I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Okay, okay... I will take Ajinko's reminder to heart..."

Before she could finish speaking, Amamiya, who was getting up under Ajinko's guidance, stumbled because of the slightly large movement.

"..."

After a brief silence, a girl's soft chuckle reached my ears.

"Even the usually steady and reliable Sensei can make mistakes like this from time to time."

'It must be because of the height difference...'

With another door closing sound, Amamiya immediately sensed Azuko begin to move.

Amamiya, in order to fulfill the girl's small request, remained 'blind' and was led by her for quite a long time.

The birdsong around him, the rustling of the wind blowing through the gaps in the trees, and the fresh air made Amamiya realize that this must be a nature park.

It's not just any ordinary nature park, it's the kind of...

A special park that, despite its beautiful scenery, is almost deserted due to its remoteness or other reasons.

The rustling sounds in the forest gradually subsided, and the birdsong was slowly drowned out by the serene atmosphere. Soon, Amamiya felt that the 'ground' beneath her feet had changed from regular stone to an irregular surface paved with gravel.

The ground became discontinuous, with broken stone slabs and... the feeling of stepping on ordinary soil.

Perhaps it was to... maintain a special atmosphere?

After making a guess in his mind, Amamiya felt that Azuko gradually stopped.

The girl seemed to take a light breath.

"Just a little while... it'll be ready soon."

He briefly let go of her hand, and the sound of the girl's quickened steps faded into the distance.

"Okay."

“Sensei, I’ll count down from three and then I’ll take off the blindfold.”

"Three, two, one..."

Amamiya removed her blindfold, and the next moment, a sea of ​​flowers and green leaves rushed into her vision.

The intense midday sun streamed in through the gaps, eagerly filling the field of vision and briefly giving Amamiya an overexposed brightness.

What appeared before Amamiya was a long, heart-shaped corridor entirely woven from various plant vines.

The dark green lampposts are entwined with delicate vines in full bloom, and the heart-shaped corridor woven from the plant vines is lush and verdant.

A girl wearing a flower wreath around her neck and shoulders stood quietly in front of the corridor at just the right angle and distance.

Irregular marble slabs and dirt roads stretched behind her, all the way to the other side of the corridor, to a heart-shaped exit also filled with plants and flowers.

"The place I wanted to bring Sensei to... is here."

The girl, whose wide-brimmed hat brim was slightly lifted by the wind, was unusually shy, and her eyes as she looked at Amamiya held a tentative 'I wonder if Sensei will like it'.

"It really is……"

Reflecting on this, Amamiya gradually came to her senses: "What a unique place."

【~???~】

"This is a newly built green park. I stumbled upon it while patrolling near Xialai."

Akiko breathed a slight sigh of relief, and her tone gradually regained a hint of hope for 'sharing the secret with the one she loves'.

The builders who invested in this park named this walkway "Distance."

"After learning about this place... I've always wanted to come here with Sensei."

"This corridor... whoosh."

After a soft laugh, Akiko continued softly, "...and the flowers here too."

“They… should be able to go a step further and deepen the distance between me and Sensei.”

Looking around, Ajinko closed her eyes, then opened them again with an even brighter expression.

"I've felt this way ever since I first learned about this place..."

"Actually... I originally wanted to take you through this corridor without Sensei knowing, to shorten this 'distance,' and then tell you after we reached the exit that 'the distance had been shortened without us even realizing it'... something like that."

“But such things… cannot deceive Sensei, nor can they deceive themselves.”

At this point, Yajinzi fell into a long silence.

After a long period of gathering her courage and carefully preparing her words, the girl slowly began to speak.

"My encounter with Sensei... took place in a hopeless, thorny, muddy place."

"The reason I like flowers is because they come from the mud, but they bloom brightly towards the sun."

"Me before I met Sensei, and everyone in Arius's team... perhaps we couldn't even have achieved the fate of wild grass?"

"But...Sensei pulled us out of the mud when we were on the verge of collapse and carefully planted us in flowerpots, so that we... eventually became these flowers in their 'first bloom'."

"..."

“Sensei. As the ‘florist’ who has nurtured us to this day, you won’t abandon us when we are at our most beautiful, will you?”

Amamiya shook her head without hesitation: "How could I possibly abandon Azuko?"

【~???~】

“I don’t want to be abandoned by Sensei either. Whether it’s as ‘Sensei’s Princess’ or as ‘a flower Sensei can pluck.’”

Asuka approached and reached out her hand to Amamiya again.

"so……"

"Sensei, may I ask you to accompany me... through this 'distance'?"

[Here, it seems we should choose our words carefully...]

Amamiya smiled and extended her hand: "I will not abandon Akiko either... whether as a 'knight accompanying a princess' or a 'gardener tending to flowers.'"

[He's developed a special relationship with Ajinko...]

There's no going back...

【Azuko Shirabe (Hope) ★★★★★★★★☆☆】

[★8 Bond Ability "Sprout of Love" is now unlocked!]

Chapter 45 Ajinko: So what is our relationship now?

(Guess why there's one missing chapter?)

The beauty of springtime fades in the blink of an eye.

In a deserted park, Amamiya and the young girl, who had been 'planning' for a long time and was now experiencing her first stirrings of love, had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation.

Her rosy, pink tongue gently licked the last bit of hair into her mouth. The exhausted girl let down her hair that had been pulled back from her forehead, sighed contentedly, and then lay back on the passenger seat that had been lowered.

"Sensei, what...what is our relationship now?"

The girl's question was answered by Amamiya without hesitation: "...a special relationship with no distance between us."

【~???~】

Great.

Although the situation was a bit complicated... through my own efforts, this delicate relationship was still 'broke through'.

The girl lying on her back had her restless red eyes filled with a firm tenderness.

'We can't abandon Misaki and Hiyori either...'

'While Sensei excels at "taking the initiative," her offensive tendencies lean towards students who "attract more attention." Meanwhile, Misaki and Hiyori are often overlooked within Arius's team...'

Thinking about the team and herself, Akiko's mind wandered, and she soon fell into a short, deep sleep due to exhaustion.

Amamiya quietly turned on the car's air conditioning and reflective coating, almost completely blocking out the sunlight and temporarily transforming the cramped interior into a more suitable place to rest.

Yajinzi slept like that until almost evening.

It wasn't until the sunset's glow reached its peak that Amamiya heard a soft rustling sound of fabric.

After a short while, Amamiya heard the sound of the passenger door being gently opened.

"Sensei...where to go next?"

The girl, who had recovered and readjusted, smiled broadly. Although her mental state was not as good as it was at the beginning, she could now move around in a way that was 'almost normal'.

"Next, we're going to the once-in-a-millennium trip. Would you like to come along, Ajinko?"

millennium……

Azuko tilted her head slightly.

Is it about the "Kōrin Daisai"?

After a moment of confusion, Azuko gave a soft "hmm" and agreed, "I'll go with Sensei."

The reason Amamiya went to the millennium was indeed because of the Akawa Grand Festival.

While waiting for Azuko to rest and recover, Amamiya took the opportunity to check out today's momotalk.

As the event date approaches, the daily messages from students from around the world are increasing day by day.

[Utahara: Sensei, the support outfits are ready... but we're still a little unsure.]

[Utahara: Can Sensei come and take a look?]

I also received messages from other people.

[Yuka: I've noticed my stamina has been declining lately...]

[Yuka: Sensei, about stamina recovery training...]

'...'

[Yuriko: Kei's weapons are ready, come and take a look?]

'...'

[Sumire: Those kids who recently joined the training club want Sensei to check their training results.]

[Sumire: Is Sensei coming?]

'...'

[Chihiro: Regarding network issues during the competition...]

'...'

[Maki: Shall we go do some graffiti?]

Looking around, Amamiya's MomoTalk messages have been flooded with various reasons from her students.

Some were closely related to the Akawa Grand Festival, some had almost no connection, and some even used the occasion to 'intrude' and get closer to the festival... It seems that quite a few students in the academy, which is mainly composed of 'science girls,' have keenly seized this opportunity.

Having taken Saori with her to the Millennium last time to investigate issues related to the training club, Amamiya's purpose this time is quite clear.

Let's go check out the training department first.

Driving the car, with Azuko on board, Amamiya drove all the way to a thousand years ago.

Bathed in the setting sun, the academy, with its high-tech atmosphere, remained in a state of unusual 'busyness', and did not experience any dramatic fluctuations due to Amamiya's arrival.

After parking the car, the sky had already turned from dusk to night.

Just like last time when I brought Saori and came around the same time... the training room lights were still on.

Perhaps due to the approaching Akawa Taisai festival, this building, which displays a logo made up of dumbbells and other fitness equipment, has become unusually popular.

More and more students are coming here to exercise... perhaps it's because of the "last-minute cramming" mentality?

This wasn't Azuko's first visit to the Millennium Science Academy, and she was no longer curious or surprised by its unique features.

After her gaze was briefly drawn to the students of the Millennium who were leaving the building one after another, almost all of them wearing glasses, Azuko seemed to understand why some students chose to stay in the 'gym' at this time.