Persona 5 x persona 4

chapter 37

This was a dream.

It had to be.

Yu blinked as he stared at the familiar blue drab of the interior of a limousine. Everything was how he remembered it, even down to the expensive bourbon bottle in the small mini-bar. Yu had never really paid much mind to the mini-bar in his youth however now that he was a grown man, he felt a bit uneasy. The bourbon that sat on the top shelf was not only a familiar brand to him, but it was his favorite. The shelf below held a rum he also very much enjoyed along with a few other familiar liquors. Same brand, same special brewing method... How did they already know his favorite drinks when he was still in high school? Who made this velvet room? It had to be Igor but seriously what information did Igor have on him?

The room was empty and the limousine didn't have the normal back and forth sway of a vehicle in motion. The frosted glass windows didn't give away anything to where the limo was currently parked. Yu moved towards the door only to find that it was locked. He was locked in his velvet room. A long sigh escaped his throat before he reached for the bourbon and a glass. Yu poured himself a shot before returning the bottle to the shelf. After finishing off the stiff drink, Yu moved deeper into the limousine.

Sliding to sit in the position Igor normally sat, Yu leaned forward and crossed his hands under his chin. For a long while, Yu just stared across the limousine where he normally sat. Glancing to his right where Marie had always sat, Yu quickly started to grow bored. Another shot of the bourbon was poured before Yu started to explore the limousine. Sometime between the first drink and the second, Yu could feel a slight buzz. He wasn't super great at holding his alcohol even Rise could drink him under a table. This was something only Naoto, Rise, and Yosuke knew. Drinking only made Yu bolder and a bit looser in morals, but it was enough that he could easily get into trouble if someone didn't have his back.

Emboldened by his new libation and the sheer boredom of being trapped in a tiny limousine, Yu began to explore his little confines. All the bottles in the bar were of brands he recognized and liked, only one he didn't recognize. And that was on the stand next to where Margaret always sat, it appeared to be some sort of fancy red wine. Something he could see Margaret drinking. Yu gave it a taste test; a dry-aged wine, which indeed reminded him of his attendant. Setting the bottle down, Yu sat down in the seat Margaret normally sat in. His eyes shifting to the blue light at the top of the limo as he put his feet up on the table.

The buzz was starting to hit him now.

Yu sat there for a long while staring up at the soft blue lights. As he moved to get up his hand hit something that wasn't the soft fabric of the seats. His eyes moved to investigate as he pulled forth a familiar heavy book. Across the front of the blue book the words "Le Grimoire" were written along with the logo of the Velvet Room. Even with his level of inebriation, Yu recognized the book as the one Margaret always had on her. The bigger question was, what was it doing here without its owner? Yu placed the tome down on the table before he began to search the area around where Margaret sat. He vaguely hoped he'd find some other clue that could tell him where the errant attendant could be. After a couple of minutes of searching nothing was uncovered, so Yu turned his attention back to the tome.

Picking up the heavy book, Yu idly flipped through the pages. The book appeared to be written in a language he wasn't familiar with. It looked French or some other European language as everything was in Latin script. Flipping through it, nothing stood out to him as it was just page after page of the Latin alphabet. Yu sighed and tossed the book back onto the table. Nothing made sense at the moment but as the alcohol was starting to more heavily affect him he couldn't help but think that maybe it was his fault. Intoxication wasn't a good way to solve a case even if he was a professional detective. Leaning back against the blue seat, Yu ran his hands over his face before out of the corner of his eyes he saw it. A small note tucked a few pages into 'La Grimoire'. Reaching out Yu pulled the note free. It was simple white paper folded over and inside was an immaculate script that could only be Margaret's handwriting. The problem was as Yu read it, goosebumps ran up and down his arms.