I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"enjoy your meal!"

As Rumi called out "Serving the food," a large plate of steaming, glossy, and fragrant fried rice was placed on Amamiya's table.

The mountain of fried rice piled high on the plate, and the girl's eager, smiling eyes as she looked at him, reminded Amamiya of a story even before he started eating.

There's a kind of hunger that your partner/family/closest friend... feels when you're hungry.

After placing the fried rice down, Rumi did not leave as quickly as she had when 'serving dishes' before. Instead, she naturally pressed down the hem of her cheongsam and sat down warmly and affectionately on a seat next to Amamiya.

She didn't speak, but simply looked at Amamiya with a calm, gentle, and urging gaze.

Amamiya: "..."

Almost the instant Rumi sat down, Amamiya clearly felt that all the students, whether she knew them or not, including those from the cram school at the next table, Hisaki, Shun, and Kokona, were all focused on her.

Amamiya stopped what she was doing, not reaching for her chopsticks, but instead meeting Rumi's gaze.

"...?"

Rumi was slightly puzzled.

"...Hmm~?"

Rumi seemed lost in thought.

"Oh……"

Rumi suddenly realized.

A teasing smile, not quite a smile, gradually appeared on the young woman's mature and intellectual face.

"Sensei...why are you looking at me like that?"

"Could it be that Sensei has a habit of 'choosing food based on who he's talking to'?"

“In Sensei’s eyes…” she continued leisurely, twitching her animal ears, “could I be described as ‘a feast for the eyes’?”

"I wonder what I taste like in your eyes... hmm?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Amamiya felt the gaze fixed on him become exceptionally intense for a moment.

It's confirmed, she did it on purpose.

As the president of the Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest student-run social organizations in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Rumi is certainly not lacking in essential abilities such as 'reading between the lines' and 'assessing the overall situation'.

She knew that a lot of eyes were on them and the atmosphere was a little awkward... but she still did it anyway.

What else could it be but intentional?

"This bowl of rice... it won't taste or look completely different from before, will it?"

"How come~"

Rumi puffed out her chest in dissatisfaction, then curled her lips and assured them, "Sensei, you have to believe me. At least when entertaining guests, the Genbu Merchant Guild won't directly bring out those 'experimental dishes'."

"Sensei, you should be familiar with the 'hospitality culture' in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, right?"

"Even though the Xuanwu Chamber of Commerce is indeed somewhat 'out of the ordinary,' it hasn't gone so far as to require a 'complete innovation' even in its hospitality culture..."

Seeing that Rumi was about to pout in dissatisfaction, Amamiya quickly changed the subject: "Then why is Rumi looking at me with such a strange look?"

"that is because……"

Rumi's eyes and demeanor suddenly became calm and gentle, and she even seemed to become lazy.

There's a saying... "Man is made of iron, food is made of steel; you can't fight a war on an empty stomach." For a chef, if important customers enjoy their creations and express appreciation, that in itself is a source of encouragement and satisfaction.

"So... Jiu Lin Liu Si VI Scar Handle"

Rumi simply stretched out her arms for the time being and slumped limply on the table, casting glances at Amamiya from a peculiar angle and with a slightly lazy, half-closed expression.

"I'll just take a break after a long morning... I'll rest here for a bit and see what happens after Sensei finishes eating."

Amamiya really wanted to refuse.

Because honestly... eating under the watchful eyes of so many students is not a pleasure, but torture.

But if I refuse, it will seem like I'm easily letting down the students' good intentions and expectations... so I can't refuse either.

Left with no other choice, Amamiya could only slowly finish the fried rice that Rumi had served, under Rumi's obviously lazy but actually mischievous gaze.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the fried rice still tastes good.

At least... the taste of the fried rice matches its appearance.

Unlike the "experimental dishes" I tried last time at the Genbu Chamber of Commerce headquarters, which were all strangely different in taste and appearance and tasted just no matter how I tried them, under Rumi's urging.

Only after Amamiya had almost 'cleaned' the plate did the brown-haired girl, adhering to the basic rule of "not speaking while eating or sleeping" from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, twitch her animal ears and ask expectantly, "Was it delicious?"

Is it delicious? Of course it's delicious.

It could even be described as reaching the pinnacle of achievement.

Amamiya, who was being watched by a group of people, some with subtle gazes and others with direct ones, knew that she had to be careful when she spoke at this moment.

Thinking of anime he had seen before coming to Giwatos, such as "Cooking Master Boy" and "Toriko," Amamiya adjusted his mindset.

"I'm not a professional critic, so I can't write a long essay about how delicious or appealing a fried rice is."

"To put it simply... I feel like I've eaten the main course from Rumi's 'life menu.'"

Rumi twitched her animal ears and repeated the unfamiliar keyword with some confusion: "Life Menu?"

"Yes, the Menu of Life. It's a special concept in the world outside of Kivotos. The so-called Menu of Life is the ideal creation that a chef spends his whole life building and reaching the pinnacle of his art."

【~???~】(Rumi)

Rumi's eyes lit up suddenly, and she longed for Amamiya's description.

To spend one's entire life seeking and creating, in the most ideal state, with the most ideal ingredients, to create the most ideal dish... For a chef, this is truly a dream come true.

It sounds like a very weighty, heavy, yet special word...

Amamiya continued, "Happiness...that's the taste Rumi gave me."

【~???~】(Rumi)

【~??~】(Feisaki, Shinna, Shun)

Rumi was taken aback by what she was told.

The feeling of happiness...?

Putting aside her little thoughts like 'wanting to see if Sensei could be as pathetic as last time'... the feeling of having her hard work recognized truly gave her a kind of... soul-deep comfort.

As a chef, Rumi has many of the principles that chefs uphold.

We don't want to see diners go hungry or waste food... Whether it's 'developing new dishes' or 'replicating our signature dishes,' we can't afford to be complacent.

Because of this attitude, Rumi has indeed received a lot of praise from diners.

But this is the first time I've received such 'praise'...

Moreover, it was a praise of extraordinary weight, even carrying a certain special emotion.

Amamiya's "blessing of happiness" (Mary's bond) easily broke through Rumi's emotions.

"is it?"

Her smile turned into a satisfied grin, and the girl stretched and stood up: "I'm glad Sensei likes it..."

“For me, Sensei’s ‘praise’ has a completely different meaning.”

After saying those words with a serious expression, she promptly took her leave.

"Going to get busy now~ See you later, Sensei~"

As she got up to leave, Rumi suddenly remembered something and turned back to add, "Oh, right... I'll be here during the Akawa Grand Festival. Sensei can come here anytime to satisfy her cravings!"

I felt Rumi's warmth and friendliness...

[Coopation Improvement!]

【Amanashi Rumi (Love) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

Watching Rumi leave with light steps, feeling the gazes lingering on him from the other students...

Although we have temporarily escaped the 'calamity' of Rumi, it is clear that this place is no longer suitable for us to stay.

Having already begun to consider retreating, and realizing the danger, Amamiya decisively prepared to evacuate.

Before leaving, Amamiya took one last look at the girls from the cram school at the next table... and then noticed that they were all looking at her with different expressions.

Hanako: 'Sensi really knows how to win over the president of the Genbu Trading Company with just a few words...'

Azusa: 'Sensei...does she prefer students who can cook?'

Zi: 'Then I…'

Hifumi: 'Sensei, I can also make bento boxes and do housework...'

Koharu: 'As expected, Sensei is the legendary womanizing phantom thief; he can so easily charm the students' hearts...'

Amamiya: "..."

I knew that doing this would likely cause a misunderstanding, just like when the Ninja Research Club filmed 'fluffy things' and the students mistakenly thought I liked 'fluffy things'...

After giving them a look that said "we'll contact you later," Amamiya slipped out of the portal and immediately activated her "Invisible Presence."

After the gazes that had been focused on her gradually 'lost their target', Amamiya thought for a moment and finally gave up on plans such as 'waiting for the tutoring club to come out and continue the previous conversation with them'.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Amamiya randomly found a secluded, shady spot nearby, took out her phone, and started checking messages.

Let's see what news momotalk has...

Chapter Seventy-Three: Summer in Prison: Children, This Is Not Funny

The period from noon to the afternoon is when most students have plenty of free time.

at the same time……

This is also the time when momotalk messages are 'bombarded' most frequently.

[Yuka: Sensei, about the borrowing race this afternoon...]

'...'

[Qin Na: There have already been injuries in the morning's matches...]

'...'

[Sena: Sensei, regarding that 'sea cucumber soda,' it caused food poisoning in the participating students. When you have time, please come to the Joint Medical Department to see their bodies...]

Sena retracted a message because of a typo.

[Sena: Anyway, Sensei, please remember to look after the students who have food poisoning. If possible, I hope you can use healing or status-removing magic to help them.]

[Sena: Although it might bother Sensei... we really are 'powerless' when it comes to food poisoning compared to external injuries.]

Sena: A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one. Sensei, try your best to relieve the students' suffering...

Sena retracted a message due to inappropriate wording.

[Sena: Sensei, remember to come and help the students who suffered from food poisoning 'end their suffering'.]

'...'

[Kazusa: Sensei... Natsu's condition is not good...]

'...'

[Worried: Sensei, regarding the promotion for the Akawa Grand Festival that the used bookstore is hosting... could you come over in the evening?]

Looking at it this way, there's really a lot of news surrounding the Games...

After scanning through all the momotalk messages, Amamiya finally decided to go to the Joint Medical Department first.

We need to look at the information about Serina, Kazusa, and Sena together.

During a break while delivering water with Mary in the morning, Amamiya watched the morning's program - 'Obstacle Race'.

At that time, some... somewhat special situations arose during the obstacle course race.

As Sena sent, the final hurdle facing all the participating students—'sea cucumber soda water'—was enough to deter most students, both in appearance and in sound.

And this 'sea cucumber soda water' lived up to expectations, with its particularly unpleasant taste and bizarre beverage ratio that could cause physiological discomfort and even food poisoning, causing many participating students to 'die on the spot'.