Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

Thankfully, while the Shadows are bound to attack the second they've decided on a target, you aren't particularly worried so long as you hit one. Akihiko-san and Koromaru don't have anywhere near the same concerns, and you're pretty sure Takeba-san is just copying whatever everyone else does at this point, so you all have your Personas out before the first Shadow can land an attack.

Not for lack of trying on the Shadows' parts, mind you. You manage to stagger the one that's trying to attack you somewhat by casting Kouha at it, a bit, the same way anything would pause after being hit by light that managed to become a physical force, but it seems a lot sturdier than what you've been fighting up until now.

...Well, besides Shadow Morgana, anyway. That's probably not going to be beaten out as most powerful Shadow you've fought for quite some time.

Akihiko-san's lightning does a similar amount of damage, which you're pretty sure isn't right, given just how much better at magic he is, but this may just be a Shadow that resists lightning. That isn't exactly a strange thing to come across.

You're then distracted from that line of thought by a claw made out of blobby Shadow stuff striking at you. Right. You can figure out just what the abilities of this particular type of Shadow are after you've whittled down the numbers a bit.

The next Kouha leaves it seeming weakened... you think. It's hard to tell when this kind of Shadow is basically a living puddle. Maybe if there were something about it that was actually solid...

But, no, that doesn't seem to matter, either, because that's when Yukari-san finally gets around to firing off a spell.

...You know that wind is just as valid an element as anything, you've seen the kinds of things Morgana could do before the incident, but you still can't help but find it kind of sad that there are beings that can literally die to stiff breeze, even if it was just the one in front of you, and only because you softened it up first.

The other two withstand it better, but still flatten out into almost puddles. Which makes them easy enough targets, which means you don't have to worry about Koromaru setting the street on fire.

Even more importantly, this means you can go back to bed.

---

Whatever was bothering Takeba-san before, she seems to be more-or-less fine now. For the most part.

Honestly, she's still acting a bit oddly around Mitsuru-san, but she seems more nervous than anything else. Which is uncomfortably familiar, even if this probably isn't quite as serious.

Still, you aren't going to focus on that right now. You'd like to just pretend to be a normal group for a bit... (Pick up to three.)


[ ] Spend time with friends.
-[ ] Maiko and Akira.
-[ ] Kyouma. (+Empathy)
-[ ] Lavenza.
-[ ] Mitsuru-san and Morgana.
-[ ] Akihiko-san and Shinjiro-san.
-[ ] Takeba-san and Koromaru.

[ ] Practice Channeling
-[ ] Zio
--[ ] By yourself
--[ ] With Akihiko-san
-[ ] Kouha
-[ ] Hama
-[ ] Cruel Attack

[ ] Explore the hidden library. (+Courage)

[ ] You want more custom outfits.

Honestly speaking, you probably shouldn't be exploring the library that you found on your own. There could be any sort of dangers lurking here, and it's not even limited to Shadows and stuff- after all, fairies like the one in Mikage-Cho exist, so why not other kinds of weird things?

At the same time... you don't think you can leave it alone entirely, even if both of your friends who know about it are busy with something. So you're going in alone anyway.
At least, unlike Akihiko-san, we don't have any evidence that the place does have Shadows living in it.
There's still no reason not to be cautious, though. You're going to avoid going very far in, just in case. Also because, if there's other doors, you don't want to lose track of the one you came in. That just seems like something that could only end badly.

It's not like there isn't anything interesting to see by the entrance. Now that you're here to actually look around, you find your gaze being drawn towards the massive stained glass window that colors the light that pools on the floor and information desk.

It's a vibrant thing, containing more colors than you'd ever thought could fit together, and depicting a number of animals reading books together. There's an owl, a fox, an elephant, a spider... all of them reading or writing with materials perfectly sized to their bodies, though some of the animals themselves aren't perfectly to scale.
If they were, they'd never be able to get both the elephant and the spider on the same piece.
It's a fitting design for a library, if one that leaves you wondering just how much effort went into it, for a place that you doubt anyone ever sees. You wouldn't have seen it, even, if not for Akira wandering in on accident.

Currently much more curious about the window than the books, you approach it, trying to see if there's anything beyond the multicolored glass.

If there is, it's nothing you can see. You're sure that there has to be something beyond it, all that light has to come from somewhere, but... You can't see it, no matter how hard you look.

You think you might need an expert opinion.

---

Sadly, you aren't sure you could call Lavenza an expert in anything that's not directly related to Personas. But she's still the best you've got. "So... not a lot of people can get to where you live, right?" You aren't entirely sure how you plan for this to lead into your discovery of a massive extension to your school library, but it's still a start.

You're pretty sure you've gone over this topic before, but she still nods, looking more pleased to be asked about this than... basically everything else you've asked her.
I mean, given the subject matter...
"That is correct. The only ones who can enter the Velvet Room without being a resident are the Guests, who have been chosen by Master Philemon himself. He hasn't been very active recently, though... It would be possible for someone to gain access after signing some sort of contract if they have the Fool as a dominant Arcana, and that is what I have been told is most likely to happen in the near future, but we haven't had a Guest like that for..." She tries counting something on her fingers, runs out of fingers, and gives up. "...A very long time. It will be a completely new experience for me."

That's a bit strange for you to imagine. Not Lavenza being unused to something, you see that whenever she ventures too far from home, with 'too far' being defined as 'as soon as she can be seen from the fountain area.'

But a new experience for her involving Personas? That's a bit more surprising. You suppose it's obvious she couldn't know everything about a power based on individual people's souls, but you hadn't expected her to say as much out loud.

"Would it be that different from dealing with Narumi-san and the others?" You ask. "I mean, they'd be going there for more or less the same thing, right?"

"I suppose... Though by this point, they have more or less found the collection of masks they prefer to use, so they don't use our services quite as often. I can't actually remember the last time a proper Fusion took place..."

Lavenza descends into terms you've only heard a few times before, if that, and the conversation never quite gets back to the topic you were trying to broach, instead somehow moving on to just how many languages someone could conceivably learn, but you enjoy yourself all the same.

Actually, you completely forget what you wanted to talk to her about until you're already halfway home. Well. You're sure you'll have other opportunities.

---

The next time that you find yourself drawn towards the mystery of the library, you encounter a somewhat familiar face. Kyouma Tafuchi stands by the door, looking uncertain as to whether he wants to go in or not.

"Um... Tafuchi-san?" You actually think you've seen him visit the library a few times, the same as everyone else who deigned to study there while that was where you and your school friends spent almost all your time. So, basically, everyone who was ever there during the final term of last year, more or less. But he was never there often enough to make much of an impression, if you did, so it probably doesn't matter that much.

He seems surprised to see you, for some reason. It's not like you were hiding or anything. "O-oh, Amada-senpai. Am I blocking the door?"

"Actually, I was just... wondering what you were doing." Not that you don't understand why anyone would be wary of the library, but you aren't sure if he's been there long or often enough to notice anything off about it.

"I'm trying to figure out if Sawano-san actually lives here or not. I mean, I don't think they'd let even a member of staff live in the school library, but everyone I've talked to says they've never seen him anywhere else, so it's still possible." You wonder if Kyouma maybe has a bit too much time on his hands.

Even if you don't entirely disagree with him. "You'd think he'd have to leave to eat eventually," You point out. Though for all you know, the hidden section could easily have a working kitchen in the back, there'd still have to be a way to get food there. And you're not entirely sure that anyone in the history of the school has managed to get away with that yet.

"I guess..." He looks oddly disappointed, for some reason, like he wanted to be able to say that the school's librarian actually lives in the school itself. "It'd be cool if he did, though." ...Of course he did.

"You... really think that?" Honestly, you'd sort of wonder how anyone could stand to stay in a single room and never leave it, even counting the second library hidden behind the first, which Sawano-san might not even know about.

Still, Kyouma nods, even if he seems a bit embarrassed by it all. "I know it sounds weird, but... there's probably a lot of odd things out there that nobody ever thinks about. I mean, adults always say things aren't real, or that they can't happen, but what if they just haven't been trying hard enough?"

That resonates with you, sort of, in a way you hadn't ever expected from someone younger than you. But then again, weren't you his age when you first woke up in the Dark Hour, and started seeing things no one would believe? Maybe you've just gotten a bit too used to hanging out with older people.


[ ] Show Kyouma the secret library.

[ ] Suggest continuing your conversation elsewhere. You know, where you won't be disturbing anyone who's trying to study.