I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Chapter Sixty: A special relationship developed between him and Nomiya...

The moment Amamiya received those meaningful glances from the five girls on the countermeasures committee, a crucial question immediately arose in her mind, one that was of utmost importance in the current situation.

...Who will I spend the evening with?

After careful consideration, Amamiya still felt that... since they had only recently established a 'special relationship' with Ayane, they should cherish and nurture this special relationship.

Amamiya turned her gaze to Ayane and immediately noticed that the black-haired girl gazing into the distance in the night seemed to carry a very slight resistance, as if saying, "Don't look over here, don't look over here."

Almost the instant Amamiya cast a glance at her, Ayane's movements immediately revealed a subtle, indescribable flaw.

She immediately made a gesture of fixing her hair to cover up her momentary panic.

Under the cover of night, the rest of Abydos seemed not to notice Ayane, who was blushing to her ears as if she had done something wrong, and her whole body was trembling slightly with panic.

While it's not entirely incomprehensible that Ayane would try to conceal her secret feelings, but...

Hey.

Ayane... please don't think that 'establishing a special relationship' is a milestone, okay?

Amamiya coughed lightly and asked slowly, half-remindingly, "Does Ayane have anything to do tonight?"

Upon hearing Amamiya's question, the other four girls, each with their own thoughts, immediately focused their attention on Ayane.

Ayane, on the other hand, jolted awake and showed obvious panic.

She waved her hands repeatedly, stammering an uncertain reply: "No, no... right?"

Sensing the increasingly sharp gazes of her companions, Ayane's tone became even softer and sweeter.

"As for tonight... there are indeed some things to do, like taking inventory of supplies. But I can handle those things by myself, so there's no need to trouble Sensei too much..."

Amamiya was silent for a few seconds, then said "Oh".

"If Ayane needs any help in the meantime, remember to contact her."

"……Um."

I've already deliberately given them a chance...

With a sigh in his heart, Amamiya put one hand in his pocket and stood up to look at the blonde girl who was still wearing that white wide-brimmed sun hat and holding a camera.

Sensing his gaze, the girl squinted and chuckled, as if she had been prepared, and waved her hand to show Amamiya and her other companions the camera in her hand that looked incredibly expensive.

"Well then..." Maintaining a light smile, she handed the camera to Amamiya without further ado, "Sensei... let's go take some pictures by the beach~"

The sheer weight of it made Amamiya feel a slight sense of awe.

"Let's go to the beach together..."

After Amamiya made his decision, Shirako, Serika, and Hoshino all expressed varying degrees of disappointment.

But since it was agreed upon in the "plan," once it was confirmed, there couldn't be any sudden interference...

So, despite their disappointment, neither of them had any intention of 'going over to see' or 'interfering with their time together'.

Based on her understanding of cameras and her usual shooting style, Amamiya checked various parts of the camera and adjusted minor parameters such as lens focal length.

When he looked up, the blonde girl beside him had already prepared her backpack.

The moonlight was bright, and the stars were everywhere.

At night, you can easily walk around the island without any equipment like a flashlight.

"Sensei, let's go! ☆~"

Amamiya hung the camera around his neck and followed the girl's light and cheerful steps.

Following the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the direction of the sea breeze, Amamiya and his companion soon spotted a rocky, barren beach.

The bright moon hangs high, the sea and sky blend into one, and thousands of waves crash against the shore... Beside me, a youthful and beautiful girl in sandals and a refreshing summer outfit follows closely.

The girl had her hands behind her back, and her forward movements were sometimes fast and sometimes slow, as if she were playing a hopscotch game with a certain pattern.

Although her movements were quite cheerful... her first words to her other companions, who were far away from Abydos, carried a somewhat heavy tone.

"Whew... It's so nice to be able to play on the beach with Sensei on a clear night with stars everywhere... This feeling is wonderful."

Amamiya paused slightly as she raised her camera to take a picture of 'Girl with the Sea'.

After a moment's hesitation, he tried asking, "...Nomiya, you don't seem to be in a good mood?"

"Well……"

The blonde girl tilted her head slightly, bathing in the silver moonlight that streamed down from the dome.

After giving a slightly forced smile, she said, somewhat unsure of herself, "I should say... I'm not in a very good mood?"

"Should I say?"

"Hmm..." Nomiya slowly turned around and looked at the curly-haired young man holding a camera in one hand. "Or rather... are you feeling 'complicated' right now?"

Nomiya didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.

So far, everyone on the countermeasures committee has gradually found their 'true selves'... or rather, the goals and 'beliefs' that they can keep striving for.

The most prominent symbol is that they all awakened their "personas" in another world.

For a fleeting moment, the girl's thoughts drifted far away—

She recalled Amamiya's previous 'explanation'.

'The source of the power of Persona lies in the inner world of a person… 'unwillingness to accept defeat.'

'...Unwilling to accept it?'

'Yes, I'm not reconciled.'

'Such resentment as, "Why am I powerless to stop all this from happening?", "Why am I forced to submit to the status quo?", "Why must I become a conformist, a good girl who goes with the flow?", "Why must I be allowed to be exploited without a second thought?"...

"The 'persona' is irrefutable proof of accepting one's most vulnerable self, a rebellion against current injustices, and a resolute determination to 'die nine times without regret.'"

Nowadays... everyone in Abydos has their own determination to try to achieve their ideals with their own hands in the daily life that is gradually being filled with color, and to touch the dream stars that they have launched into the universe.

But... what about herself?

The girl forced a smile, sighed deeply, and then said softly, "Sensei... with your help, everyone in Abydos has gradually emerged from the shadows and has gradually found their own goals that they 'want to achieve' and 'want to strive for'..."

"you……"

"It has truly given us a lot of 'belief'."

Amamiya hung the camera back on his chest, stepped onto the sand that was soft and wet from the waves and reflected the moonlight, and came to the girl's side. He listened quietly to the girl's monologue and watched her gaze fall on the horizon that seemed to connect with the night sky.

"But... I haven't fully grasped everything you've brought us."

Nomiya sounded dejected. She bent over and squatted down, hugging her knees with one hand, and casually grabbed a handful of sea sand from the beach with the other.

"This feeling is like..."

As he spoke slowly and gently, Nomiya gradually clenched his fists.

However, no matter how tightly she clenched her fists, there would always be a gap in her palms.

As the moisture gradually drained, the once-firm sea sand became loose and crumbled, quietly slipping through the gaps in the girl's palms.

"Everything you've given me... no matter how I try to piece it together, it slips through my fingers like fine sand."

She looked at Amamiya and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind: "Could this... be my problem?"

Amamiya remained silent for a few seconds before decisively shaking her head: "Of course not."

“Nomiya, the reason you feel ‘you haven’t mastered yourself’ is not because you haven’t learned anything from me.”

"But because..."

"Nomiya, you're too 'greedy'."

The girl paused slightly, then looked at Amamiya, blinking in confusion: "'Greed'?"

Amamiya nodded and repeated the key word with certainty: "Greed."

The blonde girl immediately smiled slightly—she had never imagined that she would hear such a strange description from someone else, especially someone she was beginning to admire.

“Why would Sensei describe me like that?” she asked. “Am I really… greedy?”

"Nomiya, I wonder if you've ever heard of life philosophies like 'Trying to do everything often results in doing nothing well,' or 'Too much of a good thing is bad.'"

As Amamiya spoke, he wanted to squat down and grab a handful of sand like the girl... but then he remembered that he still had to control the camera, so he gave up.

After pausing for a moment, Amamiya picked up the camera, adjusted the focus slightly, and pressed the shutter on the still somewhat confused blonde girl.

After a 'click' sound, Amamiya continued, "That's how Nomiya is right now."

"If we compare abstract things like memories, pleasant daily life, or even time, to sand in the palm of our hand."

"These abstract things are unlikely to be permanently held in one's possession, permanently preserved, or permanently controlled, are they?"

Nomiya remained silent: "..."

This is true.

There are gaps in the 'palm'.

It's unlikely that such tiny things could be prevented from slipping through the gaps.

"is that so……"

After a moment of thoughtful contemplation, Nomiya chuckled softly.

"So, in Sensei's eyes, I am indeed a very 'greedy' person."

The next wave rolled in.

The girl straightened up, letting the sea gently wash over her calves.

As the sea breeze arrived at the same time, she stood still, quietly feeling the seawater spreading past her calves and the wind slipping away quietly through the gaps in her clothes.

Just like a handful of sand that always ends up remaining when it's leaked out.

When the wind blows over you, it will leave subtle marks on your body.

The same applies to seawater.

The waves receded quickly, but the damp feeling left on my calves did not disappear immediately.

"..."

Without Amamiya needing to explain further, she understood on her own what 'greed' truly meant.

Trying to greedily control everything is unrealistic.

The fine sand that slipped through my fingers, though it's something to lament...

But what we really need to pay attention to is not what slips through our fingers.

Rather, they are treasures that we still hold in our hands, treasures that will never slip away or fade as long as we hold on tight.

After figuring it out, Nomiya smiled with relief, then loosened his grip on the hand and let the remaining handful of sand fall from his palm.

"...So that's it."

“Sensei, I understand.”

She looked calmly and seriously at Amamiya beside her.

"While I understand, I have another idea to bring up—"

“Sensei, you said… if one hand can’t catch what slips through your fingers, wouldn’t two hands be able to hold onto more?”

Meeting the girl's slightly mischievous and cunning gaze, Amamiya was somewhat surprised.

—This time it was his turn to be surprised, surprised that… ‘I never expected that she could see the whole picture from just a few points.’

[Here, it seems we should choose our words carefully...]

After the initial surprise, Amamiya smiled and nodded earnestly: "Of course. While two hands can't guarantee that everything will stay in your hands, at least you can hold much more than with one hand."

"So……"

In stark contrast to Amamiya's smile, the blonde girl gradually suppressed all her emotions, and her gaze became more serious than ever before.

She extended her hand to Amamiya, extending an invitation.

"Could Sensei... serve as my 'other hand' in this collaboration?"