I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

【Lily Garden Saintia (Destiny) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"So……"

The girl smiled gently, her smile seemingly carrying a cunning characteristic unique to 'fox-like girls'.

"Sensei, is there anything else you need me to answer?"

Amamiya: "..."

He hesitated for a moment, just about to say something.

The next second, he felt himself being gently hugged by a 'small and cute blonde animal'.

"Huff...Huff..."

Amamiya's movements stiffened slightly, and then she heard the whisper in her ear of a girl who sat cross-legged on her lap like a fox, seemingly weightless.

"I am aware of your question... but I cannot answer it at this time."

"It is fate, it is destiny, it is beyond my control."

"If I were to tell you in advance... about 'fate,' wouldn't it lose some of the anticipation it should have?"

"So... let's keep this question to ourselves for now..."

"Sensei...no,"

“‘My Dea9J溜榴4V6奇玐谰?吧r’.”

Chapter Twenty-One: Alona: Sensei, I can't stand it if you don't go crazy!

"Sensei...Sensei...?"

The whispered voice of the AI ​​girl, carrying uncertain emotions, that rang in his ears finally brought Amamiya back to reality from his dream.

One of the two AIs spoke first, and the scene quickly evolved into a small battle for sovereignty.

"Jok, there's a special plan for today!"

"Sensei, you're even lazier than Alona... You're always so sleepy in the mornings..."

Listening to Alona's lazy complaints, who had recently boasted that she would "never talk to you again," Amamiya thought to herself, "If a normal person can maintain their biological clock with my current schedule, then I would definitely give her a thumbs up."

Every day, I have to travel around various colleges and universities, handling official business while also responding to invitations from students...

I'm starting to worry about conquering the Hall of Fame again... the workload is incredibly high.

If you can really get enough rest, it would be strange if you woke up according to your biological clock.

After getting out of bed and washing up according to her usual routine, Amamiya began to ponder the matter of the 'Palace'.

Regarding the 'Persona Manipulators', and the Impression Spaces and Temples of the Holy Trinity region; the connection between the Impression Spaces and Temples of Arios...

That's complicated.

After spitting out the mouthwash and casually putting away her toothbrush, Amamiya began to consider whether she should explore the 'World Tree Center' further.

Given my current 'profile' or rather 'recognition' within Trinity, I should be able to explore the deeper aspects of the Impressionist Space...

"Sensei...Sensei...?"

Alona's hesitant, soft call temporarily disrupted Amamiya's plans for the trip.

Amamiya snapped out of her reverie and glanced at the AI ​​girl she had placed on the stand for toothbrushes or toiletries. The girl, seemingly agitated and hesitant to speak, was separated from her by a screen.

"What's wrong, Alona? Is there anything else planned for today? Or is there something important going on with the Federal Student Council?"

On the tablet, Arona slowly shook her head, clutching the hem of her skirt, hesitating to speak immediately.

"It's...that... *sob*"

The shy AI girl hesitated for a while before suddenly bringing her cheeks close to the screen and poking her cheeks with her index fingers.

"Today... there's no... pinching my cheeks, and... teasing me...?"

Amamiya: ...?

"Arona, don't you dislike being teased? Last time I did it, you got angry and said you'd never talk to me again..."

“If Sensei doesn’t do this…Arona always feels like something’s missing…”

Amamiya remained silent.

So, you've made it a habit for me to get pinched on the cheek every day and then, feeling ashamed and indignant, hurl insults at me with words that seem to have never changed, like 'Sensei, pervert,' and 'H'?

For some reason, there's this awkward feeling of "Hurry up and go crazy, don't be so normal, I'm scared," or "I feel uncomfortable if you don't go crazy."

"Alright, alright... Since Alona wants this..."

Amamiya reached into the screen of the Shitei no Hako and rubbed Alona's cheeks, which felt like they had a creamy texture.

【~???~】

"Today, Alona will forgive Sensei's 'disrespectful behavior' for the time being... Please treat Alona well from now on."

So you've made demands now, haven't you?

Amamiya smiled helplessly and responded gently.

After settling Alona in, Amamiya began to handle affairs at her normal pace.

'How can I get closer to the children in the tutoring department and train them to become [Persona manipulators]...?'

While pondering, Amamiya suddenly received a highlighted MomoTalk message.

Alona, ​​who seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, noticed the message immediately. She leaned closer to the screen and tapped on the glass: "Ding ding—Sensei, I received an urgent contact?"

Amamiya immediately picked up her phone, and Sophia, who lived inside the phone, was not to be outdone, immediately popping up the MomoTalk interface marked as an important message.

"Jok, this is the sender of the emergency message. It's Nagisa Kirito from Trinity College."

[Nagisa: [Important message] Sensei... Do you have time today?]

[Nagisa: Regarding matters related to a 'formal visit'... I think it's best to be as 'etiquette-conscious' as possible...]

[Nagisa: It just so happens that I have something I'd like to talk to you about... It concerns a small part of what you previously learned about the students of Trinity College...]

[Nagisa: If you have time today, I would like to host a special 'welcome party' for you and the tea party members. What do you think?]

The important messages are highlighted in red – a special feature of MomoTalk…

This means that Nagisa's "intention" is very strong...

Amamiya narrowed her eyes slightly.

Considering that the temple of the Holy Trinity has begun to exude a fog of lies and grow thorns of despair in this environment of 'fear and unease'...

It's understandable that Nagisa would feel increasingly uneasy.

So... is this the "opportunity" that Saintia mentioned in her dream not long ago?

After squinting and thinking for a moment, Amamiya replied with a message agreeing to attend the tea party.

After the message was sent, Nagisa responded quickly.

[Nagisa: If Sensei has time... that would be wonderful.]

[Nagisa: Let's set the specific time... this afternoon...]

[Nagisa retracted a message.]

[Nagisa: ...Considering the time constraints, it's best to handle this as soon as possible...If Sensei, you have time now, please come to the tea party before 10 o'clock.]

Amamiya raised an eyebrow, closed the chat interface, and checked the system time on her phone.

It was early morning, and the winter dawn always carried a chill that went straight to the soul.

'...Let's go take a look.'

Without any hesitation, Amamiya headed to the Sharai residential area and drove Sharai's official vehicle all the way to Trinity College.

After parking his car in the 'open-air parking lot' in the self-governed area outside the Trinity campus, Amamiya noticed the grand spectacle that seemed to have been prepared in advance as soon as he got out of the car.

—This tea party was different from the one before Weihua.

This time, it seems almost all the tea party members were brought in to make a show of it.

Girls dressed in tea party uniforms and nun's habit stood scattered on both sides of the school gate, forming a temporary formation that was clearly meant to welcome special guests.

The 'white' of the tea party members and the 'black' of the nuns blended together in the morning light. The girls, dressed in two different styles, looked surprisingly harmonious and without any sense of conflict in their special formation.

The grand scale of the event gave Amamiya the illusion that he was a high-ranking official on an inspection tour.

"Sensei...! Welcome to Holy Trinity!"

As the girls lined the path to greet him, Amamiya instantly felt the intense, multifaceted gazes of these young women of his age focused on him.

After responding to their unified cheers with a nod and a smile without changing his expression, Amamiya entered the Trinity campus and immediately spotted a black luxury car parked on the side of the road.

Not to mention Trinity College, even some regular, large universities allow students to drive... although they generally don't allow students to drive to and from school.

A member of the tea party who had appeared at Nagisa's behest when Amamiya was taken to the tea party by Mika last time quickly stepped forward, gave Amamiya a simple greeting, and then approached Amamiya's side.

“Sensei…Lord Nagisa and the others are waiting for you at the tea party venue.”

"Please come with me."

Amamiya glanced at the other person with great interest—

Compared to other tea party members, this tea party member had a somewhat unique temperament.

Compared to the other noble ladies of Trinity, she was more like... someone similar to 'Izayoi Sakuya', possessing an aura somewhere between a maid and a noblewoman.

The halo is a bright purple color and is not a perfect circle.

It looks a bit like the aura that Amamiya saw in Darkest Dungeon, when a hero triggers a stress check when their stress level is 100 and then gets the "Virtue" aura.

He must be one of Nagisa's confidants...

Amamiya nodded to the unknown upper-class member of the tea party and then followed her.

This unknown girl calmly and perfectly fulfilled her duties as an official. She remained silent the whole way and led Amamiya to the 'tea party venue' in a very concise and elegant manner.

Just like last time, she escorted Amamiya to the porch and then stood aside without any intention of going in.

After giving her an encouraging look, Amamiya walked into the area that resembled a 'mansion' under her slightly surprised expression, and skillfully made his way to the second floor.

It was the same three tea party members again, and the same clear blue sky.

The tea table was already prepared, but tea had not yet been served because not all the guests had arrived.

Naturally, the preparation of pastries did not begin.

The three tea party members seemed to have no intention of chatting with each other, remaining silent.

More precisely... Mika wanted to find some topics to talk about, but Nagisa was 'resting with her eyes closed' and ignored her.

As for Saintia... she squinted her eyes, seemingly teasing the northern long-tailed tit that had landed on her sleeve.

'The situation at the tea party... seems a bit serious.'

After reflecting on this, Amamiya knocked on the balcony door, which was supposed to be designed as a glass door.

The chess player, who was resting with his eyes closed, immediately noticed the movement, slowly opened his eyes and turned slightly to the side.

“Sensei…Welcome.”

As soon as she finished speaking, two members of the tea party standing on the balcony approached the door. One of them bowed to her, while the other quickly opened the glass door to the balcony.

"Ah~Sen, Seni... um, I..."

“Ms. Weihua… I understand how you feel, but please don’t get so agitated and do anything ‘unladylike’.”

Nagisa coughed lightly, interrupting Mika.

He looked at Amamiya, his gaze lingering for a moment on a small bag that Amamiya had brought.

"...Sensei, do you also know anything about 'black tea'?"