I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Amamiya felt that the other person's dark, deep eyes lingered on her for a brief moment.

Immediately afterwards, Amamiya heard Shizuko's slightly surprised voice: "Ah... President?"

The 'humanoid giant cat' waved to Shizuko who was speaking, and then greeted Amamiya: "Hello, I am the president of the Hyakki Yagyō Shopping Street. You can call me Metenmaru. You are the Sensei invited by Hyakya-do, right? Nice to meet you."

Amamiya nodded: "Nice to meet you."

He turned to look at the 'Road Flow' members lying on the ground all around, unconscious, and asked with a slight frown, "President Miaotianmaru, how do you plan to deal with these 'troublemakers'?"

"Heh... They're just a bunch of problem children after all." Meteorite smiled as kindly as possible. "Sensei, as an 'adult,' you should show these problem children some leniency..."

"If they were taken to the Valkyrie Police Department, even if their 'life' wasn't stained, it would at least create a bad impression of you, wouldn't it?"

"so……"

After pondering for a moment, Motenmaru stroked his chin and offered his solution: "How about we confiscate their weapons and force them to work for Hyakuyado...?"

Amamiya didn't speak immediately, but simply glanced calmly at Metenmaru.

So you've said all the good and bad things to me, right?

The other party is using both emotional appeal and reputation appeal, and even taking advantage of the surrounding 'onlookers' watching the spectacle... To become the president of the shopping street, they really have some skills.

Amamiya looked at Shizuko: "Let's leave the decision-making power to Shizuko. After all, this is a matter of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. What does Shizuko want to do?"

"Well……"

Feeling the gazes of the onlookers around her, Shizuko became slightly embarrassed.

She really wanted to stick to her decision and hand these 'problem children' over to the Valkyrie police station.

However, the person who proposed this solution was, after all, the president of the shopping district who had usually given Hyakuyado some preferential treatment...

The brown-haired girl's eyes flickered with conflict. She sighed and shook her head at Amamiya: "Then let's do as the president says and let them go this time."

"As for having them work for Baiyetang... let's forget about it. We'd have to spare some energy to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get handsy or take the opportunity to cause trouble... it's not worth it."

How much damage can an outsider cause by doing insider work? Shizuko is probably someone who has a relatively good voice and a clear understanding of this.

Let these problem children who repeatedly disrupt the "Festival Operations Committee" handle all sorts of things at Hyakya-do...

If they don't make things worse, Shizuko should be thanking her lucky stars.

"However, we can't let them off completely just to give them a little punishment, right?"

As he spoke, Miaotianmaru picked up a well-preserved weapon from the ground, which resembled an "RPG-7 rocket launcher," and weighed it in his hand.

"Then let's confiscate their weapons. A full fifty armed individuals is a significant loss for those problem children from 'The Demon's Throne'."

"This……"

Shizuko hesitated for only a moment before nodding.

"Then, leave their weaponry to me. I'll find other ways to convert it into usable funds... Let me estimate the market value of this equipment first... Hmm."

"A total of fifty people's worth of equipment, including several rocket launchers, more than fifty rifles and submachine guns, and a number of throwables... If converted to market value, let's say thirteen million credits. I'll transfer it to you immediately."

Amamiya calmly observed the shopping district chairman's 'free-flowing' actions.

It really is……

Having said both good and bad things, and cleverly achieved his goal, he still wanted to take a bite out of the meat.

Equipment is always easy to sell but hard to buy – equipment sold at the original market price can cost much more to buy back through 'underground channels'.

After receiving the on-site transfer from Miaotianwan, Shizuko's anger at being 'disturbed' subsided somewhat.

“Fina, let’s go back first. Let’s continue talking to Sensei about the ‘Cherry Blossom Festival’…”

"I understand, Chairman."

Fina readily untied the last 'Road Stream' member who was still conscious and shoved her next to her fallen companions: "Take her away. I'll let you off this time. I hope you won't be ungrateful."

Amamiya gazed intently at the fallen members of the Chimei clan, lost in thought, completely unaware of his own Amamiya.

A soft voice, tinged with familiarity, called from beside her: "Sensei..."

Hearing the sound, Amamiya quickened her pace slightly and caught up with Shizuko, who seemed to be taking light breaths to calm herself down.

……

Upon returning to the inner courtyard of Hyakuyado, the first thing Shizuko did was to express her heartfelt gratitude.

"Phew... Thanks to Sensei for their help."

Amamiya's conducting style, which resembled that of a symphony conductor, left a very deep impression on the girl.

That feeling of "not being in a battle, but rather like being on the notes of a symphony score, rolling and leaping"...

She didn't feel even the slightest bit of the difficulty or harshness of the battle.

She simply followed the conductor's baton and, with utmost elegance, effortlessly and gracefully achieved her goal, as if 'dancing'.

Her purple eyes shimmered with a hint of longing, as she recalled the battle with the members of "Chimei Ichijo" (a group of demons). The girl spoke softly and sincerely, "Without your help, Hyakuyado would never have been able to repel these troublemakers with minimal damage and without injury, just like today..."

The romantic atmosphere that Shizuko created, reminiscent of a 'teen idol drama,' was shattered in just a few seconds by an overwhelming sense of 'chivalry.'

The blonde girl next to him naturally leaned against Amamiya's other side.

"Sensei is like a chivalrous leader who 'punishes evil and promotes good'! With its powerful ability to unite, it brings together righteous 'heroes' to punish evil!"

Jingzi: "..."

After a brief silence, she pouted slightly: "I told you not to talk to the teacher like that!"

"Cough cough... um, it's just..."

Realizing her lapse in composure, the girl coughed slightly, looking a little embarrassed, "S-Anyway...thank you very much, Sensei."

I felt Shizuko's gratitude.

Coopation is now unblocked!

【Kawa and Shizuko (love)★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

"but……"

After expressing her gratitude, the girl sighed again, looking quite worried: "Although we've repelled this 'troublemaker,' what if they keep coming back..."

"If this continues, and it ultimately leads to the cancellation of the cherry blossom festival, we will face criticism from all sides..."

"..."

"Hey……"

Amamiya calmly looked at the brown-haired girl beside her, first grumbling, then suddenly realizing something was wrong, she forced herself to maintain her 'business mode' and said, "Just kidding, Shizuko is really scared!"

Amamiya: "..."

He originally thought that Shizuko's personality might be similar to that of Ann Takamaki.

The result now seems to be closer to Kawakami-sensei's.

When Kawakami-sensei came to Leblanc as a maid, she would switch between 'business mode' and 'daily mode' from time to time.

Only then did Amamiya speak softly, "What are Shizuko's plans?"

"Hmm... Now that we know the people at 'Chimei Yizuo' are hired by someone behind the scenes, then of course we should find out who the employer behind Chimei Yizuo is."

As Shizuko spoke, she fell into thought.

At that time, the employer mentioned by "魑魅座" (a pseudonym) called himself Nyanta Masamune...

This name... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before...?

Fragmented clues lingered in her mind, and Shizuko frowned, earnestly trying to piece them together.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head: "Nyatatsu Masamune... I know that name!"

"It should be the code name of the leader of a yakuza organization called the 'Black Turtle Group' in the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) area..."

"However, it's also possible that someone else is using this code name to do these things and pushing all the blame onto the Black Turtle Group..."

“If it’s a yakuza group like the Black Turtle Gang…” Fina joined the conversation with a worried look, “it would be very difficult for our ‘Festival Operations Committee’ to truly compete with them, wouldn’t it?”

"That's right..."

The brown-haired girl, caught in Amamiya's gaze, gently closed her eyes, exhaled softly, and then resolutely opened them again: "Do what is necessary when necessary... I have some leads regarding the 'behind-the-scenes'."

"We can ask the student council for help with the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) and other clubs that want to maintain the Cherry Blossom Festival..."

"Therefore, we need Sensei's help. Would you be willing to help us?"

Chapter Twelve: The Yin-Yang Department's 'Mascot'

Regarding "How to handle problems"...

The brown-haired girl, maintaining an idol elegance that was somewhere between 'business mode' and a normal conversational tone, led Amamiya to a rather 'antique' building.

“If the students of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons really run into trouble, generally speaking... there are two places to look for them.”

"One of these places is the de facto student council of the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) Joint Academy—the 'Onmyo Club'."

At this point, Shizuko stopped talking and gestured for Amamiya to look at the building in front of her with the "Yin Yang Department" sign hanging on it.

"However, I always experience stomach pain when I come here..."

Amamiya was quite interested in Shizuko's rather amusing expression, especially the one she wore when she said those words, which seemed to indicate she was suffering greatly.

After observing the building in front of her, Amamiya asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because the people in the Yin-Yang Department are all very lazy, no matter how much you beg them, it's very difficult to get them to do it..."

With a pout, a clear resentment flashed quickly in the brown-haired girl's eyes. But instead of directly expressing this resentment, she said, "The other place is the 'Hundred Flowers Conflict Mediation Committee.'"

"Even if you report the matter to the 'Yin Yang Department,' they'll just smile and tell you, 'We don't have that authority.' And in reality, it's usually the Hundred Flowers in Full Bloom that solves the problems..."

"Especially that minister of the Yin-Yang Department..."

As she spoke, Shizuko couldn't help but start complaining again: "Even when I go to her, she always says, 'Important cases should be handled in writing.' If she says to handle them in writing, then it's too late...!"

"By the time the written version is approved, the good and bad will have already been resolved on their own!"

"Why are they always so lazy! They just pass the buck and wait for things to solve themselves..."

Amamiya: "..."

Through Shizuko's one-sided account, Amamiya gained a basic understanding of the Onmyō-bu and Hyakka Ryouran, the two nominally "law enforcement organizations" of the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons).

Shizuko's words reminded Amamiya of Gehenna's Pandemonium and the Disciplinary Committee.

The counterpart to the Yin-Yang Department is Gehenna's Pandemonium.

If Shizuko's account is true, then the comparison is rather amusing—the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) is characterized by its tendency to pass the buck when in doubt, and its attitude towards handling various matters is one of laziness whenever possible.

In contrast, Pandemonium is astonishingly proactive—under Makoto's leadership, Pandemonium always wants to do everything, but because it wants to do everything, it often ends up doing nothing well.

"It sounds like... Shizuko seems to be suffering a lot from this."

Amamiya couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy as she looked at the brown-haired girl beside her, who seemed somewhat relieved after pouring out her grievances: "I suppose Shizuko's 'Festival Operations Committee' has been 'tortured' quite a bit before, hasn't it?"

【~???~】

What Shizuko felt from Amamiya was not a 'condescending so-called sympathy,' but a 'mutual care based on empathy and shared suffering,' which unconsciously shortened the distance between them.

A determined glint shone in her purple eyes as the girl tilted her head back and pouted her little nose: "Hmph~ I've also thought of a way to deal with their attitude!"

"Now that we have Sensei on our 'Festival Operations Committee'! Even someone as lazy as the head of the Onmyoji Department would have to help us out if you were here!"

"They probably won't be able to pass the buck this time... If they continue to boss me around like that... hehehe~"

The girl's confident posture—hands on hips, chest out, head held high—made Amamiya chuckle.

Is this a case of someone borrowing the tiger's power, or has he turned the tables and sang a song of triumph?

I think they all exist...

Noticing Amamiya's undisguised smile, Shizuko suddenly felt slightly embarrassed.

"Ah, well... um... Shizuko is worried that she might not listen to our demands~"

Her sudden and awkward switch to a new business mode left Amamiya speechless.

“In a situation like this, where it’s just the two of you… Shizuko doesn’t have to hide herself.”

【~???~】