I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Hehe... This 'strange' world is truly filled with a peculiar and unique aesthetic... I'm even more curious and want to explore it..."

“Sensei, what’s next…”

After letting out a long sigh, Akira stood beside Amamiya with a new look, looking intently at her: "Where are we going next...?"

“I’ve heard that… there are exactly three people in charge of the tea party, and this Ragnarok is going to trigger three ‘prophecies’ and make them come true… Now, where should we go?”

"No rush, we'll talk about that after we find the topographic map..."

After leaving the wilderness and dense forest, Amamiya and his group once again headed towards the steps below the 'World Tree'.

Soon, the group saw a place where holy light was falling from above, and arrived at the entrance of a magnificent church.

Hanako, who was extremely familiar with the interior of Trinity, immediately recognized the building as a reflection of the real world.

"Is this... a nunnery in the real world?"

It's truly amazing... buildings from the real world exist in another world in a peculiar way...

Zi, who was looking for any noteworthy clues in her surroundings, stood in front of a nearby bulletin board and looked up at it for a while.

"Found it. This should be a topographic map."

"This notice board..."

Hifumi immediately recognized it: "I remember... it was a bulletin board used by the Sisters to announce prayer-related matters..."

Amamiya leaned closer and saw a huge topographical map.

On the empty topographic map, several routes are marked, along with the final destinations corresponding to those routes.

The one on the left is marked with "Niflheim".

Standing to Amamiya's left, Akira noticed Amamiya's gaze and thoughtfully said, "The Land of Mist... according to the records, this is also the location of Nidhogg."

At the end of this line is a... dragon icon that looks like a chibi version of a character, and is impossible to tell what it is without a closer look.

Interesting... Has Mika become a 'poison dragon' here?

But why?

Is it because of its 'popularity'?

Amamiya then looked at the middle road, which was marked 'Deep in Midgard,' which was the central courtyard.

Standing in front of Amamiya, Hifumi tilted her head slightly and then spoke: "Deep in the central courtyard... does that mean we're going to face... that giant serpent next?"

Amamiya took a closer look—compared to Mika's abstract doodle, Amamiya at least recognized this one as a black teacup.

If it's a black teacup... then it symbolizes Nagisa?

The rightmost road is marked with the name "Asgard"; at its end is a depiction of a spring and a mechanical clock symbolizing destiny.

The spring water is a bit abstract, but if we're talking about the mechanical clock that hints at fate, and...

“If I remember correctly…” Hanako’s voice trailed off, “Asgard is the abode of the goddess of fate, Norn…”

A mechanical clock, and the goddess of fate...

Without a doubt, it refers to Saint Ya.

Thinking back to how Saintia dragged me into dreams twice for 'online gaming in dreams'...

After a moment's hesitation, Amamiya made a decision: "If I want a smooth future, I must first break free from that 'predetermined fate'..."

"So, let's go..."

"Confront your destiny."

Chapter 40 Zi, are you willing to "make peace" with yourself? (Seven)

"Is this 'Asgard'...? It looks quite... grand?"

Standing on high ground, with a panoramic view of the city below, Hifumi thought for a while before finally deciding to describe it as 'magnificent'.

As Fumi Hifumi said, what was presented to everyone was a magnificent 'mythical city'.

The overall tone is almost entirely composed of the 'rose gold' color that is commonly perceived, seemingly made of pure gold and various gemstones inlaid and embellished... Looking at it, the only words that come to mind are luxury and grandeur.

Amamiya withdrew her gaze and sincerely remarked, "It really is... almost identical to the impression given by Trinity College."

He must have climbed at least several of the great trees of desire and evil (the Garden of Eden).

But to say that he had never seen such a 'grand' city before, he was truly surprised.

Amamiya had no idea how the 'history' of Givotos was described.

However, according to what he knew, most mythological texts outside of Giwatos described Asgard as the territory of all the Aesir gods and some of the Vanir gods in Norse mythology.

According to legend, all the gods who worship Odin as their chief god live here.

The girls, all belonging to Trinity, reacted subtly and differently to Amamiya's 'gift of the outsider Givotos'.

Hifumi gave a soft, dry laugh, "Ahaha."

Hanako sighed softly;

Koharu gave Amamiya a strange look, as if she wanted to refute him, but couldn't find a good reason to do so.

Zi showed a clear longing and anticipation;

The most interesting thing was Akira. After hearing Amamiya's remarks, Akira silently pressed the half-face mask on her cheek.

After his reflections, Amamiya directly stated the purpose of this 'exploration mission': "The most crucial thing right now is to 'face fate.' Only by breaking free from our predetermined destiny will Ragnarok arrive..."

"Therefore, our current goal is to go to the 'Fountain of Urd' to find the [Goddess Norren]."

Even if the building is magnificent... one should still be careful.

This is, after all, the territory of the gods, where all sorts of strange "gods" and Odin's servants, the "Valkyries," are very common.

Hifumi led the team, with Akira, whose combat power was relatively weak, protecting Hanako and the other two who did not have Personas in the middle, while Amamiya stayed behind to cover the rear.

With this 'team composition', the group made their way into the city of Asgard.

It seems that no road planning was done (after all, the Protoss can fly), making it very difficult for Amamiya and his group to move among the various buildings of completely different heights and shapes.

Of course, we occasionally encountered several shadow patrol teams led by 'Valkyrie' along the way.

Unlike Amamiya, who leads her team to "kill the enemy on sight," Hifumi's chosen battle strategy is "fight if you can." If she encounters a "strong enemy" with a high risk, she carefully considers the team's situation before deciding whether to attack.

After more than ten battles in the other world, Hanako and her two companions gained a basic understanding of the battle rhythm of the other world.

—Not all shadow monsters are like the Valkyrie, troublesome creatures that guns can hardly harm.

A significant number of shadow monsters can be easily shot down by gunfire and fall to the ground.

The 'sweep' proceeded methodically, and after about an hour, the city clusters in front of them gradually thinned out, and a 'spring' that shone brightly in the strange light of the eternal dawn appeared in everyone's sight.

Even Hifumi, who was gradually becoming more adept at leading the team, couldn't help but feel a little delighted as she saw her goal within reach.

"Phew... the 'Fountain of Urd' is almost here."

Following behind the group, Amamiya quietly reminded them, "The closer we get to this point, the more we must not let our guard down..."

“After all, just like rabid dogs always guard key routes…” Jing, walking in the group, immediately agreed, “We haven’t encountered any major dangers along the way… Perhaps the ‘enemy’ already knew in advance and deployed forces at key locations, waiting for us to be captured.”

Xiaochun paused slightly, expressing considerable dissatisfaction with Jing's description: "We are doing something righteous... how can you say we've been caught!"

The little wings on her head fluttered as well—clearly, as a former member of the Justice Committee, she had reservations about Jing's words, which seemed to describe criminals.

“But…” Jing spread her hands, “Aren’t we doing the ‘stealing’ right now? We are indeed ‘thieves’ and ‘intruders’ here…”

Xiaochun: "..."

It really is.

She couldn't deny it.

'Stealing hearts can be considered stealing, and being a phantom thief can be considered thievery... So, as a member of the Justice Committee, is it really acceptable for me to do something that is 'nominally' righteous but is actually despicable?'

Thinking this to herself, Xiaochun suddenly noticed that Zi had fallen silent since earlier, as if she was pondering something.

Just as Xiaochun was about to ask Azusa how she was doing, she suddenly bumped into Hanako, who was walking in front of her.

"...?"

Startled, she instinctively looked up—the scene before her caused her pupils to tremble, leaving her speechless.

Near the vast open space of 'Uld Spring', there were countless figures, almost covering the entire hillside, that looked like the shadows of students.

They wore relatively tattered white knee-length skirts, gas masks, and armor with bulletproof plates. Almost without exception, they were all blonde with twin ponytails.

Just as Koharu was about to cry out in surprise, Amamiya, who was walking behind her, covered her mouth.

"Ah...uh...!"

Her pupils dilated suddenly, and the sound Xiaochun was about to cry out turned into a muffled sob. Her movements froze in disbelief, and her cheeks flushed crimson.

Xiaochun was just about to do something when she was interrupted by a soft shushing sound from the side of her ear, signaling for quiet.

'babble……!'

'I was gagged by Sensei...'

'Such intimate, such close contact…'

【~???~】

'No, no... a darker color is not allowed... sob...'

After a moment's hesitation, Xiaochun gave up resisting.

Seeing that she wasn't going to do anything, Amamiya breathed a sigh of relief and let go of her hand.

Immediately, he shook his head seriously at Xiaochun, who turned her head to look at him with shame and indignation.

Ariadne's Thread (team voice chat), activate!

"Ugh... Sen, Seni... Don't be so sudden next time..."

Amamiya rolled her eyes at Koharu, who was the first to accuse her: "Koharu, you're the one who should calm down... If you really scream, we'll get noticed."

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and said, "...Everyone saw it, right?"

The scene at 'Urd's Spring' was like a witch's judgment...

A blonde girl tied to a cross...

And those who were about to judge her, represented by... "the beings who seem to be Shirasu Azusa", the "Asgardian gods".

All of this is so 'sincere and heartfelt'...

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, everyone, including Hanako and Hifumi, would probably have thought it was a highly abstract painting, full of irony.

"That, that..."

Hifumi glanced at Azusa, who was hanging her head and not saying a word, and said incredulously, "What we just saw... was... Azusa... right?"

Hanako silently cast her gaze.

She knew that Xiao Zi's 'identity was different'... and she had once suspected that Xiao Zi's motives for transferring schools at this crucial juncture were unusual.

But I really didn't expect... to be able to see a part of the "reflection of the truth" in the "other world".

The girls in the tutoring center looked at each other in silence.

In the ensuing silence, Jing spoke from deep thought: "As far as I know, the 'Asgard' mentioned in historical records, or rather... 'Uldur's Well,' is the place where the gods gather daily."

At this point, she smiled with an air of disbelief: "What we're seeing now... could it be..."

"That so-called 'daily gathering,' I suppose."

To be honest, she would prefer to call everything she was seeing a "witch trial," or... an extreme act like a "witch hunt."

Apart from Azusa, the other three girls in the cram school all looked at Akira with surprise, shock, or disbelief.

Jing shrugged and wisely refrained from saying anything more.