I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Fortunately, considering that Amamiya was in charge of handling paperwork and didn't have much work experience, Rin's work arrangements were relatively simple and less demanding.

If we were to describe it using the formula of an isekai RPG adventure...

In terms of difficulty, the tasks range from level 1 to 10, such as finding cats, applying for permits to collect herbs, eliminating gangs of delinquent girls, and quelling armed conflicts.

The total number is only a few dozen—although it still seems daunting, it's really not many considering the various tasks the Federal Student Council has to handle every day.

'From this perspective... solving the Abydos Higher Academy problem, if the task is categorized by difficulty, would be at least a level 50 task, meaning it would only be possible to complete in the early to mid-game...'

After making a simple deduction about the events at Abydos Higher Academy based on the difficulty of the various tasks he had handled, Amamiya realized that he might have made the mistake of 'starting at level 0, accepting the main quest, and even speedrunning it using unorthodox methods'.

No wonder those colleges were so surprised...

"That, that..."

‘Dingling bell~’

The wind chimes that Amamiya had deliberately placed at the door rang out with a clear and melodious sound as someone gently pushed the door open and entered.

Wearing a Trinity College uniform, her demeanor, her slightly timid peeking into the room with a shy cuteness, and her blonde hair swaying in the breeze all gave off an overly cute feeling that made you want to 'misbehave' a little.

"Sorry...Sensei, I...I think I'm late?"

As the first person to join Xia Lai (in her own opinion), and also the 'first student on duty in Xia Lai'... Hifumi felt as if she had received an "extreme honor".

But she herself... always seems to mess things up unintentionally because of her mediocrity and recklessness...

Today seems to be the same... Even though she got up very early and made special preparations the day before, she was still 'late' because the Trinity tram was delayed...

Amamiya, reclining in her ergonomic chair, glanced back at the somewhat timid girl who was still pushing the door open, from a slightly odd angle.

"No, no, no... Hifumi-chan isn't actually late."

"Actually... I haven't been working for very long either."

Amamiya 'coolly' spun his chair around to face Hifumi, who was still pushing the door open, and then waved to her.

"There's no need to show such emotions... After all, it's just the two of us now, so there's no need to be so reserved, Hifumi-chan."

【~???~】

Carrying her uniquely styled Perolo backpack, Hifumi, seemingly relieved, quietly entered the room and closed the door behind her.

To say that I wasn't at all nervous... that's absolutely impossible.

Hifumi was a little nervous, not just because of her mistake of being late on her first day as a student on duty at Xialai.

Furthermore, it's because she... doesn't actually know much about what a "duty student" should be doing.

If it's just the literal meaning of what a duty student is supposed to do: simply cleaning the room, locking the doors and closing the windows after Xia Lai finishes working, and cleaning the room... then it's all fine.

But it is clear that the significance of the "Federal Investigation Department - Sharai" is far from simple.

"Don't worry so much, Hifumi-chan."

"You are gradually becoming more dazzling and different from others... So, you can try to gradually let go of your 'weakness'."

After inviting Hifumi, who was probably still shy and at a loss, to sit down in the duty room, Amamiya, amidst the increasingly tense fluttering of the 'little angel halo' above the girl's head, came behind her chair and placed a stack of several case files on the table in front of her.

"Since this is Hifumi-chan's first time handling official business, I'll try to teach her a bit and try to ease her emotions..."

With that, Amamiya equipped himself with the "Advisor" Persona.

'psona-Freud.'

[psona-Freud (Alcana: Advisor)]

[His real name was Sigmund Freud, one of the most famous psychologists in history and the founder of psychoanalysis.]

His theories established the important roles of factors such as the "collective unconscious," "dreams," and psychological conflict in mental health, and also laid the foundation for numerous subsequent mature psychological systems.

Perhaps the origins of that "other world" constructed from the collective unconscious, and those bizarre and fantastical palaces, are inseparable from the ideas of this psychology expert.

The blonde girl sitting in the chair with her back to Amamiya suddenly looked a little dazed.

She seemed to have a feeling that Sensei was guiding her from behind, and suddenly she became more gentle and profound.

"Then let's start with this..."

Hifumi, who had been slightly nervous, immediately regained her composure after seeing the Holy Trinity seal on the document.

After picking up the document and glancing through it, her tension grew increasingly serious.

'This is……'

Bullying incidents at Trinity College?!

Chapter Thirty: Trinity's 'School Bullying'

Compared to Ghenna, the Holy Trinity is indeed less chaotic.

But it must be said... although things aren't chaotic here, there are actually far more 'shady' things happening here than on Gehenna's side.

The impression given by Gehenna's side is 'if you're not convinced, then fight.'

The overall impression of Trinity is that 'bullying and discrimination are rampant,' and 'if you don't like it, I'll secretly mess with you and disgust you.'

Seeing that the first thing she needed to deal with was about Trinity, Hifumi had no choice but to take it seriously.

As an ordinary high school student whose appearance and grades were neither outstanding, she had certainly seen and understood this phenomenon.

However, she is the kind of person who is quite popular... relatively speaking, she has never been bullied.

Even so, she would occasionally be envied by some student cliques because of her 'popularity,' and they would secretly disgust her.

—It won't be brought to the forefront directly, but similar things really do exist.

"Regarding how to handle this issue... Hifumi-chan, do you remember what I told Ayane not long ago? And what we talked about in private before..."

"Hifumi-chan, the 'Faust' born from your heart is the embodiment of your rebellious spirit."

"This is a mask about 'good and evil'... a combination of darkness and light."

Amamiya's narration reminded Hifumi of the surging thoughts she had when she learned the truth in the other world not long ago.

And the words spoken when the Red Devil awakened.

"I am a spirit that is forever negating! Everything that comes into being is destined to be destroyed, so it is better for nothing to happen at all."

"You call this destruction, sin, or simply evil. This is my essential attribute."

Everyone has a dark side... and the vast majority of good people will suppress their dark side with their beliefs and willpower, and restrain themselves with morality and other noble qualities.

And some people... will choose to turn on that dark switch, imposing the stack's negative consciousness on others.

"Regarding this matter, what do you think should be done?"

Hifumi, whose mind was racing with various thoughts, snapped back to reality. She took a deep breath and then replied seriously, "We should... find a way to bring those perpetrators to their senses."

She neither wanted to nor immediately relied on the power of the 'other world'.

Because Hifumi also knew that the repentance of just one person or a few individuals would be of no use to the entire Holy Trinity movement.

Hifumi always felt that things shouldn't be like this.

It is absolutely wrong to rely solely on inner maneuvering such as 'repentance' to guide values ​​in the right direction.

The truly correct values ​​and morals should be that people believe in the power of repentance, believe that if they do evil, a phantom thief will steal their heart and indirectly restrain them from doing bad things.

Believe, and use it as a constraint... that's the right thing to do.

After thinking about this, Hifumi added another point, using all her words: "...At the same time, those who are bullied should also realize that they should resist, not submit."

A slight, reassuring pressure came from the top of my head.

The girl felt the young man behind her gently stroking the hair on the top of her head, and her heart began to beat faster and faster.

"Hifumi-chan is right. The significance of the 'phantom thief' has never been primarily about punishing evil—their main purpose is to bring courage to those who are 'bullied.'"

"Let them learn to be brave too—not always thinking of asking the Phantom Thieves to solve everything, but using their own strength to achieve their goals."

Feeling an unshakeable sense of security coming from behind, and the faint, unique fragrance of a tall, mature man, all sorts of chaotic thoughts began to surface in his mind.

"...Therefore, my advice regarding this small group of bullies is to make them 'repent,' while also finding ways to give the bullied children courage."

"Even if it's just temporarily establishing a false goal of a 'phantom thief group,' the most important thing is to make them feel supported and to teach them courage."

"Hifumi-chan, do you have any specific suggestions for revisions based on my feedback?"

“Hmm… Regarding ‘giving courage to the bullied,’ Sensei, I have some thoughts…”

Hifumi, who had been patted on the head, began to explain her views.

Simply trying to make the bully repent, no matter how many times it is done, is useless and a futile effort.

It's not just about making the bullies repent, but also about giving the bullied courage...

However, it is not possible to completely reverse the positions of the bullies and the bullied.

Hifumi has seen storylines like "the villain suddenly turns the tables, and then the good guy uses the villain to achieve his own goals."

"Every pitiful person has something hateful about them, and every hateful person has something pitiful about them."

Repentance is merely a temporary measure, like "giving a man a fish."

The real task should be to "teach them how to fish," meaning to teach them the correct and profound values ​​while resolving the issue.

He spoke fluently and concisely about what he thought of Hifumi almost without stopping, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

At the same time, she gradually felt a bit surprised by herself.

—It turns out that I'm not the kind of reckless person who 'falls on flat ground' or 'makes things go wrong'.

Do you have a clear and firm idea in your mind, and express what you think in your heart...? Is that how it feels?

My own change... is it because of Sensei's seemingly relaxing aura...?

"Hifumi-chan's advice is really helpful."

【~???~】

"If I could help Sensei, that would be great..."

After a dry laugh of "Haha~", the girl spoke very seriously and sincerely.

While discussing the issue of 'school bullies' at Trinity College with Hifumi, and dealing with several related incidents, it was almost eleven o'clock.

"Before we knew it, it was already noon... Fortunately, Xia Lai is still in the initial stage, and the tasks aren't too heavy yet..."

Behind the chair in Hifumi's "duty officer" position, Amamiya, who had been standing all morning, did a few stretching exercises to loosen her slightly stiff joints.

"Hifumi-chan, before we officially prepare lunch... shall we go to another world?"

"...Are we preparing to address the issue of 'school bullies'?"

Realizing what she needed to do next, Hifumi immediately became very motivated.

Having witnessed the beauty and hidden dangers of the 'other world,' Hifumi has gradually become fascinated by her activities in that world.

I feel like a masked hero from some tokusatsu drama, wandering "under the dark city"!

"Hmm." Amamiya nodded, got up and went to the window of the club activity room, pushed open the window and went out onto the balcony to look at the outside environment.

At midday, the sun, being at the cusp of autumn and winter, offers little warmth.

"If Hifumi-chan is ready, then we can set off at any time."

Hifumi initially wanted to answer that she was ready, but after a moment's hesitation and thought, she checked her backpack to make sure she had the supplies she needed for the battle.

“Um, Sensei… I still need to make some preparations.”

Amamiya watched as she rummaged through her backpack and pulled out all sorts of Perolo merchandise, including even limited-edition Perolo magazines.

How much does she like Pelolo...?

Amamiya couldn't help but gasp at the extent of this obsession.

"There's an Angel 24 convenience store downstairs. You can buy supplies there if you're short on them."

“Well…Sensei, excuse me, 4w other Japanese seem to be dismissed.”

After leaving those words behind, Hifumi left her backpack behind, pushed open the door to the Xia Lai Club activity room, and ran out.