After Ren Amamiya finished conquering Seele's Palace, it was only just noon.
Noon was undoubtedly an unsuitable time to launch a surprise attack on Cocolia, the mastermind, in the real world.
Attacking Cocolia during the day would not only easily attract attention and risk collateral damage to the public, but it was also a period when Anti-Entropy's defenses were at their strongest.
The most appropriate time for a phantom thief to operate was naturally in the dead of the silent night.
Without specifically returning to the real world to eat, Ren and Mei directly took out the portable food they had prepared long ago, choosing to settle their lunch problem right there in Kaslana's Palace.
To be able to restore consumed SP and stamina with delicious food in Mementos, Ren had specifically instructed Mei to bring portable foods like chocolate, rice balls, and instant noodles.
As it turned out, these supplies weren't used at all during the conquest of Seele's Palace and instead became a simple lunch for Ren, Mei, and the others.
Foods like chocolate could restore the eater's mental state in the cognitive space, but they lacked this special effect in the real world.
And the next battlefield for Ren and the others was in the real world.
Rather than carrying these portable foods and adding unnecessary weight, it was better to just finish them off and fill their stomachs.
"Hare, your powers are really convenient. You can even create tables, chairs, and cutlery. If it were just me, I could at most heat up some food. As for Mei... if she didn't have appliances like a boiler, she probably couldn't even heat up her own food."
Ren flipped the white spirit bird mask on his face up to his forehead. He took a bite of the tuna rice ball Mei had made that morning, sitting relaxed and comfortable on a plastic food stall chair that had been created at his request. He remarked with emotion to Hare, who was seated at the other end of the dining table.
Ren possessed Huodou, a fire-attribute Persona. Heating food was quite simple for him.
But Raiden Mei's awakened Persona, Kurikara, was lightning-attribute. Although theoretically, it could also heat food through electric shocks...
Through observing Mei's fighting style that morning, Ren determined that she, having just awakened her Persona's power, clearly didn't yet possess such precise micro-control.
"These are merely illusory creations projected from dreams, with dreams as their foundation, not genuine real-world objects. Items like chairs are fine, but if I were to project dream food, one could only taste it, not truly satisfy hunger or replenish stamina."
A gentle smile appeared on Hare's exquisite face as she softly explained to Ren.
With Ren's terrifying learning ability, after witnessing her use of her powers, Hare wouldn't be surprised at all if he replicated the act of projecting dream creations right in front of her.
The food Ren and Mei carried combined was only enough to fill their two stomachs.
Fortunately, Hare wasn't human; she didn't need to eat like humans.
Although Seele was once human, after undergoing Cocolia's human experiments, she no longer needed to rely on food to sustain herself.
Hare and Seele merely savored the taste of the tea and pastries projected from dreams, enjoying an afternoon tea break with Ren and Mei at the dining table, while also participating in the discussion of the operational plan to attack Cocolia in the real world.
"...Speaking of which, Kaslana, were you looking at me just now?"
The instant noodles Ren brought from the real world had already been crushed into pieces due to the combat activities in Seele's Palace.
Therefore, even with the hot water and tableware provided by Hare, Ren didn't choose to make steaming hot instant noodles from the already broken pieces.
Instead, he proactively reached out and crushed the noodle cake in the package even finer. After pouring in the accompanying seasoning packet and shaking it evenly, he directly poured the crushed instant noodles into his mouth.
While quickly pouring the instant noodles into his mouth, Ren suddenly felt an inexplicable gaze on his back.
Turning his head in the direction of that strange gaze, Ren saw Kaslana's solitary figure standing silently in the crimson desert.
"..."
When Ren turned his head, Kaslana's gaze wasn't on him but was instead looking towards the distant desert horizon, remaining silent.
Looking at Kaslana's detached, otherworldly appearance, Ren even began to suspect he was imagining being watched.
It's just eating instant noodles, what's there to pay attention to? Could it be Kaslana particularly likes instant noodles and wants some of mine?
While Ren looked at Kaslana, Seele, holding a warm white porcelain teacup and occasionally sipping the tea, was somewhat absently gazing at Ren's face across the table.
After Ren removed the white spirit bird mask from his face, revealing his true features, Seele's gaze had been completely captivated by him.
It wasn't that Seele was instantly captivated by Ren's demonic, bewitching charm... although Phantom Thief-san's true face beneath the mask was indeed incredibly stunning.
However, that wasn't Seele's main focus.
What Seele found noteworthy was that she distinctly remembered Ren's face.
Although his clothes were different, Ren was clearly the unfortunate person she had rescued in the Sea of Quanta yesterday.
The first being Seele encountered in the Sea of Quanta was that terrifying existence calling itself "Serpent." But that Serpent's appearance leaned more towards a Honkai Beast than a human, and even its voice sounded incredibly deep and heavy.
Ren was the only face Seele had seen after falling into the Sea of Quanta; she naturally had an extremely deep impression of him.
After Seele rescued Ren, who was lost in the Sea of Quanta, she initially thought she would have a new companion. However, she didn't expect Ren to disappear immediately after moving some distance away from Serpent, returning to the proper world.
Although the kind-hearted Seele felt fortunate and happy for him, a sense of loss still uncontrollably welled up in her lonely heart.
She never expected that not much time would pass before she met Ren again and formed a companionship.
And this time, it was Ren who was preparing to rescue her from the Sea of Quanta and return her to the real world!
"If you intend to assemble a team in the real world, then it's best not to count Seele among your combatants... This has nothing to do with her entanglement with Cocolia; I am merely offering you advice based on objective facts."
Just as Ren stared at Kaslana for a while, noticing it remained motionless, and was about to turn back, Kaslana suddenly spoke up, reminding Ren.
Before Ren could ask, Kaslana continued to explain on its own.
"After subduing Seele's Shadow as a Persona, you have already established an unbreakable connection with Seele. But even so, Seele cannot appear in the real world without limitations as before. Moreover, the current Seele is incomplete; at best, she can only be regarded as a projection of the true Seele's consciousness, or a synchronized avatar operated by the true Seele."
Kevin, quite uncharacteristically, spoke at length.
Seele had initially felt Kevin's personality and temperament were very similar to the "Serpent" she encountered in the Sea of Quanta.
But after Kevin, with a cold exterior yet warm heart, spoke a long string of sentences to Ren, she instantly felt this Mr. Kaslana was distinctly different from the Serpent in the Sea of Quanta.
Seele's interactions with Serpent in the Sea of Quanta were few and far between. Even if Seele actively initiated conversation with Serpent, the only response she usually received was silence. Only when Serpent was in a good mood would it reply with a few brief interjections.
Seele couldn't imagine that Serpent being so enthusiastic in explaining things to others.
However...
"The current me... is not the real me?"
After understanding what Kevin was saying, Seele looked at her own fair hands in a daze.
Yet, no matter how Seele observed and felt, she felt she was real, not some so-called projection or avatar.
Kevin ignored Seele's bewilderment and doubt. The only existence locked in his blue eyes was Ren.
Kevin's main body was still in the Sea of Quanta, and Seele had always been by his side.
Therefore, Kevin was the one most certain that Seele hadn't completely left the Sea of Quanta.
Ren had indeed rescued Seele, but not completely.
Seele's true body remained in the Sea of Quanta. The "her" Ren encountered in Seele's Palace was merely a consciousness projection that appeared due to the unique mechanics of the Sea of Quanta.
Although Ren had granted Seele spiritual freedom, this rescue operation was undoubtedly not perfect.
By deliberately guiding Ren into Seele's Palace and having him rescue her, Kevin, who had been observing from the outside, successfully obtained the conclusion he desired.
The reason Ren couldn't completely rescue Seele was because he had only encountered Seele's consciousness projection in her Palace.
If he could meet the real Seele in the Sea of Quanta and form a contract with her, Ren was fully capable of directly rescuing Seele from the Sea of Quanta.
And Kevin happened to have a way to summon Ren to the Sea of Quanta.
If he could get Ren to form a contract with him, becoming a coordinate and anchor in the proper world, Kevin would effectively obtain a method to return to the proper world.
The only problem now was how to make Ren willingly form a contractual relationship with him.
Fortunately, Ren's contact with the Kaslana Stigma Will was still brief, and the Kaslana Stigma Will's personality leaned towards him, the first and strongest Kaslana.
After replacing the Kaslana Stigma Will here, Kevin hadn't aroused too much suspicion from Ren.
If he could maintain the charade and continuously gain Ren's trust, he might eventually be able to secure an opportunity to form a contract with Ren and return from the Sea of Quanta to the proper world.
Not now, though. It wasn't a matter of trust.
With Ren's current strength, it was still too difficult for him to bear Kevin's power and open a passage sufficient for him to return to the proper world.
Kevin needed Ren to grow further.
"I can understand Seele not being able to stay in the real world for long. But she can't even serve as temporary combat power? It's rare to gain a new companion, yet in the end, only Mei and I can act in the real world."
Ren tossed the empty instant noodle wrapper directly into the summoned Persona Huodou's large mouth to be incinerated. He frowned slightly, looking intently at Seele across the dining table.
"And you said Seele is in an incomplete state now... Cocolia's human experiments are that potent?"
Seele being transformed by Cocolia into a Velvet Room resident life form, unable to stay in the real world for long, was a very reasonable situation.
However, Seele currently being incomplete was somewhat beyond Ren's expectations.
Surely Cocolia didn't model her imitation experiment on Lavenza, who had already been torn in two by the Evil God?
Given Seele's life form, having become a Velvet Room resident through artificial intervention, still possessing her own Shadow was clearly an illogical situation.
Now that he thought about it, could it be that the real Seele was also torn in two by Cocolia, and another Seele with a completely different personality remained as a Shadow?
"If you wish to further increase your strength, I have another Palace I can recommend to you... Behind this door connects to a Herrscher's Palace. You can visit that Palace at any time, either to exterminate the Herrscher or to take that power for your own use."
Kevin waved his hand gently. On the empty, desolate crimson desert, a blue light gate, suspended in mid-air, suddenly materialized.
The Kaslana Stigma space connected to all clan members possessing Kaslana blood. And a certain existing Kaslana clan member already harbored the power of a Herrscher within them.
Therefore, the Imaginary Space where the Herrscher's consciousness resided was also connected to a corner of the Kaslana Stigma space.
Neither Kevin nor the Kaslana Stigma Will had exterminated that Herrscher's consciousness, which could barely interfere with the real world. They had merely isolated it, intending it as a trial ground for successors.
And now was the time for that Herrscher's will to serve its purpose as a stepping stone, providing a trial for the successor, Ren Amamiya.
"A Herrscher? Herrschers have Palaces too?"
Ren had already heard the meaning of the term "Herrscher" from the Evil God. So, when Kaslana mentioned the word, he wasn't surprised, only somewhat taken aback that even Herrschers would have Palaces.
"...Although its form of existence differs slightly from a Palace, it's not wrong to consider it a Palace."
Kevin paused briefly, then slowly spoke to Ren.
The Imaginary Space where a Herrscher's consciousness resided was different from a Stigma space, yet similar.
Ren, with his rich experience in exploring Stigma spaces, would be completely at ease even if he entered a Herrscher's space. There was no need to worry.
"Different from a 'Palace,' so it's something like a 'Jail'? Not a big problem... Then, how strong is that Herrscher? I haven't fought a real Herrscher yet. Is their power very strong? If it's just me alone, what are my chances of winning?"
The Evil God always liked to be a mysterious riddler, divulging incomplete information and impatiently shooing people away.
Kaslana's personality was undoubtedly gentler than the Evil God's. Since it also knew about Herrschers, Ren naturally wanted to obtain as much unknown information as possible from Kaslana.
Ren had only fought that imposter clone calling itself the Herrscher of Reason at Chiba Academy, easily achieving victory.
That clone's strength was by no means a threat capable of destroying human civilization. Clearly, Cocolia had only stolen an unknown fraction of the divine apostle's authority.
Herrschers bore the mission of destroying human civilization. Ren, in the real world, would sooner or later fight a real Herrscher. Therefore, before the battle occurred, gathering intelligence about Herrschers from various aspects was undoubtedly the best choice.
"Haven't fought a real Herrscher..."
Hearing Ren say this, Hare, the informed party, couldn't help but look at him with a rather peculiar expression.
Ren indeed hadn't fought a real Herrscher. The Herrscher of Erosion, a remnant from the Previous Era, was already in a weakened state, so upon encountering Ren, it was directly beaten into the Divine Key Jizo Mitama.
Due to Mei's presence, the Herrscher of Thunder couldn't completely seize control of the Herrscher of Thunder Core. Even at its peak, it only reached over ninety percent of a true Herrscher's strength.
Then it too was defeated by the combined efforts of Ren and Mei. The Gem of Conquest fell directly into Ren's hands, and the Herrscher of Thunder's consciousness even proactively gifted Ren the power of Stigmata.
Viewed from this angle, although Ren had successively defeated two Herrschers, he indeed hadn't fought a "true" Herrscher.
"As for that question, you can seek the answer yourself."