The work of liaising with Shadow Haruno Yukinoshita was entirely Taichi's responsibility. She also requested to see Yukino Yukinoshita once a week, and insisted that Taichi must be present as a bodyguard during these meetings. This was the key point that allowed the two sides to reach a cooperation agreement.
Taichi had expected Yukino Yukinoshita to resist being completely controlled by Shadow Haruno Yukinoshita, but the result surprised him. Yukino Yukinoshita agreed to the terms.
Meanwhile, Ren had originally wanted to invite Yukino Yukinoshita to join the Phantom Thieves. Judging from Shadow Haruno Yukinoshita's attitude, if Yukino Yukinoshita joined, her work efficiency would increase from 50% to 100%. However, Yukino Yukinoshita had not awakened her Persona, and it would be too dangerous for her to join the Phantom Thieves. Such an action might also cause resistance from Shadow Haruno Yukinoshita and create a rift in their cooperation. So the idea was dismissed after only a moment.
Ryuji was dejectedly kicking at the ground, not saying a word. Being rejected by a Shadow was a big blow to him.
The only person out of the loop was Yui Yuigahama. She understood that the Phantom Thieves had reached a cooperation agreement with Yukino Yukinoshita's sister, but the content of their conversation was beyond her comprehension. After she realized she couldn't understand the situation, she started exchanging information about the "Otherworld Navigation app" that had been forcibly downloaded onto her phone with Ann.
The only people present who didn't have the "Otherworld Navigation app" on their phone were Morgana, who didn't have one, and Taichi. The moment the app tried to hack into Taichi's phone, it was immediately expelled by Ultraman X. The phone's memory was already limited, and now an external program wanted to come in and squeeze out its space? Ultraman X would not allow it. He imagined that the fake beaky-nosed person was probably pretty confused at the time.
...
Back in the real world, after they exchanged contact information with Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama and watched them leave, Taichi returned to his break room. He didn't have mobile data or social media. If he wanted to communicate, he could only make phone calls.
"Ah, Naruto-san, there's something I want to ask you," Ryuji said. "Can we use your break room as the Phantom Thieves' secret base?"
"...This place is not a secret at all," Taichi said with a twitch of his mouth. "The walls aren't soundproof, and with your loud voice, I'm worried the name 'Phantom Thieves' will spread throughout the entire school tomorrow."
"It won't be tomorrow," Ren said, shaking his head. "Tomorrow is Sunday, so the school is closed. It'll be the day after tomorrow." Ryuji looked at Ren, dumbfounded. He thought his friend was going to help him out, but he ended up just twisting the knife.
"Besides, I might not be here for much longer," Taichi continued. "Because of the Kamoshida thing, the principal and I are on bad terms. He could find an excuse to fire me at any time."
"...Are all adults this despicable?" Ryuji said, groaning and holding his head.
"Not all of them," Taichi said, quickly trying to salvage his reputation since he was about to rejoin the ranks of "adults." "Just most of them."
"It's like how there are bullies and victims among minors at school. The social relationships between adults... are even more complicated," Taichi said, shaking his head helplessly.
Luckily, he had a pile of treasure in his hands. As long as he found a good buyer, he wouldn't have to worry about money for food, drink, and entertainment in the future. If he went to the bottom of the sea a few more times, he could even say goodbye to being a salaryman forever. Or rather, with the stack of documents he had, he might even be able to become a local magnate in Japan.
At that point, he could build a luxurious manor in the countryside, have five or six beautiful maids by his side, and live a life of comfort.
But before that...
Taichi glanced at his phone.
He had to fight monsters.
If he didn't deal with the monsters, his dream life could be crushed by a sudden giant foot at any moment.
Compared to the monsters that might emerge one after another in the future, the Holy Grail pseudo-god Yaldabaoth was nothing. Although its power was exaggerated, its true form probably couldn't compare to an Ultraman's. Taichi felt he could shatter it with one powerful blast of light.
But monsters...
He hoped that space monsters wouldn't appear and that they wouldn't have anything to do with Yaldabaoth. After all, most space monsters had a special way of dealing with light-based attacks. If they also had some sort of connection to the willful Yaldabaoth... a monster combined with all of humanity's negative emotions... if a monster on the level of Hyper Zetton appeared, a basic Ultraman like him wouldn't be able to handle it. He would have to run away. After all, before he was a salaryman. He had no extensive knowledge or firm resolve. He had just muddled through life.
"It's getting late. I'm going to the hospital to visit Shiho," Ann said, who was no longer interested in the conversation. She looked at the time on her phone and prepared to leave. Ann, who hadn't awakened her Persona, wasn't very interested in the Palace. She didn't like being a burden to others.
"Taichi-kun, want to come?" Ann asked, shaking her phone at him. "Shiho wants to thank you herself, and so do her parents."
"Oh? Suzui-san is awake?" Taichi asked, a little relieved.
"She woke up yesterday, but she's not doing so well and keeps falling back asleep," Ann said, who had the couple's contact information and knew about her friend's current situation. "But she was much better this afternoon."
"I see, so Suzui-san is okay now. That's great," Ryuji said, sighing in relief. The reason he and Ren had provoked Kamoshida in his office was because Shiho jumped off the roof. Now that he heard the issue he was concerned about was resolved, his anxious mood, which had been caused by various setbacks, was relieved.
"By the way..." Ryuji suddenly lowered his voice, leaning forward subconsciously. "When are we going to beat up Kamoshida? I have a sack and a bat ready." Ryuji was serious about beating up Kamoshida.
"We need to make a thorough plan first," Taichi said. He felt they should put this on their agenda. "Morgana, can I ask you to spare some time to follow Kamoshida and find out his daily schedule?"