I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The third dream: How much do I resemble from before?

"This desert is almost unchanged from when I last came here..."

Looking at the yellow sand stretching to the horizon and the air outside the window, distorted by the scorching heat, Amamiya sighed.

It seems that the fact that the desert was temporarily transformed into a 'snowfield' last Christmas was already a testament to the world's "special mercy"...

After expressing his feelings, Amamiya got out of the car with Hifumi, who was traveling with him.

As soon as he got off the train, he saw a "room entrance" on the platform that was both "familiar yet unfamiliar" to him, emitting a faint blue smoke and appearing very ethereal.

A huge, unmanned station—surprisingly, a pixelated, electronic-style door with the words "Velvet Game Center" on it stands out out of nowhere.

The door was placed so abruptly in the scene, seemingly out of place yet somehow completely unnoticed.

"This is……"

Hifumi, carrying her backpack and standing to one side of Amamiya, took a deep breath after a brief moment of surprise, her sparkling eyes reflecting obvious joy.

Although it was already speculated that they were very close, she still tugged at the sleeve of the young man beside her to confirm with him.

"The entrance to the Velvet Room?!"

She thought that only her Trinity district had the "Velvet Room Entrance".

Unexpectedly... the same entrance appeared in the Abydos region exactly the same way.

Meeting the girl's straightforward and joyful gaze, Amamiya nodded gently: "That's right... this is the entrance to the 'Velvet Room'."

Closing his eyes and recalling his time as a phantom thief in Shibuya, Tokyo, Amamiya continued leisurely, "Theoretically... its rooms would be scattered in some 'more conspicuous' corners of various cities."

"For the invited guests, the entrance to the velvet room is almost everywhere."

"This makes it easier for invited guests to enter the velvet room for self-adjustment and short rest after the battle or when they are physically exhausted."

Hifumi held her breath, leaned closer, and tried to touch the smoke rising from the door.

Although it is semi-transparent, like an abrupt scene effect, it feels as cold to the touch as the glass door of the game center, with a kind of... indescribable feeling.

If I had to describe it... it seems... a bit cold?

As Hifumi reached out, the automatic sensor on the glass door seemed to be activated, emitting a 'beep' sound.

The doors opened automatically to both sides, and then... the outline of a light blue, semi-transparent 'bird' of unknown species, drawn with lines, flew out from the already faintly visible game center.

After flying out of the game center, the unknown bird landed with a 'thud' and transformed into a green-haired girl in a blue ankle-length dress, whose assistant-style attire exuded elegance and grace.

The girl maintained a dignified and gentle smile—a smile as warm as the sun, a smile that the 'clumsy senior' had maintained until… she turned her gaze to Amamiya.

Oh... the 'boss' is here too?

After a moment of surprise, Meng performed a graceful curtsy, following the etiquette she had learned, and then spoke softly:

"Sorry to keep you waiting... 'Unruly Messenger'. Welcome to the Velvet Room in the real world as well... Shall I take you to the place for rest and preparation?"

Although she didn't know why the 'boss' had appeared in the real world, she still had to do what she was supposed to do as an assistant.

A slightly awkward expression appeared on Hifumi's face as she was greeted with such 'aristocratic elegance and politeness'. She shook her head: "No, no need... I just wanted to try and see if the door could be opened..."

While frantically explaining, Hifumi concentrated and tried to use her "third eye" to examine this 'Dream Senior'.

[Gardenia Dream / The Person Who Rules Power]

【Arcana: Sky/Empress (L'Impératrice)】

There is only one star behind the tarot card... and the effect of this single star is... that it allows you to use various basic items in the Velvet Room.

Hifumi has every reason to speculate that the synthesis of more powerful Personas, as well as the use of other devices, can only be unlocked by her continuously completing her own story and building good relationships with her friends, obtaining 'bond power' from them.

And in fact...

The reason is that the assistants in the Velvet Room are so 'shrunken' that even with Ravenda's guidance, it's impossible for Yume to become familiar with all the things related to Velvet Room in such a short time... Preparing torture instruments and the like also requires ample time.

“I see…” Meng paused, standing there speechless for two or three seconds, “…”

After an awkward few seconds, the girl, who had been flustered and sweating profusely from forgetting her lines, seemed to remember something and slightly increased her speaking speed to instruct:

"...Oh, right. There's one more thing to tell you...The Velvet Room will appear in various corners of different regions in the future. If you see a similar door in reality, please don't panic—normal people can't see me or this door except for the [invited guests]."

Amamiya: ...

Just how unreliable is this assistant at the 'Velvet Room'...?

Seeing how the other person kept letting her down, Amamiya couldn't help but think of the kindness of Ravenda, who had been in charge of receiving her.

Although when she transforms into two (Carolina; Ristina), her irritable 'little devil' traits are at their peak.

But after she merged into Ravenda, it was incredibly gentle and sweet to her.

Amamiya had seen similar 'clumsy' velvet room assistants before... but he had never seen one like Yume who kept messing up even the most basic things.

While Hifumi was greeting Yume, Amamiya took out her phone and sent a message to Hoshino.

As it turns out, Amamiya held a considerable place in Hoshino's heart.

Less than three minutes after the message was sent, Amamiya saw a pink figure in the distance of the desert, shrouded in yellow sand, leaving a long trail like a comet as it headed straight for the station.

After the dustproof door of the carriage was opened, Hoshino, panting, rushed into the carriage in one breath, his eyes fixed on Amamiya and Hifumi.

"Huff...huff...Sen, Sensei...and...Hifumi-chan..."

Where is Senior Yume's trail...?

His words were tinged with nervousness, disbelief, anticipation, and a mixture of fear and disappointment within that anticipation. His facial expressions and demeanor were a complete mess... This was the first time Amamiya had ever seen Hoshino so out of sorts.

It seems that Senior Meng's 'death' has truly become a nightmare in her heart.

Amamiya turned her gaze to Yume, whom she had recruited as the "Velvet Room Assistant," who was standing on the platform, practically within arm's reach of Hoshino, yet unnoticed by Hoshino.

Having caught the complex emotions on Yume's face, Amamiya sighed inwardly.

The greatest distance in the world is not the ends of the earth.

Instead, it's the senior you can't forget standing right in front of you, but you just can't see her no matter what you do...

The velvet room is indeed exclusively for 'unruly messengers' like Hifumi... or rather, 'invited guests'.

For 'ordinary people' who are not invited, it remains invisible and untouchable.

However, apart from the invited guests, ordinary people can also enter the Velvet Room—but there is a major prerequisite.

That is, these ordinary people, in order to gain the friendship of the "invited guests," are considered companions.

This is not a one-way authentication process—to prevent the invited guests from being hypnotized and having their cognition altered, the Velvet Room will also conduct a secondary authentication of the guests' companions.

After going through such a complicated certification process, Hoshino was finally able to see her dream as the [Velvet Room Assistant].

Amamiya sighed as she looked at the pink-haired girl, who was tense with panic, anxiety, and a variety of complex emotions.

"Don't rush, Hoshino... Don't get too excited about what I'm about to say."

"The senior Meng, whom you are so concerned about and whose file is marked as 'missing,' is actually not dead."

"In fact, she's right in front of you right now. It's just... you can't see her yet."

Hoshino didn't understand what it meant at first, but she quickly got it.

Just as she was about to ask what it meant, Amamiya waved her hand to signal her not to ask yet, and then snapped her fingers.

With the snap of Amamiya's fingers, wisps of blue smoke began to fill her vision.

A large door to a game center suddenly appeared in her field of vision, like a special effect placed on a layer.

At the same time, the figure of the green-haired girl, who was deeply etched in her memory because of 'death,' also appeared.

"...Senior Yume?!"

Chapter Four: The Fatal Series of Questions from Senior Dream

When Hoshino saw his long-lost senior, Yume, appear before him, the emotions he felt were indescribable.

How can I describe the feeling of this moment?

Is it the kind of joy you feel when you see a senior you thought was "dead" still perfectly intact?

Is it the excitement of seeing that person you've been longing for again after not seeing them for so many days?

Hoshino felt that her emotions were in complete disarray in an instant.

She didn't know how to describe the complex emotions that were resonating in her heart at this moment, emotions that were difficult to define or describe precisely in any words.

The image of Meng appeared before her eyes. Although her clothes were slightly different from what she remembered, everything about her matched the "Senior Meng" in her memory.

A warm, sun-like smile when dealing with others;

Scattered across her exposed skin were scars and traces of bandages;

Her perfectly ladylike posture with her hands folded in front of her body still couldn't hide the feeling of 'unreliability' that she gave off;

Everything before him was exactly the same as the memory of Yume-senpai in Hoshino's heart.

She froze, her pupils trembling, and after a long while, she managed to utter a single, incredulous sentence: "Huh... Meng... Senior...?"

However, Yume did not respond to Hoshino's surprised call.

She gently lifted her skirt, performed an elegant curtsy, and smiled, asking in a warm, spring-like tone, "Welcome to the Velvet Room... Would you like me to lead you to your resting and preparation area?"

The question wasn't directed at Hoshino, but at Hifumi, the guest who was received in the "Velvet Room".

—【Under any circumstances, invited 'special guests' should be given priority in hospitality.】

These are the hospitality rules that Meng learned after joining the [Velvet Room], and violating them is not allowed.

By the way... the "second" rule of hospitality learned in Dream School is that when a guest has finished telling their story, you must praise them as "the best guest" when saying goodbye.

(P.S.: This is a long-standing tradition in the Persona series.)

Hoshino paused for a moment, somewhat confused, and his gaze unconsciously turned to Hifumi standing to the side.

"...What's going on?"

Why is Yume-senpai ignoring me and instead interacting with Hifumi?

Feeling Hoshino's gaze, he stiffened, lowered his head slightly, and tried to break the awkward silence with a dry laugh: "Ahaha..."

She wanted to explain something, but found herself unable to speak; the words seemed stuck in her throat, and nothing she said would make sense.

The Velvet Room was specially set up for 'unruly individuals' like her, and is usually reserved for guests from this group.

How should she explain this?

You call this "game setting"?

Or does he say he is the "chosen protagonist"?

Obviously... it's impossible to explain clearly no matter how you put it.

Feeling she couldn't explain herself clearly no matter what she said, Hifumi finally turned to Yume and said softly, "Not for now..."

After receiving a clear answer from Hifumi, Yume nodded gently.

The [guest reception session] has ended. According to the work rules for the assistants in the Velvet Room, she can now talk to "Hoshino, who was brought by Hifumi".

Her gaze fell on Hoshino.

"Hmm~ 'Senior Yume'?" Yume's amber eyes held a tender, nostalgic look, tinged with a wistful smile. "What a long-lost special address~"

“I haven’t heard anyone call me ‘senpai’ in a long time… Now I’ve become a junior (Lavenda’s junior).”

Yume smiled, a gentle concern in her eyes: "But Hoshino-chan... it's been so long, she's become quite a senior..."

Although she was smiling, Hoshino could clearly sense that the gentle aura surrounding Yume-senpai was gradually dissipating—she was about to enter the authoritative phase of "parents educating their children."

A serious atmosphere began to permeate the air. The green-haired girl's gaze narrowed slightly, her amber eyes revealing the authority and scrutiny of a senior.

Perhaps because she had become an assistant in the "Velvet Room," the girl, who put on a stern face and pretended to be dignified, actually exuded a certain divinity unique to the "Velvet Assistant."

The voice in the dream carried a hint of irony, yet also showed concern.

However, her question sent a chill down Hoshino's spine—he felt an inexplicable, suffocating sense of danger.

"I wonder if, during the time I was away, Hoshino-chan, you have properly guided those juniors and taught them to walk the right path?"