Tokyo Psychic

Noticing the sudden change in the gazes around him, Kurusu Akatsuki's mood became particularly bright.

He finally understood why adolescent boys were so keen on pursuing those girls who were the center of everyone's attention. It was not just because of their longing for beautiful things or the stimulation of hormones... Just walking with her in public places, feeling the jealousy and envy of the same sex around them who wanted to kill and take their place, the sense of accomplishment that arose in his heart was simply indescribable.

But this sense of accomplishment disappeared when Kurusu Xiao saw the ordering page on his mobile phone.

"So expensive..." Shoko Toyokawa sat down next to him at the dining table, and of course she also saw the prices of various dishes on the menu.

This is the theme restaurant in the park. Even the cheapest main course meal costs nearly 5,000 yen.

It's like Kurusu Akatsuki working tirelessly in STARRY for three hours...that is, without selling any drinks.

If you order a meal for two, plus drinks and snacks, the cost of the meal will be close to 14,000 yen.

Just as Kurusu Akatsuki was thinking about whether to add another large sum of money to An He Subaru's credit card, Toyokawa Shoko had already grabbed his sleeve.

The thief looked at Toyokawa Shoko, who shook her head at him. "Let's split the food and just order one portion... I can't eat much anyway."

The little girl's tenderness and thoughtfulness were like a sharp knife, which cut a hole in the adult man's self-esteem, and the shamelessness and meanness as black as ink flowed out.

At first, it was very difficult to nod and agree, but he found that as long as he lowered his moral bottom line, he even wanted to suggest reducing the drink to one cup, and the two of them drank it together with straws... It was all Yamada Ryo's fault. After being with her for a long time, even the Phantom Thief of the Mind was polluted to a certain extent!

They were clearly birds of a feather, but Kurusu Akatsuki still firmly believed that he was actually influenced by Yamada Ryo.

At this moment, there seemed to be a voice in the dark warning Kurusu Akatsuki that if he really suggested "sharing a drink" on the basis of "sharing food", it would certainly make Toyokawa Shoko feel extremely conflicted. After the conflict, this gentle girl who made people a little addicted would choose to agree... But the consequence would most likely be that the relationship between the two high school students would advance at an extremely fast speed, and even come to the attention of the Toyokawa family, and then they would immediately arrange matters such as engagement, causing Kurusu Akatsuki to step into the grave of marriage at a young age.

Toyokawa Shoko didn't understand the pros and cons that Kurusu Akatsuki was weighing in his heart, and just waited for his answer shyly and nervously.

It takes great courage for a girl who has no dating experience and has attended a girls' school since childhood to take the initiative to propose "sharing food" to a boy of the same age.

If I hadn't experienced those terrible things, I might have run away out of shame by now, right? Toyokawa Shoko stared at Kurusu Akatsuki's profile with her moist eyes.

She has indeed grown up, from that innocent little girl to a persona user who can face her own feelings and take the maximum action for them.

All this is thanks to the help of the young man in front of me.

Kurusu Akatsuki had no choice but to accept Toyokawa Shoko's suggestion with a smile, and then ordered a "Mickey's Dream Theme Set Meal".

About twenty minutes later, a staff member dressed in a full-body puppet costume and dressed as Mickey Mouse came staggering in with a cream cake in the shape of a cartoon version of the Disney castle and a plate of eight-inch pizza in the shape of Mickey Mouse.

Perhaps he had sensed the ambiguous relationship between Kurusu Akatsuki and Toyokawa Shoko, or perhaps it was an oversight at work - Mr. "Mickey" was cunning enough to only bring a spoon, and then he raised his shaky hands above his head and made a heart gesture towards them.

Although sliced ​​pizza can be shared, cream cakes definitely require sharing tableware.

Kurusu Akatsuki ignored the "Mickey Mouse" jumping up and down beside the table. He held the spoon, ready to give all the cream cake to Toyokawa Shoko... The girl was shy, but she kept her head down and didn't take the spoon he offered her. Her body language clearly described the words she couldn't say.

......

After a busy period, Mr. "Mickey" returned to the restaurant's workshop, took off his thick hood, revealing a face covered in sweat.

Maruki Takuto felt that his life was really not easy. It was summer, and he still had to wear a puppet costume and work part-time at Disney.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Maruki. This is your reward for today."

The manager very politely handed a large sum of cash to Maruki Takuto in front of him.

The other party is a famous scholar and researcher at the University of Tokyo. I don’t know what’s wrong with him today, but he has to come here to work part-time. He claims that he is conducting a psychology and sociology experiment.

Maruki Takuto calmly took off his puppet costume and took the money. "Next, I have to go to the Ferris wheel."

"I remember you mentioned this this morning. I've already booked a time for you there... It's eight o'clock tonight, right? Just half an hour later, you can enjoy the 'Colorful Night Sky' fireworks show. Mr. Maruki really has good taste."

Maruki Takuto said with a smile, "The show I want to see is more exciting than the fireworks show."

He was already prepared to pull the plug on the Ferris wheel and force the two of them to spend some more time alone together if Kurusu Akatsuki didn't succeed in confessing his feelings within ten minutes tonight... It didn't matter if they were discovered. With his influence as a well-known researcher in cognitive psychology, at most he would be taken to the police station and given a few verbal warnings, and would be released soon.

The time has almost come, and it's time for the [Fool] and the [Devil] to confirm their relationship. There's no need to rush into sex, that can be put off for a while, but they must confirm their relationship today.

otherwise......

Maruki Takuto thought of the terrible disaster that would erupt in the impression space in a few days, and his eyes were suddenly filled with gloom.

That is not an enemy that can be easily described by the so-called "palace master" or "a collection of unconscious human emotions."

Even if the Phantom Thief of the Mind becomes extremely powerful in this timeline and can defeat all those who stand in his way, it is absolutely impossible for him to perfectly resolve the crisis by himself... After all, human energy is always limited, and saving people is far more difficult than killing people.

Therefore, he must establish a certain emotional foundation between him and the [Devil] to ensure that they can have enough tacit understanding in the following time to resolve the disaster with the lowest casualties as much as possible.

In the idealistic world of Impression Space, the bond between people is the only force they can trust besides themselves in desperate situations.

......

Even when the skyscraper was rising higher and higher, Shoko Toyokawa still felt like she was in a dream.

The sixteen-year-old girl was obsessed with "falling in love".

She was immersed in the ubiquitous sense of security in this companionship, obsessed with the yearning and fantasy of love. The relaxation of her whole body and mind was like a carefree dream.

In this private space that was gradually rising from the ground, it was just her and Kurusu Akatsuki.

Let Toyokawa Shoko personally feel the freedom of being "unrestrained".

You can talk about any troubles, vent all your emotions, and reveal all your aspirations for the future. In ten minutes, perhaps you don’t need a good talker to find ways to make the sea turtle cry or the iron tree bloom... The girl who already admires you has already conquered you.

At this time, boys only need to ask simply and then give gifts prepared in advance, and they can harvest a pure love affair without any purpose in the best years of their youth.

Shoko Toyokawa watched as Akatsuki Kurusu took out two identical black boxes from her shoulder bag... Her breathing suddenly became rapid.

"Is it too fast..." Shoko Toyokawa's voice was trembling.

Kurusu Akatsuki put his hand on the lid of the box. "Not soon at all. It should be around this time."

Toyokawa Shoko panicked, "At least...please let me be mentally prepared!"

"Can't wait, right now!"

"No! Something like proposing..." Toyokawa Shoko was about to cry.

But the next moment, the shyness about love and the uneasiness about hasty changes in major relationships that had been swelling in her heart suddenly dissipated.

Toyokawa Shoko stared blankly at the contents of the opened box——

A brass knuckle with a texture somewhere between metal and glass.

The grip is golden, the ring is white, and the striking surface is gold...exactly the same color scheme as Toyokawa Shoko.

A string of English letters was engraved on the inside of the ring, which read "Lavenda".

"The ring was too expensive, so I bought brass knuckles."

The Phantom Thief gave a cunning smile, a sign of successful strategy. "Use this gift properly, and you can protect yourself in many situations... I hope you like it."

(055.webp)

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(Recommending a friend's book, original:)

(Everything in the world has cause and effect, and the result is determined by the cause. This is the natural law of heaven and earth... until the last practitioner of the cause and effect combat method, Qin Xiu, appears.

An existence that transcends the law of cause and effect, the true embodiment of 'effect without cause'.

There is no need for "cause" and one can directly reach "result", which is "no cause but there is result".

Space jumps, instant learning, super factories, trackless attacks, guiding the future, manipulating celestial orbits, and even pushing the universe to heat death...

"The future... is in my palm!")

086. The Man with a Thousand Faces (Two in One)

PM9:24.

1st block of Cangshan, "Fujiki Residence".

An and Subaru returned to the apartment empty-handed. As they were taking off their shoes at the entrance, Rupa, who was fiddling with the rice cooker in the kitchen, turned around and looked at them in surprise. "Didn't Subaru say he was going to buy a P...P5S game console today?"

"It's PS5." Ebizuka Satoshi, who was helping to cut vegetables, corrected.

"Okay, PS5."

Faced with the questions from the two girls he lived with, An and Subaru were a little embarrassed. "I forgot to bring my credit card with me today... I'll go check it out tomorrow after school."

It wasn't that she forgot to bring her credit card - she only remembered that she had lent her card to Kurusu Akatsuki after she left the house. She hurriedly waved the bill and ran to Shimokitazawa to find him. When she arrived at her destination, she found that the band's performance had ended and Kurusu Akatsuki himself had disappeared.

An and Subaru were immediately disheartened and could only comfort themselves by saying, "The Phantom Thief of the Mind must have borrowed the credit card specifically to save the world."

Are you kidding? That's the urban legend of the mind thief! He specifically sought out a little girl to borrow his credit card... There must be a deeper meaning behind it! Who knows, somewhere she can't see, many people have already been saved by this!

With this analogy, An and Subaru feel that they have also made their own contributions to the great cause of saving the world by the Phantom Thief of the Mind.

So after saying goodnight to Rupa and Ebizuka Satoshi, he happily returned to his room. When he opened his laptop, he curiously logged into his bank account and prepared to check the credit card spending records for today... I really hope it's not a gang transaction... An and Subaru prayed so, then dragged the mouse and clicked "Check Spending Records" with a worried look on his face.

A loading animation that makes people wait anxiously.

When An and Subaru saw the Disney theme park logo on the web page, followed by a long string of numbers, their hearts, which had been hanging in the air, immediately fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

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at the same time.

Maruki Takuto stood at the bottom of the Ferris wheel, looking through a telescope at the highest car...

The distance between the boy and the girl gradually narrowed.

The view angle is very good now, and you can clearly see through the telescope that Kurusu Akatsuki and Toyokawa Shoko are talking in the bright carriage.

Maruki Takuto, who was proficient in lip reading, quickly translated the content of their conversation.

So, are you planning to propose right away? Oh, young people these days... they're truly amazing.

Isn't the box that holds your wedding ring a little too big?

Just as Maruki Takuto put aside the tragic scenes of various catastrophes in his memories and focused his attention on the present, he was enjoying the wonderful youth love comedy with the girl's blushing face and the boy's step-by-step pursuit.

The script suddenly stepped on the accelerator, turned around and rushed in an unexpected direction...

Kurusu Akatsuki opened the box, took out a pair of brass knuckles and handed them to Toyokawa Shoko.

Seeing this scene, Maruki Takuto felt his heart stop. It was like a young man from a mountain village driving down the highway at night. As he turned the steering wheel, he felt the car suddenly jolt and the entire vehicle soar ten thousand meters into the air. Then, a muscular man wearing red shorts as a outer layer grinned at him from the window, his back against the boundless sea of ​​clouds and the stratosphere, revealing two rows of teeth so white they reflected the light... He felt an inexplicable shock and a bewildered confusion.

......

Shoko Toyokawa looked at the brass knuckles that were handed to her, her expression dull and her pupils dilated.

In this situation, the Phantom Thief actually opened the second box with a sincere look on his face. Inside was another pair of brass knuckles that were exactly the same. "Come on, try them on."

"Is this... really appropriate?" There was a strong sense of powerlessness in Shoko Toyokawa's voice.

"What's wrong with that? Other girls date for years, and in the end, when things finally break down, they get a ring with only one ring... Now there are eight rings. If you add two rings to your thumbs, you can go to the set of 'Fate/Grand Order' next door and cosplay Solomon."

Kurusu Akatsuki even took Toyokawa Shoko's hand and put the brass knuckles on her.

Feeling the coldness on her fingers, Toyokawa Shoko didn't know whether to cry or laugh for a moment.

大脑一片空白，思绪混沌着，什么恋爱的暧昧或者对爱情的憧憬都让面前这个男生给撕扯得支离破碎，心底无名涌上了一阵火焰，真想戴着这双指虎挥拳揍在来栖晓的脸上——或许是因为心疼，或许是因为那过于优秀的家教，丰川祥子到最后也什么都没做，只是木偶一样一声不吭的闷在那里，说什么也不肯再搭理来栖晓。

In my previous life, I must have helped an old lady cross the road and accidentally fed her to a wild truck, which is why I fell in love with this guy who looks like a human in this life... The image of the Mind Thief completely collapsed in her heart at this moment.

Stop talking about idol filters. All Toyokawa Shoko wants now is to run home, cover her head with the quilt and cry.

Just as she was thinking this, the metallic touch on her hands suddenly disappeared.

Then a bunch of shriveled roses were placed in front of her.

Kurusu Akatsuki shook the bouquet in his hand, "Besides me, if anyone confesses to you, wear a finger tiger and beat him severely."

Toyokawa Shoko simply responded to him with a look of grievance and resentment.

"you this......"

Before he could finish his words, the thief suddenly raised his hand, and the rose in his hand disappeared, replaced by two pairs of brass knuckles, which he put on the girl in front of him again.

The ambiguity and excitement that I had just regained faded away again.

Even the most good-tempered girl would lose her composure if she encountered such a huge emotional ups and downs at the last moment of a date.

Toyokawa Shoko was so angry that she trembled and couldn't help but punch him... Of course, the force was very light, almost like acting coquettishly.

Kurusu Akatsuki actually accepted it all without saying a word, without fighting back or complaining.

This was the effect he wanted... The night before the date, Lavenda gave him a lot of advice in the Velvet Room before finally deciding on this strategy.

According to the secretary's original words: