Persona: Devil Summoner

"[Then go! You must go! You can't be uneducated! You don't know how much disadvantages you will suffer in this society if you are uneducated! Teacher, you have to worry about it! Tutoring fees and so on are all easy to deal with!]"

As Master Liu spoke, he held Kawakami's hands with both of his own and shook them vigorously. He knew that they could not communicate in the same language, so he could only convey his enthusiasm through this kind of body movement.

Jiang Tianwei acted as an interpreter and translated these words to Mr. Kawakami.

The teacher nodded and said, "Then, next time, call me by the store's name. It's still the same, 5000 yen per time, and I will organize the teacher's handouts for you."

Although Jiang Tianwei thought that this kind of thing was good in any way and he didn't particularly want to go to university in Japan, but since others were so enthusiastic, he felt embarrassed to say no, so he could only nod and agree.

This is also the spirit of "following the crowd" in his bones. When he can't make up his mind, he tends to choose the side of the majority, the hardliners, and the side he has a little understanding of.

After ordering this, there was no longer any serious atmosphere at the table. The three of them chatted and laughed and enjoyed their meal to their heart’s content.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Kawakami, Jiang Tianwei seemed to have thought of something, and hurried back to the house, asking Master Liu awkwardly if he could help make a box lunch. The old man doted on this fellow who was treated as his godson, so he naturally agreed.

Jiang Tianwei wanted to test something, but that would be tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 18: Don’t look for teammates with loud voices

During the day today, Jiang Tianwei got up very early.

When he thought about investigating Sakamoto Ryuji, he felt like there was a fire burning in his heart, making him feel particularly uncomfortable. He hadn't experienced this kind of eager anticipation since elementary school.

This combination of nervousness, anticipation, excitement and anxiety made him wake up early involuntarily.

He used his mobile phone to ask for leave from the Chinese restaurant again, then got on his bicycle and started delivering newspapers. If he didn't move his body, he would probably feel like every second was a year because of the anticipation.

What he had to do today was to investigate Ryuji Sakamoto of Shujin Academy. He was originally a member of this school, so it would not be difficult for him to sneak in as long as he put on the school uniform.

But the key point is the time it takes to blend in.

It's definitely not possible in the morning. Before class in the morning, regardless of whether he was pressed for time or not, ever since Ryuji and Kamoshida had a falling out, he never went to school early again, and it was very rare to see him in the morning.

Then, all that’s left is the lunch break at noon and after school in the evening.

In recent times, due to the frequent sudden mental disorder cases in society, the school does not dare to keep the international students too late, and only one class in the afternoon ends.

If I go to work, by the time I get off work, Long Si will have already gone somewhere.

(In other words, the most appropriate method is to go to school to find him during lunch break or after school.)

However, this period of anticipation was too torturous. Jiang Tianwei felt uncomfortable if he didn't do something. Riding the bicycle through the wind, his hair and sweat seemed to be thrown away along with his worries. It was a refreshing experience.

After delivering the newspapers, he went to Loublanc to eat a curry breakfast, and then rushed to school. He didn't want to go to class, so he sneaked to the school rooftop and prepared to take a nap.

This rooftop is different from the large rooftops in Japanese animations that are spacious and bright enough for school idols to practice their moves. The rooftop of Shujin Academy is very small, and I filled it with all kinds of sundries, unused tables and chairs, and even some people planted potted plants on the rooftop.

Therefore, no one usually comes to this kind of environment. Jiang Tianwei chose to sleep here peacefully. Alarm? No need, Fang Zexia is a ghost anyway, she doesn't need to sleep, so just ask her to do it!

After sleeping until lunch break, Jiang Tianwei stretched his body and started looking for someone in the busy school. Although it is difficult to find a student in the school, Long Si dyed his hair blonde, which made him stand out among the black hair!

The first place Jiang Tianwei went to was the convenience store.

There are many students who didn't bring lunch and gathered here. It was crowded, and at first glance, I didn't see any blonde hair. Not here.

(The school is so big, I don’t know how to find it…)

It was not until this moment that Jiang Tianwei discovered the flaw in his perfect plan...

"Fangze, do me a favor and go see if there are any students with blond hair in the classroom."

“Oh, you want to order me around again—my life is so hard, boohoo~”

Fang Zexia covered her face with her hands and pretended to cry, so fake that she almost laughed. Jiang Tianwei smiled and said, "I will definitely compensate you later."

A few sharp-eyed students in the corner saw this and whispered: "Look, that person over there is talking to the air..." "How pitiful, he must have no friends..." "I thought air friends only existed in light novels."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tianwei lowered his head in embarrassment, pulled up his collar, and tried hard to hide his face.

He asked Fang Zexia to check in the classroom, while he went to various places in the school that might be used as lunch places by students to investigate.

But soon, Jiang Tianwei discovered that he couldn't find Long Si at all.

This is... embarrassing.

He had clearly thought about how to induce evidence collection and how to surround the point and attack the reinforcements. He had planned everything, but he never expected that he might not be able to find this person at all. All the subsequent plans could not be carried out. It was really sad.

Soon, Yoshizawa Kasumi's information came in, and sure enough, Sakamoto Ryuji was not in the class at all.

Soon, lunch break was coming, Jiang Tianwei had no choice but to buy a loaf of bread from the canteen and ran back to the rooftop. He was not going to class, so he could only kill time in this deserted place.

The only thing to be thankful for is that there is only one class in the afternoon, which makes it easy to kill time.

This time he asked Fang Zexia to go to Long Si's class in advance and follow him as soon as school was over. He only had to wait until school was over to find him.

I have to say that Jiang Tianwei still has a certain ability of logical reasoning. This strategy is very good. Long Si must go to class. As long as we can determine his location, we can follow him.

But, unfortunately, this wonderful plan is still useless.

Oh, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with the plan itself...it’s just that...it’s useless.

Because Jiang Tianwei has not been to school, he doesn’t know that today is the school’s annual “reserved event”, the ball skills competition.

All students have no classes in the afternoon and need to gather in the gymnasium.

In this case, he definitely couldn't get in. Because - he didn't bring his sportswear. The school uniform of Xiujin Academy is black, and the sportswear is red. It would be too difficult for him to blend in with a sea of ​​red sportswear in this black outfit?! He would be discovered immediately!

He had no choice but to continue waiting for information from Fang Zexia and spend time alone on the rooftop.

I don't know how long it took, but waiting for this matter was really anxious. Fang Zexia didn't come back, but I heard the balcony door bang open. It was obvious that someone broke the door violently.

Then, a gruff voice complained, "What? Those guys are keeping silent! They must have been silenced by Kamoshida!"

Jiang Tianwei, who was hiding in the shadow of the building because he was afraid of the sun, quickly used the table next to him to hide himself, lowered his body secretly, and peeked through the gap...

The person who went up to the rooftop was none other than Ryuji Sakamoto!

Next to him, there was a male classmate with curly hair... ah, it was Amamiya Ren? !

"Ah."

Amamiya Ren agreed calmly.

"Damn it, is it impossible to collect evidence in reality? Then we can only hope for that 'castle'!"

Hearing Long Si's words, Jiang Tianwei suddenly had an idea! Castle! Sure enough, these two people are related to the castle!

"Although he gave up on himself, he's a very quick thinker! He's just a hoodlum."

The voice that started the complaint was a sharp one, and it was hard to tell whether it was a male or female voice. Jiang Tianwei felt that the voice was very familiar, and then he thought - isn't this the black cat demon that possessed Amamiya Ren that he had seen before!

"Ahaha?! Who are you calling a gangster? It's just a cat, but it's so arrogant!"

"I am not a cat! I have told you so many times that this posture is just a disguise!"

Listening to the two people's quarrel, Jiang Tianwei couldn't help but narrow his eyes: (It seems that Long Si can also hear what this cat says, but Wu Jian couldn't hear it before. In other words, what are the similarities between Long Si and himself, but not with Wu Jian?)

"Anyway! This is not the point! The point is! If you are helpless against Kamoshida in real life, starting from the 'palace' is a good starting point."

It seemed that they were finally going to talk about business. Jiang Tianwei pricked up his ears and listened carefully. At the same time, he made a great decision in his heart: if he wanted to find a friend in the future, he would never look for someone with a particularly loud voice. Even if he was so far away, he could still hear clearly...

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 19 A ghost talks to you about science?!

The human heart is the most complicated thing in this world.

Humans can develop machines that far exceed human physical capabilities, but they cannot develop AI that far exceeds human logical thinking capabilities. This shows how complex the human mind is.

Since human hearts are so complicated, it is easy to understand that human mental illnesses will also be complicated.

This is what Jiang Tianwei said to himself in his mind. He kept talking to himself, trying to make himself accept that the reason he couldn't understand the three people in front of him, or the two people and the monster, was because the topic they were talking about was too profound, not because he was too stupid.

It’s really not their fault that the topic they talked about was too profound. If you don’t know a little bit about psychology, then you have to know a little bit about the ACG culture…

According to them, everyone has some desires hidden in their hearts. And for some people, their desires are so inflated and huge that they form a "palace".

For example, when Jiang Tianwei looked back, he saw a medieval castle! It was because of Mr. Kamo Shida from this school!

This teacher was once an Olympic champion, and the school recruited him in order to use the volleyball club he leads to bring glory to their school. In addition, many parents send their children here in order to become "parents of future Olympic champions" and ask them to join the volleyball club and study hard with Mr. Kamoshida.

This kind of pampering and adulation naturally made Mr. Kamoshida's desires swell. He regarded himself as the real "king" of Shujin Academy and the school as a "castle" where he could do whatever he wanted.

Before, Jiang Tianwei was suddenly drawn into that strange castle, which was actually Kamo Shida’s inner world... As for the armored knights he met inside, they were beings called [Shadows] who were attracted by his distortion.

It has to be said that this topic was so inexplicable that Jiang Tianwei didn't know for a moment whether these three people were joking, or had a second-year syndrome outbreak, or really believed that such a strange thing existed.

As if the three people were not satisfied with their comments, they heard the sharp voice of the black cat making a summary speech: "In short! If you want Kamoshida to change his mind, then you have to steal his twisted core, which is the secret treasure, in the palace!"

Jiang Tianwei had no idea how such a statement could be made. He secretly went to look at the three people on the balcony. It was obvious that the other two were also confused and just nodded woodenly to show their agreement.

(Kameshida…)

When Jiang Tianwei thought of this teacher, he felt disgusted, but he never thought of disobeying this person because he thought it was better to save trouble than to worry about it. Although Kamo Shida was indeed a bad teacher, as long as you didn't provoke him, he would generally ignore you.

But, unlike Jiang Tianwei who didn't care, Long Si's leg was injured because of him, and the hatred between the two of them was much deeper.

As for Amamiya Ren, I don't know if he also disliked Kamoshida or it was simply difficult for him to refuse his friend, but he agreed anyway. The three of them reached a consensus and left the balcony silently.

Jiang Tianwei was relieved, and felt that the ingenious phrases he had thought of all night had all turned into meaningless nonsense. He couldn't help but sigh, as expected, plans can't keep up with changes!

(Um, speaking of which, where did Fangze go? I asked her to help me keep an eye on Long Si, so why didn’t she come even though Long Si was here?)

As if trying to escape, Jiang Tianwei shifted his thoughts from the palace to Fang Zexia.

Not long after, a sharp female voice came from far away, getting louder and louder...

“Ahhhh! There’s a ghost!!”

"What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you a ghost yourself?"

"Oh, oh! That's right!"

Fang Zexia was as cheerful as ever, as if a string was broken in her brain, until Jiang Tianwei pointed it out. Then she knocked her head as if she suddenly realized something, stuck out her tongue, and revealed a smile that looked like something from an animation.

Jiang Tianwei sighed: "So, what the hell did you see in broad daylight?"

"You may not believe me, but, just sit down first!"

"I'm not afraid, just tell me."

"I saw me!"

Fang Zexia rarely showed a serious expression.

"what?"

This bombshell stunned Jiang Tianwei. He originally thought that even if he was not a smart person, at least he was not a fool. Why did he have so many difficult topics to understand today? He knew the meaning of every word, but when they were put together, he could not understand what they meant.

"You, met yourself?"

"Ah! Yes! Over there with the first years! Mmmmm--so cute!"

"So you just want to brag about yourself!"

Looking at Fang Zexia happily stomping her feet in the air, Jiang Tianwei couldn't help but joke.

"Because it's just so cute!"

"Cute...ah...well, that's true..."

Jiang Tianwei looked at Fang Zexia's face and had to admit it.

This is the fact. No matter what standard you use, Yoshizawa Kasumi is the kind of person who seems to be the embodiment of cuteness.

"It is said that there are two identical selves in this world. If they meet, one of them will disappear!"

Fang Zexia was talking seriously about a scene she had seen in some spiritual magazine or supernatural movie. Jiang Tianwei laughed at her in his heart: You two, no one has disappeared...

Suddenly, thinking of this, Jiang Tianwei was stunned.

Is it true that no one disappeared?!

As a Chinese, I have naturally been influenced by various Chinese legends since I was a child... In China, there is a legendary evil magic that can make the dead resurrect... or expel the soul of the living. Whether it is collecting thirty-six puppet insects, making a mandarin duck hot pot in Chongqing, or simply finding a paper bride, or someone from the next world was hit by a truck and his soul traveled here, anyway, this kind of evil magic occupies a considerable weight in traditional Chinese supernatural topics.

Think carefully, is Fang Zexia dead?

Yes, I saw it on the news. He died.

So, is Fang Zexia in front of me a ghost? Yes. She is a very ghostly person, a ghost that can't be more ghostly. Whether it is the level of a ghost or the level of a ghost horse.

So, did Fang Zexia see her own body just now?