I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The girls maintained an unspoken understanding and carefully preserved these "traces of the past" that bore their own personal touches before storing them in the souvenir storage area of ​​the Xia Lai residential area.

With a click, the padlock latch clicked softly, and the light faded, the girls locked away their despairing past with a physical iron lock.

They don't know when the padlock will be opened again, but they will never forget the 'painful memories' left in the box.

Amamiya sighed softly as she watched the girls of Arius's squad complete all of this in a 'ritual-filled' manner from a distance.

Arius's squad has finished replacing their weapons, and it's time for him to get back to his other duties...

Turning her gaze away, Amamiya took out her phone and habitually checked MomoTalk for any new messages.

Makoto: Pandemonium has some plans lately...

[Makoto: If Sensei is interested, come to Pandemonium... I guarantee Sensei will be completely convinced by my new plan.]

I also received messages from other people.

[Satsuki: Sensei, would you like to learn about "Erjiuqi? Jiu "Yin (3) Tumor Removal #Hypnosis"?]

'...'

Mary: May Sensei have a peaceful day, just as he always has.

Mary: Sensei, if you'd like to visit the nunnery... please feel free to contact me anytime.

'……'/:Q*un揪O琉寺六翅VI拔

[Rion: Sensei, about the "Kōrin Grand Festival"...]

[Rion: Can I come to a seminar?]

'...'

[Himari: This is unbelievable...]

[Himari: I learned the details from Kai and Alice.]

[Himari: Could you elaborate on how Sensei gave Kai a body?]

'...'

[Unspecified: <(*￣▽￣*)/]

[Mihua: Sensei, are you free today? I want to go out with Sensei!]

'...'

[Saiya: Sensei, if you have time, I suggest you come to the tea party immediately. Nagisa is still undecided.]

The sheer volume of messages I have to deal with every day is never small.

It seems that the Pandemonium of Gehenna is about to make some moves, the Millennium side is preparing for the Grand Festival of the Shining Wheels, and the Sisters of the Holy Trinity have also sent another invitation to visit...

After hesitating briefly over these messages, Amamiya finally decided—

'After all, the Sisters' Guild has been sending messages continuously for quite some time...'

'This time, let's go visit the nuns.'

Chapter 63 Will Kayoko also become a phantom thief?

Having made advance reservations for his trip to Trinity Lavra to visit the Sisters of the Holy Trinity, Amamiya then headed off...

Gehenna.

Why not head to Holy Trinity immediately and visit the nuns in the afternoon?

the reason is simple.

The headquarters of the Sisters' Order is the Great Cathedral.

These places, which possess an air of mystery and holiness, are best visited at night to truly 'fit the atmosphere'.

In contrast, Gerina's afternoons are more lively as she doesn't have to enjoy a 'relaxed afternoon tea'.

Visiting now might give you a higher chance of meeting some interesting students.

After getting off the train at the Autonomous Region Station outside the Gehenna Academy, Amamiya immediately went to the 'office' of Convenience Store 68, located near the border of Shalai in the Autonomous Region.

The office of Convenience House 68 is a low-rise, old-fashioned building covered with ivy and with a certain 'age'. It is located on the edge of the self-governed area and is not particularly special compared to the surrounding buildings of various heights.

Apart from the office sign of Convenience Store 68, which is also covered in plant vines and occasionally flickers due to a short circuit, everything here is very simple.

Amamiya stood at the door and rang the doorbell of the convenience store.

‘Ding dong——’

The pleasant sound of the old-fashioned doorbell, with its penetrating quality, spread out, followed by Aru's very 'steady' and seemingly reliable voice coming from the intercom at the door.

"Welcome to Convenience Store 68's office... What requests do you have...? Eh?!"

This sense of reliability didn't even last for half a sentence before it transformed into a completely unrefined, increasingly high-pitched exclamation of surprise.

Immediately afterwards, Kayoko's cool and calm voice came through the communication device, which was noticeably more 'mature and composed' than Aru's.

"Why is the president acting so strangely... Ah, it's Sensei."

"Please wait a moment, I'll open the door for you right away."

Amamiya stood at the doorbell for less than thirty seconds before the office door was opened from the inside.

A girl with long white hair and a distinctive black-streaked fringe leans slightly out of the door, holding the doorknob, in the afternoon sunlight.

Her long, narrow eyes, illuminated by the afternoon sunlight, exuded a mature gentleness. Upon noticing Amamiya, Kayoko gave a slight smile.

"Good afternoon, Sensei..."

"Also, thank you for helping us reclaim 'Convenience Store 68 Office' this time."

After speaking, Kayoko yielded her seat.

Amamiya looked around and was slightly surprised: "The new office of the convenience store is located in such a lively place."

【~???~】(Kayoko)

Kayoko, who had been following Amamiya closely since he entered the agency, spoke in a gentle voice: "Although it's far from the core area of ​​Gehenna, the atmosphere is great, and everyone at the convenience store likes it here."

After walking down a short corridor, Amamiya immediately saw the guest room—or rather, the living room—whose decor was somewhere between 'rustic elegance' and 'professional villainy'.

Aside from the prominent and fairly well-written sign that reads "Do one evil a day" and the desk below it, the entire living room of the convenience store has a rather homey atmosphere.

Amamiya could spot more than one personal item, whether obvious or not, with just a quick glance.

That calligraphy and painting with the inscription "One evil deed a day" must have been written by Alu.

The flowerpots on the windowsill... is Haruka taking care of them?

The cat food, cat treats, and canned cat food piled up in the glass bookcase... these must have been bought by Kayoko.

A crocodile toy that bites your hand... Is this Mutsuki's?

"Aren't Haruka and Mutsuki here?"

Kayoko sighed, a black line appearing on her forehead: "They went to buy... new household supplies together."

Previously, Convenience House 68 had experienced an incident where "the office was almost seized".

Although the firm itself did not suffer any damage, and had not even had time to dismantle and rebuild its interior decorations, it was returned to its original state.

However, some small, miscellaneous daily necessities were completely lost during this crisis.

Amamiya nodded, then looked at Aru, who was rushing out of the 'President's Office' with an unusually unnatural expression.

To elevate her style and presence, Hina hastily draped a fur-trimmed shawl over her shoulders. The mature style of dress, the daring high heels, and even the perfect figure of Convenience Store 68 failed to highlight the maturity that should accompany these features…

"sen, Sensei..."

Aruru called out hastily and awkwardly, then lowered her head, feeling guilty and unable to meet Amamiya's gaze.

Her rather unusual behavior amused Amamiya: "There's no need to be so reserved and scared, Aru?"

"It was just helping Handy Shop 68 regain control of the agency. If Aru felt sorry for her momentary mistake... it wouldn't have to be like this."

"Hey……"

Kayoko sighed.

"In fact, Convenience Store 68 has recently encountered some difficulties... such as turnover and cash flow problems."

"While it's not quite to the point of 'not having enough to eat,' it's actually very close."

"And just then, the firm was in danger of being taken over..."

At this point, Kayoko shook her head slightly and did not continue.

However, Amamiya could already understand her unspoken meaning—'An unexpected situation has made things even worse for the already struggling convenience store.'

Amamiya felt quite sympathetic towards Kayoko's description of stopping short of revealing information in order to maintain Aruru's "presidential authority".

The convenience store... under Aru's management, it really does have a "bright future."

Given the current situation of the convenience store, Amamiya could certainly help—but he had a premonition that "if it's just simple financial assistance, no matter how much it is, it will be 'lost' by Aru in all sorts of strange ways."

It is generally accepted in psychology that "a person can never earn wealth beyond what they know—when knowledge cannot control wealth, wealth beyond knowledge is often lost due to insufficient ability."

Currently, Convenience Store 68 is in this 'predicament'.

Even if Amamiya provided enormous financial assistance, under Aru's management... it's not certain that Convenience Store 68 would truly thrive.

“I see… I understand Aru’s difficulties.”

Seeing Aru's slightly uneasy and hesitant expression, Amamiya slowly spoke: "...But I will not provide direct financial assistance to the convenience stores to keep them running."

【~???~】(Kayoko)

From Aru's instantaneous change in expression, Amamiya clearly saw the best example of what it meant to be "ashen-faced".

"but……"

Amamiya changed the subject and looked at Kayoko.

“I can offer limited assistance to the convenience stores on other levels.”

Noticing the change in Amamiya's gaze, Aru felt much more at ease.

—As long as Sensei lends a helping hand to the convenience stores, everything will be alright!

In just a moment, she straightened her back and put on her distinctive, confident but somewhat unreliable smile.

"Thank you, Sensei... Even limited help is appreciated as long as it solves Convenience Store 68's urgent problem..."

Seemingly supported by her aura, her gaze sharpened, and she quickly transformed into a 'professional, standard villain' in her demeanor.

"Sensei's helping hand to the convenience store will be remembered by the convenience store itself..."

"In the future, the convenience store will go to great lengths for Sensei and for Sensei's Xia Lai."

Amamiya: "..."

When asking for help, he hesitates and is too embarrassed to speak, but when delivering the villain's lines, he exudes professionalism...

Kayoko, who also noticed the change in Amamiya's gaze, frowned slightly.

Realizing that what Amamiya was about to say was related to her, Kayoko's question became slightly more somber.

“Sensei… is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes.” Amamiya said bluntly, “Indeed, it’s related to Kayoko.”

"so……"

Kayoko's eyes darkened, as if she were pondering: "Sensei wants me to...?"

"Kayoko, are you interested in becoming the 'Phantom Thief of Hearts'?"

The girl, who was deep in thought, was startled, and then an expression of disbelief appeared on her usually calm face for the first time.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Kayoko stiffly turned her head to ask, "Sensei... what do you mean?"

"Literally—Kayoko's aura, maturity, and style of doing things are all very suitable for becoming a 'Phantom Thief of Hearts.'"

"And the Phantom Thief of Hearts has the opportunity to obtain loot that can be exchanged for money from other worlds called 'Hall of Fame' or 'Impression Space'..."

Once Amamiya said that, Kayoko understood.

Although she immediately realized that "becoming a phantom thief" did indeed have a deeper meaning.