Part 64: 7/1-7/3: Mishima's Getting Arrested For Fraud

Part 63: 7/1-7/3: Mishima’s Getting Arrested For Fraud



Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)




Music: Everyday Days



A legendary female pope, huh? Do you think she really existed?

Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)



I want something filling, but with summer coming up I’m worried about having too many calories…
Why don’t we get tea? The diner in Shibuya serves Frui-Tea. It smells good, it’s great for your skin, and it totally increases your charm!
Frui-Tea? What a cute name! Sounds yummy! Being stylish starts from the inside out, after all. Guess I’ll try some.
Frui-Tea, huh… Sounds like a hip drink that’s real popular with the ladies. You want to try some?



I see… Well, you should keep an open mind. If it tastes good and makes you more stylish, might as well, right? It might be a good idea to boost your charm by drinking Frui-Tea whenever you’re at the diner.

Music: So Boring



A variety of heroes battling for dominance—truly an epic time. Charismatic rulers and warlords with the command of a thousand men may have their own appeal… ...But personally, I think that the strategists who support them can’t be ignored. Now then, Hamiru-kun. In the book, Zhuge Liang of Shu is famous for his exploits during the Battle of Red Cliffs… ...But do you know what Chinese dish Zhuge Liang is credited for inventing?



I’ve never heard of half of these!

That’s right. The answer is baozi. At the time, one region would use a person’s head as an offering to quell an overflowing river. But Zhuge Liang made a baozi in the shape of a head as a substitute.

Maaku gains Knowledge +1.

These days, you can find baozi with cute faces on them. If you think about their origin, it’s not too off the mark.
I never knew strategists came up with cooking, and not just strategies...

Music: Tokyo Daylight



The target should be in Mementos. Let’s hurry up and deal with ‘em.

We’re not going to deal with them until after the next block opens.

Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)





Maaku gains Charm +1 and Knowledge +2.

Music: Beneath the Mask



Popular idol Rise Kujikawa is releasing a new song! This time, the theme is “mature love”!
She’s really gained a lot of sex appeal since she hit 20. And look at how sexy her outfit is, too.

Aww, good for Rise. Bad for her that people are still creeps, though.



...You understood what I told you last time, right? And you still want to request me?
>Call her over
Fine… I guess I’ll have to talk to you properly about it. Just wait for me there.

Music: Alright (Elp Version)



I told you that the story about my sick little sister was a lie… You know you’re being used for money… and you still request me?




Are you… an extreme masochist or something? You really are one strange kid… I’m a mediocre teacher and a mediocre maid… And yet, you listen to everything I have to say… ...You’re the complete opposite of me. I don’t even properly attend to my students’ needs. ……



...An “apology.” There was a student named Takase at the school I taught at before Shujin. Takase-kun was considered a problem child, since he had the lowest grades and skipped school a lot. So I was put in charge of guiding him… or rather, pushing him to transfer to another school. But when I got to know him, I realized that he wasn’t a problem child after all. ...In fact, he was working several part-time jobs just so he could cover his living expenses. His relatives took him in when his parents died, so he had to make money to support himself. He couldn’t attend school every day, but he was motivated to study. That’s why I decided to tutor him. After I started working with him, his grades started to improve, slowly but surely. But I was told that it was wrong to only help certain students and not others… Then a strange rumor about him being a juvenile delinquent began to circulate. And on top of that, I got called into the principal’s office… He threatened me… saying that I’d be dismissed if I continued to tutor Takase-kun.

Yikes.




But you could say the same about me. I got scared… of losing my job, and of having rumors spread about me. So… I canceled our upcoming tutoring sessions… Takase-kun was on his way to one of his part-time jobs when I told him…

Uh-oh.

Out of all days, it was New Year’s Eve, and it had been pouring rain all day… And… he died in a car crash.

Well… fuck. This got absurdly depressing.



Music: Confession/Secret

He sounded so depressed when I told him that I couldn’t tutor him anymore… But then he said that it was no big deal because he had to work anyway, so I wouldn’t feel bad. If only I had kept my promise to him...



Takase-kun was exhausted from the tutoring sessions and working at all his part-time jobs… His guardians blamed me for the accident, saying it was all my fault that he was so tired… They said that they were going to sue me and take the issue to the media and Board of Education. I wouldn’t have been accused of a crime, but if word had gotten out, the school would’ve been done for. ...I wanted to continue teaching, no matter what. So I ended up paying them the “apology” money so they wouldn’t sue me or say anything.



It was my indecisiveness that backed him into a corner, and I blame myself every day. I know paying them isn’t going to bring him back, but it’s the only way I can atone for my sins.

That’s some hot bullshit.

It seems like his guardians are satisfied with our arrangement, so...




I have to keep my distance to avoid hurting others, so I don’t meddle in my students’ lives. I’ve been coming here because of a random twist of fate, but we should say goodbye as well.



Hamiru-kun… You’re really not the type to back down, are you? Haha… I guess we’re in this together, now that I told you the whole story, right? ...Yeah. I’ll see what I can do about the other teachers so you can get free periods with them, too.

Oh yeah, those free periods you’ve been giving me have been so helpful, all zero of them.

...I look forward to continuing our relationship.
I feel like my relationship with Kawakami has deepened...



All righty, time to clean. I’m going to put more energy into it than usual today! ♥



A mild cough? Welp, it’s been nice knowing you Kawakami.

Oh my, this room is sooo dusty! Even though I wipe the place squeaky clean every visit… Well, I guess it’s all for you, Master. I’ll work hard to earn my keep! ♥



It’s worse than I thought. She clearly has days to live.

Oh, uh, wooow! It’s so dusty! If my cough is already this bad… Maybe we’d be better off tearing this place down than trying to clean it? Well, the shabbi-- I mean, chicness of this room is truly its charm, so let’s keep it as-is! All right, I have to go. ♥ I’ll be eagerly awaiting your next request, Master! ♥



Music: My Homie




Mr. Ushimaru, please come to the faculty office at once.
What…? I don’t know what business this is… ...You better study on your own until I return!



Wasn’t that Kawakami on the PA? There’s no way that announcement was real… It must have been the signal! Kawakami’s graciously given us this free time, so we’d better put it to good use. So, what’s the plan?



We finally get some time off in class. This isn’t scripted, we just got extremely lucky that an opportunity arose the day after we unlocked this Confidant ability.

Reading lets us read a book, making infiltration tools lets us craft (and gives us Proficiency, as per usual), sleeping gives us points in a random Confidant (including story-based ones like Igor and ones that don’t require points like Tora or Mishima, both of which end up being useless) or, apparently, points in a random stat, and studying on your own gives you Knowledge.



We’ll finish The Illusory Popess.




Maybe the people of that era made up this mysterious female pope, but she’s an inspirational figure. Pope Johanna, loved by so many… Reading about her must have taught you the value of forgiveness…

Maaku gains Kindness +3.

Ah! The teacher’s back…!



Phew, that was close. Kawakami helped us get a good chunk of free time though!

Music: Tokyo Daylight



Um, about our trip to the red-light district. Do you have time today?
So, what’s it going to be? Do you want to hang out with Makoto?



Great. Let’s meet up after we change out of our uniforms.
Well, I’m gonna go take a walk while you’re busy with her. Let me know when you’re ready to leave.

Music: Alright (Elp Version)



Yep, good ol’ Kamurocho Shinjuku!

Apparently this place was a hotbed for criminals and illegal immigrants before they installed surveillance cameras… I heard there were quite a few brothels as well.




This is the first time I’ve actually been here myself though. Regardless, it’s become far safer now than it used to be. Of course, the surveillance cameras played a substantial role in that… But it was mainly thanks to the police efforts to clean up the area. Even so, there’s no way to eradicate crime entirely. It seems the operations nowadays are only better hidden… Anyway, seeing is believing, yes? Come on, let’s have a look around.



…… Countless men tried to start conversations with her...

Music: Wicked Plan



That guy was so persistent… He must have been a scout for a hostess club. He mentioned how “his girls” get paid a lot to wear cute dresses… All I wanted was to ask if any Shujin students worked there… but he nearly dragged me inside with him. If you hadn’t been there to rescue me, I…




I’m glad nobody had to get hurt though. Hm, I guess that’s how they do it… I’ve learned something new today. Oh, and thanks again. It seems you have a knack for helping me out. I hope I can do the same for you someday.
I can feel quiet motivation from Makoto...



And we get Baton Pass for Makoto.

That aside… Even though this is a shopping district, there are absolutely no students around here. And definitely no Shujin students… though I guess they wouldn’t come in uniform either way. Well then...



Hm…?





Music: Suspicion

I used to be in the same class as her! But why is she here…?




I’m not sure… but it seems suspicious. I’ll have to ask her about it. Oh, and I’d like you to be there too, as my witness. Would that be OK?
*nods*
Well, we’ve spent quite a bit of time here. Let’s head back to the station. Thank you for today.

Music: Beneath the Mask



The Japan Meteorological Agency announced that the rainy season is expected to end next weekend.
It feels so gross when it’s this humid. I also really miss the sun...



Mishima moves to Shinjuku for some reason after a certain point in the story.

And that Ohya-san? She’s the devil incarnate! It was horrible!

Hehehe, awesome.



She’s pretty, but super scary too. Though the drag queen she hangs out with is even scarier…

Lala-chan is a perfect soul and I won’t hear this insensitivity.

But anyway, I did my best to promote the Phantom Thieves! Remember that when you’re reading a glowing article about you guys, OK? So, you did the request I asked you to do. Thanks! Hey, so I figured out another way I can help as your strategic management representative. It’s a great deal for you, of course. Are you free today? We’ll be going to an expensive buffet over in Shibuya. *chuckle* Don’t worry about the price though! Come on, follow me!

Music: My Homie



Phantom thieves are all about fancy stuff like this, right? That’s why we’re here! Oh, and it’s just the two of us, so don’t be afraid to go all out! What do you wanna eat?




Yeah, sure, whatever you say.

By the way, this place is all-you-can-eat, so let’s make sure we get our money’s worth. Anyway, I posted on the Phan-Site that I had connections to you guys. The Phandom really ate that up.




I did end up talking about how expensive it is to run our little organization though. The donations I got after that were pretty… generous, to say the least.



Oh jeez, Mishima…

But I guess our loving sponsors just wanted to show some support! Not bad for strategic management, huh?



What do you mean? Everyone was glad to donate if it meant supporting the Phantom Thieves. Speaking of which, the bill for our meal here is a fine place to start taking advantage of that support.



I’ve seen on the news that using donations for stuff other than what’s publicized is a serious crime…

Your only thought here is that you might get in trouble? Jesus, Mishima.

Food is definitely an acceptable business expense… but can the same be said of an expensive buffet…? The more I think about this whole thing, the less I think we should use the donations here. I mean, people would get mad at a politician for using tax money for personal affairs. The same probably applies to the Phantom Thieves. I guess returning the money would be the best choice...



Yeah. We really need to make sure we keep the image of the Phantom Thieves clean in our fans’ minds. I think I’ll return the money and thank the Phandom for their generosity. They’ll love that! It might be a waste of some nice resources, but it’s all good as long as it boosts our popularity, right? Man, maybe I was born to do this strategy stuff… I’m honestly getting pretty good at it.

Right.

Don’t worry, I’m still gathering info on the forum too. I actually have a few solid leads right now. Everything so far has been close to home, but these next ones are gonna blow your socks off!
Mishima seems particularly enthusiastic today...



So if we’re returning the money… how are we gonna cover our meal? …… I’m flat broke...



I guess let’s just go home.

Every day with Mishima is a disappointment.



Huh…? Who could that be at this hour…?

Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)



We’ve been busy lately, so I wanna be able to at least relax on Sunday. Where would be a good place to go…? I know. Wanna try going to the fishing pond in Ichigaya?
The fishing pond, huh? Sounds fun! So are you going there with Ryuji?



Sure, why not?



I hope the other fish’ll bite this easily! Let’s meet in Shinjuku tomorrow then. Night.
They have lots of fish at the pond, right? I can’t wait!



The Ichigaya fishing pond lets us fish in our free time. I didn’t accept or didn’t receive this invitation in my first playthrough and never ended up unlocking this, though there are other ways. We probably won’t end up revisiting this place, so I should mention that we get Proficiency for fishing, and our current Proficiency determines how many times we can fish. There’s a trophy for catching the biggest fish, but again, we won’t be bothering.



Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)



Hey, doesn’t meetin’ in a place like this look like we’re talkin’ some shady business…? I like it.




Man, this is getting’ me pumped up!



If only there was a master fisher around. Then we could steal their ideas...



...Oh crap, she’s comin’ this way.



Why are you sitting around like old men? Why don’t you go out and do something more exciting?
Wha—Look who’s talkin’!
*sigh* Adults need time to themselves to unwind and clear their thoughts. You’ll understand soon enough, when you start working in the real world.
Wow… Soundin’ real old there, Kawakami.
That’s MS. Kawakami to you!



She’s hookin’ fish like crazy…!
It’s easy. Just clear your mind and free yourself from negative thoughts.
So the trick is not to think! ...How am I supposed to do that?



I see. So when you get jaded like Kawakami, you’ll just naturally attract fish… ...Uhh, I don’t think that’s right.
It’s a nice, sunny Sunday. I didn’t think I’d be stuck fishing with you two on my day off. *sigh* Two troublemakers, and their no-good teacher… I guess we’re perfect for each other.
She keeps gettin’ fish even as she nags… I’m impressed!




Once again, it’s MS. Kawakami.
Didn’t think I’d see somethin’ like that today… Guess we’ll head back.

We got a bunch of points with both Ryuji and Kawakami, so that was a productive enough day.

Music: Beneath the Mask




They’re selling ten cans of Freeze Spray for 3980 yen, which we buy.



Mishima has a new request for us to complete before we can rank him up again.



The truth is, a younger student came to consult with me about something the other day.



Right!? From what he told me, money went missing from the register he was supposed to be in charge of. As such, he’s been falsely accused of stealing money from the store.



Yeah, this guy is like the most honest person I know. There’s now way he’d steal all that money. And well, I did some research into the store online… According to some rumors, the manager might be the one stealing the money… He’s the only person who checks the registers, after all… On top of that, some other staff members saw him taking cash out when he was calculating totals. Anyway, the guy’s name seems to be Nozomi Odo. I found it out when I looked into the store. Please, you gotta help this student!
So the manager himself is taking the money, and then blackmailing the kid to pay him for it… That’s a dirty trick. Let’s talk about it at the hideout when we have the chance, OK?




Next, we head over to buy our aojiru. I don’t know how it’s making me kinder when every time I buy it I want to punch someone.

Maaku gains Kindness +1.



How’s your schoolwork? I’m scheduled to give a speech today, but one thing about it will be different… I could use your help, as usual. Do you mind? There will be cameras coming today, apparently. I don’t feel good about that, but I couldn’t decline… Regardless, we will do as we have always have [sic] done.

Music: What’s Going On?





OK, we should be able to get a lot of interesting footage. It IS No-Good Tora, after all.
Advocate an overly optimistic policy, only to lure in voters during the election season… That’s how No-Good Tora thought and operated 20 years ago, making unachievable pledges.
Hm, this isn’t how I saw this going…
If you make a promise, you must keep it. If you make a mistake, you must atone for it. These are basic human principles that we have all learned from the youngest of ages…
Boring.
He’s making some pretty good points, don’t you think?
That’s why it’s all useless!



Tora, be my best friend

However, I’ve been distancing myself from that. Do you think I’ve regained my confidence?



Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)



However, I will never forget the disgrace I suffered as No-Good Tora. Can I tell you a story? I mentioned this before, but 20 years ago I was lucky enough to become a Diet member. However, I wanted to be a politician for all the wrong reasons. I wanted to be in a position of power, and I was obsessed with the glamorous lifestyle. I thought only of being popular. I truly was “No-Good Tora”… Learn from me. Don’t let being a member of the Diet be your only goal in life. Voters are much more sensible than we give them credit for. Being ambitious and striving to advance in the political world will change your outlook on life.
Yoshida eagerly gave me advice… I feel like my bond with Yoshida is growing deeper...



I never ask for items so Manipulation isn’t great.



You’re… Mr. Kuramoto’s grandson?
That’s correct. I’m his grandson, Benzo.
Does he know that you’re here speaking with me now?
I’m aware that you and my grandfather are on bad terms, but that doesn’t concern me. This must be your secretary, huh? I heard he’s been helping you out a lot lately.



You know about him?
My grandfather was recently hospitalized, and you’ve become the topic of our conversations. I’d like to talk with you again sometime. I learned a lot from your speech today.





Sorry, I have to take care of some business. Let’s wrap this up for today.
I feel like listening to Yoshida’s speech has served to increase my Charm…

Maaku gains Charm +3.

Good job.