I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Nomiya: "I really want to keep watching... but Sensei won't agree, will she?"

Although she didn't look away, she still retreated to the doorway.

Celery: "After all, it's quite rude of you..."

Awkwardly hanging her head, Serika quietly echoed Nomiya's statement while taking small, quick steps backward.

Bai Zi: “…”

"Sensei's body is amazing."

After offering his sincere praise from a sporting perspective, Bai Zi turned and left.

After the younger generation set an example, Hoshino scratched his cheek with his index finger, chuckled dryly, and left, saying, "Since the younger generation is like this, then I won't bother Sensii any longer..."

The morning 'interlude' and the subsequent breakfast did not waste too much time.

Because they wanted to make the most of every minute of their vacation, the girls on the Strategy Committee displayed remarkable energy and efficiency.

After breakfast, the girls quickly prepared their weapons and other tactical equipment, and then followed the coordinates of the tracker to the beach.

When Amamiya and his group arrived at the beach, the Helmet Crew members were already waiting there.

Dozens of members of the Helmet Gang gathered here, led by the same red-haired, red-eyed girl from before.

They were scattered around, in small groups, sitting or lying down nearby to rest.

Amamiya only needed a quick glance to see many things like "burnt campfires," "traces of soda bottles and various kinds of household garbage," as well as other traces of human activity.

Perhaps due to a temporary lapse in vigilance, the members of the helmet squad removed their prized helmets one by one, revealing the beautiful and delicate faces of the young girls beneath.

As for the waters near the island, there is an armed hovercraft that looks a bit 'magical'.

If he wasn't mistaken... this should be the 'large tactical equipment' carried by the Helmet Regiment.

This is probably one of the key reasons why they were able to linger around the resort time and time again.

But speaking of which... where was this armed hovercraft made? Why do I see obvious signs of alteration on it that belong to the Millennium Technology Academy's engineering department?

Amamiya approached, her brows furrowed slightly, using her [Third Eye] to try and gather useful clues.

【'Friendship' Armored Hovercraft】

[Type: Vehicle/Small Base]

【Origin: Millennium Technology Academy, Engineering Department, Fox Workshop】

[Description: A unique product, incredibly enhanced by millennia of technological advancements, boasting both heavy firepower and explosive performance improvements, yet remaining relatively conservative in its capabilities. It seems the Helmet Crew named it this way out of friendship.]

...?

Upon opening her third eye, Amamiya immediately noticed a logo of a fox biting a wrench.

Isn't this the logo of "Fox Workshop" run by Yuriko?

Is Yuriko connected to the Helmet Gang?

After a moment of hesitation, Amamiya decided to deal with the immediate issue first.

Feeling that they had reached the right distance, Amamiya gestured to the girls beside him to stop and continue walking.

With her index finger to her lips, making a 'shh' gesture to them, Ayane instinctively took out a tablet connected to a signal tracker and activated its eavesdropping function.

Centered around Ayane, the group silently gathered together, and then they heard the voices of the Helmet Squad members coming from the tablet in Ayane's hand, which was turned down to the lowest volume.

"Hasn't he arrived yet...?"

"They should be here soon, right?"

"The boss said she's found a powerful ally this time... I heard it's one of the 'Seven Prisoners'..."

"Really? The boss can actually contact that kind of ruthless character?"

From this casual conversation, Amamiya had already learned a lot of information.

Is the "strong reinforcement" that the Helmet Group is calling for one of the seven prisoners?

Who would that be?

Of the "Seven Prisoners," two have already met Amamiya.

Kiyosumi Akira, Kitsaka Wakamo.

Without exception, both of these people who had met Amamiya seemed to yearn to be loved...

For Amamiya, there was even a natural affinity that was almost like "love at first sight".

As for the remaining few, although Amamiya hadn't met them, she knew them through the president's bond ability, "Déjà Vu." Also...

In fact, the news about the "Seven Prisoners" was not a particularly secret.

Amamiya can find a lot of information by logging onto the network of the Xialai and Federal Student Association and accessing the database.

Of all the rumors and gossip about "The Seven Prisoners" that can be found, the most interesting one is about "The Seven Prisoners' collaborators."

According to somewhat unconfirmed reports, the "Seven Prisoners" seem to have some kind of working relationship with the legendary figure in the criminal underworld of Kivotos—the "Squinty-Eyed Professor," or the "Smiling Professor."

It's not so strange that the Helmet Gang could be connected with the Seven Prisoners.

But... who could it be?

Crystal? Wakazama? Or... one of the others I haven't even greeted?

If the Helmet Team calls for outside help and ends up getting someone Amamiya knows... then this is going to be a big problem.

Unlike Amamiya, who fell into deep thought after hearing the keyword "Seven Prisoners," the five girls from Abydos felt inexplicably troubled after hearing the keyword.

The Seven Prisoners, or the 'Seven High-Risk Targets' in Kivotos.

How could the members of Abydos, who were frequently harassed by the Helmet Gang or other delinquent girl groups, not know their names?

They felt both the situation was tricky and they also found it somewhat strange.

In the past, helmet-wearing groups... probably weren't so 'confident', right?

After experiencing setbacks, the helmet team would never have been able to "fight to the bitter end" in the past.

After waiting for a moment, Amamiya saw the silhouette of the armed hovercraft emerging in the distance.

A gorgeous kimono with black as the main color and deep red accents, featuring fox ears and a fox tail that gradually turn red at the tips.

The deep red inner layer highlights resemble a raging fire of calamity...

The "Love" Arcana above your head...

All of this clearly demonstrates her identity.

'...Wakazama?'

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Key to Solving Problems Lies in Communication

'...Wakazama?'

Although he had already considered the possibility that the "Seven Prisoners" summoned by the Helmet Group were either Wakazama or Akira, whom he knew well...

However, when Amamiya actually saw Wakazama appear on the Helmet Crew's hovercraft, his feelings were still somewhat complicated.

Given Ruozao's love and attitude towards herself... how would she view herself, who was on Abydos's side?

Realizing this problem, Amamiya turned around and quietly observed the group of girls beside her.

“That figure…” Ayane carefully adjusted the listening frequency of the tracking device, explaining in a low voice, “It should be one of the Seven Prisoners, known as the ‘Crimson Catastrophe Fox.’ She’s infamous for her large-scale, indiscriminate destruction…”

The black cat standing nearby was already sweating a little.

"Truly worthy of the title 'Crimson Catastrophe Fox'... she exudes such an oppressive aura."

Celery's sentiments seemed to resonate with Shirako to some extent.

Why a certain degree?

Because Shirako's first reaction to Wakamo was not wariness but hostility.

To be honest, Amamiya found Shirako's attitude a bit strange.

Logically speaking, this should have been her first meeting with Wakazamo... so why did Shirako immediately show a natural, wary hostility?

His gaze fell on the wolf ears that stood out on the gray-haired girl's head, which were raised high in alertness, and then shifted to Wakasamo, whose fox ears swayed slightly in the sea breeze on the deck of the armed hovercraft in the distance... Amamiya understood a little.

Could it be due to factors like the natural animosity between wolves and foxes or animal instincts?

Amamiya then observed his other side.

Nomiya's focus was a little strange. She seemed to be constantly comparing the differences between her and Wakamo's figures, and would stop every now and then to think about something.

Only Hoshino behaved relatively normally.

She was making preparations for the possible upcoming battle, loading shotgun shells one by one into the magazine of the "Eye of Horus".

After confirming that his weapons were ready, Hoshino, brimming with fighting spirit, lowered his voice and asked, "Sensei... now's a good opportunity to attack. Shall we launch a surprise attack?"

Surprise attack?

If a fight really breaks out, things might get complicated...

Having been in Kiwatos for so long, Amamiya has gained a relatively advanced understanding of the various situations here.

In fact, all the big and small things that happen in various colleges and universities can be perfectly resolved with proper communication.

Amamiya tried to review the predicament of Abydos that he had already resolved, the troubles of Millennium Academy, and the undercurrents of Trinity College—it was easy to find hidden commonalities among them.

Abydos's predicament can be summed up in one sentence: "You say you'll help us? I don't believe it."

The troubles of Millennium Academy can be summed up in one sentence: "What you say makes a lot of sense, but I won't listen."

Even the undercurrents within Trinity College can be summarized as follows: "What exactly are you talking about? Can you please explain yourself clearly? Is there any possibility that if you hadn't used riddles, this matter could have been resolved safely and quickly?"

Even when I went to the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) Joint Academy a while ago to resolve the cherry blossom festival issue...

Amamiya always had a feeling that if he hadn't made things clear to Izuna right away, it would have been another long and pointless struggle that wasted his time and energy.

The reason for this is that there are various strange drawbacks or problems in "communication" between them.

Good communication should be able to avoid most strange and troublesome situations.

After thinking it over, Amamiya slowly shook his head at Hoshino.

"That 'Fox of Calamity,' I... am fairly familiar with her."

After some deliberation, Amamiya ultimately described her relationship with Wakamo as "somewhat familiar".

"If the outside help that the helmet team invited is her, I should be able to try to persuade her."

"Huh?!" Ayane was quite surprised. "Is it alright? After all, it's the 'Crimson Catastrophe Fox'..."

"While we are not concerned about your personal safety, Sensei, but..."

Shirako and Nomiya remained silent, both casting worried glances at each other.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

At that moment, Ruozao was negotiating with the 'big sister' of the Helmet Gang.

After surveying the injured members of the helmeted group from her vantage point, Ruozao slowly shook her head. Although her expression was obscured by the fox mask, her tone still betrayed a madness.

"To be honest... I'm really disappointed."

"Abydos... there are only five of you so far, right? Is such a small number enough to put you in such a difficult situation?"

Feeling slighted, the red-haired girl gritted her teeth and retorted, "It's not a matter of numbers... it's that the other side has a guy who's really good at commanding! He commanded that pink-haired student, and he single-handedly injured more than a dozen members of the Helmet Squad!"

"Although that pink-haired student is very strong, that's definitely not the key... I have a feeling that the one who's directing her from behind is more important! If it weren't for that person directing her, we could at least hold her off for a while, slowly wear her down, and then defeat her!"

Her raised voice of protest could be heard clearly by Hoshino, who was hiding in the bushes, even without the help of a signal tracker.

She gently stroked the "Eye of Horus" in her hand, and a murderous intent gradually rose in her blue and gold heterochromatic eyes.

'I really was underestimated...'

Amamiya: "..."

Is it that the helmeted group overestimated their own side, or underestimated Hoshino?