I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Today, Gehenna naturally welcomed another peaceful day...

As soon as he stepped onto the platform, Amamiya let out a soft sigh upon hearing the distant sound of gunfire.

Ok.

Gehenna... is considered one of the top, dangerous, and 'magical' academies in the "Academy City" of Givotos, which consists of hundreds of academies.

Now that he had heard it, Amamiya naturally couldn't ignore the sounds of gunfire that were practically a daily occurrence for Kiwatos during a 'small-scale gunfight'.

He followed the sound and rushed towards the direction where the 'firefight' had occurred.

Let me see if I recognize this troublemaker...

After summoning the Persona [Raul] (The Fool), and using Raul's wings to leap to a nearby high vantage point, Amamiya used the elevated position to observe the general situation of both sides in the firefight—

One side, without a doubt, is the disciplinary committee members dedicated to maintaining a safe environment in Gehenna.

They were still led by the assault captain, Iori.

And on the other side... as expected, it was the "problem student" that Amamiya knew, Gehenna.

—For some unknown reason, the convenience store owner 68 got into a fight with the "Disciplinary Committee".

'The disciplinary committee led by Iori, and... the... handyman who's practically a daily troublemaker?'

Recalling the first time he met Iori, Amamiya felt that history always repeats itself.

When I first met Iori, she was also dealing with the trouble caused by a "problem student."

Amamiya left a deep impression on this girl with red eyes, white hair, and a cute combination of bunny ears, ribbons, and twin tails, who was actually extremely serious and had a strong sense of justice.

I've wanted to develop a bond with him for a long time, but I've never had the time...

Right now, this might be a good opportunity to develop a bond with Iori...

After completing his assessment and observation of the battlefield, Amamiya focused his attention on Iori, who was already wounded and whose clothes, skirt, and knee-high socks were all torn to varying degrees.

“Psona…Ariadne”

The "persona" behind her, originally the red-clad gentleman thief, was reforged by clusters of eerie blue flames into the "girl who holds the threads of fate."

Amamiya directly extended the "Ariadne Line" to Iori and had a conversation with her.

'What happened?'

Iori, who was about to fire her gun, was stunned by the sound she heard.

But in that moment of hesitation, a sniper bullet grazed her cheek from the side.

Thanks to the aura's protection, Iori did not suffer serious injuries, but shallow bloodstains appeared on her cheeks.

'If I tilt my head even slightly due to the recoil, that sniper bullet... should have taken me down.'

Lost in thought, Iori looked around and, guided by 'fate,' her gaze soon fell upon a sign on a building in front of her—

Amamiya, dressed in a phantom thief outfit resembling a magician's trench coat, stood there steadily.

'…Sensei? '

After a moment of surprise, the girl quickly accepted this special way of communicating, which was similar to 'telepathic communication'.

She quickly explained the situation: 'In short, Convenience Store 68 recently received a escort request from a company. However, the goods involved in this escort request are illegal, and coincidentally, the Disciplinary Committee is investigating…'

'After talking to them (Convenience Store 68), I learned that... the service the convenience store signed came with a hefty fee and an equally substantial penalty for breach of contract... This is probably the direct reason why they didn't choose to back down but instead stood their ground against the Disciplinary Committee.'

As an elite member of the Disciplinary Committee, Iori may not be as good as the Handyman Group in terms of combat strength... but her ability to gather and collect information is absolutely worthy of her 'elite' status.

Amamiya then took another look at the situation at the convenience store—

The four-person team from the convenience store was huddled next to a heavy truck whose tires had been punctured and which had been blocked by spikes and roadblocks set up by the Disciplinary Committee.

Inside the truck's cab sat a robotic driver.

This paint scheme...

Amamiya frowned and pondered for a moment.

Using the chairman's "déjà vu" bond ability, he quickly realized that the paint job seemed to be the logo of a subsidiary of the Caesar Group.

Previously existing on the black market, it was part of "Kiwatos's largest black and gray market stolen goods chain".

After the collapse of the Caesar Group, which was located in the black market, it seems that these criminal forces have also experienced a period of respite and 'wild growth' after the Caesar Group stopped managing the black market.

So it seems... Aru has been tricked again...

Based on the Caesars Group's modus operandi, Amamiya guessed that even if the convenience store carried out the escort mission perfectly, the promised reward would most likely be significantly reduced.

As for Aru and the others failing to complete the task... the exorbitant penalty for breach of contract, which will at least cause Convenience Store 68 to slump for a while, will almost certainly fall on Convenience Store 68's head.

After understanding the current situation, Amamiya began to think about a way to "have the best of both worlds".

—A way to get Iori to resolve the immediate problem without affecting the members of the 68 handyman shop, and to make them bear the consequences...

After some thought, Amamiya temporarily cut off the "Ariadne Line" connecting him to Iori and instead contacted the members of the handyman's shop who were stubbornly resisting not far away.

'Aru, Kayoko... Mutsuki, and Haruka. Can you hear me?'

The moment the voice was heard, the girls at the convenience store, more or less, showed a 'first reaction' similar to Iori's.

He paused briefly, then subconsciously stopped what he was doing and searched for the source of the 'sound'.

After a few seconds of silence, Mutsuki's mischievous yet admiring voice rang out first from "Ariadne's Thread".

'Wow~ Is this Sensei's Phantom Thief outfit...?'

'So handsome...!'

'Sure enough, it can instantly capture a girl's heart~ Hehe~'

Immediately following was Aru's overly surprised voice: 'Eh—? Sen, Sensi?!'

'Wh-when...!'

Then came Haruka's chaotic voice.

'They can actually connect directly to Sensei's thoughts... Will this mean they can read my mind...? I'm so scared... I want to die...'

And Kayoko's voice with its 'adult composure'.

'Finally... is this farce coming to an end?'

While the four members of the convenience store were briefly surprised, Amamiya told them the information she had obtained from Iori, as well as her own conclusion from observation and analysis that they had been 'tricked'.

The girls' reactions to this varied.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Alu adopted a standard expression of 'being tricked'—a look of bewilderment and surprise.

Mutsuki, on the other hand, had a slightly excited expression that said, "I already knew, but I just wanted to play."

Haruka's face immediately darkened, and her originally depressed aura turned into anger that she was venting on others.

'If you only lied to me, that would be one thing... but you also lied to everyone at the convenience store, and to Lady Aru...'

'Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable…'

Only Kayoko gave a normal response to being deceived.

The girl, with a helpless expression that said, "I knew it would turn out like this," stopped what she was doing, hid behind cover, and began sending her thoughts.

'…Sensei, what should we do next?'

"If we want to minimize the losses, everyone at the convenience store, please follow my instructions..."

After instructing the girls at the convenience store on matters related to 'cooperating in the act,' Amamiya immediately severed their 'Ariadne Thread' and reconnected with Iori.

'...Iori, now you obey my commands.'

'I'll help you fight them off.'

Chapter 43 focuses all the attention on Iori.

As we all know... smiles don't disappear, they just transfer to other people's faces.

As we all know, happiness is often built on the suffering of others.

With her meticulous 'one-sided scheduling', Amamiya successfully made the handyman perform a change in attitude, making him appear to be 'fighting against all odds' and then 'flusteredly retreating'.

Amamiya, who had meticulously planned the retreat route, then directed the Disciplinary Committee members, led by Iori, who were all injured and on the verge of exhaustion, to surround the "Caesar Group black market stolen goods vehicle" that Convenience Store 68 had entrusted to escort.

Since suffering must be based on the 'individual'...

Why not let the "Kaiser Group Black Market," which is already engaged in illegal activities, bear this pain?

Only after confirming that the girls from Convenience Store 68 had safely evacuated did Amamiya gracefully jump down from the high light board. Amidst the surprised and admiring gazes of the Disciplinary Committee girls, her hem transformed into wings, and she landed steadily.

"Are you alright, Iori... and everyone in the Disciplinary Committee?"

Amamiya's gaze first lingered briefly on Iori, whose injuries were the most severe, before he glanced around at the dozen or so disciplinary committee members who were with Iori.

"Thank you for your concern, Sensei... I'm fine."

After taking the handkerchief handed to him by a member of the Disciplinary Committee, Iori simply wiped the blood and other grime from his cheeks, showing his tired but trying-to-look-good state.

"Such a show of bravado is just like a member of the disciplinary committee... but it's not a good habit."

Amamiya smiled gently and reached out to pat Iori's head—but Iori got angry because of this action that most students would not resist.

She immediately shrank back warily, her relaxed expression instantly replaced by a complex mix of surprise, disgust, and resistance, all conveying a sense of "don't touch me."

"Sen, Sensi... What are you doing?!"

"Give Iori a pat on the head, try to encourage her," Amamiya replied with a puzzled look. "Is there a problem?"

【~???~】(Iori)

After a moment of confusion, Iori subconsciously replied, "N-no, not really..."

She then shook her head, her eyes glistening, and gritted her teeth as she 'corrected herself': "No... to do such a strange thing in front of students in public... Sensei, don't you feel ashamed at all?"

In a split second, Amamiya confirmed the method of negotiation with Iori.

To put it simply, a proper degree of "bowing down" is the best way to easily get closer to Iori.

So, Amamiya straightened his tie and, under the watchful eyes of more than a dozen pairs of eyes, earnestly replied, "If it's for the students... such shame can be discarded."

【~???~】(Iori)

"?!"

Like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, Iori reacted instinctively—covering her face with her forearm, displaying a slight look of 'ashamed to see you'.

“Sensei, what you said is really…”

Before she could finish speaking, Amamiya interrupted her.

“Psona…Athena”.

A phantom image of a "wise female warrior" wielding a gun and shield appeared behind him, accompanied by eerie blue flames.

With a flick of her wrist, Amamiya's long robes fluttered behind her as she released her aura and appeared as the goddess of war.

"Mediarahan".

Upon receiving the order, the female warrior raised her spear, and the olive branches hanging from the spear instantly grew wildly—and then, a green halo surrounded her.

As the goddess of war swung her spear and bestowed her 'blessing,' the scattered orbs of light transformed into a 'rain of light' composed of green specks of light that fell from the sky, like a gentle rain.

As the highest-level healing magic, the hype surrounding "Mediarahan" is absolutely proportional to its effectiveness.

"Hey... the wound doesn't hurt anymore right away!"

"I can feel my strength returning... Is this Sensei's 'healing magic'...? Amazing..."

"As expected, the feeling I had when I was injured before... is it Sensei...?"

When this gentle, verdant 'breeze and drizzle' that fell from the sky caressed the tender cheeks of the girls, they truly experienced the feeling of 'being bathed in a spring breeze' and the nourishment of 'the earth returning to spring'.

As the female warrior retracted her spear, the spear came to life, and the wildly growing green olive branches curled back, returning to their normal appearance.

"How is everyone doing now?"

Amamiya asked the same question again, though the meaning was similar.

This time, he received a spirited and energetic response from the girls.

"Hmm...! I'm all recovered!"