I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The thought of that 'masked girl' who still doesn't understand her attitude towards him gives Amamiya a headache.

In his view... there are many potential risks associated with 'assistants' who are hidden in the shadows and difficult to reach.

For example, this time, she only 'took' one of my lunch boxes...

If I ignore this and indulge her this time... what will she do in the future?

'It seems... I need to find a way to create an opportunity...'

'I had a talk with that "Kitsune Saka Wakamo"...'

Chapter Twenty-Two: Alona, ​​You Swear Like You're Being Coquettish

'Huff... huff...'

The sweet breath, like orchids and musk, drifted gently from right beside me.

The [Shiting Box] placed on the bedside table was vibrating incessantly, emitting a ringing sound similar to a telephone announcement or warning.

Unfortunately, Amamiya, trapped in a peculiar dream, was completely unaware of everything that happened in the dead of night.

'Splash, splash...'

What reached Amamiya's ears was not the rustling of fabric or the breathing of anyone other than herself... but the soft clanging of chains.

The ethereal chanting voices accompanied by the soothing sound of a musical instrument created an epic feeling, like a bard singing an epic story.

Amamiya suddenly opened her eyes and sat up from the cold bed.

The world that came into his view was a vast space composed of 'sky blue' or 'azure blue'.

"My dearest 'My Trickst,' the best man in the world... has finally returned."

Amamiya heard a voice he hadn't heard in a long time, so much so that it sounded slightly unfamiliar to him.

The 'world' before his eyes gradually became real, and Amamiya suddenly realized that he was standing in a place he knew all too well—

An old-fashioned CRT television on the table; an FC (Famicom) game console; potted plants; a shelf for storing coffee beans; a simple old-fashioned sofa; a makeshift bed pieced together from beer crates and wooden planks; a workbench used to make various props...

This is the Leblanc Cafe where he once lived for a period of time.

More precisely, it was the attic on the second floor of the Leblanc café.

After looking around the familiar attic room that inexplicably moved her, Amamiya sighed and went down the stairs.

The scene before him changed in an instant.

An interior of a café, decorated with various shades of blue, stickers, and other ornaments, came into view.

"Is this... a coffee shop...?"

Looking around at the area that was both familiar and unfamiliar to her, Amamiya couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Yes, this is indeed a café—or more accurately, a world built upon the landscape that left the deepest impression on you."

The gentle voice that had spoken earlier responded to Amamiya's 'reflection'.

Amamiya looked toward the bar—and there he saw a blonde girl holding an exaggeratedly thick dictionary, standing behind the bar where the manager should have been.

Long, straight, golden hair; dazzling, molten gold eyes unique to 'residents of another world'; and a sky-blue dress symbolizing her role as an assistant...

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” the blonde girl said, putting down the thick 'dictionary' she was carrying under her arm the moment Amamiya’s gaze fell on her. She then lifted her skirt slightly and gave a polite bow. “This is a place located at the juncture between dreams and reality, spirit and matter.”

"It's been a long time... my dear 'Trickster,' the best man in the world."

Should I reintroduce myself?

After saying this, she maintained her pose with her skirt lifted, smiling at Amamiya, waiting for her response.

"Let me introduce myself; a self-introduction upon entering the stage is quite necessary."

"Hmm... then."

The girl named Ravenda lowered her skirt and picked up the 'dictionary' again.

“My name is Ravenda, and I am the assistant in the Velvet Room… and also your long-time guardian.”

[Assistant: Lavenda/Velvet Room Assistant]

Arcana: The Strength

[Assistance Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ (MAX/MAX)]

[Assistant's Profile: The resident of the Velvet Room, and also its assistant. As a resident of another world, she is a unique being active in the world of the Sea of ​​Human Hearts. I have now formed a deep bond with her… She promised to 'watch over me from this other world.']

"Why did Ravenda... and the Velvet Room reappear?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Amamiya chose to get straight to the point.

In his view, every appearance of the velvet room is not simple—the appearance of the velvet room means that worlds such as 'other worlds', which are normally impossible for humans to reach, have reappeared.

Or, to put it another way, all sorts of amazing and extraordinary events are happening or about to happen.

"My Trickst, I have appeared here to inform you... about the various 'anomalies' in this world."

"Have you noticed? Those unusual beings you've encountered, referred to as 'students'... they all possess 'divinity,' making them veritable gods walking among humans, or some other special existence similar to them—"

"And this may be due to the basic structure of this world."

At this point, Ravenda paused for a moment, then opened her 'dictionary'—an otherworldly item known as the "Demon's Encyclopedia".

"In this world, the barrier between reality and the inner world is exceptionally 'thin.' 'My Trickst,' please be careful... be careful of the various impacts your arrival will have on this world..."

"And, the 'Impression Space' and 'Palace' that might appear in this world..."

These words might sound a bit like a riddle, but Amamiya understood them—

This world may very well also contain "temples" built from distorted desires, and impression spaces formed by the "collective unconscious".

“Furthermore…” Ravenda took a shallow breath, then said in one breath, “The relationship between the ‘other world and the real world’ has also undergone many changes… More specifically, you will need to explore it yourself… ‘My Trickst’ is about to change, so please be prepared…”

'Dingling bell~~~'

The doorbell of the coffee shop suddenly started ringing.

The girl, whose words had been interrupted, seemed both helpless and annoyed.

In the gradually whitening world, Amamiya only heard one sentence she left behind.

"Preparations for the other world, from now on..."

"..."

Amamiya woke up in her own bed.

As he gradually regained consciousness, the first sound he heard was the alarm clock from Shiting's Box.

“Sensei…Sensei? Last night, Alona seemed to sense that someone other than you, Sensei, touched the Shiting Box…Sensei, are you alright?”

Arona's voice sounded somewhat anxious.

Amamiya even heard the sound of her tapping something that looked like a glass plate on the other side of the tablet... Was she tapping the glass plate of the display screen through the screen?

After scanning the room, Amamiya noticed signs of intrusion.

Once the Third Eye is activated, even the smallest details will become impossible to hide unless they have been completely cleared away.

Amamiya immediately "saw" the fox tail fur scattered on the windowsill;

Footprints left on the ground by a woman;

The small empty lunchbox that was supposedly missing was now on the table in the room;

Traces left by someone other than oneself in the blankets and under the bed;

The 'intruder' seemed to have absolutely no counter-surveillance awareness... or rather, she never intended to hide at all.

It was probably late at night when they brazenly climbed in through the window... but how did they manage that?

Keep in mind... this is a high-rise building with more than ten floors... there's no place to grab onto or climb, like a balcony or pipes...

After observing the situation inside the room, Amamiya immediately knew who the 'intruder' was—without a doubt, it was 'Kitsune Saka Wakamo' again.

After carefully checking the room, Amamiya found nothing else besides the bento box—he didn't find anything like a listening device or a pinhole camera.

There really was only one extra lunchbox in the room.

...It can't be that she broke into the Xia Lai Building in the middle of the night and pinpointed her bedroom just to return the lunchbox she stole, right?

Amamiya is truly quite unbelievable.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up the Shiting Box from the bedside table and let Alona know that he was safe inside.

“I’m fine, Alona… I just slept too soundly last night for some reason, so I haven’t been able to answer.”

After a pause, Amamiya asked, "So, Alona, ​​did you notice something? Why do you seem so anxious..."

Amamiya had hoped to get a definite name from Alona as a response, or at least a general description of the situation...

However, after he asked the question, he watched as Arona, standing in front of the camera on the screen, froze, blinking her eyes as if her CPU was loading, her delicate little face full of confusion, looking dazed and silly.

"Arona didn't know either... Arona, who was awakened in the middle of the night, only suddenly noticed some noises coming from around Sensei... but at that time Arona..."

"..."

After a pause of several seconds, the AI ​​girl on the tablet, with a 'shy yet self-righteous' expression, raised her voice and made a 'shocking summary': 'Arona was probably half asleep at the time... so she can't remember clearly!'

Amamiya: "..."

Are you serious?

...But then again, does AI also need to follow a fixed schedule like humans?

Across the screen, Amamiya and Alona, ​​who was looking down and muttering to herself, nervously clutching her skirt and appearing completely lost, exchanged glances.

"...As expected, it's an unreliable AI."

He commented as follows.

Upon hearing Amamiya's words, Alona immediately became displeased. She pouted, raised her head, and retorted defiantly, "The reason we couldn't see... was because the lighting was very poor at the time... Alona couldn't use the tablet, so she could only observe through the camera... how could she know what was happening around Sensei!"

"Besides... what if Alona made too loud a warning, what if the person who broke into Sensei's room found the tablet and stole it..."

Throughout the entire process, Amamiya maintained a completely unchanged expression, watching as Alona, ​​who had initially been 'confident and self-assured,' gradually became guilty and her tone became increasingly hesitant.

"It's Arona's incompetence... but there are many other reasons as well..."

“I’m not angry.” Only then did Amamiya shake her head with a smile. “I just found Alona’s reaction amusing, so I wanted to tease her… Actually, I already know who the intruder is from the known clues.”

“…Huh?!”

Alona on the other end of the tablet was clearly stunned.

But then, the AI ​​girl's eyes welled up with tears, and she raised her voice indignantly, shouting, "Sensei... how mean!"

Amamiya felt sorry for the AI ​​girl's pitiful vocabulary of insults—she struggled for several seconds, and it seemed that she could only come up with the word "good" or "bad".

Honestly, Amamiya really wanted to say, "You're swearing like you're being coquettish."

Considering that this would further increase Alona's "red temperature", Amamiya did not do so.

He promptly changed the subject.

"Let's put the attacker incident aside for now... What's on the schedule for today?"

Still angry, Alona said in a less than pleasant tone, "...Yes, there is."

“Sensei… Just a short while ago, I received a message from the Federation Student Association…”

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Cutest Episode of Blue Devil

...A contact from the Federal Student Association?

What are the specific details?

Amamiya raised an eyebrow in surprise and pressed for an answer.

"It seems there are various issues concerning the 'Federal Investigation Department - Sharai' that require face-to-face discussion... You'll need to visit the Federal Student Council."

With a slightly confused expression, Arona summarized the email she had seen, which she found difficult to understand, as best she could.