Tokyo Psychic

To achieve this, she would probably need her parents' help.

Thinking of this, Toyokawa Shoko moved closer to Kurusu Akira, leaned down, and gently bit his ear.

Akira Kurusu specifically included Kumamoto in her summer itinerary for this reason.

This guy has a very accurate grasp of the psychology of middle-aged people.

Through his initial assessment, he grasped the family atmosphere of Jing Qinrencai and the various habits of his future in-laws.

When Ishigaki returns home, she will definitely be questioned by her parents about whether she is dating Akira Kurusu.

Then, Igarashi Rina would definitely retort confidently, "Kurasu Akira and I are just very good friends."

Next, she would be subjected to double interrogation and reprimands from her parents until she felt like her world had collapsed. After a big fight with them, she would run away with her phone, wiping away her tears as she hid in her room and locked the door.

Finally, in desperation, she opened Line and sought help from Akira Kurusu...

Based on her understanding of Akira Kurusu and Nina Iori, Toyokawa Shoko easily guessed the whole process.

Seeing that Akira Kurusu had helplessly let the blushing Izana escape, Shoko Toyokawa found a hair dryer and handed it to Izana.

"Why don't you dry your hair before going home?"

Toyokawa Shoko had already anticipated that when Ishigami Nina returned home, her parents would find out that their daughter had gone out to take a bath and change her clothes, and they would definitely subject her to a "severe interrogation".

......

It was also a sweltering July.

Due to the urban heat island effect, Tokyo is much hotter than Kumamoto.

Futaba Sakura took off her headphones, pulled back the curtains, and glanced at the street outside, which was bathed in golden sunlight. She had no choice but to give up her idea of ​​going to Okumura Haru's place for a free meal.

Since her autism suddenly improved, she has asked Sakura Sojiro to help her register for the entrance exam for Shujin Private Academy.

Already a genius, and having regained the memories of an entire timeline, Futaba Sakura easily passed the entrance exam. With her abnormally high accuracy rate, she became known as the "second legendary transfer student" among the teachers in the teaching and research group.

She naturally chose the class where Yoshizawa Kasumi and Yoshizawa Sumire were.

Futaba Sakura stretched and then plopped down in her computer chair.

It's so hot outside... I'd better not let Sōjirō come back to cook.

She is very considerate of her elderly father.

Should we order takeout? Futaba Sakura dragged the mouse on her lap, tilting her head to look at the dozen or so screens of various sizes in front of her... These screens, along with the server under the table and the high-performance enterprise-grade host, were all the result of the joint sponsorship of several young ladies from the Phantom Thieves.

To be precise, Sakura Futaba's bedroom has been truly transformed into a secret base.

When Sakura Sojiro asked Sakura Futaba about it with a shocked expression, Futaba only replied that they were all good friends of Kurusu Akira, and that she had met them online with Akira's help...

Then, the credit for Akira Kurusu's recovery from autism was attributed to him—

After all, in that timeline, she did indeed manage to overcome the shadow of her mother's death with the help of the Mind Thieves.

These days, Futaba Sakura's greatest pleasure is to intensely search online for posts related to "【Detective Prince Returns - Goro Akechi】", then relentlessly expose his scandals, satirize and insult him, and fight against those brainless "beauty fans".

Sakura Futaba looked down on the group of women because they had absolutely no sense of reason and no understanding of what kind of criminal Akechi Goro really was.

Even if you're just a fan of his looks, can't you at least become a fan of my leader? Give him lots of gold coins!

Millions of gifts were given away in the live stream! Ten thousand copies of music albums were bought! One hundred times the amount of newly released light novels were sold! ...

My commander is three thousand times more handsome than the "Akechi Goro" you all talk about every day.

"Someone who neglects his studies because of 'detective work' and is manipulated by evil spirits can be so infatuated with you all. If you knew the true identity of my leader, wouldn't you all be forced to kneel down and line up on the spot...?" These words were still too vulgar. Although Sakura Futaba's online experience surpassed that of all the members of the Phantom Thieves, as a soon-to-be first-year high school student, she still had the self-awareness of a student and couldn't possibly say anything like that.

Of course, she really didn't dare to reveal the complicated relationship between the Phantom Thief and Goro Akechi—putting aside concerns about the sudden shift in their understanding and the possibility of a desperate, mutually destructive conflict with the evil god, she was quite certain that with the intelligence of these oddballs, they were absolutely capable of the disgusting act of shipping "Goro Akechi and the Phantom Thief" as a male-male couple...

Just thinking about it made Sakura Futaba feel disgusted and gave her goosebumps all over.

That's when my stomach started to rebel.

Sakura Futaba couldn't help but sigh. She couldn't very well order takeout, could she?

Although Futaba Sakura no longer has autism, she still avoids letting strangers knock on her door.

Aside from some of the lingering effects of autism, the greater concern stems from his dual identity as a hacker and a mind thief.

She slumped listlessly in the chair, and after thinking it over, she finally realized who she should ask to bring her food...

Ask Miss Okumura to prepare lunch, and then have Morgana deliver it!

With that in mind, Sakura Futaba cheerfully began privately messaging Okumura Haru—

She's been frequently helping the Okumura Group with their troubles online lately, which is already a well-paid and legitimate part-time job. Getting the young lady to help with lunch is a piece of cake for her.

However, since Morgana was being treated like royalty by the Genmaki family, it was necessary to contact Genmaki Kokoro as well to inform this apostle of God who strutted around the Genmaki Foundation every day.

......

at the same time.

Two hours had passed since Jingqin Rencai left the guesthouse, took the tram, and walked back home.

Everything unfolded exactly as Akira Kurusu had envisioned.

His phone screen, which had been off, was repeatedly lit up by the girl's anxious and helpless message bubbles.

【Jingqinrencai: Kurushi Akatsuki!!!】

[Celery and Vegetable: You've been lying to me all along!!!]

The phantom thief unlocked the screen and replied with "Jing Qinrencai".

[Master of Schemes (Akira Kurusu): I didn't lie to you.]

This is true; there is no difference between "a romantic partner" and "a best friend."

Upon receiving the phantom thief's reply, Izayoi, as if grasping at a lifeline, frantically typed away.

You can see a "typing" notification light up under her profile picture, and then a long message comes in a few seconds later.

[Izakura Nichi: I knew it! Those guys are so annoying! They actually said we were dating! They're no different from those idle people in Shujin!!! ......]

[Jingqin Rencai: Xiao! Can you come to my house tomorrow? I really need to explain this to them!]

Her attitude softened immediately, and her words became pleading, even unconsciously starting to act coquettishly.

[Celery Seeds: Please...]

[Jingqinrencai: If you help me persuade them, I can...]

Jing Qinrencai probably felt shy too, and her typing speed became as slow as a snail.

The "typing" indicator lit up and went out several times before she finally typed out this sentence:

After I return to Tokyo, can we prove our friendship again? ...

She immediately took back what she said.

Jingqin Rencai, who was hiding in her room wiping away tears, didn't know why her face felt as hot as if it were on fire.

She bit her lip, her mind in turmoil.

Jingqin Rencai had vaguely realized that this so-called "friendship" was not as pure and simple as she had imagined, but rather had a deeper meaning...

Akira Kurusu could certainly guess what this innocent and lovely girl was thinking.

He was prepared to press his advantage.

[Master of Schemes: To be honest, in the minds of middle school students, "best friends" if both are of the opposite sex actually mean they are dating.]

[Master Strategist: I really didn't lie to you.]

In the dimly lit bedroom, Izayoi saw Akira Kurusu's reply, and her pupils trembled violently.

[Celery and Vegetable Soup: Then we...]

[Jingqinrencai: Then what about all the things we went through before?!]

[Jingqin Rencai: You don't actually like me, do you?! We're just good friends!!!]

Jingqin Rencai remembered how she had stripped down to her underwear and slept in the same bed with Laixi Xiao in a daze, and how he had repeatedly "teased" her in so many places that were originally only for her husband to touch, even her little ears turned bright red.

She couldn't think of the words "desire my body" for a moment.

I can only use the most superficial and easily confused word "like" to describe my perception of the current situation.

[Master of Schemes: What a joke... Nina, don't flatter yourself.]

The next moment, Akira Kurusu's reply gave Serina Iori a glimmer of hope once again.

She sat in front of the screen with almost desperate hope, eagerly awaiting Akira Kurusu's next explanation.

[Master of Schemes: To be honest, I like a 17-year-old girl, 152cm tall, with brown hair and blue eyes, born on October 24th, blood type A, Scorpio, from Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. So, Izaya Nina, you'd better watch yourself!]

This response, tantamount to an "ultimatum," caused the overly naive girl to experience several emotional ups and downs before finally breaking down in tears, covering her face in embarrassment and shame.

273. The rivalry between catgirls has always been like this (Part 2)

Impression Space of Kumamoto City.

Akira Kurusu closed his phone, and the phantom thieves around him could all tell he was very happy...

"Looks like it's a done deal," Anhe Subaru muttered to himself. "We won't have to watch those two being all lovey-dovey anymore."

Shoko Toyokawa breathed a sigh of relief, "Looks like we won't have to spend the whole summer in Kumamoto."

An and Subaru winked at her. "Even if we go back to Tokyo early, there'll only be a week left of summer vacation, right?... What does Sho want to do?"

Shoko Toyokawa was adjusting her fancy phantom thief outfit when she looked at Subaru An and asked with some surprise, "Of course it's tutoring. Isn't that what high school students should be thinking about during their holidays?"

Upon hearing this, the student with an artistic talent was speechless for a moment.

She glanced at Wakaba Mutsuki, who was standing next to Toyokawa Shoko, and remembered the other's packed schedule that seemed to leave no room for even a moment of free time. She fell even more silent.

Since Wakaba Mutsu moved into "Fujiki-ju", he simply withdrew from all clubs.

Often, while Toyokawa Shoko was busy with the band, she would stay home to clean.

In the intervals between classes, she attends physical education and ballet classes, as well as various extracurricular academic tutoring classes...

It's only because Motis has recently become more sensible, knowing that she should help with housework when Ruoye Mu is tired; otherwise, it's truly baffling how this child manages to keep working non-stop...

Akira Kurusu felt sorry for Mutsu Wakaba's daily schedule more than once, but Mutsu Wakaba casually explained that tutoring and learning dance were her own choices.

Digging deeper, you'll see the girl blushing and explaining in a barely audible voice, "I also want to become better, so I won't fall too far behind Xiao..."

As expected of a Persona user with innate untamed power, she is indeed exceptionally gifted, easily putting Akira Kurusu into a "Weak" state with just a few casual words.

So much so that now whenever Akira has a little free time, she tries to escort Mutsuka Wakaba home from school or to various tutoring centers.

Wakaba Mutsumi made no attempt to hide the fact that she was dating Kurusu Akira from her classmates in Tsukinomori.

Rather than saying...

This, ironically, made her even more prominent than before.

Akira Kurusu's influence among middle school girls has unknowingly reached a level that makes her peers envious. Even in cities far from Tokyo, people have heard of the name "Akira Kurusu".

Knowing that Wakaba Mutsumi and Kurusu Akira were dating, her classmates often forgot their ladylike demeanor and crowded around Wakaba Mutsumi's desk every day after class, asking her all sorts of questions.

If it weren't for Nagasaki Motoyo's help in getting her out of the predicament, she might have really been troubled by it...

When Nagasaki Motoyo is mentioned, Wakaba Mutsu can sense that his former good friend is slowly reintegrating into his life.

At the time, Motoyo Wakaba couldn't quite understand what kind of plans and mental preparations Nagasaki Motoyo had made so that both she and Shoko Toyokawa could perceive this change of "trying to integrate".

However, as time went by, they have now come to a general understanding...

Motoyo Nagasaki is preparing to embark on a path that her parents might vehemently oppose.

Nagasaki Motoyo doesn't seem to care at all whether she will find happiness in "marriage" in the future; she just wants to be closer to Toyokawa Shoko, her good friend who once "redeemed" her... This first-year high school girl values ​​"friendship" and "friends" too much because of her family experiences.

So much so that she was able to make "sacrifices" that left others speechless.

At least after Wakaba Mutsumi and Toyokawa Shoko's late-night discussion, a conclusion was reached regarding Nagasaki Motoyo's choice—

Because Nagasaki Motoyo originally didn't need to specifically integrate into the life of "Fujiki-i".

To be precise, Nagasaki Motoyo shouldn't have been integrated into an organization of superpowered individuals like the Phantom Thieves.

Although she could indeed use her family's money and connections, along with her relationship with Toyokawa Shoko, to successfully use her outstanding beauty and figure to win over Kurusu Akira...

But such a price is far too heavy; it would not be an exaggeration to say that she has overdrawn most of her future.