Begin!
~Normal POV
8/7 - Monday
The lecture hall at the university was already packed when they arrived. But they managed to find a group of seats in the upper decks with a good view of the stage. This proved useful, as it ensured that Konoe wouldn't spot them. A group of teens wasn't likely to look suspicious if they came under the guise of checking out the school, but if Konoe was up to anything, then it was best to avoid drawing his attention at all costs.
After a while of waiting, Konoe stepped onto the stage to begin his speech. He was a young looking man, he couldn't possibly be older than 30, with a pretty muscular physique and a square jawline. He had ruffled dark brown hair, a moustache and a goatee. He was tall, and walked with an air of confidence. That said, for a CEO, he dressed very casually; only opting for a blue plaid suit jacket over a white shirt and matching blue pants. Akira's first impression of this man was that he didn't seem that bad. He didn't give off the kind of asshole-vibes that one would have gotten from a look at Masayoshi Shido, for example. But still, the man was a CEO. It was best not to make any true guesses at his nature without definite proof.
"As you all know," Konoe started, speaking in a clear, but friendly voice, "Life is just an ongoing series of daily decisions. What's for breakfast? What should I wear today? Every day begins with these insignificant little dilemmas. But then, there comes a time to decide your field of study, your place of employment, who you're going to marry. And it's these choices that matter. Yes, people are always looking for the best choice, or the correct answer. Madicce seeks to provide it, for everyone, through the power of A.I. EMMA is a state of the art A.I, designed to integrate herself into our everyday lives. By gathering and analyzing extraordinary amounts of data with perfect precision, EMMA can help everyone make the best choices."
"Capable CEO seems pretty spot on," Morgana said, quietly.
"He's so composed." Haru whispered. "He's practically overflowing with confidence. Look how clearly he states his company's outlook and principles. He's got everyone's attention."
"The evil people of the world are often the most confident ones you'll ever meet, Haru." Akira whispered back. "Charisma is a fantastic cover…"
"You're right." Makoto said, "And he's not saying anything suspicious…"
"Thanks to EMMA, Madicce's stocks have shot way up," Futaba said, "You can bet they're one of Japan's biggest enterprises right now. But I feel like a company with this much going for it wouldn't have much to gain from changing people's hearts…"
"Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that EMMA is still a key factor in the Jails," Yusuke said, softly. "It is through EMMA that people are allowed access."
"Right, Madicce is connected, even if it's indirectly," Makoto said.
"Hey, do you think there's a real culprit behind all of this?" Morgana asked. "Some kinda mastermind?"
"I kinda do…" Akira answered.
"Me too… there's something keeping the Jails here…" Morgana said.
"Well, as long as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts do what they do best, we'll set this shit straight," Ryuji said, quietly. "Regardless of who's behind it all."
~...
The lecture went on for a long time, but in the end, nothing Konoe said was useful or suspicious. They waited until everyone else had left the hall first once it was over.
"Well, that was a waste of time…" Akira muttered.
"It makes sense that he wouldn't trip up so easily," Makoto pointed out.
While they were all getting up to stretch their legs and leave, they saw the door behind them creak open. But the person who entered was what really got their attention. It was Kuon Ichinose, the woman from the beef tongue place the other night.
"Hey guys?" She greeted, brightly, approaching them. "That stuff you said earlier… Was all of that true?"
"Huh?" Ann asked.
"Are you really the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"
They all felt their hearts drop into their stomachs. They hadn't even noticed her being in any nearby seats. And the other guests paid them no mind. Apparently, she was the only one who heard them.
"Uh, you're the woman from the beef tongue restaurant…" Makoto said, unsure of how to reply.
"Oh, Ichinose-san, right?" Haru said.
"You heard all that?!" Futaba shouted.
"Well, the thing is, I'm really good at picking up when a cat meows." Ichinose said, smiling. "Honestly, I found that way more interesting than Konoe's lecture."
"Mona!" Futaba growled.
"Me?! But you guys are the ones she overheard!"
"The hell are we gonna do?!" Ryuji muttered.
"Stay calm…" Akira said.
"Whoa, stop, stop!" Ichinose interrupted, looking concerned. "It's alright! This place will be closing up soon. Let's talk more outside."
~...
While they lead Ichinose out to the parking lot where they left the car, Akira tried to come up with a solution to their dilemma. There was no indication this woman could be trusted to know their identities. There had to be some way to convince her otherwise. And he really didn't want to have to splurge their heist-gotten funds on keeping her silent. Upon arriving at the car, Ichinose spoke again.
"Wow, to think you guys are the famous Phantom Thieves." She said, smiling.
"Ma'am, I think you misheard us…" Akira said, trying to remain polite.
"Come on now, don't try to hide it." Ichinose went on. "Oh, and what was that about EMMA giving access to Jails? Is that related to everyone's hearts getting changed?"
"She really heard everything…" Ann whined.
"Um… can we ask what you're doing here, Ichinose-san," Makoto asked.
"Oh, I told you at the beef tongue place. I work here as a researcher." Ichinose said, simply. "I'm also the one who designed the base for EMMA."
Their jaws dropped. This was too great a coincidence to be real. The person responsible for creating EMMA was standing right before them, and they happened to meet her by sheer dumb luck.
"You made EMMA?!" Futaba screamed.
"I didn't tell you?" Ichinose said, curiously. "I specialize in the research and development of artificial intelligence."
"Uh, we definitely didn't hear about that…" Ann said.
"Around the time I finished developing EMMA, Madicce came to me with an offer to buy her. I was pretty tight on money at the time, so I took the offer."
"Is this lady for real…" Ryuji asked.
"That's why Madicce is participating in the lecture today." Ichinose continued. "Well, to be more accurate, the university asked me to reach out to them. I certainly didn't expect the CEO himself to show up, though. I only got invited because of my little connection to the company. Anyhow, that's how I ended up being there to overhear everything."
"So, Madicce is simply the one running EMMA?" Yusuke asked.
"Well, they're the ones running it, but I can't say for sure if that's all they've been doing. I just designed the base. Who knows what they did with her once I handed her off."
"But you know all about EMMA then, right?" Ann asked.
"Naturally." Ichinose replied. "She's my baby! I spent the last year of my life working on her. And at the risk of tooting my own horn, she's a very good baby."
Akira saw no other alternative. Ichinose might be able to help them with this mystery. It would be a gamble on trusting her with their identities, but in Akira's mind, it was more directly safe than having to trust Zenkichi…
Thus, they had to explain everything to her. Once they were done, Ichinose was quiet for a long time, contemplating everything she'd been told.
"Alright, doctor, how much is your silence gonna cost," Akira asked.
"Hm? Oh, I won't tell!" Ichinose said, simply. "Wow… It really does exist! I mean, how else could you explain all this!? So, EMMA functions as the entry point here, huh? No that's… If I consider the possibilities…"
"She believed all that?" Ann said, quizzically.
"Well, it means we didn't have to show her…" Akira replied.
"Oh, you have no idea how fascinating this is!" Ichinose said, gleefully. "What an incredible development!"
"Ichinose-san, do you have any idea why EMMA is serving as an entry point to the Jails," Makoto asked.
"Oh, no, couldn't tell you." Ichinose answered. "I'm surprised this other world even exists! There's no way I could've thought up a way to get in if I didn't even know it existed to begin with."
"Yeah, that figures… Wait- so that means- that function was added later?" Futaba said.
"A world where people's Desires are stolen and their hearts are changed…" Ichinose said, thoughtfully. "Hm, so many questions- Oh, wait… maybe I should be heartbroken here… My baby is being used for evil…"
"Ahem. Well, if we cooperate with each other," Akira said, getting her attention, "We can help you with that. Let's make a deal."
"Ooo, I like the sound of that. Super phantom thief-y! I'd be glad to help however I can. And I can't say I don't feel kinda responsible for all of this. More than anything, though, I think I'd die of curiosity if I didn't get involved! So, what do you need me to look into? Say the word and I'm on it."
Akira racked his brain for a moment. "You can start by telling us what happened after you sold EMMA."
"Indeed. We'd be very interested to know exactly what kind of changes EMMA went through thereafter," Yusuke added.
"I see. You want to know the secret behind this new version of EMMA. And if someone's responsible, you want to know who."
"Oh, Akira, we found some of those mystery junk parts out in the Metaverse, didn't we?" Futaba said. "Maybe if she takes a look at them, we'll learn more."
"Ooo, you're gonna give me a bunch of neat stuff to analyze?" Ichinose said. "Yes, that's excellent, just wonderful. In fact, I'll even buy them from you, as research materials."
That didn't sound like a bad idea, but it felt a little unfair on her part making her do all of this for them. "If this is going to be a deal, then we should provide something as well…" Makoto said, unsurely.
"Nonsense!" Ichinose replied, dismissively. "It's fine just the way it is! My inner researcher is just squealing with delight! So, what say we seal the deal?"
Akira shrugged. "Well, if those are your terms, then we'll take it."
"Ok! Looking forward to it!" Ichinose replied, in a peppy way.
"Oh-! If she specializes in A.I, maybe we should ask about Sophia!" Ryuji suggested.
Ichinose stared at him in curiosity. "...Sophia?"
Akira pulled out his phone and Sophia popped up on the screen in full view. "Hi, I'm Sophia, humanity's companion. It's nice to meet you, Ichinose."
Ichinose gazed at the A.I. with an indecipherable expression. She appeared to be deep in thought. "This is… Sophia? Huh… It's nice to meet you, too." She smiled again.
"Who flipped the switch on her," Ryuji asked.
Ichinose snapped out of her thinking. "Hm? Oh no, it's just I've got so much on my mind right now… I guess even I'm a little confused."
"Sophia is an A.I. we met in the Metaverse," Makoto explained. "Is there anything you can tell us about her?"
Ichinose shook her head. "No, can't say I know anything about her… But could you send me her code later?"
"Sure, no problem." Futaba said. She exchanged contact info with Ichinose. After that, the doctor left to go back to work.
"Welp, there she goes…" Ryuji said.
"Would have been nice if she'd known something about Sophia…" Futaba said, sadly.
"I'm ok, as long as I can stay useful to you guys." Sophia said.
"We're heading for Sapporo next, right?" Ryuji asked.
"Yes, we should get moving," Makoto said.
Everyone else went to get back into the car while Akira stood watching where Ichinose had gone. The doctor was a weird one, that much was sure. But to see a woman who devoted her life to the study of artificial intelligence be so disinterested in Sophia, who was fully sentient, that was even more odd. There aren't many who wouldn't be interested in such a thing. Why on earth did it seem like Ichinose didn't care about such a scientific breakthrough?
~End of Chapter
