I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The pink-haired girl on the card has her back to the image, looking up into the distance—and in the distant sky, a small but striking bird is flapping its wings and flying by.

The tarot cards slowly landed beside Hanako, who, just as she opened her eyes, picked them up with her index and middle fingers.

【Psona - Bluebird (Arcana: Hope)】

[Introduction: A legendary messenger of the Queen Mother of the West.]

Legend has it that before the arrival of the Queen Mother of the West, a bluebird would always come to deliver a message. Therefore, there are many poems about the bluebird. For example, "The bluebird does not carry news from beyond the clouds, the lilac blossoms only bring sorrow in the rain."

Originating from messengers in ancient myths and legends, it gradually acquired the meaning of 'delivering happiness'.

Therefore, it became the most desired presence for those yearning for redemption.

Hanako got up, and her first reaction was to check if her clothes had changed—she was still a little puzzled when she realized that her clothes hadn't changed like those of Hifumi and the other two.

"Huh...? The clothes haven't changed at all..."

After examining her own clothes, Hanako turned her gaze to Hifumi, Koharu, and Azusa.

Compared to their "phantom thief outfits," their own way of summoning Personas and the lack of a Phantom Thief outfit... seem a little "out of place."

"The reason why the Phantom Thief outfit didn't appear is because Hanako's awakening method is quite different from theirs."

Amamiya explained the moment Hanako looked at him: "This method of awakening is relatively 'easy,' isn't it?"

Hanako: "..."

This is true.

There's no need to tear off the mask bloodily during awakening... and there's no feeling of weakness after awakening.

Attempting to summon Persona...

A ghostly blue flame roared out and quickly coalesced into a Tarot card of the card "Hope".

"Psona...Blue Bird!"

With a slight pressure from Hanako's fingertips, the translucent tarot card snapped into fragments, which then whistled and gathered behind her, transforming into a beautiful bluebird about the size of a pickup truck.

Okay... although the clothes haven't changed, the resistance and enhancement effects from the Persona have indeed appeared on my body...

The fact that "there is no Phantom Thief outfit" caused Hanako a moment of disappointment.

With her own will, she retracted the Persona and the 'Bluebird' transformed back into a tarot card on her fingertip.

"It's a very strange feeling..."

After briefly describing her current state, Hanako's tarot cards turned into particles of light and disappeared.

She clapped her hands and looked at Amamiya.

Amamiya chimed in at the opportune moment: "Hmm... Let's evacuate from here now."

Chapter Thirty: Beatrice's "Heart-Stealing Announcement"

[Back in the real world, thanks for your hard work.]

In a quiet, unnoticed corner of Trinity Street under the cover of night—

Accompanied by the sudden sound of a 'navigation' voice, Amamiya and the girls traveling with her "appeared out of thin air".

"Phew, I've made so much progress on the Hall of Fame today... Is it finally time to release the announcement now...?"

"Phew, is there going to be another fierce battle against the mastermind behind it all? Looks like I need to prepare in advance..."

After returning to the real world and briefly reviewing their 'other world' trip, the girls chattered away, discussing their next goal.

After discussing it, they, who had been running around in the other world, also felt the fatigue that had been suppressed since they came from that other world.

"Haah~"

The blonde girl, her eyes still blurry with tears, couldn't help but yawn: "I feel like I did a lot of things today..."

Sailing on the endless sea again, searching for the [World Serpent], and fighting the [Taratosk] again... Today's experiences have truly been a bit too much.

It felt like all the experiences of the entire summer vacation had been condensed into this one day...

Noticing that Amamiya wasn't speaking, Hifumi became slightly curious and looked up at her—then the girl was speechless to discover that Amamiya was gazing into the distance.

"Sensei...what's wrong?"

Amamiya withdrew her gaze and shook her head: "It's nothing..."

Has the "fog of lies" that previously existed only in the cognitive world now infiltrated the real world...?

It seems that Beatrice, who was "beaten up" in the other world, is indeed getting a little anxious and plans to erode the real world ahead of time, preparing to "overwrite the real world with the world of cognition".

"Everyone must be tired today, right? It's getting late... Let's go back and rest."

After exchanging pleasantries with the girls and seeing off the four girls from the cram school, as well as Akira who was serving as his 'temporary companion', Amamiya began to seriously consider the preparations for the upcoming "Eden Treaty," and...

"The Battle of Beatrice".

Today, Amamiya and her group's 'quick conquest' of the other world aroused Adori's excessive vigilance... to the point that she accelerated the process of infiltration.

For Amamiya, Beatrice's behavior had both good and bad aspects.

The good thing is that the [preview letter] will definitely be a bigger blow to Adoriche. However—the faster pace means less preparation.

The hastily accelerated plan was cut off by Adori, so its intensity will definitely be reduced significantly.

The downside is that Beatrice was too overly cautious. The next time Amamiya and his party enter the temple, they will surely be greeted by the Asgardian gods of Ragnarok.

In other words... the next time we enter the hall, it will definitely be the final battle stage after the [announcement of the notice].

The red-haired AI girl next to Amamiya ran over to him and tugged at his sleeve.

"JOK...are you worried?"

From his blue-green eyes, which were covered by a barely perceptible mechanical halo, Amamiya smiled gently and shook his head, revealing worry and a sense of responsibility.

"I was just thinking about the 'battle plan'."

The unique nature of Beatrice's palace seems to dictate that the final strategy will require a "dual-track approach"...

This means that he and Sofia must 'go their separate ways'.

After Amamiya shared her thoughts with Sophia, the AI ​​girl confidently puffed out her chest and immediately declared that she had no problem.

"Don't worry, JOK! I'm an experienced fighter who has fought alongside the Phantom Thieves many times and faced countless powerful enemies! In the strategy section after the 'announcement' is released, I'll keep a close eye on that team that JOK hasn't been paying attention to!"

Amamiya had no doubt about Sophia's strength... After all, Sophia had fought against the 'False God' alongside the Phantom Thieves.

Her combat prowess is beyond question, and in addition to attacking, Sophia is also skilled in healing and support.

Amamiya smiled silently and patted Sofia's head, which was covered by a hood due to the winter chill.

【~???~】(from Sofia)

Now that the strategy for the Hall of Fame is complete, it's time to start considering the details... First, draft a pre-announcement letter, then give it to Saori so she can pass it on to Beatrice in person...

As night fell, Amamiya and Sophia returned together to Trinity's temporary residence.

On the way, Amamiya took out a small card with a black and red background and began to "draw" the contents of the announcement letter on it.

"Ms. Beatrice has committed the grave sin of 'vanity.'"

"Your evil deeds have been thoroughly exposed to us."

"Using lies to obscure the truth, using despair to destroy hope."

'You truly have an unforgivable sin etched into your heart.'

Therefore, we have decided—to take back the future you have stolen.

Sincerely, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts

The announcement letter is complete; the next step is to contact the sender.

After a moment's consideration, Amamiya opened her phone and tapped on Saori's MomoTalk chat interface.

[Amamiya: [Announcement letter.jpg] Saori, the announcement letter is finished... Also, the Palace event is nearing its end, and it's time to release the announcement letter.]

Late at night, Saori probably had nothing to do, so she immediately saw the message from Amamiya.

[Saori: ...!!]

[Saori: I understand...]

[Saori: Next up is the release of the announcement letter, right?]

[Amamiya: If nothing unexpected happens... tomorrow is the date for the announcement.]

[Amamiya: [Address shared] Saori, tomorrow no matter the "weather," you must come here... and take the notice from me. Then go find Beatrice and slap the notice in her face.]

[Amamiya: I'll prepare an 'escape route' for you.]

[Saori: I understand.]

After a brief negotiation, Amamiya put away her phone and went to the floor-to-ceiling window on the balcony. Through the glass, she looked at the night sky that was gradually being enveloped in a chill.

It seems no one noticed... tonight is unusually cold compared to usual.

Although it didn't snow, with the temperature dropping overnight, I imagine the whole neighborhood will have a peculiar "spectacle" tomorrow morning.

For example... buildings were covered by a thin but hard layer of ice, and smog drifted in the morning, making the entire Trinity area look like a fairyland shrouded in mist.

With his gaze shifting from what was in front of him to the distance, Amamiya's eyes finally settled on the faint outline of the "big tree" located in the Trinity campus area.

"'Fimbourne Winter' is about to begin."

Chapter Thirty-One: Fimbulle's Winter

Today, Holy Trinity did not greet a bright and sunny morning as it usually does, nor did it witness the scene of "purple clouds rising from the east, the primordial chaos beginning."

On the contrary, today's weather is... unusually extreme.

"Aha……"

The blonde girl, yawning as she was woken up by the cold in her own bed, groggily got up and prepared to reach for the air conditioner remote.

Suddenly, she froze.

The view through the window, where the curtains were not drawn, left her completely stunned.

"...How...how could this be...?"

The drowsiness and chill were instantly dispelled by a jolt.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Hifumi walked to the desk in surprise, braved the cold wind, pushed open the window, and peered out.

The silhouettes of towering trees came into view, and the "City of Eden" seemed to appear and disappear among the clouds.

The air seemed to be covered with frost and snow, and the biting cold penetrated every inch of the street.

Hifumi quickly closed the window and picked up her phone, which was charging on the bedside table, to check the time.

"7:50 a.m.... My phone is working, I must not be dreaming..."

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, she quickly opened her phone and joined the chat group of the "Anti-Eden Squad".

Just as Rifumi was about to summarize the 'spectacle' she had witnessed, she saw a message from Jingfa in the group chat.

[Jing: Did everyone 'see' it?]

[Jing: That should be... the 'World Tree' we saw in another world? It appeared in Trinity's academy in a... rather peculiar form...]

[Jing: It seems to be observable only to the naked eye... or more precisely, observable to the naked eye by 'special people'—other 'ordinary people' cannot see it at present, besides us.]

[Hanako: If our ultimate goal is to advance 'Ragnarok'... then this must be what's known as 'Fimbourne's Winter', right?]

[Hanako: But why does it reflect in the real world?]

[Zi: I went out for a walk.]

[Zi: It's very cold outside. Trinity's press office has announced that due to a rare and sudden weather event, coupled with the Eden Treaty meeting, Trinity has issued a 'holiday notice'.]

[Zi forwarded a news link: "Notice regarding recent weather and the Eden Treaty."]

[Xiaochun: How strange... Nobody on the street can see that 'World Tree'... I asked Hasumi-senpai and the others, and it seems that only Hasumi-senpai and Ichika-senpai have any reaction to it. Something feels off...]