PM.8:04.
On an early summer night, the sky over Aoyama-Itchome was shrouded in a thick fog of neon lights, and a crescent white moon trembled high above, harmonizing with the initial chirps of summer cicadas. Four solitary sparrows, due to the capricious night wind, coincidentally huddled together on the same utility pole, watching four young boys and girls with varying expressions walk down the narrow path below.
The brown-haired girl was playing 'VOID' aloud. They walked on the moonlit concrete, heading towards the shadow-covered buildings, embarking on an adventure that likely transcended the ordinary.
Beside the wall of Shujin Academy, Kurusu Akira clutched the edge of the wall, pushed himself up, poked out half his head, and furtively peered inside.
It was late at night and quiet. The campus was empty, with only the lit security guard's booth emitting a pale glow in the darkness.
The Phantom Thief quickly dropped down, facing the girls' anxious or uneasy gazes.
He decisively made a decision, "It's tonight. Togawa Sakiko, Awa Subaru, and I will enter the Mementos together to search for the Palace entrance."
Iseri Nina blinked then, "What about me?"
Kurusu Akira tilted his head towards the mascot of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, "You're coming in with us."
With two Persona users in the four-person team, and Togawa Sakiko's Persona having the ability to 'turn back enemy attacks,' the danger level of exploring the Mementos could be completely reduced to that of 'sightseeing.'
Through negotiations with Shinba Takakiyo after today's tryouts, Kurusu Akira had confirmed that his Palace was in Aoyama-Itchome.
Since the 'Metaverse Navigator' was ineffective, he could only find the Palace entrance through the Mementos and then attempt to conquer it.
"At this time of night, we can't go to the 'secret base,' can we?" The 'secret base' Iseri Nina referred to was Kurusu Akira's clubroom, which would never be disturbed by others.
Her understanding of infiltrating the Mementos was still limited to discreet locations like 'school building rooftops' or 'clubrooms.'
Little did she know that the Phantom Thief standing before her had long integrated the principles of covert operations into his daily life...
Facing Iseri Nina's confusion, Kurusu Akira retorted in a strange tone, "Why go to the 'secret base'?"
"Didn't you say... we can't be discovered by ordinary people?"
Hearing Iseri Nina's question, Togawa Sakiko suddenly felt a bit awkward. She turned her face away, not daring to directly address the topic.
Awa Subaru, however, had a guess. She looked at the public restroom in front of them and forced a smile, "Thinking about it, it really... it really is very hidden."
Kurusu Akira gave her an appreciative look, "As a Phantom Thief, you must have the resolve to be unconventional!"
Iseri Nina finally realized, belatedly, where they were going to infiltrate the Mementos from. She stumbled back two steps in panic, "That kind of thing... that's just perverted behavior!"
The Phantom Thief calmly explained, "Public restrooms are great places. No one cares how long you stay inside, why you went in, or when you leave. There are no cameras inside or out."
"No, no, what I mean is..." Iseri Nina stammered as she asked Kurusu Akira, "Infiltrating the Mementos requires your help, right? How are we going to..."
Kurusu Akira looked at the three beautiful girls in front of him, then at the public facility on the side of the road, and fell into thought regarding Iseri Nina's question.
After a few seconds, he declared again, "As a Phantom Thief, you must have the resolve to be unconventional."
Then, under the girls' shocked and awe-filled gazes, Kurusu Akira unhesitatingly walked into the women's restroom.
...
"It's here, as expected."
In the deepest layer of the Aoyama-Itchome Mementos, Kurusu Akira looked at the massive void that had reappeared at the principal's office and easily thought of possible enemy ambushes.
But even knowing about the potential enemy attacks in that Palace, the Phantom Thief decisively stepped towards the office in front of him.
When he felt no obstruction, and even a faint suction, he promptly withdrew his leg, standing in place with a strange expression, examining the massive void in front of him that practically screamed 'I am a trap.'
Kurusu Akira thought of Awa Subaru and Iseri Nina, who were still being led by Togawa Sakiko to investigate various rooms in the upper area. Neither of them had awakened their Persona, so he ultimately abandoned the plan of activating this trap and then following the clues to find other entrances to the Palace.
At this point, they could only prepare to conquer the entire Palace in one go, then send a calling card to Shinba Takakiyo and directly force their way in.
"Let's go back." He found the girls receiving guidance from Togawa Sakiko in the upper area.
Although she had only recently joined the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Togawa Sakiko seemed to have a considerable degree of acceptance regarding the huge change in her identity, almost qualifying as a 'mature Persona user.'
She led the team to explore the Mementos, gaining combat experience by defeating Shadows and improving her proficiency in operating her Persona, while also sharing various knowledge she had gained from Kurusu Akira with her two companions.
Unlike the timid Iseri Nina, Awa Subaru listened very attentively. Perhaps due to her experiences before and after time reversal, she was highly motivated to gather information in this regard.
Kurusu Akira looked helplessly at Iseri Nina's timid demeanor, but there was no way to demand that a young girl with no combat ability calmly and rationally deal with phenomena beyond normal human comprehension.
He briefly estimated the various sudden disasters that might occur in the future, explained various response plans, then declared the exploration concluded, led the girls out of the Mementos, and then escorted them home one by one.
The calling card could be sent out at any time, but before that, he had to train Togawa Sakiko further, at least teaching her how to deal with the endless dangers in the Palace.
----------------
By the time Kurusu Akira returned to the LeBlanc attic, the street outside was already pitch black like thick ink.
The neighbor's Siamese cat, Nina, wasn't waiting for him by the window this time.
Rather, it seemed to have completely disappeared. From entering Yongen-Jaya to LeBlanc, there was no sign of it at all.
Kurusu Akira opened his laptop, logged into the 'Phantom Thief Channel' website built by Sakura Futaba, and flipped through today's request board—it was still completely empty.
The Phantom Thief's popularity had declined along with the waning heat of various cases. As an urban legend with a not-so-wide spread and gradually being 'neglected,' it was expected that no one would be willing to click into such a strange website.
The request board was so clean that Togawa Sakiko's 'distress call' posted some time ago was immediately visible.
And on forums mentioning topics related to the 'Phantom Thief,' the comment sections were almost uniformly filled with skepticism and ridicule.
Kurusu Akira casually flipped through a few pages and soon stopped paying attention.
After all, when a renowned educator voluntarily surrendered to the Police Department, the public would naturally remember the Phantom Thief's name again.
He pulled out his constantly vibrating phone from his pocket. Since returning to LeBlanc, it had been ringing erratically for several minutes straight, seemingly without end.
['Kessoku Band' chat group:]
Seeing Kurusu Akira's online notification, the girls, who were chatting enthusiastically, all @-mentioned him.
[Ijichi Nijika: Ren! Something bad has happened!]
[Millionaire: I'm all ears.]
[Ijichi Nijika: Didn't we register official band accounts on various social media platforms yesterday? And we also posted a few group photos from our practice... Now, some troublesome things have arisen.]
[Millionaire: Has Kawaragi or Ryo been recognized by rabid fans?]
[Millionaire: Or have rabid fans already shown up at your door? Quickly tell me the address, I'll go teach them a lesson right away... Oh, wait, we should ask Saki-chan, as a Phantom Thief, to change their hearts instead!]
Kurusu Akira naturally adopted the logical chain that a normal high school student should: 'I am not a Phantom Thief,' 'Togawa Sakiko is a Phantom Thief,' and 'I am Togawa Sakiko's Phantom Thief admirer.'
[Ijichi Nijika: Not exactly... but there is indeed a part of that reason.]
[Ijichi Nijika: First, fans of 'Diamond Dust' discovered Momoka-san in the group photo and started sharing our updates within their fan circles.]
[Ijichi Nijika: And then... it's actually Saki-chan. She was recognized by her middle school classmates from Tsukinomori. It seems they had quite a few conflicts and misunderstandings back then, and now those young ladies have started bombarding our band's DMs!]
[Millionaire: So, Saki-chan?]
Togawa Sakiko did not respond.
It was almost eleven at night now. Normally, the girls should have been home.
High school students' nights should be for intense cyber lineage battles in video games, wild bragging and sickeningly sweet emotional exchanges on social media, or diligent studying with a desk lamp and a stack of books... But no matter which, theoretically, it was rare to 'receive a message on Line but not reply.'
Several girls immediately popped up in the chat channel with their guesses.
For example, she might be showering or talking with her parents.
[Kawaragi Momoka: Working part-time.]
[Kawaragi Momoka: Some time ago, when I was delivering packages in the North District, I recommended a very reliable and safe night-shift convenience store job to her.]
[Millionaire: Thinking about it that way, it's indeed the most likely possibility.]
[Millionaire: As for the DM situation, let Saki-chan handle it herself.]
[Yamada Ryo: I've wanted to ask since the beginning… Why did Amamiya suddenly start calling Saki-chan with us?]
The chat channel instantly became quiet, with no one responding.
("It's The Working God" is online.)
[It's The Working God: Just finished handing over work with a colleague, what happened?]
[Millionaire: You came at the right time, quickly check the band's account's private messages.]
Togawa Sakiko sent a question mark in the public chat, then didn't go online for over ten minutes.
...
At this moment.
In a high-end apartment in Tokyo.
Two elegant young women sat in the living room like young ladies. Although there were many snacks and drinks on the table, no one touched them. The atmosphere was as cold as ice, as if ice shards could precipitate from the air at any moment.
"I found Saki-chan." A forced smile, a voice trying to sound enthusiastic but conveying little warmth.
"Mm." A somewhat dejected reply, brief and thin, yet to an outsider, it seemed like an even colder perfunctory response.
"She… is playing in a band." The tablet was handed over from the sofa, and the screen showed a retweet from the "Diamond Dust & VOID" fan club.
The post was clearly a group photo.
In the photo, half of the keyboardist's face was covered in shadow, and she was wearing very modest casual clothes, but she showed a bright and sweet smile that felt both unfamiliar and familiar to them.
"Mm." Still a brief reply.
The pale light in the living room seemed to instantly become intricate, like a sharp knife placed on an ice cube, cold and chilling, making one shiver to the bone.
The girl with light green long hair trembled, clenching her hands on her lap into fists, but quickly relaxed them. "She's very happy."
The brown-haired girl took back the tablet, then imitated her tone and repeated, "She's very happy."
The girl sitting on the other side of the sofa bit her lip, lowering her head without a word.
After a while, the other person said, "Their performance is tomorrow at 3 PM… in the Shimokitazawa South Exit shopping street, shall we go see it together?"
The girl with a flat expression like a doll stared fixedly at the glass cup on the coffee table in front of her. The light passed through the gradually melting ice in the cup, reflecting in her pupils with a rainbow-colored halo.
"Mm."
Still a brief reply, like the low hum emitted when plucking a bass string.
----------------
Togawa Sakiko looked at the greetings sent by familiar IDs in her private message box. The anticipated embarrassment, panic, or anger—none of these emotions appeared. Instead, a deep sense of guilt and apology diffused in her heart like cinnabar seeping into well water, forming a mist.
When her "past," which she had always been unwilling to face, suddenly caught up in a dramatic setting, stepping onto the stage of destiny and arriving at the "present."
She was no longer the ordinary high school student who had to desperately hide herself due to self-esteem.
She simply calmly agreed to Nagasaki Soyo's request to "want to watch your performance."
And Nagasaki Soyo almost immediately sent a new message.
[After the performance, can we find a place to talk alone for a bit?]
Togawa Sakiko hesitated, then replied truthfully, [Not tomorrow, I have plans with a friend.]
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To Read Advanced Chapters, and support this novel, please join me on [email protected]/geats2000
(Note: Replace "@-" with "a" on your web browser.)