Tokyo Psychic

Page 280

That's what they say, but the fact that the Tsurumaki Foundation was able to achieve such great results is actually only based on nearly a century of research by the Kirijo family.

[Xianjuanxin: In short, we only need Mona to help us with identification and confirmation work, which is very easy, and we can discuss the salary and benefits in detail after we meet!]

[Xianjuanxin: Shouldn't you ask Mona for her opinion?]

Having come this far, Yusuke Kitagawa, who had picked up his phone again, had no choice but to ask Morgana, who was standing next to him.

"Mona, what do you think...? Where did she go?"

The genius painter looked at the empty sofa beside him; the apostle of the velvet room had long since vanished without a trace.

......

at the same time.

Akira Kurusu put down her phone.

At the table beside him sat Cong Yu, who was sitting upright.

This "Sword-Bound Spirit" lady seemed to be exceptionally interested in everything outside, so she kept pestering Shiomi Kotone with questions.

While the Phantom Thieves left the shrine under their umbrellas to collect various legends and stories about the Hoori Shrine in the town, they took advantage of the time.

Akira Kurusu looked at the playful and adorable god beside the table.

"Cong Yu, how much do you remember about the scenes from when we first met?"

"What are you saying, Master... I've never even met you before." At this point, Cong Yu looked at the phantom thief in front of her with some annoyance. "On the contrary, Master started by saying all sorts of intimate things!"

Akira Kurusu readily corrected herself, "What I meant was... I think I visited this shrine before. Does Murasame remember that time?"

Hearing this, Cong Yu tilted her head and thought about it seriously for a moment.

"Now I understand. But thinking about it, my master has really changed a lot!"

Cong Yu leaned over, as if to comfort Lai Xixiao, and gently grasped his right hand. "At that time, you seemed to have no expectations for the future. You just sat in front of the shrine for a while in a daze and then left."

"But now it seems... you have found the path you have been looking forward to."

"No expectations?"

"Hmm... Rather than saying that, it's more like an expression of 'having foreseen one's own death and making arrangements for one's affairs as best as possible'."

As Cong Yu muttered to herself, it seemed that her hazy memories were gradually becoming clearer.

But it's strange that, since this happened recently, why would the manager of the Divine Blade need to specifically recall the relevant details?

Cong Yu herself realized the flaw in her words, and stopped speaking in the next instant.

A look of bewilderment and shock appeared on that innocent and adorable face.

Finally, she looked at the boy sitting at the table in disbelief.

"I remember now."

"Master... no, it was that Persona user named 'Ren Amamiya' who once told me..."

"Beware of Dioscuri!"

257. A play

"Do I really have to dress like this?!"

Jing Qinrencai blushed and stared blankly at the open dress in her hands.

Although she considers herself to be fairly good-looking and has a relatively slim figure, Izare Rina doesn't really like wearing skirts.

She felt the skirt would reveal too much skin.

Even wearing stockings to try to alleviate the feeling, the cool sensation under the skirt was still quite uncomfortable.

Of course, the world does have such a great invention as "safety pants".

Jing Qinrencai occasionally tried wearing skirts with stockings and safety shorts.

Then, under the pretext of "anyway, there are safety shorts covering me, so nothing will happen," he thoroughly touched Akira from her ankles upwards.

Even the most trusting and naive person will realize they've been bullied.

After that, Jingqinrencai never dared to wear skirts again.

Because if I wear a skirt, I'll get bullied by Akira Kurusu.

He might be more restrained in public places like school and streets, but once you accompany him into a club activity room or a slightly secluded place, he will bully you relentlessly.

Jing Qinrencai vaguely felt that doing this was wrong.

However, due to her unconditional trust in Akira Kurusu and the "good friend contract" he mentioned, her psychological defenses were gradually lowered.

So every time, she would feel wronged and bewildered as Lai Qixiao bullied her, until her face turned red and her knees trembled before she would remember that she should run away.

When things really came to that, she really had no way to escape.

She had no strength left in her body, and her legs were as weak as putty. She could only listen to Lai Xixiao using various words and then cooperate in a daze.

They also get excited and thrilled by occasional compliments from the other party.

In the end, it seemed that she had lost even the most basic rationality and memory. When she regained her senses, she was already straddling his lap with her clothes disheveled, and she couldn't even remember which clothes she was missing.

Only the closest of friends can do this.

Jingqin Rencai passively accepted Kurusu Akira's taking and taking.

She wasn't a doll without any independent consciousness. Although she felt comfortable when Akira Kurusu gently rubbed her all over, she soon felt as if she had some unvented emotions stuck in her heart, making her feel depressed. After a few times, she began to hate this feeling.

But the temper of the celery always comes and goes quickly.

It's been a week since I changed into a dress at Akira Kurusu's request, and I've long forgotten about that unpleasant experience.

Sitting opposite Nina Izaya, Akira Kurusu gave her a thumbs up, "Nina, don't worry about wearing it, it's to help Ame-chan!"

This is the "Kagura-den" (Hall of Kagura) in the side hall of the shrine.

This is the place where priestesses and priests used to rehearse songs and dances.

Behind a row of vermilion railings, the members of the Phantom Thieves were chattering away, working on their script.

This plan, finalized after discussion, aims to bring the story of "Congyu" back into the lives of Suizhi residents through a stage play.

This is indeed something a group of students could do.

The influence of stage plays is indeed too limited, but it has been effective enough in this town.

After all, this divine sword was once Suizhi's faith. Even if it was blown away by time and buried deep in a corner of the town, a tiny spark would be enough to reignite it.

Once this faith re-emerges and begins to solidify, the Phantom Thieves will use a special pre-announcement letter and a sufficiently high-profile action to ensure that everyone in Sui-ori remembers Murasame's departure.

This would allow them to leverage the fame and influence of the Phantom Thieves to bring Murasame's story to the Impression Space in Tokyo.

This is a necessary measure to fully unleash the power of Murasame.

For it to truly possess the corresponding power in the Impression Space, someone must subconsciously believe that "Congyu Maru can slay all evil spirits."

In fact, if the Phantom Thieves wanted to promote the story of Cong Yu, they could have simply hired someone to do it, but considering that the evil gods hiding behind the scenes might interfere, they had no choice but to do it themselves.

......

After changing her clothes, Jing Qinren walked onto the stage with a sullen face.

She still couldn't get used to wearing dresses.

Unlike school uniform skirts, this time there wasn't even a chance to wear safety shorts and stockings underneath.

I moved my legs around aimlessly, feeling as if a gust of wind was blowing into me with every step.

Especially with Akira Lai below her, she had an even stronger illusion that she was about to be seen naked by her at any moment—and it really was an illusion, because the hem of her dress was longer than her knees, so there was no way she could be exposed. Unless she deliberately lifted her leg high.

In the script, she will play the role of "a passerby who likes to collect goshuin (scepters) but accidentally becomes the swordsman of Murasame".

Across from him, An and Subaru were flipping through the script, and he was going to play the role of "the high priest of the shrine".

Kotone Shiomi plays the role of "the shrine maiden who protects Murasame".

Wakaba Mutsumi reluctantly played the role of "the soul residing in Murasame".

Akira Kurusu and Shoko Toyokawa play the "phantom thief duo who plan to steal Murasame".

Ishigami Rina knew that she was probably going to be the main character this time, so she became a little more serious.

She forced herself to ignore the thought that her dress was letting in drafts, and walked over to An and Subaru to look at the script together.

Akira Kurusu jumped onto the stage as if she were deliberately teasing Serina Ii, her hands restlessly clinging to Ii's shoulders.

Because it was a dress, even a slight touch of the shoulder straps made Izana feel the fabric covering her body moving.

She felt a sense of shame she had never felt before.

Her face flushed unnaturally, and she turned around almost angrily, waving her small fists to punch Lai Xixiao's chest.

What are you doing?!

The girl's shrill voice, tinged with tears of shame and indignation, made Akira Kurusu laugh triumphantly.

"Of course it's because Nina looks so cute dressed like that, I couldn't resist!"

"So...cute..." Jing Qinrencai's brain was overloaded. Like a boiled shrimp, she stood there with her claws raised, at a loss for what to do.

"Hmph, so cheesy." Anhe Subaru, who was reading the script across from her, brushed his hair aside and ran his fingers through his thick black hair, giving Raisi Akira a displeased glare.

The meaning is clear: you'd better get this kid over with quickly, or I really can't hold back tonight.

Akira Kurusu leaned close to An and Subaru's ears and said cryptically, "The time is not yet right."

Anhe Subaru stepped on his instep. "Then you'd better find a way to get Rencai away tonight."

"you sure?"

"Heh." An He'ang could easily guess what Qi Xiao was thinking, and just sneered. "Just you wait, I guarantee you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow."

258. Anwa Subaru's Charming Moments

The whole day of rehearsals is over.

The plum rains continued to drizzle in the courtyard.

The Suiori Shrine was shrouded in a thick, paper-like white mist. Izare Jinna changed out of her dress and sat next to the stage, talking on the phone with her family.

According to the Phantom Thieves' plan, after everyone finishes their performance at the "Hoori Onsen Festival" next week and continues to promote the shrine story, they will set off for Kumamoto.

Jingqinrencai has been quite troubled by this lately—

When good friends come to visit your hometown, you should at least take care of their food, clothing, and accommodation.

This time, she made a very unusual decision not to rely on Akira Kurusu.

She wanted to find a way to solve the problem herself.

to this end......

Jing Qinren made a video call to her sister.

It wasn't my parents, but my older sister.

After all, compared to her stern and unsmiling educator father, and her mother who always stood on the same side as her father, she trusted her fashionable older sister more.

Izare Jinna doesn't own a shrine, doesn't have enough pocket money to rent a guesthouse, and certainly wouldn't let people sleep at her house...

Therefore, her options were very limited, and she should have sought advice from reliable adults.

While chatting with her older sister, Izana glanced at the railing next to Kagura-dono.

The Phantom Thieves were still there discussing the action sequences and lines, but two familiar faces were missing.

Subaru is gone, and so is Amamiya...

Strange, weren't they just discussing their scenes together?

In fact, Anwa Subaru and Kurusu Akira are still studying their "relationship scenes".

However, the content of the performance was no longer a stage play promoting the history of the shrine.

......

Rainwater quietly slid down from the eaves.