I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Some shadows only listen to you when you've defeated them to the point of near death.

"Jok, let's go together."

Amamiya knew what Hifumi was implying.

"Since Copain likes to 'finish' his enemies this way... then..."

Holding the delicate, warm body of the girl who was flying towards him like a swallow returning to its nest, Amamiya maintained a one-handed princess carry posture, wrapping his arms around her inner knees.

After throwing herself into his arms, Hifumi also cooperated by wrapping her arms around Amamiya's neck to maintain her balance.

Come dance with me.

As he spoke, Amamiya's expression remained calm. The black and white smoky mask on his cheeks moved without wind, gradually dissolving into a phantom as Amamiya extended his grappling hook.

"Psona—Floros!"

'Bear!'

Accompanied by the sound of roaring flames suddenly rising, a strange creature with a red leopard head, resembling a bizarre 'humanoid leopard' standing upright on two legs, appeared, enveloped in flames.

Feeling the swaying and the lightness of moving nimbly between environments with the help of the grappling hook, Hifumi breathed a sigh of relief and summoned her Persona as well.

"Psona—The Angel of Power!"

Bathed in holy light, angels holding scepters descended to earth, flapping their wings.

Unlike before, this time the Archangel did not recite a hymn. Instead, he drew his sword and looked coldly at the demon Floros and the nearby fallen shadow.

"Confess your sin of irreverence. Pray to us—though we will not answer you when you are tormented by demons."

The demon standing on the ground let out a mocking scoff.

"I know your tragic past, I understand your pitiful present, and I will give you an even more hopeless future."

Angels and demons crossed paths, the black and red deathly aura representing curses and the holy radiance representing blessings clashing and annihilating each other—

Ultimately, the collision of black and white transformed into a star that fell from the sky.

Everything was like a miniature 'Genesis', a reenactment of the 'Final Battle'.

【Show Time - The Battle Between Good and Evil Re-enacted】.

Or it could also be called—【Supernatural Power: The Tango of the Unruly Messenger】.

'boom--'

After the scorching waves and blinding light brought by the dawn star falling from heaven dissipated, Yin Yang, whose body was blasted to pieces and was almost dead, lay on the ground.

Having completed her 'last dance' of tango, Hifumi, maintaining a dancer-like posture, exited from that incredibly beautiful 'Show Time' state, where it felt as if they were in perfect harmony.

With a gentle push from Amamiya, she spun around several times like a figure skater before coming to a steady stop in front of the fallen shadow.

"...Now, can you listen to us properly?"

Looking down at the shadowy figure lying on the ground, near death, the girl remained silent for a few seconds before asking in an annoyed tone.

"..."

"That's enough, that's enough!"

"I already know I was wrong...! I shouldn't have dared to provoke the phantom thief, and I shouldn't have ruined my relationships with everyone..."

"...I will sincerely repent!"

The other party's attitude of being arrogant at first but humble at the end made Hifumi pout helplessly.

Wouldn't it have been better to do this sooner...?

Admitting your mistake early will at least save you from a beating...

Why can't these shadows recognize reality?

"You know what you should do, right?"

"I know, I know!" The shadowy figure, nearly beaten to death, nodded hastily. "I'll return to reality right now and honestly repent for what I did..."

Before he could finish speaking, the shadow that had fallen to the ground vanished in a burst of light.

Hifumi slowly walked to the ball of light, squatted down, and picked up the ball of light that was gradually condensing into a solid object from the ground.

"This is... a pair of glasses?"

According to the premise that "the object that is transformed into by the repentant target is usually the source of their desire"... is her desire for glasses?

'...It seems there are indeed examples of people being ridiculed for wearing glasses and being nearsighted.'

"In that case... we've eliminated all the enemies, right?"

After carefully putting away the treasure, Hifumi straightened up and walked towards Amamiya.

"Another 'special request' completed... Phew, this is already... the 9th request related to school bullying..."

Hearing the girl's overflowing emotion and disappointment, Amamiya smiled in agreement, then said leisurely, "Correcting the atmosphere of Trinity is indeed... a long and arduous task."

【~???~】

"Even knowing it might be a difficult task... I will do my best to see it through to the end."

"You must be tired after resolving so many 'commissioned targets' in one go."

The girl held in Amamiya's arms did not feign coyness or deny it forcefully, but instead obediently hummed in agreement.

"Let's conclude the 'initial investigation' into the temple for now..."

Amamiya thought to herself that it was time to let the other three who had 'observed the whole thing' go back as well.

The investigation into the impression space of Holy Trinity has yielded initial results.

First, both the 'Mist' and the 'Black Thorns' expanded into the Trinity's Impression Space and affected the Trinity's Temple...

Secondly, the mist symbolizes lies, and the black thorns symbolize despair or nothingness... Although this is a 'guess,' Amamiya feels it should be a sure thing.

Finally... it's very possible that the Temple of Trinity really has been invaded...

As for the Temple of Arios, it is currently possible that it is an 'empty shell'—of course, we'll only know once we've been there.

So the next step in the plan is to contact Arius's team and embark on an exploration of the 'Foggy Rose Garden' temple together.

At the very least, we need to determine the whereabouts of [Shadow Beatrice].

After gathering her thoughts, Amamiya breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the slightly tired Hifumi, and left 'Impression Space' together.

'In order to open Hifumi's Impression Space as soon as possible, it seems I must make a trip to the Velvet Room with Laventa to scout out a new generation of assistants for the Velvet Room...'

Chapter 18 Shocking! Senior Meng is going to start the revival match?

As the sun sets, the tired yet fulfilled girl, having completed a day's 'phantom thief mission,' returns to the Trinity Self-Management Area, which she knows all too well.

After exiting the station, she headed straight for the Trinity College campus and the tutoring center—

'Phew... I feel like I did so much today...'

'Not only did I acquire a Healing Persona (Priest), but I also confirmed my 'unruly' potential... If I truly have the potential to summon more Personas, then this power... will surely be like Sensei's before...'

'The key to growing into an exceptionally strong individual, capable of relying on one's own strength, and reaching the future that everyone hopes for...'

Hifumi, barely feeling tired, ran all the way to the tutoring center and pushed open the classroom door.

In the tutoring department at dusk, three members, who also seemed to have sweat on their foreheads, were sitting in their seats in a daze.

They all showed varying degrees of fatigue; Xiao Zi's wings drooped limply, Xiao Chun's two pairs of small wings on her head and back were curled up, and she herself looked absent-minded, while Hanako had a thoughtful expression, as if she had been weighing things carefully.

Without exception... all three members displayed an obvious lack of focus and listlessness.

Hifumi pushed open the door to the tutoring center and looked at the scene before her, slightly puzzled.

……what happened?

Why do they look more tired than I am?

Did they do something even more tiring than 'operating in another world'?

After checking the blackboard and the traces of reading the textbooks of the three club members, Hifumi was able to confirm that their situation was not caused by over-studying.

Out of curiosity, Hifumi asked in confusion, "Um... what's wrong with everyone?"

In response, she was met with three sharp, piercing gazes that converged simultaneously.

After a silence of about ten seconds, Hanako spoke with a complicated expression: "Hifumi-chan... shouldn't we all be asking you this question together?"

Hifumi blinked: "Huh?"

"Hifumi-chan... your secret as a 'phantom thief'..."

"If you could tell us... could you tell us?"

Hifumi was jolted awake. After a brief moment of mental blankness, she learned what the other members of the tutoring club had gone through—

They definitely went to Xia Lai with me, and when I entered the other world, they accidentally wandered into it because they were nearby...

Wait, wait a minute...

If everyone saw everything I did when I went to Xialai, and even my activities in the other world...

Then wouldn't I be...?

Waaaaaaahh ...

Hifumi felt her cheeks flush instantly. She cupped her face, not immediately answering Hanako's pointed question, but instead lowered her head and whimpered, letting out a mournful cry like a cute little animal.

"Aww~ That, that..."

"Please don't look at me like that... I actually... and Sensei... are..."

"Hmm~ How should I put it…"

In a flustered and frantic attempt to explain herself and find a suitable reason, Hifumi was immediately interrupted by Hanako's 'spellcasting'.

With a soft chuckle, the pink-haired girl interrupted Hifumi's internal struggle of "No, no, no," "Oh, right, right, right," "Oh, no," "Oh, right, right!" with a quiet remark.

"Hifumi-chan, you don't want... Nagisa-sama to know about your special relationship with Sensei, do you?"

Hifumi was jolted and froze on the spot.

"Ugh~"

……

"Regarding the 'student-oriented' assistant in the Velvet Room..."

Back in Xia Lai, Amamiya was busy with her work for the day, her hands moving constantly as she pondered.

Each generation of Velvet Assistant corresponds to a generation of 'Unruly Messenger' with the [Unruly Qualification]... This is a subtle rule that has gradually developed within the Velvet Room.

Of course, there might be another reason why Ravenda emphasized this point so much—that is, Ravenda only wanted to be with Amamiya forever.

After finishing her work for the day, Amamiya took out the [Antique Prison Key] she had used before.

The reason why Lavenda did not open the entrance to the Velvet Room at the evacuation points of the Impressionist Space and the Palace is actually quite simple—because Amamiya now has a key that can open the passage to the Velvet Room anytime, anywhere.

Since people can enter Velvet anytime and anywhere, fixed entrances and exits are meaningless.

Amamiya took the key and made a key-insertion and key-turning motion in the space in front of him. Then, a light blue door appeared in front of him.

As soon as I reached out and touched it, the familiar clanging of chains and the ethereal hymn singing came from afar, just as I expected.

Wow... Wow...

"BGM: All Souls of All Humans"

“My dearest ‘My Trickst,’ the best man in the world… I have been waiting for you all along…”

A gentle, warm voice, carrying a deep sense of waiting and anticipation, and even giving the impression of an intimate, inseparable bond, came from afar.

After a moment of blinding whiteness, Amamiya felt as if she had pushed open the door of a coffee shop and heard the crisp 'ding-a-ling' of the doorbell.

The familiar view from the first floor of Leblanc Café comes into view.

Standing at the door, the elegant young woman, dressed in a blue velvet assistant outfit, immediately gave Amamiya a graceful bow.

Then, she let out a "Yay!" and threw herself into Amamiya's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Hehe... This kind of embrace, no matter how many times..."