I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

'laugh--'

After her brain's CPU was running at high speed and 'overloaded', Hifumi maintained the posture of holding her cheeks with both hands, and her whole body temporarily stopped functioning due to 'red heat'.

This incredibly cute, naive girl's reaction reminded Amamiya of Sakura Futaba's similar yet slightly different adorable reaction back then.

So Amamiya pretended to be serious and waved his hand in front of Hifumi's line of sight, then gently stroked the girl's silky, smooth twin tails.

"Hey... Hifumi-chan?"

"Are you still awake?"

After waiting for a long while, Amamiya heard a faint, mosquito-like reply, as if it had been squeezed out with all her strength and courage: "...Mmm, mmm."

A surge of courage rose within her, and perhaps due to the principle of reversal at the extreme, her emotions became a jumbled mess, but after she managed to squeeze out this response, they all vanished suddenly.

Raising her head, her orange-yellow eyes gleamed with a burning light of conviction. After meeting Amamiya's gaze without fear or hesitation, Hifumi made a move that was out of character for her.

She moved closer to Amamiya and—reached out to take Amamiya's hand.

"……I see."

Amamiya watched as the girl's expression seemed to be filled with a kind of sweetness, yet at the same time, it was as resolute as a hero embarking on his journey, having just left the beginner village.

I was slightly surprised.

You understand? You understand what...?

"Hehehe... However, this 'special relationship' must not be discovered by others yet..."

"Then, please continue to guide me from now on, dear 'Sensei' (Dar)."

[They've developed a special relationship...]

There's no going back...

……

I am you, and you are me.

[You hereby transform the pact into a blood oath, binding him to rebirth.]

[The bonds that bind us are gradually becoming wings of rebellion, shattering the shackles of our souls.]

You have obtained the ultimate secret of the "Fool" and regained the true communion.

[I bestow upon you boundless power...]

[Coopetition restrictions have been lifted!]

……

【Ajitani Hifumi (The Fool) ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[★1 Ability Unlocked!]

-

[Assisted by: Hifumi Ajitani / An extraordinary girl who longs for an ordinary life]

[An extraordinary girl who yearns for an ordinary life]

[Arcana: The Fool]

【Assistance Ability: ★1 - Cute Destructive Temper】

【Cute Destructive Temptation: A cute quality learned from Hifumi. People always have a slight destructive urge towards cute and adorable things. Psychology calls this behavior 'Cute Destructiveness' or 'Cute Aggreson'】

When your charm reaches an extreme, you'll more easily attract protection, but you'll also provoke a slight destructive urge in those protecting you.

The psychological phenomenon of "cuteness-destruction syndrome" stems from a distorted human fondness for extremely cute things. It involves the subtle destruction of beautiful and poignant things, driven by a negative impulse within everyone. It's said that special interests like "loli" (a term for young girls who are easily swayed or attracted to cute things) are extensions of this psychological behavior.

[Assistant's Profile: An 'ordinary girl' from Trinity College's cram school. She loves collecting Perolo dolls and various other merchandise. Possessing the "Fool" Arcana, she and I developed a special relationship through a series of coincidences...]

"Whew...I'm full, I'm full~~"

"Sensei's 'Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee' seems to have a magical quality that makes those who eat it more energetic~"

"There aren't any left..."

"Senior Bai Zi, you've already eaten four bowls, aren't you full yet?"

"That's understandable, after all, Senior Shirako likes physically demanding activities like road cycling."

The sounds of girls laughing, clinking tableware, and running water came from the kitchen.

These sounds also jolted Hifumi, who was in a "foreign place," into a state of heightened alertness.

Ugh...

Her newly formed courage was instantly dispelled, and Hifumi decisively chose to distance herself.

"Um... I need to calm down a bit, so I'll head out first..."

Grabbing her Perolo backpack, she fled the countermeasures committee's living room with a shy demeanor.

Cute.

Watching the girl's departing figure, Amamiya felt a pang of emotion.

"So, next... let's investigate some things that I care about..."

"...Let's start by investigating the secret techniques."

Chapter Thirty: The Caesar Group's...Palace?

After opening MomoTalk and pondering the messages for a moment, Amamiya finally decided...

First, send a message to the group of genius geeks in [Beritas] and ask them if they have any information about the number secrets.

If Beritas can't find any relevant information either, Amamiya will have to ask Rin if she has any news.

If all else fails... I'll have no choice but to start investigating from the main hall.

With that in mind, Amamiya sent a message to the girls in [Beritas] and then opened the otherworld app.

"The Caesar Group, located in the black market."

When Amamiya entered this keyword, she didn't actually expect a response from the otherworld app.

After all, it is clear that "Kaiser Group" is a relative "collective" rather than a specific "person"... In this case, it is theoretically unlikely that the temple could be identified.

To his surprise, after a brief loading process, the [Otherworld App] emitted a buzzing sound indicating successful recognition.

'Om—'

'Target successfully identified.'

...Yes, there really are.

Amamiya was surprised.

However, he immediately thought of the towering tower in the other world—perhaps, if he tried to approach it solely through the space of impressions, there would be no way he could ever truly get close to that tower again.

Could that tall tower be... a special 'temple' standing in Impression Space?

Then the subsequent keywords are relatively easy to guess.

According to the "Otherworld App Usage Rules" (see Chapter 1 of this volume for details), Amamiya decisively entered the keywords "base" and "cognitive distortion".

"The Caesars Group on the black market (keyword/target) mistook the black market bank ("base") for the Tower of Babel controlling Abydos ("cognitive distortion").

'The infiltration route to the palace has been confirmed. Navigation is being prepared for you...'

Should we proceed to the temple immediately?

Amamiya chose no when faced with the pop-up option "Go now?"

He could have gone in alone to gather intelligence, but... there was no need.

Let's talk about it when we're working with the girls on the countermeasures committee and Hifumi.

After exiting the otherworld app that had already confirmed its target, Amamiya opened the chat page for [Beritas] to see if there were any new messages or replies.

[Group Chat - Beritas]

[Chihiro: About 'numerical secret arts'...?]

[Sunny: I've heard of it; it's a mysterious society, but more specific details...]

[Maki: Does Sensei need to investigate information about the number secret arts?]

[Xiaoyu: Understood. Information about the Mystic Arts is hard to find, and most of it is just hearsay... But if we can find it, we will try our best to gather the information and then hand it over to Sensei.]

After a moment's thought, Amamiya typed a reply in the group chat: "Thank you all very much. I will repay you in other ways later."

After closing the group chat interface, Amamiya opened her private chat interface and checked the messages on momotalk.

So here's the question... who should I invite today?

Is it better to establish new bonds or to deepen existing ones?

After considering it for a moment, Amamiya finally decided to make an appointment with Hina first.

The reason wasn't because the 'short, white-fuzzy, strong-willed loli girl' suited his taste, but because of his recent trip to the black market.

Amamiya encountered many of the Gehenna students active in the black market...

Considering that the Helmet Group was also hired by Caesar, Amamiya is unsure whether Caesar will hire Ghenna's students again, and if Amamiya leads Abydos's students into conflict with Ghenna's students for this reason.

It's better to take precautions against things that should be avoided.

Amamiya first responded to the other invitations, politely declining or making excuses, before finally replying to Hina's invitation.

[Amamiya: Okay, I'll go right now.]

Hina: Then I'll wait for Sensei.

Putting away her phone, Amamiya greeted the girls in the kitchen.

"I have something to do today and need to go to Gehenna... I'm sorry, I can't accompany everyone to investigate the intelligence today."

After she finished speaking, Amamiya clearly noticed that the laughter and the clattering of dishes in the kitchen instantly fell silent.

After a full ten seconds of silence, Amamiya finally received a response that sounded somewhat disappointed.

"Yeah, I got it."

“Sensei, go about your business. Everyone in Abydos… will gather intelligence as Sensei instructed while you are away.”

Amamiya could clearly sense that after she expressed her intention to "go out to handle some matters temporarily," the girls who had been so enthusiastic suddenly became listless or even dejected.

It seems that I have indeed gained a relatively reliable position in their hearts...

After receiving a definite reply, Amamiya decisively went to a station near Abydos, took an early morning train, and transferred to Ghena.

— Incidentally, freight trains and passenger trains that operate during morning and evening rush hours travel at vastly different speeds.

Amamiya had previously traveled by freight train, which took about three or four hours to reach Abydos from the Federal Student Association station. In reality, the train was traveling at a very low speed, which is why it took so long.

This time the car was moving faster, and in just over an hour, Amamiya arrived at her destination.

The station in Gehenna was the same station that Amamiya remembered not long ago, but the difference between their last visits was that the station seemed to have undergone special renovations and partial refurbishment.

At least at Amamiya's glance, all the remaining traces of the explosion, bullet holes, and other signs of battle had vanished.

After getting off the car, Amamiya only glanced around briefly before spotting the "Chairman" with whom she had recently formed a bond, standing among the "human wall" of disciplinary committee members who had come to maintain order.

She still had her fluffy, voluminous white hair, like a fluffy ball, and that exceptionally mature outfit, plus... that intimidating-looking personal heavy machine gun.

The girl, wearing a coat, stood sideways, seemingly discussing something with the members of the disciplinary committee beside her. She stood there with her arms crossed, her small stature exuding a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

Seemingly noticing Amamiya getting off the train, the girl paused slightly, her 'strong woman' demeanor momentarily faltering—and what broke this faltering was precisely the pure, innocent shyness that should belong to a girl of her age.

"Um... Sensei, good morning."

After casually tossing her heavy machine gun to the resentful administrator beside her, Hina walked with what appeared to be a steady but somewhat hurried gait to Amamiya, looking up at him directly.

"Hmm. Hina... and everyone in the Disciplinary Committee, good morning."

After glancing at the respectful and equally curious Disciplinary Committee members in the distance, Amamiya then focused her attention on Hina.

"So much to do so early in the morning... It must be really tiring. I'd like to say 'thank you for your hard work' in advance."

【~???~】

It still has that warm, welcoming feeling...