Tokyo Psychic

Page 138

"No name" ("Nothing has a name").

......

In the dark corner, STARRY sensed Akira Kurusu's presence and Morgana, who was curled up in a cardboard box and fast asleep, immediately opened her eyes.

It had had enough of being kept as a pet, so it immediately tried to jump out of the cardboard box... The collar around its neck quickly restrained it in place, and only then did it remember that it had accidentally spilled an expensive bottle of champagne and was being punished by Ichiji Hoshika.

That damned woman... Morgana crouched in the cardboard box in grief and anger, shouting for help to try and attract the attention of the phantom thief.

Unfortunately, the soundproofing of the recording studio was so excellent that its piercing screams only earned it a scolding from Ijichi Seika.

"Morgana, be quiet, I'll let you out tonight!"

She has to go out to buy groceries and drinks later, so she won't be able to take care of her pet.

*

at the same time.

A music classroom at Tsuki no Mori Girls' Academy.

The Morfonica members, who had just finished rehearsing, were resting.

The band's guitarist, Touko Kiritani, held up her phone and let out a painful cry.

"This is outrageous! Their popularity has been completely crushed!"

"Even though so much time has passed, why is the urban legend of the 'Mind Thief' still so popular?"

Morfonica's meticulously promoted tour trailers hovered around fourth or fifth place on the trending topics list for three days, barely reaching second place on the day of the promotion...

The top five trending topics right now are:

[A teaser letter from the Phantom Thief], [South Korean shogi player wins International Cup with a record of 0 wins and 1 loss], [Shocking! The true face of educator "Shin-Ma Hsiao-Lien" revealed], [The Phantom Thief returns to Tokyo], [Morfonica Seibu Dome concert preview!]...

Rui Yashio, dressed as a young lady and a violinist in a band, fell into a subtle state of mind.

"Or... should I buy some bots to boost my ranking?"

The girls around her rushed forward to try and stop Rui Yashio, but to their surprise, a faint smile appeared on her indifferent face. "I was just kidding."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The innocent girls couldn't bring themselves to do something so "cheating," but they did start discussing the veracity of the "Mind Thief" legend with regret and curiosity.

"it is true!"

Kurata Mashiro suddenly spoke, interrupting the discussion.

Her eyes gleamed as she looked at each one. "Mind Thieves really exist!"

The atmosphere in the music room froze instantly.

The next moment, the girls looked at each other, trying hard to hold back their laughter, and a joyful atmosphere quickly filled the air.

......

Finally, it's over.

Ichi Nijika stretched, stood up listlessly, walked to the sofa, and plopped down on her side.

It was almost dinner time, and after continuous high-intensity training, she felt that her wrists were so sore that she was about to lose all feeling.

Toyokawa Shoko rubbed her aching fingers, staring somewhat annoyed at Kurusu Akira in front of her. That guy always faked playing when everyone was fully engaged.

Before she awakened her Persona, she would probably have been just as oblivious to the phantom thief's laziness as anyone else.

But after awakening her Persona, she became the only one in the band to notice Akira Kurusu's subtle actions.

I felt both annoyed and amused, and then I couldn't help but think of my childhood sweetheart, the guitarist in my former band.

Toyokawa Shoko stood up, took out her phone and checked the time; it was almost time for dinner.

"Lian, are you working at STARRY again today?"

"I won't be working any more recently," Akira Kurusu said, looking down at his phone. During breaks in the performance, he had been dealing with messages from DB Bunko.

The first volume of "No Game No Life" has sold out in major bookstores in Tokyo. Considering the increased promotional work to come, the paperback company has decided to pay him a large sum of royalties in advance next week.

This money is enough for Lai Qixiao to pay off the remaining debts.

He silently gave thanks to the immortal spirit that no longer existed in the other world, and felt a deep sense of gratitude for the passing of time. He was filled with a profound sense of peace and hope, a feeling of profound gratitude for the spirit that had been so precious.

The girls around him immediately stood in awe. "Is this what professionalism is?"

Akira Kurusu nodded in agreement.

Actually, it doesn't have much to do with the so-called "band". This is a collaboration between the agency and DB Bunko.

They're having a signing event in Shibuya tomorrow, so I need to explain some important points to Akira Kurusu beforehand, as well as the arrangements for the signing event.

This is another large sum of money.

Akira Kurusu put the guitar back in its case, then fastened the metal clasp, leaving the case in the recording studio. Turning back to Shoko Toyokawa, he asked, "Shoko, are you going to work tonight?"

“I’m not going to work today either…” Toyokawa Shoko said. “A friend invited me to her house for dinner.”

Akira Kurusu knew that the "friend" she was referring to was none other than Mutsumi Wakaba.

"Can I go to the agency with you?" asked Serina Iori curiously.

“Go home and do your homework,” Akira Kurishi immediately rejected Serina Iza’s request.

He made a promise with An and Subaru tonight not to come home, so how could he bring the child along?

Izare Jinna pouted in frustration, then walked to the sofa and sat down, beginning to ask Ijichi Niyaka and Yamada Ryo about their feelings regarding the joint entrance exam.

Even Yamada Ryo was shocked by this terrifying topic.

Ignoring the girls' playful antics, Akira Kurusu had already left the recording studio.

Only Momoka Kawara watched his retreating figure, then looked at the band girls around her, and shook her head with a sigh.

......

【PM. 7:25】

The station of Shigenjaya.

Dusk crashed into the corner of the wall, and from its wounds flowed a pool of sunset glow.

A slender young woman wandered alone in a hazy play of light and shadow, appearing lonely and forlorn during her long wait, like a princess fleeing from disaster, disheveled yet still noble and beautiful, evoking pity and affection.

Perhaps because she looked so flustered and confused, her noble air lost some of its unapproachability. People kept approaching her to chat, but they were all met with very harsh and merciless rejections.

Akira Kurusu slowly approached from behind her, and suddenly, without warning, reached out and hugged the girl's slender waist.

An and Subaru seemed startled and let out a very soft gasp.

Then she struggled for a while, as if belatedly realizing that her boyfriend was behind her, and then she smiled shyly, "Lian, you're here."

A young girl's smile when she falls in love is always breathtakingly beautiful, making passersby who are watching her instantly lose their composure.

Akira Kurusu rubbed Anwa Subaru's flat stomach through the fabric of the woman's short-sleeved shirt. "He's acting again."

"Could it be... you don't like it?" Anhe Subaru blinked twice. "That doesn't make sense. According to my analysis, you should prefer guys who bring a sense of 'surprise'."

"You're making me want to do bad things to you."

“Then let’s do everything we want to do tonight…” Anwa Subaru took Kurusu Akira’s restless hand and led him into the depths of the Shigen Tea House.

"Are we going to have dinner in LeBlanc and then stay overnight?" she asked Akira in a low voice.

Looking at her expensive gown and meticulously applied makeup, Lai Xixiao couldn't bear to let this princess-like beauty stay overnight in the simple LeBlanc. "I've arranged dinner elsewhere. As for where she'll stay overnight..."

He hesitated for a moment, "Don't the two from Fujikiju have any objections?"

“Rupa said it was very rock and roll, and Ms. Zhi said just don’t make too much noise,” An and Subaru said. “Although it’s an all-female rock band, everyone is actually quite accepting of this kind of thing because of what they’ve heard and heard.”

"Do they bring men home too?"

“A girl band! A girl band!” Anwa Subaru poked Akira Kurusu’s chin with his finger and said with some complaint, “Except for Rupa, everyone else is high school age. They’re already struggling to balance life, work, or studies. Now they have to add band training on top of that. Where do they have time to find men outside?”

"You didn't look for one."

“I don’t need to work to support myself. Going to school is just to get a degree…” Anhe Mao proudly raised his little face. “I told you before, you should quit all those messy part-time jobs. I’ll support you from now on.”

She imagined it with longing, "When the time comes, your daily job will be to play games with me, take care of me, and keep me company... hehehe!"

Noticing the pedestrians around her, she quickly coughed twice and stopped discussing this inappropriate topic for children.

"Why are we going to LeBron?" An and Subaru asked Akira.

"Drive." The phantom thief took the girl's right hand, pried her fingers apart one by one, and then interlocked them tightly.

"Is that Mr. 'Red Hare'?" An and Subaru had a deep impression of the motorcycle named Red Hare.

In her many flashbacks of death, Akira Kurusu always arrives at lightning speed in that car to save her.

"I usually don't have money for gas, so I try to save money wherever I can," Lai Qixiao said, looking at the streetlights beside her. The streetlights were not yet lit, and the red light of the setting sun pierced through the gray lampshade, casting javelin-like sharp shadows into the murky concrete.

"Are you going to become rich?"

"The novel is selling very well, and I will receive a large sum of royalties next week."

"You're moving out of the attic, aren't you?" An and Subaru gazed longingly at his profile.

Akira Kurusu: "Preparations are already underway."

An and Subaru: "Have you decided where you want to move?"

Akira Kurishi: "I haven't thought about that yet."

Anhe Subaru: "Actually, the largest master bedroom at Fujikiju hasn't been rented out yet. I can ask if you can come and stay there... I'll cover your share of the rent."

Akira Kurusu: "It definitely won't be approved, right? It's really weird for a guy to move into an apartment where girls live together."

An and Subaru: "Why not give it a try? You've visited Fujiki-ju so many times... Now they're even willing to let me bring you back for the night, so maybe they'll actually agree to let us stay in the same room."

Akira Lai was taken aback. "You're moving into the master bedroom too?"

He couldn't even imagine how awful his life would be if he lived with An and Subaru every day.

They're only high school age and they're already spending every day in the same bed. What will they do after graduation?

An and Subaru probably realized how audacious their suggestion was, and looked around nervously before saying, "Alright, then let's stay in separate rooms..."

"You haven't even decided to move into 'Fujiki Residence' yet, and you've already made arrangements?"

"Grandma once said that a good woman should plan more for her husband!"

"Could you please stop using a tone that sounds like Tendo Souji when you say 'Grandma once said'? This isn't the set of Kamen Rider Kabuto."

"..."

The two talked as they passed through a residential area.

The neighbor's Siamese cat was stretching lazily on the low wall when it saw Akira Kurusu and Subaru walking by together. Just as it was about to approach, it immediately smelled the perfume on Subaru from a distance and ran away in disgust.

An and Subaru noticed the fleeing kitten. "Speaking of which, what happened to the black cat you saw named 'Morgana'?"

"I entrusted it to the store manager at STARRY for care."

"That sounds a bit pitiful."

What does this mean?

“You should have been the first human it could trust, but you abandoned it.”

“Why are you using such words?” Akira Kurusu pinched An and Subaru’s warm cheek. “Do you think I would entrust it to Mr. Sakura’s care? It would definitely prefer to be cared for by a beautiful older sister who is also tsundere, rather than a tsundere uncle… Morgana must be grateful to me all this time.”

An and Subaru watched him get on his motorcycle next to LeBron's awning and couldn't help but complain.

Is it possible that... it actually wants to be taken care of by you?

......

At this moment, Morgana was listlessly lying in the STARRY cardboard box.

It doesn't pay attention to the hustle and bustle of the outside world; it only finds the noise bothersome.

Even after Ichishige took off its collar, Morgana was too lazy to leave the cardboard box.

To be precise, it once excitedly left the cardboard box and even tried to escape STARRY and return to Shigenjaya to find the Phantom Thief who had saved its life.

But in the end, covered in tangled fur, it escaped back into the cardboard box.

The outside world is terrifying; men and women of all ages treat it like a fool—perhaps a normal cat is indeed a fool compared to humans.