Tokyo Heart Thief's Daily Life

"Because I didn't know when you would arrive, I've been waiting since noon. Fortunately, as long as I stay outside the castle, those monsters inside... they're called Shadows, right? They won't come out to bother me."

"Are you crazy!? This could kill you!"

Gao Juanxing shouted in surprise.

Luo Zhen knew it from the look in his eyes; of course he knew he was going to die.

He had been seriously injured, and the experience of being beaten and imprisoned for several hours was real. It was impossible for him to still have any hope of getting away with it.

Even so, he still dragged this body here, and there must be only one reason for it.

“—Please!”

Ryuji Sakamoto suddenly knelt down in front of Luo Zhen.

He knocked his head hard on the stone floor and said in a voice that almost vomited blood:

"Phantom Thief Boss, I've heard about your deeds too! I know you're very powerful! I can never forgive Kamoshida, and I absolutely want to get back at him! I want to defeat him myself and make him repent!!"

"Takamaki, she fell into this other world the same day as me, right? And she even awakened the power to fight in this world! If she can do it, I can do it too! Please give me this chance! Let me try, just let me try once!"

Luo Zhen: "...Morgana, how much did you tell him?"

Luo Zhen sighed and asked the strange cat at his feet.

Morgana, who came to the other world, has changed from a complete cat form to a strange cat mascot with two heads and a body. The big head makes him even more adorable.

Morgana was also a little embarrassed:

"I... basically told you everything. Including your identity, Boss Luo Zhen, and Ms. Xing's awakening of her personality mask... because I was a little excited at the time! Sorry, I revealed too much! (?>﹏

That’s right, Luo Zhen knew that was the case.

If he just treated the things in the other world as a dream or just brushed it off, there would be no way that Ryuji Sakamoto would know that Takamaki Anya had awakened.

It was because he knew this that he developed the desire to "fight too."

Luo Zhen could feel his surging emotions at the moment.

It was enough to make him so humble that he asked me to take him to fight.

"...Rather than letting Kasumi and Sumire go straight in, this would be better..."

Luo Zhen muttered words full of selfish desires.

He was indeed very curious whether Xing's situation could be reproduced and whether it was really possible to artificially increase the awakening of the Personality Mask User.

Compared to letting the two sisters who currently have no grudges against Kamoshida try it, Ryuji Sakamoto is undoubtedly a better experimental subject.

Luo Zhen therefore spoke:

"Okay, I can take you to try. You can go in and fight the shadows. If you can really awaken, I will accept you as a member of the Phantom Thieves."

"But if I think you're about to die, I'll stop you immediately. You won't get a second chance. Even if you use a navigation app to enter this world again, I won't care whether you live or die. Is that okay?"

"——Okay! Thank you, Boss. You're such a good person!!"

Ryuji Sakamoto raised his head with gratitude. Such a grown man actually cried.

Luo Zhen felt a little emotional at how strong his desire for revenge against Kamoshida was.

How can I be a good person...I'm just a selfish robber.

-------------------------------------

Because of the presence of the excited young man Ryuji Sakamoto, even Sumire Yoshizawa, who wanted to participate the most, was forced to calm down and follow Luo Zhen obediently.

The group, led by Sakamoto Ryuji, who was holding a baseball bat, entered the castle again with the door open.

"Damn Kamo Shida! Get out here, ahhhhhhh!!!"

Ryuji Sakamoto came up with a murderous roar and ran towards the palace!

As the shadows in the palace discovered the group's whereabouts, Luo Zhen and Xing changed into the Phantom Thief costumes as expected.

Xing covered her head with her hands in pain:

"That hedgehog-head is really... He's been beaten up like that, but why isn't he afraid? Does he really want to die?"

Luo Zhen shook his head: "Sometimes, it is precisely because we have been afraid that we will be more reckless."

Kamoshida's shadow self has been sealed by Luo Zhen and he definitely can't come out.

But the palace was still functioning normally, and the guards inside naturally sensed the intruders and rushed out.

Luo Zhen summoned the Persona to ensure that nothing could harm the Yoshizawa sisters.

During this period, Ryuji Sakamoto had already beaten an armored puppet with his physical body, and even took the initiative to attack!

Seeing his crazy look, Luo Zhen also asked Xing:

"Xing, what exactly is his grudge against Kamoshida? I heard before that his leg was broken by Kamoshida?"

"......Um."

Under Luo Zhen's protection, Xing, who did not need to fight for the time being, took off her mask and recalled that unpleasant experience.

51. Give the World a Middle Finger [Part 3]

"I mentioned before that Sakamoto is a member of the track and field club, right?"

Xing explained bit by bit:

"He had good grades in junior high and was a successful competitor at the national tournament. So it's only natural that he continue to work hard on this after entering Shujin."

She also added: Because they are both sports clubs with good performance, the track and field club and the volleyball club where Shiho is are often mentioned together, and the banners hung on them are the same.

But the good times are not long.

Because the track and field club that Ryuji Sakamoto joined is very strong and is also a club that can compete in national competitions, it will naturally attract the attention of school management.

At that time, Kamoshida, who had already regarded the school as his own castle, even regarded this club that did not constitute a competitive relationship as a thorn in his side, thinking that it was overshadowing him.

So, Gao Juanxun spat in disgust:

"The students are saying that Kamoshida pushed out the original advisor to the track and field club. Then he took the initiative to propose that he take on the role of coach."

"No one dared to resist him. Even the principal was subservient to him. After taking control of the track and field club, Kamoshida began to torture the members unreasonably, forcing them to do nothing but squats and frog jumps every day. The other students watched, but no one dared to resist."

It is natural for students to listen to their teachers, especially a professional teacher like Kamoshida.

The students were unable to resist, and the other teachers naturally kept their distance from the matter, and no one would take the initiative to cause trouble.

In this situation, students in the track and field club can only choose to withdraw from the club to ensure their safety. The smart ones would have left long ago.

But Ryuji Sakamoto is the troublemaker.

Xing sighed loudly:

"The story I heard is that he and Kamoshida got into a fight and beat him up. Kamoshida fought back in self-defense, and in the process, Sakamoto broke his knee. I heard it was pretty serious, and he missed a month of school."

It’s really too much... The Fangze sisters who were also listening to it felt like they couldn’t bear to finish reading it.

As they are all athletes, they certainly understand what this kind of injury means.

Sakamoto's future as a sports student is over, and it is very likely that he will never be able to return to the track and field again in this life.

What’s even more infuriating is that because the incident was characterized as him actively attacking the teacher, he has to take responsibility for it.

He became a problem student with a history of violence, was left physically disabled, and became a thorn in the eyes of all teachers and students.

If he gets more extreme, it won't be something that can be solved by putting him in a sack.

Luo Zhen nodded in understanding, there was no need to say more.

It has come to this point, and he and Kamoshida can indeed be said to be sworn enemies.

In addition, he accidentally entered the temple and was tortured and beaten for such a long time, so he would indeed go to extremes.

…but is that really all there is to it?

Luo Zhen remembered Ryuji Sakamoto's tears just now, and that unwilling and humiliated look.

“Ahhhh——!!!”

He was still yelling hysterically and swinging his bat desperately at the armored doll.

But those puppets are actually made of shadows.

Without the power of the personality mask, it would be impossible to hurt them with attacks from ordinary people.

The tall and strong armored puppet used its shield to block the attack, causing the already dented baseball bat to become even more twisted and deformed, almost turning it into a piece of scrap metal.

When the puppet chopped down with a big sword, Ryuji Sakamoto instinctively blocked it with a baseball bat, and most of the metal bat was cut in half.

“Gu!?”

He was also pushed away by this strange force and his body fell heavily to the ground.

The Fangze sisters were too exhausted to bear the sight and covered their faces in discomfort.

"...Sakamoto Ryuji."

Luo Zhen called out to him.

His personality mask cleared away the extra shadows around him, but deliberately left the one that was targeting Ryuji Sakamoto.

He continued shouting:

"Sakamoto Ryuji, is this the extent of your resistance to Kamoshida? Even An was able to fight for the injustice suffered by her friends, so why would a grown man like you still hesitate?"

"After all, it was you who initiated the fight with Kamoshida. But you lost and even had a leg broken. You actually know that this was due to your own incompetence, right? It was you who started the fight, and you chose to fight even though you could have escaped. This was your own choice."

"...Captain? Isn't that too much..."

Xingdu was a little timid and wanted Luo Zhen to be more restrained.

But Luo Zhen just looked at her with a calm look and nodded to indicate that he should give it to her.

Gao Juanxie blinked, nodded in response, and chose to believe him.

Luo Zhen continued to shout at the boy who fell to the ground like Yamcha:

***

"Your desire for revenge isn't just about the knee, right? Tell me, why did you risk your life to enter the temple? Is your reason for seeking revenge on Kamoshida just so superficial as to be worth your life?"

"...Who are you calling superficial?"

Ryuji Sakamoto climbed up panting and sweating profusely.

Very good, Luo Zhen smiled with satisfaction.

He moved his fingers, controlling Eros to shoot out a beam of light, breaking the sword in the hand of the shadow that was about to attack Sakamoto Ryuji.

Ryuji Sakamoto, who was immersed in the excitement, had not noticed this yet.

He scratched the floor with his nails in anger, until blood flowed:

"Mom...my mom is apologizing to me again!"

"That was last time! Because I got so angry and hit Kamoshida, my mom not only had to take care of me by my bedside, but she also had to keep apologizing to the teachers... to Kamoshida! Begging them not to expel me! She cried and cried... She even apologized to me! She said she was sorry for putting me through this!!!"

"Is there anything more absurd than this?! I was the one who did something wrong, so why is it Mom who has to bear the consequences? - And yesterday too! Because I fucking skipped school! I was sent home with injuries all over my body, and I contacted her... Mom started crying again!!!"

Woo...!

Sakamoto Ryuji's heart-wrenching cries made the three girls hug each other, unable to bear it.

Luo Zhen guessed correctly.

Ryuji Sakamoto's anger is different from Anne Takamaki's, it is more of internalized self-blame.

His self-destructive tendencies were erupting. He couldn't stand all the unreasonable experiences he had and wanted to destroy everything.

Just one step left.

Luo Zhen also clenched his fists and took a deep breath:

"Don't run away! Don't numb yourself by trying too hard. Face yourself!"