I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

All I can say is that her perception is far too stable.

"As expected of Kayoko, she can even adapt to the new conditions so quickly."

While praising her, Amamiya extended her right hand, and a grappling hook shot out from the slot on her wrist, whistling as it hooked onto the face of the [Mermaid] in shadow.

"Get ready for battle... then do whatever you want, Kayoko!"

Amamiya leaped out, his right hand trailing a streak of fierce red light.

Using the grappling hook, he jumped directly onto the Mermaid's shoulder. In the Mermaid's panic, he grabbed the starfish mask on her face and tore it off without hesitation.

"Show me your true colors!"

"BGM: Take Ov"

Saxophone, violin, cello... the melodious and magnificent royal-style 'jazz' naturally blends into the background.

The mermaid fell to the ground with a mournful howl, the gushing black mud coalescing back into a top-tier monster from another mythological system.

There is the "Yamata no Orochi" from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons;

There are "godlike angels" from the Holy Trinity;

There is a "Fallen Demon King" from Gehenna;

The 'small group' of three powerful monsters crashed to the ground like three small mountains.

Amamiya leaped back, somersaulted, and deftly dodged the opening attacks from the shadows before returning to Kayoko's side.

The dark red mud gathered into a gigantic creature that started at five meters high and had no upper limit... Such a scene did not make Kayoko panic.

In fact, Kayoko's initial attention wasn't even on the monsters—but rather on the royal-style music that accompanied the battle in the background.

Why... did the music suddenly start playing?

'And...this musical style...is different from the music in "Phantom Thief Chronicles," it's very unique...'

After paying attention to the music, Kayoko turned her attention to the entire battlefield.

Walking on the grand stage, with a glamorous and elegant demeanor, effortlessly gliding and maneuvering under the spotlight, utterly annihilating all the hideous 'angels' and 'demons' born of evil thoughts...

He quickly glanced at Amamiya, who had already assumed a fighting stance, her feet covered by a ring of fire extending from a layer of blue flames.

'I never expected this…'

'The phantom thief, on the contrary, has to fight under the spotlight.'

"Kayoko..."

"Ah."

Kayoko shrugged her shoulders, bowed her head, and gave an order to the black cat perched on her shoulder.

"The Cheshire Cat...Wonderland Adventure".

"Wondland: Deals guaranteed critical hit weakness damage to all enemies. Can only be activated once per battle."

The black cat on my shoulder meowed twice, then nimbly jumped down.

It extends from a 'fairytale spectacle' filled with fantastical elements, including playing cards, kaleidoscopes, candy canes, gingerbread men, and more.

Meow—~

Fairytale scenery flashed by accompanied by magnificent music, the fairytale theater briefly opened, and then, as if taking its final bow, the curtain was pulled back with a whoosh.

Fairy tales can be more than just fairy tales.

The sharp slash marks left by playing cards, the flames kicked up by the gingerbread man as he ran past, the dents left on the armor by the heavy candy cane, the various cursed flames and holy flames refracted by the psychedelic light reflected by the spinning kaleidoscope...

Everything was concealed behind the scarlet curtain as it was drawn.

As the curtain rose, the actors were already 'unfortunate' and covered in injuries.

"Excellent, a good opportunity to strike first."

With perfect timing, they switched positions, and Amamiya, wielding Paradise Lost, parried the 'god-like angel's' blade.

Accompanied by the crisp, clanging sound of metal clashing, the flames beneath Amamiya's feet roared and soared up.

"Psona! Alice!"

The smoky makeup mask on her cheek shattered, revealing a blonde, blue-eyed girl in a blue and white Lolita dress, loafers, striped socks, and a white headband. She moved from an illusion to reality as she lifted her skirt and bowed.

【Psona - Alice (Arcana: The Fool/The World)】

[Introduction: Alice, the heroine of the famous fairy tale "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," idly glimpses the legendary Wonderland and experiences an adventure even more fantastical than the fairy tale itself. She grows up within the dream, only to awaken to find that everything she experienced was a dream.]

Due to her immense popularity, the image of 'Alice' has become almost entirely defined, and the name Alice has become one of the most popular names.

"The Red Queen's Sword".

The blonde, blue-eyed fairytale girl slowly raised the royal blade in her hand.

Pink flames roared up from the royal blade, forming a decapitating scythe several meters long.

"Vorpal sword: Deals massive fire damage to one enemy, with a high chance of inflicting instant death."

The fiery blade scorched past, and the high-speed horizontal slash completely froze the massive body of the Yamata no Orochi.

The bright orange slash mark lingered in the air for several seconds before gradually fading and disappearing.

Along with it, all the heads of the Yamata no Orochi also 'disappeared'.

The 'Red Queen' is the Queen of Hearts, whose catchphrase is "cut off their heads," and she can decapitate instantly... which is only natural.

The 'angel-like being' angrily summoned thunder, and Kayoko, accompanied by the Cheshire Cat's sudden flashes, appeared and disappeared to evade the terrifying lightning.

With a playing card held between her index and middle fingers, she appeared behind the 'Fallen Demon King' and casually sliced ​​open his ugly, bloated body before flashing away before his 'blood' spurted out.

'Kayoko's melee weapon... is playing cards?'

Seeing Kayoko use a melee weapon to counterattack, Amamiya was speechless for a moment.

The awakened Persona is so normal, but the melee weapon it uses is so unusual...

However, within the Phantom Thieves, this weapon is still considered within the normal range.

After all, 'phantom thieves' really use all sorts of weapons—Amamiya's own phantom thief group alone has 'ruthless' members who use strange melee weapons such as two-handed battle axes, two-handed scythes, chain whips, etc.

Melee weapons like playing cards do fit the style of formal attire and can indeed be used as melee weapons.

The Cheshire Cat's ability to 'appear and disappear suddenly' may have created a 'perfect fit' for Kayoko in another sense—it's a unique skill used for both dodging and attacking.

After spitting out a large amount of 'blood plasma,' the demon king, whose hideous wounds had been cut by the playing cards, collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Amamiya raised Paradise Lost and God of Destruction in his hand, reversed his grip on the sword, and blocked the 'god-like angel's' sword technique. Then he brought the muzzle of God of Destruction's gun close to its visor.

"ended."

With a rather unpleasant gunshot, the battle came to an end.

After shooting the 'god-like angel' dead, Amamiya, of course, didn't just focus on showing off. He turned around and helped Kayoko, who was exhausted from the initial awakening and almost collapsed to the ground.

"It's normal to feel weak when you first awaken."

"Kayoko, are you alright?"

With Amamiya's help, she didn't fall directly. After stabilizing herself, Kayoko immediately thanked him.

“Sensei… thank you.”

"Since the fight might disturb the other shadows here... let's retreat to a safe place before resting."

With that, Amamiya supported Kayoko's waist, which was somewhere between mature and childlike, yet could still be described as 'slender and soft', and lifted her up in a princess carry.

【~???~】

In the instant of weightlessness and tilting, Kayoko was briefly surprised, and then a faint blush gradually appeared on her cheeks.

It turns out...

Even for a '18-year-old adult' like Kayoko, and one of the few normal students in Kiwatos with relatively complete common sense, it was hard to resist the feeling of being 'princess-carried'.

Without hesitation, the girl being 'princess-carried' immediately responded by wrapping her arms around the back of Amamiya's neck.

“Sensei…please.”

Chapter Ninety-Six: A Virtuous Family, Everlasting感动 (A Deep Affection)!

"How was your rest, Kayoko?"

The blue ocean-style buildings, varying in height and exuding a sense of holiness and antiquity, reflected shimmering light. The girl, startled from her 'daze' by the sound, turned her gaze away from the school of fish that seemed to float in the air without any support.

"Basic operations are already possible."

After getting up from the stone bench and trying to move her joints, Kayoko assessed her current condition: "I should be able to continue some low-intensity combat."

"Exploring other worlds is something we should avoid if possible."

After putting down the bag of loot she had collected, Amamiya corrected Kayoko's 'concept': "The scenery of the other world is beautiful... but it gives you a sense of urgency that you have to concentrate at all times, making it impossible to get a proper rest."

"Can Kayoko sense it?"

Kayoko nodded silently.

It seems that... my own 'understanding' is still different from that of the "Phantom Thief Chronicles" game.

While the game "Phantom Thief Chronicles" advocates stealth and avoiding enemies, players actually prefer to 'kill enemies all the way through' and push their way through.

The 'danger' of that other world that makes it hard to breathe at any moment... It wasn't until she experienced it firsthand that Kayoko gradually understood the hardships and dangers hidden beneath the glamorous exterior of the 'phantom thief'.

In the game, the 'phantom thief' simply needs to explore the hall as instructed in the game.

A true phantom thief roaming another world has many more things to consider.

Not only must they be wary of various dangers, but they must also explore the labyrinthine area to find an infiltration route to the treasure, while also managing their limited stamina and time to complete the infiltration route determination and the theft of the treasure before the deadline...

They will even have to face off against the master of the hall in the end.

It’s hard to imagine…

With a sigh in her heart, Kayoko looked down at the 'trophy bag'.

"Sensei, shall we continue?"

Whether out of consideration or for various other factors, Amamiya could no longer 'force' Kayoko to fight alongside him.

He shook his head and said gently to Kayoko, "Kayoko, you must be very tired since this is your first awakening. We won't fight the other shadows anymore."

"Next, we just need to observe the environment and gather intelligence."

【~???~】

Kayoko breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Given my current physical condition, high-intensity combat is becoming too much for me...

However, if it's just about gathering intelligence, then there shouldn't be any problems.

After making some adjustments, Kayoko knelt down beside the bag of spoils, supporting herself on her knees, and carefully examined the bag containing all sorts of oddly shaped trophies.

With just a quick glance, Kayoko was able to recognize the origins of some of the spoils, and even had a rough idea of ​​how to deal with them.

The armor fragments from the 'angelic being' are gilded and gleaming silver; though damaged, they still look quite valuable. They should be worth selling to students in the Trinity District.

The cracks and broken horns from the 'Fallen Demon King' are hideous and terrifying, and the damage is even more severe. However, it naturally carries the influence of a desire to collect it, which even makes one's own 'hunter' eager to possess it. Gehenna's students... especially the Temple of Ten Thousand Demons, should be willing to buy it at a high price.

The long tailbone from the 'Yamata no Orochi' looks as long and sharp as an unfinished longsword, which might appeal to some sword collectors in the Hyakki Yagyō region.

"These……"

Kayoko picked up the broken corner, which was shrouded in black mist and cracks and seemed to glow, and examined it curiously: "A trophy from another world..."

"How should this be handled normally?"

After a moment's thought, Amamiya gave a vague answer: "Find a way to sell to the 'right' target."

Kayoko understood, but precisely because she understood, she was genuinely puzzled.

Who is acquiring these seemingly incalculable spoils of war? And what value do these items bring to the buyers?

Despite her confusion, Kayoko had no intention of getting to the bottom of it.