I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

If we compare the "Cherry Blossom Festival of a Hundred Nights in Spring," a parade of a hundred demons, to a game of chess, then Metenmaru is like a cunning opponent who, unable to win in a game, resorts to "outside-the-board tricks."

Previously, Shizuko, who was in charge of playing the game, might have been helpless in this situation.

But now, Amamiya is the one playing the game.

Amamiya has an "outside-the-board trick"—he can directly overturn the chessboard.

“Sensei… what should we do next?”

At that moment, Shizuko, who had just recovered from the fact that the shopping district president was actually the mastermind behind the disruption of the cherry blossom festival, suppressed her anger and gritted her teeth as she asked.

Noticing the brown-haired, purple-eyed girl's burning gaze that seemed to ignite flames as she looked at him, Amamiya pondered for a moment.

Clearly, Shizuko even felt an urge to confront him directly—but she knew very well that this was by no means a wise choice.

"Now, our goal is clear."

After this devastating loss, Chimei Yizuo should temporarily cease its interference with Baiyetang.

Taking this opportunity...

"Let's first get in touch with the 'Training Department' that Chise mentioned."

What's on display at the nighttime during the Cherry Blossom Festival in Chapter Fifteen?

Without the disturbance of the demon, the Hundred Nights Hall enjoyed a night as peaceful yet slightly lively as it usually is.

The approaching sunset did not significantly affect the lively "Cherry Blossom Festival".

Standing at the entrance of Hyakuyado, Amamiya looked around at the surrounding stalls.

As dusk fell and day turned to night, the atmosphere of the "summer festival," which Amamiya was familiar with, intensified rather than diminished.

"Your Highness, what are you looking at?"

The fox-eared girl's still energetic and expectant voice coming from beside him made Amamiya turn her gaze away.

“I was looking at the stalls on both sides of the street,” Amamiya replied with a smile. “The cherry blossom festival of Hyakuya no Haru gives me a sense of relaxation, like ‘it’s rare to have some fun.’”

Noticing that the girl's bright golden eyes were still fixed on his profile, Amamiya paused slightly and turned her gaze towards the girl: "What's wrong, Izuna? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Izuna, who usually gives off a lively and cheerful vibe, pursed her lips and lowered her head, seemingly hesitating for a moment.

"Lord..."

The girl's fox ears, which were usually always standing straight, drooped listlessly, and her voice was somewhat dejected: "Izuna really wants to know... Is 'becoming a ninja' really such a... ridiculous dream?"

Clearly... Izuna was still caught in self-doubt because of the 'behind-the-scenes employer's' unabashed mockery that "the way of the ninja is just a childish game for immature kids."

Amamiya gently shook her head: "That's a wrong idea."

He paused, then added, "...I mean, it's wrong for Izuna to have this idea."

As she spoke, Amamiya pointed to herself in Izuna's eyes, which were still bright but inevitably held a hint of confusion.

"Izuna's dream is to become a ninja. But long ago, my 'dream' was to become a phantom thief who could always punish evil and promote good..."

"Both are unrealistic dreams, so what's the big difference between a phantom thief and a ninja?"

Amamiya chuckled and shook his head, pausing for a long while before saying quietly, "Before becoming a 'veteran phantom thief,' our phantom thief group's activities were widely regarded by outsiders as 'children playing house'; 'it would all stop after a while'; 'because we hadn't experienced the harsh realities of life'..."

"Such public opinion even affected the members of the Phantom Thieves at one point, causing them to question whether they should continue."

"But when we thought that if we really stopped the phantom thieves' activities, too many people would be unable to speak out, and we would lose the phantom thieves as their last and only channel to rely on. All the courage we had brought to everyone would also dissipate... So the members of the phantom thieves gritted their teeth and persevered."

Amamiya placed his right hand on the girl's head and touched her fox ears, which were drooping due to her low spirits.

"Izuna's dream was absolutely right, and the sweat and effort he put into realizing it cannot be dismissed as mere 'child's play' by those short-sighted individuals."

"The 'phantom thief' has become everyone's idol. But who knows that the original 'phantom thief' was only doing it out of necessity to uphold fairness and justice?"

"In my opinion, Izuna's current situation is very similar to the beginning of the Phantom Thieves... What Izuna lacks is not the motivation to realize his dream, but like-minded partners."

Amamiya really hit the nail on the head; she spoke to Izuna's heart perfectly.

indeed……

She has now found a lord she can rely on and entrust her life to.

Although ninjas are all solitary night owls... occasionally, Izuna still hoped for one or two companions who could share his language and truly understand him.

'Looking for companions... I see, that's certainly an important form of training.'

'While powerful ninjas often work alone, Izuna, as a newcomer to his lord's side, is not yet mature enough to completely abandon his comrades...'

"I see... As expected of our lord!"

"I feel like I've learned another great lesson from my lord!"

I sensed Izuna's trust.

【Coopation↑UP!】

【Kuda Izuna (Magician) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

[★2 Ability "Secret Technique of Information Gathering" has been unlocked!]

With the important matter of finding a partner firmly in mind, Izuna lowered her head, and her fox ears gradually stood up as her mood brightened.

'My lord always manages to teach Izuna profound principles like this, perfecting Izuna's "ninja way"...'

'My lord is so amazing, is this the maturity of a "master"...?'

Amamiya, who had accurately caught Izuna's mutterings, smiled and shook her head gently, without saying anything more.

In Kivotos, "adult" seems to be some kind of abstract, rare, and proprietary concept.

The concept of "adult" symbolizes more than just physical and mental maturity.

Currently, it seems that apart from Amamiya, only a few secret arts have such a concept.

After her self-reflection, Izuna, who was being watched by Amamiya, suddenly began to sway her large, smooth, and shiny fox tail, which made one want to touch it.

After less than half a second of hesitation and struggle, Izuna suddenly grabbed Amamiya's hand, looking up at her with starry eyes and expectantly saying, "Princess, it's a rare 'twilight hour,' and there are many stalls worth visiting during the evening of the cherry blossom festival. Let Izuna take you around!"

Amamiya: ...

He originally intended to deal with the messages that had been sent that night.

But now, it seems there's no possibility of moving freely anymore.

As the sunset faded from the sky, Amamiya did not resist Izuna's outstretched hand, but instead took the girl's soft hand, clad in a ninja glove, into her palm.

Izuna immediately and keenly sensed the subtle shift from 'active' to 'passive'.

Just a moment ago, she was eagerly trying to drag Amamiya around the night festival, but now she unexpectedly showed a momentary shyness.

"My lord...?"

Izuna seemed a little stunned, realizing the situation too late.

My heart suddenly started racing, then it skipped a beat...

What is this sudden, intense feeling that my heart is about to jump out of my chest?!

Izuna jolted, instinctively wanting to pull his hand back.

The thought had barely formed when she felt a strong resistance to doing it.

I wish I could stay with my lord a little longer...

Wait... what was I just thinking about?!

After a moment of intoxication, Izuna 'awoke from a dream' and uttered a confused yet adorable tone.

"Wow?!"

Amamiya, who had quietly activated [Enchanting Aura] (Wakazama's Bond Skill) and [Twilight Dawn] (Noah's Bond Skill), smiled teasingly and asked Izuna knowingly, "What's wrong, Izuna?"

The fleeting feeling of being moved seemed to fade quickly... yet it also lingered in the girl's heart for a long time.

Izuna didn't answer Amamiya's teasing question, which he already knew the answer to. Instead, he blankly used his free hand to touch his slightly heaving chest, which was still throbbing hotly as if it had never stopped.

"Hey hey hey..."

It's such a unique feeling, I love it so much...

It turns out that being with your "destined lord" is such a happy thing...

With his tail swaying unintentionally and his fox ears twitching slightly like high-frequency signals, Izuna himself realized just how 'happy' he looked right now.

Amamiya watched with great interest how Izuna's already fluffy fox tail behaved after it was puffed up—not only did it stand straight up, but the frequency of its swing and the fluffiness seemed to have increased as well.

After waiting a while, until Izuna's tail gradually drooped down, Amamiya slowly asked, "Izuna, is there anything you want to say or play?"

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, Izuna immediately scanned the nighttime streets of the "Cherry Blossom Festival".

The girl's gaze quickly settled on a stall that looked "glamorous" but was basically ignored.

"My lord, let's play this balloon popping game!"

With her hand being held, Amamiya showed no sign of resistance or questioning, gently agreeing, "Alright, then tonight, Izuna will take the lead."

Chapter Sixteen: Even the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Includes a Cyber ​​Ghost?

As the sunset faded, a dazzling firework suddenly shot up with a "whoosh."

After the fireworks exploded in mid-air into brightly colored bursts, the 'prelude' to the entire cherry blossom festival's evening event seemed to have been completely ignited.

Fireworks were launched into the night sky, where the rosy hues had almost faded, blooming in mid-air like a flower that vanished in an instant.

Amamiya, led by Izuna to the stall, tilted her head slightly and looked at the fireworks that rose into the night sky, exploded, and then quickly disappeared.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Amamiya would have found it hard to believe that this 'firework effect' was actually produced by the 'Cherry Blossom Festival' fireworks simulation device that Shizuko had contacted the engineering department over a thousand years ago.

—It is said that it was made with the latest technology from the engineering department, which not only maintained the atmosphere of fireworks on the night of the festival, but also greatly reduced the amount of fireworks used, and at the same time significantly reduced the possibility of causing a fire.

By simply setting up in advance and purchasing a certain amount of 'filler', the risk of fire when setting off fireworks can be completely avoided, and there is no need to worry about post-firework cleanup. These scattered fireworks 'filler' materials will automatically degrade into 'spring mud' that is beneficial to plant growth.

"My lord, let's play this balloon popping game!"

The fox-eared girl beside him, with her energetic and adorable demeanor like a little sun, drew Amamiya's attention away from the fireworks.

Fireworks are only a fleeting beauty, dazzling... but they are not as delightful as the girl beside me, whose mere sight seems to lift one's spirits.

Perhaps because of the principle that "the highlight of the festival is at night," Amamiya witnessed many classic mini-games after the fireworks began.

For example, a game where you use a thin paper net to catch goldfish;

For example, the classic ring toss game;

For example... a game where you shoot balloons to score points, and then redeem rewards based on the points earned from popping balloons.

This is the stall that Izuna brought Amamiya to, a stall that looked almost deserted but was decorated very elaborately.

After taking a stand, Amamiya immediately surveyed the situation of the stall.

The person in charge of running the stall was a girl wearing a kimono haori, with two 'demon' horns on her head, giving her a Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal Japanese woman) air about her.

Even in the context of the "Cherry Blossom Festival," where everyone dresses in a more flamboyant way, her clothing is quite unique.

After her gaze lingered on Amamiya for a moment, the girl spoke calmly and gently.

"Would you two like to play a balloon popping game? Um, sir... how would you like to attempt it?"

Amamiya did not immediately respond to the girl's question, but instead asked somewhat strangely, "The taste and decoration of the stall are quite excellent, but why is no one interested in it?"

Logically speaking, it was quite 'rude' for Amamiya to ask such a direct question right off the bat.

But the girl, who resembled a Yamato Nadeshiko, was not angry. She simply smiled mysteriously, then opened a folding fan painted with a "Hyakki Ukiyo-e" picture. She half-covered her face with the fan and replied meaningfully, "Perhaps it's because... this stall only serves 'those who are destined'?"

With a 'whoosh,' she closed the fan, tapped the palm of her other hand with the fan rib, and casually pointed to the "Rules of the Balloon Popping Game" on the side.

Amamiya looked over and then saw a rather absurd rule.

[Rules of the Balloon Popping Game]

Rule 1: An entry fee of 1 million credits is required to participate in the game. This fee is non-refundable regardless of a player's performance.

[Rule 2: Players can choose between 'Fixed Target' and 'Moving Target' modes. The base score for a fixed target is 10, while the base score for a moving target is twice that of a fixed target. The moving target's speed can be adjusted; for every 10% increase in speed, the score also increases by 10%.]