I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Without the comforting words from her companions and the promise from Amamiya… Ayane felt that she might have fainted on the spot because of “Abydos’s renewed debt.”

“Sensei, everyone…”

Looking around at her companions, and feeling the emotions emanating from their gazes and those of the adults beside her... Ayane felt relaxed, but also somewhat moved.

Although this is tantamount to the price of "replacing the machine with a new one", it will undoubtedly put Abydos in debt again - and may even make him poor for a long time afterward.

But now that they have their own beliefs, they will only experience temporary setbacks, not complete despair.

As the saying goes, experience is accumulated through repeated failures.

Ayane believes that as long as she learns from this mistake of 'buying large equipment', she can avoid Abydos 'wasting money' for no reason in the future.

Moreover... this time, the creditor is the engineering department of Millennium Technology Academy, and a very close student of Sensei...

So, although they may still end up in debt, at least Abydos won't fall into strange contract terms or predatory lending practices.

"I will learn from this lesson."

【~???~】(from Ayane)

[Ayane regained her spirits...]

[I sensed the unwavering will emanating from Ayane.]

【Ayane Okuzora (Moon) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆】

"I……"

Amamiya waved his hand, not letting Ayane finish speaking.

"Let's not say anything unnecessary at this time and ruin the atmosphere, shall we?"

The girl, whose words had been interrupted, opened her mouth, but ultimately revealed a relaxed and grateful smile.

'Sensei... is he making excuses for my immaturity?'

'To prevent me from becoming discouraged in the coming period, Sensei... he actually had to make such a sacrifice...'

Because of the 'special relationship' that had been established not long ago, the girl naturally imagined things to be 'sweeter'.

【~???~】(from Ayane)

Once you realize that this is Sensei making excuses for your immaturity, and also a sign of caring for you—

Feeling quite sweet inside, Ayane also became full of ambition.

She also needs to strive to become more mature so that she can repay Sensei in a more 'special' way...

'—Only after marrying Sensei will I be able to accurately calculate various accounts and reports, and process all sorts of forms, right?'

Lost in her own fantasies, Ayane gradually drifted off into a daze.

Trying hard to suppress a silly smile, Ayane finally calmed herself down by repeatedly rubbing her cheeks.

After calming down, Ayane's first thought was naturally how to make money.

We must find a way to make up for the losses we suffered this time...

'By the way, speaking of which, the hangar on this resort island, along with some other antiques or spare parts, should be able to be sold for money…'

'It seems we need to thoroughly investigate the other storage facilities on the resort island…'

For a moment, the girl was overwhelmed with thoughts.

Ayane remained silent, and the remaining four members of Abydos also fell into a brief period of contemplation, each with their own thoughts.

In the distance, the sunset had faded into the night, and beneath the sea lay armed hovercrafts moored. The Helmet Group members, gathered beside the hovercrafts, had lit a small bonfire and were having a small bonfire party. This immediately reminded Hoshino of something.

Previously, the Helmet Gang members had been hired by the Caesar Group to cause trouble in Abydos... and they even almost actually harmed someone from Abydos (Serissa).

Because of this animosity, Hoshino's impression of the Helmet Group was not very good—not to mention whether the 'Whoosh Helmet Group' led by Lanwu was one of the main Helmet Groups that attacked Abydos.

Let's assume for now that Lanwu and the members of her helmeted group really didn't participate in the persecution of Abydos... Based on the psychological principle of "hating the house because of the crow," Hoshino really couldn't completely believe them.

Moreover, Lan Wu and her helmeted squad members were indeed involved in the attack on Abydos.

(Related plot: Chapter 15 of the "Sun" volume)

Hoshino couldn't completely trust them... However, that didn't mean that cooperating with the Helmet Gang was entirely out of the question.

Considering what might happen after the resort battle... perhaps -Moon!@Chair (II) Flagbird | Yin Ba, we could try to reach a cooperation agreement with the Helmet Team members based on mutual benefit.

Although Abydos has 'elite per capita', the number is too small.

It is said that "two fists can't beat four hands".

Simply focusing on 'quality' without considering 'quantity' makes it difficult for Abydos to truly win the 'resort battle'.

To minimize the losses in Abydos, participating in this "resort battle" and winning first place is clearly the best option.

Given that Abydos's side has quality but not quantity... and is cooperating with the helmeted group members who have quantity but not quality...

At that time, the Helmet Team members will be responsible for arranging 24-hour shifts for guard duty, as well as reconnaissance of other islands, or other tasks that the Helmet Team members can handle without any problems.

Once the entire resort archipelago is acquired, corresponding benefits can be promised to them, and then further cooperation can be considered.

After his gaze lingered on the campfire on the distant coast for a moment, the faint mist in Hoshino's eyes gradually dissolved.

Hoshino's eyes flickered slightly. He had intended to voice his thoughts, but considering that Yuriko was an "outsider" present, he temporarily suppressed them.

After considering her options, she turned to Yuriko and asked, "Um... Yuriko-san, right?"

Yuriko, who was helping Amamiya unload helicopter parts, tilted her head slightly towards Hoshino: "What is it?"

"Heh..." The pink-haired girl scratched the back of her head and smiled sheepishly, then lowered her head and apologized first: "Sorry to bother you... There's something I'm very curious about."

"How long will the full maintenance of the helicopter take?"

This question really stumped Yuriko.

Its fox ears folded down and stood up repeatedly, and its pupils were gradually covered with the orange-yellow color symbolizing an albatross.

After temporarily borrowing Albatross's computing power for a quick "high-speed thought," Yuriko gave a general reply: "If we follow the normal repair process, it will take at least a month or two. But I don't think you can wait that long."

Hoshino didn't answer, but nodded silently.

...That's true.

The island battle... Hoshino estimates that it will come to an end in no more than half a month.

Even if Abydos intends to participate in the island battle, it cannot afford to end up in the embarrassing situation of 'the battle is over but the plane is still not repaired'.

“So…” Yuriko coughed lightly, “considering the air transport of parts, 24-hour shifts for maintenance, and other ways to expedite the process… this helicopter can be repaired in one to two weeks at the fastest.”

She didn't mention anything about 'increased maintenance costs'—which, even to a complete layman, would be quite obvious.

Hoshino let out a long sigh of relief, then looked at Amamiya and winked at her, giving her a meaningful look.

"S two balls? er (one)』three 0 scars thirty Japanese ensei...about things like the 'resort battle'..."

After considering it for a moment, Hoshino invited in as 'tactful' a tone as possible: "How about we chat after dinner?"

Chapter 72 Hoshino: Three times, three times!

The deep, dark night was filled with clouds hanging from the sky, and the dark night was not particularly peaceful.

Not far away on the nearshore waters, the helmet regiment's armed hovercraft had already turned on their lights.

The campfire on the beach flickered in the night breeze. The girls from the Helmet Group, who had taken off their helmets and changed into refreshing summer clothes, looked tired, some yawning around the campfire, occasionally glancing in the direction of the resort and exchanging a few words in hushed tones.

Meanwhile, Lanwu and several other members of the helmet team were assembling some temporary assembly houses that Yuriko had temporarily requisitioned from the Millennium Project Department.

Similar to, but different from, those makeshift, disassembled houses made of foam metal panels, this was a temporary base set up by the helmet gang members.

"Sensei..."

Withdrawing her gaze from the distance, the pink-haired girl sighed softly under the night sky above, then slowly sat down.

"Although strictly speaking, Abydos's current 'debt' was not caused by this resort trip, it is still worth mentioning..."

"Abydos's fate has truly been 'rough and bumpy' all along."

Naturally resting his head on Amamiya's shoulder, Hoshino leaned his body slightly, adding his weight, and murmured in a relaxed yet somewhat sentimental tone.

Amamiya could hear the girl's almost overflowing emotions, but he couldn't say anything.

Sometimes, "fate" is just such a mysterious thing.

“Yes…” Amamiya sighed in deep agreement, “I never expected that a group of us from Abydos on vacation would encounter something like this…”

—Leaving aside the fact that the resort voucher was practically a complete lie…

Even the first large, commemorative machine that Abydos had painstakingly saved up to buy was completely broken... (Group 2, Jiuqi Liu (Nine) Yaoshanba)

Although the damage to the helicopter had almost nothing to do with the resort itself, it was mainly due to a lack of thorough inspection.

But since it was because of the resort that it 'crashed,' the members of the countermeasures committee, including Hoshino, couldn't help but connect the two incidents.

【~???~】(from Hoshino)

After rubbing against each other a little, Hoshino felt that this level of contact was still slightly insufficient, so she decisively moved forward slightly and then lay down directly on Amamiya's lap.

After lying down comfortably, she looked up at Amamiya and stated the obvious conclusion she had drawn based on the current situation.

“Sensei, if this incident is not handled properly... it could be a significant blow to Abydos.”

Amamiya nodded.

Indeed... the current situation is 'an unexpected event that has made things even worse for Abydos, which was already not wealthy'.

"Hmm... If it were the old me, I'd probably be under a lot of pressure by now, and wouldn't listen to advice and start doing something, right?"

After a moment of reflection, Hoshino quickly regained his composure.

The pink-haired girl looked up at the night sky, her heterochromatic eyes, with their gold and blue hues, reflecting the countless stars above her and the starry clouds that seemed like embellishments on a curtain.

Looking up at the night sky, she spoke in a weak tone that was somewhere between 'feeling powerless' and 'offering a solution': 'Sensei... Uncle, I have a little plan that I want to tell you.'

Amamiya was not surprised at all.

After all, Hoshino had already made it quite obvious before.

"Go ahead."

【~???~】

"At this moment, only Sensei can make me feel a sense of responsibility to confide in someone."

"Um……"

"Sensei, I would like to ask you to investigate matters related to the 'Resort Islands'."

Amamiya raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise: "Oh?"

Hoshino didn't immediately explain his intentions, but instead chuckled and snuggled closer to Amamiya like a mealworm.

"The evening breeze is a little chilly... so I'll trouble you, Sensei, to shield me from the wind."

"After all... Sensei, you are a grown man with broad shoulders."

Only after Amamiya unbuttoned his coat, allowing the pink-haired girl in his arms to have a close, 'satisfied' encounter, gently rubbing against his chest, did the girl continue, "Sensei, you should understand our 'intentions,' right?"

Hoshino's so-called intentions naturally refer to the intentions of Abydos regarding this resort.

—If we could really acquire all the resort areas…

In other words, if Abydos can secure more than half of the resort area and reach an agreement with another 'winner,' it will be an unprecedented and stable source of revenue.

This is a great opportunity to obtain a stable source of disposable income from the academy—disposable income from the academy is quite different from Nomiya's 'cards'.

This money will be easy for everyone to use without any psychological burden, and they won't become overly dependent on Nomiya.

Seeing Amamiya nod, Hoshino continued in a slightly sleepy tone, "To avoid a situation where we finally acquire the resort only to have our efforts wasted on the mastermind behind it, Sensei... why don't you investigate the mastermind behind this resort beforehand?"

Did you consider this...?

It seems that Hoshino has indeed 'grown up'.

The sweet scent of the young girl's breath, carrying the slightly salty fragrance of the sea breeze she had picked up after spending two days at the resort islands, wafted into my nostrils.

After saying that, Hoshino seemed to have fallen asleep and stopped moving, or perhaps he deliberately quieted down to enjoy this moment of peace.

Amamiya leaned back slightly, supporting herself on the grass with both hands, and waited for a while but Hoshino made any further move.