I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Coming to her senses, Hifumi jerked away from Amamiya as if electrocuted, her eyes bulging with embarrassment as she frantically waved her hands, stammering, "I... I didn't... that..."

"It's just... the close contact with Sensei felt so good that I got a little carried away... ahhh~"

"What I mean is... about... staying overnight... let's save that for later..."

Amamiya let out an "Oh," clearly showing her disappointment.

"Is that so... It seems I misunderstood something."

Hifumi paused slightly, subconsciously recalling many moments she had interacted with Sensei—the time she was on duty in Xialai until very late, which resulted in a misunderstanding for various reasons…

(The Tower - Chapter 36)

Thinking of this 'such a similar scene', the girl felt a strange 'sweet feeling of déjà vu' in her heart.

That time, I misunderstood Sensei's explanation...

This time, however, Sensei misunderstood his own actions...

【~???~】

Suddenly, the awkward and flustered atmosphere dissipated considerably, and Hifumi felt her previously pounding heart become incredibly calm.

"I'm sorry... Sensei, we can't let you stay here tonight... otherwise, there will be problems..."

The thought of the consequences that would ensue if word got out that a student from Trinity College had invited Sensei to stay at their home made Hifumi resolutely determined her mind.

After firmly establishing her position, she then asked with some curiosity, "But before we part, I have a few more questions I'd like to ask..."

"Um...Sensei, do you have any special thoughts on the 'melee weapons' used by everyone in the cram school club?"

Amamiya pondered the Phantom Thieves' equipment for a moment before speaking.

"For melee weapons, just choose one that feels comfortable and suits your fighting style. You don't need to completely copy me and use the same short sword and pistol as your standard equipment..."

In fact, the Phantom Thieves' weapons are a wide variety.

Aside from Amamiya's dagger, Yusuke's katana, and Morgana's greatsword, the other members of the Phantom Thieves...

They wielded either spiked clubs or baseball bats; or soft leather whips; some even carried two-handed axes, lightsabers, rapiers, or brass knuckles.

"If we're talking about Azusa or Haru, I really can't think of anything they would use as melee weapons... However, if the target is Hanako, I have a recommendation that she might really like."

Hifumi blinked curiously, waiting for Amamiya to continue.

Recommendations for Sensei?

As a phantom thief who has used many weapons, his recommendations should be quite unique...

"My recommendation is... big scissors."

Amamiya gestured with her fingers to indicate the length: "It's probably a pair of large scissors that are still very conspicuous even when worn diagonally behind someone. Or something like a demon sword that can be carried on one side of the body."

Hifumi was stunned.

What kind of recommendation is this?

Trying to imagine enlarging the scissors several times... Hifumi simply couldn't imagine how she could carry such a huge pair of scissors to kill the shadows.

After the initial sense of absurdity and irrationality, Hifumi thought about it seriously again.

However, if you simply enlarge the blade of the scissors to about a meter long, roughly the size of a broadsword, then the scissors do indeed seem to qualify as a special type of weapon...

Moreover... scissors symbolize 'cutting', and the further meaning of cutting is exposure...

"Ah ha ha……"

Thinking of this, Hifumi sighed with a complicated expression: "It really is... a weapon that suits Hanako-san."

After temporarily settling on Hanako's melee weapon, Hifumi clasped her hands together and showed Amamiya a rather apologetic and flustered expression.

"Well, it's getting late..."

“Sensei… I also need to prepare weapons and equipment for my other comrades…”

Amamiya understood perfectly, and instead of taking it any further, he greeted Hifumi and left gracefully.

Compared to Yuka, Hifumi was much easier to win over... but the difficulty of actually "winning her over" actually increased.

'...Now it's time for free evenings.'

'We can have one more activity in the evening... What should we do?'

While pondering their first encounter at the palace and their strategy, Amamiya casually pulled out her phone and opened MomoTalk.

[Saori: Sensei, do you have any plans to explore the Palace of Heaven recently...?]

'...'

[Aru: Sensei, the convenience store is moving soon, as a partner, do you want to check it out?]

'...'

[Utahara: Sensei, a new junior colleague recently joined the engineering department, and she said she wants to meet you...]

[Utahara: Also, the final stages of development for 'Erpis' are complete. Sensei, after the exhibition, you can have that AI friend 'inject consciousness' into it.]

A new junior colleague joined the engineering department? And wants to see me?

Amamiya was genuinely a little surprised, raised an eyebrow, and highlighted the message.

'...'

[Azuko: Sensei, I'd like to talk to you privately.]

Amamiya glanced at Azuko's chat page and noticed several "messages have been retracted" notifications.

If a message has been repeatedly retracted, it means that the other party must have something very complicated to say that is difficult to express in words, but has failed to do so after several attempts.

Yajinzi probably treats her private chat interface like a confessional, venting space.

After replying to each of these messages, Amamiya replied to the message sent by Utahara with the message: "I'm a bit busy lately, let's choose another time in a few days."

Finally, he opened Ajinko's chat interface.

It's time to learn more about this 'Princess of Arius'...

Chapter Thirty-Four: I love Azuko the most!

As dusk fell, the last vestiges of warm light were slowly fading away.

The area where Amamiya is currently located—Trinity—has naturally entered night, with lights illuminating the interplay of day and night.

With her backpack slung over her shoulder, Amamiya strolled through the relatively quiet self-governing areas of Trinity Church that evening, greeting every tea party student, justice committee student, and sister friar she passed.

When minor conflicts occasionally arise among students for various reasons, he will also help one side to de-escalate the situation, depending on the circumstances.

Good evening, Sensei~!

Amamiya, who had been focusing most of her attention on the screen, temporarily withdrew her gaze and smiled gently at a black-haired girl who, encouraged by her companions, was drawing out her voice in the direction of the sound source. She waved in response.

"Good evening... Judging from your uniforms, you must be members of the Justice Committee, right? You must have worked hard today too."

After casually unleashing a [Medirama] spell with no special effects on them, Amamiya waved to them again and then gently said, "Goodbye~".

'Wow... Is that Xia Lai's Sensei?... He's so handsome, I like him so much...'

'How could he be so gentle! He even helped us recover from our fatigue in an unbelievable way…'

'This doesn't seem like what Gerina's rumors say about her being interested in small-sized students at all...'

'I'm increasingly convinced that the rumor that "the heart-stealing thief" refers to stealing our girlish hearts is absolutely true...'

Catching the positive feedback notes from these justice committee students, Amamiya carefully considered his words and replied to Azuko's message.

[Amamiya: In such a vast city, there will always be a few extremely special individuals who experience loneliness and uncertainty about the future at times like these.]

[Amamiya: Only at times like these can 'lonely' souls more easily feel each other... the warmth and light they can bring to one another.]

There seemed to be a brief silence on Ajinko's end.

[Azuko: Sensei, so you... aren't asleep yet?]

[Azuko: Sorry, it seems I've disturbed Sensei...]

After waiting for about one or two minutes, Amamiya received another message from Azuko.

[Azuko: Sensei, are you interested in things like 'cultivating flowers'?]

Amamiya could roughly 'guess' that at that moment, the girl, hiding under the covers and curled up slightly, typed those words with the tentative, joyful yet nervous tone of a child wanting to share their most cherished possession with you.

[Amamiya: Of course, I'm very interested in 'plant cultivation'... buying nutrient solutions for plants, carefully removing pests, tending to them like an artisan, and helping them survive the four seasons.]

Thinking of the 'bonsai' stored in the attic on the second floor of Leblanc that could still survive resiliently even without her care, Amamiya thought to herself, if it comes to 'plant cultivation'... she might actually know a little bit about it.

Cultivating potted plants can enhance one's "thoughtfulness" through careful care of the plants—it's an essential part of that.

[Amamiya: Watching the little ones gradually 'grow up' sometimes gives me a sense of accomplishment, or even a feeling of relief, that I don't know why.]

'...'

[Azuko: ...Is that so?]

[Azuko: Sensei, how do you view the relationship between 'flowers' and 'craftsmen'?]

That's a very philosophical question...

Amamiya understood Azuko's 'hidden meaning'.

Although the question is about the relationship between florists and flowers... in reality, it reflects the situation at the Arius branch campus and its current state.

After thinking for a short while, Amamiya decided to switch to voice messages directly.

"The relationship between 'flowers' and 'craftsmen'... is indeed complicated. Akiko, before I want to know the answer to this question, I need to ask you a question first—do you think that the flowers bloom specifically for the craftsmen because they were cultivated by them?"

After a voice message was sent, the girl on the other end of the communication remained silent for several seconds.

Then, Amamiya heard the girl's voice, tinged with a sense of loneliness, coming through the receiver.

"No..."

Amamiya nodded and then sent a voice message: "Flowers bloom because of the convergence of natural laws, not because of the gardener's cultivation—flowers bloom for the sake of life, not for 'glorious death'."

"I have seen tiny lives growing tenaciously in the cracks of the floor and felt the greatness conveyed by those tiny lives."

"I have also seen brightly colored flowers that have grown in greenhouses for generations, but wither quickly when taken out of the greenhouse."

"The flowers are indeed beautiful, but they are confined to the special environment of a 'greenhouse.' Brilliant yet fragile."

“The artisans don’t care why the flowers bloom or why they are beautiful… They simply select the ‘more valuable’ flowers, decorate them more specially, so that they can be sold at a higher price and then die at a higher price.”

After sending the voice message, Amamiya waited a little while longer.

About three or four minutes later, Yajinzi sent a message that seemed to express either relief or some other emotion.

'...'

“Sensei…I think I understand.”

Immediately afterwards, Amamiya received a voice call request—undoubtedly from Azuko.

After clicking "agree," the camera briefly refocused.

A girl with light purple hair and red eyes sat on a desk that had just been cleared out not long ago, smiling at the camera as the winter evening breeze blew in.

"I'm sorry... Sensei, please... forgive my willfulness."

After managing a slightly unnatural smile, which seemed to come from not having smiled in a long time, Azuko looked intently at Amamiya through the screen.

For her, fairy tales and stories with happy endings seemed a bit too distant...

But it's different from before.

They are no longer the 'bound ones' who struggled through the fog of lies and suspicion, only to eventually sink into the mire.

They are now... 'rebels' determined to rebel against the entire unorthodox future.

Now... they stand at the starting point of their journey, only needing to overcome the final psychological hurdle—

They rebelled against the "Madam" (Beateritchie), who in a sense had raised them for several years.

And this is also the 'special topic' that Ajinko is currently considering the most.