The school bell for dismissal drifted in the deepening autumn air, as high school students walked in twos and threes along the winding path outside the campus. A dozen dark power lines stretched straight overhead, like sewing threads passing through orange silk, cutting the smooth, thin fabric into delicate small pieces.
This school was surrounded by tall buildings, sometimes reminiscent of an ancient well beside a vermilion torii gate at a shrine, where every inch of stone brick was dark from being soaked in water, and countless tiny cracks harbored specks of moss. Then the late spring sunset, with its blood-red cherry blossoms, slowly drifted down, falling onto the quiet water's surface.
Petals fell, creating countless ripples.
Kurusu Akira, wearing a baseball cap, walked discreetly through the school gate with his head down.
He rapidly typed on the digital keyboard of his phone, searching for his name on the campus forum with high intensity.
Browsing through the posts filled with adolescent fantasies, he felt a headache.
When a person becomes famous, their past and their life are put on display, even under a magnifying glass, for countless people to scrutinize with critical or inquisitive eyes.
All actions would become very disadvantageous...
However, perhaps he could try using "club activities" as a cover.
Kurusu Akira opened his memo and re-checked the "Club Application Form" he had written, then began to contact Ito Misui via Line.
The teaching building was sparsely populated, with only occasional sightings of unhappy students on duty, holding mops or brooms, walking in the corridors.
On the walls along both sides of the corridor hung portraits of historical figures, exuding a sense of twilight in the glow of the setting sun. It was quiet from beginning to end, with only scattered footsteps echoing.
Passing by a first-year classroom, he suddenly saw a girl, as vibrant and red as a rose, standing beneath the blackboard, trying to stand on tiptoe and stretch her arm, but she couldn't reach the blackboard eraser stuck up there.
In the dim light of the setting sun, her white short socks with openwork lace looked particularly dazzling.
Following that, above the round-toed leather shoes that encased her fair, small feet, her calves were taut and straight, curving slightly like a crescent moon. Her smooth knees had a faint pinkish tint, and her school uniform skirt covered the fair skin of her thighs above the knees, the skirt outlining her excessively slender waist.
But as she hopped impatiently, accompanied by the crisp tapping sound of her leather shoes hitting the ground, one could vaguely glimpse a bit of the scene beneath her skirt.
Kurusu Akira stood at the entrance for a few seconds, then continued towards the second-year classroom.
This was a very beautiful girl, probably a gymnast, with excellent body flexibility and a perfect physique. She should achieve good results in gymnastics in the future.
But instead of focusing on a first-year girl he had never met, what he needed to do now was to quickly submit the club creation application before the administrative departments closed for the day.
"Um… Senpai! Please wait!"
The bouncing sound in the classroom had stopped at some point, and anxious words were mixed with a hint of pain and frustration.
Just because you tell me to wait, does that mean I have to obey?
One of Kurusu Akira's favorite things to do in this life is to say "NO" to those who think too highly of themselves!
He had just copied this line yesterday from "Jojo's bizarre adventure Part 4."
Of course, it was a bit out of place here.
Kurusu Akira turned around and walked two steps back, standing by the door, somewhat impatiently, "Do you need something?"
A Phantom Thief would even try to rescue a passing cat or dog that fell into a sewer.
To expect him to ignore a fellow student's plea for help...
Then the Velvet Room wouldn't have chosen him in the first place.
The girl who had just been bouncing around was now sitting silently next to the podium, clutching her ankle, and nodding dejectedly, "I accidentally twisted my ankle."
"It's indeed not suitable to make large movements while wearing leather shoes," Kurusu Akira said, fully adopting the posture of a Senior.
"Ye-yes, I'm sorry, I was careless."
He walked into the classroom and looked at the blackboard eraser stuck in the topmost groove of the blackboard. This distance was even higher than a basketball hoop. "Is this someone's prank?"
Kurusu Akira looked at a stool next to the blackboard, which had two faint shoe prints on it.
The girl supported herself on the podium, standing on one leg, her expression growing more dejected and uneasy. "This afternoon, we held a birthday party for the homeroom teacher in the classroom, and everyone helped tidy up the blackboard. Because there was nowhere to put the blackboard eraser, it was placed up there, but after school, it seems they all forgot about it... I only remembered that the blackboard eraser hadn't been taken down when I was on duty."
"How careless, high schoolers."
Kurusu Akira couldn't help but complain.
The girl could only apologize to him repeatedly.
Such a polite high schooler is truly rare to see these days. It wasn't even her fault, and she got injured because of it...
This time, Kurusu Akira looked at her for a moment longer. "After I help you get this blackboard eraser down, I'll take you to the infirmary as well."
This sentence was very cleverly phrased.
It not only showed a willingness to help but also considered any potential awkwardness or reluctance the person being helped might feel.
After all, the residents of this country have a deep-seated, instinctive understanding of "not bothering others."
'This second-year Senpai is so mature...'
The girl pursed her lips and bowed to Kurusu Akira, "I'm Yoshizawa Kasumi from Class 1-A! I apologize for troubling you!"
Yoshizawa Kasumi. Kurusu Akira remembered this name.
"I'm just trying. After all, it's so high, I'm not sure I can get it down."
"It's fine, please feel free to use the tables and chairs. I'll make sure to wipe them clean."
"That would be even better."
With that, Kurusu Akira suddenly lifted his foot and stepped onto the wall in front of him, exerted a little force, and then, with an incredibly agile posture, like a leopard, he lunged forward. Immediately, using the foot on the wall as a fulcrum, he leaped up, then quickly pushed off the wall again in mid-air, naturally performing the extremely difficult parkour move, the "no-run moonwalk."
A distance of over three meters was covered in an instant.
He effortlessly retrieved the blackboard eraser stuck at the very top of the blackboard.
After completing the entire movement, Kurusu Akira was even more surprised by his own performance than Yoshizawa Kasumi, who was somewhat stunned beside him.
He knew clearly how weak this body was compared to his well-trained physique in his previous life, but when he instinctively unleashed the various skills belonging to a Phantom Thief, it was unexpectedly easy.
Immediately after, he thought of the Persona that had awakened with the infusion of the Phantom Thief's "cognition."
Is it really because the power of Dioscuri is taking effect?
All the techniques he had painstakingly trained were fixed deep in his memory due to the power of this Persona.
When he urgently needed that Phantom Thief skill, the relevant memories would naturally flow out, directly integrating into this body, even skipping the [Read] process, and then forcefully driving it to complete every necessary movement according to the owner's will, even if it meant making more exaggerated hormone adjustments to compensate for the physical disparity...
In short, even dressed in a high school uniform, Kurusu Akira was still the battle-hardened Phantom Thief.
What the Phantom Thief could do before, he could still do now.
It's just that his muscles and ligaments might complain after performing those movements.
Kurusu Akira felt his thighs were almost cramping, and his ligaments ached faintly.
He would start working out tomorrow.
The Phantom Thief complained a few times in his heart, casually placed the blackboard eraser on the podium, and then glanced at the dazed girl beside him, "Do you need me to help you to the infirmary?"
Yoshizawa Kasumi seemed to be in a daze. When suddenly asked, she felt a startled panic as if waking from a dream, and quickly bowed to Kurusu Akira, "Thank you, Senpai..."
Kurusu Akira gallantly supported her arm, not taking advantage of the young girl.
After all, he had long passed the age of infinite restlessness controlled by various excessive adolescent hormones... Although his current body was indeed honestly restless, one shouldn't underestimate the Phantom Thief's willpower!
The two walked quietly down the corridor.
This girl was indeed very beautiful, and her figure was impeccably perfect among the slender types.
Kurusu Akira thought, if an inexperienced virgin boy were here, he would surely lose his composure and make many jokes, right?
However, in his eventful life in his previous incarnation, there was only one woman he could truly call a "partner."
That was Lavenza from the Velvet Room...
Kurusu Akira was reminiscing about Lavenza's warm embrace, temporarily ignoring Yoshizawa Kasumi's expression as he supported her.
'Senpai is clearly very handsome, so why doesn't he like to dress up at all?'
Yoshizawa Kasumi limped along, occasionally sneaking glances at Kurusu Akira's face behind his glasses.
Previously, she had only seen such handsome boys through a screen.
'Senpai is very mature and also very gentlemanly...' A girl's thoughts are always sensitive; she noticed that Kurusu Akira didn't take the opportunity to have more physical contact with her, and every gesture was very measured.
No matter how she thought, her gaze always inadvertently lingered on Kurusu Akira's profile.
Perhaps it was due to the setting sun, or perhaps because of the piercing pain constantly coming from her ankle.
The girl suddenly felt her cheeks burning. They were flushed, but reflecting the light of the setting sun, it didn't seem to make a difference.
The Class 1-A classroom was quite a distance from the infirmary. If one didn't choose to run quickly, a single break might not be enough for a round trip.
The students in the class had just transferred to Shujin, unfamiliar with the place, and faced with several flights of stairs and corridors, they all felt it was a bit troublesome...
Yoshizawa Kasumi looked at the plastic sign of the infirmary in front of her, and for the first time, she had the feeling that "this path is so short."
"I'll leave you here, the infirmary teacher is inside," Kurusu Akira pointed to the sign that read [Working].
He pulled the door open for Yoshizawa Kasumi, "I have things to do, so I'll be going now."
"Um... excuse me, but I really want to know Senpai's name. Could you please tell me? Even just your surname would be fine!"
Yoshizawa Kasumi suddenly bowed deeply behind Kurusu Akira, her voice trembling unnaturally.
She bit her lip, feeling the warmth on her cheeks spread to her ears, burning as if on fire.
Kurusu Akira, who had just walked a few steps, turned back in surprise, "I thought you already knew my name... Didn't you check the school forum today? That post has over fifty thousand likes."
Yoshizawa Kasumi hurriedly fumbled for her phone and clicked into the school forum.
[The Genius Transfer Student Who Crushed the Second in the Grade by Nearly Two Hundred Points and Claimed the Crown Is Actually a Hidden Super Hunk?!] These words jumped into her sight.
Opening the post, the overwhelming exaggeration and boasting made Yoshizawa Kasumi feel a bit overwhelmed.
"Oh, I almost forgot, you're a new student... It's normal not to be used to using the forum."
"Senpai, wait! Amamiya-senpai! Can I add your contact information?!"
Seeing Kurusu Akira about to leave, Yoshizawa Kasumi didn't know where she found the courage and boldness to shout like that behind him. She felt her face was probably completely red.
"Ah, contact information...?"
"I want to repay Senpai's kindness!"
"There's no need to repay me, it was just a small favor. But I can give you my contact information."
Kurusu Akira walked closer with his phone. He looked at the pitifully few contacts in his phonebook, and his eye twitched. "Send me your number."
Yoshizawa Kasumi felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat at any moment. Trembling, she pulled up her phone number, half-bowed, and then held her phone above her head with both hands, handing it to Kurusu Akira.
Is this some office worker from somewhere...?
Kurusu Akira somewhat helplessly took Yoshizawa Kasumi's phone and began to operate it.
He had a very clear understanding of his own appearance, being at a stage that was devastatingly attractive to both "older types" and "younger types," and even peers, essentially an all-around killer.
Having experienced a lot, he had become very adept at dealing with various types of women.
After entering the phone number and email address, Kurusu Akira returned the phone to Yoshizawa Kasumi.
"Alright, now we both have each other's information."
Yoshizawa Kasumi, blushing, held the phone to her chest and then bowed deeply to Kurusu Akira.
...
In the infirmary, a woman in a white coat took a sip of tea, listening clearly to the commotion outside through the open door.
Youth... how wonderful.
She looked at the dark brown liquid in her teacup and couldn't help but sigh.
Working here every day made her feel younger.
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