After treating the wooden chest as a potential Treasure Demon, the more Ren Amamiya observed it, the more it resembled an actual one.
Judging by its size, the wooden chest could easily accommodate a human being.
Perhaps, as soon as someone approached, this Treasure Demon would abruptly shed its disguise and swallow the approaching person whole!
The simplest way to distinguish between a treasure chest and a Treasure Demon was, of course, to strike it first. If it didn't leap up screaming, then it was undoubtedly a genuine treasure chest.
However, Ren currently didn't know what might be inside this chest. What if attacking it affected the items within? That would be counterproductive.
"Hare, can you tell what's inside this chest? Could it be a Treasure Demon disguised as a Shadow?"
Ren used Hare's Confidant skill. After analyzing the chest ahead, he found the feedback incomplete and fragmented, only indicating it was a wooden box. The rest of the information was like garbled text, completely incomprehensible.
Times like these called for the almighty Hare!
Ren turned his head slightly to the side, questioning Hare standing beside him.
Ren's analysis skill wasn't maxed out yet, but Hare, as the source of the Confidant skill, possessed extremely powerful detection and analysis abilities.
Determining whether the wooden chest before them was a disguised Treasure Demon should not be difficult for Hare.
"...It's strange. Perhaps due to the environment, I also cannot determine exactly what is inside the box. The space within the chest is currently in a superposition of 'containing something' and 'containing nothing'. I'm afraid only when we open the chest and observe it can the object within collapse into a definite state."
Hearing Ren's question, a troubled expression appeared on Hare's exquisite face. She furrowed her delicate brow slightly, replying to Ren in a soft, gentle tone.
Everything in the Sea of Quanta defied common sense. Hare, as a Stigma crystallization born from the Imaginary Space, typically operated only within the Imaginary Space and the real world.
As for the Sea of Quanta, Hare had truly never explored it before. Thus, this was the first time she encountered such an unpredictable and bizarre situation.
"I can confirm this chest is not disguised by a Shadow. However, whether the object contained within is dangerous is difficult to judge before opening the chest."
Hare shook her head gently, giving Ren her assessment.
"In that case, let's back away a bit... Huodou, you go open that chest!"
After a moment's thought, Ren made his decision. He led Hare and Mei back a safe distance, then dispatched Persona Huodou to the front of the chest. With its ferocious, sharp teeth, Huodou deftly lifted the unlocked lid.
Persona Huodou possessed the special skill "Unyielding Spirit," allowing it to revive once at full strength after death.
Coupled with the fact that Huodou wasn't Ren's primary combat Persona, it was the most suitable Persona for testing traps.
Under Ren's careful observation, the chest opened by Persona Huodou was initially dark and empty. Then, from the profound darkness, a stunningly beautiful, ethereal blue light emerged.
That ethereal blue light even completely pierced through the darkness obstructing this Palace space, clearly illuminating the surroundings in the eyes of Ren, Mei, and the others.
Countless brilliant and mystical blue butterflies quietly emerged from the empty chest.
As the swarm of eerie blue butterflies dispersed, Ren watched in astonishment. Just as Hare had predicted, the previously empty chest interior now revealed an occupant none of them had expected.
"Is that... a girl?! Why would a girl appear in this Palace?"
Through the ethereal blue light radiating from the fluttering butterflies moments ago, Mei had caught a glimpse of the true contents within the chest during that fleeting instant.
Appearing inside the chest in a side-lying position, now sitting up with a bewildered and helpless expression, shrinking back within the narrow wooden box, was clearly an adorable and well-behaved blue-haired girl!
Judging by age, this blue-clad girl seemed even younger than Mei and Ren.
"...Wh-Where is this place? Wh-Who are you people?"
The blue-haired girl pulled from the chest by Ren had a fragile expression, her petite body curled up, exuding an aura so pitifully vulnerable it made one almost want to bully her.
The girl, kneeling inside the chest, couldn't stop her blue eyes from darting around.
And when she saw Persona Huodou—a massive beast unlike anything from reality, a ferocious, terrifying creature like a saber-toothed tiger formed from flames—right next to her...
The blue-haired girl's body trembled violently. Her pupils shook intensely, and her small, fair hands gripped the wooden edge of the chest tightly.
"We are phantom thieves. Phantom thieves of hearts. This is the Palace within someone's heart... And who are you? Do you have any connection to the Velvet Room?"
As soon as the blue light emerging from the chest began to coalesce into a humanoid shape, Ren had swiftly put on his white spirit bird mask, concealing his true face.
One Persona corresponded to one white mask.
Although Huodou was already summoned, Ren could still re-summon the white spirit bird mask to his face to hide his identity if he wished.
This was a little trick Ren had practiced after conquering Yae Sakura's Palace, quite convenient for concealing his true identity.
Seeing Ren's action, Mei, though a beat slower, also raised her hand and properly adjusted the black demonic mask worn askew, covering her exquisite, flawless fair face.
Only Hare remained unmoved. Although she understood the meaning behind Ren's actions, Hare wasn't human and wouldn't always live in the real world, so there was no need for her to deliberately conceal her appearance or identity.
This blue-haired girl emerging from the chest gave Ren a strange sense of déjà vu.
Although this unfamiliar girl didn't have the classic white hair and golden eyes of the Velvet Room attendants...
Her entirely blue attire, and the blue butterflies—practically a trademark symbol of the Velvet Room's identity—that accompanied her appearance earlier, all made Ren curious about this girl's identity.
Noticing the blue-haired girl seemed somewhat afraid of Persona Huodou, Ren waved his hand. The imposing Huodou retreated several steps like an obedient kitten, creating distance from the girl in the chest, maintaining only enough proximity for its flames to illuminate both their fields of vision.
"...Phantom thieves? Palace within the heart?"
Hearing Ren's answer, the blue-haired girl's pretty face showed no sign of understanding, instead looking even more confused and lost.
"Seele doesn't understand what you're talking about... My name is Seele Vollerei. I don't know what the Velvet Room is."
Seele shook her head gently. She cautiously stepped out of the wooden chest. Only after stepping outside did Seele realize with surprise that the box she had been in looked incredibly familiar.
It was as if the box from her old room had been perfectly replicated and reflected here from her memories.
"You are Seele Vollerei? Why would the person herself suddenly appear in her own Palace in such a strange way?"
Hearing the blue-haired girl introduce herself as Seele Vollerei, Mei, knowing the name of this mental Palace's ruler, widened her eyes in astonishment. She instinctively glanced towards Ren beside her.
Although Mei had also appeared in her own Palace, it was because Ren used the external force of the MetaNav app to bring her in, as she couldn't enter by her own power.
Even though she had just become a Persona user, Mei had already pestered Ren for a long time under the guise of learning about Personas.
This crash course in Persona knowledge made Mei clearly recognize just how unusual it was for Seele to appear in her own mental Palace.
According to Ren's earlier words, he seemed to think this girl named Seele had some connection to the Velvet Room.
And based on what Ren had said before, the current Velvet Room was occupied by an usurping Evil God. The MetaNav app, capable of freely traversing between the real world and Mementos, was a mysterious program developed by that Evil God.
If this Seele denied having any connection to the Velvet Room...
But if Seele did have a connection to the Velvet Room, then even if she possessed the same MetaNav app as Ren and could freely enter and exit her own mental Palace, it wouldn't be entirely unbelievable.
"You don't know what the Velvet Room is? Then do you know Igor? Or Elizabeth, Theodore, Margaret, Lavenza?"
Ren frowned slightly, rattling off a list of Velvet Room residents' names, continuing to press Seele.
In the Persona universe, blue butterflies were basically symbolic representations of Philemon.
And now that Philemon was no longer appearing, a blue-clad woman possessing the blue butterfly symbol was highly likely connected to the Velvet Room. This girl Seele, appearing alongside blue butterflies, shouldn't be completely unrelated to the Velvet Room.
"Elizabeth...!"
As Ren listed the names, Seele, who had maintained a constantly anxious expression, finally showed a different reaction.
However, before Ren could react, the light that had brightened in Seele's sapphire-blue eyes quickly dimmed again.
"In the orphanage where I used to live, there was a friend named Elizabeth. But it's probably just a coincidence, the same name as the Elizabeth the phantom thief mentioned. Not the same person."
Seele only knew one orphanage companion named Elizabeth. The name Elizabeth was extremely common, a very popular name.
As for the other names Ren mentioned, Seele had no recollection whatsoever, having never heard them before.
"You really don't know any of them?... But you mentioned an orphanage just now? Does that mean you're human?"
Seele having no memory of any Velvet Room residents struck Ren as absurd.
But soon, Ren noticed another keyword in Seele's earlier words.
Orphanage.
Only humans would have institutions like orphanages.
Special life forms like Hare or Lavenza, born spontaneously in Mementos, had no concept of parents, let alone welfare institutions like orphanages.
"Human? Of course Seele is human! Although Seele fell into the sea because of the experiments, Seele is undoubtedly still human!"
Seele clenched her small fists, replying to Ren with determination for the first time since her appearance.
"...Fell into the sea because of experiments? Does that mean the Sea of Quanta? Or perhaps, the Sea of Souls?"
The Sea of Souls—the ocean formed by the collective human unconsciousness, where all Personas and Shadows resided. Lavenza and the others were also born from the Sea of Souls, contracted by Igor, and brought to the Velvet Room to serve as attendants.
Ren's eyes suddenly lit up. A flash of inspiration connected all the clues in his mind.
The orphanage; Seele Vollerei, seemingly a Velvet Room member yet human; Kaslana inexplicably recommending he explore this unheard-of, bizarre Palace, saying he could find what he sought here.
Connecting all the clues, the reality before Ren became obvious.
"Seele, the orphanage you mentioned, could it be called 'Cocolia Orphanage'? Are you a test subject chosen by Cocolia from the orphanage for Cognitive Psience experiments?"
Ren asked the stunned Seele with conviction in his voice.