I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

A sense of resentment welled up in her heart. Shizuko slowed her pace and turned her head to look at the two 'little foxes' surrounding Amamiya.

One of the 'little foxes' was huddled next to the curly-haired youth, circling around him and occasionally uttering a few energetic words that seemed to bring joy just by listening to them.

"My lord!"

"It's been so long, Izuna is finally seeing my lord again~ Hehehehe... Just bear with it!"

The large, pale yellow fox tail with white tips was swaying so fast it was like a propeller, as if it wanted to rush into Amamiya's arms and whine and act cute, yet it was trying hard to suppress its emotions and that adorable, innocent laugh that made people feel happy and wanted to pinch its cheeks...

Compared to the more lively 'little fox', the other grayish-white 'little fox' is much more reserved.

At this moment, she is examining the architectural style of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Although she behaved no differently from ordinary tourists, and was even more lively than them, looking around with curiosity...

But for some reason, Shizuko always seemed to have a feeling that... she wasn't interested in the culture of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, but rather in tactical analysis such as "finding the best firing position".

Jingzi: "..."

She reluctantly withdrew her gaze, sighing inwardly once more.

'Why are the "foxes" around Sensei all so strange?'

Hiring Izuna to defend the Sea House... in her current view, it was a choice that was both right and wrong.

The truth is... Izuna's energetic and lively personality, as well as his incredible 'ninjutsu', did attract many visitors from other academies such as Millennium Academy and Gehenna Academy.

The inaccuracy lies in... the 'ninjutsu' Izuna displayed was simply too unbelievable—

Perhaps due to the human-to-human transmission phenomenon, the rumors have become increasingly outrageous, and Shizuko has recently heard some strange rumors.

Rumors like "Hyakuya-do's Sea House has launched a new ninja challenge event" or "It's said that challenging that ninja will prove your strength"...

Shizuko didn't know how the rumor spread, but ever since the first wave of challengers appeared, the situation at Hyakuyado had only gotten worse.

On average, they face more than twenty challenges every day...

Even recently, when Jingzi logged into 'Little Blue Bird' and searched for keywords related to "resort," she could see many posts from students.

"I'm not a delinquent: I lasted 3 minutes and 21 seconds in the #NinjaChallenge#, you should try it too!"

"Helmet is the best: #NinjaChallenge# That new event at the House of the Sea in Hyakuyado... it's way too difficult! The boss is so hard! My companions and I couldn't even last a minute!"

"Big Sister: #NinjaChallenge# I lasted five minutes...that should be my best result so far."

...Jingzi didn't know how such a dynamic developed and spread, and gradually became a topic of conversation on its own.

Shizuko and Uika each led a string of defeated 'delinquent girl gangs', while Amamiya led Mimori, Chise, and Yuriko, walking in the group in a 'high-profile' manner.

After a hurried journey, the group finally arrived at the headquarters of "House of the Sea".

After quickly arranging for the defeated "bad girl gang" and semi-forcing them to "pay their admission fee," Shizuko impatiently let go of these girls who would come to bother Hyakuyado's business for no reason.

Amamiya was led by Shizuko to a cool courtyard with a sea breeze, where she was then served various smoothies, cold drinks, and other refreshing summer treats.

After doing all this, Shizuko seemed to finally relax completely.

"Hey……"

Unable to hold back any longer, she slumped onto the bench, leaning back and letting out a soft sigh.

"Sensei..."

The brown-haired girl scratched her hair, shaking off her dejected mood.

Her purple eyes gradually misted over with a pitiful look. After a brief moment of gathering her emotions, Shizuko suddenly put on a pitiful and adorable expression, as if she were about to cry.

"You're here to resolve the trouble the Sea House is facing... right?"

Amamiya: ...

The performance was a bit too intense, wasn't it?

He nodded: "I received a request from the Yin-Yang Department... I heard from Nia that the Hundred Nights Hall is encountering considerable trouble here..."

Upon hearing this, Shizuko blinked and exclaimed in surprise, "Eh?"

【~???~】(from Jingzi)

The fact that 'Sensei is here to solve trouble'... was something Shizuko had already anticipated the moment she saw Amamiya.

But the fact that the client was actually Nia from the "Yin Yang Department" surprised her for a moment.

Thinking back to the last time, when Hyakya-do was disrupted by "a demon's lair" and unable to operate normally...

At that time, I was full of confidence and took Sensei to find the Yin-Yang Department, hoping to 'overpower them with my power', but I didn't find anyone at all... It felt like I was wasting my energy on cotton.

This time... the head of the "Yin-Yang Department" actually took the initiative to make a request to Sensei... and even sent Chise and Mimori to help?

Shizuko narrowed her eyes slightly, sensing that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

She turned her gaze to Chise and Mimori, who were sitting at another table behind Amamiya. Before she could ask, Mimori had already given her answer as if she had sensed something.

Mimori, who was struggling with what to make the 'strawberry smoothie', replied gently but with a hint of difficulty: "Hmm..."

"The commission was indeed initiated by Minister Nia of the Yin-Yang Department... and I was specifically designated as an assistant..."

Mimori spoke very 'euphemistically,' but both Shizuko and Amamiya listened with half-closed eyes.

—The reason Nia chose Mimori... is probably because she is the only 'normal person' in the training club?

With her keen observation skills, gentle personality, and ability to listen and communicate effectively, these qualities alone are enough to make her stand out as a "special talent" in resolving this incident.

'So it really is a request from Nia's side...'

A brief silence fell over the room.

Yuriko, who was looking around, suddenly spoke up: "What happened on the beach earlier..."

Yuriko had already noticed the unusual scene on the beach before—

Besides the traces left by gunpowder, various explosives, and other special weapons from modern warfare, there was another particularly noticeable type of trace on the beach that caught her attention.

Deep and gruesome cuts on the palm tree;

Frost flowers that have lingered on the beach for a long time and have not yet disappeared;

A black and red cursed fire that spontaneously and naturally exudes an ominous aura without being attached to any flammable material;

This magical battlefield, so different from the 'modern battlefield,' greatly intrigued her.

The girl who answered Yuriko's question was a girl with light-colored gradient hair.

She seemed slightly embarrassed: "It seems there's been a strange misunderstanding... The vast majority of 'challengers' who come to the Sea House are only here to challenge Prince Izuna..."

"They seem to regard Lord Izuna as some kind of strange 'gatekeeper boss,' proving their strength by challenging him and lasting as long as possible... or something like that?"

"It seems they're treating this like some kind of special 'celebration'... No matter what we say, they just won't listen."

Yuriko listened thoughtfully.

She turned her gaze to Izuna: "Aren't you getting 'impatient' from being challenged repeatedly?"

Izuna, who was circling around Amamiya, wrapped his fluffy fox tail around one of Amamiya's arms and swaying slightly from side to side, gave Yuriko's question a response that sounded a bit off-topic.

"For Izuna, this kind of training is nothing compared to becoming a ninja who can always stay by his lord's side!"

Yuriko:......

The challengers developed their 'special activities' on their own, based on some strange online meme...

The challenged party also enjoyed it...

Should I present myself as a powerful 'special unit' for others to challenge...?

It may be less efficient, but it is still a way to collect combat data from special squads.

'For example, data collection for Arios's squad, which has now joined Sharai, might be possible...'

Noting this thought down, Yuriko hummed in agreement and lowered her head: "I roughly understand the situation..."

Immediately, she stopped caring about other things and began to focus on the slices of iced watermelon on the plate in front of her, just like an outsider.

Amamiya then used her "third eye" to look at the girl who had spoken, a girl she had never met before.

[Assisted by: Rihahama Kaika / Celebrationist of Hyakuyado]

【Arcana: Etoile】

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'Star……'

The hope of all beings fallen to earth is a very powerful and potentially very promising card.

This card symbolizes inner peace, maintaining faith and hope—and is also the prototype for a variant of Sofia and Azuko's "L'espérance" card.

"Before I start solving the problem, I need to understand the situation at Hai Zhi Jia in detail..."

Speaking of this, Shizuko immediately and resentfully "stole" the topic.

The girl, full of self-expression, began her 'crying', her tone so moving it would make anyone weep, yet it also carried a subtle sense of 'affectation'.

"Sensei~"

Shizuko, resting her chin on the table and slumping over it, continued in a distressed tone, "Waaaaah~ It's...it's beyond just being 'bad'..."

"Ever since Hyakuyado opened 'House of the Sea' here, our business has been disrupted more than twenty times a day on average..."

Perhaps because she was too immersed in the role, Shizuko sniffed halfway through her story, her voice becoming increasingly tearful: "Just today... we've been disrupted from doing business thirteen times! Thirteen times in half a day!"

"Those strange guys come every hour on average..."

"Besides the 'challengers' who came to challenge Lord Izuna... there were also some particularly special ones who couldn't speak human language..."

Haixia, standing to the side, was probably infected by Shizuko's highly expressive performance and tone, and also revealed a very slight sense of helplessness, 'utterly annoyed'.

"Those guys were yelling about keywords like 'resort hunting' and 'are you the ones behind it all'..."

"They didn't give us any chance to explain; they just attacked us right away..."

At this point, Haixia sorted out her thoughts and said with great 'fortunate' feeling, "It's alright, we have Prince Izuna's help and protection... After driving them away several times with our absolute 'strength,' there are far fewer students like these who use strange banners or slogans..."

"Without Prince Izuna's 'highly efficient battle resolution,' we would probably be harassed even more often on average..."

Amamiya stopped petting the fox and looked at Izuna.

The fox-eared girl, no longer being stroked, responded with an expression of innocent doubt: "Izuna is amazing, isn't he? Did he fulfill Master's expectations?"

Amamiya: "...Izuna is amazing."

【~???~】(from Izuna)

"Hehehe~"

The fox-eared girl, overjoyed by Amamiya's words, immediately leaned closer to Amamiya and rested her head on his shoulder.

I felt the burning passion emanating from Izuna...

My bond with Izuna has deepened...

【Kuda Izuna (Magician) ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆】

"Izuna will continue to work hard! Please witness Izuna's growth, my lord! Bear with me~"

Amamiya: ...

Forget it, as long as she is happy.

While still being leaned on by Izuna, Amamiya listened somewhat stiffly to Shizuko and Umika's supplementary remarks.

"Anyway, that's it..."

"Regarding the situation at the Sea House, Sensei, do you have any leads... or suggestions?"

Meeting the expectant gazes of Haika and Shizuko, Amamiya thought to herself, "Of course there is."

However, he is not prepared to say so now.

He took a folder out of his shoulder bag, spread it out on the table, and then pushed it toward Shizuko.

"Look at this."