"Welcome to Chizuru-sama's Mirror Theater. I am Maid Chizuru, responsible for entertaining and guiding guests. If you have any needs, please feel free to tell me. Maid Chizuru will do her best to satisfy everyone's needs!~"
A normal maid outfit was probably like the style Tohru wore most often in the original story.
Then the maid outfits worn by maids in maid cafes were improved to cater more to modern tastes, raising the skirt hem to the thigh position, and some would reveal some chest skin.
This was already considered a relatively revealing maid outfit.
But the maid outfit of the Shadow Ichinose Chizuru appearing at the theater entrance now was even more revealing.
It felt completely like a special costume that would only appear in certain movies.
Combined with Ichinose Chizuru's slightly charming voice and the makeup that could be called coquettish.
Ichinose Chizuru, who was originally saying she would maintain a calm mentality no matter what she encountered in the theater, instantly broke down.
"No, no, why would I appear here dressed like this!" Ichinose Chizuru tried to block Miyauchi Hikage's view with a blushing face.
Shinomiya Kaguya and Kasumigaoka Utaha also blocked in front of Miyauchi Hikage immediately, and their expressions looking at this Maid Chizuru became somewhat vigilant.
At this time, Maid Chizuru happened to cast an ambiguous glance at Miyauchi Hikage, seeming to say those quite classic maid quotes from various film and anime works to him next.
It was just that Miyauchi Hikage had already seen clearly before that Maid Chizuru's actions like this had no meaning.
"So wanting to face one's own desires directly is indeed not an easy thing." Miyauchi Hikage sighed.
Many people felt that they hadn't done anything bad usually, hadn't had any overly vicious thoughts, and felt that the "shadow" in their hearts shouldn't be that bad.
But in fact, everyone had a certain self-destructive tendency in their hearts.
It was just that due to various constraints of the real world, these shadow aspects wouldn't be exposed to the world, and those depressive emotions could be suppressed when they arose.
Even when alone, one could deceive oneself with some suggestions.
Only places like the Metaverse, which directly revealed the human heart intuitively, could make people truly feel what the desires deep in their hearts were.
Awakening a Persona didn't mean that one's heart would no longer generate these pessimistic and self-destructive emotions and desires.
It could only be said that people who awakened Personas could face the desires in their hearts directly and control such desires better than ordinary people.
For example, Sudou Ayami's personality actually had quite a strong self-destructive tendency.
If she hadn't obtained the diary and solved her parents' problems, God knows what kind of ending this girl would have in the future.
But because of the appearance of the diary and the Metaverse changing her parents' hearts, she laid down those previous burdens, so she could let down her guard to accept her desires and awaken a Persona.
Kisugi Ai had always looked forward to fatherly love and sincerely wanted to find her father's traces, and had been taking action for this.
Or rather, when the three Cat's Eye sisters were created, they were all attached with some settings in this regard. And Kisugi Ai herself was very clear about her desires. After recognizing this desire, awakening a Persona was logical.
As for the current Ichinose Chizuru.
Although Miyauchi Hikage felt that this outfit should contain some exaggerated elements more or less, perhaps this revealingly dressed Ichinose Chizuru was really that part of her desire.
And within Miyauchi Hikage's field of vision, this wasn't the only Ichinose Chizuru in the theater.
Seeing that Ichinose Chizuru was unwilling to admit that this Shadow was the desire of her heart at this time, Miyauchi Hikage didn't voice any rebuttal.
He wanted to see if the theater in front of him and this Maid Ichinose Chizuru would react specifically after Ichinose Chizuru said the keyword for awakening a Persona in P4, "You are not me."
It was a pity that even though Ichinose Chizuru clearly expressed such an attitude, that revealingly dressed Shadow Chizuru didn't show any special movement, but continued to enthusiastically introduce the situation in the theater to the few people entering the theater.
"This is Chizuru's Mirror Theater. The performance in the theater tonight is about to begin. Distinguished guests, please follow me to the stage."
Maid Chizuru clearly had the ability to communicate with people, but the feeling of speaking inexplicably gave people a stiff taste.
Ichinose Chizuru originally wanted to continue obtaining some useful intelligence from this self, but as long as it involved theater information, the other party seemed to deliberately avoid talking about these issues, only wanting to take them to the stage wholeheartedly.
"Why does it feel so strange?" Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned at this revealingly dressed Maid Chizuru, only feeling that there seemed to be a lot of incongruity on the other party.
Originally, Maid Chizuru, who had no reaction to hearing words like "You are not me," seemed to react more strongly to Kasumigaoka Utaha's words.
She hurriedly showed a somewhat polite smile to Kasumigaoka Utaha: "Do you have any objections to my work? You are welcome to give pointers on my work. I will work harder to serve you."
Seeing the other party's reaction, Miyauchi Hikage blinked, considered to have thought of some possibilities.
Sure enough, this Shadow Maid Chizuru was not the real Shadow Chizuru.
Or rather, she was at most just a part of Shadow Chizuru, not the main body.
So the other party had no change after hearing that keyword.
However, some of his ideas still needed more verification.
So he nodded to those girls: "This Mirror Theater obviously has a great connection with you, Miss Ichinose. And this Maid Chizuru asked us to go to the stage. It's meaningless for us to stay here, so let's follow her to have a look."
Miyauchi Hikage said this and looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha and Shinomiya Kaguya again.
"If you are worried, you can wait for me here. After all, this place has nothing to do with you. I am simply interested in the reason for the appearance of this world. If I can figure it out, maybe it can provide a lot of help for me to create my own Domain."
Hearing Miyauchi Hikage's words, before Kasumigaoka Utaha could speak, Shinomiya Kaguya expressed her stance first.
"Then I'll continue to follow."
Shinomiya Kaguya nodded: "After all, this is our first contact with our own Shadow. Although we don't know what the result will be, if such a situation occurs again in the future, we must have some coping experience."
What if this "Temporary Palace" was a test for them to awaken Personas, and they had to pass this test to awaken Personas?
Shinomiya Kaguya expressed her point of view like this, making Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was still wavering originally, make up her mind.
Although her own Water Affinity was also quite useful, Tomoe Gozen summoned by Sudou Ayami was indeed charming. Various flashy abilities made her look forward to her own Persona a little.
And Kasumigaoka Utaha was still struggling with the reason for the change in attitude of that Shadow Maid Chizuru just now.
"Since it's a theater and there are performances, if that Shadow Chizuru wants to do something to us, this should be the best opportunity. I don't want to miss such a rare experience opportunity."
Although Kasumigaoka Utaha and Kishibe Rohan were not the same type of creator, this Temporary Palace was indeed a rare creative experience for her now.
As for Ichinose Chizuru, she had no qualification to refuse from the beginning.
After all, this Palace appeared because of her.
So in the end, the five of them followed the revealingly dressed Maid Chizuru deeper into the theater.
The theater-style decoration was not much different from the outside, still full of various mirrors.
Without Maid Chizuru's guidance, it really wasn't easy for them to find the way forward.
And because of the strict defense of the other girls, Miyauchi Hikage only glanced at Maid Chizuru a few times at the beginning, and then kept his eyes on those mirrors in the theater later.
After walking for about three or four minutes, they entered a wider place.
Although the surroundings were still surrounded by various mirrors, it was obvious that this should be the auditorium below the stage.
"Okay, distinguished guests, I have brought you to the stage. Then my mission ends here. If you are satisfied with my service, please remember to write a good review for me in the subsequent questionnaire!"
Originally, this behavior of asking for good reviews was not uncommon, but Miyauchi Hikage suddenly asked at this time: "Then if I am dissatisfied with your service and give you a bad review, will there be any punishment on your side?"
Maid Chizuru's expression wavered again at this moment as expected.
It was just that she still forced a smile and shook her head at Miyauchi Hikage: "Guest, why would you think so? If you have any dissatisfaction, please say it now. I will correct it immediately."
"Or, Guest, do you want to enjoy some other services?"
Looking at her appearance, it seemed that even if Miyauchi Hikage made any special request to her, she would agree directly.
Seeing the other party's obviously nervous appearance. Miyauchi Hikage waved his hand, and the guess in his heart became more certain.
"Alright, I was just joking with you. Don't be so nervous. I will give a good review."
Getting such a reply, Maid Chizuru's attitude breathed a sigh of relief. Then she bowed respectfully to several people again and quietly exited the theater.
But this conversation between the other party and Miyauchi Hikage finally made the other girls notice the problem too.
"Why does it seem that 'Chizuru' cares particularly about our evaluation of her? Is she really a Shadow?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a frown.
It was just that the girls hadn't contacted too many real people's Shadows after all, and it was their first time contacting a Palace, so naturally, they didn't know how to describe Maid Chizuru's situation.
Shinomiya Kaguya also nodded in agreement with Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"That 'Chizuru' feels to me like a waiter with no say. Is she really the shadow of Chizuru's heart? Such a humble shadow is a bit too strange."
It would be fine if ordinary people were submissive in reality, after all, that was for survival.
But in one's own heart, one should show a stronger side.
But that Chizuru wore revealing clothes, did the humble job of a waiter, and even seemed willing to do anything just for a few good reviews.
"It's like... if she doesn't do this, she will lose her job."
As the young lady of a chaebol family, Shinomiya Kaguya gave her own evaluation.
Miyauchi Hikage added: "Maybe not just a job, but her 'life' in her cognition."
Seeing the girls looking at him, Miyauchi Hikage signaled towards the stage.
"After all, in this theater, there are quite a few various 'Chizurus'."
As Miyauchi Hikage's words fell, several figures of Ichinose Chizuru with completely different attires seemed to emerge in the mirrors serving as the background on the stage.
Several people, including Miyauchi Hikage, didn't have any special thoughts seeing these decorations that looked like they were popular in the last century.
But Ichinose Chizuru showed a shocked expression at these costumes and herself on the stage.
"That's the costume in The Crane of a Thousand Feathers (Senbazuru)!"
Just relying on the costumes, she could recognize the program performed by herself on the stage at a glance.
That was the most famous movie of her grandmother, an actress active in the 70s and 80s of the last century.
Even including her name, to a certain extent, was also due to the influence of this movie.
Similarly, it was precisely because she accidentally saw her grandmother's work and learned the origin of her name that she, who was only in middle school at that time, confirmed her idea of becoming an actress in the future.
Perhaps this idea was just a momentary impulse at that time. Maybe if it was put aside for a while, she would gradually become rational.
But it happened that when she told her grandparents about her idea and was strongly supported by her grandfather, her grandfather encountered a car accident and passed away shortly after.
It was also from that time that the idea of becoming an actress truly became the biggest obsession in her heart.
For her grandmother who was sick and hospitalized, and for her grandfather who still had expectations for her future before he died, she had to become a real actress no matter what!