Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

"Captain, you possess the 'unruly'. Unless you actively abandon it, as long as you try to touch it, you will inevitably awaken your 'persona'. The only difference is the method and approach."

As the other party finished speaking, it coiled up into a ball, its pointed tail 'accidentally' resting on Lan Ke's wrist...

Faced with the cute cat who pretended to be aloof but unconsciously comforted himself, Lan Ke's original slight loss also dissipated.

Reasoning is all about 'bold guesses and careful verification' based on clues. What's more, I'm not good at these things to begin with, and now I'm forced to do it, so I can only learn slowly.

There is a rough sea outside the porthole, but the small room seems particularly warm.

Looking at the cute cat lying on his lap, Lan Ke felt that the atmosphere was good and decided to strike while the iron was hot. However, when he was about to take something out of his "backpack", he suddenly found that he seemed unable to use the backpack on the "Velvet"?

Instead, the cat that was lying on Lan Ke's thigh seemed to notice something and turned its head to look at Lan Ke.

"You can't use a backpack on the Velvet."

"what happened?"

"Because the so-called 'backpack' is merely the ability of the 'Velvet' manifested in the material world... Well, that seems a bit cumbersome to explain, so I'd better show you in person~"

As it spoke, it stretched and jumped off Lan Ke's thigh.

"Captain, you left in a hurry last night and didn't get to fully explore your ship. I'll be the one to show you around."

As he spoke, the other party walked towards the cabin door.

Just like before, he didn't need Lan Ke's help at all. He jumped up and hung his whole body on the door handle to push it open. After landing nimbly, he turned his head and looked at Lan Ke, as if asking him "What are you waiting for?"

Seeing this, Lan Ke hurriedly followed.

Before, Lan Ke was so focused on finding his own assistant that he didn't pay much attention to the situation in the 'Sea of ​​Spirit'. But at this moment, he discovered that the waves outside the boat seemed to be bigger than he had imagined?

But the amazing thing is that no matter how bad the environment outside is, the "Velvet" is not affected at all. It is just drifting on the sea as usual, but there is basically no feeling of shaking.

Unlike the sea, although the sea is extremely vast, it is known that the sea has boundaries. However, at this time, floating on the "Sea of ​​Spirit" on the "Velvet" made Lan Ke feel an indescribable sense of loneliness.

Unfortunately, before he could continue to sigh, a strange noise was heard.

jiu liu ling yi er liu er qi ling

"Pah~pah~"

It turned out that his assistant had begun to stare at him silently at some point, and the strange sound was the sound of the other party's tail hitting the deck.

Worried that the other party might be getting impatient, Lan Ke hurried to catch up. Only then did the other party reveal a satisfied expression, and then led Lan Ke down a staircase towards the interior of the cabin...

⑧①④⑨ ling ③Qi Bar

Chapter 13 I'm not that easy to deal with!

In the dark cabin was a staircase leading all the way down, but Lan Ke clearly remembered that when he passed by here yesterday, the deck was closed and there was no so-called "staircase" at all.

"Is it because I officially became the master of this ship that the path was opened? Or is it because I activated the 'persona' that a new function was activated?"

While Lan Ke was daydreaming, countless flickering flames suddenly appeared.

It was not until then that Lan Ke finally realized that he had reached his destination.

If the firelight before meant nothing, then the 'scarred water pipe' and the 'tattered sportswear' wrapped in a plastic bag were enough to explain a lot.

Not only them, Lan Ke also saw the "powerful-looking pistol" he had bought before.

It was obvious that Lan Ke originally intended to use a gun directly. After all, "a gun is faster at seven steps away, and a gun is both fast and accurate at seven steps away." However, this toy gun that looked like a toy gun to him did not seem to be recognized by the "cognitive world." Naturally, it could not become a weapon like the original, but could only be regarded as a toy.

As Lan Ke carefully observed his surroundings, the voice of his assistant came from below.

"This is the 'storage room'. Captain, your 'supplies' are stored here..."

"Is this where everything in my 'backpack' is placed?"

“The vast majority are here.”

Lan Ke, who had already gone down to the bottom floor, walked forward after hearing what the other party said. Then, under the puzzled eyes of his "assistant", he took out a small box from inside.

"I found it! I found it! I didn't know whether you like raw or cooked food, so I bought some dried fish. I hope you like it~"

As he spoke, Lan Ke opened the small box and handed it to his assistant.

Although he couldn't say he liked cats very much, and he didn't understand why his assistant was a cute kitty, Lan Ke remembered that his assistant in the P5 game also had a rank. He even played for a long time before noticing it and almost missed it. This left a deep impression on him.

Since there is a RANK, Lan Ke naturally chose to improve the favorability without hesitation. So what gift is better for the cat than dried fish?

I don’t know if it’s because of the special nature of the ‘storage room’, but this box of dried fish still retains the heat from when it was just out of the pan, and the oily spots exude the unique aroma of fried food.

Almost at the same time as it smelled the fragrance, its assistant's soft ears stood up unconsciously, but when it noticed Lan Ke's half-smile, it turned its head away.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, Captain. As your assistant, I know you best in this world. My favorability isn't something I can easily increase."

Lan Ke didn't care about the proud expression on his assistant's face. After all, even if the other party already knew his plan, it was still an "open conspiracy."

"Have you been discovered? Then I admit defeat and I'll give you this box of dried fish."

"Hmph~!"

Facing Lan Ke's "surrender", the other party seemed to be indifferent at first glance, but the slightly raised little head and gently shaking tail were enough to show that she was in a good mood at the moment. Lan Ke wanted to go up and stroke it, but considering that it had shown its claws without hesitation when he tried to stroke it before, it was obvious that if he really angered the other party, he might get some scars on his face.

So in order to prevent himself from getting killed, he quickly changed the subject.

"Since it's the vast majority, what about the rest?"

"In the Treasure Room, of course! Follow me!"

The other party didn't waste any words and took the lead towards the stairs again, but he also did not forget to use his tail to roll up the box of dried fish. Lan Ke even felt that the other party seemed to be in a much lighter mood and his steps were a lot lighter.

When the two returned to the deck, they quickly found a 'passage' that was not there before. Their assistant once again opened the door with skillful hands and led the way into the house.

The size of the 'treasure room' is not much smaller than the 'storage room', but it does not look as eerie as the 'storage room'. This is not only because the four sides of the treasure room are no longer made of shabby wooden boards but are replaced with special metals, even the lighting is no longer dim oil lamps, but torches engraved with a large number of exquisite patterns.

This gorgeous "treasure room" made Lan Ke feel very subtle. After all, compared with this gorgeous "treasure room", the dozens of gold coins placed in the center of the treasure room looked really shabby.

Especially when the two are in the same space, a strong contrast is formed, just like a stone inlaid in a gold ring.

But there was no other way, even these dozens of gold coins were by-products of the previous "Capturing Pixie" process.

As if seeing Lan Ke's speechless expression, this time his 'assistant' seemed much gentler than before.

"After all, 'Captain', your ship has just set sail, and I believe this place will soon be filled up~"

It was obvious that even though he said he didn't care, the 'dried fish' did have some effect.

Even though he knew that his assistant was comforting him, Lan Ke became confident again when he thought of the "personality mask" he had obtained.

Indeed, everything has just begun, and I will definitely be able to fill it up later! !

Lan Ke mustered up his energy again.

Thinking of this, Lan Ke suggested going to the next 'cabin'. It was obvious that he was more looking forward to seeing what new facilities there were than this 'treasure room' that was about to arouse his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Important facility? Then there's only one left..."

"Only one left? Which one?"

"The execution ground."

The cute cat leading the way in front suddenly stopped and gave an answer that surprised him.

It's not that I don't know, it's just that I have some resistance instinctively...

Chapter 14 'Tina'

The so-called "execution ground" is certainly not used to kill disobedient people. After all, according to his own assistant, the place where the "Velvet" is sailing is located in the gap between cognition and matter. Except for people like Lan Ke who do not belong to this world, no one else can get here.

Since there is no one else, there is naturally no so-called "execution". The "execution ground" here refers to the place where the "personality mask" is synthesized.

The so-called "execution" refers to the destruction of the "personality mask" used as the material and then the synthesis of a new "personality mask" or "props", which is also the main job of the "assistant".

In P5, perhaps because the protagonist is a "prisoner", the methods of "execution" are "guillotine" and "electric chair".

"I don't know how I synthesize the personality mask here."

With strong curiosity, Lan Ke followed his assistant down the stairs and into the "execution ground".

Compared to the brightly lit 'treasure room' before, the execution ground gave people a 'dark' feeling.

But what surprised Lan Ke was that he didn't seem to see any execution tools?

As if seeing Lan Ke's confusion, the cute cat walked to a corner of the cabin, jumped up, grabbed an iron chain, and used its weight to slowly lower it.

“Click~Click~~”

Along with the sound of chains rubbing, the bottom of the cabin slowly opened, but the strange thing was that as the cabin opened, no water flooded in?

You must know that no matter how shallow the draft is, the bottom of the boat is definitely in the water.

Not only that, the other side of the cabin was also opened.

"Wow~"

Different from the previous "feeling" on the deck, this time as one side of the cabin was completely opened, countless water droplets were swept into the cabin along with the waves, which finally made Lan Ke feel that "I am really on the sea".

Just as Lan Ke was sighing, an elegant voice sounded behind him.

"Captain, have you decided whether to 'walk the plank' or 'abandon the sea' first?"

It turned out that his assistant had appeared above his head at some point. It was only then that Lan Ke noticed that there were a large number of chains above the "execution ground", which seemed to be used to activate the "execution props".

Although he knew that his assistant was not talking about him, Lan Ke still shuddered instinctively.

"Does it make any difference?"

"'Abandon the Sea' involves bundling the two Personas you want to combine and throwing them into the 'Sea of ​​Spirit'. They will then fuse together to form a new 'Persona'. As for 'Walking the Plank', you drop a 'Persona' into the 'Sea of ​​Spirit' and then retrieve the 'Tool' it has transformed into."

As his assistant explained, Lan Ke couldn't help but think of all kinds of classic scenes from pirate movies.

But at this time he hesitated.

Although it was fun to "bully" Pixie before, he was able to withstand the first wave of attacks thanks to the help of the shadows, not to mention the "Lammo" that belonged only to him. Without it, Lan Ke would never have been able to turn defeat into victory.

In the game, he can carry out "executions" without hesitation, and even execute people repeatedly for the sake of the concave mask. However, when he thinks about destroying the "personality mask" that helps him with his own hands, even if he can theoretically summon it again, Lan Ke still has complicated feelings.

Although his willpower is stronger than that of ordinary people due to the hardships he had experienced in the past, he is just an ordinary person after all and cannot be so decisive in killing.

As if noticing Lan Ke's hesitation, the cat who was squatting quietly beside him nimbly jumped from the chain onto Lan Ke's shoulder.

"Captain, do you know what a 'persona' is?"

Although it seems no different from before, his eyes exude a hint of tenderness.

"What is it?"

"They are beings that wander outside the 'material world' and the 'cognitive world'. You can call them 'fairies', 'elementals', 'demons', or even 'gods'. After they pass through the 'sea of ​​spirits' and enter the 'cognitive world', they are unconsciously attracted to the human spirit. However, these special beings are very 'picky' and will ignore the spirits of most ordinary people. Only strong emotions can attract these 'beings' to possess them!"

"shadow?"

"Indeed, the fusion of this 'being' affected by negative emotions and the human spirit creates the 'shadow'."

Although Lan Ke had played P5R and even read the plot carefully because he was relatively free, many things about the world view were not explained in the plot, not to mention that the world he was in at this time had other differences with the 'P world'. Lan Ke didn't even know those basic concepts.

But now, after the explanation from his assistant, Lan Ke finally had some idea.

But according to what the other party said...

"Are we actually traveling above the 'clouds' of the cognitive world?"

"It's not quite the same, but it's not wrong to understand it that way... However, Captain, I haven't finished talking about the 'Persona' yet. Could you please listen carefully?"

Although he used a lot of honorifics, looking at the cat on his shoulder with an increasingly brighter smile, Lan Ke skillfully made a zippering gesture with his lips. The cat then nodded in satisfaction and continued to explain.

"So, whether it's your 'Persona' or that 'Pixie', they are actually 'beings' that reside within you. The 'Persona' is merely a form of expression. The so-called 'execution' is to return them to the 'Sea of ​​Spirit' and fuse the 'energy' they possess. Ultimately, they will be used as 'bait' to capture the 'being' within the 'Sea of ​​Spirit', thus giving birth to a new 'Persona'."

After hearing the other party's explanation, Lan Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, even if I carry out the 'execution,' the executed 'persona' doesn't disappear. I only need to summon it again to awaken the 'existence' attached to me?"

"Hmm~"

Faced with Lan Ke's question, the cute cat did not answer directly, but just raised her head and wagged her tail, as if she thought Lan Ke's question was too stupid and she was too disdainful to answer it.

But Lan Ke was quite happy.

But soon, the smile on Lan Ke's face disappeared.

"Oh right! I was so preoccupied with my own affairs that I almost forgot to ask, why can I still 'change clothes with one click' in the 'material world'?"

Faced with Lan Ke's question, the lovely assistant finally showed a serious expression.