Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

So what should he say...

Saeko Busujima, who was lying in Lan Ke's arms, had opened her eyes at some point. Looking at Lan Ke, who had always maintained an "enigmatic" personality, and whose expression was constantly changing, she couldn't help but smile as if a prank had succeeded.

At the same time, her voice sounded again in Lan Ke's ears, but this time it seemed a little different from before.

"But there's still a long way to go before I'm truly moved~"

Looking at Busujima Saeko's slightly cunning smile, Lan Ke finally reacted.

That's right, whether it's the woman who looks like a Yamato Nadeshiko, or the girl who wields weapons like a berserker, or the female swordsman who won by any means necessary, they are all the same person. Busujima Saeko, who has awakened her own personality mask, has also accepted all of herself, naturally including other aspects.

Thinking of this, Lan Ke finally realized that what Busujima Saeko just said was not a "real confession", and it seemed that he had fallen in love too early!

In order to save his image, Lan Ke simply raised his head.

"Of course I know, but Senior, please don't be easily tempted by me. After all, my goal is to have my own 'Great Oku'!"

It's obvious that Lan Ke wants to continue to cultivate his image as a 'playboy'. He's a man aiming to build a harem, and only girls will fall in love with him. How could he be so easily moved?!

But what he didn't expect was that Busujima Saeko didn't seem to care about his "harem declaration" and even smiled and teased him.

"'The Great Inner Palace'? It's indeed a fantasy of many boys, but in that case, my expectations of you are even higher~"

"?!"

What surprised Lan Ke was naturally not Busujima Saeko's refusal, or rather, it would be strange if the other party agreed immediately. What made Lan Ke concerned was that Busujima Saeko did not refuse directly?

Looking at Lan Ke's surprised expression, Busujima Saeko, who was slowly lying on Lan Ke's chest, closed her eyes completely, as if she was resting, but the smile on her face became more and more intense.

This expression made Lan Ke feel itchy.

Unfortunately, although Lan Ke was able to basically confirm through the other party's gradually steady breathing that Saeko Busujima was not only conscious, but also had the ability to think normally.

But unfortunately, the other party did not respond to his hint at all, and Lan Ke was so anxious that he scratched his head.

Until Busujima Saeko, whom he was supporting, gradually recovered her strength and was able to stand up without him, Lan Ke, knowing that the other party finally stopped avoiding him, was hurriedly ready to speak, but was stopped by Busujima Saeko with her index finger again.

"I meant what I just said."

"But my requirements are very high, so I am just moved."

"Besides, the difficulty of 'marrying into the Busujima family', 'marrying me', or 'letting me join your O-oku, Narukami-kun' is different."

As she spoke, Busujima Saeko looked at Lan Ke again.

"So, Narukami-kun…what is your choice?"

Looking at Busujima Saeko, Lan Ke also fell into deep thought. He believed what Busujima Saeko said. He knew that if he chose the first one here, maybe the two of them would have a chance to start dating directly.

He had no pressure at all about "marrying into the wife's family" because his real name was not this anyway, or even the surname he used now was his "mother's".

But as his heart beat, his mind couldn't help but recall Jolyne Kujo in his room under the night sky, saying with hope, "You can't go back on your promise! We'll investigate together later!" And Lucy, pretending to be strong but trembling in the darkness, saying, "Leader, you will help me, right?"

Lan Ke's silence did not surprise Busujima Saeko.

The 'Bushima family' is the most famous kendo family in Tokyo. Both Busshima Saeko herself and her father have served as 'teachers' for many conglomerates and political families, just like Katsura Kotonoha and Arasaka Yorinobu. Therefore, she also knows a lot of 'things that cannot be put on the table'. She was raised as a 'Yamato Nadeshiko' since she was a child, and she actually had some psychological preparation.

If her future husband is a son-in-law, then it's not a big deal. But if she marries the heir of a consortium, then there are certain things she will have to face.

However, compared to marrying someone simply because of family, she now has greater autonomy.

She was not resistant to what Lan Ke said, but as she said, it was not easy for her to accept it willingly.

At this moment, Lan Ke, who had been silent for a long time, finally made a decision.

"Of course I'll let you join my 'Great Inner Palace'. After all, I'm a greedy man!"

Looking at Lan Ke's determined but motivated eyes, Busujima Saeko was not angry, but drew circles on Lan Ke's chest with her fingers.

"Then you have to work harder next time~"

As she spoke, Busujima Saeko lay back down again and stopped talking.

Feeling Busujima Saeko's steady breathing, and knowing that she was fine, Lan Ke simply took out the 'Alternate Dimension Navigation' and left the 'Cognitive World'. He helped her find a taxi stand near the subway station and prepared to take a taxi to take Busujima Saeko back to the dojo.

Although the cost of taking a taxi in Neon was a rip-off and his already poor eyesight would probably deteriorate further, Lan Ke gritted his teeth and found a taxi, remembering Saeko Busujima's encouragement before going to bed.

But what Lan Ke didn't notice was that when he was helping Busujima Saeko get into the car, the other party leaned on his shoulder with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

It was obvious that Busujima Saeko had not completely lost consciousness at this time.

If possible, she certainly hopes to have Lan Ke all to herself, but if Lan Ke can really 'steal' her heart and make her unable to leave him, then she doesn't mind.

Busujima Saeko moved her body and adjusted her sleeping position so that she could sleep more comfortably...

Chapter 1: Childish boy.

"Whoo~"

Lan Ke breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously when he stepped out of the Poison Island Dojo.

Although he was now at full strength and not even the people in the entire dojo could stop him, the way those seniors laughed, stared, or sighed still made him feel creepy when he thought about it.

After all, these so-called seniors, who were actually at least 15 years older than him, could be said to have watched Busujima Saeko grow up.

He had been able to turn a blind eye to them before, purely because of his 'clear conscience', but now...

If you feel guilty, you naturally can't stand up straight.

"Clap~"

After patting his face to stop himself from thinking too much, Lan Ke walked towards the station and skillfully entered the "cognitive world" at a corner.

However, today he did not go to the "Impression Space" to kill monsters as usual. Instead, he found a cute cat-eared girl curled up on the top of the newsstand and yawned.

"Tina!"

In response to Lan Ke's call, Tina's tail, which was originally swinging, paused for a moment. It was obvious that she heard Lan Ke's call, but unlike usual, she ignored Lan Ke's call.

You have to know that no matter how strong Tina usually behaves, it is all just "paper". No matter what she says, her body is extremely honest. But today, it was not until Lan Ke called her the second time that she "reluctantly" jumped down from the top of the newsstand.

And instead of greeting like usual, he just...

"Captain, have you finally sent that 'huge-breasted' senior back home?"

Hearing the two words that Tina deliberately bit, Lan Ke's mouth twitched slightly, and he didn't know how to complain for a moment. Although he had noticed before that Tina seemed to have a strange hostility towards girls like Leticia, Saeko Busujima, Lucy, etc. who were much more intelligent than their peers, he never seemed to have such a strong resentment as today.

Under normal circumstances, Lan Ke might have simply held the girl in his arms and rubbed her head to comfort her, but looking at the little girl in front of him who was only as tall as his abdomen, he couldn't do anything for a moment.

He had no choice but to pretend that he didn't know what was going on. He took out the "tribute" he had prepared in advance from his "backpack" and then tried to change the subject with "business".

"Tina, do you know why my senior's rank went straight to rank 3? And what about the 'Cu Chulainn' I met earlier?"

While Lan Ke was talking, Tina opened the lid of the yogurt, scooped up a spoonful and put it into her mouth. Although she still looked unhappy, she was very serious when talking about business.

"Because the Tarot symbolizes the connection between you, Captain, and the Tarot itself. The stronger this connection, the greater the power you will gain from the Tarot. Of course, the prerequisite is that the person who possesses the Tarot itself possesses a sufficiently resilient soul to be able to provide you with feedback..."

Tina had told him these words before, and Lan Ke had known them for a long time, but he didn't say much, just nodded silently. Fortunately, Tina didn't waste any words, and after briefly talking about the situation of "Tarot", she continued to explain.

"If your senior had simply connected to the Phantom Thief or the real me, her Tarot card would have been created long ago. However, she doesn't know your true identity, Captain, and she's also hesitant about which one to choose..."

Hesitant about what to choose?

Although Tina didn't say it explicitly, Lan Ke felt slightly blushing when he thought of what Saeko Busujima had said before.

After all, even though Busujima Saeko did not give him any substantive response, she not only recognized Lan Ke's "ambition", but even gave him a chance. This is the best news for Lan Ke now.

Looking at Lan Ke's slightly flushed cheeks, Tina swung her tail a little irritably and continued speaking.

"It's like two pipes running to the same place and then getting blocked until one of them becomes stronger than the other and makes a decision."

Although Lan Ke's situation is not quite the same as this, it is actually similar, because with the two identities merged into one, Busujima Saeko no longer needs to worry about it, so the birth of "Tarot" is naturally a matter of course.

Looking at Lan Ke's expression of sudden enlightenment, Tina was obviously a little unhappy, so she simply ignored Lan Ke and continued to explain another question on her own.

"As for that 'Cú Chulainn,' he's not much different from your other 'Second Demons,' except that he's a bit stronger. However, he paid a price to cross the 'Sea of ​​Cognition.' If you're interested, Captain, perhaps you could try to subdue him?"

Faced with his assistant's obviously sarcastic suggestion, Lan Ke didn't take it seriously.

It's not that he is not interested in the more powerful 'Second Demon', it's simply that he feels there is no need to take risks. Although the opponent's strength has decreased a lot according to his assistant, it is still not something he can deal with at the moment.

Unlike the 'Lancer' who only knew how to use a gun in Lan Ke's impression, the other party also possessed a powerful thing called 'Rune'. The reason why he suddenly appeared next to Busujima Saeko before was because he relied on this ability to travel.

You have to know that this world is not a game where you can do whatever you want, and you only have one life.

Since he couldn't get involved, he put it aside for the time being. You know, Lan Ke has much more to do right now than he imagined.

First of all, the side quest that can obviously improve Lucy's RANK level is what he most wants to do. Unfortunately, this matter can only be solved by Lucy herself. Lan Ke can't interfere and can only wait for the other party to solve it by herself. He even temporarily loses a "holy relic" that could have been turned into a prop.

But this time his harvest was still amazing.

First of all, of course, there was the original harvest from the Strategy Hall. In addition to the sword he had used in his previous sparring match with Busujima Saeko, he also got his own motorcycle, the 'Kusagi CT-3X', from the enemy.

Although in terms of practicality it is certainly not as good as Shirou Emiya's 'Soul Chariot', after all, which car can not only drive automatically, but also automatically search for enemies and collide with them?

But compared to the other party's car which has a wild and unrestrained style similar to that of the "bosozoku", Lan Ke prefers the sci-fi appearance of the "Kusagi CT-3X". Although it cannot be used normally, it is completely fine to use it as a means of transportation occasionally.

In contrast, after the three lust stones merged and were swallowed by the "Kingdom of Sin", the more dazzling "gem" on the staff actually had a greater effect on him.

[Electromagnetic Interference: Causes massive damage to mechanical monsters]

In the cognitive world, its main function is to serve as a special skill against specific enemies, but it is much more useful in the 'material world'.

This means that he can create an 'EMP attack' with no side effects at any time.

In a world with more "electronic devices", the more powerful his move will be, and it will become increasingly difficult for the enemy to catch him in the future, after all, any electronic device may fail.

In addition to this, of course, there is the acquisition of "intelligence". For example, he finally knew who the force was that almost ruined him thanks to Kudo Shinichi!

Black Organization!

The culprit who turned 'Kudo Shinichi' into 'Edogawa Conan' in the original work!

It was not until then that Lan Ke realized why he felt that the "Hakujiu Pharmaceutical" mentioned by Lucy sounded familiar. Isn't that the place where "Haihara Ai" or "Miyano Shiho" stayed before escaping in the original work?

You know, even if he doesn't remember it clearly, he still has some understanding of the 'Black Organization'. The most important thing is that he knows that the boss of the 'Black Organization' is 'Karasuga Renya'.

Even though he was upset yesterday because of the 'Bushima Saeko' incident, Lan Ke still couldn't wait to try to invade the other party's palace through 'extra-dimensional navigation'.

But what Lan Ke didn't expect was that the 'Other Dimension Navigation' showed that it could not be locked.

There are only two possibilities for this situation to occur.

First, Karasuma Renya is already dead, and there is no such thing as a temple for the dead.

Secondly, the boss of the 'Black Organization' in this world is not 'Karasuma Renya'.

It’s a pity that Lan Ke couldn’t confirm it due to lack of information.

Not only that, neither 'gin' nor 'vodka' can be locked, and it's clear that 'codename' cannot be locked either.

But it wasn't all in vain, the name 'Miyano Shiho' worked!

Although I didn't guess the 'location' or 'temple image' correctly, at least I had a direction.

Lan Ke also remembered that in the original work, 'Haibara Ai' almost revealed her ability to shrink. One of the participants in that incident seemed to be a veteran of the 'Black Organization'. Unfortunately, too much time had passed, and he could not remember this unlucky guy who died after just a few episodes.

However, 'Myano Shiho' or 'Haihara Ai' seems to know each other, and perhaps the 'Black Organization' can be identified through this clue!

In other words, his most important task right now was to conquer Miyano Shiho's palace, and it would be best if he could "earn" her over.

Lan Ke, who doesn't have any 'underground black clinic' connections, pretty much lets things take their course when it comes to consumables. As long as he can develop 'Miyano Shiho' into 'Tarot', he probably won't be short of 'supplies' in the future!

Now with 'Bukujima Saeko' joining the team, not only has the risk of possible exposure been eliminated, but the team has also gained a powerful helper. In addition to continuing to 'steal hearts' to maintain the popularity of the Phantom Thieves during the next holiday, Lan Ke's most important goal is to capture the palace of 'Miyano Shiho'!

In addition, the 'underground level of the image space' is opened.

After the previous experiment with the 'Palace of Lust', Lan Ke was basically certain that the way the 'underground floors' were opened was basically the same as in the original book. However, what made Lan Ke helpless was that although he could accept that the difficulty increased with the increase in the number of floors, the two halls, one large and one small, did not even open a new floor, which made him very helpless.

But this time there is big news, maybe more than one floor will be open!

In fact, Lan Ke couldn't help wanting to go and take a look early this morning, but considering that the other teammates were too tired after what happened yesterday, he suppressed his curiosity and prepared to wait until everyone was present before going to take a look.

It just so happens that I can introduce the new member 'Bukujima Saeko' to everyone after school tomorrow.

Although summer vacation is about to come, Lan Ke knows that this summer vacation is destined not to be boring.

Looking at Lan Ke's excited face, Tina sighed helplessly.

Although Lan Ke was indeed happy that she no longer thought about the 'big-breasted senior', Tina still couldn't help but remind her.

"Don't forget the tea party you promised Emilia. She's been preparing for it for a long time."

Looking at his assistant's serious expression, Lan Ke nodded seriously while reminding himself in his heart not to forget the favorability of his own 'Zhong Mo'.

Of course, there is also——