Kurusu Akira glanced at the recruitment letter in his hand and immediately sensed something was off.
"Japan Anomalous Event Countermeasures Bureau"—these words combined seemed out of place.
Plus, the crude setup now felt like an "ambush."
He looked at Gaen Izuko, who was already sitting behind the desk, seriously reading his "No Game No Life."
This seemingly mysterious woman... seemed to be just an ordinary person?
Kurusu Akira turned back to look at the line written on the wall: "Prajna is ignorant, yet knows everything."
"Gaen-san, I almost thought you truly possessed the 'omniscience' ability. This information about me shouldn't have been collected by you, right?"
The Phantom Thief suddenly felt a little disappointed. If Gaen Izuko in front of him was truly "omniscient," then many of the troubles he was currently facing would be easily resolved—
Kurusu Akira, having retrieved his Persona from the Velvet Room, had enough confidence to disregard any threats in any field. In his current situation, where he couldn't get assistance from supporters, the most lacking resource he had was "information."
The corners of Gaen Izuko's mouth twitched noticeably twice as she reviewed the manuscript. "You're right, the information wasn't collected by me. But about three years ago, I could indeed be considered 'omniscient.'"
"Sounds even worse than me," Kurusu Akira thought to himself. When he first transmigrated, he went from being a "supernatural ability user" to a "suspected supernatural ability user." This Gaen Izuko went directly from "supernatural ability user" to "formerly a supernatural ability user."
"What happened during that time?"
"Three years ago, while investigating an urban legend about a TV in Inaba, Japan, I had all my extraordinary concepts confiscated by a monster who called herself 'Izanami.'"
She leaned back in the soft office chair, looking up at the ceiling with some frustration, "Then, two weeks ago, when I just returned to Japan, a guy who called himself 'God' suddenly broke into my dream and told me a lot of things about the 'Phantom Thief' and the Velvet Room, and finally ordered me to come to Tokyo to kill you."
"It didn't even dare to find you itself, it just wanted to use me as cannon fodder... Anyway, I used many one-time methods to escape. Now, besides having some connections in Japan, I'm just an ordinary person with a little bit of extraordinary power that can barely protect myself, and a lot of knowledge."
"Actually, I was surprised to see you just walk into my office like that. All those arrangements earlier were just a bluff, trying to extract some useful information from you... I didn't expect you to look like a high school student, yet your vigilance is surprisingly high."
Gaen Izuko tugged at the baseball cap on her head, her mood noticeably low.
Kurusu Akira also didn't bother looking at the meaningless recruitment letter in his hand anymore and simply pushed it back to her, "Do you have any information on those entities that call themselves 'gods'? They've been playing some nasty pranks on my life recently."
Gaen Izuko took the recruitment letter, tore it into pieces, and threw it into the wastebasket beside her. "I originally wanted to find out from you what kind of monsters these 'gods' are... That encounter three years ago made me lose too much important knowledge, and no matter how hard I tried afterward, I could only recover a very small part."
She pointed at the laptop in front of her, "Now I'm just a new editor earning 300,000 yen a month. Anyway, I apologize for the offense earlier... How about I treat you to lunch? A Michelin restaurant, would you like to try?"
Upon hearing Gaen Izuko voluntarily drop the subject of inquiring about information beyond reality, Kurusu Akira happily followed her lead, "I'd be delighted to try."
Gaen Izuko sighed, then continued reading "No Game No Life" on Kurusu Akira's computer.
"Just now, you said you were a new editor... Is it that easy to get into Dengeki Bunko now?"
"Connections, you know. Asking a few old acquaintances always helps you find a way to make a living."
The office fell into silence for about three minutes.
The Phantom Thief idled on the campus forum on his phone for a while, then suddenly looked up at the victim of the "uncontrolled incident" in front of him.
"Gaen-san, do you want to 'get revenge' on those guys?"
"Revenge? That's too far. I just want to live well," Gaen Izuko said casually.
She was engrossed in reading "No Game No Life" that Kurusu Akira had submitted.
The story is highly complete, and various settings are very interesting, enough to achieve very impressive results in the current market of transmigration to other worlds full of trashy works... If the subsequent plot can keep up, it might even be managed into a work no less than "Sword Art Online."
"That doesn't sound like something a 'formerly omniscient' former supernatural ability user would say."
"If one day you can no longer use your Persona... No, if one day you suddenly fundamentally become a completely ordinary person, but you still retain all the knowledge and experiences that once transcended the mundane, and then you are forced to continue living in this world for three years, perhaps then you will understand my current state."
Gaen Izuko waved her hand at Kurusu Akira, "Don't worry, I'm counting on you to save me if I encounter danger... I definitely won't leak your identity or information."
At this point, she became curious, "I've always wondered why those guys hiding in the shadows of the city don't just reveal your identity to the public?"
"It's a simple reason. The Phantom Thief and they are alike; their fundamental power comes from people's 'cognition.' When these truths that shouldn't be known to society become part of people's cognition, my power as a 'Phantom Thief' will surge and mutate like never before, and then they will never have a chance to win against me again."
"Sounds a bit like Superman."
"But the birth of 'Superman' would only unleash even more terrifying and uncontrollable disasters upon this world."
Gaen Izuko slapped her knee suddenly, "Amamiya-san... no, Akira-sensei, you absolutely must write this inspiration into your new book."
Kurusu Akira looked at the "former supernatural ability user" before him, thoroughly corrected by reality and life, and his gaze suddenly became somewhat distant.
----------------
After a satisfying meal at the high-end restaurant.
The publication and distribution of "No Game No Life" were also settled.
He had finally taken the first step towards becoming a light novel master.
Kurusu Akira walked down a street in Chiyoda, searching for the location of the Police Department on his phone's navigation.
There were many ways to submit a manuscript, and online submission was also a suitable option.
But making a special appointment to visit Dengeki Bunko today certainly had a deeper consideration—
The Phantom Thief intended to investigate the disappearance of Ishihara in the Police Department's Mementos.
Whenever he encountered such a detective-like conundrum, he would start to miss the supernatural organization from his previous life called the "Shadow Operatives."
Real-time updated valid intelligence, innovative high-tech equipment, and 24/7 ready reinforcement.
If the Kurusu Akira of back then could be considered Agent "007," now he might just be Agent "Garfield."
'Or, should I form a similar mysterious organization myself?'
Kurusu Akira pinched his chin, once again pondering the "Phantom Thieves" plan he had conceived some time ago while on the street.
'So the question is, where do I get such a vast amount of funds and connections, and find a group of well-trained Persona users, or supernatural ability users who can also function in reality?'
Fans of the "Jojos bizarre adventure Series" know that without the decades of human and material support from the Speedwagon Foundation, founded by the world-renowned oil magnate Joseph Joestar, the members of the Stardust Crusaders might have ended up in a complete "tragedy" instead of a "heroic and tragic" one.
He had finally met a supernatural ability user who dared to call herself "omniscient," only to find that she had already transitioned from her peak to retirement, and had no desire to put herself in danger.
While eating at that Italian restaurant earlier, Kurusu Akira had probed Gaen Izuko many times.
Then he realized that she had long passed the twilight stage of "the streamer hasn't retired, she just isn't wanted," where she could still put her remaining energy to good use. She had completely entered the ash-like stage of "the streamer has already retired and just wants to sell pork floss bread every day to get by," with a heart as dead as ashes.
However, according to Gaen Izuko, she had several friends who could all be considered "talented individuals," and they should be able to meet Kurusu Akira's needs—
And one of them happened to be in Tokyo and had also signed a contract with the Velvet Room.
Kurusu Akira walked out of the Police Department's main gate, then turned off his navigation, and found the newly added phone number in his contacts, noted as "Narukami Yu."
Should he call now?
The Phantom Thief's finger hovered over "Narukami Yu's" name for a moment, then he gave up.
"I can't tip them off yet. Now is definitely not the time for two contractors of the Velvet Room to start cooperating."
"Since Gaen-san already knows Narukami-san and obtained information about me two weeks ago, she must have informed him..."
Such a premonition flashed through his mind.
Those guys hidden behind the scenes must also be secretly and nervously monitoring this "former contractor." If he were to contact him now, it would likely thoroughly infuriate those enemies lurking in the dark corners of society, causing things to spiral out of control.
After all, rescuing people is far more troublesome and complicated than the process of enemies, who also possess extraordinary powers, killing people.
Only after confirming all information about the enemy can casualties among innocent people be minimized through a "one-hit kill" method.
Perhaps Narukami Yu also held this idea, which is why, after receiving information from Gaen, he never thought of coming to Shujin to find him.
Now, fighting alone is the only option.
The Phantom Thief was also going to moonlight as a "mind detective."
Kurusu Akira walked into the Police Department, feigning an urgent need to use the restroom, and asked the female officer at the front desk if he could use the toilet.
After confirming that there was no one else in the restroom, he mentally reviewed all the information about Ishihara from Class 2-A, then began to dive into the world of consciousness.
Mementos, activate!
----------------
At the same time.
Shinba Takakiyo, who was soaking in a hot spring in a detached villa at the Kawasaki City Citizen's Port, suddenly received a mysterious phone call.
"Hello, this is the Shinba family."
"Don't 'pay tribute' to the boss anymore, Shinba, things are about to be exposed." A familiar, high-pitched voice, processed by computer software, came from the receiver.
Shinba Takakiyo's brows furrowed instantly. "Has the Police Department started investigating us?"
The voice on the phone was silent for a few seconds. "I told you, this has nothing to do with the police. In short, don't do anything during this period. Everything is pending."
Shinba Takakiyo's expression became increasingly grim. "What about Awa Tendou's granddaughter, whom the boss took a liking to before? I've already arranged people at her school and settled all the connections. Everything is in order. She'll be sent to the boss's bed in a week."
"...Keep her for yourself to play with. From today onwards, don't contact the boss anymore."
Then the call hung up.
Shinba Takakiyo opened the "Recent Calls" directory, and as always, found nothing.
It was as if the person who had just spoken to him was merely a ghost living in the internet.
...
Clouds were rooted in the sky, like waves blooming in the boundless azure sea, their roots leading to unknown places. This was a world without wind, everything was silent. Flocks of birds spread their wings and perched on the flower sea, with no reefs, the only solitary boat being a white passenger plane in the vastness.
Kurusu Akira, having left the Mementos, stood on the other side of this blue sea. He merely paused to gaze, the joys and sorrows of the crowd along with the bustling streetscape seemed to be frozen together like a film.
It couldn't be said that he gained absolutely nothing.
At least the Phantom Thief successfully made fourteen bribed executives and police officers who secretly committed crimes within the Police Department repent.
Then he specifically went to the Velvet Room and had Lavenza help create the corresponding calling cards.
Finally, he made his Persona, Dioscuri, manifest in reality to clear away all his traces, and incidentally hid these letters in corners where cleaners would definitely find them, in a way that would never be captured by cameras.
However, given the Police Department's usual behavior, this matter might be handled internally?
Kurusu Akira crossed another item off his schedule.
His next agenda was band practice, working to earn money, and then visiting Principal Shinba in Kawasaki City on the weekend.
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