I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"These things must not be wasted."

After finishing packing, Amamiya handed the ice dumplings, which were packed into two large canvas bags, to Miri.

"Ah... um."

Shiri was stunned for a moment, then immediately took the heavy, cold bag.

"...I apologize for my previous prejudice."

After offering a sincere apology, the girl hurriedly prepared to say goodbye.

“Sensei is right, food should not be wasted… In order not to disappoint your kind intentions, I will take it back as soon as possible… and distribute it to the workers in the Public Works Department!”

Amamiya did not get up to see her off, but stood there and waved goodbye to Miri.

He let out a long sigh after watching Shiri leave.

“Um, Sensei…your salary…”

Saori leaned closer, her first concern prompting a question: "Won't this...?"

Amamiya chuckled, straightened her back, and touched the forehead of Saori, who had immediately come over to show her concern.

"Although the salary for the position of Sensei is not high... it is enough to support you (Arius Squad)."

"...?!"

Saori was taken aback.

Then, an unnatural blush quickly spread across her cheeks.

【~???~】(Saori)

"Sensei?"

After teasing Saori for being particularly "naive" when it comes to "social skills," Amamiya withdrew her hand and straightened her expression: "It's not that exaggerated... It's mainly to match Minori's situation and make her feel a sense of identification with Natsumi."

Saori: "...?"

She opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't say anything.

It feels a bit strange...

But when I think about myself, and Arius's squad... how we came into contact with Sensei, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it...

After temporarily suppressing the subtle feelings in her heart, Saori turned her attention to other things.

"Sensei, regarding the Crimson Winter Federation Academy..."

"You really want to..."

When she returned from "making coffee," she had overheard almost the entire conversation between Amamiya and Miri.

Faced with Saori's hesitation, Amamiya simply nodded calmly.

I'll have to visit the Crimson Winter Federation Academy sooner or later...

Since Shiri is here this time, we can take advantage of Shiri's presence as a reason and channel to go and have a look.

While pondering, he suggested, "Speaking of which, Arios's team doesn't really have many opportunities to see snow, does it?"

Touching on a blind spot in her understanding, Saori hesitated for several seconds before answering, "...Indeed."

For Saori, and for Arios's team... snow scenes... or especially the kind of snow scenes where the white snow stretches all the way to the distant mountains, are something that can only be seen online.

As Amamiya took out her phone to search for relevant holidays of the Red Winter Federation, she looked at Saori for her opinion: "When we visit the Red Winter Federation Academy, why don't we invite the entire Arius Squad along?"

"what……?"

【~???~】

"Yes, yes..."

"Let me check the recent festivals related to the Red Winter Federation Academy..."

Amamiya was somewhat surprised after browsing through the refreshed webpage messages.

The closest festival to the Red Winter Federation Academy is the Ivan Kupala Festival on July 7th.

The timing of the Akawa Grand Festival, a major event, is roughly the same.

Amamiya turned her phone screen toward Saori, who looked slightly uneasy.

"Hmm, let's set it for this holiday?"

Just thinking about the pre-arranged 'swimsuit' activity where Arius's team went to see the sea together...

Saori's expectations were further heightened.

'Snow scene...'

What are the festivals like in the Crimson Winter Federation?

After calming Saori down, Amamiya took out her phone, preparing to open MomoTalk and contact the assistants at the Pandemonium in advance.

Who should I contact...?

After scanning the faces of Makoto, Satsuki, Chiaki, Iroha, Ibuki, and other Pandemonium assistants, Amamiya finally focused her gaze on Satsuki's profile picture, who would occasionally send messages related to 'hypnosis'.

Currently, among the students of the Pandemonium, only Satsuki has not yet established a bond with them.

'Hypnosis...'

Is it the kind of "hypnosis" I imagined?

After pondering for a moment, Amamiya sent a message to Satsuki.

Take this opportunity to go and see it for yourself...

Perhaps we can learn some 'interesting' new bond skills?

Chapter Eleven: Let Me Break His Hypnosis

Pandemonium is a majestic 'Demon King Castle' standing within Gehenna Academy.

As the nominal student council headquarters of Gehenna Academy... this place is naturally grand and imposing.

Even under the sunlight, dappled light and shadow still lingered between the buildings. The new buildings resembled fortresses, and the members of the Pandemonium, tall, dressed in military uniforms and caps, carrying long guns, with short hair, were always wandering around...

This is simply the 'best match' for creating the cold and ruthless aura of the Pandemonium.

As Amamiya stepped into the shadows of the building, he immediately attracted the attention of a member of the Pandemonium guarding the entrance.

"Welcome to the Temple of Demons."

The Pandemonium members, standing at attention, paid their respects with traditional Gehenna etiquette, and then stated directly, "Minister Satsuki is already waiting for you in the reception room."

Amamiya wasn't visiting the Pandemonium for the first time, so he didn't need a guide.

As Amamiya passed by this mature-looking member of the Pandemonium, he casually handed her a 'Demon King Scale' accessory that he had obtained from another world.

"Thanks for your hard work."

The member of the Pandemonium took the scale with a puzzled look and gently stroked it, as if it had been processed into a pendant.

Its texture is cool and delicate, and it seems to carry a very subtle aura, somewhat similar to Makoto's... It's simply...

What a wonderful surprise!

The doubt that was hard to express was replaced by the joy of receiving a desired gift. The member of the Pandemonium immediately put the pendant around his neck with a happy expression.

"...It's not hard work, it's for the glory of the Temple of Ten Thousand Demons."

The tone of the response still carried the characteristic aloofness of the Pandemonium, but both the sense of distance and the feeling it gave were much softer.

'I never understood why Sensei was so popular with the disciplinary committee members…'

'Now, I think I understand...'

After waving goodbye to the member of the Pandemonium, Amamiya, who had captured the heart of another young girl in a graceful manner, left behind a particularly 'stylish' silhouette in the breeze and sunlight as she watched him leave.

Once inside the Pandemonium building, Amamiya, with a clear purpose in mind, headed straight for the Pandemonium's reception room.

On the way, he quickly reviewed his experiences of negotiating with the students of Gehenna Academy in his mind...

The only interaction between Satsuki and Makoto was their first meeting, when Satsuki was brought along as part of the "ceremonial guard" by Makoto as the face of the Pandemonium.

Subsequent conversations were limited to exchanges of messages on momotalk.

What kind of student will this intelligence chief of the Pandemonium be?

Like Makoto, she only has a decent aura, but her behavior is actually full of 'unpredictability'?

Or perhaps... someone as energetic as Qianqiu doesn't seem to be from the Ten Thousand Demons Palace?

Or perhaps... he has a deep, unspoken inner self, like Goro Akechi?

Before knocking on the door, Amamiya tried to devise many ways to negotiate.

After making all the necessary preparations, Amamiya knocked on the door.

After a brief wait, a confident and unhurried female voice came from inside the door.

"Is this Xia Lai's Sensei... Please come in."

Have they already started building momentum...?

Having prepared herself mentally, Amamiya used her free hand to push up her glasses, then directly grasped the doorknob and pushed the door open.

However, what greeted him was not a girl sitting behind the table, arms crossed over her chest, fingers intertwined in a pretentious manner, but rather...

Abundance and fullness so close at hand, and...

A copper coin, dangling back and forth, threaded with a rope?

"Welcome to the Temple of Demons..."

Shaking the perforated copper coin tied with silk thread in her hand, the pink-haired girl spoke in a deep tone, her pink eyes half-closed, her deliberately slowed speech filled with a sweet and seductive charm.

Amamiya was slightly taken aback, and then several bond abilities that resist abnormal statuses were automatically triggered.

'This hypnosis...it actually incorporates some kind of "mysterious" hypnosis...'

Amamiya was genuinely surprised after only a slight moment of disorientation.

The students of Kivotos are all imbued with a sense of mystery.

However, their use of mystery... is all extremely superficial.

Even with top-tier, mysterious figures like Hoshino, Mika, and Hina, at most they can only use their willpower to imbue their bullets with "mystery" to increase the lethality of firearms.

Some students, however, use mystery in a completely different way.

Take, for example, Qinna.

That little white-clad angel of the Rescue Knights can display almost supernatural abilities when saving patients.

Take Miyu for example.

As the overlooked member of Rabbit4 in the Rabbit Squad, Miyu's presence is so faint that it's almost unrecognizable by various electronic devices.

'Hypnosis...'

'interesting. '

Amamiya stopped all her movements, made her eyes look empty and lifeless, and cooperated by acting as if she had been hypnotized.

He wanted to see what this 'Minister of Intelligence,' who had come up to him and tried to hypnotize him, was up to.

Seeing that Satsuki's movements completely stopped after Amamiya opened the door, and she stood still, slowly swaying the hypnotic copper coin, her 'deep and mature' expression quickly collapsed.

Maintaining the rhythm of shaking the copper coin, she asked in a slightly trembling voice, "Sensei, how... do you feel?"

"..."

How does it feel?

Amamiya naturally couldn't directly answer with something like, "Curiosity is also a feeling."

Mimicking the rhythm of being hypnotized, with both thoughts and movements frozen, Amamiya paused for a good ten seconds before answering in a calm tone: "How do I feel..."

"I feel like I've been hypnotized."