I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Considering her personal condition, I took her to use all the facilities in the gym to help her get fit."

Shiyin's eyes darted around.

"So... does Xia Lai really have some special mechanism to punish bad students who have made mistakes?!"

"Does this place, which is said to be filled with students' 'painful yet joyful cries' every day, really exist?"

Amamiya's face darkened: "That doesn't exist. Xia Lai would never subject students to any form of direct corporal punishment."

"The basement of Xia Lai has a simple structure, but there are certain confidentiality requirements. Recording the interior is not allowed, but I can take you inside to have a look."

Shion shuddered, her expression turning horrified and frightened.

"Eek...I'm going to be invited to the basement by Sensei...Could it be...?"

She quickly turned around, faced Mai's camera, and spoke a long string of words at an extremely fast pace, as if she were giving her last instructions.

"Everyone, if I lose contact with you later, please remember me..."

After saying that, Shion turned around again, extending her hand to Amamiya with an expression of heroic sacrifice: "Sensei... just come on!"

"A true journalist must dare to confront the cruel and dark truth!"

Amamiya was almost laughing in exasperation.

If your underlying intention is simply to be alone with me, why would you adopt such a resolute attitude of 'facing the bleakness of life'?

He said irritably, "What are you talking about?... So, what exactly is the purpose of your arrival in Xia Lai so early?"

Shion, who had been looking like she was "heroically sacrificing herself" just a moment ago, suddenly realized that she had another purpose for coming here.

"Cough cough... um..."

After quickly gathering her thoughts and composure, she wasn't embarrassed at all. Relying on the 'thick skin unique to media professionals,' she abruptly returned to the main topic.

“Sensei is right… Let’s put ‘Xia Lai’s Basement Journey’ on hold for now. We have other things to do right now.”

"..."

After gathering her 'official aura' for a moment, she solemnly began, "Sensei... what do you have to say about the 'Akawa Grand Festival opening interview'?"

Faced with Shion's microphone and Mai's camera, and their sincere eyes 'waiting for an answer', Amamiya hesitated for a moment.

Media professionals... any questions they raise should not be judged by common sense.

An unintentional answer could be used as key material for 'misrepresentation' and 'taking things out of context'...

"I am looking forward to the upcoming sports meet and the summer vacation that follows."

After thinking for a moment, Amamiya replied in a very formulaic tone: "I look forward to seeing the students who have signed up for the sports meet 'shine' on the field. I will continue to follow everyone's hard work on the field, as well as their learning and growth through sports."

Why did Sensei bring up the summer vacation? Does Sensei have some special plans for the summer?!

There are indeed arrangements... but they have nothing to do with the sports meet itself.

As promised, the Arios squad's swimsuit vacation, and the Ivan Kupala Festival in Red Winter...

"The reason I look forward to summer vacation is that I do have some personal plans for this long holiday."

"Oh~~ So, what exactly is this special arrangement? Is it to have fun on the beach with beautiful girls in swimsuits? Or perhaps..."

Shion's 'bold guess' made Amamiya sigh.

As expected of a media professional, their intuition is spot on.

Amamiya didn't respond to that question, but calmly said, "My personal arrangements have nothing to do with the holding of the Akawa Grand Festival itself."

"Let's get back to the Akawa Grand Festival itself... Sensei, have you prepared anything to encourage the students participating in this grand sports event...?"

"Personal awards" that are separate from medals and trophies in the competition?

This is a topic that cannot be touched.

Sensing the danger and realizing the extent of the risk posed by Shion, Amamiya decisively gave an ambiguous response: "I have this plan, but the specifics haven't been finalized yet."

"Oh~~"

"However, Sensei's attitude is enough to encourage the students!"

With a long, seemingly confused "Oh," Shion, already pondering how to edit the interview, turned to face Mai's camera and began her formulaic closing remarks.

"So, this 'surprise interview' with Sensei has come to a close in a special way—although there are still other questions, in order not to disturb Sensei's morning, let's end the interview here~!"

"I am Shion Kawakami, a reporter from the Kronos News Department."

"Thank you all for your continued support of 'Kronos Morning News'! Your support is Shion's motivation!"

"Well then, everyone—see you at the opening ceremony!"

Chapter Sixty-Five: The Tournament Opens, Hanako's Explosive Performance

Time flies, and the end of June has quietly slipped away, leaving us with an ungraspable day.

Late June and early July is a mild, neither hot nor cold time in Chivotos.

Although the scorching heat has begun to show, it is still within a barely acceptable range.

On what seemed like an ordinary day, something happened that was perhaps important, yet not so important, to the whole of Kivotos.

The long-awaited Akawa Grand Festival finally opened its doors.

"Welcome everyone—this live broadcast is brought to you from the broadcast booth at the Grand Athletics Stadium, the holy site of the athletics meet in Kivotos!"

The early morning, with the sun just rising, was still bright and clear. The airships circling the stadium, the holographic images created by the holographic projection equipment, and... the 'orderly chaos' in the studio all added a touch of warmth to the otherwise clear morning.

Looking down through the studio window, Amamiya could clearly feel the bustling atmosphere of the ancient stadium.

The various strangely shaped halos seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, and girls dressed in various sportswear or other revealing outfits had gathered here early in the morning.

"Early in the morning, students from all over Kiwatos have gathered here... As for the reason, I'm sure everyone here knows the answer, right?"

Shion, in her characteristic media persona and with a knack for creating atmosphere in such situations, began to speak freely to the slightly delayed broadcast equipment.

Mai chimed in, "That's right. It's the Akawa Grand Festival, held every two years."

"This is one of the few large-scale events in Givotos that allows numerous academies, such as Gehenna, Millennium, and Trinity, to compete against each other!"

"And this time, with Millennium taking the lead as the organizer... therefore, we have prepared new inventions and all sorts of highlights."

"It will definitely be more intense than in previous years—"

Shion seamlessly took over, continuing, "Among the many viewers, I imagine there are also students who, for various reasons, are unable to come to the venue and have chosen to watch the live stream from their dormitories or other locations..."

"It's okay even if you don't come to the event!"

"Our Kronos Channel, with the technical support of a millennium this year, will exclusively broadcast the Akawa Grand Festival at the highest resolution currently supported, accompanied by powerful narration!"

Hearing this, Amamiya, who was standing by the window, silently took a sip of tea, sat back down in front of the 'special guest' camera that was not yet turned on, and straightened his collar and cuffs.

Mai smiled lightly in the studio and began her rapid-fire monologue, a skill that is probably essential for any media professional.

"So, everyone watching the Aurora Festival through various means, please be sure to click the 'Follow' button below the Kronos Channel avatar to track the latest developments of the event in real time, and give us your feedback—if you want real-time interaction or other special segments, remember to set us as a special follower and remember to turn on notifications—"

After delivering such a long speech in one breath without a single mistake, Mai, without losing her momentum or even panting, began announcing several 'sponsors'.

While they are called sponsors, they are not actually advertisements in the true sense. Rather, they provide special support to some students and promote some student clubs.

"Finally—thank you to the Engineering Department of Millennium Technology Academy for their equipment support, to Beritas for their traffic and service support, to Sany for their beverage support, and to the Ghena Supply Department for their staff meal support. Your support will be an indispensable part of the successful holding of this Akawa Grand Festival!"

Mai clearly hadn't finished speaking in one breath and wanted to say something more.

At that moment, Amamiya lowered her head slightly and glanced at the temporary message sent to her phone.

Amamiya nudged the leg of the talkative, short-haired, bespectacled girl under the table, then put her index finger to her lips, silently making a shushing gesture.

"Ah... although there's still so much I want to say, I have to get to the point now—cough cough!"

After handing the floor to Shion, who was already prepared to cooperate, Shion took a deep breath and spoke in an exceptionally strong and energetic tone: "Then let us all shout together at this moment—"

"The Grand Festival of the Shinonome has officially begun!"

Amamiya, appearing as a 'not-so-mysterious mystery guest,' knows very well that it's not her turn to make her appearance yet.

After confirming that there were no surprises, Amamiya got up again and went to the door of the studio. Through the glass window of the door, she nodded gently to Yuka, who had changed into her gymnastics uniform on the other side.

'There shouldn't be any problems.'

Yuka breathed a sigh of relief.

The opening ceremony announcement went smoothly without any unexpected problems, which is good...

'Sensei...please.'

'Remember to keep an eye on those 'media figures,' and don't let them say anything strange.'

Amamiya made a gesture through the door that said, "Don't worry about it, leave it to me."

With these two media reporters in the studio, who usually travel all over the place and have a generally unscrupulous reputation, they probably won't say anything outrageous.

Of course, as they said, they themselves, the 'not-so-mysterious special guest,' could also appear in time to change the subject and save the day.

Yuka nodded outside the corridor, then quickly tapped her phone screen a few times.

[Yuka: Sensei, I still have to go to the venue...]

[Yuka: I'll leave this to Sensei.]

After sending the message, Yuka left in a hurry.

Amamiya's gaze didn't linger on Yuka for long. Instead, he took advantage of the camera being off to walk around the studio, eventually returning to the window facing the stadium and looking down at the situation inside.

The sun was shining brightly, and the wind was gentle.

In the vast stadium, monochrome banners promoting the Akawa Taisai festival were hung from balloons, and some were even hung on airships.

Interestingly, among the students from various places, Amamiya saw the most distinctive group.

Led by Shiri, dozens of students dressed in Akatsuki-style summer work clothes are protesting while holding signs demanding four days off per week.

Meanwhile, Amamiya also saw Azusa, Koharu, and Hifumi, who had also changed into sportswear.

The three girls stood close to the students from the Public Works Department who were protesting, led by Miri. Hifumi was sucking on her popsicle with her head down, while Koharu was like an alert cat, glancing around every now and then, her mind probably not on the sports meet at all.

Zi, meanwhile, flapped her little white wings and stared longingly at the broadcast screen.

Suddenly, she probably noticed the gazes fixed on her, and just then she looked up and cast her gaze far away towards Amamiya.

Amamiya clicked his tongue in amazement.

Xiao Zi's alertness... or rather, her intuition, is truly astounding.

Koharu, who seemed constantly alert to her surroundings, was actually oblivious to everything. It was Azusa, on the other hand, who reacted the moment her gaze fell upon her...

But speaking of which, where is Hanako?

Generally speaking, when the tutoring club goes out together, Hanako shouldn't be the 'exception'.

Where is she?

Amamiya was puzzled. She scanned the area once or twice, and even used her "third eye" to observe more closely, but she still couldn't find Hanako among the students watching in the venue.

With a thought, Amamiya activated the two bond skills: [Foresight of the Future] (Saintia) and [Eye of Destiny] (Koyuki).

A strange feeling spread through his heart. Under the effect of the bond skill, a blurry scene appeared before Amamiya's eyes, so blurry it seemed it might dissipate at any moment - Hanako and Ayane were preparing backstage.

Hanako took the stage to deliver the contestant's oath...

The blurry image dissipated here, but what followed was a vague sense of confusion and unease.

I hope nothing weird happens...

While Amamiya was worrying, Shion and Mai in front of the camera started their 'casual chat' as hosts again.

"Oh dear~ Speaking of which, since Sensei arrived, it seems that all sorts of 'vicious incidents' that happen in Kivotos have been curbed to varying degrees."

"I heard that Sensei also made efforts for the Akawa Grand Festival..."

"This year's Akawa Grand Festival... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a 'millennial technology expo.' It's said that, influenced by Sensei, the organizing committee added many new competition events after deliberation..."

"According to rumors, all the renowned societies of the past millennium have put in their best efforts, showcasing a variety of achievements—both macro and micro—that we may or may not see, to optimize and enhance the viewing experience for the audience..."

"Ah... speaking of which, I have to mention the shocking facts that the Kronos press department uncovered yesterday—the day before the opening ceremony!"

Amamiya's heart skipped a beat, and her bad premonition grew stronger.

What exactly do Mai and Shion want to talk about?