I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

He did not back down, but continued to look at Amamiya with a resolute gaze.

Amamiya: "..."

Feeling that he might not escape this predicament if he didn't say something, Amamiya helplessly shifted the blame to Rion.

Meeting Toki's bright yet calm gaze, Amamiya tactfully said, "If Toki wants to know, she can ask Rion later... After all, the event hasn't been finalized yet, so it's really not convenient for me to reveal anything."

After saying goodbye to the maids from the maid club whom he had unexpectedly met, Amamiya continued on to the seminar.

As spring arrives, the young women who frequently attend the seminars have also changed their outfits.

As Amamiya had predicted, the dress code at the seminar had become much lighter and more casual after the change to spring attire.

But I don't know if it's just my imagination... these girls at the seminar never seem to like wearing their coats properly—they either drape them over their shoulders or wear 'old, slippery shoulders'.

The seminar, held in the late afternoon, was in a relatively relaxed phase.

After greeting the girls from the seminar he encountered along the way, Amamiya hurried to the core members' office and knocked on the door.

With a soft 'click', the office door was opened from the inside. Then, holding the doorknob, the "Black Overlord," dressed almost unchanged in black with a white turtleneck underneath, with black hair and red eyes, opened the door.

"..."

"..."

After staring at Rion, who was still holding the door open, for a few seconds, Amamiya caught a fleeting glimpse of shyness from this 'Lord of Darkness'.

“…Sensei,” Rion suddenly spoke, “Welcome to the seminar.”

Amamiya nodded to Rion, while her gaze swept past Rion, taking in the familiar office environment—

Noah and Yuka were both there, seemingly working on documents, and they subtly glanced over the door the moment the knock sounded.

After Amamiya cast a glance at them, the two made different and interesting reactions.

The white-haired literary girl made a micro-expression, first blinking and then giving a 'meaningful squinting smile'.

The proud purple-haired accountant lowered her head slightly, a little shyly, trying to reduce the burning sensation on her cheeks from being 'burned' by the gaze.

Rion stepped aside, and Amamiya followed suit into the room. Noticing that Yuki wasn't there, he casually asked, "Where's Yuki?"

His response was Rion's emotionless but rather somber reply: "You're in solitary confinement."

Noah, with a 'smiling face,' quickly added, 'The reason for the confinement... I think Sensei can guess it, right?'

The implication is that 'everything is understood without being said'.

Amamiya smiled helplessly, nodded, and said nothing.

It seems that Xiaoxue almost got her leg broken again because of her mischievousness, and was jointly put into solitary confinement by Yuka, Noah, and Rion.

After pausing for a while, Amamiya took the opportunity to observe the expressions of the three girls in the office.

After seemingly confirming this, he said quietly, "It seems that everyone at the seminar has recently reached a point where they have to release some of their stress..."

After clearing his throat, Amamiya deliberately lingered his gaze on Yuka for a moment, then tried calling out, "...Yuka?"

Yuka, startled by Amamiya's call, nearly made an unconscious reaction out of shyness and surprise.

"?!"

Suddenly straightening her back and pressing herself against the ergonomic chair, Yuka hurriedly responded under Noah's teasing gaze, "W-what's wrong?"

"It's nothing... I felt that Yuka's attention was a little distracted, so I called out."

Upon hearing this, Yuka's gaze turned slightly resentful.

'Sensei... if there's nothing wrong, please don't call my name suddenly...'

Meeting the girl's resentful gaze, Amamiya coughed lightly.

"Does everyone remember the 'hot spring trip' project we discussed at the seminar not long ago?"

Chapter Thirty-Eight Noah: Let's Read Haiku

"Sensei, did you know—there was a piece of literature that mentioned 'the speed at which cherry blossoms fall.' It's said that cherry blossoms fall at a speed of five centimeters per second..."

"Senior Noah's gun has a muzzle velocity of about 400 meters per second... Wow!"

The pink-haired girl, who had been hit on the head, crouched down miserably, clutching her head. The white-haired girl, who had effortlessly delivered the critical hit, simply flicked her wrist, smiled with narrowed eyes, and glared at Xiaoxue, who had been critically hit, with a look that carried a hint of 'killing intent'.

As if nothing had happened, Noah quickly composed himself, tilted his head slightly, and his violet eyes reflected the clusters of pink cherry blossoms climbing the branches nearby.

The world reflected in her clear pupils rippled slightly as the breeze swayed, and the white-haired 'literary girl' seemed somewhat lost in thought.

"So this is... the cherry blossom tree of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons... Although it's rare to see one in this thousand-year-old territory,... being there during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons feels completely different."

Noah's exceptional literary skills, coupled with the unique empathy that comes with being a "literary girl," made her probably the most emotionally resonant of the five girls present.

As for why there's one more?

That story begins last night.

Amamiya really hadn't expected... Toki's 'obsession' could be so strong.

Yesterday, he only casually revealed some information about the event to the members of the maid club, but Shijiro actually went to find Rion afterward.

In order to participate in this event... she even temporarily reconciled with Rion.

Noah picked up a cherry blossom petal that had fallen onto his collar, still covered in early dew, and stared at it for a long time.

Suddenly, something occurred to her: "Speaking of which, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons seems to have a rather unique haiku culture..."

While pondering, Noah took out a "high-grade pen" that she treasured and protected, and began writing in the small notebook she carried with her.

(The Pen's Story: Eternal Calamity - Chapter 8)

"According to the format of haiku from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons... is this how it should be written?"

"Early cherry blossoms fall late in the evening."

"The sound of sacrificial drums stains the old street eaves."

"The lingering fragrance stays on your fingertips."

Amamiya: ...

Noah could be considered to have 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'.

Having just arrived in the territory of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, he has already begun to try his hand at composing haiku.

Since she sometimes wears portable armor and carries luggage, Rion, who is 'carefree', has begun to observe her surroundings.

After scanning her surroundings with her crimson eyes, Rion quickly fixed her gaze on the mountainside not far away.

"That building perched on the mountainside... is that our temporary base?"

Following her question, the girls surrounding Amamiya on both sides also turned their gazes in that direction—and then everyone saw a building located on the mountainside, which was quite eye-catching in terms of its style.

A significant portion of natural hot springs are located around volcanoes.

Of course, the "Chisaki Onsen" that Amamiya had arranged in advance with Shizuko was no exception.

As a natural 'private hot spring', Chisaki Onsen is located on the hillside of a seemingly legendary mountain near the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons - naturally, hot spring inns and other related facilities are also built nearby.

The hot spring inn at "Chisaki Onsen" is unsurprisingly a modern building in the style of an old Edo-era castle tower—it looks new, but gives people a sense of the old era.

Amamiya roughly surveyed the layout of the inn...

The cherry trees at the foot of the mountain are a sea of ​​pink, while the snow-capped peaks of the mountain are surrounded by snow. From the top of the mountain to the middle of the mountain, there are many buildings that look very magnificent from a distance and have a uniform style.

How come this is... somewhat similar to the 'Mount Fuji' that he knew outside of the world of Kiwatos?

Temporarily setting aside the subtle sense of déjà vu, Amamiya nodded to Rion: "Yes, that's the destination for this hot spring trip... 'Chisaki Onsen'."

"so……"

Rion stopped talking and began to look around with a newfound gaze.

It has to be said that this trip was beyond her expectations from the very beginning.

—So this is the sense of accomplishment that comes from no longer being confined to the "world" you already know and engaging with a wider "world"...

Yuka, on the other hand, felt a sudden sense of tension rise within her after taking a quick look at the building's exterior.

"Sensei..."

She quietly moved closer to Amamiya, relying on the intimacy she perceived as the only one she had formed a special relationship with at the seminar, and tugged at Amamiya's sleeve before whispering, "How much does it cost to stay at this hot spring inn..."

Considering Yuka's practical spending habits, Amamiya hesitated for a moment about whether to tell Yuka about her 'real spending'.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya sighed softly and replied simply, "The whole place will be booked for three days and two nights. The initial quote from them was 20 million, which is a discounted price considering that someone introduced us."

Yuka was taken aback by Amamiya's 'exaggerated price' and then uncontrollably raised her voice.

"Huh?!~"

Xiaoxue immediately cast a sly look at him: "What's wrong, Yuka-senpai? Why are you suddenly making such a strange sound?"

Yuka, slightly embarrassed by the sudden focus of four gazes, coughed lightly and deliberately raised her voice, her cheeks flushed: "Sensei...you mean, the cherry blossom festival isn't completely over yet, right?"

Amamiya nodded: "The cherry blossom festival, as an event held during the 'cherry blossom season'... certainly won't end so easily after just one or two days."

"The cherry blossom season lasts for about seven to fourteen days... and that's also the duration of the cherry blossom festival."

Noah smiled with delight. The literal image of 'falling petals' and 'a riot of flowers' that lingered in her mind seemed to become clearer and more real.

"So to say……"

Half-jokingly and half-seriously, she began in a relaxed yet meaningful tone: "Let's go find the hot spring you booked in advance, Sensei. If we join the 'hot spring trip'... it'll be perfect for catching the tail end of the 'flower season festival'."

It must be said that Noah's use of adjectives was extremely exquisite.

Upon hearing this, Yuka, who had been hesitant to speak, suddenly widened her eyes slightly, as if she could feel a romantic atmosphere emanating from her.

Vague keywords such as promises made under cherry blossom trees; kimonos; festivals; summer nights with fireworks; candied apples... all sorts of strange keywords keep emerging.

While Yuka's associative abilities, bestowed upon her by her science background, are somewhat weaker, when it comes to 'empathy for entirely new and unknown things,' Yuka is in no way inferior to Noah.

As fragments of keywords in her mind pieced together to form "special formulas," Yuka felt as if "non-existent memories" were about to emerge in her mind.

For the time being, Yuka suppressed the clear images woven from the "love equation" deep in her memory. Unusually, she did not show any shyness or the kind of expression that revealed her outward strength but was actually tsundere. Instead, she sighed with a slightly blank expression, "How... romantic."

After somewhat hastily defusing the minor crisis, Amamiya, along with the four-person group from the seminar and Toki who had temporarily joined the trip, headed to the hot spring inn.

At the onsen ryokan in Chisaki Onsen, the receptionist was a student with distinctive animal ears and tails, characteristic of the local Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) style, who maintained a polite yet slightly distant smile befitting a guest.

When Rion looked over, the girl spoke naturally:

"These guests must be the ones who made the reservation, right? I'm the owner of this 'Chisaki Onsen,' and you can simply call me Chisaki. If you have any needs or questions, please feel free to come here and ask me."

Amamiya also paid special attention to this student who called herself "Chisaki"...

Considering her previous experience of encountering the "cyber ghost" (Kuzunaba) at the cherry blossom festival night, Amamiya deliberately used her third eye to confirm her true identity during her observation.

Fortunately, this time there was no "cyber ghost" causing trouble.

This student is named Chisaki, a graduate of the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons). After graduation, she chose to stay in the Hyakki Yagyō area and run a hot spring.

Amamiya withdrew her gaze and looked at the girls at the seminar.

"Let's put our luggage down first, and then we can discuss this..."

What should we do during the day?

Chapter Thirty-Nine: A hot spring must be available.

I don't know who said that—

"A hot spring trip must include a hot spring."

This seemingly nonsensical saying is actually a profound truth worthy of being taken to note, and it is quite reasonable.

After settling the girls who had come to the seminar and the girl who had joined the trip at the last minute, it was time to start planning the specific activities for this "three-day, two-night hot spring trip".

Hot springs are usually enjoyed at night... but the afternoon or evening are also a good time to soak.

It's unlikely I'll be soaking in a hot spring in the morning—that would be so unromantic.

A hot spring trip must include hot springs—but soaking in hot springs together is not the main point of a hot spring trip.

Or rather, it's not the absolute focus.

Isn't the key point the 'trip' of seeing new things everywhere, besides soaking in hot springs?