Persona: Devil Summoner

He still has the demeanor of most artists.

Ah? You ask what is the demeanor of most artists? It is poverty! One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of people. Those glamorous and brilliant artists you see are only a minority. Countless artists are poor. This is why the tuition fees for art students are so expensive, because if you don't have a family background, it is really easy to starve to death...

Today he was still wearing that white shirt that had obviously been washed many times, without any fancy things, which perfectly illustrated the invisible Versailles literature that if a person is handsome, he will look good in anything...

Before he came, everyone was still speculating as to what he was going to do, but as soon as he arrived it was clear: the Phantom Thieves were gathering together.

(In other words, is it finally coming again? We need the Phantom Thieves to make an appearance!).

Although Jiang Tianwei didn't say anything, he couldn't help but get ready to make a big move.

As the initiator, Amamiya Ren came last.

As always, with Morgana stuffed in his backpack, he pushed open the door of the secret base.

"Hey, Captain, you are late today..."

Jiang Tianwei raised his hand to greet him, but halfway through his words, his whole face froze!

Because... there is someone behind Amamiya Ren.

An outsider.

A very troublesome outsider!

"Ah, good evening, everyone."

Student Council President Shin Niijima stood behind Amamiya Ren with a fake smile on his face.

Why is she here?!

Jiang Tianwei's heart skipped a beat. You know, this student council president is no joke. She had been pestering him so much before and almost caught him several times... What was she doing here!? Could it be...

Jiang Tianwei looked around and saw the dusty fire-fighting equipment hanging on the wall: a red square box. Through the glass with the instructions for use attached, he could see the water gun, water pipe, and fire axe inside.

A fire axe can break a thin wooden door in one blow, but if it hits a person's head...

(Does he want us to kill her here?!)

Jiang Tianwei thought so in his heart, feeling both amused and helpless.

The fact that Jiang Tianwei instinctively had such a dangerous thought in his mind showed how much psychological trauma Niijima Zhen had left on him.

"Ah? What are you here for?"

Ryuji did know Shinjima Makoto, but only because she had caught him violating disciplines several times, so of course he didn't have a good impression of her.

Shinjima didn't say anything more. She took out her phone and pressed the play button, which played a recording:

"I have already made up my mind. There are still so many bad adults in this world. I will never let them go."

"Well, I didn't say I wouldn't do it! It's just that I haven't found a suitable target! The thought of a gorgeous opponent worthy of the Phantom Thieves is exciting!"

This was a conversation between a man and a woman. From the sound of their voices, it sounded like Long Si and Xing. Jiang Tianwei looked at the two people silently, and both of them lowered their heads in embarrassment... It was obvious that the two people in the recording were them...

At this point, Jiang Tianwei could already picture the whole situation in his mind... There was no doubt that these two people were too proud of themselves and loudly discussed the affairs of the Phantom Thieves on campus. As a result, they were not only overheard, but also recorded...

Are you really here to be thieves?! Are you sent by the police to spy on us?!

Jiang Tianwei had seen the following development countless times in various small books with only a dozen pages - it must be a classic: You don't want others to know about this, right? Hehehe...

However, the initiator of this plot is not a burly black man, a creepy uncle, or a yellow-haired gangster, but a serious and beautiful student council president like Shinjima. This development is indeed a bit novel.

"Oh, what would happen if the police heard this recording?"

Shin Niijima said this with a mysterious smile on his face.

What will happen? No doubt, they will be arrested.

Some people may think that the so-called world of knowledge is so abstract, how can the police file a case? The answer is that as long as there is pressure from the top, the police can file a case in any way they want. Evidence can be fabricated. For details, you can watch "Ace Attorney", which condenses the darkness of the Japanese judicial world and fully exposes a lot of dirty investigation methods.

Jiang Tianwei took a deep breath, and suddenly pounced towards Xindao Zhen as swiftly as a cheetah, using his hands as claws to snatch Xindao Zhen's phone...

However, it was obvious that Shinjima was well prepared. As soon as Jiang Tianwei made a move, she dodged and stuffed the phone back into her skirt pocket. She put her hands in front of her body and made a standard Aikido defensive posture: "What, you want to fight!?"

Jiang Tianwei failed to grab it, and knew that he had missed the opportunity. He sighed, scratched his head, said nothing, and sat back. Yu Gonglian sighed: "She knows everything."

Shin Niijima looked around and said, "From the students who had conflicts with Kamoshida sensei to Madarame's former disciples, it seems that the Phantom Thieves are really full of talented people."

"Okay, stop pretending! Just tell me what you want to do!"

Ryuji was not good at thinking, and he had no idea why Shin Shinjima suddenly came over and said such things. It was just that he and Xing had caused the exposure of everyone in the Phantom Thieves, and this feeling was really bad. Even though no one condemned him, he could not stop the self-condemnation in his heart.

That's why his tone seemed so impatient.

"Well, since you didn't go directly to the police but came to us instead, it means you have something that you need to ask us for help."

Kitagawa Yusuke was very calm.

When he was judging Madarame, he said that he would use his calm eyes to judge the world in the future, and it seems that he really did it. Thinking calmly and without emotions can often help you understand some hidden things.

"Yeah, smart."

Shinjima nodded and said, "I am going to make a deal with everyone in the Phantom Thieves. As long as you can prove your justice to me, I will delete this recording. Also, I will not investigate the Phantom Thieves in school anymore."

"Prove justice? How can you prove something like this?"

Jiang Tianwei frowned and asked in confusion. Justice is not something that can be quantified. How can you prove that you are just? Do you need to find a department to issue a certificate of justice?

"There is a man I hope to reform."

Shinjima really said so.

"Who?"

Amamiya Ren asked.

"Ala? You didn't say you couldn't do it."

Shinjima was still testing him, and Kitagawa Yusuke said coldly, "You've already chased us to our base, and you're still trying this kind of boring testing."

"So, who is it?"

Jiang Tianwei asked.

"Do you know about the recent blackmail case in Shibuya? Many students in my school have been victimized. So, I hope you can make the leader of that criminal group reform."

Jiang Tianwei was very familiar with this person. He had heard this rumor a long time ago. He had used this rumor to accuse the other party several times, such as the first time he helped Yoshizawa Sumire to scold the man who occupied the seat on the bus...Xinjima Makoto's words made Jiang Tianwei admire her a little. As the student council president, she still had some sense of responsibility.

"So, what's the boss' name?"

Long Si asked. As long as we have the name, location, and source of distortion, then everything will be easy.

"I don't know. The famous Phantom Thieves wouldn't tell me they can't do it, right?"

Shinjima's provocation was really poor. If it was someone a little smarter, like Jiang Tianwei, he would never have fallen for it. But unexpectedly, Takamaki An didn't like Shinjima in the first place - how could the student council not know about Shiho's situation? How could they not know about Kamoshida's atrocities... But they chose to remain silent. In Takamaki An's heart, although these "silent majority" were not as guilty as Kamoshida, they were definitely not innocent.

"It's a deal - don't go back on your word."

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."

Shinjima said this and walked out of the secret base.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 158 Insert Chapter Anxious Student Council President

When it comes to student council presidents, whether in anime, comics, novels, or TV dramas, this position is generally given the quality of an elite. Some works even deify this profession, making the student council president omnipotent.

But unfortunately, this kind of student union president only exists in fantasy. The real student union president is just a position. He or she is overwhelmed by reality and studies every day. If it weren’t for very realistic things like credits, who would want to be the student union president?

This feeling, which carries a hint of helplessness, is very similar to that of Shinjima.

They often have excellent academic performance - but they are generally not geniuses. Their grades are earned by studying hard in their spare time. There are no people who play around all the time, never study, but get full marks in exams.

They tend to abide by the rules and are serious and rigorous - but it is difficult for them to be as loved as in novels and animations. Generally, students will give them nicknames behind their backs, which are very unpleasant.

After all, for students, being correct is far less comfortable than being casual.

This feeling is just like when you say "I'll sleep after this round" or "I'll sleep after this round" while playing a game. You know that sleeping is an essential behavior for human beings, but you usually still play several rounds after saying this...

Therefore, the student union, which always requires students to abide by the rules, is very annoying. And teachers often just use the student union as a useful tool and push the student work that they cannot handle to them.

Many times, as the student council president, Shinjima Makoto also wanted to take some kind actions. People are not made of wood or stone, and they always have a soft side.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of entertainment activities on weekdays, Shinjima couldn't fit in well with those girls' groups. And those girls who didn't want to fit in a small circle naturally didn't want to form a circle with Shinjima.

The members of the student union tend to only respect their own work ability. Once the work of the student union is over, everyone will find their own place instead of continuing to have something to do with other members of the student union...

All this made Niijima feel very tired.

The things that made her most tired were three things...

First, the principal earnestly asked me to take care of Jiang Tianwei, a problem student. According to the principal, he was the son of a major shareholder of the school and he could not afford to offend him.

Secondly, the principal asked me more earnestly to investigate what the so-called thieves in the school are... Regarding this, Niijima Shin expressed his dissatisfaction: "Why should we investigate the thieves? Maybe they don't exist at all? Maybe it's just a gimmick."

Yes, despite the example of Mr. Kamoshida, Shinjima still thinks that the so-called Phantom Thief is more likely to be a figment of the imagination. But the principal just said: "No, then you don't have to worry about it. Go investigate! It must exist!"

Moreover, the principal even threatened to reconsider the admission quota to a prestigious university if he could not find the thief.

Strictly speaking, it's not that Shinjima has no hope of passing the exam on his own. However, people always subconsciously want a guaranteed score. It's like drawing cards in a mobile game. No one wants to draw the guaranteed score, but everyone also hopes to have a guaranteed score so that they don't lose everything.

Moreover...if you are recommended to a university, you can show off the influence of the college, and it won't be difficult to apply for a tuition waiver.

Shinjima lost his father early, and it was all up to his sister to work hard to support the whole family. Every time he saw his sister's tired eyes, Shinjima would feel guilty from the bottom of his heart...

Therefore, reducing her sister's burden as much as possible is the shackles that bind Shinjima. Whether it is recommendation, free tuition, or trying hard to maintain a good image so that the school will not have a talk with her sister... All of these are the efforts she makes as a younger sister.

So, what is the third point that causes her great pressure?

This point has been made very clear above. That is, Niijima's truly capable sister, Niijima Ya.

If your family is useless, then the pressure of life will be great. However, if your family is an elite, and a very powerful elite, then the mental pressure will often be greater than the life pressure in the previous point.

Normally, the lives of ordinary people are to suffer grievances and injustices outside, and then be healed by their families at home. But some families will only make people more nervous. Just like a bow, if it is only stretched but not relaxed, it will definitely break.

So, in order to meet the principal's needs, she had to start the tracking which was really not that good... She tried hard to study and analyze the situation, even if she was not good at it, she had to try her best to do it. Niijima was really real, probably seriously real.

The conclusion drawn from the analysis of the intelligence was Jiang Tianwei. That’s why the two subsequent attempts were made…

As a result, everyone knows it.

Although Shinjima never said it, he actually had a lot of anxiety deep down. On the one hand, he was threatened by the principal with a recommendation, on the other hand, he was not trusted by his sister, and on the other hand, he was teased by Jiang Tianwei. And the last thing was that he hated himself for going with the flow, but he could do nothing about it.

Under these multiple anxieties, Shinjima was almost wondering if he was going to have an anxiety disorder...

But, at this time, there are still students asking the Student Union for help...

In the Shibuya area, there is a blackmail gang that specifically targets middle school students. They first use "easy and high-paying" jobs as an introduction to trick students into helping to pass dangerous items...then take photos of the students doing dangerous transactions to threaten them, and finally squeeze them dry.

There have been rumors about this extortion gang for a long time, but no one knows why so many middle school students fall for it. Is it because they are desperate? Or are they too open-minded? Or are they blinded by money? Or is it all of the above? Moreover, it is said that in order to increase their profits, the extortion gang often tells students that if they really can't pay, they can trick their classmates into this trap...

Niijima really knew about this extortion gang. Because he heard his sister muttering several times at the dinner table, it seemed that they were backed by some big shots, and they did things very cleanly, so there was no way to find out, which made his sister, a senior prosecutor, particularly distressed.

Originally, Shinjima had been thinking that since the other party had not bullied the students of Shujin Academy, he should not meddle in other people's business and should not fight against a rock with an egg. Even the police were powerless, let alone an ordinary student council president.

The result was that, eventually, even among the students of Shujin Academy, there began to be students who were rendered helpless by blackmail and could only beg the Student Union for help.

Just like what An Takamaki said about the stalker incident, the students knew that the student union was not capable of saving them. However, the blackmailed students were so distressed that they would grab at any straw floating on the water, and they didn't care whether the straw could save their lives.

Seeing the students' suffering, Shinjima was deeply shaken...

If it were his father, what would he do?

Niijima had a very clear impression of his father. He was a very dedicated policeman, and he was proud of him since he was a child. But later, when investigating a case of trafficking in women and children, he offended a big shot as an upright policeman... and died in a car accident. He did not die in revenge from a criminal gang, nor did he die in violent retaliation from criminals, but in a deliberate car accident...

Regarding the death of their father, Shinjima Shin's sister, Shinjima Ya, commented: He died for meaningless justice, but never thought about what the living would do.

You know, Niijima's sister was only a few years older than her. She had to shoulder the responsibility of a family at such a young age and had to grow up mature. She must have suffered hardships that she could not empathize with outsiders.

Therefore, Shinjima Makoto understood his sister's attitude.

However, Shinjima doesn't think that his father's justice is meaningless...

(If it was my father...)

She thought so, and finally, she resolutely found the leader of the Phantom Thieves and took out the recording that she had accidentally obtained. She had heard this recording by accident when she saw those problem students gathered together in the courtyard, drinking and chatting. So she took out her phone to record it on impulse, so there were only a few sentences that could be used as evidence...

(If my actions can help those students who are in dire straits... then it is justice, right? It is not wrong to want to practice justice and help others...)

Thinking this way, she saved the recording in her hand and resolutely went to find Amamiya Ren who seemed to have the most leadership style among the few people...

(End of this chapter)