Cocolia? Raiden Mei?
Who are these people?
Ren raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the baffling text message sent by someone whose name was complete gibberish.
He had never heard the name Cocolia before; it didn't ring any bells whatsoever.
As for Raiden Mei... while the surname was unfamiliar, the given name "Mei" was very familiar.
It belonged to the girl sitting right across from him, Hokushin Mei-senpai, who was now looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Hokushin Mei seemed unwilling to let him probe into her identity and past, and Ren had honored that agreement, never prying into her history at Chiba Academy.
Looking at it now, perhaps "Hokushin Mei" was actually a fake name, and "Raiden Mei" was Mei-senpai's real name?
Shades of that red-haired transfer student situation... [Reference to Kasumi/Sumire in P5R]
The slight difference was that Mei chose to hide her surname, not her given name.
Before realizing "Hokushin Mei" was just an alias, Ren's Confidant bond with "Raiden Mei" would have automatically stalled after reaching a certain rank.
Only by finding the real "Raiden Mei" and establishing a bond with her true self could the Confidant rank continue to progress.
Fortunately, Ren had learned Raiden Mei's real name just in time. He figured he still had a way to go before maxing out the "Hokushin Mei" Confidant rank, so no time or effort had been wasted.
"Is something wrong, Ren-kun? Does the food not suit your taste?"
Ren's pause with his chopsticks made Raiden Mei, sitting opposite him, look anxious.
"If there's anything you don't like, please don't hesitate to tell me directly. I'll definitely pay more attention tomorrow and make it more to your liking, Ren-kun!"
"...No, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something else. Your cooking is delicious, Mei-senpai."
Ren replied nonchalantly, resuming eating the bento Raiden Mei had made for him.
He wasn't just being polite. Raiden Mei's cooking skills far exceeded his expectations. While still a bit unrefined, the bento clearly tasted better than food from most street-side restaurants. Her potential was definitely promising.
"Is that so? I'm glad you like it, Ren-kun..."
Hearing Ren's response, Raiden Mei slowly relaxed, a genuinely happy smile appearing on her delicate face.
After reassuring the anxious Mei, Ren's fingers flew across his phone screen, sending a reply to the sender with the garbled name.
[This is Bronya, right? Who's Cocolia? The mastermind who ordered you to attack me?]
Although the sender used anonymity, Ren easily guessed who was on the other end.
Other than Bronya, whom he had struck with Jizo Mitama, Ren couldn't think of anyone else who would send him such a strange warning message.
After being attacked by Bronya, Ren had tried searching online for information about her, but found absolutely nothing.
Forget information about Bronya herself; there wasn't even a whisper online about their battle in the city district.
A fight between Persona users in reality should have been incredibly conspicuous, especially with giant robots showing up at the end to rescue Bronya from the battlefield.
Such a large-scale battle couldn't possibly leave no trace on today's advanced internet. Furthermore, as someone who experienced it firsthand, Ren had personally seen many people filming him and Bronya with their phones.
The silence online definitely meant someone behind the scenes had erased all traces of the fight.
And the only ones capable of suppressing various media channels were obviously the mysterious organization controlling Bronya.
Two full days had passed since Ren injured Bronya with Jizo Mitama's blade.
As a robot girl, Bronya should logically be proficient in hacking. Ren had expected her to contact him soon after being affected by Jizo Mitama, but surprisingly, two days went by.
Ren almost started doubting Jizo Mitama's power, thinking perhaps it wasn't as omnipotent as Hare and Yae Sakura claimed, and Bronya had already purged it from her system like some kind of virus.
Fortunately, Jizo Mitama came through. Just like with inducing a change of heart, it seemed to have a frustrating delay, taking a full two days to show results.
[Bronya... will not betray Mama Cocolia. What... did you do... to Bronya...?]
After Ren called out her identity, Bronya on the other end stopped hiding. She seemed to struggle, painfully sending one last message before going completely silent, offering no further replies.
Still resisting, not fully controlled yet? Looks like I won't get any more intel for now...
After asking repeatedly and getting no response, Ren deduced Bronya's current state and reluctantly put his phone down.
Although he hadn't learned the full picture of the mysterious organization Bronya belonged to, knowing in advance that the mastermind named Cocolia planned to target Raiden Mei was enough for now.
Ren didn't know how Raiden Mei got involved with Cocolia from that mysterious organization, becoming Cocolia's target.
But relying on his instincts as a seasoned gamer, he could vaguely speculate on some possibilities.
Raiden Mei was just an ordinary kendo girl. At best, her skill in kendo far surpassed ordinary people, but it wasn't in the realm of superpowers.
The mysterious organization could command a robot girl like Bronya, capable of summoning a Persona in the real world. This organization was definitely involved in the supernatural. Targeting Raiden Mei must also be due to supernatural factors.
The Palace and Shadow within Raiden Mei's heart were slightly different from theoretical norms. Ren initially thought this was just a normal deviation caused by Mei's personality.
But considering Mei was now being targeted by Cocolia, her Palace likely wasn't formed naturally. There was a high probability she had unconsciously become Cocolia's test subject, her Palace only manifesting due to Cocolia's artificial induction.
Thinking more darkly, perhaps Raiden Mei was bullied at school precisely because Cocolia, the mastermind, secretly instigated it. The goal might have been to amplify the distortion in Mei's heart, fostering Shadow Mei's growth.
And now, perhaps because the "fruit" was nearly ripe, Cocolia was preparing to forcibly harvest it.
Alternatively, perhaps Cocolia observed Ren's frequent contact with Mei and feared complications if things dragged on, thus deciding to immediately capture Mei and bring her to the organization's base?
There were still too many unknowns, but Ren was certain of one thing beyond doubt.
He decided to protect Raiden Mei and thwart Cocolia's kidnapping plot!
The peculiarity about Mei lay in Shadow Mei within her Palace. Shadow Mei was highly likely Cocolia's target.
Bronya only informed Ren that Cocolia wanted to capture Mei, but didn't reveal the detailed plan.
If the target was Shadow Mei, Cocolia might send people into her Palace to carry out the capture.
Of course, it was also possible Cocolia would act just like when she ordered Bronya to eliminate Ren—by sending people to kidnap Mei directly in the real world, Shadow and all.
Considering Mei herself was just a skilled but ordinary kendo girl in reality, while enemies in her Palace would face an enraged Palace Ruler, Ren thought Cocolia was more likely to choose the real world as the operation site.
But to be safe, Ren believed Shadow Mei's Palace also needed heightened security.
Fortunately, Ren wasn't alone; he had teammates. He just needed to contact Hare and ask her to lie low in Shadow Mei's Palace, helping Shadow Mei fight off any intruders.
So, the only problem now was that Ren hadn't found the location of Raiden Mei's Palace yet. He couldn't enter the Palace within her heart.
Only by finding the entrance to Mei's Palace could Ren better protect her.
If worst came to worst, Ren could always emulate Ultraman Juggler cutting down the Tree of Life—by directly stealing the Treasure from Mei's Palace. Without her Shadow, the source of her peculiarity, Mei should lose her value in Cocolia's eyes and become safe.
"Mei-senpai... no, Mei. I have a request. I'd like to visit your Palace. It's important. Is that okay?"
After finishing the bento, Ren handed the empty box back to Mei. At the same time, his gaze looked earnestly past Mei herself, addressing the Shadow Mei lurking within her heart.
Although making this request to Mei in the real world sounded chuunibyou and strange, the situation was urgent, and Ren couldn't worry about appearances.
"M-My Palace? Do you mean... you want to visit my home?"
Feeling Ren's serious gaze upon her, a faint blush crept onto Mei's fair face. Realizing Ren wanted to visit where she lived, a hesitant look appeared on her delicate features.
"I understand. If Ren-kun wishes, you are welcome to visit my home anytime... If you have time, Ren-kun, you can come home with me after school. After school, there's something I want to tell you."
The hesitation on Mei's face gradually faded, replaced by determination. However, when looking at Ren, her amethyst eyes seemed to hold a hint of humble pleading.
"I only have one request. No matter what happens, please don't hate me or distance yourself from me, okay?"
Bringing Ren to her home meant her true identity could no longer be hidden.
Mei was prepared for this. In truth, she no longer wanted to interact with Ren while wearing the mask of "Hokushin Mei." She wanted to cultivate their bond as her true self.
Mei planned to confess everything to Ren after school. Her only fear was that after revealing her true self, Ren would grow to dislike her and push her away.
Ren's mastery of Hokushin Ittō-ryū now far surpassed hers, the teacher. She wasn't confident she could keep him around, so she sought a promise, an agreement from Ren, for her own peace of mind.
"No problem. No matter what happens, I won't distance myself from you, Mei-senpai."
Ren nodded seriously. He made a promise to the purple-haired girl before him, who had been nervously tense until his assurance, finally letting out a small sigh of relief and offering a gentle smile.
Ren could roughly guess what Mei planned to tell him after school—most likely, she was preparing to reveal her true identity.
In normal social interactions, giving someone a fake name is indeed impolite.
However, for Ren, who had already experienced the "red-haired transfer student" incident, his heart remained unmoved. Besides, Bronya's message had already served as a heads-up.
The things Mei worried about absolutely wouldn't happen between them. Ren was still waiting to max out her Confidant rank to 10 and experience that classic "Point of No Return."
Mei willingly inviting Ren to her home was a complete surprise bonus; Ren had initially only intended to get permission to enter Shadow Mei's Palace.
But being able to naturally stick close to Mei and protect her personally was certainly the better option. Ren could guard against Cocolia's schemes targeting Mei to the greatest extent.
The moment Ren made his promise to Mei, he suddenly felt Mei's heart open its restrictions towards him.
As if some lock had quietly clicked open, Ren naturally sensed the location of the Palace within Raiden Mei's heart.
Shadow Mei didn't appear directly before Ren, but evidently, she had also silently agreed to his request to visit, opening the Palace entrance to him.