Benten (narrating): There's so many lights and decorations up, and couples are out in full force holding hands and looking at shops. Oh, I'm not complaining or anything like that. I know there's tons of people out there enjoying the festivities. It's just, for someone offbeat like me that just isn't stimulating enough, you know? I'm the type to order curry at a famous pasta place and go to thrift stores instead of the latest brands. So stuff like this? Boring! I'm always on the lookout for discovering new sides of myself, so I was really surprised when I saw what I did at that time.
Benten (narrating): I was in Shibuya looking for *~inspiration~* when I saw this Transient guy in a stupid T-shirt and shorts playing some sad song on his flute. It was WEIRD, because it had two snakes circling around it for a design. It's also a design I've got a link with fate to, so it caught my eye. Anyways, the guy also wasn't playing any new popular music, so it was like he didn't need an audience or himself. It was so cool! I'm totally going to learn something new about myself with him!
Present
Wolf: I'll get you for this! (runs away)
Jiraiya: Hey, you okay?
Hermes: Yeah I'm good. Totally just a misunderstanding, yep. Thanks.
Benten: I wanted to take a pic of you performing so that guy getting up in your grill became my problem.
Jiraiya: Yeah I never met you before but since you know MC I had to help. You never know where fate takes you in terms of relationships. Maybe we were meant to meet up. The day I stop caring about other people will be the day I give up on who I am!
Hermes:
Hermes: Cool. You're a good guy.
Jiraiya: That's me! A hero!
MC: hmmmm...
Hermes: Oh hey you guys have time? How about I treat you guys to tea as thanks? I know a place since I work there.
MC: Okay! / Benten? / Jiraiya?
---
(B): Benten: Okay! I still want to take a pic with Jiraiya, so a cafe would be cool.
(C) Jiraiya: Sure, let's see where this goes!
---
MC: maybe I'm imagining things
Hermes: Let's go!
Cafe Asterism
MC: This is a good place / Oh / You were talking about Asterism?
(A) Hermes: Yeah! Looks cool in and out, and the food and drink is good. Look forward to it! It's also famous for other reasons but--actually never mind!
(BC) Hermes: Oh you know this place? I guess it is pretty popular. Do you know the secret side to this place too? Actually never mind!
Taromaiti: Oh MC...and you're with Hermes too!?
Hermes: What's that supposed to mean? I can be a customer too.
Taromaiti: Oh, no it was just a surprise to see you with group. It's great to see you with friends. Still, you get into shenanigans like all the time if you're hanging around with MC. So anyways, welcome!
Hermes: Yeah yeah, look at the loner freak having a friend. So MC, you know the people here? And...Benten and Jiraiya, right? You just happened to meet up with MC, but all of you guys knowing them means they're kinda famous huh?
MC: Stuff happened
Hermes: Huh. Oh yeah MC, why were you and Jiraiya in Shibuya? The first time I saw you, you had a Shinjuku uniform.
MC: N-nothing suspicious! / (how do I explain this) / (signal to Jiraiya)
Jiraiya: I'll take care of it! We can't let our plans leak to outsiders, so let's invite them to join us!
Benten: Were you guys gonna do something cool and leave me out of it!?
Hermes: wat
MC: (explains)
Hermes:
Benten: I see. I'm in!
MC: Hermes?
Hermes: It's a small world after all. The police know me and Hougen invited me along. I kinda don't want to do this though, so I'm not sure. (pretends to be bothered)
Shinya: Hello, MC and Hermes. It's nice to see you here with friends.
Kalki: MC. Are you also involved with the Santa School thing?
MC: You know too!? Does everyone know!?
Kalki: ...did Hougen say "I'm so sorry, here's the truth!" to you? You shouldn't take him at face value. He may look like a dirty old goat, but he is a knave that won against Tokyo's demonic underground side. He is the type to tell a hundred people "it's a secret between you and me!"
Taromaiti: W-well, how about we get something to eat and talk about it?
Later
Taromaiti: So, we heard about the stuff at Santa School because Hougen talked to Kalki.
Kalki: I'm not good at acting though, especially as a thief. This is also the busiest time for Cafe Asterism, so I want to help Shinya as much as possible.
Shinya: Oh, you don't have to worry about the cafe.
Kalki: I must! The cafe is busy as it is! I cannot let you deal with the cafe all alone at a Time Like This!
MC: ...what?
Shinya: ...well this time of year gets pretty rowdy around town too, huh Kalki?
Taromaiti: Moving on! So turning Hougen down made me feel bad, so I offered to switch places with Kalki and play the part.
Benten: Oh! So are you one of Hougen's students like Kalki too, Hermes?
Hermes: HA! Nope. Just petty little crimes that may have blown up a few times, so joining up might not be a good idea.
Benten: !?
MC: wow / you're an ex-con? / (should I ask?)
Taromaiti: You okay with talking about that?
Hermes: Meh. Old news.
Benten: Well, Tokyo is a new place for a lot of Transients. Plenty of people have rocky lives before they settle in.
Jiraiya: Yeah what she said. You have a respectable job now, it's cool!
Benten: Yeah! It doesn't matter if you have a really crazy past or whatever, like how the Treasure Ship band broke up! Freedom!
Hermes:
Hermes: Heh. Benten, right? You play music too? Sucks when a band breaks up. I was in one too, but it didn't work out.
Benten: Yeah! We may both be musicians, but even if we have different styles we don't change that easily!
Hermes: Uh, right.
Hermes:
Flashback
Manager: Hey, you can play a lot of instruments right? Join our band! We don't care that you're a Transient!
Later
Bandmate A: Hermes, aren't we friends? What are you hiding?
Bandmate B: Yeah, tell us a bit about yourself.
The native band members were interested in Hermes. What was his home world life like? How was life now? But Hermes never talked about them. Rumors started that Hermes was a famous thief, but Hermes just smiled and made no attempt to deny them.
Later again
Bandmate B or whatever: Hey, the studio inventory has been off lately. You, uh, wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you Hermes? You have a criminal record, and you can't have changed that fast.
Bandmate A: Hermes could you not talk to me outside the studio? I don't want your reputation rubbing off on me. I wouldn't have tried making friends with you if I knew you were like that earlier.
Despite the chilling reception, Hermes still made no effort to change his behavior.
Later
Manager: Hermes? We got a replacement for you. You're fired. We don't want you dragging our rep down for being here.
Hermes still just smiles and doesn't argue about this.
End flashback.
MC: Hermes?
Hermes: Nothing! Okay yeah I'm in.
Benten: Yay! Let's get a hideout!
Shinya: You guys can use the cafe's hidden space in the second floor when it's closed. Taromaiti has a copy of the key, so you can come in through the back door.
MC: Really? Thanks! / I didn't know cafes had something like that / It really does feel like a phantom thief hideout!
(C) Shinya: Haha, I'm not really a phantom thief at least.
Taromaiti: You sure, Shinya?
Shinya: Yes, I want to help MC.
Kalki: Okay then.
Jiraiya: Thanks, manager! I'm glad we got a crew and hideout together so fast.
Benten: Party time! Hermes's treat!
Hermes: Hey, I don't have THAT much money!
Elsewhere
???: Everything is going according to plan. Please leave it to me.
Ose: I'll send the information ahead of time by other means since I don't want to risk it leaking over the phone or computer. The training drill may be a bit big, but I'm still going to stick with it. Plus I might be able to get some info no matter what happens.
Ose: Tajikarao has hired private detective Nomad, just as planned. I'll tell him and only him that this is all a drill. Now, about the phantom thieves... (pulls out a picture of MC and the party at Cafe Asterism)
Ose: Aww, MC has such a nice smile. It looks like all of them except for one has opened up to each other. Hermes is suspicious. When MC came to Ded's office yesterday I barely felt someone watching me from somewhere I couldn’t tell, and I am a good spy if I say so myself. This'll be fun! Time to try something new.
End of Episode
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