I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Hmm...Is that so? It seems you've learned a lot during this time and made significant progress."

【~???~】(from time)

After offering the gentlest compliments, Amamiya paused slightly under the girl's continued gaze.

Why is she still looking at me like that?

...Does that mean we need some kind of 'special encouragement'?

After a moment's hesitation, Amamiya slowly reached out and placed his hand on the girl's head, then gently stroked it for a short while.

【~???~】

On the blonde girl's seemingly unchanging poker face, a hint of hesitation, or rather confusion, gradually appeared.

Her tone remained calm, devoid of emotion, yet it was clearly a murmur to herself: "So that's it. The reason why Lady Rion so frequently looks forward to interacting with Sensei is because..."

...Lady Rion, are you also looking forward to this 'subtle feeling'?

Noticing that Toki's gaze was gradually becoming somewhat alluring, Amamiya wisely 'stopped while she was ahead,' withdrawing her hand and changing the subject as she asked, "Speaking of which, Toki... why do you need to learn so much?"

"Because I want to cultivate my interests and hobbies."

Amamiya was slightly taken aback: Cultivate hobbies?

But then he added, "I found this philosophical knowledge in a philosophy book on the bookshelf of the Charlotte Café: [A life without hobbies is an imperfect life]."

“I noticed that the students who frequent the Charlene Café all have their own hobbies… For example, there’s a pink-haired Trinity student who looks rather suspicious; she always carries some strange magazines with her.”

Amamiya's lips curled into a smile: You're talking about Koharu, aren't you... The so-called magazine, you mean the kind of 'sexy' magazine?

"In addition, there's that member in the game development department who wears green cat-ear headphones. She always brings a sketchbook and has come to see you several times under the pretext of 'working together on game planning,' but she's always turned upless..."

This is Little Green.

Her so-called game project... if I'm not mistaken, is probably just a 'private date' disguised as a project?

“So…” Amamiya interrupted Toki’s continued self-narration: “Toki, are you looking for your own ‘hobbies’?”

"Hmm. Sensei, do you have any special 'opinions' regarding hobbies?"

Amamiya answered without hesitation: "As the saying goes, 'Interest is the best teacher'... Interests aren't cultivated, but rather 'discovered'."

"Doing what you want to do can be called a hobby."

Amamiya's two sentences, which were like "great truths" to Toki, left Toki momentarily confused.

I seemed to understand, yet I also seemed not to understand...

Unconsciously, she relaxed and sat on the edge of the bed, repeatedly pondering the meaning of Amamiya's two sentences.

After pondering for a while, Toki finally looked up at Amamiya and shook his head with an expression of "not understanding".

"Sorry...Sensei, I still don't understand."

Amamiya: "..."

It's not that I can't understand it.

After all... at that time, she was practically 'spoiled' by Rion.

Her current... basic way of thinking, and even her values, are closer to those of a 'secret agent who emphasizes efficiency and secrecy'—it's quite difficult for her to think like a normal person, at least for now.

Amamiya spoke up first: "Toki, regarding questions like 'hobbies and interests,' I think... I can help you find them."

His eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had finally achieved the sole purpose of his trip.

[I felt the anticipation from time to time.]

【Coop↑UP!】

[Asukama Toki (Emperor) ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆]

[★5 Ability "Agreement: Exploring Interests" is now unlocked!]

"Then... I'll leave it to you, Sensei."

Chapter 45 Xiaoxue: Hehe, now it's my turn!

"Noah? Has he finished 'working on' Xiaoxue's mindset?"

"Hmm~ It's a bit hard to say. After that kind of 'lesson,' Xiaoxue should behave herself for a while, right?"

Amamiya was awakened by the sound of two girls talking in the hallway outside her room.

As Amamiya got out of bed, she seemed to hear another girl's suppressed sobs and cries of pain: "Noah-senpai, Yuka-senpai, I was wrong..."

Why is it so lively outside so early in the morning?

Could it be that Xiaoxue has done something again?

Out of curiosity, Amamiya quickly changed her clothes and tidied herself up before heading to the door to open it.

However... something slightly unexpected happened: the doorknob seemed to be welded to the space itself, and no matter how Amamiya twisted it, it wouldn't budge.

As soon as she removed the key, Amamiya immediately noticed a sticky, gelatinous substance on the floor of the room.

Considering the dramatic scene unfolding outside the door—a "mixed doubles match between Yuka and Noah against Yuki"—Amamiya had a general idea of ​​what had happened.

Sure enough... Xiaoxue is up to her old tricks again.

After using his "Phantom Thief Infinite Lockpicking Tool" to pry open the door's mechanical lock, Amamiya pulled the door open from the inside and immediately saw a pink-haired girl being pressed against the other side of the corridor by Yuka and Noah, trembling with her back against the corridor wall.

However, from Yuki's tearful expression and that pitiful look—like a small animal being watched by predators, as she said, "Senpai, I was wrong, I'll never do anything strange again"—Amamiya knew...

Noah's so-called "ideological work" was probably not a pleasant process.

Even if there is no violence at all, it should be enough to "stop crying when you hear it".

Amamiya didn't see even the slightest sign of injury on Yuki—but Yuki, who was usually so mischievous, was still so scared...

This is enough to prove that Noah's "ideological work" was far more terrifying to Yuki than Yuka's straightforward taps on the head or solitary confinement.

"Sen, Sensei... Wow~"

Meeting Amamiya's slightly pitying gaze, Yuki burst into tears, bumping past the two seniors and grabbing Amamiya's waist: "Sensei, save me! Noah-senpai, she..."

Amamiya: "..."

He didn't immediately plead with Yuka and Noah, but instead looked up at the two girls in the corridor who had changed into kimonos.

Noah's kimono was the one he had custom-made at "Snow Fox House" yesterday, and it was named "Snow Cherry Blossom".

Yuka, perhaps encouraged by Noah or perhaps with ulterior motives, also changed into an outfit completely different from Noah's.

If we call Noah's outfit, which is predominantly bright sky blue or snow blue and resembles a snow maiden, "Snow Cherry Blossom," then Yuka's outfit, which is almost entirely composed of dark blue-purple tones, could be called "Summer Night Sparks."

Upon noticing Amamiya's gaze, Yuka and Noah each made different subtle gestures.

Noah gracefully spread his arms slightly, then responded with a gentle yet teasing look, as if to say, "Sensei, you can look at it anytime."

As for Yuka... she showed a brief moment of embarrassment at 'Sensei is looking at me like that,' but then looked back with a youthful, innocent charm.

"……what happened?"

Yuka sighed softly at Amamiya's question: "It's Yuki. I noticed she was in front of Sensei's room early this morning, planning to do something..."

"After observation, I discovered that Xiaoxue took out a type of plastic energy-absorbing soft gel produced by the engineering department, specifically used to seal lock cylinders, intending to play a prank on Sensei and prevent you from opening the door..."

Amamiya remained silent, looking down at Koyuki, who was hugging her waist and 'crying about her senior's misdeeds'.

--is that so?

Amamiya didn't speak, but his gaze, which was clearly questioning or doubting, immediately stopped Yuki's 'crying' actions.

After a slight pause, the pink-haired girl blinked, then turned her head slightly away guiltily, her grip on Amamiya loosening a little.

"Th-that...it's...Sensei, I didn't want to either..."

Under Amamiya's continued gaze, Yuki, her eyes darting around, explained haltingly, "I... I just noticed that Yuka-senpai suddenly came in yesterday... Waaaaah~!"

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a portable calculator that Yuka suddenly tossed to her.

Xiaoxue, who had just been hit hard on the head by the calculator, subconsciously turned around and was met with Yuka's strange expression, which was somewhere between 'panicked and shy' and 'unfriendly eyes'.

Noah, keenly seizing this opportunity, promptly asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Yuka?"

Xiaoxue: "..."

She glanced at Yuka-senpai, who had a "you're dead if you dare tell anyone" look on her face, and Noah-senpai, who was smiling with narrowed eyes, seemingly very curious but with a "smile hiding a knife."

After hesitating for a short while, Xiaoxue's eyes trembled as if she had suddenly realized something.

Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she immediately put her hands together and sincerely admitted her mistake: "...It was me. I wanted to play a prank on Sensei, so I planned to set a trap at the door of Sensei's room."

As the girl spoke, she turned to Amamiya, her back to the two seniors, and gave Amamiya a slight wink, trying to convey her emotions.

However, while Xiaoxue was making faces at people, she said very sincerely, "...Please forgive my behavior, Sensei."

Amamiya: ...

To be honest, being in a 'seminar' and at the 'bottom of the food chain' yet still so quirky... Xiaoxue really has it tough.

After a soft sigh, Amamiya bent down and flicked Yuki's forehead hard with her finger, 'admonishing' the girl amidst her cute cry of pain as she clutched her forehead: "I can forgive Yuki this time, but... you have to take responsibility for your own actions."

"Xiaoxue is responsible for cleaning up any traces of what she has done."

Xiaoxue beamed with joy and immediately agreed, "Yes, yes, yes! I will definitely remove all the marks completely! Thank you for your understanding, Sensei!"

Compared to being "ideologically educated" by her seniors or being confined... this was probably the lightest punishment for Xiaoxue.

“Since Sensei says so…” Yuka took the portable computer that Yuki had thrown out earlier from her hands, and warned in a slightly raised voice, “Don’t let this happen again.”

Noah still maintained the 'mysterious smile unique to literary girls,' but the sharpness hidden in that smile had been greatly diminished.

"Xiaoxue, this is a rare time to rest, so be a little good, okay?"

Xiaoxue nodded vigorously, her attitude of admitting her mistake was extremely sincere.

There was no way around it; if she wasn't even slightly sincere, she would definitely be locked up by her seniors again.

After 'arranging' for Koyuki, Yuka and Noah gave Amamiya a look before heading to the lobby of the hot spring inn to prepare for their meal.

Amamiya didn't move.

He stood at the doorway, watching Yuka and Noah disappear down the corridor, before turning his gaze to Yuki, whose expression changed instantly upon confirming that her senior wasn't there.

"Hehe~ I finally managed to fool them... Sensei, thank you for your understanding this time!"

Amamiya: "..."

Looking at the 'smirking' Xiaoxue, Amamiya suddenly felt that she shouldn't have felt even the slightest bit of sympathy for this 'brat'.

He should be severely confined to repent.

After a couple of ideological lectures, they behaved themselves.

After a few seconds of silence, Amamiya spoke up, annoyed: "Xue... why do you keep challenging the limits of your seniors?"

"Because it's interesting!" Xiaoxue answered without hesitation, "The reactions of the seniors are always a little different from the variables of luck that day..."

Amamiya narrowed her eyes slightly: Is it just because it's interesting?

The behavior of a troublemaking 'brat' who is also a 'genius girl' with exceptional mathematical talent... is indeed a little hard to understand.

Perhaps it can be attributed to the eccentricities of a genius?

"However, Xiaoxue can't continue like this... How about this?"

"Xiaoxue, weren't you very interested in my 'Phantom Thief's Little Tricks' before? To reduce the probability of you being repeatedly caught by Yuka and the others..."

Amamiya sighed, took a glass bead ornament shaped like an eyeball from her pocket, and handed it to Koyuki: "This... is a gift for you. When you concentrate while holding it, you can temporarily activate your 'third eye'."

The Eye of the Phantom Thief

[Type: Equipment/Accessory]

[Skill: Third Eye]

[The Third Eye: Allows users to temporarily open a third eye, observing a more detailed world and seeing subtle details not normally visible. Due to the use of a special medium, the effect is not as good as a true "third eye."]