Police Inspector Hasegawa drove back to the Police Department.
It was 2:30 AM, and the izakaya beneath the apartment building wouldn't close until 4 AM.
He only needed to rush back to the office within thirty minutes, finish the remaining documents on his desk, and then he could justifiably leave work.
He could imagine himself turning off the car in the apartment parking lot, walking five minutes to the izakaya, sitting at the counter, ordering a plate of eel sushi and a cold beer, then leisurely watching the evening drama rerun on TV, waiting for the sunrise, and finally returning to his room with yawns, falling asleep with the rising sun—
That was his original plan.
In reality, as Hasegawa Zenkichi pushed open the Police Department doors, he was immediately struck by the overly lively scene inside.
Confused men and women crowded the lobby, queuing to fill out registration forms with tired female police officers.
Just then, his superior ran over, exclaiming in distress, "Hasegawa, you're back just in time. Put aside those files you had left over from yesterday for now, we have a very serious collective loss of control incident here that our Public Security Department needs to handle."
Hasegawa Zenkichi realized that he might be forced to adjust his schedule today, so he forced himself to cheer up and accepted the task assigned by the other party.
"Are they all here to report a crime?"
"No, they're here to turn themselves in."
"Sounds like the same type of case as the 'Kamo Group' in Shinjuku and our recent 'internal inspection' here... Is it the Phantom Thief again?"
"It's not the Phantom Thief, and this situation is even more complex." Public Security Detective Kaburagi shook his head repeatedly, "There are no calling cards for change of heart declarations, nor that sincere attitude of repentance... It's more like they were forced to come here by someone. Psychological experts tried to gather information and confirmed that they once belonged to the same pyramid scheme-like organization."
As a Detective, Hasegawa Zenkichi quickly entered work mode, "Any more information?"
"They seem to have completely lost that part of their memory, only knowing that they were once 'colleagues' with each other, and no matter how much we questioned or coerced them, we got no results..."
Detective Kaburagi added, "Even more bizarre is that these people who turned themselves in were all victims of various 'missing person' cases, big and small, across Japan."
Hasegawa Zenkichi looked at the crowded people in front of him, speechless, "Is this the end of the world?"
Detective Kaburagi slowly shook his head, his expression growing more solemn, "Police Inspector Hasegawa of the Public Security Department."
"Yes."
The Detective gazed at Hasegawa Zenkichi with a deep, awe-inspiring look, "As my most capable subordinate, I only have one question... Can I trust you?"
----------------
"From now on, you can trust me completely."
Kurusu Akira stood downstairs at the apartment building, smiling and fist-bumping Togawa Sakiko.
Togawa Sakiko stiffly bumped her fist against Kurusu Akira's.
This was her first time experiencing this kind of farewell from a hot-blooded manga, as she had never read comics before, let alone tried it in real life... She immediately felt a cringe-inducing sensation.
But the moment their fists separated, she inexplicably felt that such a farewell was somewhat cool, possessing a kind of free-spiritedness different from the heart-wrenching partings in romance dramas.
"It's getting late, I'm going back to rest. I have school tomorrow." Kurusu Akira waved his hand and quickly left the apartment building, ducking into the nearby community public restroom.
Togawa Sakiko stood on the stairs, watching him disappear completely from her sight, and only then returned to the apartment, suddenly remembering something very important.
She took out her phone and asked Kurusu Akira on Line, [It must be hard to find a taxi now, and the train won't come for another three hours. How are you going to get home?]
Line was silent until five minutes later when the message turned to "Read."
Kurusu Akira: [I'm home already.]
Togawa Sakiko: [(Horrified.emoji)]
Kurusu Akira: [(LeBlanc storefront selfie.jpg)]
Kurusu Akira: [I didn't lie.]
Togawa Sakiko hurriedly ran to the window, looked down at the community public restroom, and then somewhat nervously typed on her phone: [Is this... a Persona ability? Teleportation through a restroom?]
Kurusu Akira, who was petting the cat with his head down, saw the message on his phone and his smile instantly froze.
Kurusu Akira: [Your idea is a bit too surprising, isn't it??]
Togawa Sakiko didn't dare to reply. Although she didn't know the consequences of poking a chuunibyou's sore spot, she knew it wouldn't be good.
Kurusu Akira: [After work tomorrow night, meet at your doorstep. It's time for me to give you some Phantom Thief education.]
Togawa Sakiko: [So even with superpowers, you still have to work...]
Kurusu Akira: [You can't summon your Persona in reality. Besides working, do you have any other way to make a living? Even if you really master the technique of using Persona in reality, you can only use it for a very short time to protect yourself when you encounter danger.]
Kurusu Akira: [Alright, let's stop talking about this for now. You're very tired today, so get some rest... Anyway, see you tomorrow.]
"See you tomorrow..." Togawa Sakiko murmured softly.
Despite her family being on the verge of collapse, she suddenly felt an unprecedented anticipation for the word "tomorrow."
----------------
Closing his phone, Kurusu Akira shooed away Nina, who was circling his feet, and returned to LeBlanc, preparing to wash up and go to bed.
Now he could sleep in until seven o'clock, which was more than enough for a high school student's physique, roughly five hours of sleep.
After showering, Kurusu Akira changed into his pajamas, went up to the attic, and lay down on the small bed made of sofas. Looking at the overly simple decor of the attic, he couldn't help but take out his phone and search for "No Game No Life" in his browser.
He did see that the first volume of the book had entered serialization on a web page, but there didn't seem to be many readers.
The few comments in the comment section were as bland and rigid as if sent by robots.
According to his editor, Ms. Gaen, a while ago, his book would be promoted on the website in another week.
That would be the day after the band's first street performance.
Sometimes, Kurusu Akira couldn't help but feel that he was living in some wonderful anticipation, as if everything was getting better, but they weren't coming as timely as they should, like a flight to heaven, departing from earthly hell, soaring through the cold high altitude, waiting for the sun to rise, and then countless white doves would greet beautiful angels and open golden gates above the sea of clouds.
Of course, there were no golden gates.
There was a blue door, though.
The Velvet Room's door was always blue, glowing with blue light, flowing with fantastical and mesmerizing light.
There were no angels either.
But his little secretary was perhaps cuter than the so-called "angels" beautified and processed by ACGN culture.
When his consciousness pushed open that blue door and entered the Velvet Room, Lavenza's elegant and light voice, like porcelain rubbing together, sounded as punctually as ever.
"Welcome back to the Velvet Room, 'Master'."
Kurusu Akira looked at the pile of broken timekeeping tools on the desk. "Have you figured out their purpose?"
Lavenza lifted her skirt and bowed slightly to Kurusu Akira, "First, the conclusion we discussed in the Mementos—these timekeeping tools contain a part of the user's 'inner self' and 'cognition', and at the same time, they were driven by a certain evil force, eventually being forcibly twisted, catalyzed, and guided to become 'Persona'."
"After they are taken away, their owners will lose corresponding memories and cognition, and their once twisted minds will also be restored."
This was Kurusu Akira's attempt on the enemies he had defeated. He found that as long as he took away objects like clocks from them, these guys would immediately lose their Persona power, and after waking up, they would no longer remember their experiences during that period, only knowing that they had done many wrong things and must repent and strive to do good deeds to atone for their past mistakes.
However, they were now at the Police Department, and perhaps the public security system would retrieve various pending cases accumulated in the database to convict these individuals who once possessed extraordinary powers.
"Such usage conditions, caused by multiple factors and distance, are precisely why these deceived Persona users can freely use Persona in reality."
Lavenza picked up a broken pocket watch from the desk, held it high above her head, and the light from the Velvet Room shone down. The light beam passed through the watch face, and surprisingly, silver coins and ropes formed a pattern resembling an Ouroboros on her face.
Upon closer inspection, one would find that the silver coins were engraved with the outline of a crow, and the ropes were woven from countless withered trees.
"Just now, through in-depth dissection, I also discovered that they once possessed the power to restart 'death'."
"You mean, not 'time reversal'?"
"Yes, although they cannot truly and completely manipulate the timeline, in some sense, it might be more terrifying than 'time reversal'.
These timekeeping tools will unilaterally revert the user's 'death'. If we compare a person facing death to a car constantly accelerating and about to crash into a concrete wall to reach 'maximum speed', then its function is to reset it to zero at the moment that 'maximum speed' is achieved, making everything return to when the car just started accelerating."
"You mean, the one who created these 'death restart devices' might have a similar ability to Gold Experience Requiem from "JOJO's Bizarre Adventure"?"
Gold Experience Requiem, the ultimate Stand from "JOJO's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind", possesses the conceptual ability to return everything to "nothingness".
That is, to return all of the enemy's actions and will to the concept of "nothingness".
Lavenza's body stiffened for a moment. She knew that Kurusu Akira wasn't mentioning this manga setting for no reason—for them, it was something that had indeed existed in the world. "Master. Do you suspect that Giorno Giovanna is also in this world?"
"This is somewhat illogical," Kurusu Akira simply picked up his little secretary and sat down at the desk. "If it's an attack from a Persona that also symbolizes the ultimate 'omnipotent attribute', do you think it can break through such an ability?"
Lavenza thought for a moment, "It can definitely break through. The power of 'omnipresence' comes from a part of the universe's rules; it's a number that won't decay due to any factor."
"So now we can confirm that the enemy possesses both 'event regression' and 'time reversal' abilities."
Kurusu Akira said, "Otherwise, in this current spacetime, the two 'gods' described by Awa Subaru, and I myself, would have died long ago."
Lavenza blinked, "You mean..."
"We can now confirm the enemy's identity."
"First, an old acquaintance, the evil god we have already defeated in our original world—a deity formed from the 'laziness' emanating from humanity's collective unconscious, the true identity of the Demiurge 'Yaldabaoth' obtained in Gnostic classics, possessing the authority to manipulate the flow of human desires, and also the culprit behind the frequent occurrence of various malicious incidents in the world today."
"As for the second one..." Kurusu Akira picked up a pocket watch from the desk, held it up to the light like Lavenza, and looked at the complex pattern within. "Silver coins, crows, ropes, withered trees, snakes—combined, they symbolize Judas, who betrayed Jesus."
Lavenza pondered, "Since 'Judas' possesses the authority of 'event reversal', could He be the aggregation of 'regret' in humanity's collective unconscious?"
"According to the deduction, that should be the case."
The Phantom Thief pondered, "But as for the evil god related to 'time reversal', we know almost nothing about it."
Lavenza immediately applauded, then answered her contractor in a gentle, almost doting voice, "In the month since we arrived in the new world, we have successfully unraveled the enemy's plot and successfully crushed various attacks from their organization... Master should be proud of your success."
"After all, we have always been passively facing the enemy's attacks. This can neither be considered a 'success' nor can we find a sense of accomplishment from it."
Kurusu Akira's tone was filled with much unwillingness. "If only there was a Persona with an ability like 'Hermit Purple' that could help me continuously gather crucial information, and then decisively defeat the enemy... Or, if Ms. Gaen could regain her 'omniscient' ability, she could also push this matter to its conclusion."
Lavenza, however, blinked. "Forcing the enemy to abandon all established rules and greater conspiracies, constantly probing your limits in this way, and attempting to kill you... This indicates that our combination, which transcends temporal logic, is the greatest anomaly in this world. You don't need to be anxious about this. After losing so many subordinates this time, the enemies surely won't dare to act rashly again."
Saying this, Lavenza picked up the glittering Devil card from the desk, raised her face, and handed it to Kurusu Akira.
The card now depicted two Togawa Sakiko facing each other: the left one wearing a school uniform, the right one wearing a mask and a performance outfit, with chains wrapped around their necks, and demons symbolizing desire floating in the dark background.
"Instead of searching for enemies who hide their heads and tails and dare not face you directly, you have more important things to do now... for example, first diligently cultivate Ms. Togawa. Her Persona has very good potential and will definitely be of great use in your future actions."
As she said this, Lavenza's expression became serious, "Furthermore, you must always pay attention to your emotional connection with her. After all, she awakened her Persona because of you, and this fervent emotion will also become your strength to resist the evil god in the future."
Kurusu Akira played with Lavenza's cheek, "I always have the illusion that 'the world is about to end, but I still have to date and go to work'."
"Once you reach cooperation and consensus with the government like the Shadow Operatives, perhaps the current situation will improve—after all, what you do is essentially to 'save the world'."
The Phantom Thief was silent for a few seconds before he found the reason for his subtle mood in the strong sense of déjà vu, "Date A Live?"
Lavenza shook her head with a smile, then corrected him, "It's The Familiar of Zero and Fire Emblem."
...
LeBlanc's coffee machine emitted a faint hiss, and the air was filled with a rich aroma.
Several customers in the shop conversed in low voices about the big news of "a hundred people surrendering themselves" last night, and outside the window, the street scene gradually brightened. On the concrete road outside, the bicycle bells rang with the sound of chains being pulled, accompanying the shouts and knocking of deliverymen delivering milk door-to-door, becoming the common morning hustle and bustle of Yongen-Jaya.
Iseri Nina, carrying her schoolbag, took the freshly made latte from Kurusu Akira's hand and cautiously walked to the nearest seat.
An ivory-white over-ear headphone pattern floated on the light brown liquid, which made her feel very pleased, with a sense of satisfaction of being "treated specially."
Sakura Sojiro looked at the sweet and lovely smile on the girl's face, then patted Kurusu Akira's shoulder, "You are already a very excellent barista. You can go find work at some high-end coffee shops in the future; the salary should be much higher than now."
As he said this, he seemed to be completely unconcerned that his coffee shop would lose Kurusu Akira, a golden employee who could attract a large number of female customers.
Kurusu Akira heard Sakura Sojiro's sincere expectation in his words. After careful consideration, he still chose to refuse, "When I save enough money to move out of the attic, I might consider working at another coffee shop… At least for now, I still need to trouble you to take care of me."
"Hmph, you kid…" Sakura Sojiro scratched his beard, scrutinizing his face, "Don't tell me you'll move out someday and cohabit with different girlfriends."
"You think too badly of me…"
"Who told you that you look like you're overflowing with romantic luck." Sakura Sojiro glanced at Iseri Nina, who was smiling and drinking coffee while listening to music at a table in the corner, and sighed inwardly.
Kurusu Akira, however, had an indifferent attitude, "There's at least another month until I move out."
Sakura Sojiro ignored what he had just said, just thought seriously, and then asked with some hesitation, "How is your relationship with Iseri… recently?"
"We are very good friends."
"She told me that you take good care of her at school and even take her to form a band and make friends after school. In this regard, I must thank you on behalf of her parents."
Sakura Sojiro also seemed a bit embarrassed by his next words, "And… although Iseri can be a bit thoughtless at times, she is indeed a good girl. In the future, regarding her studies, could I trouble you to guide her more? Her father called me and talked for a long time before, and I also feel that if a girl can get into a good university, it will be very helpful for her future."
Kurusu Akira naturally agreed without hesitation, "I guarantee I'll complete the task."
"It won't affect your own studies, will it?"
"Of course not."
"Hmm… I've mentioned your situation to her father briefly. He hopes to entrust you with becoming Iseri's 'private tutor.' If her grades improve in the next exam, he will provide you with a generous weekly salary… which should be equivalent to the training fees of a normal tutoring institution."
Kurusu Akira suddenly turned to look at the girl who was drinking coffee.
'Sorry, Iseri, there are still more than ten days until the monthly test. You might have a hard time in the coming days.'
He showed a confident smile, "Leave it to me."
Sakura Sojiro also breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll thank you again on behalf of her father for your help."
At this moment, the coffee machine's indicator light turned on, like a signal for a train to pass, and then the schedule named "going to school" began to proceed vigorously throughout Tokyo.
...
When it was time for school, Kurusu Akira returned to the attic to change into his school uniform, then skillfully took Iseri Nina to the train station. Without a word, he snatched her schoolbag and used it as a shovel, carving out a passage in the flood of people like an excavator.
Thanks to the help of his Persona, Dioscuri, his fitness efficiency has greatly improved.
He now possesses most of the physical qualities he once had as a Phantom Thief.
If "physical ability" were to be rated, the former Kurusu Akira was a "5" representing the max level, a weak "1" when he first transmigrated, and now he is a robust "3."
How can a group of company slaves, who sit for ten hours a day in office chairs, bow to their leaders and clients for an hour, and then force a smile for another hour, all while entering a state of sub-health, fight against the young and strong Kurusu Akira?
Just with their bodies, ruined by long-term late-night overtime and sleep deprivation leading to endocrine disorders, plus the alcohol poured into their stomachs cup after cup during business dinners?
Rather than figuring out how to compete with the young Phantom Thief for a seat, whether it's late-night overtime or forced smiles at drinking parties... they should first consider how to ensure their positions aren't snatched by competitors in the industry.
Kurusu Akira pulled Iseri Nina's wrist through the crowd of urban white-collar workers, rushing into the crowded train car amidst their resentful glances, successfully securing a spot for two people.
At first, Iseri Nina wasn't used to this rude way of snatching seats, and even tried to persuade Kurusu Akira with her "good girl" logic that "this behavior is a form of cutting in line" and "it's a bit disrespectful to others"… But after she herself rode the train a few times during rush hour and was almost squeezed into a sushi roll by a crowd of people, and had to stand for half an hour… that's when she began to understand Kurusu Akira's painstaking efforts.
However, each time she faced the gazes gathering around her, she still couldn't help but feel a strange sense of shame.
When the train arrived at the station, the Phantom Thief picked up her heavy schoolbag again, transforming back into a human shield tunneling machine, carving out a path through the surging crowd of heads.
Iseri Nina followed him out of the station without a word.
By the time they arrived at the school gate, the morning bell, notifying students to return to their classrooms for class, was already ringing above the school.
Like a shepherd shaking a brass bell, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ringing densely and urgently.
Immediately after, from the staff office, teachers strode out with their briefcases, urging the students chatting in the corridors back into their classrooms. Thus, the flock of sheep, clad in black school uniforms, began to flow lazily and wearily throughout the campus, slowly disappearing into one classroom after another, and the hallways became spacious and empty.
Except in front of the club building, a seemingly frail figure slipped into the doorway during class time, then she hoisted two human-sized sacks and walked heavily up the stairs.
...
She had already forgotten how many times the alarm set in her phone app had been snoozed.
Awa Subaru was still wrapped in a thin blanket, sleeping peacefully like a baby.
Finally, the tenant just a wall away could no longer stand it. She turned off the recording software on her computer, threw down the microphone in her hand, then rushed to Awa Subaru's bedroom and knocked hard on the door.
"Subaru, you're too loud!! Get up and go to class!!!"
However, no matter how the girl scolded her, Awa Subaru remained sound asleep, unaffected.
In fact, she had only started sleeping two hours ago.
With the idea of "sleeping after one win," she played Valorant all night, from 8 PM to 5:40 AM, encountering "noobs carrying girls," "mysterious enemies shooting through smoke and walls," and so on…
More crucially, the continuous failures made her increasingly irritable, eventually leading to distorted aim, imbalanced mindset, and a complete loss of dueling ability.
After an entire night, Awa Subaru successfully plummeted from "Diamond One" to "Platinum One," now just one step away from the Gold rank.
Originally, she wanted to reach the Ascendant rank and show off to her classmates with this game that had recently become popular worldwide, but now… she could soon say she was a master of the Gold rank.
This is also normal; I remember a German writer once said: When people expect a good thing to come, it often comes slowly and with difficulty, and it also comes with all sorts of trivial troubles that make one impatient and annoyed, all the realistic dust that people did not consider in their fantasies…
These things will infuriate you, annoy you.
They can even turn a seemingly elegant and quiet little girl, as delicate as a doll, into a lioness.
For instance, Miss Ebizuka Tomo, who lived with Awa Subaru, felt the string of rationality in her brain completely snap.
She had just found some inspiration for a new song, but then she kept hearing the phone ringtone next door loudly shouting, "Ultraman, open your eyes, I am Zoffy."
No matter how wonderful the inspiration, it would completely wither away amidst Lord Zoffy's chanting, leaving only a void of confusion and incomprehension in her mind, like the Big Bang:
Why could a high school student sleep in so soundly fifteen minutes before class?
"Rupa! Go get the spare key! Quickly drag this sleepyhead out!!"
...
A moment later.
Awa Subaru, with disheveled hair and messy clothes, along with her school bag, was thrown out of the apartment.
At this time, there were still fifteen minutes until class.
Fortunately, Shujin's school uniform was entirely black with red checkered patterns, creating a somewhat oppressive visual effect, so even if it was full of wrinkles, as long as all the buttons were fastened, it wouldn't appear "sloppy" or "unkempt."
Kurusu Akira was a very peculiar example; he was one of the few students at Shujin who, over the years since its opening, successfully managed to make his school uniform look sloppy… at least his homeroom teacher, Ms. Kawakami Sadayo, was very sure of this… messy hair, hunched back, and always shrugging his shoulders. Upon first meeting him, one might even think he was a beggar dug out of some deep alley, or a nearly moldy and rotten shut-in excavated from some dark, sunless room.
Awa Subaru stood at the stairwell, haphazardly grabbing her long hair in the sunlight and tying it into a single ponytail with a hair tie, then clattered down the stairs in her square-toed leather shoes, hopped onto her newly bought bicycle, and pedaled vigorously towards Shujin.
At that moment, she felt a bit like Don Quixote, clad in rusty armor, carrying a spear and an old shield, riding a skinny horse, charging head-on into a windmill that could not be conquered—
As expected, even riding her bicycle with the fastest strength she had ever exerted in her life, she was still late.
The summer's southerly wind blew her hair, and Awa Subaru looked at the campus before her: the tall buildings on either side, the stern-faced gatekeeper, and the final line of defense preventing students from skipping class… the smart facial recognition turnstiles.
Past events were like old songs on a tape recorder, worn out and even tiresome, but every time she listened to them again, it felt like she was transported back to those days.
She remembered being late the day after junior high started because she was playing games.
History always repeats itself in surprising ways; Awa Subaru once again found herself in the position of being "interrogated" alone by the dean of students.
"Awa."
Mr. Ito Misui, the dean of students, revered as a "devil" by the students, stood with his hands behind his back, facing away from the multitude of students on campus, then suddenly turned around, looking down at her with a condescending gaze, and slowly said, "You are late."
Awa Subaru's hair stood on end. Just as she was about to perform a grand and powerful bowing apology, like a samurai committing seppuku or a general taking his own life, using her years of schooling experience combined with the "acting skills" she had honed at the academy, that steady voice suddenly rose a few decibels…
"Is it because your home is too far from school?"
"Uh, no."
"Is it because you were sick or injured?" Ito Misui continued to ask her.
"Neither."
"Could it be… because you stayed up late studying and then overslept?" He looked at the faint dark circles under Awa Subaru's eyes.
Awa Subaru's shame immediately reached its peak, "I'm sorry, actually I stayed up late…"
"Don't say anything," Ito Misui immediately raised his hand, his face full of emotion and respect, "I understand what you mean, hurry back to class."
Then she was carefully ushered out of the office by Ito Misui, "You must study hard. If you have any questions about math, feel free to come to the office. We Number Crunchers… our math research group is very enthusiastic about helping every student."
Thanks to Kurusu Akira's brilliance, every transfer student thereafter would enjoy the respect of teachers from all subjects.
Awa Subaru vaguely returned to the classroom, vaguely found her seat, and then vaguely fell asleep, overwhelmed with drowsiness.
Kurusu Akira, in the neighboring 2-D Class, also fell asleep at the same time as her.
During the third period, Ito Misui entered the classroom.
The girl who was good friends with Awa Subaru was about to wake her up, but she immediately received a murderous glare from Ito Misui… The classroom instantly fell silent, and no one dared to remind Awa Subaru again.
The second period for 2-D Class was math, and Ito Misui had already experienced how terrifying Kurusu Akira was when he woke up in a bad mood.
He did not want to be utterly crushed by a second transfer student on his proud math problems.
Thus, Awa Subaru slept through the entire morning.
By the time a yawning Kurusu Akira brought Iseri Nina to the classroom door to find her, there were no other students left in the classroom.
"Let's go, to the club room."
"Oh." Awa Subaru, covering the red mark on her face from her arm, left her seat.
The three walked down the corridor, receiving countless admiring glances from students.
Black background with red grid, disregarding school rules and regulations, we Shujin also have our own "Akatsuki" organization.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To Read Advanced Chapters, and support this novel, please join me on [email protected]/geats2000
(Note: Replace "@-" with "a" on your web browser.)