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Chapter 79: 7/11: Our Mutual Acquaintance (New)

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. Been feeling better and I tested negative today, so I’m mostly fine. Time to get back to wringing more delicious content juice out of this game!



Anon: omg they got the mafia lol

Early Morning

Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)




…I didn’t expect the Phantom Thieves would suppress a man that even the police had trouble with.

Really, I assumed they’d all just be useless, parasitic gloryhounds leeching off the positive attention from their previous exploits, too indolent to tie their shoes properly! But I digress!

The fact they have so much support online is worrisome. I’m in a bind since I previously denounced them. All the interviews these days ask me about that. …Still, can we really say the Phantom Thieves are on the side of justice with just this example?



Phantom Thieves… bad? Buh?????

I was originally investigating the mental shutdown incidents.

Shit, I meant, “investigating,” not “instigating.”
You didn’t say “instigating.”
Anyway!

People change suddenly and cause strange accidents or horrible crimes… …Don’t you think it’s similar to the change of heart that the Phantom Thieves are doing?

Wait… huh. Yeah, you’re right, that *is* weird.

…… Now that I think about it, their actions mirror the mental shutdown cases, with the rate of victims. It’s impossible not to see a connection there…

I know—er, believe—that the Phantom Thieves didn’t do this, but… that’s weird! Please, tell me more about these mental shutdowns, I’m very intrigued now!

…Ah, sorry. I don’t want to make you late. I’ll see you again.

Wait, no, come back!




“Shibuya Crime Ring Reveals All!” The leader’s confession has led to the arrest of other key members. “Sudden Rampage? Highway Accident!” The driver’s death has been confirmed, taking the total count up to four. “Hotspots of Tokyo!” Come see the summer fireworks show on July 18th!
Thanks to Kaneshiro spilling the beans, that organization is falling like a house of cards.

Checkmate.

Hehehe… We’re getting more and more famous!

Early Morning → Morning

Music: So Boring



I know some of you rely on all-nighters, but I can’t recommend it. That really messes up your information retention. Oh, speaking of! Do you guys know the difference between short-term and long-term memory? The simple answer is that short-term memory’s more temporary. Contextual. But long-term memories stick with you. In the short-term, you’re working with a hard limit. You retain only… six, maybe seven pieces of information. But your brain’s capacity for long-term memory is huge. It might even be infinite, according to some theories.

That… sounds wrong.

Okay, so… Hamiru-kun! What do you think about all this?

Goddammit, what’s the point of befriending the teachers if they keep calling on me anyway?

Short-term memories only stick with you for seconds at a time. That said… How long do you think you can retain long-term memories?
So he wants to know how long you keep long-term memories, huh…? This is a tricky one.

Just by the way this question is being framed here, it’s clear that the expected answer is “Forever.” I’m not actually sure that answer is accurate, mind you, but that’s the one they want!

What is long-term memory, anyway?



Yeah, it was something like that! So anyway, you keep them for a long time. The question is, how long. Maruki mentioned something about the amount of memories you could store, right? Something like…



Still sounds like pseudoscience, sorry.

Yeah! If you have theoretically infinite space for them… then theoretically, you’d be able to retain them for…



Yeah. I think so too. …So that’s it. Long-term memories will never really fade away!

I could potentially go Google this and rant for several paragraphs, but… fuck, I guess I’m about to go do that, huh? Fine, but only a quick little rant. I just graduated and I’m still doing homework, uggggghhhhh…

Okay, so as Makise Kurisu taught us, the memory capacity of a human brain is about 2.5 petabytes. One petabyte is 1,000 terabytes or 1,000,000 gigabytes, for the uninitiated. The human brain is truly a marvel… except for the bits where, you know, it just randomly deletes shit from itself. Your brain can’t get “full,” per se, because before that could ever possibly happen your brain just deletes unnecessary information. What qualifies as “unnecessary,” you ask? Half the shit I learned in college, apparently! *laugh track*

Part of this whole mess is that it’s not actually possible to properly “recall” events the way we imagine ourselves doing. There’s no way to perfectly capture an image in your mind and bring it back later. Instead, you recreate the pattern of firing neurons that occurred when you originally saw it. You’re literally recreating the image every time you remember it.

But infinite memories forever? Still seems wrong, doesn’t it? That’s only because it is. Even long-term memories will fade. But, of course, you didn’t need me to tell you that. It’s basic sense. Bit of an anticlimactic end to this spiel, though, but it’s sort of to be expected because brains are fuckin’ hard to understand.

That’s right! I’m impressed!

It’s not, we just went over this.

Basically, stuff encoded into your long-term memory never really goes away. Short-term memories become long-term memories through reiteration. It’d be great if you could encode all the test answers to long-term memory, huh? Ah well. Can’t always get what you want.

Not doing that reference, for one. Second, you’re a teacher, you probably shouldn’t be advocating for cheating, right?

Maaku gains Knowledge +1.

But at least you’ve got summer break once the exams are over! So do your best to study, okay?
Yeah, memories never really go away… That means I’ll remember my past eventually, right…?

Morning → Afternoon




Finals end on the 16th, so that should be good, right?
What are you talking about?
The fireworks festival.
You’re really quick to look up stuff like that…

>You should probably be paying attention. We have finals soon.

I’ll do that tomorrow.
Hey, we’re in the middle of class. Talk about those things later.

>Cop.
I said the same thing you did!



You! Pay attention! Is that how you listen when someone’s talking to you!?



How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man!?




(Male Student) I can’t believe he dodged Ushimaru’s throw… Is he a ninja?
Tch… Well, whatever. Moving on.
Ooh, you’ve got the entire class’s attention! Your Charm has definitely increased.

Maaku gains Charm +2.

Afternoon → After School



Music: Break it Down




Heading home? It’s rare running into you at this hour.



It seems to be growing quite popular. I saw someone heading into the nurse’s office just as I was leaving the school… The teachers say he’s been well worth his time here, but I have a feeling there’s more to his popularity than just talent…

Uncharacteristically rude of you, Makoto. But yes, it is largely because he’s extremely hot.

Maybe I should find out for myself at some point…



Naturally, that’ll still happen when I get home. It’s part of my daily routine. …I appreciate your concern, but how about yourself?




*chuckle* I’m joking.



I need to buy some more test prep booklets on my way home. See you later.

Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)





*nod*
Same here—I don’t have club practice today. That reminds me, there’s something I wanted to report to you. Would now be a good time?



Thank you. Why don’t we find a seat somewhere?



Oh goddammit




WHAT



HUH



My father works at a TV station. Have you ever seen “Good Morning Japan”? My father’s the director.

Uh… wow.

I’ve been brought onto the show as a guest a number of times now. That’s how I ended up becoming acquainted with Yoshizawa-san.




He helped me out of a jam before, and now he’s been offering me guidance.
Helped you out of a jam, eh? I see…

It wasn’t much, you don’t need to make a big deal out of—Wait, you mean the guy who grabbed you, not the dude who stole your seat on the subway. Uhh… Yeah, that makes more sense.

So, what were you two up to?
Oh, right! I was just about to share some exciting news. It’s nothing to keep secret, so I may as well spill it now. About that summer competition I mentioned to you before?

Music: Alright




This only feels like the beginning to me, though.
Isn’t you club’s team considered to be quite prestigious? And you’re their representative? I must say, that’s extremely impressive.
Thank you! I’ll do my best to make everyone proud.
I’ll be cheering you on as well.

He’ll commit a murder in your honor, how sweet.

Ah, I have an idea—since all three of us are here, why don’t we go somewhere as a group? We can call it our little celebration for Yoshizawa-san’s success.
That would be wonderful! Does that work for you, Hamiru-senpai?
*nod*
That settles it. Would you mind if I chose the place? There’s a wonderful little café I know about…
Of course! Lead the way!

Is this just gonna be the place you took me that one time where we got harassed by your fans and then I outsmarted them by—
If you finish that sentence, I’ll slit your throat!



I have to prevent my body from getting too cold, since the meet’s coming up rather soon.




Good point. Well, some people say coffee can cool you off, even when hot, so I try to avoid that too.



I swear I saw you eating fried sweet bread on TV just the other day…
It’s all part of a marketing strategy. That sort of stunt is an easy crowd-pleaser.
You seem to have your own bases covered as well.



Presenting oneself in a favorable light is nothing surprising. More surprising is just how innocent you seem to be.
I’ve been wondering: how do you two know each other?
His social studies class visited the set of a TV show I appeared on.
Ah, that’s right. Second-years got to go to a TV station.
He and I exchanged our opinions during the shoot and his way of thinking intrigued me.
I can definitely see that! Hamiru-senpai’s take on things often helps me as well.
That reminds me, Yoshizawa-san. You had mentioned that he’s been providing you with some guidance.
Yes—like you said, his way of thinking is intriguing. I figured I could benefit from his input.



Getting distinct Jigsaw vibes from Akechi here.

Would you mind if I posed the same question to you that I first asked him?



So, my question was… What do you think of the Phantom Thieves, Yoshizawa-san?
The Phantom Thieves? You mean in the case that they do in fact exist, yes?

Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)






I suspect the Phantom Thieves’ existence isn’t goijng to be beneficial to society in the long run.
How so?
Well, for example, when someone’s faced with a problem to overcome, I believe they need to do it themselves. Getting help from others is totally fine, but in the end, it takes a person’s initiative to truly create lasting change. If society relied upon a safety net like the Phantom Thieves, I worry that people would stop making a conscious effort. Granted, this depeneds on how severe the problem is, and it’s inaccurate to apply generalizations to an entire population… But I believe a society where everyone simply leaves matters to the Phantom Thieves wouldn’t last for very long.
I see… So, in the sense of a person’s growth, their actions actually hinder it.





In fact, she’s so right that it kind of seems like she’s read the game script and knows the future, because that’s pretty much exactly what happens!

Ah, so you think you should let others come to their own conclusions on the matter.



Uh, something like that…

I didn’t meant to start an argument. I just can’t help myself sometimes. Let’s change the subject to something a bit lighter.





If I’m away from home too late, my parents will begin to worry.
Right, then let’s call it a day. Good luck on your competition.



Yes! Thank you!





After School → Evening

Music: Beneath the Mask




*sweating*
Man, you sure do sweat a lot.

No need to hide the fact. I own the place, remember? I can tell what goes on here just by looking at the tables.



(Middle-Aged Office Worker) That’s what I hear. The driver was acting funny or something. The vice president in our company might’ve been caught up in it. I’m sure it’s chaos in the office.
When are these weird accidents going to end? I don’t feel safe getting into my car anymore.

Good, fuck cars. No, not like that!

Thanks for the coffee. I’ll just leave what I owe you here, Boss.



At 8 o’clock this morning, a car spun out of control in a highway accident that left four dead.

I haven’t even heard the end of this report yet and I’m already assuming this is Akechi’s fault.

The police intend to press charges for the deaths of the victims against the driver at fault. The man in questioin had no history of disease and was a driver for restaurant giant “Goodness Food.”

Sounds like it probably was, in fact, Akechi’s fault!

Traffic accidents are scary… You’d better drive safe.

With what license!?






Sweet, there’s curry ingredients.

Gonna make some curry?

No.



Well, not myself, mind you. We never got enough use out of Kawakami’s time-saving services in the original LP, so let’s make good on the promise of them.





I’m about to head home, but… Careful with the stove, all right?



Oh, wait, it’s you… I’m off today, but if you just want housekeeping, I don’t mind. It’s still work, so I’ll head over after I change. Hang on just a bit.

Really? It’s your day off. Jesus, this woman is overworked.



Hm… So, you just want me to make some curry, right?





(Thin-Voiced Woman) Well, I hear those guys are usually more interested in 2D girls…
(Deep-Voiced Woman) We’ll be fine! Once they lock eyes with a couple bombshells like us—
But I hear that guys like that won’t even give the time of day to anyone over twenty!



Hey, Sakai. What do you need this time? Wait… lemme remember… Soothing Soba, right?



Way ahead of you, my man.

I heard it’s a limited-time offer, but I have no idea where it’s being sold. Good thing I have you! You can find it for me, right?



Put that thing away! I don’t want to get arrested for cosplay crimes again!



So we can trade, yes? Yes!?





Come to think of it, I’ve never seeen chilled noodles in the winter… Are chilled noodles sold only during summer then? Even the packaging screams “Summer!”

Based on my manga knowledge, low temperatures mess with the buckwheat… or something.

Anyway, this is fine. Good work! Let’s trade again sometime!



Pretty good new sword for Yusuke, that one.






Let’s see what the deal is with this jazz club Akechi took us to. Why might we want to spend time here?



Places like this’ll help you relax. And talk about things that you’d usually find difficult to [sic?]. Hmm. As the leader of the Phantom Thieves, maybe you can invite one of the members here.




But we’ll still get drunk off the ambience, right? Right???

Hmm, looks like tonight’s cocktail is “Mightini.” “It’s so good that it’ll give you more stamina! Bring your stamina to the next level!” Sounds pretty good!

“Stamina” is generally code for HP in this game’s parlance, so anyone we take here tonight would experience HP gains.






Let’s quickly go into the various effects of the jazz club. First, you get a Confidant boost with the chosen party member, natch. Worth noting that this second tooltip here appears to be mistranslated, as the singer will only ever appear on weekdays. The special double effect cocktail is therefore just served whenever the singer appears.

Based on which day of the week you go to the club, you will be served a different cocktail:

Now, it seems like you would want as many double boosted Fridays as possible here, but due to the way the singer scheduling works, which is needlessly complicated (she appears on the first Monday of a month, then the second Tuesday and so on until the fifth Friday), she appears on Fridays the least throughout the game, so Wednesday might win out. Or, really, we could just ignore the stat boosts period because this game isn’t actually that hard!

The other thing I just learned from the random article I’m sourcing for this is that the stat boosts carry over into NG+, which seems… insane. Whatever!



We’re actually just going to balk at the cover charge and get the fuck out of here! 3,000 yen for 20 HP!? What a rip-off!





Next thing we’ll do tonight is check out the secondhand clothes store.



We have eight pieces to sell, and we offload everything.



220 points should be more than enough!



We buy the Idaten Belt, which gives Auto-Masukukaja to its wearer, and one of the Clothing Grab Bags, which gives us four pieces of random used clothes. Sure, why not?









We equip everything we got onto our party.






*chuckle* As do I, of course.

Let’s spend time with Mishima tonight. For real. No more diversions this time.



Oh, right! You need to prepare for your next move, right? I’ve been doing the same, actually. Preparing for what, you ask? I could tell you, if you have the time.



You really wanna know, huh? I think you’ll like it! Anyway, let’s head over to the diner! It’s lame just standing around here.

Moon Rank 5: Part 84

Music: My Homie



What activities?
…Still keeping up the charade, huh?
Exactly. Fuckin’ ixnay, dude.
Well, whatever. I already know how it’s been. The Phan-Site has been crazy lately thanks to you! But first, what do you see on the table before you?
Well, I see you’ve got a book on security techniques, and if I look ever-so-slightly to my right, I notice—Oh! Shit! That’s a gun!

It cost me a lot of money…

…I’m sure it did. What is happening right now?
I heard they had to shut down production because people kept mistaking it for the real thing.
Not only is that *not* an explanation, it honestly makes it worse. You do realize that’s worse, right?
You don’t need to freak out. A military buff in the Phandom suggested I get it. I thought, you know, I’m the sole admin of the Phan-Site, so I might need the protection.
God… fine, sure, that’s… some logic, I guess… Can you at least take it off the table before someone sees it?
Enough about the model gun! I wanted to talk to you about targets. We need to go after big, flashy people, right?
Something about the way you’re using “flashy” is upsetting me, and I’m not too sure about this “we” business, but sure, yes. If I was hypothetically a Phantom Thief, that would be accurate.
Well, just leave it to me! I’ll get all the info we need, even if it means putting myself at risk!
There’s that “we” again… Also, please don’t do that.

Mishima seems extra motivated…

I’ll say!




By the way, um… do I look any different to you?

I’m going to be polite and not answer that.

People keep telling me it seems like I’ve changed recently. I guess I can’t hide my newfound confidence, huh? My true worth will finally—




Akiyama-kun…

Music: Suspicion

(Akiyama) Long time no see, zero. Y’know, we’ve been sitting just over there the whole time, but we didn’t even notice you sitting here!
(Short-Haired High Schooler) You’re exactly the same as you were back in middle school, Mishima.
(Thin-Browed High Schooler) Yeah. Once a zero, always a zero.
Y-Yeah, haha…
You haven’t changed your cell number, have you?
Huh? N-No, I haven’t…
Then why didn’t you come to our hangout? All our ex-classmates were there, y’know! Oh, wait… Nobody even remembered you existed! Can’t invite a guy you can’t remember, right?
R-Right, ahaha…

Uh, is that a gun on the table?
No way that nerd has a gun. It’s probably just a toy Megatron or something.

C’mon guys, let’s go.



It’s not what it looks like… Okay? You know that one guy in every class who ends up being the butt of all the jokes? That guy was me…

Mishima, I’m sorry, but that’s exactly what that looked like.

You know that one guy in every class who ends up being the butt of all the jokes? That guy was me…

But not any more. I’ve changed. I can help the Phantom Thieves…

I’m not going to be that boring guy anymore…! ……

Sorry. It’s getting late, though. Let’s head home.

See you later.

Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)




Just so you know, I’m going to work even harder. Not just in managing the Phan-Site, but also help make [sic] the Phantom Thieves household names! I’m gonna do everything in my power, so you can just sit back and relax!



What…? N-No, not really…



Okay, I better go. But we’ll talk again soon, okay?

Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)





We only get one curry because it’s Kawakami making it instead of us, but still, saved some time.

All right. I’ll see you later.