I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"I'm not mocking you... Wakamo Kitsaka."

Iroha closed the book in her hands, her tone still completely calm: "...I am stating reality."

"On this lonely night, did you feel even a little bit lonely, Ruozao?"

"Aren't other students who get to be in contact with Sensei every day, every moment... incredibly envious?"

"The Sensei you admire and look up to isn't seen that way by the other students~"

"Perhaps he has already launched an aggressive offensive against the other students, and even..."

Wakazao squeezed the holographic projection communicator in her hand so hard it made a clicking sound.

She gritted her teeth, suppressing her anger, and interrupted Iroha in a calm voice: "...Enough."

"The love between Sensei and me is unwavering and indisputable."

At this point, Wakazama's tone was almost chilling: "Natsume Iroha of the Pandemonium... I will never allow you to slander the relationship between me and Sensei!"

"So……"

The holographic projection of Iroha chuckled softly: "Will you accept this deal?"

"I've already placed the first half of 'One Hundred Ways to Conquer Sensei,' which I had someone observe, summarize, and write, at a trading location..."

"Hehe. If you believe me, why don't you go to that trading location and take a look, then consider whether you want to agree to the deal with me..."

On the screen, Iroha waved the book in her hand, silently showing Wakazama a nearby coordinate point through holographic projection.

Immediately, the holographic projection communicator, which had been short-circuited by Wakazao, could no longer hold on. With a crackling sound of an electric arc, the image projected by the communicator disappeared with a 'pop'.

"..."

Ruozao stood there silently for a long time, then gradually exerted her strength, crushing the entire delicate little instrument into a lump of indistinguishable metal scrap, before casually tossing it into a nearby trash can.

Whether the deal will be agreed to remains to be seen...

The crucial point is that a potential danger has arisen beside you, my dear!

Swinging her large fox tail, Wakazama, hiding her expression beneath her fox face, breathed heavily and turned to head in one direction.

Is it Iroha Natsume from Pandemonium...?

In other words, she found herself.

If we find other students like myself... how would this situation turn out?

Such a thing that might cause trouble for Sensei, or even threaten Sensei... I, Wakazamo, will absolutely not allow it to happen!

To prevent Sensei from making a mistake, or Iroha from approaching other students, let's check the coordinates she mentioned first...

……

In the dimly lit room, following the instructions of the blonde, blue-eyed girl dressed in British style off-screen, Iroha performed her act meticulously. Iroha sighed, feeling as if she had summoned a terrifyingly stable and excessively powerful aggro for the Pandemonium.

After casually tossing away the performance props that the other party had handed her earlier as if they were trash, Iroha lowered her eyebrows and gave the other party a look that said, "Is this alright?"

"...Will doing this guarantee Ibuki's safety?"

"I hope you won't break the contract."

The blonde girl, who was meticulously replicating Iroha's current attire, paused in her actions while tending to a red wig, and glanced at Iroha with 'unexpected' interest.

The implication was clearly, "I never expected you to have the guts to make such harsh statements under these circumstances."

Iroha naturally understood her surprise and skepticism. After making her harsh remarks, she resignedly sat back down in the high chair that had been prepared for her, and picked up the luxurious and elegant Trinity-style black tea that had been brewed by the other party not long ago.

Iroha's response was simple: '—Not only do I dare to make threats, but I can also calmly accept your 'hospitality.'

The rich, lingering aroma, with a hint of bitterness, flowed into her throat. Iroha felt none of the tension one would expect from someone who had been kidnapped and held hostage.

Because she knew in her heart...

This time, even though I've been 'kidnapped,' nothing bad will actually happen to me.

Behind him stood Pandemonium, Sensei, Makoto... but this one doesn't need to stand there anymore.

Whoever this guy imitating her is, she probably doesn't want to offend so many people at once.

The only thing he needed to care about was Ibuki's safety.

The other side didn't even confiscate her weapons, but they forced her to hand over all kinds of communication devices that could connect to the Internet and put them all into a safe to block the signal.

The safe was placed in a room where she could see it clearly, and she made no attempt to hide the password when setting it, letting her see it clearly.

Iroha speculated that she did this because she had considerable confidence in her control of the situation and held the 'bargain' that she... and even the entire Pandemonium valued most.

Even with the power to resist and the confidence to quickly subdue the opponent, Iroha dared not act rashly before confirming Ibuki's safety.

After taking a sip of hot black tea and waiting for several minutes without feeling sleepy, Iroha put down her teacup and looked at the 'English girl' who had brought her here.

"You kidnapped me here, then impersonated me to get close to Sensei... What exactly is your purpose?"

The 'British girl' asked with a puzzled look, "Hmm...don't you have any 'interests' that you're interested in and want to put into action?"

Iroha's face was expressionless, like a lazy bum. Faced with the 'English girl's' questioning, she simply shrugged and gave a vague answer: "Maybe."

'British Girl' wasn't surprised that Iroha gave such a 'laid-back' answer.

—At least, in her investigation, this mid-level member of the Pandemonium, a core member…

Because he has to clean up the messes caused by Pandemonium every day, especially by Makoto, and occasionally take on all sorts of outrageous orders, and even take care of the child (Ibuki), he has long since become a lazy bum who just wants to 'steal a moment of leisure'.

She had no intention of forcing a conversation with Iroha's reply, which gave her no chance to respond and effectively killed the topic.

Everyone harbors desires to some degree. And the weight of these desires is difficult to measure…

Even the faintest desire has the driving force to compel it to do something, even something earth-shattering.

No matter how heavy the desire, it can never be heavier than the physical weight of the mind; whether it exists or not does not affect this heaviness.

This thing, so mysterious in itself, if used carefully and skillfully, is enough to drive all sorts of people with different purposes to do things that ultimately align with their own plans...

"Aren't you going to ask some pointless questions like, 'When will I let you go back?'"

Iroha still had a nonchalant expression.

"You will naturally let me go back when it's time."

He said something that made a lot of sense, but it was all meaningless nonsense.

It seems they have absolutely no intention of having any further conversation... What a pity.

Turning her gaze away from Iroha, the 'English Girl' sighed inwardly.

Iroha must have had considerable contact with Sensei... As long as she shows any intention to communicate, I will have the opportunity to obtain fragments of her interactions with Sensei through our conversations, and to delve deeper, speculate, and conceive of Sensei's personal characteristics.

Unfortunately, Iroha had absolutely no intention of negotiating, and even when she did say a few words, she would quickly stop at 'killing the conversation'.

This contact with Sensei was merely a probe...

Is it possible that the only way to get closer to Sensei and understand it further... is to truly 'take the risk'?

Lost in thought, the 'British girl' heard the noise outside the window again.

She picked up her cane, went to the window, and looked out at the airships flying near the ground, making a very noticeable noise.

'Has the operation already begun...?'

'Judging by the timeline, Sensei must have already started taking action...'

She tapped the ground lightly with her cane, quickly drawing her attention away from the outside world and looking at the wig and clothing that matched Iroha's in the room.

'The maintenance of the equipment is also fine...'

"I need to go out now to check if the 'hostages' are safe."

"Iroha, as clever as you are, you should know what to do, right?"

Iroha straightened up and gave a light yawn.

After receiving Iroha's 'response', the 'British girl' entered the changing room with her 'equipment'.

"Next..."

"Let's go see that Sensei..."

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Culinary Research Society Performs as Usual

"The students of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons and the students of Gehenna, led by Sensei, gather together in search of the true 'Princess' and travel everywhere~"

"Isn't it even more magnificent, presenting a spectacular sight of 'a thousand sails racing and a hundred boats vying for the lead'?"

"Then so~"

Nia's broadcast from the airship, along with the occasional noise from Gehenna and the students of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, perhaps deliberately added to enhance the atmosphere, continued to emanate from the airship.

"Can a real princess ever be found? Does Sensei's concept of a 'princess' differ from others' understanding of a princess?"

"I suppose this is a topic that everyone is curious about, nya fufu..."

In Nia's 'narration', Amamiya, along with the girls from the Ninjutsu Research Club, had already found the first clue by holding the tiny Ibuki in his arms with one hand, forming a strange team configuration of 'phantom thief + blonde military uniform loli girl + ninja' that created a sense of scene.

As a "large-scale reality show" with a clear performance orientation, the script for [Warakuhime] is unlikely to be like that of "The Legend of Zelda," where a princess is kidnapped and the participants are left to play an open-world game, wandering around like headless flies, going wherever they want.

In order to achieve a certain degree of 'show effect', there is an essential battle segment in Wagaki's works, which is mainly a performance but still involves real guns and bullets.

"This time, what's blocking Sensei's way is...~~~"

As Nia drew out the cadence, Amamiya appeared before him...

The girls from the festival's operations committee have already changed into vintage clothing to match their performance.

Amamiya stopped in her tracks, and under the starry-eyed gaze of the blonde girl in her arms, she continued to immerse herself in the role with undiminished confidence.

"I never expected... that the ones who are blocking our way this time are... those who fought alongside us in the past."

Holding Ibuki and pressing down on the mask, Amamiya can create a sense of vicissitude and tragic destiny with just one sentence.

【~???~】(Shizuko, Fina, Umika)

Even though they knew it was a performance, the girls on the festival's operations committee clearly felt heartbroken when they were told that.

Not long ago, memories of the "Resort Islands" surfaced, and the girls on the festival's operations committee were instantly gripped by a subtle sense of guilt, a heavy and imposing feeling of reluctance to be "on the opposite side of Sensei."

Amamiya's "getting into character first" inspired the girls in the Ninjutsu Research Club to cooperate in the follow-up.

Especially Izuna, who was also involved in the "Resort Islands" and was even asked by Shizuko to be her bodyguard.

Izuna pulled out a kunai from the straps on his thigh, lowered his fox tail and lowered his body, and also put on a very theatrical pose with a resolute look of "having no choice but to do it".

“Izuna once trusted you so much.”

"But since you stand against our lord, don't blame Izuna for being ruthless..."

Xiaoman and Yueyong also assumed the starting stances for ninjutsu hand seals, and placed their hands on the hilts of their ninja swords behind their backs.

“Those who stand in His Highness Sensei’s way must be eliminated…”

"No, that's right... You can still turn back now."

Compared to the members of the Ninjutsu Research Club who were immersed in 'role-playing', the members of the Festival Operations Committee, whose throats were gripped by memories triggered by Amamiya's words, were truly suffering.

The overwhelming heaviness in their hearts made it impossible for them to get into character, let alone 'shoot Sensei' and truly stand on the opposite side of Sensei.

"already……"

Shizuko stepped forward, her face filled with complex sorrow: "There's no turning back..."

'I wish there was a scene where they betray each other! Why is Sensei participating in the challenge?! I didn't hear about this when I came back from the beach house!'

Fina, standing to the side, also wore a sorrowful expression: "If I had a choice, I would also want to be a good person..."

"Fina is heartbroken that she can no longer fight alongside Sensei..."

'Sensei is clearly the one with the "chivalrous spirit," but this time I have to stand on the villain's side and stop Sensei as the villain...'

Hai Xiang, with a pained expression and drooping dog ears, said dejectedly, "Making a move against Sensei... is still too difficult..."

'Sensei is willing to listen to me talk about all sorts of festivals without getting impatient. She doesn't even mind my rustic ways, and she's even offered to accompany me to various festivals…'

'But I have to attack Sensei myself... Waaah...'

The girls' extremely complex and lacking motivation was clearly visible even to Ibuki, who had an excellent view in Amamiya's arms, let alone Amamiya and the members of the Ninjutsu Research Club behind him.

Seeing that an unexpected performance accident was about to occur during the [Warakuhime] performance, Nia on the airship was preparing to calm the situation on the spot.