I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Hifumi slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"Because, making friends... for anyone, is perhaps inherently a painful process."

"What exactly is a 'friend'? — A relationship that merely involves verbal exchanges without truly connecting on a deeper level cannot be considered a true 'friendship.' A true 'friend' is someone you can weather hardships with."

"Together...we'll get through this hardship..."

The shadow seemed to understand.

"So, Co means... 'Coopation', or 'community'... put together..."

"To put it literally... a friend is someone who goes through hardships with you."

The daughters of Trinity are mostly well-mannered.

—Even a 'young lady' who bullies others wouldn't be like the thugs in the Helmet Gang that Amamiya met.

Compared to those delinquent girls, the young ladies of Trinity are truly 'cultured'.

Amamiya, witnessing this scene, felt a surge of emotion.

It seems there's no need for a fight this time...

"Having many friends... then you shouldn't give them up so easily, right?"

"Although it is a very willful idea to ask others to share the suffering... it is also proof of 'bonds'."

Although Hifumi's two heartfelt sentences were 'unreasonable,' the shadow instantly understood what she was trying to express.

"...!"

"...That's right. I still have friends...I can't let this make me lose heart."

The shadow's body gradually melted away, turning into a ball of light that slowly evaporated—then, as if it had been stripped of its luster, it transformed into an angelic figure ten meters tall, clad in a sacred armor robe.

Holding a golden cross scepter, possessing a pair of emerald green wings that gradually turn to gold, and wearing a spiky crown, he is none other than the lower-ranking angel of the ninth order of angels—the Archangel of Power.

"...Thank you, Phantom Thief."

"You remind me of emotions I've long lost within me..."

"In return... I will offer my strength to lend a helping hand to your future..."

As she spoke, the angel of authority, imbued with holy light, transformed into a 'white bird mask' identical to the one worn by Hifumi, and with a whoosh, floated onto Hifumi's mask.

Amamiya watched this scene with great interest.

As expected of 'The Fool' Arcana... he has also demonstrated the characteristics of 'unruly talent'...

Not knowing what to say or do, he stepped forward, touched the forehead of the stunned girl, and said softly in an encouraging tone, "Oh... it seems you've acquired an incredible mask."

"The goal of repentance has been achieved... So let's continue exploring."

Chapter Sixteen: The Diversity of Velvet Rooms

"That, that..."

“Sen…Jok, I just…”

The girl, having left the 'Impression Space - Core Area of ​​Repentance', was still filled with doubts about the changes that had occurred after she had persuaded the shadow not long ago.

Try to peel off the 'White Bird Mask' from your cheek, hold it in your hand and caress it carefully, feeling the texture that seems to have improved as it has become stronger.

Hifumi slowed her pace and asked somewhat uncertainly, "...Just now, did I successfully...subdue a Persona?"

Having played the game development team's latest masterpiece, Persona, I'm quite familiar with its setting...

Hifumi knew just how powerful the ability to simultaneously command multiple personas in battle and switch between them as needed was—

It doesn't seem particularly special in appearance or in terms of 'talking about'.

In reality, this is probably one in a million, a special ability that only those with an "unruly" talent in legends can possess.

The so-called "unruly" refers to a special talent that few people possess... In layman's terms, it is the ability to "speak human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts".

Of course, it's definitely not that simple in reality.

'Unruly Messengers' have the privilege of freely switching their 'personas' to cater to others, build bonds with others, and learn bond abilities from those they assist—in addition, they are not limited by the restriction of 'only being able to use a single persona in battle'.

In battle, you can operate multiple personas simultaneously and switch between them at any time as needed, thus making your fighting style ever-changing and able to deal with any unexpected situation with ease.

"Hmm." Amamiya slowed her pace and gently patted the girl's head beside her. "What, Hifumi, do you still have questions about this?"

Amamiya lowered his head, looking at the girl's eyes, which shone like starlight, hidden deep within yet impossible to conceal.

Am I also a possessor of the "Unruly Talent"?

After a two-second silence, Amamiya chuckled and nodded slowly and seriously: "Of course."

While helping the girl tidy her hair, which was somewhat disheveled from the battle, Amamiya kindly and gently offered an explanation.

“That’s right… Hifumi-chan is indeed a holder of the ‘unruly’ talent…”

"You can enter the 'Velvet Room' just like in the game to strengthen your Persona."

Hmm... So, does that mean I... am the 'game protagonist' of Arcana, who possesses the "Fool"?

"so……"

Hifumi hung her head and muttered to herself.

The Fool is the most unassuming yet most crucial of the Arcana...

It is a vivid symbol of the "protagonist" who starts with nothing.

As a 'smart and good child', Hifumi immediately thought of the characteristic of being able to see the Arcana possessed by other qualified assistants after her "third eye" was opened, and to learn 'bond skills' from them.

Perhaps those 'bond skills' in games weren't added as part of the game's daily gameplay...

These are 'special abilities' that have actually existed or still exist today and can be used.

Hifumi quietly cast her gaze at the tall, handsome young man beside her, who wore a long black trench coat and exuded a captivating beauty.

So...Sensei... must possess a lot of 'bond skills'...

'By strengthening relationships with your partners, you can become stronger and more perfect...'

'This is also one way for the "Fool" to complete his journey...'

"Then...can I..."

Temporarily freeing herself from the quagmire of complicated thoughts, Hifumi asked with a mixture of doubt and anticipation, "Could I... enter the velvet room like Jok did?"

Amamiya was slightly taken aback by the question.

That said... the velvet room's decor changes significantly depending on the guests it hosts.

What would Hifumi's velvet room be like?

To be honest, Hifumi's question actually piqued his curiosity about the decor of her exclusive "Velvet Room".

The velvet room he had seen included a disco (Old Testament, Persona - Crime and Punishment).

There is an elevator (Persona 3);

It includes a luxury car (Persona 4).

And there's also the [prison cell] that he's most familiar with (Persona 5);

There is [Metalworks] (Persona 5 Tactics);

There is an underwater tunnel (Persona: Shadow of the Night);

The differences in velvet rooms, besides symbolizing the different moods of the guests invited to them, are also related to the owners of the velvet rooms.

As luck would have it, Amamiya happened to be there during the period when the long-nosed old man (Igor) was being controlled by the god of domination...

The ruling god disliked this 'trickster' and thus regarded him as a prisoner, so the Velvet Room naturally became a prison.

"Well... that should be fine."

After thinking it over, Amamiya gave a reply that wasn't exactly sincere.

After communicating with Ravenda, Amamiya learned from her that the Velvet Room was indeed a special function serving all the "unruly messengers".

However, based on the fundamental concept of "each generation of assistants connecting with one unruly messenger"...

Lavenda is unable to receive 'guests' other than Amamiya.

As for the new generation assistant... Lavenda hadn't actually been planning to find one.

She figured that there probably wouldn't be any other 'unruly messengers' in this world, and all she had to do was connect with Amamiya and 'stay together forever,' and that would be it. What did anything else have to do with her?

And then... precisely because of this reason, although Hifumi awakened the 'unruly' talent, however...

The assistant assigned to her for the velvet room hadn't even been chosen yet, so preparations for the velvet room for Hifumi hadn't even begun.

Various 'assistant-specific items' used for Persona synthesis, evolution, etc., have not yet been prepared.

'So... the assistants in the Velvet Room haven't even had time to start selecting anything, and the "props" haven't been prepared at all?'

'Um……'

Lingering near Amamiya's ear, a translucent butterfly, invisible to ordinary people, softly responded: 'My dear "Trickst"...you must have experienced a similar situation before...'

Amamiya: ...

Lavenda is probably saying that after each story ends, the Velvet Room needs a certain amount of time to prepare for it.

(PS: In Persona 5 Scramble: Phantom Assault and Persona 5 Tactics, the Velvet Room needs to be 're-prepared', and the 'Devil's Book' needs to be collected again.)

(Of course, this is a setting made for gameplay purposes; for now, let's just assume it's a rearrangement of the velvet room.)

After finishing her conversation with Ravenda, Amamiya sighed and said seriously, "Perhaps... Hifumi will soon receive an invitation from the 'Velvet Room'."

Chapter Seventeen: Hifumi's Gradual Darkening

After chatting with Hifumi for a while about the 'Velvet Room', Amamiya led her to solve other [client objectives].

Influenced by the two environmental elements originating from Ariane's impression space and temple: 'the fog of lies' and 'the thorns of despair'...

These shadows surrounding Trinity have become exceptionally...incomprehensible.

After repeatedly "advising," saying things like "the other party doesn't understand human language" or "the other party doesn't want to listen to human language," "you have to beat them up to get them to listen," "take action," and "beat them to their knees before kindly advising them again"...

Even someone as kind-hearted as Hifumi couldn't help but break down a little.

Only now did Hifumi realize...

Having been persuaded by her, He became the shadow of her persona. Just how good-natured is He? At least, He can understand human speech.

Unlike other shadows... they won't listen to human speech and won't stop until they get beaten up.

"Stop... If this continues, you'll really be on a path of no return!"

"...If you want to convince me, you'll have to beat me first."

"Phew... This is the 13th unreasonable target I've encountered today..."

Huffing and puffing, Hifumi clenched her fists, gradually getting a little worked up, and gritted her teeth as she used her other hand to remove her Persona mask.

"Psona—The Angel of Power!"

"Mahakga!"

The light of blessings condensed into a wondrous phenomenon resembling a 'golden lotus emerging from the earth,' symbolizing heavenly harmony. Transparent phantoms of birds of paradise and various strange and sacred 'mythical creatures' spewed forth from the ground.

The Archangel waved his scepter and softly recited hymns of praise to God that only those with divinity could understand.

'call--'

The fountain of light instantly blazed, like a hot knife through butter, instantly severing the stubborn shadow that had been defiant just moments before.

“How, how could this be…”

The shadow of panic was instantly knocked down.

Hifumi did not give up her attack out of 'sympathy'.

"Shadows are worth communicating with... but not all shadows are easy to listen to..."