I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Following Kazusa, the other three girls each displayed different expressions.

Xia looked like a child who had just discovered a new toy, her eyes sparkling as if she were thinking about something.

"Eh~"

Hao Mei was somewhat surprised and flustered: "Sensei?!"

The one who acted the most serious was Ellie.

She glanced at her companions with a slightly helpless expression, as if she didn't know what to say, before introducing herself in a soft voice: "Um... I'm Kurimura Airi. Sensei, nice to meet you..."

The girls reacted in various ways: some were indifferent, some were curious, some were friendly, and some were embarrassed.

Without exception, they all showed considerable curiosity about Amamiya, who had suddenly approached them.

"Sensei, what can I do for you?"

Amamiya hesitated for a moment, then did not immediately answer Kazusa's question, which carried a hint of wariness.

"There are indeed some things..."

After vaguely expressing her intentions, Amamiya looked up at the window of the dessert shop, whose prices were obviously outrageously high.

"It's about Xia Lai... Shall we go inside and talk? I'll treat you to dessert."

After a brief moment of awkward silence, the girls happily accepted Amamiya's abrupt invitation, which sounded like, "My car has air conditioning, why don't you come in and sit for a bit?"

After having the robot waiter deliver the order, Amamiya didn't waste any more words and chose to 'get straight to the point'.

"Is such that……"

“If you know Xia Lai, you should also know that Xia Lai is still in a state of ‘everything waiting to be rebuilt’... There is a far from enough manpower and resources to support its operation.”

"Could you... join Xia Lai?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: My Fat Cat!

"Join... Sharai?"

The girl, dressed in a red and white sailor uniform with a glimpse of her thigh peeking out from between her knee-high socks and skirt, blinked: "Sensei..."

"...Why did you invite us to join us on our first meeting?"

Xia's question was also the question in the minds of the three girls in the confectionery club—

Why them of all people?

If the intention was to invite a small number of Trinity students and Ghenna students to join Shalai, they could have directly invited members of a more 'powerful' organization like the Justice Fulfillment Committee, or even directly invited members of the Tea Party to show their sincerity.

But why their dessert department, which has relatively little fame and recognition?

Such an abrupt 'invitation' made the girls even suspicious—thinking that this Sensei might have acted on impulse because of 'lust at first sight' or some other reason... or something like that.

Although, the majority of rumors about Sensei are currently positive...

However, in some relatively secretive 'underground forums', strange and bad rumors have occasionally circulated.

For example, 'Sensei is actually someone who can easily steal students' hearts and make them fall hopelessly in love with him—that's what the so-called heart-stealing phantom thief really means.'

For example, 'He joined the Phantom Thief of Hearts, became a Persona manipulator, and then regarded Sensei as the prince of his life...'

For example, 'Sensei uses his ability to steal hearts to infiltrate the students' inner worlds and do some lewd things... then when the students enter their dreams, they will have those kinds of dreams...'

Sensing the girls' doubts, Amamiya sighed, placed her hands together on the table, leaned forward slightly, and said earnestly, "You must be wondering right now, 'Why you?' right?"

After a slight pause, Amamiya made a "I have to tell the truth" expression.

"That's because... actually, I have a very special ability."

As she spoke, Amamiya slowly took off her non-prescription glasses, revealing her sharp gaze.

"Due to personal reasons, I have developed a very special 'observational ability'... In my opinion, you are all students with great 'growth potential'."

After saying this with a meaningful tone, Amamiya began to 'order', ordering a Mont Blanc and a coffee.

After ordering, Amamiya pushed the 'menu' in his hand to Kazusa, who was sitting directly opposite him.

Xia, who was sitting opposite her, immediately took the initiative to approach her—in contrast, Hao Mei and Ai Li showed different degrees of hesitation.

However, Amamiya could tell that the two girls' 'hesitation' stemmed from their different mindsets and personalities.

The blonde girl with twin ponytails, wearing a red sports jacket and carrying a large shoulder bag whose contents were unknown, was definitely a tsundere, judging from her petite figure and her temperament that seemed ready to explode at any moment.

This kind of temperament reminded Sanwu Qijiu Liusan Yugong of a description of the female protagonist in an anime he had seen outside of Giwatos—

【Adorable Tiger in Your Palm】.

Speaking of which, this character was voiced by the famous voice actress Rie Kugimiya, and is one of her most well-known roles. She is grouped with three other characters as the "Kugimiya Four Moe".

"Well……"

Komi seemed to subconsciously want to bite her fingers, or perhaps she wanted to make some other cute gesture, but after letting out a soft "woof," she ultimately didn't go over.

As for Ellie...

Amamiya could sense from her 'mint-like refreshing' temperament that the other person had the kind of... childhood friend, girl-next-door 'little angel' vibe.

In Kivotos, a group of students who are almost all 'abnormal'... she looks as normal as an 'ordinary high school girl' (JK) outside of Kivotos.

Her eyes were clear, her demeanor gentle, and her expression towards her companions held a hint of worry—clearly, she was concerned that her companions might take this opportunity to 'rip off Sensei handsomely,' thus affecting Sensei's personal life...

"Well, since Sensei is in charge of this order, then I won't stand on ceremony..."

Xia's eyes lingered on the menu for a moment before she selected 'Chocolate Butterfly Cookies [Deluxe Pack]'.

One, two...

One serving is available to eat fresh, and the other can be taken away.

"Oh……"

Amamiya raised an eyebrow, surprised, and said, "I didn't expect it to be 'chocolate farfalle'... I thought the 'confectionery club' was a club made up of students who liked all kinds of pastries or candies."

"The so-called desserts are a very broad category..." Hao Mei glanced at him and raised her voice to correct him, "Is it that Sensei's understanding of the field of desserts is still insufficient?"

Amamiya smiled gently: "After all, at least in my opinion, this is a field that only girls of this age understand... Before I came into contact with you, I naturally had no opportunity to learn about it."

【~???~】(From HaoMei)

'Unlike the rumors...surprisingly, she's quite approachable...'

I tried to reply with a sharp remark, "How beautiful," but all I got was Amamiya's seemingly impenetrable smile. I gained some new insights into Sensei, whose popularity has never waned.

After Natsu placed her order, she handed the 'electronic menu' to Kazusa.

After Kazusa accepted the dessert, she didn't immediately choose her favorite. Instead, she thoughtfully glanced at Amamiya, who seemed to have a very approachable demeanor.

'Very promising...'

What exactly does Sensei mean by potential?

Perhaps it was her previous experience as a delinquent girl that gave her a 'natural sensitivity to ruthless characters,' or perhaps it was the unique danger sense of a feline—Kazusa always felt that the Sensei in front of her was not as simple as she had initially perceived.

a kind……

It felt like I'd found someone like me.

Unlike the other three members of the dessert club... Kazusa also sensed a chaotic beauty in Amamiya, as if 'all the romance and beauty had been utterly destroyed'.

I also smelled a strange aroma that was completely different from the dessert, an aroma that made me feel hot and bothered just by touching it.

(Wakazama's Bond Skills: Frenzied Snow Moon Flower + Enchanting Aura)

After their eyes met, Kazusa hurriedly lowered her head, using her strikingly highlighted short hair bangs to conceal her vision.

【~???~】(from Kazusa)

"I'll have a macaron..."

Glancing at Hao Mei and Ai Li, who hadn't spoken yet, out of the corner of her eye, she naturally handed them the 'electronic menu'.

"This is Sensei's sincere offer, so please order some desserts you like as well."

"Opportunities like this don't come often."

Under Kazusa's 'hint', Yoshimi also relaxed her guard and temporarily suppressed her awkwardness towards the 'stranger'.

"Hmm...then...this limited-edition 'Special Mille Crepe Chocolate'."

After placing the order, Hao Mei handed the 'electronic menu' to Aili, who hadn't said a word or even made any small movements.

After a moment of confusion, Ellie seemed to realize that not ordering now might be a form of 'being out of place' or 'rejecting Sens's good intentions'.

After picking it up and looking at it, she hesitated before ordering a dessert that she really liked but wasn't too expensive.

"Let's choose... 'Mint Fireworks Caramel Mousse'."

Amamiya took out a gold card from his jacket pocket and swiped it to pay the bill with great ease.

“Let’s continue with the previous topic… I’ve noticed that you have a lot of ‘special potential,’ so I would like to invite you to join Xia Lai.”

As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to be grateful, and he who takes another's money is bound to be obliging."

After accepting Amamiya's kindness, the girls in the confectionery club gradually lost all remaining wariness towards him.

"You should also know something about the Eden Treaty, right..."

Kazusa was slightly taken aback, not immediately understanding why Amamiya brought up the 'Eden Treaty'.

But then she realized something.

"...Sensei, what do you mean?"

Subconsciously lowering her voice and adopting a serious tone, Kazusa's words carried a hint of caution: "...'Prepare in advance' or something like that?"

"That's right..."

Amamiya waved to her, then shook her head at the other three girls who had unconsciously become serious.

Under their watchful eyes, Amamiya slowly said, "Although the Eden Treaty is a good thing for both Gehenna and Trinity... I just have a feeling that 'something might go wrong,' or 'someone might interfere'..."

“At that time, Xia Lai may need to step in to mediate or even strike a balance.”

"It is obvious that at that time, it would have been impossible for Xia Lai to use forces such as 'Gehena's Disciplinary Committee' or 'Trinity's Justice Committee'."

Kazusa responded with an "oh," thinking to herself that there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

But that's normal...

The dessert department is indeed 'somewhat marginalized'... but perhaps it is also more suitable for making adjustments at crucial moments?

"So, what do you think?"

It's still time to 'wait for the food to be served'.

The girls in the dessert department looked at each other, and after a moment, they came to a conclusion in silence.

Kazusa finally nodded solemnly: "We... are willing to join Sharai. To be on guard for Sensei's 'prevention is better than cure'."

[...I felt the trust from Kazusa.]

Coopation is now unblocked!

【Kyoyama Kazusa (Emperor) ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"We've finished discussing everything that needed to be discussed." Feeling the release of her new bond, Amamiya smiled contentedly. "Now, everyone, let's enjoy some dessert."

Chapter Twenty-Four: The First Day of Sharing a Bond with Yuka - 8000 (from the Dessert Club)

"I never imagined... that Trinity's spending level could be this terrifying..."

Looking at the text message indicating a charge of -154,400 from his credit card balance, Amamiya sighed.

Although as a 'phantom thief,' Amamiya has countless 'special ways' to get money... this terrifying expense of -8000 yen still made him feel a little pained.

At the same time, it also gave me a completely new understanding of the consumption level of Holy Trinity.

The daughters of Trinity are the richest students on average in all of Givortos... That statement is really quite true.

"Let me see if there's anything special planned for today..."