Part 153: 11/13-11/14: The Pointless Interlude

Part 144: 11/13-11/14: The Pointless Interlude



Ah, we’ve made it to the high limit floor. Now it’s just a straight shot to--

Music: Suspicion



Beyond this point is the high limit floor. Do you have a reservation?



We shouldn’t cause a scene.

Why not? Why are we still trying to be all polite?

Do you have a reservation?
It seems there is some kind of requirement we must meet before we can access this high limit floor.
Even though we got the coins?



I can’t imagine how though…
Her cognition…? Essentially, Sae-san needs to think of us as being allowed to enter, correct? Hm. This casino is the courthouse in reality… So that floor must be a place only authorized personnel are given access to… ...I would say it has to be the courtroom.
You really are an ace detective.
He’s come to understand the workings of the cognitive world so quickly.
I was just like that too, right?



It took you ages to get it, Ryuji.

Uh, code names?

I just… got a different sense of time, that’s all!
That aside, how are we going to get into the courtroom…?
Ryuji! Go piss off the police!

UH. CODE NAMES?

Hell no!
We just need to attend a trial. Still, how are we supposed to know which trials my sister will be attending…?
Leave that to me. I have some connections that come to mind. I will contact you once I manage to arrange a time. We should return to the real world for today though. Well, see you all at the courtroom.

Ah, so we come to another cognition block. Not counting Futaba’s because that didn’t actually impede our day-to-day progress, this is the second one… of two. Yep. What a great, involved gameplay mechanic.

Music: The Whims of Fate




Now returning to the real world from Niijima’s Palace. Thank you for your hard work.



It feels like we’re fairly close to the Treasure now. There’s no doubt we’re nearing the end.
I wonder how much we still have left… There’s a chance we’ll run into powerful enemies ahead… Or maybe I’m worrying too much… Well, I’ll be waiting to hear from you about our next venture.

Music: Beneath the Mask




I’m surprised she’s taking part in court at a time like this… She must be busy with the Phantom Thieves investigation as well…
She is originally a public prosecutor, after all.
That’s gotta be tough...
She may be our enemy, but I do sympathize with her in this regard.
Our enemy…
Oh, my apologies. That’s not quite what I meant.
It’s OK. You were just telling the truth. Anyway, we’ll need to act tomorrow, right? Thanks for letting us know.
You’re most welcome. At any rate, let us meet on-site after school tomorrow.
We really can’t fail this time. Let’s go about this carefully. After we go to the courtroom tomorrow, we should head straight into the Palace.

Yep! We’re heading straight into the Palace tomorrow! We don’t even get a choice! Why did they even make us leave?




Fineee… I’ll have you know I trained while working in Victoria. My skills are amazing. OK, I’ll head over right now, so just wait for me.

Music: My Homie




Music: Beneath the Mask



Th-The Phantom Thievesh! They’re… They’re hereeeee! Pl-Pleash don’t kill me! I wanna live! I wanna live! Urp…
*sigh* Everyone’s so scared… I guess people would be worried since we haven’t caught them yet.
Do not worry! I, Shido, will lead you! I’mma take care of ev’rything!



Do you know how much harm they’ve caused to people? They’re terrorists, I tell you! And you can’t count on the police. It’s time for the great detective Akechi to shine!
Where has he been, anyway? I haven’t seen him on TV at all lately…



...You think so? I believe the final outcome is a foregone conclusion. The new political party will definitely win. Their leader is a master of media.
I see… Although it IS a national election, which is basically a popular vote…

Music: Layer Cake



Let’s go see Iwai.



There’s somethin’ I gotta ask you to do. You’re free now, yeah?



...Kaoru wants to talk to you. Hold on; I’ll call him over.

Iwai Rank 10

Music: Sunset Bridge



I learned a lot about myself, so… I just wanted to show my appreciation.
Hmph… Intruding in on another private family moment.
You’re still droning on about that? I mean, it was quite a shock… but that’s what made you take me in, right? So who cares?
Whoa there, kiddo…
If you had just told me all of this sooner, you wouldn’t have been threatened.
Who your parents are and where you come from stays with you for your entire life. Thanks to my loser parents, I got bullied by complete strangers, and--
My father isn’t a loser though! He’s a brilliant business owner.

“Brilliant” is a word, sure. I’d probably use “mad sketchy,” myself.




Stop tryin’ to ruin the moment. *sigh* So in the end, I was just fightin’ my own demons… Stuck in my crappy childhood and all the problems I had growin’ up… My view of Kaoru was all distorted… ‘cause of my rotten childhood memories.

Did somebody say “distorted”!?

I forgive you.




Maaku laughs.

Why did you help my father out?



You willingly got involved in a yakuza dispute… Would someone normally take that big of a risk?



Hmmm… I’d understand if you were a member of the Phantom Thieves.



Goddammit, I am so bad at hiding this!

Fighting for the underdogs… like a gentleman thief, you know? People have their own opinions, but… I think the Phantom Thieves are super cool! I mean, the sexual harassment incident involving that teacher?

“And all that murder they did? So cool!”



We gotta go, Kaoru. The supermarket’s about to close. Aren’t you in charge of dinner tonight?
Oh crap! Please excuse me!



Kids grow up quick. They can be a pain in the ass, but they’re worth it. ...All right, let’s close up shop. Go pull down the shutter.



Seems like he had a change of heart, just like them people they’ve been talkin’ about on TV.



I can’t be the only one who was saved by his change of heart. Wonder who else knows…



Heh, if you say so. Well, don’t worry. It ain’t really none of my concern. Man, you really had me fooled. That whole thing about being an enthusiast was all just BS. I hired you as a mere pawn… and now you’re Kaoru’s bro…



Oh, just dropping any pretense. Okay.



*chuckle* Interesting… All right, I’m gonna put all my effort into that special menu we talked about.
*nod*
I don’t like to owe nobody nothin’, so I’ll do my best for ya. ...Because that’s the kinda support I can provide.
I feel a strong bond with Iwai...

Music: The Spirit




Oh boy, gun customization!



Iwai is cool. It’s just kind of a shame his Confidant is shockingly boring even with all its yakuza intrigue and the fact that his Confidant bonuses are, as you might have guessed from my repeated unfulfilled promises to utilize them, kind of useless. He’s voiced by Kaiji Tang, a guy I’m liking more and more. He mainly plays really gruff characters with similar intonations, but he’s actually got way more range than that.



Music: What’s Going On?



And the knives are just replicas. They’re even less useful than a butter knife, y’know?




...We were in the middle of closing shop, weren’t we? Well, let’s get to it.
I feel like helping Iwai with his work has honed my Proficiency...

Maaku gains Proficiency +2.

Later.



--- DELETED BY ADMIN ---
Anon: 30 million yen OMG XD
Anon: if ur innocent, show yourself
Anon: they’re running loose rn...

Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)




Music: Everyday Days



Old movie posters are kind of scary. Maybe it’s the color…



It talked about movie techniques in such great detail. It really makes you appreciate film more… You know, we should go to the movie theater sometime!




Cinema Treasures apparently gives a 50% boost to gained social stat points from watching movies, just like if we had used Luck Reading. Apparently Cinema Treasures also stacks with Luck Reading so a first viewing can get boosted to 7 points, which can then be boosted to 10. We didn’t watch many movies though, so this wasn’t really worth reading earlier. The documentation on this one is kind of iffy but I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.

Music: Disquiet





Just being here causes my body to tense up.
I’m shocked that Niijima-san can think of somewhere this solemn as a casino…
So Makoto’s sis is that lady who’s overflowing with the aura of a capable woman.
...Mm-hm.
By the way, what’s this trial about?
A politician who decided to make personal use of government funds.



I read about that in a magazine! He went on a vacation with his mistress to some fancy hot springs!
Aren’t politicians supposed to be loaded? Why’d he mess with our tax money…?



Playing with other people’s cash is a total no-go.
This may sound off, but isn’t Niijima-san supposed to be busy with our investigation? Does she really have time to be coming to a trial like this…?
Supposedly, she was on this case before being assigned to the Phantom Thieves… Normally, another prosecutor would take her place, but… Sae-san can be a bit of a perfectionist.
Hey, how’re we gonna get Niijima-san to notice us? (to Makoto) Did you tell her we’d be coming?
I don’t think she read the message though.
Do we have a backup plan?
...Not exactly, but I’m sure she’ll notice us eventually.




Hm…? I noticed a lot of students here, but is that Akechi-kun… and Makoto? Now that I think about it, there was a message about her coming… *sigh* That doesn’t matter for now.
See?



All right! Niijima can see now that we’re allowed in the courtroom.




Music: The Whims of Fate



And we head right over. That scene was totally imperative to the game, wasn’t it? Didn’t just stall this whole thing out another day, right? There’s absolutely no fucking way we could’ve just done this all at once, that’d be preposterous!

*sigh*

That’s all for now. We’ll finish the Palace next time.