I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"If Sensei feels she can't keep going... um~"

Yuka gently tapped her chin with her index finger, then sighed, looking utterly helpless.

"...Let's wait a while. Once things have calmed down after the millennium, I'll help Sensei more..."

"Then thank you, Yuka..."

Amamiya paused, about to say something to express her gratitude, then changed her mind: "...No need to thank me. After all, there's no need to thank me for things like 'sharing hardships' and 'supporting each other through thick and thin'."

Yuka blushed immediately.

'Sharing weal and woe' and stuff like that...

She was well aware, of course, that this was a four-character idiom from the Classic of Mountains and Seas—and its meaning was rather unique.

Perhaps this is quite fitting to describe my current 'special relationship' with Sensei...

【~???~】

With a feigned 'tsundere' expression, Yuka tilted her head at a 45-degree angle, glanced at Amamiya, and then 'honestly' mumbled an 'hmm'.

"Um...Sensei, it's getting late."

"I need to confirm the official business that Xiaoxue is handling... so I'll leave now."

Just before she turned to leave, Amamiya called her back.

"What's wrong, Sensei...?"

"To avoid suspicion, let's keep one of those two vouchers. That way, we can have a reasonable explanation for Noah later."

Yuka thought about it and agreed.

After all, this coupon was given to her by Noah... and even if she didn't say anything, she would know and could probably guess what she had done today...

Rather than saying nothing and letting Noah suspect or tease him, it's better to be 'direct' and use a ticket to shut down Noah's inquiries, clearly telling Noah that he's going on 'vacation' today.

After thinking it over, Yuka placed one of the tickets on her desk, letting Amamiya tear up the ticket stub, and then drew a "redeemed" symbol on it.

That solves the problem...

After carefully putting away the ticket stubs with the drawings, Yuka put all the hand-drawn tickets in her wallet and then quickly left.

After watching Yuka leave, Amamiya sat on the sofa for a short while, then stretched and got up, intending to see if he had any invitations for the evening.

Let me see if there's any noteworthy information today...

Who should I invite today...?

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Dessert Girl of the Dessert Department

At night, at least visually, Kivotos is probably no different from the 'Night City'.

As a 'heart-stealing phantom thief', Amamiya has become accustomed to wandering alone through the bustling city streets at night.

Opening her phone, Amamiya familiarly navigated to the MomoTalk chat interface and quickly checked the day's new messages—

Well, the news is more than just a lot; it's coming in like snowflakes.

[Mary: Sensei, if you'd like to come and pray at the Holy Trinity Cathedral tonight... you're welcome to come.]

[Mary: There's more time in the evening, and the cathedral is quieter...]

[Mary: [Praying.jpg]]

'What a warm and kind child... Although the arcane he possesses is a star, it actually gives off a feeling of the sun.'

The news that came into view reminded Amamiya of the 'cat nun' he had met at Trinity not long ago.

Back then, he often went to church in the evenings to try and get closer to Togo Ichifumi...

[Saori: Sensei, about our team...]

"...Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've seen Saori's team."

[Nagisa: Sensei, do you have some time recently? Our reception for your last visit to Trinity was far too rushed… If you have the time, I would like to invite you for a formal visit.]

'...Is this a formal visit? Or is it going to be one of those aristocratic tea parties again?'

[Weihua: Sensei, are you free? I'd like to meet up with you to discuss something...]

'This "princess" has also messaged me... How should I approach her?'

[Saintia: Fate... it's truly a 'mysterious thing.' Will the future we've glimpsed be altered by a 'deceitful trickster who deceives fate'?]

[Saintya: If you wish, please come find me at another time.]

'Speaking of which... how exactly does she achieve that unique ability to create dreams?'

In addition to the students Trinity currently knows, Amamiya has also received several friend requests.

Among them was [Hanako Urawa], who was applied for through Nikumi's 'pushed' friend card;

Some recommendations came from friends via Hasumi: [Kensaki Tsurugi], [Nakasho Ichika], [Shizuyama Mashiro]...

There's also new news from the Order of the Rescue Knights...

Amamiya glanced at them and accepted all the friend requests.

"Let's check with Gehenna's assistants again. Have there been any new developments lately..."

After reading the messages from Trinity, Amamiya looked directly at the chat category for Gehenna's students... and as expected, there were many messages.

[Chinatsu: Sensei, I heard that a hot spring recently opened at Gehenna Academy... Sensei, want to try it out? [Attached: Hot spring address]]

'Are you kidding me? You're inviting me to a hot spring right off the bat?'

[Haruka: Sensei, about the discovery of plants...]

'By the way, I wonder how the collaboration between Convenience Store 68, represented by Haruka, and the Engineering Department is going...'

'Sophia's body should have entered the 'experimentation phase' by now, right? It's time to go check on the engineering department...'

[Iroha Natsume: Sensei, this is my selfie today~ [Attached image: Iroha's selfie.jpg]]

'...What is this? A selfie every day, trying to 'seduce' me? Could it be some kind of honey trap...?'

After looking at these invitation messages for a while, Amamiya Kokoro said that she already had enough to do.

Should we go to Ghenna or Trinity and enjoy its nighttime scenery?

After a moment's thought, Amamiya finally decided to go check on Trinity first.

After all, I've only just begun to learn about this academy...

Amamiya did not reply to the invitations sent by the students of Trinity. He planned to go directly to the academy to see if he could find one or two people worth befriending and helping him, just like he had done with Mary before.

With her shoulder bag slung over her shoulder and her things packed, Amamiya walked alone into the thinning night.

Taking the nearly empty evening train, Amamiya traveled to the Trinity Self-Government District for the night—he did not go directly to the campus.

After all, the campus should be closing at this time of year.

Every now and then, Amamiya would stop and take a look, roughly surveying the streets and clusters of buildings with their distinctively modern, antique-style pointed roofs that belonged to Holy Trinity.

As he passed by a dessert shop, he encountered the girls he had met once before. They always seemed to be in groups of four and appeared near the dessert shop.

Amamiya did not greet them immediately, but kept a certain distance and observed the 'four-person team' from afar.

Wow~ Is this a Christmas candy cane?!

One of the girls, with long, straight black hair and a very gentle voice, looked out from the shop window and sighed.

"When you see this, you get a sense of déjà vu like, 'Oh, it's Christmas again.'"

Amamiya looked at the girl who spoke, following the sound—clearly, she was an 'assistant' recognized by the [Third Eye].

【Kurimura Airi / The 'Mint Girl' of the Confectionery Club】

Arcana: Angel of Revelation

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'This card...'

'A card from the Etteila Tarot deck, equivalent to Temperance of the Major Arcana.'

Minty girl...

The dessert department, coupled with the nickname 'Mint,' made Amamiya vaguely guess that negotiating with them might be like 'eating a mint candy,' with a refreshing and sweet feeling.

"Hmm~"

A short, blonde girl with pigtails next to her nodded in agreement, then lowered her head and pondered, "What should we eat for Christmas..."

【Konomi Ibaraki/Strawberry Girl from the Dessert Department】

【Arcana: V.The Chariot】

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

The chariot of the Holy Trinity has finally appeared...

Amamiya pondered for a moment, and realized that she was probably the fifth "Chariot" card assistant Amamiya had encountered after Iori, Maki, Momoi, and Shirako.

Perhaps it's a coincidence, or perhaps it's some kind of special accident, but in each academy, there's always a 'Chariot' card that performs differently.

"What would you like to eat? When it comes to Christmas, of course... gingerbread men; turkey; beef stew, and..."

Standing next to Hao Mei, the girl with long pink hair, also styled in pigtails, seemed to be craving something, and stopped halfway through her sentence, her words slightly slurred.

【Yuzu Natsumi / The 'Cookie Girl' of the Dessert Club】

[Arcana: The Pope (L'Hiérophante)]

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'this……'

Amamiya was surprised.

This was only the second time he had seen a student with the Hierophant's Card (the first Hierophant's Card was held by Utahara).

It's important to understand that the 'Pope' can, in a sense, also be considered a symbol of 'teacher,' 'philosopher,' and 'explorer'...

Perhaps, this is a philosophical young woman?

"You guys..."

The only girl in the group with short hair, who seemed out of place, sighed and said somewhat helplessly, "Our budget is already insufficient to support the rest of this month's activities, isn't it? Let's just bear with it for a few more days and wait until next month..."

【Kazusa Kyoyama / The 'Dark Chocolate Girl' of the Confectionery Department】

[Arcana: L'Empeur]

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

Wow...

He appears gentle and has a relatively easygoing demeanor... but the Arcana he possesses is that of an emperor who is relatively masculine, strong, and authoritative...

The emperor's assistants usually have some strange life errors in very minor ways—so, what about her?

After observing them for a while, Amamiya took the initiative to approach them, intending to speak and try to greet them.

However, as soon as he got closer, the cat ears on the 'dark chocolate girl's' head twitched as if she had sensed something.

Immediately afterwards, she turned around with a sharp and alert look—after discovering the source of the sound, she immediately suppressed her terrifying aura and became lazy.

"Oh...it's Xia Lai's Sensei."

With a gentle smile, Kazusa waved to Amamiya, then calmly put her hands back into her jacket pockets.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kazusa Anyama from the After-School Sweets Club... To be precise, all four of us are members of the sweets club."