In the anime, people are in everyday Tokyo, but they are playing the reincarnation game

"I do trust you, but are you helping us just out of sentimentality?"

"How is that possible? Emotional reasons play a part, but ultimately, it's based on rational considerations."

Ashikaga Miwa walked to the table nearby, picked up her gold-rimmed glasses and put them back on. Then she turned around and looked at Asagiri and Kato Megumi, and spoke slowly.

"I've had connections with you guys before these things happened. Instead of looking for some so-called "dead warriors" who I'm not sure I can trust to enter the game, I'd rather invest directly in you, who I believe I can fully trust and are the strongest players at this stage."

"Of course, I don't want to use this game or the players' power to gain anything. My goal remains the same as always, which is to change the atmosphere within Shuchi Institution. Through this period of special training, I've gotten to know Yuuki-san and Kato-san. They're both gentle and kind people. From my perspective, I hope players like you survive to the end, and..."

Having said that, Ashikaga Miwa paused slightly, looked at Asagiri's face, and slowly spoke.

"I hope you survive. I will do everything in my power to help you and ensure that you survive and complete what we agreed upon."

"That's it."

Asagiri nodded noncommittally, then walked up to Ashikaga Miwa, extended her hand, and spoke with a smile.

"So, deal done?"

"Ah."

Ashikaga Miwa held Asagiri's hand and said with a smile.

"Deal done."

As Ashikaga Miwa finished speaking, a phantom tarot card suddenly appeared in the air and slowly fell into Asagiri's left palm.

"A new Persona slot... the Pope..."

Asagiri looked at the phantom tarot card with the Pope's image printed on it, which gradually sank into his palm. Then he looked at Ashikaga Miwa and said with a smile.

"Congratulations, Ashikaga-sensei, for playing such an important role in unlocking the Persona slot for me."

"I don't know what a personality mask is, but..."

Ashikaga Miwa held her forehead and sighed, unable to help but complain.

"You kid, you're still as crazy as ever."

.............

Later, at Asagiri's house.

"Utsunomiya-san, here's a Coke."

Kato Megumi, who had just finished taking a shower, dried her hair, stepped on the wooden floor with her bare white feet, opened a can of Coca-Cola that had just been taken out of the refrigerator, and handed it to Asagiri.

"Thank you."

Asagiri took the Coke and took a sip, then put it aside. He looked at the laptop, which contained various combat skills and weapon use tutorials sent by Ashikaga Miwa, as well as the file bag on the table, which contained a targeted special training plan handwritten by Ashikaga Miwa based on the abilities of the four members of the team, as well as some precautions for the team's cooperation and possible tactical suggestions. He spoke softly.

"Won't your parents be worried if you don't go home and stay here with me to study?"

"It's okay, they are all out traveling, and I'm home alone these two days."

"If I stay up late, I'll be sleepy in class tomorrow..."

"Utsunomiya-san, have you forgotten?"

Kato Megumi smiled and spoke softly.

"Even if I fell asleep in class, the teacher wouldn't notice."

Chapter 57: 055 Miss Assassin is too desperate

"Alas, Miss Assassin is trying too hard."

Hearing Asagiri's teasing with a smile, Kato Megumi took off the hairband on her wrist and tied her long black hair into a high ponytail. Then, she sorted out the information provided by Ashikaga Miwa and said lightly.

"Whether it's my reasoning skills or my fighting talent, I can't compare to Kotoko and Asuna. I'm very ordinary, but even so, I don't want to be the one who holds everyone back. In order to help everyone... and you, I will definitely give 100%... no, 120% of my effort."

"Didn't I tell you? You're not ordinary at all."

Asagiri picked up the laptop and placed it on his legs, clicked on the fighting skills training videos sent by Ashikaga Miwa, and chuckled.

"Me, Asuna, and Kotoko all have very distinct personalities that might seem unusual to normal people. Furthermore, our styles and philosophies are vastly different. Yet, you've earned the unanimous approval of all three of us and become a member of this team. This is enough to prove your worth."

"Well, that's why I can't hold everyone back."

Kato Megumi picked up the file bag containing Ashikaga Miwa's handwritten information and couldn't help asking.

"I have a question for you."

"what?"

"According to the rules we've summarized, the rewards the system gives out after players clear a level are all tailored to the player's needs. Furthermore, the four of us are all high-level players, so we can customize the rewards, right?"

"Correct."

Kato Megumi looked puzzled and said thoughtfully.

"But if that's the case, do we still need Ashikaga-sensei to develop any special training plans or reinforcement plans based on our individual abilities?"

Upon hearing this, Asagiri shrugged and said nonchalantly.

"You'll know just by looking at it."

Although Kato Megumi didn't quite understand what Asagiri meant, she nodded obediently, opened the information bag, took out the special training plan written by Ashikaga Miwa based on her personal abilities, and began to read it carefully.

[Phantom future development direction suggestions]

The first sentence that caught her eye made Kato Megumi a little unable to hold back. Seeing such serious words, Kato Megumi couldn't help but think of Ashikaga Miwa's serious face, the meticulous face of the middle-aged woman that Asagiri called an abstinent woman, and she almost laughed out loud.

But what came into her eyes next surprised her.

[Combining Phantom's unique talents and abilities, the following future development paths are recommended]

[1. Strengthen melee and frontal combat capabilities to gain powerful close-quarters attack skills and skills that can transcend space, such as teleportation and flashing, which can quickly close the distance with the enemy and deliver a critical blow before the enemy is aware of the Phantom's presence.]

[2. Acquire long-range sniper-type skills, enhance your agility, and with the ability of your unique talent, transform into an archer-like style that can shoot enemies from a distance and assist the team in direct combat by launching sudden attacks from the side.]

[3. Develop based on your unique abilities. You don't need to acquire too many offensive skills. Transform into a reconnaissance profession that explores intelligence. (Note: Since someone in the team already has reconnaissance abilities, this type of profession is not recommended.)]

[4. Also based on your unique abilities, try to acquire some trap-type skills. While ensuring you remain undetected, set up controllable traps on the battlefield in advance to gain a combat advantage for your team.]

Seeing the development route suggestions written by Ashikaga Miwa, Kato Megumi silently recited them and felt that her future development ideas were gradually becoming clearer.

"Teacher Ashikaga..."

"The rewards the system gives out after clearing a level are what players think they need most and want most, but they are not necessarily the rewards that are most suitable for them."

Asagiri paused for a moment before speaking.

"She has a good strategic mind. Don't forget, she's one of the key organizers of the fighting competition. Training and developing fighters is also her forte. Although players and fighters are different, it's wise to entrust Ashikaga Miwa with the task of formulating future development plans based on each person's characteristics. Although I'm the team leader, I'm still better at on-the-spot command during battle."

"Eh? Are you saying... Ashikaga-sensei is even better than you in this area? That's not something the you I know would say. Aren't you an all-around genius?"

"Indeed I am."

Asagiri replied without any modesty at first, then added with a smile.

"Every profession has its specialties. As for planning a future development path for each of you, I can do that, but Ashikaga Miwa is the best at this. And precisely because she's not a player, an outsider, she can maintain a more objective perspective. Just like in the last dungeon, we didn't anticipate Sato swallowing the bomb prematurely, so we used up the Reversing Pocket Watch. But does this mean that our top priority is developing the ability to see through the human body? No, so asking Ashikaga Miwa to provide assistance in this area is the wisest choice."

After saying this, Asagiri paused for a moment before speaking lightly.

"If you know there are people who are better than you at something, but don't seek help because of your pride, that's not self-confidence, it's foolish arrogance."

"Um..."

Kato Megumi nodded thoughtfully, then stared at Asagiri's profile and said with a smile.

"Whether it's as Utsunomiya-san or as the team leader... I seem to understand you a little better."

"The atmosphere is a bit ambiguous, Kato-san."

"what?"

After hearing what Asagiri said, Kato Megumi realized belatedly that she had unknowingly sat next to Asagiri, and their thighs were almost touching.

She quickly moved to the side, pursed her lips and spoke softly.

"Feel sorry..."

"Don't be sorry."

Before Kato Megumi could say sorry, Asagiri spoke bluntly.

"It would be even better if you could just sit on my lap. I can't imagine how good it would be."

Kato Megumi: ".......You're speaking in abstract terms again."

Asagiri smiled and asked back.

"How about I sit on your lap?"

Kato Megumi: "...Please be normal, Utsunomiya-san."

Looking at Asagiri putting the laptop back on the table, standing up and walking to an empty space in the living room, Kato Megumi's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

She discovered something.

In fact, Utsunomiya-san has a very high emotional intelligence.

The other party saw that she wanted to call Asuna and Kotoko by their names, to take their relationship to the next level and become close friends, so he called her name first.

Just now, Utsunomiya-san seemed to be speaking in an abstract way, but in fact, she was afraid that she would feel embarrassed and shy because of the situation, so she used an abstract joke to directly change the atmosphere.

And it is precisely because Kato Megumi is the kind of girl who is attentive and good at reading the air that she can notice this.

"Just watch for a moment. I'm just fulfilling Hat Mita's wish."

"Persona, Mita."

"Ding ding ding~ The hat comes on~"

Seeing Hat Mita appear in the living room with a sweet smile and an inexplicably handsome opening remark, Kato Megumi suddenly felt a little nervous.

Fulfill Hat Mita's wish?

Here? In front of me?

"Ah, it's finally my turn. Next, it's time to have some fun playing games~"

Listening to Hat Mita's words, Kato Megumi's heart was in her throat and she became uneasy when sitting.

Her personality is relatively calm, but not to this extent. If Hat Mita really takes out the mysterious purple mood... should she avoid it or continue sitting here?

Fortunately, the next thing Hat Mita took out from the inventory was not a mysterious little toy, but a light pink electric guitar.

"Clang clang~ Play the guitar~"

Hat Mita ran to the sofa in the living room with a guitar in her arms, sat down with her legs crossed and her upper body shaking constantly. She didn't have the quiet and dignified look of an average girl, but instead was lively, active, full of energy and cute.

"Deng Deng Deng~"

Before starting to play, Hat Mita patted the seat next to him and smiled at Asagiri.

"Mr. Player, please sit next to me~"

"it is good."

Seeing Asagiri walking over and sitting with Hat Mita, for some reason, even Kato Megumi herself didn't realize it, her expression became a little like she was sulking.

...........

A few hours later.

"Well..."

Kato Megumi raised her hand and rubbed her sleepy and tired eyes. She saw Asagiri still browsing the recent news on her laptop, trying to see if she could get any valuable information. She didn't look tired at all, so she spoke softly.

"Utsunomiya-san, are you hungry? I'll go make dinner."

"Cook?"

Seeing Asagiri's surprised look, Kato Megumi said angrily.

"What do you mean? Although my cooking skills are definitely not as good as Asuna's, I am still confident in making a simple miso soup."

"I don't mean to dislike you."

Asagiri waved his hand and said with a smile.

"But, don't we have instant noodles? Cooking is such a hassle."

Kato Megumi tucked a strand of hair by her ear and smiled gently.

"How can I let you eat instant noodles when I can cook? You've worked so hard, I should help to the best of my ability, right?"