I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

'...'

[Hisaki: How about we arrange a time to meet?]

'...'

[Yuriko: Sensei, regarding the .454 Casull revolver - [Goddess of Wisdom] specially prepared for Sofia, it is currently still a prototype. If any problems arise with this weapon, please have Sofia summarize her recent usage experience report, and I will fix and correct it.]

[Yuriko: Considering Sophia's hand size and grip strength, as well as the proportion of her combat in the other world's shadow and the real world, this spinning wheel should be very suitable.]

'...'

[Hoshino: Sensei, lately I seem to be...acting a little strange...]

[Hoshino: I've been having dreams about Yume-senpai lately... Also, I think I've seen Yume-senpai's figure when I'm on night patrol...]

[Hoshino: Is it about the 'other world'?]

After skimming through and replying to each message in momotalk, Amamiya finally focused on the three messages sent by Hoshino.

Have I been having a lot of dreams lately?

And is the content of the dream related to Senior Dream?

It seems that 'Senior Yume' has started to actively contact Hoshino after all.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya finally decided to deal with this problem first.

But it's too late today, let's leave it for tomorrow...

Having made her decision, Amamiya immediately typed a reply: "I understand the situation. I will go to Abydos tomorrow."

After thinking for a moment, he added, in a mysterious manner.

Things might turn out in ways you don't expect...

Remember to be mentally prepared.

Is the academic quality of the tutoring department in Chapter Two inflated?

"Score: Thirty points!"

Staring at the glaringly obvious numbers on the leaderboard, the girl remained expressionless, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips…

……and many more.

Sorry, I picked up the wrong script.

When that glaring number came into view, the blonde girl's lips pursed into a tight curve, and her fingertips unconsciously crumpled the edges of the exam paper into fine wrinkles.

'Xiaochun...she only got 30 points?!'

As the morning light streamed through the windows of the tutoring center, the four girls sitting side by side exchanged glances and each displayed a different micro-expression.

Hifumi tucked her long hair behind her ear, the 113-point test paper rustling between her fingers. However, she didn't pay attention to her high-scoring paper, but instead kept her eyes on the test paper next to her, which was covered with crosses.

The date for the second mock exam is fast approaching...

If this pace continues... can Xiaochun really cross that passing level that seems quite far away at the moment?

Hifumi felt that achieving the goal of "all students in the tutoring department passing" seemed exceptionally difficult, given the current situation.

Hifumi looked around at her classmates' test papers: her own steady 113 points, Hanako's art of precisely controlling her score at 91 points, and Azusa's thrilling leap on the edge of 100 points.

What worried her most was Xiaochun's dismal 30 points.

Hifumi had no idea how she could only score 30 out of 150 on a test.

Even if you just randomly filled in some multiple-choice and true/false questions, you shouldn't get this many points, right?

During the initial introduction, Hifumi heard Koharu say that she was an elite member of the "Justice Realization Committee," and even that she had failed the exam because she was taking a higher-level test... At first, she believed her.

However, after getting to know Xiaochun and learning about her academic performance, and seeing today's exam results... Hifumi's impression of Xiaochun as a "genius" is now in quotation marks with a special meaning.

"Really...no problem?"

Hifumi's worried, gentle question fell into a deep pool of silence.

Clearly, Koharu, who was sitting in her seat lost in thought, had no idea that Hifumi was asking her a concerned question.

With her ear tips tinged with a pale pink like cherry blossoms, and her unfocused pupils staring into the void, Koharu, who had entered a fantasy world, gazed at Amamiya's figure. However, her consciousness had already wandered far away, thinking about some nonsensical things.

In the closed counseling room, the young teacher's fingertips brushed against her trembling shoulder...

A gentle voice came from beside my ear: 'Xiaochun, you really are a little 'silly'... This problem should be solved like this...'

"...Xiaoharu?"

Hifumi called out again, but Koharu still didn't respond.

Seeing this, Hifumi sighed softly and did not insist on continuing. Instead, she turned her attention to another member of the tutoring club who was hovering around the passing mark—Azusa.

At this very moment, Zi, who had tied her hair up in a ponytail to show her enthusiasm, was intently circling around the seat of the curly-haired young man who was lecturing on a topic.

Her tied ponytail trembled slightly as Amamiya worked on her problem, and the bright-eyed white-haired girl stared intently at the incorrect test paper Amamiya was working on.

"In this way, Zi will be able to correct all the wrong questions in this mock exam."

Putting away the red pen, Amamiya immediately turned her gaze to Azusa, who was studying diligently.

"Any other questions?"

Without any hesitation, Zi shook her head earnestly and forcefully.

"I completely understand."

The girl's response carried the crispness characteristic of a secret agent.

As we all know, roles such as undercover agents, spies, and secret agents require a keen sense of smell and relatively high intelligence as a foundation.

As a student of Aristotle who was 'carefully selected' by Beatrice and arranged to 'study' at Holy Trinity, Azusa's 'basic conditions' were undoubtedly quite excellent.

The girl, who had diligently studied all the questions she got wrong, was confident that if she encountered a test with the same question type again, she would definitely be able to get a near-perfect score.

"Good that you've remembered it."

After helping the girl straighten her slightly crooked flower hair ornament, Amamiya patted her head gently as encouragement: "Azusa did a great job."

After encouraging Azusa, Amamiya turned her gaze to Hanako, who was also looking at her with a very ambiguous look.

Their gazes met in the air, and Amamiya caught a slight hint of amusement in Hanako's deep, emerald-green eyes.

"Is Sensei worried about the exam?"

Hanako chuckled, "My grades shouldn't be anything special, right? At least, they weren't 'failing' like Haru's."

Indeed... compared to Koharu, who doesn't even reach the passing grade, Hanako at least passed.

But her scoring control skills are just too precise.

It was just one point above the passing mark.

Aside from deliberate intent, Amamiya couldn't think of any other reason why Hanako, whose academic performance was not much worse than Akira's, the "benevolent phantom thief," could just barely pass the mark.

We've all been pretty close friends in every sense of the word, but when it comes to controlling scores, do we still have to control them...?

Faced with Hanako's "not afraid of boiling water" attitude, Amamiya really didn't know what to say and sighed in silence.

After his gaze swept over the four girls in the tutoring department, Amamiya fixed his eyes on Koharu, who was sitting silently with her head down at her desk.

It's clear she's still in a fantasy state.

"Koharu?"

Amamiya tried calling out—compared to Hifumi's call, Amamiya's call was significantly more 'lethal'.

Startled by being called, Xiaochun jolted awake. The test paper she was holding slipped from her grasp and flew away instinctively.

Xiaochun frantically tried to catch it, and after a couple of flailing motions in mid-air, she finally managed to grab the test paper back into her hand without any serious injury.

Amamiya: "..."

After sighing, Amamiya quietly suggested, "About Haru... let's arrange some extracurricular tutoring specifically for her."

The moment Amamiya mentioned the keyword "tutoring," the pair of small black wings on the head of the pink-haired girl sitting at the desk fluttered.

Then, her gaze, seemingly filled with anticipation, swept over Amamiya, catching a fleeting glimpse of him.

【~???~】(from Xiaochun)

Koharu's shy demeanor made Amamiya realize that she was probably fantasizing about a special scene from a shoujo manga.

The handsome man himself, as a teacher, was tutoring her in an empty classroom except for the two of them, and then their actions became increasingly intimate... like this?

Amamiya smiled, not exposing Koharu's little scheme.

After completing today's 'special tutoring' and 'mock test' for the tutoring club, Amamiya put away today's lesson plan and left the club activity room under the watchful eyes of the girls.

After leaving the tutoring center, Amamiya immediately sent a message to Hifumi.

Yesterday, he promised Hoshino that he would go to Abydos to help Hoshino resolve her regrets about [Yume-senpai].

And this matter, to some extent, is also related to Hifumi... so Amamiya plans to bring her along.

After Amamiya sent the message, Hifumi quickly responded.

[Hifumi: Huh? Is it about Hoshino-kun and Yume-senpai?]

[Hifumi: I understand...Sensei, please wait a moment!]

Amamiya returned to the residential area, tidied up the teaching materials and other miscellaneous items that needed to be stored, and waited for a short while.

Soon, he heard the crisp, continuous clattering sound of a girl's hard-soled loafers hitting the ground outside the porch.

The sound grew louder as it approached, stopping outside the living room door of Amamiya's residence.

Shortly after, Amamiya heard a knock on the door.

“Sensei, I…I…”

Hifumi, who had jogged all the way here, seemed to still be out of breath, her words broken as she spoke: "I'm ready..."

Once she caught her breath, her speech immediately became coherent.

"Are we about to set off for Abydos?"

Amamiya didn't waste any time and opened the door to welcome the slightly nervous girl in.

"Okay, let's rest for a bit and set off in the evening."

Amamiya did not explain why they waited until dusk to set off—

Because now that she has become the "Velvet Room Assistant," the time when the collective subconscious of humanity is inactive, from dusk until the next morning, is when she can begin to move freely.

As evening approached, Amamiya took Hifumi on a long-distance express train to Abydos.

The hazy twilight was still bright, but the sun was still blazing, and the vast expanse of yellow sand was right before my eyes.

Feeling the scorching heat and dryness of the desert air, Hifumi, sitting in a train with only two other passengers, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.

'I miss it so much... but it's also so hot...'

'Strange... Can't Sensei sense the temperature change...?'

The girl glanced furtively at the young man beside her, who seemed unaffected by heat or cold, and thought to herself.

The train gradually came to a stop, and an announcement was made inside the carriage.

"Abydos Station—Arrived."

"Passengers who need to disembark at this station, please gather your luggage, make sure your belongings are not lost, and disembark in an orderly manner."

Hifumi got up and glanced out the car window at the view.

She had intended to observe the school in Abydos, nestled in the yellow sand—however, as soon as she approached the car window, her vision was enveloped in a vast expanse of blue.

On the desert platform at dusk, there stands a semi-transparent glass door, invisible to normal people, shrouded in blue smoke.

'The door to the velvet room...?'