The late spring weather carried a hint of laziness, especially on such a morning, with mist blurring outside the window.
Kurusu Akira opened his eyes and gazed affectionately at his reflection in the phone screen placed by his bed—this atmosphere somewhat made him feel sleepy again.
It wasn't until a car horn suddenly blared, long and loud, meticulously peeling away the morning mist and directly striking his soul, that he found the motivation to get out of bed from his mental fatigue.
His phone screen lit up at the opportune moment; it was a text from Sakura Sojiro: [Amamiya, the new TV I ordered a few days ago has arrived. The car should be parked on Yongen-Jaya Road No. 2. Can you help me move the TV into the shop?]
Kurusu Akira picked up his phone and replied: [Received.]
He yawned long, then threw off his quilt, got out of bed, and began to change and wash.
A television… Kurusu Akira stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing his teeth, the urge to buy a laptop growing stronger.
After all, preparing to make money by copying books was quite troublesome relying solely on his phone.
First, let's thank Kamiya Yuu, who created the masterpiece "No Game No Life" by adapting this novel, which had already made him extremely excited and allowed him to obtain the content of this novel in the game world.
Before Kurusu Akira's transmigration, the book "No Game No Life" was serialized up to the eleventh volume, remaining unfinished.
Given his current situation, the content of these eleven volumes was already quite sufficient.
As for whether to continue Kamiya Yuu's work a few years later... Kurusu Akira felt it was better to leave that decision to his future self.
Coincidentally, light novels with an otherworld theme in this world were still in the early stages of "toilet paper" quality, featuring "phone transmigration," "hero reincarnation," and "sage reincarnation."
It was time for Kamiya Yuu's creativity to blossom in this new world.
He changed his clothes, opened the shop door, and then, with his work ID, jogged towards Yongen-Jaya Road No. 2.
The Siamese cat from last night was perched on the low wall, and when it saw Kurusu Akira pass by, it meowed in a delicate, high-pitched voice.
"I'll bring you a sausage later."
The cat seemed to understand the word "sausage," so it meowed again, then gracefully stepped along the wall with its tail erect. It followed Kurusu Akira.
Kurusu Akira vaguely thought of a game he used to play called "Monster Hunter."
In it, there was a group of beast-tribe companions resembling Siamese cats, named "Palicoes."
As a hunter of dragons, the game's protagonist could hire a "Palico" to follow him everywhere as a companion, growing together through countless hunts.
'If only I could have a "Palico" to explore the Mementos with me.'
Kurusu Akira thought idly.
Even a Phantom Thief who was accustomed to going solo might have fantasized many times about having a capable little helper.
At that time, he would fight and retreat while enduring the enemy's encirclement, and his cat companion would support him from behind with a staff or crossbow.
If he accidentally fell into a trap, perhaps all he would need to do is shout for help, and a rope would immediately be thrown down.
Then the loyal cat would stand at the other end of the rope, shouting, "Boss, I'm here to save you, meow!"
...
"You are not it after all."
Kurusu Akira, carrying the cardboard box with the television, walked into a convenience store near LeBlanc to buy a sausage. Suddenly, he turned around, his expression sorrowful, and looked at the Siamese cat that had followed him all the way.
The Siamese cat didn't understand human words, it just stared at him with its lake-blue eyes. "Meow?"
"You should go. There's no place for you by my side!"
"Meow meow?"
Kurusu Akira broke open the sausage, squatted down, and fed it to the Siamese cat. Then he picked up the television, "We can't fight side by side. You already have a master, so don't follow me anymore."
"Meow," a sharp sound, as if responding to Kurusu Akira's words. The Siamese cat, holding the sausage in its mouth, left, looking back every few steps.
Kurusu Akira sighed.
'I really want to raise a "Palico."'
It would be even better if it were a "Melynx":
According to the "Monster Hunter" setting, there exists a subspecies within the Palico tribe called "Melynx," also known as "black cats" due to their black fur.
These special "black cats" are mischievous and highly curious. They are said to have a bad habit of stealing valuables, earning them a very poor reputation in society and the derogatory nickname "thief cats," often leading to their expulsion and attacks—but even a "thief cat," after careful training by a Phantom Thief, might not be unable to become a "Phantom Thief Cat" revered by people.
Kurusu Akira returned to the coffee shop and, upon entering, saw Iseri Nina sitting at a dining table playing on her phone.
Brown hair, blue eyes, fair skin, dressed unfashionably.
'You mean... I just sent away an ordinary Siamese cat, and now a humanoid Siamese cat has run over?'
No, she can also use a phone; she's not a cat.
Kurusu Akira placed the television by the door. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Iseri Nina shook her head repeatedly.
"How about a latte and a baguette? I heard that sliced baguette dipped in hot cocoa or milk coffee tastes really good."
"The shop actually has baguettes?" Iseri Nina looked at Kurusu Akira in surprise.
"I'll definitely buy you one from the bakery next door."
"...I want to try it." Iseri Nina's mouth began to water more as she imagined the taste of bread soaked in milk coffee and chewed in her mouth.
Then she saw Kurusu Akira extend his hand towards her. "Money."
Iseri Nina took out her new structural art-style wallet, bought on Shimokitazawa street, found four 500 yen coins inside, and somewhat reservedly handed them to Kurusu Akira. "Is this enough?"
Kurusu Akira weighed the coins, estimated the commission he could probably get, and immediately became amiable, "Just enough."
In response, Iseri Nina, instead, showed a smile that mixed relief and gratitude.
It seemed that the cost of living in the big city had indeed given this young girl an unprecedented shock during her time in Tokyo.
Kurusu Akira went behind the counter and started working.
Streaks of sunlight, like thin gauze, poured through the kitchen skylight, gently covering him. The boy's shadow rolled on the counter.
Iseri Nina watched Kurusu Akira's busy back, blinked, and then mumbled softly. "Why is he so handsome..."
Kurusu Akira used a paper towel to wipe the freshly cleaned coffee pot.
He inadvertently looked up and found Iseri Nina staring straight at him.
Their gazes met.
When a Siamese cat makes eye contact with Kurusu Akira, it lets out a delicate, high-pitched "meow."
When Iseri Nina makes eye contact with Kurusu Akira, she also lets out a whimpering sound like a lament.
She lowered her head as if guilty, opened her phone, and aimlessly touched various lively chat groups. Even though chat bubbles scrolled past her eyes, she had no desire to read them.
At this moment, the shop door opened.
Sakura Sojiro walked in with his toolbox, somewhat surprised, "You're already preparing breakfast."
Kurusu Akira poked his head out with the coffee pot, "Sakura, do you need my help replacing the television?"
"No need, just finish your breakfast and hurry off to school." Sakura Sojiro always felt at ease whenever he saw Kurusu Akira; he couldn't maintain a serious expression.
After speaking, he found an extension ladder and began to dismantle the old television in the shop.
Screws dropped to the floor, making a clattering sound.
If you listened carefully, it actually sounded a bit like the faint braking sound of an escalator moving at a train station entrance.
----------------
The train pulled into the station with a strong gust of wind, disheveling Iseri Nina's carefully combed hair.
Kurusu Akira held up his school bag, pushed through the crowd in front of Iseri Nina, and squeezed into the carriage.
Rush hour, no matter how many times you experience it, always brings an indescribable sense of oppression.
Tokyo is a very strange city. It appears to be a place with many opportunities, where one can easily make a name for themselves. However, once you personally step into those seemingly spacious arenas of fame and fortune, the overt and covert rules will tighten around you like shackles, layer by layer. By the time you are so entangled by the shackles that you can barely move, you realize that the so-called "fame and fortune" have long been divided up by the big shots in the VIP seats.
These poor people, bound by chains, sway their entire lives according to the mere words of those corporate bosses, taking risks for a tiny bit of profit that leaks through their fingers, even fighting tooth and nail.
The train, packed with urban white-collar workers, emitted a dense and loud sound as it moved on the tracks, as if countless chains were lashing the ground.
The onboard television was broadcasting news of the "Kawasaki Performing Arts Academy Female Student Disappearance Case" again.
'If I have free time this weekend or next, I'll try my luck in Kawasaki.' Kurusu Akira thought silently, swaying with the train.
...
[My Sister Can't Be This Cute: Amamiya-senpai! Your lunch bento is ready! The side dishes are tonkatsu, squid tentacle tempura, grilled nori, and finally, drizzled with salad dressing and cherry blossom sauce! (Image)]
At 8 AM, Kurusu Akira was boredly flipping through a fashion magazine on the train seat when his phone in his pocket vibrated. He received a Line message from the ID "My Sister Can't Be This Cute."
After he opened Line, he saw the above content.
[Tearlaments' Power Cannot Be Defied: Sorry, I was rushing for the train just now.]
Just two seconds later, the message showed "Read."
Line is truly terrifying, especially the "Read" feature.
Even in group chats, it shows how many people have read a certain message, leaving no room for lurkers.
Yoshizawa Kasumi's "instant reply" made Kurusu Akira feel a chill.
[My Sister Can't Be This Cute: Senpai! Sorry to bother you!]
[Tearlaments' Power Cannot Be Defied: The bento is very beautiful. Thank you very much for your kindness. Let's meet at the Psychological Health Education Department's club room during lunch break.]
[My Sister Can't Be This Cute: Mhm!]
Kurusu Akira switched to the class chat group. The group was quiet, and scrolling up to 6 AM, he didn't see many people active.
The train was about to arrive at the station. He turned off his phone, pulled Iseri Nina, who had unknowingly started dozing off beside him, and began to rush out of the carriage into the world outside.
----------------
It wasn't early anymore. Outside Shujin's school gate, groups of high school students walked along the iconic winding path.
"Hey, did you hear? Yesterday, Ishihara-san from Class 2-A..."
"Disappeared!"
"Yeah! Her parents haven't seen her come home for a day and a night. Calls don't go through, texts aren't received, and even asking the police to investigate surveillance yielded nothing!"
"It's like... she vanished into thin air!"
"How scary..."
Kurusu Akira listened to the students ahead loudly discussing the disappearance that happened yesterday, his brows furrowed.
This sounds remarkably similar to the "Kawasaki Performing Arts Academy Female Student Disappearance Case," doesn't it?
The Phantom Thief kept that in mind, planning to investigate the relevant information.
He walked up to the teaching building with his backpack and changed into indoor shoes at the entrance on the first floor.
When he opened the shoe locker, Kurusu Akira deliberately took a step back, keeping his guard up.
Unexpectedly, he was still hit in the face by a pile of overflowing love letters.
He casually picked one up from the ground; it was actually from the neighboring school.
That post on the campus forum had truly gone viral.
Kurusu Akira had a feeling that in a while, talent agencies would probably start contacting him proactively.
At this moment, more students were arriving at school.
Iseri Nina, having changed her shoes, quickly fled up to the teaching building as if to avoid suspicion.
Sakamoto Ryuji, who couldn't even be bothered to carry his backpack, walked into the entrance carrying an empty cloth bag and enthusiastically waved at Kurusu Akira, "Amamiya, good morning!"
"Morning."
Kurusu Akira stacked the thick pile of love letters together, "Can I use the bag you're holding?"
Sakamoto Ryuji readily agreed, "No problem, I was going to use it for the club's suggestions this semester. Just give it back to me before school ends."
Then he looked strangely at the stack of colorful letters in Kurusu Akira's hand.
"What are you holding? Love letters from girls?"
"Love letters."
"Are you going to get rid of them?"
Kurusu Akira stuffed them all into the cloth bag under Sakamoto Ryuji's envious gaze, "I'm going to burn them all."
"Burning them directly is too much!" Sakamoto Ryuji had never experienced the feeling of being pursued by countless girls.
"High school romance is like moths to a flame; I'm just helping them get the process over with in one go."
"Tsk... by the way, can you just let me see one? I've never seen what a love letter written by a girl looks like."
"That won't do. Even if there's no intention of dating, you should at least respect others' privacy."
"Damn it, can't you sympathize with my pathetic youth?!"
"Needing to secretly read love letters written by girls to others to comfort yourself, that's truly pathetic, Sakamoto!"
The two of them went upstairs, bickering.
The first class of the morning was Japanese Literature.
It was about the Haiku appreciation question type.
It was the most tedious and boring time.
Sakamoto Ryuji, who had been gaming until 2 AM, couldn't make it past the fifth minute of class and promptly put his head down on the desk and began to snore loudly.
Kurusu Akira, whose mental energy had been overdrawn last night, tried to hold on for ten minutes, but was similarly infected by the snoring behind him. The arm supporting his chin dropped with a thud, his head hit his book, and he passed out.
The entire Japanese Literature class quickly ended amidst the intermittent snoring from the last two rows by the window.
When the dismissal bell rang, Sakamoto Ryuji, who had been sleeping like a corpse, suddenly twitched all over, then straightened his back, opened his eyes, and checked the class schedule. The second class of the morning was... Physical Education.
His sleepiness was completely gone.
He kicked his chair back, craned his neck, and yelled into the classroom, "It's P.E.!" Immediately, a group of boys responded to his enthusiasm, rushing out of the classroom like monkeys.
Kurusu Akira, woken up by the noise, painfully covered his ears and swayed as he stood up, "Damn it, there's still P.E. class."
The aerobic training set he completed ten hours ago still made his muscles sore.
Should he skip class directly? He heard today's class was teaching volleyball.
Kurusu Akira weighed his options internally. Compared to sleeping like a lonely old man cooped up in some corner, he preferred to watch high school girls in the gym bouncing around in athletic shorts, showing off their long, fair legs.
So, he walked out of the classroom, pushing through his drowsiness.
On the way from the entrance to the gym, he saw Iseri Nina walking alone. The late spring sunlight fell on her shoulders, making her appear even more solitary and pitiful.
----------------
Iseri Nina wore in-ear Bluetooth headphones, humming softly along to the beautiful melodies of a popular rock song.
Her steps became lighter, as if she were treading on a realm shrouded in clouds.
At this moment, the sunlight reflected from the distant teaching building blended perfectly with the nearby white and light red flowers, creating a hazy, cloud-like scene.
Her soft brown short hair was tied into low twin pigtails, giving her a rare sense of childlike innocence. The tailored jacket of her Shujin school uniform outlined her perfectly slender waist, and her pleated skirt swayed gently as she walked. The pathway, filled with soft light, was somehow transformed by Iseri Nina into the feeling of a concert stage.
Even though she had never performed on stage, her every movement exuded the charisma of a renowned singer.
Kurusu Akira quickened his pace and stood beside Iseri Nina, but the girl seemed completely oblivious, her eyes vacant as she gazed at the clear, washed-out sky.
Suddenly, a loud thud echoed in her right ear, and then half of her musical world collapsed.
She turned back somewhat angrily, and seeing it was Kurusu Akira, she just stared at him blankly, not saying a word.
It was a bit like a kitten puffing up its fur, then turning around to find it was its own owner.
Kurusu Akira held the earbud, twirling it twice between his fingers. The highest realm of pen-spinning is being able to spin any strange object between your fingers. "You haven't made any friends until now, have you?"
Iseri Nina immediately turned her head to look at the flower bed beside her, "None of your business."
As she turned her face, her empty ear was exposed.
"Stop listening to music, class is about to start," Kurusu Akira said, then brushed away the strands of hair by Iseri Nina's ear, reinserted the earbud into her ear, and then walked off to the gym ahead by himself.
Iseri Nina stood frozen in place, watching Kurusu Akira's retreating back, a blush rapidly climbing from her cheeks to her ears.
She stomped her foot hard, then took off her headphones, covered her burning ears, and chased after him.
----------------
The class bell rang.
Class 2-D, already lined up, ran two laps around the gym. Then, Kamoshida, the P.E. teacher, briefly demonstrated bumping, serving, and other actions, as if to awaken everyone's memories of playing volleyball in middle school, and then quickly organized a match.
Every P.E. class seemed to have a match... or some small games involving physical training.
No matter the era, P.E. teachers seemed keen on incorporating class content into fun and competitive activities; pure exercise was a rarity.
Soon, a large net separated the two mixed-gender teams.
Mishima Yuki and Sakamoto Ryuji were both placed opposite Kurusu Akira.
As if to avenge Kurusu Akira for deceiving their brotherly bond and secretly ranking first in the grade, Mishima Yuki took the volleyball from a girl nearby.
"Amamiya, watch my spike!"
Mishima Yuki jumped, puffed out his chest, lifted his head, extended his abdomen, and bent his arm back and up, his entire body forming an inverted bow.
Kurusu Akira was afraid that an instinctive counterattack would break his nose, so he naturally refused to receive this "spike" and decisively dodged.
The girls near where the volleyball landed also scattered.
The volleyball made a loud thud on the open ground, then bounced sharply, hitting the wall outside the court.
"Can you hit it with less force?" Kurusu Akira shouted at Mishima Yuki.
Mishima Yuki struck a senior pose from the other side of the net: "Listen, Amamiya, in volleyball, you have to jump for any position, and spike any ball!"
"Stop trying to act cool with lines from 'Haikyuu!!' "
Kurusu Akira chuckled, ran to the wall, bent down, and picked up the ball, accepting Mishima Yuki's declaration of war.
He weighed the ball in his hand, then walked back onto the court and hit it back with a standard serve.
Sakamoto Ryuji, who was watching excitedly from the side, stared intently at Kurusu Akira's every move. The moment the volleyball left his hand, he suddenly jumped up, trying to receive it in a cool way—
Where's the ball?
An elliptical black shadow instantly zipped over the net, landing about a decimeter behind Mishima Yuki.
Mishima Yuki unhesitatingly stepped back two paces, intending to hit the ball back.
"Tsk, that hurts."
The moment his hand touched the ball, a sharp pain shot through it, and the volleyball he strenuously tried to hit back failed to cross the net, bouncing weakly on his own side of the court for a while.
Kurusu Akira waved at Mishima Yuki, "Just so you know, I was very good at volleyball in my first year of high school."
This was true.
In his previous life, Kurusu Akira was known as the "all-around athlete" at Gekkoukan Private High School during his first year of high school.
But the next moment, the former "all-around athlete" suddenly showed an expression as uncomfortable as constipation.
The lactic acid accumulated in his thighs, shoulders, and core muscles almost took him out.
"What's with that expression? You can't give up!" Mishima Yuki loudly exclaimed, "You finally made it onto this court, how can you end it so easily?"
The teams not yet rotated onto the court, a little further away, had already been drawn in by Mishima Yuki's loud voice. They all moved closer, watching with relish, and the two became the focus of the court.
"Stop yelling anime lines!"
It's unbearable, is he a chunibyo? No, considering his grade, second-year syndrome would be more fitting.
The Phantom Thief, the biggest "chunibyo" in all of Shujin, yet completely unaware of it, thus commented on Mishima Yuki opposite him.
Then the volleyball came flying over the net at a very tricky angle.
Kurusu Akira jumped up and slammed it back.
This was too exhausting. The soreness all over his body made Kurusu Akira so frustrated that he really wanted to grab Mishima Yuki and beat him up—and he did indeed vent this emotion onto his opponent through the volleyball.
Volleyball is, after all, a team sport.
The balls Kurusu Akira hit were fast and heavy; even Sakamoto Ryuji, who had the best stamina, wasn't confident he could receive them steadily.
Mishima Yuki was hit in the face by the ball several times, but as a member of the volleyball club, he had extensive "resistance to impact" ability, so he didn't mind it much. However, when the ball occasionally landed on his teammates, it was truly miserable for them.
Kamoshida stood by, arms crossed, watching intently.
In just one minute, Mishima Yuki and Sakamoto Ryuji's team was defeated.
Kurusu Akira, who had scored a whopping 13:1, deflated and walked exhausted to the side of the court, plopping down onto the ground.
At this moment, no one on the court cared about Kurusu Akira, who had just displayed such incredible power.
Everyone's attention was drawn to a girl with a nearly model-level, perky figure, long golden hair, blue eyes, and the striking appearance of an American mixed-blood.
A pair of long, round, and perfectly straight fair legs were exposed beneath her athletic shorts, stretching like a longbow with her movements after she received the volleyball.
This was a very famous girl at Shujin, named Takamaki Ann. She was said to be a Japanese returnee with American mixed heritage and could speak fluent English. Her overly beautiful figure and appearance made her very popular among the boys at school.
Kurusu Akira, however, was indifferent to this. Instead, he watched everyone on the court hitting the volleyball with a scrutinizing gaze... The Phantom Thief, who had just scored thirteen points, was aching all over and started to feel drowsy after watching the game for a while.
His threshold for the concept of "beauty" had always been very high; he wouldn't start fantasizing just by seeing a beautiful girl's thighs or slender waist.
After all, he had spent seven years day and night with that little secretary in the Velvet Room, who had reached the peak of human aesthetics on a cognitive level. Even if he were put into a palace filled with sexy dancers, he could walk back and forth without batting an eyelid.
Iseri Nina had come over at some point, and taking advantage of no one noticing, she quietly handed him a bottle of mineral water.
She was actually on Kurusu Akira's team, but she hadn't touched the volleyball throughout the entire match; Kurusu Akira had received all of them at the front.
"Thanks," Kurusu Akira said softly.
Iseri Nina ran off without a word.
A moment later, Kurusu Akira felt someone sit down beside him.
The burly Kamoshida sat down next to Kurusu Akira.
"You've played volleyball before, haven't you?" he asked.
"For a while."
"You play beautifully," Kamoshida praised generously, "Are you interested in training in my volleyball club?"
He didn't say anything like "winning awards helps with college admissions." Given Kurusu Akira's exaggerated academic performance, there was no need to waste time and energy on that.
Kurusu Akira gazed at the moving figures on the court from afar, "I already have a club, and I'm very busy."
"That's a bit of a shame."
Kamoshida patted his knee, his eyes moving back and forth across the court.
"Kamoshida-sensei."
"Huh?"
"You seem to have been looking at Takamaki-san for a while."
Kamoshida suddenly coughed violently, "Don't, don't talk nonsense."
"I get it, I get it, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. After all, Takamaki-san has a great figure, is good-looking, and is also a foreign mixed-blood…" Kurusu Akira counted on his fingers beside him.
Kamoshida quickly fled in disarray.
If such remarks really turned into widely spread rumors, his lifelong reputation as a former Olympic champion would be ruined.
Kurusu Akira looked at his back, yawned again, then stood up and staggered out of the gymnasium.
He really couldn't hold on anymore, it was time to find a place to sleep.
On the way to the teaching building, Kurusu Akira suddenly narrowed his eyes.
His intuition told him that something extraordinary was happening at the school.
'Can I even get some sleep?'
Although the Phantom Thief grumbled, he quickly found a corner where surveillance cameras couldn't capture him, slipped into the men's restroom, locked the door, and then waited for the surrounding space to constantly twist until he was completely immersed in that "consciousness" level world.
As the contractor and controller of the Velvet Room, Kurusu Akira can freely travel between the "material" and "consciousness" levels of the world.
The world composed of "matter" is called "reality."
And the world composed of "consciousness" is called "Mementos."
Mementos is a world jointly woven by everyone's subconscious.
Here, there are things called "Shadows," which correspond to the inner self of a person in reality.
In most cases, these "Shadows" are collections of various information unconsciously leaked from the human heart, wandering aimlessly in Mementos in a daze. Even if they are defeated, they will not have any impact on the person in reality.
However, some people with distorted desires in their hearts have Shadows that will mutate, and then show strong aggression in Mementos, even actively hunting surrounding Shadows until they separate themselves into an independent space, becoming an exclusive "territory."
The Phantom Thief in a school uniform sighed twice, walking leisurely through Tokyo's Mementos.
He still remembered the first time he entered and exited Mementos, he was so timid, looking around every step of the way, and his heart would pound when he encountered a sudden Shadow attack.
As for now…
Kurusu Akira felt like he was back home.
He looked up to observe his surroundings.
Crimson patterns spread across the walls, like blood vessels running through muscles and organs. It pulsed as if breathing, and when his gaze touched it, he could suddenly hear exaggerated sounds like lamenting, sobbing, or loud laughter.
The ceiling above was embedded with red warning lights, stretching and extending the halo in the dark tunnel, as if in a bleeding tomb.
Rusty railway tracks reflected in this blood-red and silent space. This is Mementos, the place where the collective unconscious is stored.
In the collective cognition of the residents of Tokyo, "Tokyo" is a vast underground network, where trains can carry money and fame. With the engine braking, one walks with heavy and slow steps, burdened with shackles, towards an ever-falling arena of fame and fortune.
Deep in the tunnel, there are shadowy figures, hunched over, their eyes hollow and numb, as if their spines have been crushed by life. These are Shadows, the most common components of this world of "consciousness."
They wander endlessly in this intricate underground network, forever wandering, just as in reality they desperately crave stability, yet dare not venture forward and fear falling behind.
The Phantom Thief's current location was a huge train station with the word "Shujin" written on it.
Next to the station was a pathway with a sign that read "Aoyama-Itchome," which was the platform Kurusu Akira took the train from to school every day.
Kurusu Akira looked at the Shadows near him; they were somewhat lively, their backs straight, happily running or walking on the tracks.
He casually pushed down two Shadows that ran out from the corner and proceeded down the tracks to the deeper levels of Shujin Academy.
Mementos is layered.
The higher one goes, the closer one gets to the outermost layer of the collective consciousness, and the behavior of the Shadows will be constrained by the individual's rationality.
Similarly, the deeper one goes, the closer one gets to the depths of the collective consciousness, which is the "subconscious."
Shadows in the deeper layers will gradually lose rational control as the "layers descend," and begin to act according to the person's original emotional impulses and desires. At that time, Mementos will also become extremely dangerous—
Is it really dangerous?
Kurusu Akira looked at this group of Shadows that ran away at the sight of him, and was speechless for a moment.
Perhaps it was the enemies hiding behind the scenes at work; he was forcibly identified by Mementos as an "intruder" and "destroyer."
The Shadows here would immediately show a strong "will to survive" upon seeing him.
The will to survive is also a desire, and one of the most primitive kind.
The less rationally constrained the Shadow was, the faster it would flee upon seeing Kurusu Akira.
The Phantom Thief silently continued towards the subconscious space of the Shujin area, too lazy to pursue them.
Anyway, defeating them wouldn't yield any cognitive loot.
However, some Shadows with distorted desires were an exception; when they saw Kurusu Akira, their expression of the will to survive was to ferociously charge at him, wanting to fight to the death.
Then they found that Kurusu Akira didn't even bother to summon his Persona; with his abnormally powerful mental strength, he simply slapped them away with a raised hand.
After being slapped away, those Shadows didn't forget to drop some equipment... some strange items, like love letters or diaries. These were their distorted desires, materialized from the cognitive level in Mementos, becoming items that could be brought back to reality.
Kurusu Akira shook his head; he couldn't even be bothered to put these worthless items in his school uniform pocket to take away.
After all, this is a proper high school, and even if a group of high school students aiming for higher education have distorted desires, they are limited to themes like love or competition, and the emotions expressed are mostly jealousy and anger.
The materialized desires he could see were basically drafts filled with curses or love letters crammed with ambiguous phrases; occasionally, he'd see small items like school bags or fountain pens.
Unimpeded, Kurusu Akira quickly reached the deepest layer of Mementos.
He stood at the subconscious location of "Shujin Academy," looking at the huge, seemingly excavated or gnawed hole in the station before him, his expression somewhat grave—
Because this location should be the principal's office.
'Shinba Takakiyo, I knew you had something shady going on!'
Kurusu Akira quickly exited Mementos.
By then, class was over outside, and through the door, he could hear the restless adolescent boys in the restroom discussing the beautiful girls' chests at school.
"Takamaki is really pretty, big chest, perky butt, and legs too…"
"Isn't Iseri Nina from 2-D Class cute too, just dressed a bit plain."
"Hey, you like girls whose chests are flat enough to wear elementary school bras?"
"Uh… isn't a pretty face enough?"
"Go away, go away, she's really close with that 'legendary Amamiya,' you don't stand a chance."
Kurusu Akira pushed open the restroom door and walked out, "'Legendary Amamiya'? What's that supposed to mean? I've never heard that before."
The boy zipping up his pants chattered, "You don't know? It's that 'academic monster' who just transferred in and immediately surpassed the second in the grade to dominate the academic rankings!"
"Oh right, he's super handsome, and I heard his family has a strong background, enough to make even that 'devil Ito' become amiable… Holy crap! Amamiya Ren!"
The boys who had finished using the restroom scattered, some even forgetting to wash their hands.
Kurusu Akira walked out of the restroom expressionlessly, stood in front of the mirror at the sink for a moment, then took off his glasses, splashed some water, and tidied his messy hair.
"Super handsome?"
He looked at himself in the mirror, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
At that moment, the girls walking out of the adjacent ladies' restroom all stopped in their tracks.
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