The second gift she received from a human, huh...?
Ren was willing to bet Arsene's mask that the first human to give Hare a gift was definitely female. And she was probably either terminally ill, had already kicked the bucket, or was suffering from permanent amnesia.
Knowing game developers, the most likely scenario was that she'd passed away.
After all, if a company like ATLU$ dared to give a kind-hearted, beautiful character like Hare a male figure she couldn't forget, they'd be asking for a massive online meltdown.
Even Sae Niijima, despite spending hundreds of hours yelling at the protagonist across a table in the interrogation room, tragically ended up as the only female Confidant you couldn't romance.
Ren had to give ATLU$ credit for their sensitivity to potential fan backlash.
"Aren't you going to open it? I don't mind."
Seeing Hare seemingly about to store the gift box away without unwrapping it, Ren prompted her, gesturing for her to open it in front of him.
Hare paused her movement slightly, then obediently unwrapped the elegant packaging and took out the gift inside.
"This is...?"
Hare held up a small, exquisitely shaped perfume bottle. Even without opening the cap, she could smell a refreshing, captivating fragrance.
"It's Cecilia Flower-scented perfume. It was the only thing I could think of on short notice for a gift for a lady. I noticed the pattern on the banner of your spear before – that's a Cecilia Flower, right? Even if you don't particularly love them, I figured you probably wouldn't dislike the scent, so I went with this one."
Ren explained his reasoning for choosing this specific perfume.
To buy this high-quality Cecilia Flower perfume, Ren had spent most of the cash he'd found at home. He'd even endured strange looks from the shop assistant for being a high school boy buying women's perfume alone first thing in the morning.
But it didn't matter.
As long as the gift touched Hare's heart, his efforts were worthwhile.
As for the cost?
If he farmed enough gold in Mementos today, then technically, he hadn't spent anything!
"Thank you. I love this gift."
Hare carefully sprayed a little perfume onto her palm. After bringing her delicate nose closer to take a sniff, a gentle, joyous smile bloomed on her face.
Having tried the gift, Hare carefully and preciously put the perfume bottle away somewhere close.
She quickly composed herself, her gaze turning serious as she looked at Ren, who had put his mask back on, becoming Joker once more.
"I'm ready to go, Joker. Should we explore Mementos for a bit first, or head directly to the Palace's location?"
"Let's head straight to the Palace. Lead the way, please, Hare."
Ren answered without hesitation. Reconnaissance and confirmation of the Palace felt more important than wandering through Mementos right now.
"Understood. Let's go then... Please hold my hand tightly. That Palace is extremely dangerous and chaotic. It's one thing if I go alone, but if two of us force our way in simultaneously, we could easily get separated if we don't maintain close contact."
Hare nodded lightly, then proactively extended her slender hand towards Ren, signaling for him to take it.
After confirming Ren had a firm grip on her delicate hand, Hare squeezed back slightly while opening a circular portal shimmering with faint light in front of them.
Inside the portal, an ominous, crimson-black miasma swirled like a vortex, giving off an intense feeling of foreboding at first glance.
Gazing at the dark red aura emanating from the Palace portal, Ren couldn't help but silently marvel at the severe distortion of the Palace ruler's heart.
Hand-in-hand with Hare, they leaped into the ominous circular portal.
Just as expected, Ren felt a drastically different and much stronger pulling sensation inside the portal compared to last time.
Like clothes tossed into a high-intensity washing machine, Ren felt pushed and pulled by the space from all directions. A wave of dizziness far worse than motion sickness suddenly washed over him.
Under the extreme vertigo, Ren lost all sense of time.
He didn't know how long had passed before he finally felt like a drowning person breaking the surface, gasping for breath.
"Whoa, that was intense! Like, a thousand times more intense than a roller coaster. Is forcing your way into someone else's Palace always like this?"
Descending from the circular portal that opened mid-air, Ren landed steadily on the soft earth below, though his face was a bit pale. Even tightly pressing his lips together couldn't dispel the lingering dizziness in his head.
Hare's method of teleporting directly into the Palace was convenient, certainly much more efficient than Morgana turning into a van and driving on four wheels.
The only drawback was how rough it was on the passenger.
Teleporting within Mementos itself was fine, a smooth experience. But teleporting into a Palace? This first time almost made Ren feel like he couldn't handle it.
In moments like this, Ren really missed the Isekai Navigation App provided by the Evil God [MetaNav]. Just a simple tap for seamless teleportation, with absolutely no unpleasant dizziness.
"This time is a special case. Normally, even forcing entry into a sealed Palace doesn't cause such effects. However, the ruler of this Palace is excessively frenzied and violent, and their power is extremely strong and distorted. As a result, our forced entry met with instinctive resistance from the Palace ruler."
Hare explained softly, gently patting Ren's back to help him overcome the residual dizziness.
"Well, as long as not every Palace is like this... Anyway, let's try to clear this place in one go. I really don't want to experience that 'tossed in a washing machine' feeling a third time."
With Hare's comforting words and care, Ren felt much better. His resolve to explore this unknown Palace thoroughly in one push solidified.
A Palace's Treasure only fully materializes after sending a Calling Card to the ruler in the real world. Otherwise, it's just a vague mass of energy.
So, even if Ren completed the infiltration route reconnaissance in one go and found the path to the Treasure, he'd still have to enter the Palace again to actually steal it.
"Joker, watch out! Enemies are approaching!"
Hare was about to offer more words of comfort, but her brow furrowed slightly as she sensed the aura of Honkai Beasts rapidly closing in.
"Yeah, I sense them too."
Ren responded with a grunt, quickly shifting into combat readiness, waiting alertly for the enemies to appear.
Unlike Hare, who relied on sensing Honkai energy fluctuations, Ren detected the approaching enemies purely because of the unnaturally soaring temperature in the surroundings and the waves of intense heat washing over them.
"Shadow detected. Shadow's name is Huodou. Fire affinity. One of the beasts recorded in the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'... Huh? Why do I suddenly know all this?"
[Classic of Mountains and Seas is an ancient Chinese text filled with geography and mythology.]
Huodou.png