The name Red Thief originated from a wanted notice issued by Japan's Imperial Household Agency.
It referred both to a criminal gang of thieves and to the alias of its ringleader.
The Imperial Household Agency was the Japanese government agency specifically responsible for handling all affairs concerning members of the Royal Family.
Red Thief's debut exploit was successfully stealing an ancient jade artifact, one of Japan's three imperial regalia, from the Japanese imperial palace.
Of course, that was only a rumor.
Japan's three imperial regalia were the Yata no Kagami, the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, and, lastly, the Yasakani no Magatama.
Rumor had it that the Yasakani no Magatama was the ancient jade artifact stolen by Red Thief.
However, whether Japan's supposed three imperial regalia actually existed was itself unknown.
After all, for a small country with a small population, inventing a few treasures from supposed myths and legends to demonstrate the legitimacy of its lineage was hardly unusual.
Such methods were perfectly commonplace.
What was certain, however, was that Red Thief had indeed stolen a crimson agate gemstone from the Japanese imperial palace.
Precisely because of that, Japan's Imperial Household Agency had furiously issued a warrant for Red Thief, earning the organization considerable notoriety in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Unlike ordinary jewel thieves, Red Thief had grown even more brazen after making its name.
The organization had abandoned petty jewel theft and ventured into the underground arms trade instead.
Its business involved stealing certain special weapons.
It then resold them to buyers with ulterior motives in exchange for hefty commissions.
This weapons-theft organization was highly mysterious, and no one knew exactly which criminals belonged to it.
All that was known was that the organization was not only highly elite but also maintained a large number of agents and couriers under its command.
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