Whose personality mask's power comes from the heroic spirit?

"Brother Taichi, you're here." Sakura Futaba, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, sat on the bed and waved at Taichi.

"Yes. Futaba, play the video of the stalker for me." Taichi knocked on the case of his phone, signaling Ax to get ready to work.

"OK!" Sakura Futaba swiped a few times on her mobile phone, and the display screen on the table next to her began to play the video captured by Sakura Futaba.

When Taiyi saw the stalker's face clearly, he took a deep breath.

"Hmm? Naruto-kun, is the stalker someone you know?" Yukinoshita looked at Taichi in surprise and asked.

"It's a troubling problem." Taichi frowned and nodded, "Her name is Hayasaka Ai, and she is the attendant of Kaguya Shinomiya, the daughter of the Shinomiya Group... She is also a spy planted by Kaguya Shinomiya, the eldest son of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Huangguang."

"Sigong..." Everyone in the room showed surprise on their faces.

"Even someone as ignorant as me has heard of this surname." Kitagawa Yusuke frowned, "The Shinomiya Group stands at the top of the T0 economic ranks in this country."

"The conspiracy theories about the Shinomiya Group have never stopped on the Internet." Shinjima Shinya's face was pale.

The identity of the stalker really put her in trouble.

"Like what Naruto-kun said, this problem is really too big." The one who knew the weight of the Shinomiya Group the most was undoubtedly Yukinoshita Yukino. "We don't even know how many people Hayasaka Ai has conveyed our information to... Even if we use the navigation app to forcibly change her will now, it's probably too late."

"No, there should still be a chance." Taichi shook his head and replied, "If Hayasaka Ai really told Shinomiya Huangguang about the Phantom Thieves, then I probably won't be able to see you today."

"The reason why you are all still able to gather together and appear in front of me now can only mean that Hayasaka Ai has temporarily blocked the information."

"What should we do?" Amamiya Ren looked at Taiyi and asked.

"...Niijima, come with me to the Shinomiya family in the harbor." Taichi pursed his lips, then looked at Shinjima and said, "We have to go and meet Hayasaka Ai in person... or Shinomiya Kaguya."

"As for the others... don't act alone for now. Mordred will protect your safety for the short term."

"Oh, leave it to me!" Mordred promised with a thumbs up.

"Lord Mordred, you must protect me!" Sakura Futaba immediately went over and hugged Mordred's arm.

"Come to think of it, this Mordred-san doesn't seem to be in the Phantom Thieves group, right?" Kitagawa Yusuke suddenly asked.

"Because Mordred... is Taichi's personality mask. Although we don't know why, she can indeed materialize and appear in the real world." Ryuji Sakamoto glanced at Yusuke Kitagawa and replied.

"...Can the personality mask materialize and appear in the real world?" Kitagawa Yusuke and Niijima Makoto both looked at Mordred with a confused look on their faces and asked.

"Taichi's is fine." Morgana suddenly came out from under the bed and replied, "So, Lord Mordred, please protect us!"

……

"Do you want to take a taxi?" After Taiyi stopped a taxi at the street corner, Xindao asked in surprise, "This journey is not short."

"There's no time to squeeze into the train." Taichi urged, "We're in a hurry now. Of course, the cost will be shared by everyone after this is over...Except Kitagawa."

That person even has trouble eating.

Chapter 12 Hayasaka Ai wants to take a time machine

The taxi stopped some distance away from Shinomiya's house.

"The land ahead is private. I can't drive in without the owner's permission." The driver turned and explained to Taiyi.

"Yeah, I know." Taiyi nodded and took out a few large bills from his wallet and handed them over.

"Are we just going to walk over there openly?" After getting off the taxi, Niijima looked at Taichi nervously and asked.

"Of course." Taichi turned his head and looked at Shinjima and replied, "Although your identities have been exposed, you still should not underestimate the deterrent power of the Phantom Thieves. The ones who should be worried and afraid are not us, but the other side."

"If we sneak in quietly, the other party might be frightened and make an irrational choice on impulse."

"But if we visit them openly, we can give them some time to prepare themselves mentally."

"Is, is that so?" Niijima followed Taichi somewhat unconfidently.

When facing a behemoth like the Shinomiya Group, even Shinjima, who has overcome his inner weaknesses, still cannot muster any confidence or courage.

When they arrived at the iron gate, Taiyi rang the doorbell, and then took the initiative to take Shinjima Makoto to stand within the range of the surveillance camera.

"This is the Shinomiya family. May I ask if you have an appointment?" The other party's somewhat unconfident voice came from the loudspeaker next to the iron gate.

After all, if a distinguished guest comes to visit, the head maid in the house will definitely greet them in advance and distribute the reception work to everyone.

However, the staff in the monitoring room did not receive any relevant notification.

"I don't have an appointment," Taichi replied, "but please put me through to Hayasaka Ai, the staff at your house. I have something very important to discuss with her."

"…Sorry, please wait a moment. I will report right away."

Next to him, Xindao's breathing really started to become rapid.

"Niijima, take a deep breath and relax," Taiyi reminded, "This concerns everyone's safety, so we must not show our weakness first."

"Inhale - exhale - I'll do my best." Shinjima tried hard to regulate his breathing.

Although she said this, she didn't know whether she was aware of it or not, but her hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the corner of Taiyi's clothes.

After about two minutes, the iron gate opened.

Two maids in maid uniforms were standing at the door, bowing to Taichi and Shinjima in the manner that maids should.

"Hayasaka-sama ordered the two of us to guide the two distinguished guests to the reception room."

"Please follow us."

……

The reception room of the Shinomiya family is quite luxurious.

Although he couldn't name any of the decorations, Shinjima had seen reference pictures of these decorations in luxury magazines.

In short, if you pick out a few items from this room, her sister would never be able to afford them even if she worked as a prosecutor for her entire life.

So Shinjima still behaved quite reservedly.

Taiyi had no way to deal with this.

After all, the reason why he could come to Shinomiya's house to see Shinomiya Kaguya so calmly was mainly because he had the confidence.

Even without mentioning the monster materialization software in the hands of Aix and Akane Shinjo, Achilles and Jeanne d'Arc on his side alone can allow him to pass the level without any pressure.

But Niijima is really different. In the real world, she is just a beautiful JK girl with some unusual experiences.

As soon as I sat down, a maid came into the reception room pushing a cart.

He placed the expensive-looking snacks and tea in front of Taichi and Shinjima.

"Please use it." The maid said to Taichi and Shinjima with a polite smile, "If you have any instructions, please call me at any time."

Although it looks luxurious, after putting it in your mouth... Taiyi feels that it is not as delicious as street snacks.

After a long while, Hayasaka Ai finally appeared in the reception room.

"I wonder where you two heard my name from." Hayasaka Ai looked at Taichi and Niijima Makoto with an expressionless face and asked.

"This is not a question you should consider." Taiyi held the cup of black tea and blew on the edge of the cup in a pretentious manner. He took a sip before continuing, "We came to visit you this time just to find out who ordered you to follow up on the members of our team."

"...I'm very sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean." Hayasaka Ai tilted her head, as if she didn't understand what Taichi said.

"Our companions have already retrieved the surrounding surveillance footage." Taichi glanced at Hayasaka Ai and said, "Do you want me to play it for you on my phone now?"

"Although I only followed you for two days, you seemed to have heard a lot of things you shouldn't have heard."

The expression on Hayasaka Ai's face fluctuated for a brief moment.

"I also did some research on you... and found out something not very interesting... about your real job. I wonder if Miss Shinomiya Kaguya knows about it."

The facial muscles on Hayasaka Ai's face suddenly twitched a few times, and there was a bit more fear in her expression when she looked at Taichi.

"You guys, go out first." Hayasaka Ai looked at the maids in the living room and gave orders.

Without any sound, several maids tiptoed out of the reception room.

"I am the only one who knows about your affairs, and I have not reported it to anyone yet." Hayasaka Ai suddenly stepped down from Taichido's seat, "I, Hayasaka Ai, will bear all the responsibilities, please do not involve the young lady."

"Huh?" Shinjima was startled by Hayasaka Ai's sudden action.

She even almost threw herself into Taiyi's arms.

But after seeing Hayasaka Ai's actions and hearing what she said, Shinjima was stunned for a moment, then looked at Taichi with an amazed look.

Although she didn't know what kind of leverage Taiyi had on the other party, the fact that he could make the other party get up obediently with just a few words really made her feel more courageous and secure.

"...You didn't report it to that person? As expected." Taichi nodded with an expression of 'as expected', "But you said you didn't tell anyone, I don't believe it. At the very least, you should have informed Kaguya Shinomiya of the results of the follow-up investigation."

"In fact, if Kaguya Shinomiya hadn't given you the relevant instructions, how could you have had so much free time to follow my companions?"

The more Taichi said, the more Hayasaka Ai panicked she became.

She didn't know how much information the other party had obtained about her in such a short time, but regardless of other things, the "that person" Taichi just mentioned was enough to make Hayasaka Ai panic to the point of cardiac arrest.

Hayasaka Ai was so nervous that her body began to tremble slightly.

"Call Shinomiya Kaguya." Taichi looked at Hayasaka Ai and said, "I need to talk to her, your official master, in person."

Chapter 13: Kaguya Shinomiya: It turns out that you are a pervert who enters a girl's dream without permission

Five minutes later, Hayasaka Ai brought Shinomiya Kaguya back to the living room.

Different from the Shinomiya Kaguya in Taichi's memory.

The eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family in front of me did not have a red headband tied behind her head, and her long hair fell over her shoulders and extended all the way to her waist.

There was not a single gleam in his eyes, they were as deep and cold as a frozen pond.

Ice Kaguya... This was Kaguya Shinomiya's state before she met Miyuki Shirogane.

But maybe it was because Taichi's face made her care too much, but at this moment, Kaguya Shinomiya, who should have been expressionless, showed obvious emotional fluctuations on her face.

When Hayasaka Ai reported to her that the visitor was a member of the Phantom Thieves, she did not let her see the surveillance video at the gate.

So before entering the reception room, Kaguya Shinomiya had not expected that one of the two people who came was someone she had seen in her dream, and was so impressed that she still remembers his face clearly.

"As expected, you are also a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." After regaining her composure, Kaguya Shinomiya stared at Taichi and said, "A few days ago, you broke into my dream. Could it be that you were planning to 'change my heart'?"

After getting the confirmation, Kaguya Shinomiya felt somewhat frightened.

She also watched the video clips collected by Hayasaka Ai that showed the contrasting attitudes of those people who changed their minds and surrendered voluntarily.

All I can say is... it's horrifying!

When she thought about how she almost suffered the same fate as these people a few days ago, Kaguya Shinomiya felt scared.

"Breaking into a dream?" Shinjima turned his head and looked at Taichi with a surprised look on his face.

Taichi himself was even more confused than her.

"Wait! I can't pretend I didn't hear you!" Taiyi frowned and stretched out a hand to explain, "I have never entered your dream!"

Although X has this ability, Taichi has never used it.

"Just a few days ago, didn't you appear in my dream riding a chariot pulled by three horses that could fly in the air?" Kaguya Shinomiya asked back.

"Hmm? Wait!" Taichi raised his eyebrows, looking at Shinomiya Kaguya with some confusion, and pointed at Hayasaka Ai who was standing behind her, "Then in your dream, is the maid next to you still wearing a combat maid costume and can step on the air? Moreover, there are three of you in the dream existing in the same space."

"That's right." Shinomiya Kaguya nodded and replied, "Is this how you change people's hearts? By invading other people's dreams?"

"...First, I have to explain it to you." Taiyi shook his head and replied, "That was not a dream."

"That is your 'temple', a place where a person's perceptions are distorted by strong negative or corrupted thoughts, centered on the shadow self, and embodies the view of the surrounding objects."

"Of course, you can also think of it as the location of your subconscious mind."

"Although it's a little strange that your shadow self actually exists in the form of three independent individuals, what's even stranger is that... the things that happened in the hall should not be perceived by the real body in the real world."

"Why can you remember what happened in the hall?" Taiyi frowned and looked up and down at Shinomiya Kaguya with suspicion.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?" Kaguya Shinomiya was stunned for a moment before asking, "This is your major, and I'm even hearing the word 'palace' for the first time."

"Okay, let's put this aside for now, because we can't give any definite answers." Taiyi shook his head and sighed, "Then, I have to explain that the reason I appeared in your hall was purely coincidental."

"There was a deviation in positioning, which caused me, who should have appeared in the real world, to accidentally break into your palace."

"I didn't intend to do anything to you."

"In fact, if you hadn't sent Hayasaka Ai to track down the members, we wouldn't have had any encounters except for that accidental entry before."

"...What you mean is that your sudden visit this time was caused by us provoking you?" Kaguya Shinomiya asked, pursing her lips.

"That's right." Taiyi nodded and replied, "But I won't pursue everyone who has a 'Palace'."