"The Herrscher of the Void? That's quite a coincidence. The target I want to commission you to steal is precisely the Herrscher of the Void!"
When Ren Amamiya indicated he wouldn't be accepting requests for the time being, Siegfried's eyes showed a hint of disappointment.
However, upon hearing that Ren Amamiya's next chosen target was actually the Herrscher of the Void, Siegfried's eyes suddenly lit up, and his spirits instantly revived.
Ren Amamiya was preparing to explore the Herrscher of the Void's Palace next, and the target Siegfried wanted to commission was also that same Herrscher of the Void.
This astonishing coincidence made Ren Amamiya raise an eyebrow slightly.
Thinking about it carefully, it was an unexpected yet reasonable turn of events.
The Herrscher of the Void's Palace was recommended to Ren Amamiya by Kaslana, and it seemed to be connected to the Kaslana Palace for some reason.
As a Kaslana clansman with extremely formidable strength, it wasn't actually surprising if Siegfried had some kind of connection with the Herrscher of the Void.
Ren Amamiya knew nothing about the Herrscher of the Void.
Since Siegfried knew something about the Herrscher of the Void, if Ren Amamiya could pry some information about her from him, exploring the Herrscher of the Void's Palace tomorrow would be much easier, and the danger level would be significantly reduced.
"This request, I, Phantom Thief Joker, accept... Tell me everything you know about the Herrscher of the Void. What is her strength, her attack methods, and what kind of special abilities does she possess?"
Ren Amamiya nodded lightly, accepting Siegfried's phantom thief mission request in advance and seeking tactical information about the Herrscher of the Void from him.
"The Herrscher of the Void, as the name suggests, is a Herrscher who manipulates the authority of space. She can create wormholes for teleportation, likes to converge space into the shape of a spear for attacks, and it can ignore defenses... In terms of raw power, the Herrscher of the Void is definitely not your match."
Seeing Ren Amamiya willing to accept his mission request, Siegfried immediately became extremely enthusiastic and started talking animatedly to Ren Amamiya, rattling off information about the Herrscher of the Void as if it were a treasured family heirloom.
"Oh, right, the Herrscher of the Void has a very arrogant personality. As soon as she gains an advantage in battle, she easily becomes complacent and careless. Also, the Herrscher of the Void hates me intensely. If you summon that Persona of mine in front of the Herrscher of the Void, she will definitely lose her composure."
Considering the Herrscher of the Void's flawed personality, Siegfried very thoughtfully provided Ren Amamiya with a method to make her lose her sanity, fearing that the Herrscher of the Void wouldn't be defeated miserably enough.
"I see, I roughly understand. Your information is very useful."
The intelligence Siegfried provided on the Herrscher of the Void was surprisingly detailed, even including tactics targeting her personality weaknesses.
A space spear attack that ignores defense... If he hadn't known beforehand, this was indeed a terrifying killer move with a strong "first encounter kill" flavor.
Fortunately, Ren Amamiya had learned about this ability in advance through Siegfried's spoilers.
Not only did he forcibly make Cocolia [Repent], but he also collected combat intelligence on the next Palace's main boss.
Ren Amamiya had reaped quite a bountiful harvest tonight.
"If you can truly succeed in stealing the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness, I'll teach you the Kaslana family's heirloom Gun Kata! Although my memories of fighting in the dream are a bit hazy, I still remember you only know how to shoot from a distance with dual pistols and can't combine gunplay with close-quarters combat, right?"
After informing Ren Amamiya of all the intelligence he knew about the Herrscher of the Void, Siegfried brought up the matter of the mission reward.
Based on Siegfried's observation, he judged that Ren Amamiya's physical fitness already met the standard for learning Kaslana Gun Kata.
Gun Kata... sounded pretty cool.
Ren Amamiya was indeed a bit monotonous in his use of pistols in combat, only knowing how to pull the trigger for long-range sniping. If he could learn Kaslana Gun Kata, his fighting style would undoubtedly become more flexible and convenient.
Considering this, Ren Amamiya nodded in approval of the mission reward Siegfried offered.
The Kaslana Gun Kata was actually just an add-on; the intelligence Siegfried provided on the Herrscher of the Void was the real main reward.
Being able to compensate for the shortcomings in his gunmanship and also getting combat intelligence on the Herrscher of the Void for free, Ren Amamiya could be said to have achieved a win-win... meaning he himself won twice. He was practically swimming in wins.
"Then it's settled! If you need my help with anything, you can contact me through Cocolia... As long as you can steal the Herrscher of the Void, I will absolutely support your relationship with Ryoma's daughter! I'll handle Ryoma and my daughter's side for you, and I definitely won't let you feel any pressure!!"
Siegfried disassembled the Judgement of Shamash back into two black and gold pistols and holstered them at his waist. He gave a thumbs-up to Ren Amamiya and Raiden Mei, who was descending from the back of Persona Kurikara, then patted his chest and made a guarantee.
Siegfried reconsidered. It was indeed too strange for Kiana and Raiden Mei, two women, to be so close as a couple—how could she have improper thoughts about her savior's girlfriend?!
As a strict but loving father, Siegfried decided to deliver a heavy blow to his daughter's distorted sexual orientation and thoroughly "correct" Kiana!
"Mr. S-Siegfried!!"
Facing Siegfried's words, which seemed both teasing and serious, a blush suddenly appeared on Raiden Mei's fair and delicate cheeks.
As she landed on the ground from the air, her figure swayed abruptly. When her small feet, clad in low-heeled shoes, touched the ground, she almost sprained her ankle due to the overly intense emotional fluctuations.
"I... I and Ren... I and Joker aren't in that kind of relationship yet..."
Raiden Mei's face was completely crimson. She carefully lifted her eyes to look in Ren Amamiya's direction.
However, before Raiden Mei's and Ren Amamiya's gazes could meet, she lowered her eyelids first, like a frightened little rabbit, lacking the courage to observe Ren Amamiya's reaction. She only trembled her cherry lips slightly and said softly.
"Ah, right... Mr. Siegfried, do you know my father?!"
As if to change the subject she both longed to know the answer to and feared knowing, Raiden Mei, recalling Siegfried's earlier words, suddenly raised her head and asked him with some surprise.
"Of course, Ryoma and I are very close!"
Siegfried once again gave Raiden Mei a thumbs-up and said with a proud expression.
Although the reality was that the playful and mischievous Siegfried often unilaterally stressed out the upright and serious Raiden Ryoma, if you were talking about being close, they were indeed very close.
"I'll leave the matter of stealing the Herrscher of the Void to you... As an elder, let me give you a piece of advice before I go, Mei. Matters of affection can't just rely on waiting. Sometimes, you have to take the initiative. Otherwise, you can only watch the one you like become someone else's lover."
Siegfried, whose injuries had recovered enough for him to move normally, stood up from the ground. After waving goodbye to Ren Amamiya and Raiden Mei, he left behind a piece of heartfelt advice, then leaped high out of the deep pit, leaving the completely obliterated ruins of the temporary base.
Siegfried left, thinking himself quite suave.
And because of the words he left behind, the atmosphere between Ren Amamiya and Raiden Mei couldn't help but become somewhat subtle.
"Ahem, Mei, do you know Siegfried's daughter?"
Ren Amamiya coughed lightly, breaking the somewhat awkward atmosphere, and proactively asked Raiden Mei.
From Raiden Mei's earlier hope that he would show mercy to Siegfried, to Siegfried saying he would help overcome the pressure from his daughter regarding Ren Amamiya and Raiden Mei becoming a couple—deducing from these clues, Raiden Mei should know Siegfried's daughter, and their relationship should be very unusual.
"Eh? Ah, um... Mr. Siegfried's daughter is currently also studying at Chiba Academy. She and I are very good friends, it's just... she's so enthusiastic that she wants to be more than just friends with me."
When mentioning Kiana, a troubled and difficult smile appeared on Raiden Mei's pretty face.
Although she was very grateful to Kiana for being friends with her despite the pressure from the entire school, Raiden Mei, whose sexual orientation was completely normal, felt extremely troubled by Kiana's completely distorted desire for "cuddling."
Oh, I get it, she's gay!
"This shows that Mei is very charming. Even girls are captivated by your charm."
Ren Amamiya nodded in understanding and praised Raiden Mei.
While praising Raiden Mei, Ren Amamiya released the corrosive power enhancement of Jizo Mitama: Etched. Jizo Mitama: Etched, which was in its transcendent mode, slowly reverted to the form of Jizo Mitama.
As the crimson-black miasma swirling around Ren Amamiya's body dissipated, he immediately felt a refreshing and invigorating sensation.
After cultivating the Taixu Sword Heart within the Sword Ki of Taixu, Ren Amamiya clearly sensed that his mental resistance had improved significantly. The effect of Jizo Mitama's corrosive power in stirring up negative emotions in his heart was markedly reduced.
However, although he could completely control himself, the annoying influence still lingered somewhat. Of course, it was most relaxing and pleasant when he was undisturbed.
Facing Ren Amamiya's praise, Raiden Mei shyly lowered her small head, while a sweet smile uncontrollably spread across her lips.
Having received Ren Amamiya's acknowledgment of her charm, and noticing that he didn't seem to have any intention of prying into details about Siegfried's daughter, Kiana.
Raiden Mei, who had quietly breathed a sigh of relief internally, felt her spirits lift.
Persona Kurikara transformed into a black ogre-style mask and flew back into Raiden Mei's slender, fair hand.
And with the disappearance of Persona Kurikara, Bronya and Cocolia, who were originally riding on Kurikara's back, also fell from the sky.
Fortunately, Bronya possessed the ability to levitate. She subconsciously grabbed Cocolia beside her.
However, after landing safely on the ground, Bronya abruptly released Cocolia's arm and proactively distanced herself from her.
"Looks like the [Change of Heart] went very smoothly. Cocolia has successfully [Repented]. Now we don't have to be on edge in the real world, and we can go home and have a good night's sleep tonight."
After Bronya shook off her arm and coldly distanced herself, an extremely hurt expression appeared on Cocolia's face.
Cocolia's purple eyes showed strong remorse and pain, as if she were being intensely tormented by the guilt welling up in her heart, gnawing at her bones and burning her soul.
Higokumaru was right. Using Jizo Mitama directly on a target in the real world to change their heart was indeed lightning fast in its effect.
Feeling remorse for past wrongdoings, constantly suffering immense mental pain and torment due to guilt—this was the deserved end for the great villain Cocolia.
Ren Amamiya nodded in satisfaction. He summoned Persona Arsene to heal Cocolia, lest she comically die from excessive blood loss. Then, under the night sky, he lazily and contentedly stretched.
"Go home..."
Raiden Mei, who was originally in a very good mood, was slightly stunned when she heard Ren Amamiya say the words "go home."
The reason Ren Amamiya was staying at the Raiden residence was to guard against Cocolia's attacks on them and to better protect Raiden Mei.
But now, Cocolia had been defeated and her heart changed by Ren Amamiya, no longer able to pose a threat to him and Raiden Mei.
If Ren Amamiya wanted to go home now, Raiden Mei would have absolutely no reason to make him stay and would have to accept the reality of being forced to separate after living together for just one night.
"Mm, that's right. Enough has happened today. It's time to go home and rest well... How about arranging for Bronya and Cocolia to stay in the room next to mine? As the leader of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia should still have some remaining use."
Ren Amamiya yawned lightly and responded to the anxious Raiden Mei in a casual and natural tone.
After everything had settled down, Ren Amamiya suddenly relaxed and actually felt a bit tired.
"----Eh?! N-No problem! My house is very big, even if Seele and Hare also move in, it's no problem!!"
Realizing that when Ren Amamiya said "go home," he actually meant returning to the Raiden residence, Raiden Mei suddenly became excited. She quickly nodded her small head and responded to Ren Amamiya.
Under the bright moonlight, Raiden Mei recalled Siegfried's parting advice to her.
After her slender body trembled twice, she finally mustered up her courage, extended her jade-like, soft, slender hand, and proactively took Ren Amamiya's hand.
While holding Ren Amamiya's hand, Raiden Mei's gaze was fixed on the ground by her feet, as if the deep pit ground, baked by the heavenly fire, had some special attraction.
Until the next moment, when she felt Ren Amamiya's responsive grip in her soft palm, Raiden Mei's tense body slowly relaxed, and a joyful smile once again graced her lips.
Just as Ren Amamiya and Raiden Mei reached a mutual understanding in their hearts and had a clear recognition of the further development of their relationship.
A slight warmth spread from Ren Amamiya's chest, like a pleasant, comfortable, numbing electric current.
A deep purple Stigmata spontaneously appeared on Ren Amamiya's chest.
As if beginning to awaken, the originally dim color of the Stigmata of Thunder began to grow deeper and clearer.
"Bronya, you don't mind following me for now, right? I can let you see Seele, and also your mother's friends from before she passed."
Gently pinching Raiden Mei's soft, tender fingers exposed outside her samurai gauntlet, Ren Amamiya turned his head and asked Bronya, who had become a prisoner.
Although it was a question, Ren Amamiya could naturally anticipate what choice Bronya would make.
"No problem. As long as Bronya can see Seele, Bronya can do anything."
Bronya nodded as expected.
However, although she still maintained an expressionless, cold demeanor, Ren Amamiya somehow felt that she kept peeking at his and Raiden Mei's clasped hands, and was also silently exuding an atmosphere of low pressure, as if being subjected to a public display of affection.