I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The permafrost outside the door, formed by the Fimbulb Winter, was a forbidden zone for living beings that they could never set foot in.

All the Justice Commission can do is close the doors and windows to the outside, greatly reducing the possibility of its members running out and getting themselves killed while under "control".

Her light gray eyes reflected the raging aurora outside the door, and as the girl turned around, the icy beads that had formed on the ends of her hair fell in a flurry.

Currently, the headquarters of the Justice Committee, except for a few members, has remained unaffected...

It seems that only I, Hasumi-senpai, and Tsurugi-senpai still retain a conscious mind...

Ichika glanced sideways, intending to check on Hasumi-senpai and Tsurugi-senpai, but suddenly noticed something unusual on the street.

"What is that bloated monster?"

"Also...the one fighting that [bloated monster]...was it Sensei...and...the members of the cram school club?"

"Is there anything I can do...?"

……

The tea party was now as silent as a mime performance.

Saintia sat upright in her seat like an ice sculpture, the frost on her eyelashes flickering with her breath—she looked completely 'absent-minded'.

Nagisa put down her teacup, which had instantly frozen over and was covered with a layer of ice.

She left her seat, went to the floor-to-ceiling window, leaned over the finely textured glass, and glanced outside.

"【World Tree】...【Bloated Monster】...A while ago, I had that feeling of 'psychological pressure being released'..."

The gray-haired girl, her index finger slightly bent and chin gently touching, murmured softly, lost in thought.

"So that's how it is... The 'phantom thief' had already begun his operation without my knowledge?"

After withdrawing her gaze from the outside world, Nagisa quietly observed Mika, whose mood was fluctuating and who had wanted to rush out but was repeatedly pushed back by the cold current of the [Fimbulwinter] outside.

Just now, Wei Hua opened the door for a moment, letting a cold current rush into the room, causing the warm black tea in Zhu's cup to instantly freeze into ice.

At this moment, the pink-haired girl with a layer of frost on her cheeks was trembling as she pressed herself against the door.

"..."

Zhu shook his head and sighed softly.

She completely understood Mihana's desire to rush out and help Sensei, the four members of the cram school, and a girl who looked familiar but wasn't quite her (Akira), and to fight alongside them to defeat the monster...

However, the current cold wave of "Fimbourne Winter"... is simply impossible to reach in the usual way.

It seems that I can only rely on myself...

Is the current situation... [the cognitive world overwriting the real world]?

In her sorrow, Nagisa suddenly glanced at a tea party member standing in her room who seemed completely unaffected.

This member had only recently joined the tea party, and Nagisa thought quite highly of her.

When Nagisa turned her gaze to the crane-winged girl who stood tall and straight in the corner, she was momentarily surprised.

"Lord Nagisa... is there anything you need?"

Nagisa quickly suppressed her fleeting surprise and shook her head.

It's strange... now that most tea party members can't be relied upon, it's rare to find a tea party member who can remain sober.

After a moment of surprise, Nagisa asked thoughtfully, "What do you think we can do right now?"

At the moment, Saintia is out of the question, and Mika is even less likely to be able to help, so Nagisa can only ask the Crane Wing Girl for her opinion.

The girl who was being questioned by Nagisa hesitated for a moment: "Um... [Believe]?"

"believe……"

Nagisa pondered this seemingly simple yet profound answer for a moment.

"Now, the [bloated monster] (Beateritch) is interfering with reality through cognition in an unknown way..."

The crane-winged girl's feathers moved without wind, and the edges of her dark, gradient feathers shimmered with iridescent light. The girl seemed to ponder for a moment, but ultimately did not use any academic terminology.

"Just like everyone believes Santa Claus climbs chimneys, and then Santa Claus climbs chimneys... If we believe the phantom thief can win, then the phantom thief will definitely win... like that?"

After a slight pause, Zhu couldn't help but chuckle softly.

A very novel way of putting it.

However... it does make a lot of sense.

At that moment, she suddenly realized... what she, as the person in charge of the tea party, could do.

"The communication equipment hasn't been paralyzed yet, has it?"

“No…” The 'Crane Wing' girl shook her head, pursing her lips. “Lord Nagisa, the [freezing] outside seems to only affect living things… Communication and other equipment haven’t malfunctioned. It’s just…”

Even without her saying it, Nagisa understood the seriousness of the problem—it's just that most people seemed to be indulging in that "false happiness."

She frowned, pondered for a moment, and then gave the order: "In the name of the tea party, quickly contact anyone you can reach who is still conscious, including the Sisters of Morality, the Justice Commission, and the Knights of Rescue..."

"I need their strength."

"Right now... the 'phantom thief' is fighting for our destiny..."

His gaze fell on the towering World Tree outside the window, and the Garden of Eden on its canopy that evoked a subconscious sense of unease. Nagisa paused, then emphasized his words.

"We must not sit idly by and wait for our demise."

"Now... let's do what we can for the Phantom Thief's mission."

Chapter 40 The Great Zhu Cult: I must regroup my troops!

What is the best thing I can do right now?

After careful consideration, Nagisa came to a clear and definite conclusion.

Temporarily ignoring Seiya, who remained motionless at the tea table, and Mika, who was still somewhat confused, sitting in the corner with her knees drawn up, unsure of what she could do, Nagisa quickly left and headed to the broadcasting room at the tea party headquarters.

The chilling winds of "Fimbulwinter," created by Beatrice, the master of the temple, howled and swept across the entire Trinity region, penetrating almost every crevice—and Trinity's headquarters, being a large building integrating many functions, could not possibly close all its doors and windows at the same time.

The cold wind howled in through the cracks in the open windows, ventilation ducts, and any other gaps connecting to the outside world, rendering the elevator unusable due to the cold.

Nagisa stepped into the howling wind that swept towards her from the stairs, shielding herself with her forearm. The gray-haired girl displayed the leadership qualities and resolute will of a tea party leader.

She climbed the stairs without changing her expression, and then witnessed firsthand how, as she ascended the floors, the interior of the long corridor increasingly resembled an "ice and snow world"—

One by one, distorted, blurry "creatures" (shadows) with halos above their heads materialized. As soon as they were projected, they stared intently at Nagisa with their scarlet, glowing "eyes".

"We've caught... a traitor."

"Offer her to Lady Beatrice! She will become nourishment for the god we serve!"

"Your struggles are futile; surrender now..."

'...'

Looking at these familiar faces, former "Trinity students" who were showing him such undisguised malice, and listening to the vicious words these familiar figures were spewing at him, Nagisa couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow.

The situation is so bad right now... I really don't know what will happen after the story calms down.

The girl, her heart filled with sorrow, had no joy or sorrow in her pale yellow eyes. She stepped back, drew her uniquely painted "Royal Red Tea" pistol, calmly aimed with this "Royal Elegant Lady" style pistol, and fired.

Flashes of fire appeared in quick succession, and the shadows that were hit turned into a cloud of black smoke with a "poof" and disappeared, leaving only their vicious roars in the air.

"As the person in charge of the tea party, how could he not hesitate to shoot us, his subordinates..."

"What's wrong with being mired in this quagmire of lies...? Why are you so stubbornly clinging to your delusions?"

"Heh... Is playing the game of suspicion and distrust with your friends fun? You feel a little guilty about alienating Sensei, who's now fighting for you, and those four in the tutoring club?"

A guy who only talks trash...

The girl put away her pistol and stepped over the crisp, bright yellow bullet casings that fell to the ground.

However, upon hearing that final, bloody sentence, her steps inevitably slowed slightly.

No one is perfect; everyone makes mistakes.

But mistakes should always be made up for as soon as possible—instead of being dragged into a bottomless vortex by this guilt!

Zhu steadied himself and continued upwards.

The scene unfolding before her eyes grew increasingly absurd; Beatrice's "Palace" and the real world overlapped precisely before her at this moment.

The powerful "battle song" of the Pharaoh seemed to echo in my ears, as if it were the answer given by the phantom thieves fighting for reality and the future when Beatrice repeatedly interrogated my soul.

'I believe in us,'

One day I will be able to soar through this sky!

'Perhaps one day, we—'

'We can achieve our own ideals!'

Nagisa heard Beatrice's soul-stirring question.

"Do you really intend to watch them disappear before your very eyes, pleading so desperately? Answer me!"

"You lot, for that laughable, hopeless future... are you going to simultaneously rob so many people of their 'happiness'?!"

Immediately afterwards, Nagisa heard Hifumi's resounding and defiant reply.

"Your world... the happiness you believe in is built on lies and despair—I don't want that kind of dark and oppressive story!"

Even if some people say that kind of story is more realistic and reflects the true nature of this world, I just don't like it!

"I have things I like!"

"Although I am ordinary and lack individuality... I will never back down when it comes to things I like!"

Even if... it means facing the gods?

Nagisa paused slightly, and then she heard Amamiya's powerful reply, which was quite penetrating and carried an inspiring, steely will burning in the face of adversity.

"You... you who have robbed countless futures to achieve your present state. You who borrow power from the external force of 'color.' You are neither a benevolent god who benefits humanity, nor a self-disciplined god who possesses the same integrity as an evil god... what right do you have to be called a god!"

"You... have committed the grave sin of arrogance—judgment befalls you for your disrespect!"

At that moment, Nagisa seemed to hear the panicked or worried words of the girls who fought alongside Amamiya, including Hifumi.

"Sensei——"

"JOK...?!"

The building beneath his feet seemed to tremble violently. Through the frost-covered window, Zhu saw the overwhelming lightning descending from the swirling clouds.

"It's alright. Don't worry, everyone..."

Amamiya's voice was calm: "To judge arrogance...? You are not qualified."

"As for your judgment... then I'll respond with 'The Deceiver's Counterattack Against Hypocrisy'—"

Zhu was slightly stunned, and suddenly the voice, which was both sorrowful and full of faith, like a song, rang in her ears again.

'After leaving behind that conformist self,'

We will continue walking this boundless road.

'Until the end of our mission;'

Even if we ultimately have to fight this battle with our backs against the wall.

But we will never give up!

Nagisa gritted her teeth, enduring the growing feeling of "powerlessness" as her strength rapidly drained away due to the cold, and quickened her pace upwards.

The shadows in front of us are gradually increasing in number, and their intensity seems to be increasing as well.

In the corridor leading to the broadcasting room, Nagisa saw... a dense array of "student shadows" that covered the entire corridor.

Without exception, they all drew inspiration from the tea party led by Nagisa, as well as other organizations closely related to the tea party, such as the Sisters' Order of the Holy Spirits and the Knights of the Aid.

Without exception, upon their arrival, they immediately raised their weapons at Nagisa or uttered vicious remarks.

Nagisa remained silent, preparing to force her way through.

She had just taken a step when the sound of gunfire erupted behind her, accompanied by the sound of high heels stomping on thick ice.

"Nagisa~?"

"Abandoning me and Saintia to go help Sensei all by yourself... isn't that a bit too cunning?"