I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The girls remained silent, and for a moment the camp was so quiet that only the crackling of the campfire and the bubbling of the soup as it slowly boiled could be heard.

It wasn't until the clay pot made a muffled thud as if it couldn't bear the weight that Saki, who was responsible for heating the bento, was burned and suddenly came to her senses. She cried out in pain and quickly used the accompanying tongs to take the clay pot off the pot.

"Ouch... Ouch... It hurts..."

Hastily searching for burn ointment, Saki kept breathing on the burn wound, crying out in pain while reminding the other members, "It seems a little burnt... but it should still be edible..."

"...Be careful, it's hot."

The little rabbits became active due to Saki's interference. Miyako and Moe hurriedly began to treat Saki's scalded hand, while Miyu prepared various medical supplies such as clean water, dry towels, medical alcohol, and gauze.

The atmosphere, which had been deathly silent, was lifted as Miyako spoke up at the opportune moment: "Regarding the request from Sensei... does anyone have any particular opinions?"

We are currently in the initial stage of building trust.

The naive young rabbits in their adolescence have a complex mix of feelings—a mixture of unfamiliarity and trust—towards the 'awful adult' who sent them the message.

On the one hand, the budding, youthful longing as they gradually grew closer to each other prompted them to accept it;

On the other hand, they also have a subconscious resistance.

"Should we say that 'the brighter the light, the darker the shadow'..."

Moe wore a 'feeling of sympathy' expression: 'I never imagined that such a seemingly glamorous millennium would harbor such undercurrents...'

"In response to Sensei's trust and kind expectations of us... I think we can accept this request!"

Miyako didn't speak, but glanced at the 'righteous and awe-inspiring' Moe with a complicated look.

Based on her understanding of the team members as the team leader... Miyako felt that Moe's righteousness was not only because she genuinely enjoyed getting involved in these complex situations.

Furthermore, if the Rabbit Squad accepts such a request, they may receive equipment support from Xia Lai, specifically 'otherworldly equipment'.

After Moe gave her opinion first, Miyu hesitated several times before choosing to 'follow suit'.

"I...I think..."

...Although, for Miyu, "participating in a sports meet on a sunny day" was simply too difficult.

However, since it was a request from Xia Lai, it was a good opportunity to help Sensei...

Therefore... we should strive to meet this expectation.

Miyu only said half a sentence before stopping, but Miyako could still read her intentions from Miyu's expression, which was different from her usual timidity and gloom, as if she had made a decision.

"Phew...it seems like no one has any objections."

Saki grimaced slightly in pain, and after receiving limited professional medical treatment, her hand was wrapped in medical gauze.

"In that case, let's begin discussing the battle plan."

Using the warmth from the flickering firelight and the slightly burnt smell of their dinner, the little rabbits began to discuss their 'infiltration plan'.

First, you need to prepare a suitable set of sportswear, or gymnastics clothes, to disguise yourself to a certain extent.

Then... using Xia Lai's privileges, he 'infiltrated' the Millennium Academy, made his way to the vicinity of the main venue of the Grand Priest's Ceremony, and began gathering intelligence on a series of recent events.

And then... if they can find and capture the 'masterminds', that would be a great achievement for the Rabbit Squad.

It's unlikely that SRT will be shut down directly... but it could at least increase the Rabbit Squad's influence and voice, right?

After discussing the battle plan, Miyako, as the team leader, gave a 'plan summary'.

"This operation... will be called 'Operation Crescent Moon'."

"Operation Crescent Moon, now...begin."

In the darkness of night, the little rabbits responded in unison and began to prepare their gear.

First—is the stage of preparing clothes.

After entering their respective tents, the girls began to change their clothes quickly.

Then, during the costume change, they encountered some problems.

The tent zipper was unzipped, and the little bunnies, dressed in gymnastics outfits that accentuated their youthful energy, emerged one after another, checking in on each other.

After a brief silence, Meng Hui made a face and tugged at the tight-fitting gymnastics top that she was wearing, which was uncomfortable no matter how she wore it. Then she tugged at the sports shorts with obvious marks on them, also feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Gymnastics uniform... Ah, the one issued by SRT should be fine, right..."

"Mine seems a little tight..."

"Has he grown again recently...?"

"It's so uncomfortable being constricted like this..."

Moe's remarks naturally drew envy from the other three little rabbits.

"I feel the same way..."

Saki tried tugging at the clothes that felt unnatural no matter how she wore them, and hesitated for a moment before stopping herself from saying anything.

"It seems it's time to ask Sensei to customize a completely new set of clothes... Clothes that affect movement will also significantly impact combat missions..."

As the second-best-looking "little bunny" in the team, her remarks drew envy from Miyu and Miyako.

Miyako looked at herself, then at Miyu, who was even more 'immature' than herself, sighed softly, closed her eyes, and tried to comfort herself.

That's already within the normal range... at least it's not like Miyu, who has none at all.

Besides...

Compared to the other three team members, he had a unique and unparalleled advantage...

"Let's set off for the millennium."

……

"Next, show remorse."

Amamiya raised the [God of Destruction] in his hand, and from a distance, aimed the silvery muzzle at the shadows that had been blasted back to their original forms, looking down at them as they lay on the ground, curled up in a ball and trembling.

His trench coat fluttered in the wind, and the holy flames of the blessing magic and the cursed flames of the cursed magic, which exuded an ominous black and red aura, remained scattered around. This chaotic beauty, which "destroyed all romance and beauty," made Noah want to take out his camera equipment and record this scene.

She took out her phone to try taking a picture, but found that no audio or video recording devices worked, which left her quite disappointed.

"Repentance...what repentance?"

The shadows, seemingly still confused, blinked blankly.

"You unreasonable 'phantom thief'... if you want us to repent, at least explain why you want us to repent..."

"To beat someone up without saying anything is really..."

Amamiya: "..."

For some reason, there's a kind of comical feeling, like "you've tortured the other person for three days and three nights and they still haven't confessed," and the response is, "then why don't you ask them?"

To some extent, I had my own preconceived notions...

However, Amamiya felt that this was not a wrong move.

After all, while shadows don't lie... they are, after all, products of the aggregation of various negative thoughts.

They truly conform to the "theory of inherent evil"... or, in Freudian psychology, the origin of the otherworld—the wisdom of the real world is the ego and the superego, while these otherworldly shadows are the id of all wisdom.

Giving them a beating first can temper their arrogance and also skip the "talk first" process of "talk first, then beat them, then talk again".

Amamiya coughed lightly, maintaining the aura created by the fusion of multiple bond skills: "Malignant Charm - Enhanced Aura" (Kayoko Bond), "Black Monarch's Aura", "Prelude to the Finale", and "Raging Snow Moon Flower" (Wakamo Bond).

He asked in a deep voice, "Why are you taking a series of measures to hinder the preparations for the Akawa Grand Festival?"

"We 'hate' sports."

"For us 'magicians'... sports are not our forte."

"We understand that this 'Kōrin Grand Festival' is very important to Elido, but... we are deeply saddened by this humiliation."

"Most of us living in this region are magicians, scholars, and researchers who are not good at physical exercise..."

The shadows began to lodge their accusations, one after another.

Their complaints, translated into language understandable in the real world, are essentially nothing more than: [the fear of being 'forced' to participate in the sports meet and then embarrassing themselves], [unpleasant memories of major sports meets], and [not wanting to stand under the scorching sun to watch any major sports meet]...

This is the classic 'homebody' style theory.

Amamiya found it both amusing and exasperating.

What's funny is that he really didn't expect that what he thought was some major conspiracy by this 'opposition group' turned out to be such a pure reason.

Unfortunately, it's because... that's just the style of the Millennium Technology Academy.

Although the Millennium Academy is not as weak as the point where "the vast majority of students are in terrible physical condition," it is an indisputable fact that "Millennium students have the worst average physical condition among the top-ranked academy students"—a conclusion drawn from data surveys.

Amamiya quickly grasped the situation, while Noah remained curious throughout.

'The way we communicate in another world...'

'It's just like performing in a stage play.'

As Noah listened to these titles, nouns, and various chuunibyou-esque expressions that should have appeared in a novel, his feelings were complicated.

What Amamiya took for granted was the routine of 'defeating the shadows and extracting information from them,' but Noah saw it as something akin to 'a chivalrous thief in a fantasy world defeating a major villain'... a description that was 'quite amusing.'

While feeling curious and intrigued, Noah also immediately realized his potential problem.

Perhaps the emergence of the Akawa Grand Festival opposition group also means that, as the secretary in charge of organizing the event, I failed to fulfill the responsibility of "carefully looking after all student groups"...

"I understand your thoughts."

Amamiya scoffed and concluded, "...So, you're worried about the passive-aggressive behavior that comes with failure; you're worried that everything you've worked so hard to build up will be trampled and crushed again because of something so trivial."

Noticing the change in Amamiya's attitude, the Shadows were all somewhat excited or agitated.

"Phantom Thief, will you help us...?"

"We have already endured far too much suffering like this..."

"..."

"I can understand your actions, but I do not express my sympathy."

Amamiya removed the black and white smoky eye mask from her face, her sharp gaze sweeping over those who were looking at her with either expectation or more direct longing, hoping that she would end the shadow of the 'Akura Grand Festival'.

"This is essentially 'escapism'... While escapism may be temporarily effective, it cannot continue indefinitely, otherwise one's life will become utterly miserable."

"As the holder of power, you naturally have the right to express your views from a righteous and glorious perspective..."

"But we have no power..."

"Ha, so the legendary phantom thief is nothing more than this...?"

Amamiya sighed.

"My strength comes from resistance, from my discontent with the unjust status quo."

"My phantom thief activities stem from the attitude of doing my best even if I am not capable enough... not from the mentality of running away."

"You see my current power, but do you know that even such power began as a 'fool,' and involved a difficult journey of growth?"

“Try to do it, instead of giving up – and understanding this is just the most basic thing.”

"..."

The shadows fell silent for a moment.

Even if you say that... we'll still be ridiculed...

"Yeah, being treated differently..."

Noticing the hesitation on the faces of these shadows, Amamiya interrupted their self-pity: "I will encourage you."

“…Huh?”

"What?"

"What is this? The concern of the victors in their time of need? But... it doesn't seem so bad..."

"Is that so... Although we may face a lot of criticism, as long as someone sees our efforts..."

"As long as someone expresses their approval..."

"We understand..."

"We...will repent of what we have done..."

"Then, try to accept it..."