I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

After scanning the area with his "third eye," Amamiya's gaze finally settled on the shop that the Genbu Merchant Guild had temporarily set up and decorated.

In this shop, Amamiya surprisingly saw several Arcana symbols that were unique to assistants.

Although I really wanted to greet Shizuko, I was worried that she might try to keep me there using all sorts of methods, including acting cute and charming, which would leave me with very little time to do anything else all afternoon...

After silently apologizing to Shizuko, Amamiya turned and walked towards the Shan Hai Jing shop, deliberately withdrawing her "invisible presence."

"Esteemed guest... Oh?! Sensei! Good afternoon~"

Rumi, who noticed Amamiya's appearance immediately, took off her chef's hat and shook it, while winking and smiling heartily.

The perfect amount of teeth showing, the natural curve, and the subtly visible little canine teeth... even a hint of... no, it should be described as a 'flirtatious glance'...

Amamiya even felt like she had almost been electrocuted.

As she nearly got an electric shock, Amamiya couldn't help but recall the students she knew from various academies who could cook... or rather, who were skilled in housework.

Ayane from Abydos, Kaede from Gehenna, Akane from a thousand years ago, Sanichi... Sanichi doesn't exist yet. Shizuko and Umika from Hyakki Yagyō... Rumi and Shun from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Nico from SRT Fox Squad...

Are all students who are good at 'household chores' this gentle?

He immediately waved his hand and shook his head slightly, indicating that he did not want to attract attention.

As the president of the Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce, Rumi, who was well-versed in 'human relationships and social customs', immediately understood and swallowed back the shout she was about to utter.

After clearing her throat a few times, Rumi bowed slightly in greeting and gestured for the doorway to proceed.

Following Rumi's 'guidance', as soon as Amamiya entered, she was greeted by a rich atmosphere emanating from the interior design of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which resembled an ink painting.

This reminded Amamiya of a song he had heard before coming to Kivotos called "The Storyteller".

"The teahouse by the roadside was filled with people."

"Two or three shouts came from the street."

"He waves a fan in front of others and slams a gavel on the table."

"Ladies and gentlemen, please listen carefully to the explanation."

Wearing matching red cheongsams in the style of the Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce, with headscarves wrapped around their heads, the Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce's waiters were all dressed smartly and efficiently, their movements were neat and orderly, yet there was no sense of chaos as they came and went.

Although there was no storyteller... it didn't seem much different from those ancient "teahouses".

After Rumi entered, she slowed her pace to match Amamiya's. She didn't ask Amamiya where he wanted to sit, but waited for him to choose a seat.

Amamiya, however, was in no hurry. His original purpose was to see which 'assistants' he knew were in the shops of the Genbu Trading Company, so he naturally wanted to take a broad view first.

'The tutoring department is all here...'

'However, they still seemed to be affected by the aftermath of the opening ceremony; the Trinity students were all looking at them with strange expressions...'

'Hasumi is here too…'

'But he deliberately sat in a spot relatively far from the tutoring department, probably because he didn't want to endure the gossipy stares that the tutoring department members were currently facing.'

'Those are... Kona and Shun? Sure enough, students have come to the Plum Garden of the Classic of Mountains and Seas...'

'Even Fei Xiao is disguised as an ordinary student passing by Xuanlong Gate, 'on a secret visit' here...?'

After seeing the situation, Amamiya couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

It's a small shop, but I never expected to find it full of acquaintances.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya finally decided... to go check out the tutoring club table first.

Noticing Amamiya's whereabouts, Rumi pondered for a moment, then decisively turned around and plunged into the kitchen.

Due to Hanako's outburst at the Akawa Festival opening ceremony, the cram school club is now practically in an awkward vacuum.

If it weren't for the limited number of seats... students from the Holy Trinity College would probably prefer to sit as far away as possible, fearing they might be affected by sitting too close.

Even though the seating was limited, and the next table by the window, which was a pretty good spot, was not occupied by any Trinity students.

Naturally, Amamiya didn't need to spend any effort finding a seat.

After Amamiya took her seat, she immediately turned to look at the tutoring club members who were waiting for their 'food' to be served.

Next to Amamiya was Hanako, and across from Hanako was Hifumi.

The moment his eyes met those of the blonde girl, Amamiya sensed an awkwardness that defied description from her sudden lowering of her head and the brief, intense embarrassment followed by a sudden sense of relief.

Looking down and fiddling with the strands of hair on her forehead to ease the indescribable embarrassment, Hifumi finally mustered up the courage to greet Amamiya.

"Sen, Sensi... Good afternoon..."

Chapter 71: Hanako's Most Depressed Episode

"Sen, Sensi... Good afternoon..."

Hifumi's incredibly awkward greeting was a harbinger of Amamiya's arrival that the tutoring club members had to 'take seriously'.

When Hifumi spoke, Koharu, who was trying hard to keep a straight face and keep her legs together, and was trying to pretend to be an ostrich, immediately slumped on the table in despair.

Having been told by Hifumi to 'calmly face the criticism' beforehand, and having never cared much about other people's opinions, Azusa blinked and then immediately turned slightly to face Amamiya.

After exchanging glances with Hifumi, Azusa, and Koharu as a greeting, Amamiya stared intently at the person who remained frozen in place, seemingly unable to turn around for some reason—the very person who had nearly ignited the opening ceremony of the Akawa Grand Festival with her outburst…

Hanako, who made a series of strange remarks about herself at the Akawa Taisai Festival, such as "Let's have a party together," is now surprisingly "pure." She doesn't even have the courage to turn around. She stands stiffly with her back straight, and seems to be trembling slightly due to fear or other emotions.

"...Hanako?"

Amamiya tried calling out.

Hanako's trembling intensified suddenly, then returned to normal.

"Ah ha ha……"

Hanako let out a stiff laugh.

With her back to Amamiya, Hanako let out a meaningful sigh, then turned around almost stiffly, looking at Amamiya with 'unavoidable' reluctance.

"What happened with your speech at the sports meet this morning?"

Amamiya's gaze was calm and clear, showing no, and even deliberately minimizing, any potential oppressive aura.

"Kindness and Affinity" + "Ordinary Girl Xu" (Hifumi Bond); "Cunning and Helpless Fox" (Yukino Bond); "Twilight and Dawn" (Noah Bond); "Self-Pleasure" (Nia Bond); "Aristocratic Aura" (Nomiya Bond); "Wish of the Divine Moon" (Mimori Bond)...

The sheer number of bond skills she has accumulated gives Amamiya the confidence to penetrate even the most 'highly defensive' students like Hanako.

—Besides, Hanako is only good at being a smooth talker; in the terms of anime and manga, she's the kind of student who is all bark and no bite.

Hifumi's bonuses for being "thoughtful and girlish," Yukino's bonuses for "increasing feelings of security and dependence," Noah's bonuses for "literary girls," Nia's bonuses for "high intelligence," Nomiya's bonuses for "rich heiresses," and bonuses for "nobles" and other qualities implying "elegance or wealth," and Mimori's bonuses for "happiness"...

With so many bond skills available, it's not just for Hanako; even an iron tree that's literally 'heartless' would bloom if used on it.

Amamiya didn't need to say anything.

But he was also certain that... with so many bond skills at play, Hanako couldn't possibly withstand it.

Hanako: "..."

After only a few seconds of silence, the 'pure girl' Hanako ultimately couldn't withstand Amamiya's penetrating gaze.

She lowered her head and said in a low voice, "The reason... is still because of Sensei."

“Sensei…it seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Trinity and interacted with everyone in the tutoring department, hasn’t it?”

"In such a situation... we're likely to accumulate pressure on our own."

Before Hifumi could react to Hanako's words, Azusa fluttered her little wings, looking as if she deeply agreed.

"Hmm... not seeing Sensei for a while does... create a kind of... indescribable pressure in my heart."

The white-haired girl, with a complex expression, struggled for a while before finally describing her inner feelings as 'unspeakable pressure'.

Koharu's gaze wandered, and she fluttered the pair of small black wings on her head, showing no intention of speaking—but Amamiya roughly understood her intentions from her expression, which was gradually turning into 'cat eyes'.

Moreover, Amamiya also has Mimori's "mind-reading ability" to hear the strong echoes of thoughts nearby in real time.

'What to do, what to do...Sensei seems to have suddenly become incredibly charming...'

'Waaaaah... I'm looking over here! I'm looking over here!'

'Heart, heartbeat...'

'Is...is something going to happen next...that kind of thing?!'

'We ate while Sensei watched us, then walked out of the room together. When the sports meet started, we wore our support outfits and danced "beep—" (*censored word*) under Sensei's gaze. Then, while dancing, we started "beep—" (*censored word*), and then...'

'While cheering for Sensei with a 'beep' (*censored word*), then 'beep' (*censored word*) at the end of the sports meet, and then almost got caught by students entering the sports equipment room…'

Amamiya: "..."

Unable to bear it any longer, he immediately shut down the bond skill that only allowed him to hear Xiaochun's delusional nonsense when he turned it on again.

"Koharu?"

To put an end to Koharu's strange daydreams, Amamiya raised her voice slightly and asked, feigning ignorance, "What are you thinking about?"

"babble……!"

Startled, Xiaochun felt as if her fantasy had been shattered and seen through.

After a startled exclamation, she continued to pretend to be an ostrich.

Noticing Koharu's amusing reaction, Hanako didn't tease her as usual, or say anything flirtatious to further break Koharu's defenses.

Her eyes darted around, and realizing a perfect opportunity to change the subject, she said meaningfully, "It seems Xiaochun feels something similar..."

After a pause, Hanako naturally turned her attention to Hifumi: "Speaking of which... it seems that among everyone in the cram school club, only Hifumi-chan doesn't seem to feel any 'loneliness when she can't see Sensei'."

"Could it be that……"

After her gaze deliberately shifted between Amamiya and Hifumi, Hanako's expression gradually became one of 'understanding but not quite'.

Once she was in her "home turf" where she could perform well, Hanako naturally regained the control she had lost due to her previous lapse in composure.

"Hifumi-chan, she's already with Sensei..."

Hanako slowed down her speech, about to reveal her 'guess'.

Hifumi naturally could not allow this situation to continue.

In her haste, she quickly looked around, took out a special flowering sausage from the Classic of Mountains and Seas from the plate on her table, and shoved it directly into Hanako's mouth without saying a word.

"Waaaaah... Hana-Hanako-san! No, please stop talking...!"

It would have been better if Hifumi hadn't done it.

Her attempt to cover it up only makes it more obvious.

Hanako, who was being stuffed with sausage, paused for a moment, then slowly chewed it with a meaningful expression, savoring the taste.

"Oh my, I never expected that Hifumi-chan would even have learned Nagisa-sama's 'secret technique'..."

After uttering that sentence indistinctly, Hanako shut up and said no more.

Thanks to Hanako's "maneuvering," the target of the surrounding students' attention shifted from her to Hifumi.

Hifumi, who had hastily gotten up, stood frozen in place, somewhat at a loss for what to do.

"..."

She opened her mouth, as if to explain something.

Although my relationship with Sensei is indeed a bit special, I feel that the more I explain, the worse it gets...

Just as Hifumi was feeling embarrassed and shy, with small circles appearing in her eyes, Rumi's voice serving the dishes broke the awkward silence.

"Sir/Madam, your 'Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce Fried Rice' has arrived!"

"enjoy your meal!"

Chapter 72 There's a kind of hunger that your wife thinks you're hungry for.

"Sir/Madam, your 'Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce Fried Rice' has arrived!"