numerals," Dick continued, "then the 'non-existent time' must be zero o'clock—because Roman numerals don't include zero."
Barbara didn't interrupt.
She didn't need to.
Dick was already on a roll.
"The third line—'Mars has passed the tenth day and night'—means March tenth has ended."
He paused, then concluded firmly:
"Which means Kaito Kid's time of action is midnight—March 10th."
Or more precisely…
The very beginning of March 11th.
Dick frowned slightly, his excitement giving way to doubt.
"But there's still one line left," he said.
"'Following the guidance of Caesar the Great.' What does that mean?"
Barbara sighed softly.
"That part bothered me too," she admitted. "At first, I thought it was just reinforcing the ancient Roman theme—but that feels redundant. Mars already does that."
Dick nodded in agreement.
"Exactly."
Barbara's tone shifted.
"However…" she said slowly, "once I arrived at the Natural History Museum, I think I understood."
---
Inside the Ancient Rome Exhibition Hall, Barbara stood silently before a towering statue.
Caesar the Great.
The marble sculpture depicted him mid-stride, one arm extended forward, as though commanding troops into battle.
Barbara's eyes followed the direction of the statue's hand.
She remembered the layout clearly.
To the east of the Cultural Relics Pavilion—where the dragon egg ruby necklace was displayed—stood the Jungle Pavilion.
The connection clicked.
---
Back on the call, Dick spoke cautiously.
"You're saying the 'guidance of Caesar the Great' is literal… that the statue itself points the way?"
"Yes," Barbara replied. "As simple as it sounds, that seems to be it."
Dick hesitated.
"That feels… almost too straightforward."
"I know," Barbara admitted. "But right now, it's the only explanation that fits. I searched the entire Roman exhibit. There's no deeper reference that makes more sense."
She let out a quiet sigh.
"At the very least, the time is absolutely correct."
Dick leaned back in his chair, eyes closed.
After reviewing everything again and again in his mind, he realized she was right.
There were no contradictions.
No loose ends.
The Notice box had been completely deciphered.
"Alright," he said finally. "Then we proceed based on this."
After briefly discussing follow-up preparations, Dick ended the call.
The moment the line disconnected—
"Hey! Dick! Dick!"
A hushed but urgent voice reached him from the front.
"Snap out of it! Mrs. Anderson is looking for you!"
Dick's heart dropped.
He looked up.
Dean was turned halfway around in his seat, subtly signaling him.
Around them, classmates were already grinning, barely containing their laughter.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then a sharp, authoritative voice sounded beside him.
"It seems you've finally returned to reality, Mr. Grayson."
Dick stiffened.
"I've called your name four times already," Mrs. Anderson continued coldly. "And you didn't react once."
He slowly raised his head.
Mrs. Anderson stood there, arms crossed, eyes dark and unimpressed.
Their math teacher was infamous for her temper.
Dick swallowed.
"This is bad," he thought.
He had been so absorbed in decoding Kaito Kid's message that he hadn't heard a thing.
"Care to explain yourself?" Mrs. Anderson asked, enunciating every syllable.
"Or should I assume your attitude toward your studies is… lacking?"
Cold sweat trickled down Dick's temple.
He forced a smile.
"Uh… Mrs. Anderson," he said carefully, "I was just… deeply immersed in your lecture. I suppose my mind was still swimming in the ocean of mathematical theory."
The classroom fell silent.
Mrs. Anderson stared at him expressionlessly.
Then—
"That excuse may fool you," she said flatly, "but it doesn't fool me."
She reached out and seized his headphones.
"I'll be confiscating these," she continued. "And if this happens again, I'll be having a very serious conversation with Mr. Wayne about your education."
With that, she turned and walked back to the podium.
Leaving Dick frozen in his seat.
And the class barely holding in their laughter.
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