I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

However, none of them were willing to give up on Amamiya—they even gave reasons for their unwillingness to let go.

Shizuko: "Hmm~ Minister Nia is right, now is not the time to relax... But we've already had a long day, so let's think about tomorrow tomorrow..."

Hai Xiang: "Indeed~ Whether it's organizing a celebration or running a resort, a balance between work and rest is necessary..."

Chise: "Sensei isn't as cute as it used to be. But it's still fluffy, I love it."

【~???~】(from Qian Shi)

Izuna: "Phew... Izuna is tired after running around with the lord all day..."

The only one who didn't get a chance to hug, or rather, was 'hanging' on Amamiya: "..."

Is the feeling of hugging Sensei really that captivating?

She couldn't quite understand it.

While hesitating, Mimori decided to find a reason to pull away her companions who were clinging to Amamiya for various reasons and refusing to let go.

Suddenly, she heard cheerful noise coming from afar outside the window.

"Um... everyone."

Mimori, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, said, "The people of Abydos have returned. Shall we go and greet them?"

Chapter 105: Alu's luckiest episode?

As the moon rises and night begins to fall.

The girls of the Countermeasures Committee, who were literally "working under the stars and moon," arrived at the resort islands where the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons was located, almost exactly at the vague time point between "evening" and "night".

The experience was slightly different from that of the girls who participated in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, who had spent almost the entire day running around...

Although Abydos' side didn't go through as much trouble and time... they still accomplished a lot.

"Sensei..." The pink-haired girl, lazily massaging her shoulders and hunching over, squinted at Amamiya and greeted her, "Good evening... hehe~"

For a fleeting moment, she seemed to be on the verge of yawning, but she awkwardly switched to her own unique verbal tic.

After blinking a few times and regaining some energy, Hoshino straightened up, mustered his strength, and delivered Abydos's 'summary of the day' in a steady narrative tone.

"After temporarily parting ways with Sensei... we contacted the Caesar Group on the black market... and borrowed some of Caesar's power using the 'Secret Treasure'."

"In short... through this method, we found the chairman of 'Octopus Bank,' who was hiding in the resort islands, and uncovered the truth behind the mastermind behind this incident."

Hoshino managed to finish speaking with a forced effort, when Ayane, who was also somewhat sleepy, pushed up her glasses and handed over a tablet containing relevant data: "This is the video and audio evidence we've collected..."

Taking the tablet from Ayane, Amamiya opened the "Evidence" folder on the desktop and looked at its contents.

Amamiya clicked on the first video file, and immediately a video of a large robot wearing a nautical-themed patterned shirt speaking to the camera popped up on the playback page.

"...The truth behind the 'Resort Hunting' operation?"

"Yes... just as you said. I had my eye on Hyakuyado from the very beginning... I wanted to use this incident to completely ruin Hyakuyado's reputation."

Upon hearing the sound from the tablet, the girls from the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) group behind Amamiya frowned slightly or changed their expressions, and then gathered around Amamiya.

Upon seeing the screen playing on the tablet, Shizuko, who had been suppressing her resentment, froze.

"Huh? This bank employee..."

Hai Xiang, standing nearby, chimed in, "Wasn't that the bank employee Baiyetang encountered when purchasing the 'full right to use the resort'?"

The quiet conversation between Shizuko and Kaika behind her made Amamiya, who was holding a tablet, think to herself, "Just as I thought."

According to the principle of "Chekhov's Gun"... "A gun that appears in the first act will definitely be fired in the third act."

Detective stories like "the first negotiable target you encounter at the beginning is bound to have ill intentions" are quite common.

The video continued to play, and the narration of the 'octopus bank employee' on the screen continued.

"That's right... I was the one who encouraged them to say that the 'Paradise Lost Resort Islands' had great stuff and then sold them usage rights."

Even when the other party 'admitted their mistake,' their lack of remorse made Hai Xiang grind her teeth upon hearing the voice: "This guy..."

"They actually sold us the right to use it, trapping us in this scam... and they're so brazen and self-righteous about it?!"

Almost simultaneously with Hai Xiang's words, which were accompanied by grinding her teeth, came the sound of a shotgun being cocked, which could be heard off-screen in the video.

After a soft 'click', the 'octopus bank employee' in the video immediately became obedient.

Immediately afterwards, Hoshino's question came from off-screen: "You guys had your eyes on Hyakuyado from the very beginning... and Abydos too?"

The other party honestly replied, "Because the festival operation committee can be a very good 'commodity.' The right to freely organize a festival, wherever it's placed, can generate an astronomical sum if used appropriately."

"To utterly ruin the reputation of Hyakuyado... I attracted various academy factions to this archipelago and plotted a 'Resort Hunt.'"

After a long pause, the 'octopus bank employee' in the video responded to the second question.

"As for Abydos... I have absolutely no idea what's going on."

"Hey?"

A soft gasp of surprise came from off-screen in the video.

"I just want that squad that's been hanging around the black market lately to 'fall for a ride,' and add fuel to the fire for the resort's hunt..."

Ayane's question came through the video: "...A squad operating near the black market?"

“Hmm,” the 'Octopus Bank employee' replied, “It’s called something like ‘Convenience Store’… I think? I’ve done some preliminary research on them. This group targets the ‘Masked Swimsuit Group’ and is also looking for a stable funding source…”

"However, they couldn't afford the 'resort usage rights'... So, I had to investigate their activities beforehand and use the promise of a 'prize' as bait."

Then, Bai Zi's voice came through the screen: "That is..."

Then came Serissa's flustered interruption: "Don't worry about that..."

"In short, you admit that you're the mastermind behind all of this, right?"

"Hmm. But I really didn't expect... such a plan would take such a turn... the prize that was supposed to go to the convenience store was unexpectedly won by Abydos..."

"My perfect plan has therefore fallen short..."

"What a perfect plan! It's nothing but a stupid trick full of flaws!"

As Qinxiang's voice cracked slightly, the video suddenly went black.

However, the video recording did not end temporarily—Amamiya then heard the sound of gunfire and a series of crackling metallic scraping sounds.

It seems that... that 'octopus silver-aged 2 different three underworld eight# employee' has been brought to justice.

After watching the video, Shizuko, who was initially indignant, lowered her brows and fell into deep thought.

Based on the information gleaned from the video... she now fully understands the current situation.

"So... the 'Resort Hunt' was all a conspiracy against our Hyakyado from the very beginning."

The brown-haired girl looked up with a slightly bitter expression, casting a somewhat embarrassed glance at Abydos's group: "Abydos... and the other forces involved in the resort hunt have been dragged into this vortex targeting us..."

how to say……

This feeling of 'indirectly causing trouble for others'... made Shizuko feel a 'discomfortable' sense of guilt.

She could, of course, blame everything on that 'octopus bank employee'—but that would be completely pointless.

Because without her initial 'being deceived', this so-called 'perfect plan' would never have happened.

Ultimately, she was the one who was first "tricked," which allowed the Octopus Bank employees to begin implementing the plan, thereby implicating several other forces.

Amamiya returned the tablet to Ayane, then turned back to Shizuko's side, giving the girl a comforting pat on the forehead: "Now that things have been perfectly resolved... Shizuko, there's no need to worry about it anymore."

Instead of wallowing in self-reproach, we should think about how to plan for the future operation of the resort.

【~???~】(from Jingzi)

"Um……"

Thinking that she still had an 'adult she could completely rely on, who would always stand behind her', Shizuko looked up, glanced at Amamiya, and immediately cheered up.

Feeling the reassuring weight and warmth emanating from the top of her forehead as it lifted her spirits and left at just the right moment, a strange feeling of 'reluctance' quickly grew in Shizuko's heart.

After offering some words of comfort to Shizuko, Amamiya then looked around at the five-person group from Abydos's side.

Shirako, Serika, Ayane, Hoshino, and Nomiya... Although they went directly to confront the mastermind behind the scenes, skipping many of the steps of running around, in every sense, the energy consumed by the direct confrontation with the mastermind behind the scenes was no less than that of 'running around all day'.

"Thank you all for your hard work today, everyone in Abydos..."

After a moment's thought, Amamiya smiled and raised her voice slightly: "To reward everyone who has had a busy day..."

"I'll cook a 'special dinner' for everyone."

Amamiya's initiative sparked an unprecedented enthusiasm in the group of girls, who were initially tired or sleepy.

"Okay—"

The lamps were bright.

Night is falling...

Chapter 106 Lan Wu: She's finally got a stable job

A lavish dinner seemed to mark the end of the "resort hunt," though not a perfect conclusion.

Near the area belonging to Hyakuyado... no, it should now be called the "Lost Paradise Resort Islands - Hyakuki Night Parade Territory", the Helmet Group's armed hovercraft is docked.

As the night breeze blew, gazing at the brightly lit "Hyakki Yagyō" (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) style buildings in the distance, Lan Wu took off her helmet and let out a soft sigh.

Then, she looked at her "good friend" sitting by the campfire beside her, half of her body bathed in the warm, swaying light of the fire, with a mixture of pity and anger at her lack of ambition.

Noticing Lanwu's gaze, Yuriko calmly raised her eyebrows and paid a slight look.

After confirming that Lan Wu's gaze held no meaning other than expressing emotions, she turned her attention to the tablet in her hand.

Lanwu: ...

She sighed softly again, then began to express her thoughts in a meaningful way.

"Although Sensei did come to our area during his stay, bringing lots of delicious food and taking good care of us, but..."

"The thought of them having a 'farewell party' over there while we're just enjoying the sea breeze here... gives me this strange feeling that 'the fun is theirs, and we have nothing.'"

The red-haired girl chattered on and on about all sorts of things.

As for Yuriko, she mostly remained a silent listener. She would only occasionally utter a soft "hmm" when Lanwu paused, or answer some of the small questions Lanwu posed during the conversation.

Although she seemed not to be listening attentively, Ke Lanwu would try her best to give a comprehensive response to any meaningful questions she posed that were interspersed in the conversation.

"Opinions on whether to merge it into Charley?"

Yuriko continued operating the tablet in her hand: "What's wrong with the Helmet Crew members 'eating the government's rice'?"

"Xia Lai will not use what you think are 'special rules and regulations,' including uniforms and militarized management, to coerce you into obeying orders or to train you into some kind of elite force exclusively for Xia Lai."

"As far as I know..." Her fox ears, illuminated by the firelight, drooped slightly as she pondered, and Yuriko paused before continuing, "You know a little about what's going on in the Arius region, don't you?"

Lan Wu nodded.

—Although she wasn’t really that interested in knowing.

But after all, she had a good friend with excellent access to information, so she was forced to learn about it even if she didn't know it.

"As far as I know, the original 'fate' of the Arius region was probably far more tragic than the worst-case scenario you're imagining."

Lanwu was taken aback by Yuriko's statement.

After thinking for a long time, she realized that Yuriko was referring to a chat log from not long ago—when she heard about Arius's situation, she casually replied, "Tsk tsk tsk... It seems that this squad is doing even worse than our worst-performing helmet regiment."

If it's even worse than what I know, even the worst-performing helmet guild... just how bad must their living conditions be?

Lanwu was somewhat confused and couldn't understand why Yuriko suddenly brought up things from the past.

“Sensei has been with Kiwatos for less than a year. But the changes he has made to Kiwatos are obvious.”

Yuriko switched to another screen and forwarded the information she had gathered to Lanwu: "These are the changes in the Arios squad after they 'joined' Xia Lai."

"If you don't believe me, you can believe that you can find any social worker to compile similar data on paper. If you don't even believe this—then you can 'take the risk' and try to get in touch with Sensei further."

Lan Wu twitched the corners of her mouth. She had neither the mood nor the patience to look at the overwhelming amount of related information that Yuriko had sent.

"You're still the same as before, always 'quoting classics' when conducting various investigations."

The red-haired girl leaned back slightly as she spoke, then intertwined her hands behind her neck and lay down.

Yuriko didn't reply, but gave a soft "hmm".