Persona: Devil Summoner

Therefore, when the daughter was born, she was named "Ying", which means talent to assist the king and a natural talent.

In this traditional gang, the position of the young master is always passed down from male to female. Originally, this is not a big problem. Japan is a country with a very serious low birth rate. Therefore, it is not a big problem for a gang leader with some power to spend some money to win over a few people and have a second child...

But God just likes dramatic developments. Sakurano Ei's mother died of postpartum hemorrhage when she gave birth to her. In order to have a son as an heir, Master Sakurano married three or four wives, but none of them could continue his family line...

Until Mr. Sakurano felt something was wrong and went to the hospital for a checkup, he found out that the problem of infertility was not with the woman but with the man...

So there is a small problem...

How was Sakurano Ei born?

Although no one pointed it out, everyone had their own guesses.

Since Master Sakurano went to the hospital, he has changed completely. He no longer cares about his daughter's education, and has become taciturn and seldom communicates with his subordinates. When he occasionally gets involved in some gang affairs, he becomes irritable and easily beats and scolds his subordinates, making the entire Sakurano group panic...

In this situation, everyone in the organization was in danger, so naturally no one had the energy to educate this young lady of impure blood. The only person who treated her well was the housekeeper whom she called "Grandpa".

He was personally promoted by Sakurano Ei's grandfather, and has served two generations of team leaders. He is also going to serve the next generation of team leaders in the future. Unfortunately, the entire organization is now in such a mess. He is also hurting in his heart but can do nothing. He can only do his best to take good care of the eldest lady.

It's ironic...

Master Sakurano deeply understood the importance of prestige, so when he found out that his wife had lost her virginity and that his daughter was not his own, and most importantly, that he was kept in the dark, if she had not lost blood after childbirth and he had not married several times in his eagerness to have a child, he would probably still be unaware of it... This made this tough guy in the Showa era feel that his prestige had plummeted, and he could not hold his head up in front of everyone, and he had a strong sense of inferiority...

But it was precisely because of his low self-esteem that his authority was greatly reduced. So after the younger and less loyal members left, the remaining loyal old employees all made up their minds to support Sakurano Ei to take over and replace her father. "

Although female leaders are rare, it's better than a crazy leader, right?

So, everyone discussed secretly that as long as Sakurano Ei graduated from high school and mastered what they understood to be "high-end scientific knowledge", they would be able to lead everyone to turn the tide and reverse the downward trend.

Although Sakurano Ei didn't know why her father became like this - after all, everyone has a conscience, who can be cruel enough to tell her the truth? But she understood what these uncles expected of her, and knew that it was difficult to inherit such a large gang, so she gradually began to dress like a man and regarded herself as a man.

For a child of her age, the adult world was too complicated for her to understand. She only superficially realized that her father seemed to be troubled by the lack of a successor. And the reason why she couldn't be a successor was her gender. So, wouldn't it be better for her not to be a woman?

The old man who had been responsible for taking care of him didn't pay much attention at first, until one day, he was called to school by the teacher, who showed him Sakurano Ei's work titled "My Dream". Other children wrote about becoming a scientist, a writer, a big star, making a lot of money, etc. Although they were clichés, they were also in line with the dreams of youth, but Sakurano Ei's dream was - "to become a man."

It was only then that the old man realized that the Sakurano Group had gone crazy. From the group leader to the loyal gang members, and even Sakurano Ei, the future successor... everyone was crazy.

But, when everyone is crazy and you are the only one who is sane, how can you be sure that you are the only one who is crazy?

The old man couldn't change any of this. All he could do was try his best to allow the eldest lady to have some happy memories before she took over and before she went completely crazy because of her dream about a man.

Even if she was bound to fall into the abyss in the end, at least she had seen the light...

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 204 You are also Jincheng? !

Shibuya, underground street.

A slender handsome man was leaning against the wall at the staircase with his eyes closed. He was tall and thin, wearing only a simple plaid shirt and trousers, and his short blue hair matched his handsome features very well.

What humans call "good looking" can be roughly divided into two types. One is to wear heavy makeup, gold and silver jewelry, and even go under the knife to beautify the body; the other is like this young man, who relies entirely on his appearance and temperament.

It is said that as long as a person is good-looking, he will look good in anything, and he proves this perfectly.

You can even hear girls shopping in groups of three or four whispering in the distance, muttering, "Hey, look at that guy over there, so handsome!"

He pretended not to hear all the compliments and just closed his eyes to rest. Until he heard footsteps approaching him, he raised his eyes slightly to look at the opposite side, and then showed a look of joy: "Oh! My friend! You are finally here!".

"The appointment in the text message is so urgent, what's it about?"

His friend, Jiang Tianwei, was breathing slightly and it was obvious that he had come in a hurry.

Of course, this slender and handsome man with outstanding temperament was Kitagawa Yusuke who once stayed in his house.

The Japanese are very particular about the so-called grace of a night's sleep and a meal. If they were really particular about it, even if Kitagawa Yusuke transformed into a crane and weaved cloth ten times, he would not be able to repay the favor.

Jiang Tianwei suddenly received a text message from Yusuke today: "Shibuya Underground Shopping, come quickly, see you there." The content was so incoherent that if Jiang Tianwei didn't know the temperament of this future great artist, he would have really thought that something big had happened to him.

But the other party is Yusuke...

Jiang Tianwei's first reaction was, could it be that this kid has returned to the dormitory for a few days and still feels that his own home is the most comfortable, so he wants to continue staying here...

But we are brothers after all, and we are all in the same group. Even if you don't want them to stay, you can't just ignore them. Jiang Tianwei had no choice but to come to the appointment.

Seeing that Yujie seemed to be doing well - at least he didn't seem to be hungry for days and had to work hard for a living, Jiang Tianwei breathed a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help but become curious again. If it wasn't for food, then why did he come to find him?

Then Kitagawa Yusuke took out a square piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it layer by layer to reveal a poster.

Jiang Tianwei took a quick look and found that it was a flyer for an art competition.

This kind of competition is very common. For a new generation of painters like Yusuke, one of the choices to make a name for themselves is to participate in this kind of competition. And...

Jiang Tianwei saw the content at the bottom, which said, first prize, prize money of 500,000.

Considering Yusuke's financial situation, he couldn't even afford a ticket when he went to Shinjuku before, so this must have been a huge amount of money for him.

"I understand. You don't want me to be your model again, do you?!"

Jiang Tianwei curled his lips and wanted to leave.

"No, I already understand. David. Oh no, Jiang Tianwei."

Yusuke made a slip of the tongue accidentally, and Jiang Tianwei looked at him with disdain: Good man, because of your slip of the tongue, my word [天] has lost its head!

"So-called art cannot just consider things like sensationalism! It must be rooted in people's hearts, express something, and convey the artist's inner hopes!"

When it comes to art, Kitagawa Yusuke's calm face reveals a rare fanatic look. I remember someone saying somewhere that so-called artists are a group of lunatics who are bewitched by the monster called "art". Without madness, there is no life.

Jiang Tianwei could understand Yusuke's enthusiasm, and when he heard that the model was not himself, he didn't care. As the saying goes, a friend dies, but I live. As long as you don't make me stand out in front of the Japanese people by taking off my shirt, you can harm whoever you want. However, this made him more curious: "So, what do you want to draw?"

"Well, I've been thinking a lot these past few days..."

As Kitagawa Yusuke spoke, he took off the large drawing board behind him, opened it, and took out several paintings from it. It was recognizable at a glance that this was the challenge he had undertaken before.

There are all kinds of subjects here, including sketches of cats, landscapes in pink tones, a black mass mixed with various dark colors, a very impactful painting like a sticky vortex, and a portrait of a kind old man.

"This is something I tried to draw before, taking advice from other members of the Phantom Thieves."

Ryuji's suggestion was to draw Morgana, but considering Ryuji's personality, this suggestion was more of a joke. But Yusuke still drew a cat picture for this.

The pink one was from An Takamaki. When she heard about the competition, she would definitely recommend a love story! Girls of this age are just interested in love.

As for the black, sticky thing, it was what Yusuke wanted to express, that is, desire. It was dark and dirty. After all, as a member of the Phantom Thieves, Yusuke had seen the darkness of human hearts with his own eyes...

However, Yusuke still did not firmly choose "Desire" as the theme of the competition...

Because, he drew one more picture at the end...

Although the old man's face on the draft paper was not finished, the charm of the eyebrows and eyes was enough for Jiang Tianwei to recognize it. This was Master Liu's face.

"In the end, I still want to express this."

Kitagawa Yusuke holds up a portrait of Master Liu.

If it were the former Kitagawa Yusuke, he would definitely hold high the banner of "Let the whole world see the deepest darkness of the human heart", which Togo Ichi-san was ecstatic about, and he would have chosen desire as the theme and depicted the ugliest human heart...

However, during the days when he stayed at Jiang Tianwei's house, even though they couldn't speak the same language, he could still clearly feel the pure care of this simple old man next door. That kind of emotion of not expecting anything in return, but just trying to radiate one's own brilliance to warm others, is also the human heart.

Human nature is not all ugly.

Depicting ugliness and warning the world is a natural approach.

But isn’t it also a virtue to depict beauty and inspire more people?

It's just like the Phantom Thieves.

Should the core goal of the Phantom Thieves be to punish evildoers or to spread hope?

After a long period of thinking, Yusuke Kitagawa finally decided on his theme.

“I want to paint a masterpiece like the Sistine Madonna. I want to show the warmth of that master.”

"Um, then, then why did you call me out? Do you want to live in my house again?"

"!Is it convenient!?"

"inconvenient!".

When Jiang Tianwei heard that Kitagawa Yusuke wanted to come over and eat and drink for free, he quickly refused, and the light in Kitagawa Yusuke's eyes suddenly dimmed.

However, having said this, Jiang Tianwei suddenly noticed the biggest problem: You have already decided on the theme of the painting, and have found a model for the painting, and you are not going to stay at my house, so why are you asking me to come over quickly? ?

"So, why did you ask me to come here???"

"Oh, didn't I say before that I wanted to paint a picture that would surpass the Sistine Madonna?"

"Um.".

"So, I want to do some field research first and visit the church."

"Ok?"

"But I don't have the money for the train ticket... Although it may sound shameless... Could you please lend me some money for the train ticket?"

"So you think I'm a mobile ATM, right? Are you Jincheng?"

“I’m so sorry!!!”

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 205 Where in life do we not meet each other

Places like churches are probably the most badly attacked places in recent years.

Decades ago, whenever the church appeared in various works, it undoubtedly represented justice and light. And in general, it would be responsible for removing abnormalities for the protagonist, removing cursed equipment, and resurrecting. And usually a beautiful priest lady would be sent to join the team.

I don’t know when “taking a different approach” became the mainstream of artistic creation. So a large number of strange works of art emerged, in which the devil must be a kind-hearted person, and humans must be ignorant and greedy villains.

The Holy Church must be glamorous on the surface, but filthy and shameless behind the scenes, doing all kinds of bastard things... The heroes also saved the world selflessly from the beginning, and all kinds of weird heroes began to appear...

After seeing too many churches in works of art, I always have a feeling of "hating the whole house and the whole church", and feel that the real churches are also made up of a bunch of bastards.

But in fact, how can the church have such great power? How long has it been since the era of divine right of kings passed...

Besides, if the church is really that powerful, would it allow such works to be so popular?

It was obvious that Yusuke had not seen so many literary works. When he saw the church, he was just excited. The pictures of the church you have seen in pictures are completely different from the experience of stepping into it in person.

Perhaps an outsider can just look at the photo, but for Yusuke, although he doesn't have to do what some people do, such as dissecting a spider with a pen and tasting the spider silk, the sense of personal experience is very important!

But in contrast to Yusuke's excitement, Jiang Tianwei looked bored.

He is the victim of modern creation mentioned above. He has no good impression of the church. The last time he came to the church was in the game. He found a church to revive his teammates and buy some recovery medicine. I didn't expect that when I came to the new church, I found that it was even more boring than expected!

If Jiang Tianwei hadn't come here to accompany Yusuke, or if he had something else to do, he wouldn't have come to such a boring place.

(Come to think of it, the president seems to be very afraid of ghosts. Why don’t we bring her here to pray for her someday? Maybe we can cure her phobia?)

As soon as he entered the church, Jiang Tianwei was lost in thought and looked around boredly... Unexpectedly, in a corner of the church, his eyes caught a glimpse of a serious-looking female chess player, wearing the uniform of Guangxing High School, who was concentrating on the chessboard with bated breath.

The ancients said that if a person is in a lively place but looks cold, he must be extraordinary. Jiang Tianwei leaned over to take a look... It was Japanese shogi. He took a closer look... Hmm, I really couldn't understand it!

Although there is a ghost beside Jiang Tianwei, this ghost is not an ancient chess player - and even if it is, the original work is about Go, not Shogi... Japanese Shogi has its own unique rules. As a young man of the new era, Jiang Tianwei rarely plays chess, let alone Shogi. Wouldn't it be nice for him to play a few games of Dota in his spare time?

Jiang Tianwei's projection fell on the chessboard. The chess player in deep thought, Dongxiang Yiersan, raised his eyelids. The two looked at each other and felt that each other looked a little familiar. Dongxiang Yiersan narrowed his eyes, his beautiful eyebrows merged into a slit, and his brows were furrowed. It is said that Xishi holding her heart is a kind of beauty that is hard to describe. Today, Jiang Tianwei finally saw the real one.

After a while, Togo Ichi-san exclaimed, and she remembered that the man in front of her was the one she had bumped into at the Madarame exhibition before! Thinking of this, her expression relaxed and she said, "Are you interested in shogi?"

"Ah."

Jiang Tianwei responded. Many topics are like this. If you have to answer with yes or no, then you can only choose YES. He sat next to her and watched her place the pieces on the chessboard.

"Do you want to get off?"

Dongxiang Yiersan stopped moving his fingers and asked politely. Jiang Tianwei quickly shook his head and said, "Don't make a fuss. It's important for people to know themselves and never show off. You don't even know the rules of shogi, and you dare to go?"

"Forget about me. My level is too low. I was just beaten unilaterally by you in playing chess."

If this were a game world, Jiang Tianwei might have accompanied her. After being abused, he could also provide some experience points to the other party. Unfortunately, reality is not a game. He cannot level up even if he beats someone like him ten thousand times. He cannot become the Sword God of Shilipo, so why should he humiliate himself?

I thought that Ichiraku would look down on me for this, but unexpectedly, Togo Ichiraku nodded slightly, and he looked quite appreciative of him: "A wise judgment. As a commander, it is very important to be able to correctly judge the situation. This decision is commendable for not letting the soldiers bleed in vain."

If Jiang Tianwei hadn't known that this was the girl's style of speaking, he would have really thought she was insulting him.

After confirming that Jiang Tianwei would not play chess with him, Dongxiang Yiersan continued to play chess with himself. While playing, he casually chatted: "Yesterday, I was arranged to play a game again."

Jiang Tianwei didn't know why she suddenly started talking to herself, but she probably felt lonely. From the word "again", it was easy to hear her helplessness. She probably didn't have many friends at school. After all, if she had a friend, she wouldn't stay alone in the church to study new chess moves.

She spoke in a calm tone, without any special emotion, as if she was describing other people's stories. Her voice was pleasant to the ear, but it always felt a little lacking in vitality. Along with the sound of the chess pieces falling, Togo Ichi-san's words seemed to be broken into pieces, talking about trivial matters:

First, he said that his mother had too many schedules recently and had no time to study chess manuals. After a while, he changed the subject and began to talk about how he accidentally found several chess manuals that he had never seen before in an antique bookstore, and how happy and excited he was to defeat his opponent with new moves...

Jiang Tianwei listened quietly.