Chapter 5: It's Already Over!

"What do you mean, it's already fused?" Kazawa tightened his grip on the wine glass in his hand.

"Just what it sounds like," Leon picked up another glass and poured himself a drink as well. "You're someone who knows the plot too. You understand what happens once the cognitive world fully merges with reality. As for this detective world—"

"Time is disordered, high schoolers investigate homicides, crime scene photos are splashed on the front page, people can shatter concrete with their bare hands, and any random person might suddenly decide to kill and strike without hesitation… Can this really be called a realistic world?"

Kazawa swirled the wine in his glass, deep in thought.

The Persona 5 series continues the fine tradition of having branching endings. Besides the proper heroic ending, P5 also offers a co-conspirator ending, where the protagonist joins forces with the final boss.

In that ending, the world doesn't truly end. Instead, it becomes a fully controlled chessboard, while the protagonist, addicted to the rules of playing a secret vigilante, turns into a false hero worshipped by all.

From that perspective… yeah, it really fits.

The strange detective logic of the Conan world, the timeline forever stuck within a single year, the countless violations of physical laws… it was never a realistic world to begin with. It was a manga world built on idealism.

"You're saying, the Conan world was always a highly idealistic one. So… the cognitive world doesn't exist anymore?" Kazawa asked uncertainly.

Damn. So basically, he just got past the prologue, was all hyped up to start stealing hearts, and then the world told him: It's already over!

"That's not quite it. The boundaries are extremely blurred. It's possible the abilities of the two worlds can now interact. After all, when someone can punch through a support pillar, there's no reason you can't have some powers of your own. If I had to put it in words—they're inseparable now, and there's no need to separate them. This is all just part of the world," Leon said, lifting his glass and taking a sip.

Well then… that's something.

So the cognitive world still exists, and its basic rules still apply. But it's probably very different from what Kazawa remembers.

In the real world—so long as it doesn't break the "Conan Science" worldview—he might still be able to use abilities that only worked in the cognitive world. Like climbing towers barehanded, activating a third eye, or jumping up and gouging someone's eye while doing a flip?

…Nah, that's too brutal. Better stick with a karate chop. Conan Science Karate Chop breaks all defenses.

"Got it. That's how Conan Science works. Now I completely understand." Kazawa nodded repeatedly. "So, what now? What should my goal be?"

"If you don't know that answer, then there's no way I could," Leon finally started being cryptic for the first time, "It is because of your unrest that destiny has left its cradle. Will you follow and uphold it—or change and destroy it? This is no longer a game or a manga. This is your rebirth. Only you can find the answer."

Kazawa set down his empty glass, falling silent.

To be honest, with two scripts pulling in different directions, can he really find a single, unified goal? Kazawa felt completely lost.

But Leon was right. He had supernatural powers in one hand, and two stories in the other. Right now, he held the initiative—whether he chose to dive into the whirlpool or escape from it.

Leon didn't interrupt his thoughts, only picking up the bourbon bottle and refilling his glass.

Once the glass was full again, Kazawa slowly began to form an idea. He raised a wide smile—so wide his eyes curved, the kind of expression only a villain would wear.

Watching this transformation, Leon subtly leaned away, clearly wanting to distance himself from this guy whose face screamed "I'm about to stir up trouble."

"I get it now. I just have to get through this damn probation period and lay low, right? But Leon," Kazawa raised his glass, looking at Leon with eyes full of mock accusation, "Didn't we agree—no more being cryptic?"

Leon also picked up his glass and asked, "Well, how were my lines just now?"

"…Alright, I admit, they were kinda cool."

"Thanks for the compliment. Cheers."

The two glasses clinked with a crisp chime.

Kazawa downed the whiskey in one go—before he could even savor the flavor, he fell back into a dark, dreamless sleep.

"Hey, hey! Ran! Ran!"

After calling out several times and getting no response, Suzuki Sonoko waved a hand in front of her friend's face.

"Ah! Sonoko, what's wrong?" Mouri Ran snapped out of her daze, blinking and lifting her head.

"Geez, what's with you today? You've been zoning out nonstop." Sonoko turned around and patted her desk. "You weren't even paying attention in class this morning."

"Ever since we left the amusement park yesterday, Shinichi hasn't shown up. And he didn't come to school this morning either…"

Sonoko waved her hand dismissively. "Ugh, probably got wrapped up in another case."

"But I called him and he didn't answer. No messages either…"

"Well, Kudo's a busy man, remember? 'The Savior of the Japanese Police,' right? When he's on some complicated case, he forgets everything else—even his phone. Don't worry about him." Sonoko brushed the topic aside and switched to something she was excited about. "I heard we're getting a new transfer student today—and he's a total hottie!"

"Transfer student?" Ran wasn't too interested in handsome guys, and focused on the first half of that sentence. "A transfer in the middle of the term? That's pretty rare…"

Sonoko clasped her hands together, falling into a daydream. "Not meeting a handsome, gentle campus prince under the cherry blossoms… that would make my youth incomplete! I can't believe I still get the chance to fulfill my high school fantasy in our second year! Just thinking about it makes me happy!"

Used to her friend's delusional fangirling, Ran didn't interrupt her fantasy and just looked down at her phone again.

Still no reply from Shinichi.

That uneasy feeling that had been weighing on her since yesterday afternoon was only getting stronger. She sent him another email, asking him to call back as soon as possible.

"Dun~ dun~ dun dun~"

As the class bell rang, Kazawa stepped into Class 2-B, bag slung over his shoulder, following behind the teacher.

He turned to face the students—and instantly spotted the bright-eyed Suzuki Sonoko and the girl sitting behind her, Mouri Ran.

They were just too easy to identify.

The teacher wrote his name on the blackboard in kanji and introduced him, "This is Kazawa Akira. He'll be joining our class starting today. I hope you'll all get along."

"I'm Kazawa Akira, from Kyoto. Nice to meet you all." Kazawa lowered his eyes and gave a slight bow.

"Wah… is he a mixed-blood?" Sonoko clutched her collar. "He's got blue eyes!"

"Keep it down, Sonoko." Ran nudged her friend's back, a little embarrassed when she saw Kazawa glance over—clearly having heard Sonoko's excited outburst.

Kazawa smiled at Sonoko, showing no sign of being offended. That made Ran feel that he must be an easy-going person.

Of course Kazawa wasn't offended.

If anything, meeting two pure-hearted high school girls who could be won over by a few smiles was just perfect timing.

His ideal story entry points—had arrived.