Part 173: 11/21/09

11/21/09

We’ve got some kind of Career Experience next week. Not really looking forward to it.



Gossiping Student: Where have they got you working?
Loud Student: Tuesday and Wednesday, I’ve got a construction job. And on Thursday and Friday, I’m at a gas station…
Gossiping Student: That’s just as bad as mine… I’ll be picking up empty cans.
> The first bell has rung.

I guess we’re all supposed to learn how the ‘real world’ works.



Career Week starts Tuesday. Just think of it as another boring field trip, for social studies.
Going out into the real world is pretty tough. By the end of the week, you’ll understand.
Myself, I’m glad for the chance to relax…
Does anyone have any fond memories from the trip they’d like to share with the class?
…C’mon now, don’t hide your faces.
…So my idea was to go to Guam for the school trip.
But none of the other teachers agreed… In fact, they all had their own ideas, too.
Mr. Ekoda stumped for Kyoto, as usual. Mr. Ono wanted to go, um… northeast of Japan. I’m still not sure why…
Ms. Ounishi suggested a spa, and Mr. Takenozuka wanted to ride the Maglev Train.
Mrs. Terauchi didn’t care where we went as long as she could bring her husband… She’s so annoying!
What we need is someone to take charge. The reason we go to Kyoto every year is because no one takes control…

It does make me wonder about something, though. What will Aigis do after this is all done?



However, since I am designed primarily for battle, it is useless for me.

I mean, the rest of us can all go back to a normal life, whatever that is. But she was talking like she doesn’t even think she can try to make a future for herself after all this.



I thought I’d die from that punishment, but I still don’t regret a thing.
…J-Just kidding! I’m really sorry. I apologize. Sorry…!

Hell with that, I’m not letting any of my friends give up that easily.



What day is it?
But, it’s the day after the School Trip!
We need time to unpack our bags and stuff. And I’m still tired, too…

That girl with the drink Elizabeth wanted to try was really excited about the weird things I found in Kyoto, fortunately, so I was able to get that dealt with.



Female Student: Can I see it? Ooooh… is this the limited-edition drink you can only get in Kyoto?
Wow… impressive!
I have to say, I love these rare drinks.
Have you seen this one? Oden Juice?
It’s only available in the fall.
You want some? Well… I can’t let you have it for free.
I’ll need… let’s say 5,000 yen, to part with it.
Buy it.
Female Student: Wh-What!? Are you really going to pay me 5,000 yen for this!?
Wow, you must be a rare drink maniac!
Thanks, though! Now I can get my own rare drink!
> Obtained Oden Juice.
Female Student: Hey… Maybe you could help out a fellow rare drink maniac…
Do you think if we made those persimmons into a drink, maniacs all over the country would like it?

I ran into Mitsuru, who said she’s going to try and take life easier for a change.



Things have finally settled down a bit.
Since I’m a senior, I was thinking of assigning more tasks to the underclassmen in Student Council.
I deserve some free time, after all.
I’ll still show up to the meetings, of course.

I think she meant it, because she asked me if I wanted to go out and do something.



You seem to be studying really hard.
Impressive… But, try not to stress yourself out.
> Because of your academic prowess, Mitsuru seems to have a new opinion of you.
By the way, Tolstoy…
This is completely unrelated, but…
I’d like to talk to you about something.
If you don’t mind… can you spare some time?
Sure.
Great. …Um, well…
Can you come with me? I’d rather not talk about it here.
> It seems Mitsuru wants you to go with her somewhere.

I’d never really thought about it but Mitsuru’s never really led anything close to a ‘normal’ life either.



> Mitsuru is trying to get your attention…
Please tell me what the etiquette here is. Are there any customs I need to follow…?
Drink all the soup.
All of it!?
Well, I will do my best.
Bon appétit!
…Let’s eat.
> Mitsuru is enjoying her ramen.
Hmm… The taste is quite interesting…
I thought it tasted strange at first, but as I continued to eat, I realized it had a subtle charm to it.
…It’s quite delicious.
Pardon me, Chef…
Ramen Shop Owner: …Chef? You talkin’ to me?
The ramen tastes absolutely wonderful. …It’s been a while since I last complimented the chef.
What do you use for bouillon?
Ramen Shop Owner: Bouillon? …What the hell is that?
Anyways, if ya want to know the recipe, sorry, I can’t tell ya, lady.
Without our secret recipe, we’d be outta business.

It kind of reminds me of going out with Elizabeth to be honest.



Now this would be considered a meal if one were to eat it with rice, yes?
That is very interesting.
Ramen Shop Owner: Uh, no, that’s not, uh…
You could probably make more money if you patented the recipe and sold it.
> Mitsuru is deep in thought.
Oh, sorry. My imagination got the best of me.
I’ve been wanting to try ramen for a long time…
……
…Does that make me strange?
No, it doesn’t.
Oh, that’s good.
I was never able to eat this type of food…
And I’m not used to this style of restaurant…
I felt extremely awkward coming here alone.
I’m so glad you’re here with me. You’ve taught me so much about ramen etiquette.
…Let’s eat here again sometime.
> Your relationship has grown closer…

With everything that’s happened to her, though, I’m just happy she’s feeling better.



…Look at the time.
We should go.
> You decided to return to the dorm.

Ryoji was here earlier according to Fuuka, but I guess I must have just missed him.



…Ryoji-kun was just here.
He came to hang out with Junpei-kun.
It’s not often that we get visitors here.
Yeah… Do you think it’s okay?
I’m actually surprised that he’s not with a girl.
…Hey, where’s Aigis?
I saw her on the 2nd floor.
Really…?
Hmm… Maybe she’s with Koromaru… It’s not like them to be gone.

Aki’s sympathy for our Career Experience plight was touching, which coincidentally he won’t be doing anytime soon.



Well, too bad…
Quit complaining and do your job.

After that whole hot springs thing it pains me to agree with Junpei but I think he has the right of it.



We don’t need to experience how boring work is.
Man, this school sucks.

Yukari’s trying not to complain.



My dad did his very best…
He was a hard worker, and he never complained…
Well, that was that, and this is this.

I wish we could all just get joke jobs from Mitsuru for this but I guess that defeats the purpose.



However, there are some people, like Yukari’s father, who put their whole lives into their work.
At any rate, this will be a great opportunity to learn about the workplace.
Good luck.

Even Fuuka thinks it’s a drag.



Just think of it as an exercise in endurance.
You can do that, can’t you?
Of course.
Then, let’s do our best.

Elizabeth wanted a Featherman, so I asked Ken if he had an extra. He tried not to admit he even liked it, but come on who doesn’t like Featherman?



Umm… are you talking about Phoenix Ranger Featherman R?
Isn’t that the prize that comes with packs of Gummy Gum?
I-I’m too old for that stuff…
Why would you want one? You’re an adult…
……
Um…
C-Can you keep a secret!?
I had an extra postcard… I thought I might as well send it in…
And, um… I have a duplicate of this one already…
S-So you can have it.
But… please take good care of it.
Wow, though… I never knew you liked Phoenix Ranger Featherman R!
I-If you want…
M-Maybe we could watch it together sometime…?
> Obtained Featherman R.

I think it wasn’t great for Aigis that Ryoji was by, she just seems to get more bothered by him every day.



I even asked Koromaru-san for help…

I figured it might be good for us all to head down to Tartarus and work out all the frustration and weirdness of the past week, but first I dropped in on Elizabeth.



Ah… this is Oden juice. It looks like an ordinary can of juice.
But inside…
…It’s still warm.
This sensation on my tongue… It must be one of the ingredients in Oden…
It feels like… eggs…? Very mysterious…
Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, I see… I’ll savor the taste of this juice later.
Please accept your reward.
> Obtained Maid Outfit (A).

And yeah if nothing else I’ll have Aigis be my robot maid assassin or something. Also, Elizabeth went into the gutter with that action figure surprisingly fast.



May I see it…?
Interesting… You can put it in various poses and play with it.
Oh… it’s flexible enough to be put in this kind of pose…?
Ooh… this pose, too…
Oh… oh my…!
……
…This may be a bit too anatomically correct for me. You may have it back.
Please accept your reward.
> Obtained Ningen Mukotsu.

So yeah we headed back to that disco nightmare block.



It’s on the 180th floor!
That’s still a ways away, but please keep it in mind.

I’m going to be honest, we almost died.

Video- “Stasis Giants”

Watch

The first Guardians were pretty brutal.



Boss Battle: Stasis Giant x 3
Oh god these things are bullshit. They roll out crazy slash attacks nonstop and have really strong defenses. I’m going to be honest you should probably just solo this with a Slash immune main character because on Hard your party is going to get rolled by Deathbounds.

We soldiered on, though.



Please be careful.

The second for tonight was a huge white thing.

Video- “Phantom King”

Watch

Wasn’t as bad as those stupid giants, though.



Boss Battle: Phantom King
Comparatively, this guy is pretty easy. He’s just one big guy who’ll toss out Mind Charged magic and instant death of both flavors. Roll with a Persona that’s immune to Light and Dark and be smart with guarding and buffs and this’ll be no problem.

Definitely needed some rest after that, though, so we headed back to the lobby.



They’d make adorable wings, don’t you think? I’ll take good care of them.
Please accept your reward.
> Obtained Berserker’s Seal.

Especially since I’m supposed to go out somewhere with Ryoji tomorrow.



You will gradually encounter stronger Shadows as you ascend Tartarus.
The floors that you’ll be exploring next are populated with very strong monsters.
Please keep this in mind.
Please accept your reward.
> Obtained Space Badge.