I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Shizuko's eyes flickered, and she was starting to feel flustered as she quickly searched for words to ease the awkwardness.

"Ah wow wow..."

"Ahem...no, that..."

"Welcome to Baiyetang, meow meow!"

Hearing Shizuko's voice suddenly "clamp up" and seeing her awkward yet cute act, Amamiya was immediately filled with curiosity.

How did she manage to switch "business mode" in just one second?

"...Meow?"

Despite Amamiya's slightly suspicious and deliberate repetition, Shizuko acted as if she hadn't heard him, maintaining her very 'business-like' smile: "Hehe, then please let me show you around here~"

"Speaking of which, I didn't expect Sensei to actually come..."

After that awkward remark, Shizuko said quite naturally, "Hehe, then please allow me to introduce myself again... My name is 'Kawa Shizuko,' and I'm the chairperson of the 'Festival Operations Committee.'"

"At the same time, I am also the mascot of Hyakuyado, which is like everyone's idol~!"

Amamiya: "?"

He really couldn't understand how someone could say something like that without feeling embarrassed at all, with such an energetic and cheerful tone, as if they were an idol on stage.

Doesn't she feel embarrassed at all?

[Assisted by: Shizuko Kawai / the signboard girl of Hyakuyado]

【Arcana: Love (VI. The Lovs)】

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

Amamiya's doubts were greatly dispelled after seeing the message about the "Third Eye".

"The 'love' card...that makes sense."

He recalled Ann Takamaki, who held the "love" card—those seemingly abrupt actions were perhaps the pure qualities unique to this type of helper.

"Ahem, Sensei... Is this your first time visiting our Hyakki Yagyō Joint Academy?"

"Well then, let me, who also serves as the Publicity (Part Two) Committee Member of our Celebration Operations Committee, explain~"

It was a little stiff, like a tour guide introducing the viewpoints at a scenic spot he was leading a group to…

Amamiya maintained an awkward but polite smile and did not interrupt her.

"To make a long story short, let's get to the point: what kind of place is the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) Joint Academy? Let's begin!"

Through Shizuko's practiced and seemingly well-prepared "expressive recitation of promotional text," Amamiya learned about the "Festival Operations Committee" and some related information about the "Cherry Blossom Festival" organized by the event club.

Simply put, the festival's operations committee is responsible for organizing the annual "Cherry Blossom Festival."

This year, the biggest annual festival in the tourism industry, known as the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, aims for an 'unprecedented breakthrough'...

"That's right, it was thanks to everyone's hard work and assistance that the event was so successful..."

After speaking all this in one breath, Shizuko's tone changed slightly, and her words became more complaining.

"However, recently a group of troublemakers have appeared..."

"They suddenly started causing damage everywhere this morning, it's really..."

As if to confirm Shizuko's words, Amamiya then heard explosions and gunfire coming from afar.

"Ugh... Seriously! They just showed up like that! What a bunch of annoying guys!!"

After venting her anger, the girl suddenly noticed that Amamiya was looking at her with a subtle gaze.

Realizing that she had behaved in a way that was not appropriate, the girl suddenly stopped moving.

"Um...oh, I'm so scared...just kidding...hehe~"

Amamiya: ...

With your change in attitude, could you be any more rigid?

He didn't speak, but calmly looked at Shizuko, intending to hear what else she had to say.

"Um... Anyway, Sensei, please come with me first... I'll explain the details to you once we get to the scene!"

Chapter 10 has a frame, why aren't you hitting it?

"Hahaha! We are the demons and monsters stationed on the streets where a hundred demons parade!"

"Our name is... A Demon on the Road!"

"Everyone, destroy, destroy, destroy! Let's burn everything to ashes!"

Upon seeing the 'destroyers' wielding guns and wearing long-nosed tengu masks, Amamiya vaguely realized that this "Cherry Blossom Festival" was not as simple as he had imagined.

Perhaps this perfectly illustrates the basic principle that "wherever the protagonist goes, trouble is bound to happen"?

Or perhaps... these disturbances were premeditated?

"To disrupt the cherry blossom festival, which is held only once in a long time... Unforgivable!"

Fina's voice, filled with gritted teeth, echoed in Amamiya's ears.

Amamiya didn't respond to Fina, but instead took out the [Destruction God Emperor] that Yuriko had tuned from her shoulder bag: "Fina, Shizuko, let's... drive away these guys who are ruining the festive atmosphere."

The weapon, forged from the divine body of 'Little Jehovah' Metatron, features exquisitely etched patterns of holy blood that seem to flicker with the rhythm of Amamiya's breathing, radiating a sacred light.

Shizuko, who already harbored resentment towards these frequent troublemakers, immediately picked up her sidearm—a pump-action shotgun.

"I've heard that Sensei has a wealth of experience in command... I'll leave the command to Sensei!"

Fina, equally furious, picked up her machine gun: "Drive these troublemaking intruders out!"

"Give the order, Sensei!"

With the gun loaded and the shotgun making a crisp sound, Amamiya silently activated Ariadne's 'Fate Link', transforming the ever-changing battlefield parameters observed by her 'Third Eye'—such as optimal cover, firing angles, predicted movement routes, and evasion angles—into clearly visible 'Fate Lines'.

As the Ariadne line begins to extend, everything will fall into the hands of "fate".

The two girls, whose consciousnesses were temporarily linked by Amamiya in a strange way, showed a brief moment of surprise and shock.

But then, still full of confidence, they picked up their weapons and began their operation, following the "thread of fate" that appeared in their field of vision and the direct commands from Amamiya that resonated in their consciousness.

'The enemy is a troublemaking group calling themselves "A Tower of Demons - Street Thugs," numbering 52. They're just numerous; their individual combat strength isn't particularly high—the advantage remains with our side!'

Using the nearby pillar as cover, the probability of being hit in the first round is 8.2%.

'Fina, after dodging the first round of attacks from the enemy, you have a 78.3% chance of successfully suppressing the target with your machine gun, and a 0.6% chance of being injured.'

"Shizuko, start positioning now, prepare for close combat—don't worry, I'll keep your clothes safe and won't let them get damaged."

Amamiya's instructions were issued methodically and progressively, and the "Line of Fate" presented to the girls was like an "auto-navigation" cheat in a first-person shooter game.

The system automatically identifies and highlights troublemakers hiding behind various bunkers, displaying them with transparency.

It automatically finds the best angle for dodging and firing, requiring only simple aiming, firing, and dodging;

The enemy's trajectory will be revealed by "Fate" a few seconds in advance and marked with a bright red ray;

Scene objects that can indirectly harm enemies, such as chandeliers and metal standees, are highlighted in red.

...Let me ask you this: when playing a shooting game, if our side has a solid foundation of strength but also uses so many cheats, how is the enemy supposed to play?

The answer is... it's unplayable.

With Amamiya's ruthless and precise maneuvering, like a chess player, and the "Fate Thread" that saw through the entire situation, Shizuko and Fina, just the two of them, resolved all the troublemakers without even having their clothes torn.

Amamiya fired only one shot throughout the entire process—a precise pinpoint shot that took down the tengu mask of the last member of "Chimei Ichizaku: Rokuryū".

The angle control was so precise that it only shattered the mask, which was likely made of some kind of bulletproof ceramic, without causing any damage.

"A crushing defeat in both tactics and strength... Surrender."

The 'Road Ryu' member whose mask was shattered by Amamiya maintained an expression of disbelief.

After the mask shattered into pieces, it revealed the pupils beneath, slightly enlarged due to extreme shock.

"So strong..."

Wearing a light yellow haori and exuding a delinquent girl vibe, the 'Road Ryu' member, after a brief moment of stunned silence, suddenly burst into tears on the spot.

"Why did he suddenly become so much stronger?! It's like he's cheating, using a cheat code!"

In some ways, it really could be considered 'cheating'.

After Shizuko and Fina subdued the tearful 'Road Rogue' member from either side, Amamiya asked softly, "Who brought you here?"

The suppressed members of 'Street Stream' looked on in astonishment, as if to say, "How do you know everything?! Who...who are you? How do you know we're hired?!"

Amamiya didn't answer her question, but instead asked Shizuko and Fina, "They...were involved in the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) a long time ago, right?"

"Um……"

The one who answered Amamiya's question was Fina, who was tightly binding the hands of the 'Road Ryu' members: "'Chimei Ichizaku Road Ryu'... They're a group of people who've been causing trouble at the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons for a very, very long time."

“Sensei, if you know about the Helmet Gang… you could actually think of them as ‘the Helmet Gang unique to the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.’”

Amamiya: "..."

It seems that the helmet group has a higher profile.

Amamiya then looked at Shizuko: "This kind of situation has never happened before, has it?"

Hearing this, the brown-haired girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, then gave a look of sudden realization: "Now that Sensei says it, it's true..."

"These 'problem children of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' were, in the past, just problem children."

"The ability to operate in such an organized manner as we are now only began recently..."

Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in her purple eyes.

"I see... Is that why Sensei said 'someone hired someone'?!"

She looked at Amamiya with an expression of surprise similar to that of the 'Road Ryu' members, but with more admiration: "Sensei, how do you know all this?"

Explaining the abilities of the "Third Eye" in detail, or from their obviously superficial, hastily learned tactical coordination, and their subconscious "fighting alone" behavior that is so different from their haphazard tactical coordination... is simply too troublesome.

Amamiya simply summarized, "It was observed."

【~???~】(from Fina)

"Is this... the phantom thief's observational skills? Amazing!"

【~???~】(from Jingzi)

"Anyway... I still want to thank Sensei for helping to deal with the troublemakers..."

Shizuko then looked at the 'Road Stream' members who had given up resisting: "Since you were hired... who is your employer?"

The members of 'Road Stream' looked dejected and shook their heads: "I...don't know."

"The employer never shows us his true face. His disguise is very thorough... All we know is that he likes to refer to himself as 'our generation.' As for us, he calls us 'Nyan-tatsu Masamune.'"

Not getting a specific answer, Shizuko gritted her teeth, feeling slightly resentful and a little angry.

"...twisting and turning a hundred flowers..."

Shizuko, who seemed to subconsciously want to say a name, paused here, looked at Amamiya, and changed her mind on the spot: "Could you contact the Valkyrie Police Station in your name?"

"Releasing them directly is really a bit..."

Amamiya waved his hand, intending to make the contact.

Just then, he suddenly heard a voice that sounded like a cat meowing in a low voice: "Wait."

"They may be 'problem children'... but if it's just a riot of this magnitude, it shouldn't warrant the Valkyrie Police Department deploying from another region, right?"

"So...why not leave the follow-up matters to me?"

Chapter Eleven: The Murderer Always Appears in the First Act

"So...why not leave the follow-up matters to me?"

Amamiya looked at the 'person' who had spoken...

No, to be more precise, it's a large humanoid calico cat that has a humanoid shape, wears a kimono, and gives off a slight "uncanny valley" vibe...?

Like General Chai... all the visitors were inhabitants of Kivotos, one of the animal inhabitants among them.