Kurusu Akira checked the time displayed on his phone: 3:20 PM. He took the elevator to the top floor of the department store, and under Kawaragi Momoka's increasingly surprised and uncertain gaze, he easily opened the fire door to the rooftop with the lock-picking tools he carried.
The two walked onto the rooftop, standing behind the safety net, looking out at the neat streets and the towering buildings arranged like fish scales. The shadows cast by the sunlight flowed through the city like black blood, seeping into flesh, eroding organs, and corrupting bone marrow.
"There's no need to come to such a high place just to return money."
Kawaragi Momoka stood behind Kurusu Akira with her hands behind her back.
The sunlight shone on the boy, casting a golden halo around his silhouette.
Kurusu Akira turned around, leaning against the safety net, and looked up at the sky, which was as blue as water.
"I just wanted to take the opportunity to talk to Kawaragi about the future."
"Don't intentionally speak in such ambiguous terms."
"Because 'future' is indeed the right word," Kurusu Akira looked at Kawaragi Momoka's beautiful face. "After all, everyone in the band seems to aspire to play music for life… except for Kawaragi and Togawa."
Kurusu Akira put both hands in his pockets, his gaze drifting like clouds in the sky. "Togawa is very rational; she knew early on that her studies were more important than this temporarily joined band. She must have prepared to cut off ties with all her newly made friends—as soon as the third year of high school for college entrance exams arrives, the band's schedule will be cleanly erased by her, and she'll devote the rest of her school life to improving her academic performance through a mountain of books and questions."
"Kawaragi, who experienced 'giving up studies for rock,' must understand her choice, right?"
Kawaragi Momoka turned her face away noncommittally. "You're an underage person, but your tone is surprisingly mature. So, our first street performance is starting this weekend, and you specifically came to say this?"
"Because both Ijichi Nijika and Yamada Ryo attend regular high schools, they will eventually put the band on hold and choose their studies due to various reasons."
Kurusu Akira looked directly into Kawaragi Momoka's eyes. "So, our band can only last for a maximum of one year. It might disband at any time starting next spring."
"That's quite realistic of you, a minor." Kawaragi Momoka turned her face away, clicking her tongue in annoyance.
"It's strange that an adult would still harbor some inexplicable expectations for a group of high school students," Kurusu Akira walked closer to her. "Is it because most of us in the band are very talented and skilled, leading you to have misplaced expectations?"
"Are you saying this now because you hope I don't invest too much emotion in the current band?"
Kurusu Akira walked behind her. "After all, professional singers can't afford a full year of hiatus."
"Then I'll probably carry my guitar and amplifier and go live in a smaller city…"
Kawaragi Momoka's lips twitched a few times. "As for the future, let my future self think about it… So, you took me away from my job, rode the elevator to the top floor, and even pried open the fire door's safety lock on the rooftop, just to say this?"
Kurusu Akira now showed a somewhat troubled expression. "Actually, there was something more important I wanted to say, but I suddenly felt the time wasn't right, so I hastily changed the subject."
Kawaragi Momoka instinctively moved a few steps away from him. "If you want a girlfriend… go find one at school. If not, the girls in the band are also good choices."
The Phantom Thief found her reaction a bit strange; she used to not be so extreme, but it seemed to have changed after he carried her all the way home that day.
Unable to resist teasing her, he simply went along with her misunderstanding. "No, dating a high school girl is nowhere near as satisfying for showing off as dating the 'former lead singer of a rising rock band.'"
Kawaragi Momoka's reaction was exaggerated; her beautiful eyebrows immediately furrowed, and she stared at Kurusu Akira nervously. "If it's that kind of joke, forget it!"
"But Kawaragi herself brought up the topic of romance."
"I just wanted to gossip about high school romance stories, not become the protagonist of one!"
"Has Kawaragi, who has been single for twenty years, never considered dating a young and handsome high school boy like me?"
Kawaragi Momoka stared at Kurusu Akira's devastatingly handsome face after he took off his glasses, unable to utter any sarcastic words. She could only say somewhat irritably, "Underage people are getting more and more arrogant. Talk about realistic topics like romance with adults when you've paid off your debts!"
"So, you mean as soon as I pay off my debts, Kawaragi will be eager to date me?"
"Read fewer romance comics!"
Kawaragi Momoka had completely lost the cool and stylish image she had when Kurusu Akira first met her.
Kurusu Akira did not continue to provoke her.
He had originally intended to take the opportunity to warn this girl, who worked multiple jobs, about the dangers of the "Metaverse Navigator," and had even gone to the rooftop, preparing to infiltrate the Mementos.
However, considering Togawa Sakiko, whose mental state had been deteriorating recently, and the potential terrible consequences of more ordinary people knowing that "Amamiya Ren is a Phantom Thief," he decided against it.
He closed the fire door, picked up the safety lock with the lock-picking tools still in it from the ground, looped it around the doorknob, and then quickly twisted it back into place. "It's almost time for school to end. Anyway, Kawaragi, could you please drive me to STARRY? I borrowed some sound cards, speakers, and other equipment necessary for rehearsals from the manager."
Although she lost her part-time job at the delivery company, Kawaragi Momoka still rented an old van as her means of transportation.
After enduring several months in such a cramped apartment, her savings were now enough to move to a nearby city, such as Kawasaki or Yokohama, and live in better conditions there.
However, instead of moving outside of Tokyo, she was now more excited about the band's future.
Even if the situation was as Kurusu Akira said, that this band would only last for a year for her, it would certainly be a happy one.
Kawaragi Momoka couldn't quite articulate what kind of emotions and ideals she had placed in these "amateur" high school students.
"But why are you so skilled at lock-picking!"
She looked at the lock-picking tools that Kurusu Akira carefully put into his pocket, finally unable to resist complaining.
"It's normal for high school students to encounter the embarrassment of forgetting their keys when they're out, so carrying a set of lock-picking tools is very normal, right?"
"Then who taught you your lock-picking skills?"
"I learned it on the way during a trip to Hawaii with my family before our family fortunes declined."
The Phantom Thief and she got into the elevator, pressed the floor button, and as the elevator doors closed and opened, unlike the quiet and relaxed solitude they had on the rooftop, the fast-paced, tense life of the city instantly rushed over them, like boiling hot oil, stripping away all pretense, turning the Phantom Thief into a debt-ridden high school student, and the former rock vocalist into a struggling, overworked laborer.
...
PM 4:31.
"Hey, look over there!" Hearing someone shout, the boys who had walked out of Shujin's porch, ready to go home together, immediately craned their necks to look towards the school gate.
A group of beautiful girls with varying styles were pushing small handcarts, laughing and talking, walking towards the club building. On the carts were protective plastic cases, containing musical instruments and some digital equipment needed for performances.
"Who are they? I've never heard of them at school before."
"A newly debuted idol group?"
"Shido, do you dare to ask that girl with short blue hair for her contact information?"
"Then I ask you, do you dare to ask that girl with yellow hair for her contact information?"
In the porch, two male high school students, who considered themselves handsome, were being dominated by adolescent restlessness.
They exchanged glances, and the sunlight reflected in their eyes created dazzling, peacock-like patterns of light.
"Heh, I dare."
"Then I dare too."
"How about this, you go ask the cool-looking blue-haired girl for her contact information, and I'll ask the gentle-looking yellow-haired girl for hers, then we'll exchange!"
"You're dreaming! The blue-haired one clearly looks difficult to communicate with!"
As the two argued, they suddenly heard some unwilling and regretful cries from behind them.
They looked up and saw that the girls had surrounded a black-haired boy. He was carrying two guitar cases and naturally blended into their conversation.
"It's Amamiya Ren!"
"Damn it, this cursed normie… how many resources does he have to monopolize before he stops! Isn't one Iseri Nina enough? Damn it, that first-year Yoshizawa also has a lot of ambiguous interactions with him!"
"He's even reaching outside of school now? Such pure skill, he's… he's Amamiya Harem King!"
...
Togawa Sakiko strangely turned her head and glanced at the group of inexplicably noisy boys.
"Amamiya-san, you're really popular at school."
"Perhaps you all are more popular." Kurusu Akira pushed up his plain glasses on his nose. "Teenage boys are such creatures; they get uncontrollably excited just by seeing a group of beautiful girls walk by."
Ijichi Nijika curiously tilted half her body to peek at his face. "Then did Ren get 'uncontrollably excited' when he saw us?"
Hearing this, Yamada Ryo cooperatively pinched her own cheek with one hand and pulled a smile. "I am a beautiful girl."
Togawa Sakiko thought seriously for a moment, then hesitated and said, "I… should also be considered a 'beautiful girl,' right?"
Kawaragi Momoka, walking beside them, fiddled with the "temporary pass" hanging around her neck. Hearing their conversation, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and quickly quickened her pace, pretending she didn't know these high school students.
Twenty is a very subtle age, having just shed the awkwardness and naiveté of adolescence, where all sorts of unrealistic ideals and aspirations gradually lose their fantastical colors under the pressure of life and society, and one begins to understand the seriousness of reality.
But at the same time, one hasn't completely lost that innocent yearning; they always subtly stir, so one can't help but look back at the childish declarations and ridiculous actions of their former simple and idealistic self, then feel so embarrassed they could bang their forehead against a table corner.
This group of high school girls in a band successfully helped her recall her past school days.
Having a male member in the band with impeccably superior looks would indeed cause the girls to gradually develop affection for him during practice and performances.
Kawaragi Momoka had heard from rock seniors about a handsome male lead singer who dated multiple people in a band, which eventually blew up and led to everyone wanting to commit suicide.
Although they didn't seem to be "in love" with Kurusu Akira yet, the level of affection, far beyond that for ordinary males, was obvious at a glance—damn it, thinking about it, she herself didn't seem to feel much dislike for Kurusu Akira.
She could only hope that these girls, who were still studying, would maintain some rationality when it came to romance, and that Kurusu Akira wouldn't be such a scoundrel as to irresponsibly toy with their emotions.
Everyone walked into the club building, laughing and talking, until they saw the uneven stairs in front of them. The carts, laden with instruments and digital equipment, suddenly felt as heavy as ten thousand pounds.
Gravity always subtly teaches humans humility and politeness in the face of nature.
----------------
By the time the boys and girls had moved all their belongings into the music classroom, the sky outside the window was already approaching dusk.
Flame-like light and heat spewed forth among the sea of clouds, and long light and shadows spread among the tables and chairs stacked around the classroom, like the grid of a chessboard, extending from one end of the classroom to the other, until it filled all the space.
Iseri Nina closed the door, looking a little nervously at the banner hanging above the classroom; she clearly remembered the content hidden beneath it was the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts."
"Are we still practicing the song Kawaragi-san wrote today?"
Yamada Ryo looked at Kurusu Akira, suddenly feeling a bit eager.
Kurusu Akira raised his hand to refuse, "Our first street performance is coming up soon; we can't possibly start practicing a completely unfamiliar song again."
"Hmm, and it's not very convenient to make sheet music right now. Sakiko still has to work later, right?"
Ijichi Nijika looked at the keyboardist who was adjusting various keys on the electronic piano.
Feeling everyone's gaze, Togawa Sakiko nodded. "At six o'clock, I have to work at the fast-food restaurant in Shibuya."
"That's really tough."
The only one qualified to say that, Kawaragi Momoka, let out a sympathetic sigh. As an adult, her daily workload was even more excessive than Togawa Sakiko's... she also worked a part-time job at a 24-hour convenience store at nine in the evening.
Togawa Sakiko looked at the band's guitarist, who was also a "work-god," and showed an expression of mutual appreciation.
To prevent the conversation from veering towards a more serious and cruel reality, Ijichi Nijika quickly clapped her hands, "Then, everyone, let's cherish our time and rehearse quickly!"
Kurusu Akira added, "These instruments and equipment can be left directly in the classroom. We'll train here again after school tomorrow... I've already talked to the manager, and we can borrow this equipment until the end of the semester."
He looked around at the girls. "In a way, this music classroom should be more suitable for us than STARRY's recording studio, right?"
Kawaragi Momoka nodded in agreement. "After all, constantly occupying someone else's paid workspace makes one feel uneasy."
Because of Ijichi Nijika's two claps earlier, Yamada Ryo could now applaud enthusiastically. While clapping, she looked at her best friend with an admiring gaze, "Nijika, you really have the potential to become a young lady."
"How could I be a young lady! I'm just unilaterally taken care of by my sister!" Ijichi Nijika quickly waved her hands, wanting to skip this topic.
Then Iseri Nina turned on the Bluetooth speaker and connected her phone.
The voice software started on its own, and the song at the top of the "Recently Played" list, titled "Lost Rivers" and touted as "the world's worst song," assaulted everyone in the music classroom with its heart-wrenching, suppressed screams through the speaker.
The boys and girls in the band truly felt as if they had been crushed by a steel torrent of armored, weapon-wielding figures, experiencing a strange sense of shock and helplessness.
...
At the same time.
Awa Subaru was walking back to her apartment after school.
Suddenly, a huge guitar case passed in front of her.
The guitar case was like a mountain pressing on the back of a girl dressed in a rather unfashionable, full-body pink tracksuit, making her slightly hunched, her entire face completely covered by overly long bangs.
She moved forward on the street, wriggling like some kind of habitually twisted snake-like creature.
In her memory, the last guitarist who was a bit hunched and deliberately kept long bangs was Kurusu Akira.
And according to Iseri Nina's statement in the club, Kurusu Akira's talent in guitar was so high that it could be described as "unbelievable."
So she thought of the two girls she shared an apartment with; they were both aspiring professional musicians, but the band still lacked a lead singer, drummer, and guitarist.
"Um..." Awa Subaru tentatively approached the pink mass in front of her.
"Hey, you must be very good at playing the guitar, right? Are you interested in being in a band?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To Read Advanced Chapters, and support this novel, please join me on [email protected]/geats2000
(Note: Replace "@-" with "a" on your web browser.)