I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The angel chuckled sinisterly, then suddenly removed his gleaming silver plate armor and chainmail, placing the tattered armor on the ground.

"This is combat armor forged from mithril... It's useless for you to wear, but you can make a lot of money selling it to someone who knows its value."

This is not finished.

The angel, now only wearing one set of inner armor, fumbled around and pulled out a scepter from somewhere.

"It is said that this is a scepter of a high angel, forged from adamantite... It is a weapon I prepared in advance for my ascension. I will leave it to you."

Under Saori's dumbfounded gaze, the angel finally took out a seemingly ordinary but exquisitely crafted gold coin.

"These... are some coins I've collected."

"...Should this be okay?"

After giving away almost all of his "extra wealth," the angel nervously watched the four members of Arius's team.

"..."

Saori eventually gave up on maintaining the aiming and firing posture.

In her view, these beings, with their 'angelic appearance' yet embodying the evil desires of the human heart, didn't warrant any 'letting them off the hook'—

However, it is still very important to protect the reputation of Arius's squad.

They've already promised to release the people if they hand over their valuables, they can't just turn around and kill them, can they...?

Even if doing this allows you to acquire more loot at once, what happens afterward?

If the Shadows they encounter later all know that their team doesn't keep its promises, then if they catch the Shadows again, will the credit points they can extort and the information they can obtain decrease, or will it become false?

For the long term, Saori gave a tactical hand signal, indicating to the squad members to loosen the encirclement.

"..."

"Then, I'll retreat for now."

"...I will not report what happened here to 'Under the World Tree'."

After letting out a long sigh of relief, the 'angel' quickly spread its wings and left the encirclement.

"call……"

Saori stood there wiping away a cold sweat, thinking to herself, "Fighting against creatures from another world is really dangerous..."

Their previous experience in firefights was almost entirely useless here...

Without Sensei's command, they would likely have been caught completely off guard...

"Everyone has worked hard."

Amamiya walked up to Arius's group of four at the right moment, collected the angel's spoils, and handed them over to Saori.

First, there was the scepter. The heavy, solid metallic feel of it made Saori realize instantly that this thing was no ordinary object.

'Magical items from another world...'

'Will it fetch a high price like the artwork Sensei gave us before?'

“It can indeed fetch a high price…” Amamiya said leisurely, noticing that Saori was momentarily lost in thought. “However, it depends on how it is sold.”

Hiyori nervously and excitedly approached and tried to touch the armor that had withstood several direct sniper bullets in the battle, and was now damaged.

"It feels so thick... If we can't wear it... how many could we sell... hehehe..."

The cold texture was somewhat similar to that of firearms, yet also different... Hiyori unconsciously chuckled, seemingly already imagining how many full meals she could eat after selling these.

If we can sell it for a high price... we should be able to live a good life for quite some time, right?

At least I won't have to scavenge for food in the trash... nor will I have to chew on bland bean sprouts every day...

Ah... I wish Sensei's curry could be sold too, I could eat so many servings at once...

Ajinko, on the other hand, was curious about the gold coins left behind by the angel.

This small handful of gold coins was minted in a very special way, presenting an orange-gold or dark gold color. The reverse side features a "World Tree" symbol, while the obverse side depicts a magnificent building that seems somewhat similar to the iconic Trinity building.

It has a wonderfully thick and substantial texture that makes you want to handle it a few more times.

'Items from another world...'

It seems similar to objects in the real world, yet it's different...

It's such a unique feeling.

"Sensei, does this mean we've... defeated the enemy in another world?"

Misaki, who seemed indifferent to everything, looked at Amamiya and asked calmly.

"I guess so...their performance was quite good."

Amamiya hummed in agreement, then said, "However... it's too early to say that people will repent."

"so……"

Misaki tilted her head slightly and pulled up her mask.

【~???~】(from Misaki)

After helping the Arios squad gain more practical combat experience in the other world, Amamiya believed that their combat experience in the other world was almost sufficient.

After clapping her hands to gather them together, who were already somewhat exhausted, Amamiya announced that the 'exploration' had officially entered its second phase.

"Everyone performed well in the initial battle. Now, let's prepare to head deeper into the fog."

With a loot bag that was almost overflowing and required someone to deliberately collect it, Amamiya returned to the 'Foggy Rose Garden' with the four girls.

After trekking for a short while through the deserted city overgrown with thorns and shrouded in thick fog, the density of the surrounding fog and black thorns was gradually increasing.

After passing through the 'other side of the fog,' the view seemed to open up again—

Amamiya looked up and saw a building covered in moss and vines, almost entirely made of rose bushes and thorns...

"...The 'Sanctuary'?"

Amamiya frowned slightly, gazing at the strangely styled building with what looked like a church steeple from afar.

If nothing goes as expected...

This must be...

Beatrice's...palace.

Chapter 54 Misaki, do you have the courage to face death?

"This is……"

Gazing at the thorny 'palace' in the distance, Saori inexplicably felt a sense of dread that was almost soul-shaking.

Akiko pulled her hood down slightly, while Hiyori began to shiver a little.

Only Misaki still appeared indifferent at this moment—but from her slightly trembling palms and the sweat on her forehead, Amamiya could tell that this seemingly 'indifferent' girl was actually not at peace inside.

"This... is the 'temple' we were trying to conquer to steal desire."

Amamiya's calm and composed words surprised Saori for a moment.

Following the surprise came a spontaneous sense of admiration.

'So... stealing someone else's desires requires taking such a huge risk...'

'However, Sensei still resolutely resolved Abydos's predicament and helped Millennium Technology Academy eliminate trouble ahead of time...'

【~???~】(from Saori)

While expressing admiration, Saori maintained the rigor required for the mission.

Although she already had a general idea of ​​who the 'master of the hall' was, she still leaned closer to Amamiya to verify her guess and whispered, "Can you confirm who the master of the 'hall' is?"

Amamiya nodded.

"No surprise... This is Beatrice's Palace."

“As expected…”

"So, shall we storm the hall now?"

"It's not that simple..."

Amamiya shook his head, thinking to himself that even the 'Speedy Hall of Fame' wasn't so fast.

Even if you were to actually wield a max-level mask like Izanagi and unleash tens of thousands of proverbs along the way, the temple wouldn't be so easily breached.

Turning to look at Arios's team of four, Amamiya said seriously, "To infiltrate the Temple, you must first have the power to resist its twisted corruption..."

Saori had a sudden inspiration and immediately thought of one of the keywords in the 'publicly available information': "Persona...?"

Amamiya nodded: "Yes... it's 'Persona'."

"Without the Persona, it's fine for you to just move around in the Impression Space and the shallow layers of the Hall... But if you try to explore the Hall in depth, without the protection of the Persona, you can easily be corrupted and distorted by the negative consciousness of the Hall's master."

"In the end, they got lost in another world and became the shadow monsters that you had defeated before."

"Ugh—~!"

Hiyori was startled and involuntarily shrank back.

She could accept living in pain... but she absolutely could not accept becoming one of those terrifying monsters.

"So……"

Yajinzi's gaze remained fixed on the 'palace' that was so close yet seemed insurmountable.

The girl's crimson eyes were gentle and calm, seemingly devoid of any hatred or other emotions.

“Sensei…how do we acquire a ‘persona’?”

Amamiya did not respond to Azuko's question immediately, but began to ponder it.

The awakening of their personas ignites their will to rebel and tear off their masks—however, this approach seems unsuitable for them.

Beatrice's teachings of 'nihilism' have become a kind of spiritual poison, eroding their worldview. Under these circumstances, the only ones likely capable of igniting a rebellious will are probably Saori and Akiko.

For Misaki and Hiyori, the 'will to rebel by removing the mask' does not apply.

In this situation, you can actually choose a method that "everyone can do" to awaken your persona...

Having pondered this, Amamiya smiled meaningfully.

"Actually, it's quite simple... To make a contract with Persona, you have to have the courage to face death."

As Amamiya spoke, her gaze lingered on Misaki.

Noticing Amamiya's unusual behavior, Saori, Hiyori, and Akiko followed his gaze—and then they all expressed varying degrees of confusion.

Misaki is a 'quite negative' team member, and they all know it.

Why does Sensei see her that way?

Could it be... that she has the best potential to awaken a Persona?

As for Misaki herself, she seemed somewhat puzzled.

Upon sensing the earnest expectation in Amamiya's eyes, the girl felt a moment of panic and disorientation.

...I have never been looked at like that before.

Misaki, who was slightly lost in thought, then heard Amamiya's greeting.

"...Let's go, it's unlikely we'll be able to 'explore the temple' directly today."

"However, I can awaken your own 'personas'."

After recording the exterior of Beatrice's palace for the time being, Amamiya and Arios's team of four left the core of the mist.

On the way back, Amamiya casually sank his consciousness into the Velvet Room and used the power of [Creation] to summon Nyx, taking a piece of his 'skin' from this 'great mother planet of death'.

Then, along with His 'skin stratum corneum' and a piece of glowing lunar mineral, they kneaded and rubbed together, creating a twilight feather on the spot.

'Then, create the shape of a toy gun, insert a twilight feather as a trigger, and use the act of pulling the trigger to deepen the suggestion and fear of death, as well as the courage to face it...'

The students at Kivotos have a rather weak concept of firearms—playing 'Red Winter Roulette' with a pistol is nothing more than a pastime for them.

After all, even if you are hit hard on the head by a large-caliber handgun bullet at close range, at most you will only feel like you have been hit hard.

Therefore... Amamiya has reason to be certain that they possess a courage that ordinary people do not have, the courage to 'shoot themselves in the temple', a courage that is not afraid of death.