"Psychological Health Education Department, are you sure that's the name?"
"Confirmed."
In the Dean's office, Ito Misui looked at the application written in the phone's memo, forcing himself to ignore the overly perfunctory attitude.
Previously, every student who wanted to create a club would bow respectfully, offer tea and water, hoping that the Seniors and teachers would relax the review process. The most important application form had to be at least "in duplicate," with two printed paper copies and two original electronic copies.
But, was he, Ito Misui, someone who didn't understand reason?
Lord Uesugi Kenshin has been working hard on his studies, so a rough club creation application... no problem!
He would just rewrite it for Kurusu Akira later and submit it.
Ito Misui briefly explained some precautions to Kurusu Akira, such as finding all club members within the specified period, and preparing several feasible club activity proposals in advance...
About half an hour later.
Kurusu Akira walked into a spacious music classroom. The surrounding walls were covered with a layer of white sound-absorbing panels, and there were no other furnishings.
He looked at the student council secretary in front of him with a strange expression.
"This is my club activity room?"
The secretary nodded somewhat reservedly, "This used to be the Light Music Club's activity room."
"What about the original Light Music Club?"
Kurusu Akira looked around in all directions. There were no bulky instruments, no classroom computers, not even the most basic broadcast speakers. The empty classroom, with the curtains drawn, and the lighting casting a stark white glow, if the door were also closed, it would indeed have a bit of a prison atmosphere.
"The Light Music Club disbanded last year. The Seniors graduated and took their instruments with them when they left school. No one has applied for a new 'Light Music Club' since then... After all, learning instruments is quite expensive."
A second-year student council secretary quietly asked Kurusu Akira, "You're being assigned to this classroom, so you must be setting up a 'Rock Club', right?"
"It's the Psychological Health Education Department," Kurusu Akira corrected.
It must be said, the club name was indeed quite intimidating.
The secretary hesitated for a few seconds. "Psychological Health Education... What does this club usually do?"
As a student council executive, her duties included registering and reviewing club activities. Although she had been repeatedly told to relax the standards, the necessary procedures still couldn't be skipped.
Kurusu Akira thought, 'As expected, she asked.'
Then he took out his phone and began to read a script he had adapted from an online fill-in-the-blanks.
"The recent frequent 'out-of-control incidents' have once again brought the dangers of mental illness into public view. However, students do not yet have a clear understanding of the various dangers and hidden aspects of mental illness. In order to enable them to take sufficient preventive and responsive measures before 'out-of-control incidents' occur, our Psychological Health Education Department has come into being."
Despite the monotone delivery, it somehow inexplicably conveyed a sense of impassioned fervor.
The secretary suddenly felt helpless, stepping back two paces, as if truly overwhelmed by Kurusu Akira's imposing aura...
In reality, she was just almost shocked into "arrhythmia" by the sudden contrast from this "star student" of the same grade. She had never seen such a handsome boy before, and his voice was pleasant, giving her the illusion of a teen idol reading a love letter to her face.
After finally recovering, the secretary remembered her official duties.
"But this should only count as a promotional blurb for the club, right? Please be specific about the club's activities!"
"...Helping students solve some psychological problems that may arise from the accumulation of pressure from academics, further education, and various aspects of life."
The secretary didn't press for more details, as it was a special case.
"Can I add Amamiya's contact information?"
The secretary suddenly said this before leaving.
Kurusu Akira thought of her identity as a student council member, so he didn't refuse.
In the vast music classroom, soon only the solitary Phantom Thief remained, suddenly walking towards the windowsill covered with a thin layer of dust.
He pulled back the curtains; the deep red sunset had already sunk below the horizon of tall buildings, and half the sky was covered in dense black mist, faintly revealing a sliver of bright moonlight blooming with a hazy glow.
He had asked Sakura for leave today, so he had plenty of time from evening to night.
The club matters were also settled. Next, he needed to find a way to get some easygoing people to help make up the numbers.
Kurusu Akira was in a good mood.
He currently had about 14,000 yen in cash.
He would go to an internet cafe later to play some games.
After playing Valorant for several days in a row, his account level finally met the requirements for ranked mode. He would finish the placement matches tonight and see what rank he would end up with.
Just as he was thinking this, his phone rang.
First, a melodious violin played, then a soft female voice began to sing, "The night that imprisoned the sun is inferiority..." This was "Fly with the Night," a representative work by the band Morfonica.
'Who's calling me this late at night?'
Kurusu Akira took out his phone.
["Togawa" requests you answer.]
Oh, it was the creditor.
Half a month later, trouble once again came knocking.
Kurusu Akira glanced back at the closed classroom door, then pressed the answer button.
"Hello, this is the Amamiya residence."
A burst of noisy static came from the receiver.
Then a rather impolite male voice began to speak, "Let me see the IOU... Hmm, the eldest son of the Amamiya family, you must be Amamiya Ren, right?"
"I am."
The voice in the receiver suddenly became softer, probably because the speaker had walked some distance away. He could hear him complaining to someone nearby.
"Oh, what a hassle. A lonely high school student, doesn't look like he can pay back this money for you. So, what are you going to do now, Mr. Togawa?"
"Why can't you use those methods..."
Before he could finish, "Mr. Togawa" was suddenly punched. His cry of pain could be heard even through the phone.
"Don't talk to me in that commanding tone, you dead gambler who abandoned his family and daughter."
The male voice in the receiver gradually grew louder as the speaker moved closer to the phone. "Hey, kid named Amamiya, your debt is about to be taken over by us. No matter what method you use, within one month, we must see you transfer 2.36 million yen into Togawa's account, do you understand?"
"What if I can't repay it?" Kurusu Akira looked at the night outside the window.
"Who cares if you can repay it? We'll use our own methods to make you clear the debt."
"I've recorded this call," Kurusu Akira said, still in a nonchalant tone.
The person on the other end of the phone didn't seem angry, but only added a hint of menace.
"Kid, don't try to threaten us with your school tricks. Being clever will only make your situation worse."
"Is that so? I understand."
"Good that you understand..."
The voice stopped abruptly there.
Kurusu Akira hung up the phone without warning and skillfully blacklisted the Togawa Family family's number.
He looked at the blurry reflection of a person in the window glass—it was himself in his Phantom Thief attire.
Gambling, huh... Kurusu Akira muttered the keyword he had just heard on the phone.
Perhaps this time he was truly going to be dragged into various yakuza disputes.
First, he would try to arrange a meeting place, then use the power of Dioscuri to secretly take care of all their thugs.
Once all the thugs were in the hospital, those guys should temporarily settle down... This was the worst way Kurusu Akira could think of to handle it.
After all, he didn't want to work himself to the bone to pay off a debt for someone who had fallen into gambling.
The optimal solution for this matter was, of course, to send them a calling card in the name of a Phantom Thief, and then steal the evil from the hearts of the entire yakuza group, including the creditor, making them confess voluntarily.
'So, the question is, when will the Velvet Room sign a contract with me and give me the benefits a gold-level employee deserves?'
Just as he was thinking this.
The melodious sound of a violin rang out from his phone once again.
Kurusu Akira picked up his phone and saw an unfamiliar number.
He still chose to answer, but this time he didn't speak first.
He wanted to hear how the yakuza debt collectors would threaten him—
"Is this Amamiya-san?!" A trembling female voice actually came from the receiver.
This development seemed a bit different from what he had expected.
"I am Amamiya, what's wrong?"
"My father hasn't been home for many days, but just now I received text messages and calls from those people, and they said that Amamiya-san is..." The voice in the receiver gradually took on a crying tone, making the entire conversation emotionally chaotic.
"So, if I don't pay back the money, you, as the daughter of that Togawa Family family, will also be implicated, is that what you mean?"
"N-no! Amamiya-san's debt is only a very small part of our family's current predicament. I just wanted to..."
"Because I'm also about to become one of the victims, you want to ask me for help?"
"I... I'm sorry, I really don't know what to do," the crying voice in the receiver trembled like never before, but as if realizing her immaturity, her sobs gradually softened, and then the girl choked out.
"My father wasn't like this before, but..."
"He suddenly became very strange, didn't he?"
The phone call suddenly went quiet, with only occasional sobs unsettling the mind.
Kurusu Akira looked at the Phantom Thief calmly meeting his gaze in the window glass. "You must have seen the news, right? This is actually a type of 'out-of-control incident' too."
He still received no answer.
Kurusu Akira continued to ask her, "Have you already called the Police Department?"
"I've been trying to contact the police since this morning, but the Police Department... the Police Department's operators kept fobbing me off with strange excuses."
"You're not going out because you know someone might be waiting for you outside, right?"
"Yes... I'm very sorry for troubling Amamiya-san, I... I'm sorry." The sobbing voice gradually took on a hint of determination.
After saying that, the call was abruptly hung up.
Kurusu Akira looked down at the terminated call with a hint of surprise.
'I seem to have been underestimated.'
He put his phone in his pocket, looking at his phantom reflection with a bit of helplessness. "I'm talking about you, being underestimated by an ordinary girl."
The Phantom Thief also met his gaze, but remained silent.
Kurusu Akira chuckled, then reached out to touch the window glass in front of him. The Phantom Thief's phantom instantly melted away, leaving only a boy in a school uniform whose eyes were burning with a vivid, deep blue flame.
His palm gently pressed against the cold glass, the lines on his palm flattened. Through the faint coolness, he suddenly felt an astonishing heat, as if with a little more force, he could touch the Phantom Thief's shadow.
This time, he actually clearly felt the presence of a door there.
That was the door to the world of the "heart," where everything belonging to the Phantom Thief was stored.
Kurusu Akira stared with complex eyes at the beautiful and fantastical world reflected in the glass.
Velvet Room, you've arrived quite late.
But it's also just in time, allowing me to return to work without a single complaint.
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