I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The race with obstacles is not about physical fitness... or rather, as long as you can finish the race, physical fitness is not important.

Renjian saw it very clearly.

In a race where prizes are borrowed, what truly matters is luck, affability, and diplomatic skills...

This is the aspect that Trinity, constrained by external factors, lacks most.

Should we involve Hifumi? But she already participated in a competition this morning.

Where are the members of the Justice Committee?

While they certainly have the greatest advantage in physical fitness among the Trinity, their negotiation skills...

First of all, Hecheng absolutely cannot be released at this stage... it would be a disaster.

Myself, Mashiro, Ichika... Although their negotiation skills are better than Tsurugi's, they are only about as good as Tsurugi's.

After all, they are both Trinity's 'violent organization' and 'law enforcement organization,' and their established aura and style of operation are to blame...

Leader Mina of the Knights of Rescue, and Sakurako of the Sisters' Guild...

Thinking of them, Renjian couldn't help but want to sigh and rub her forehead.

As the leaders of the Knights of Salvation and the Sisters' Order, their presence was even worse than that of the Justice Committee.

As she pondered this, Hasumi turned her gaze to Mary, who was standing to the side.

Mary felt a little uneasy under Len's scrutinizing gaze, and her cat ears, which had been drooping, perked up in fear. She let out a small "Eh."

“Mary, classmate.”

"Yes, yes, I'm here!"

Hasumi's aura wasn't particularly intimidating, but it still made Mary immediately straighten her back and tense up.

"This assignment... cough cough."

"The competition. This competition is in your hands."

Mary, a good girl who never knew how to refuse requests from strangers, had a small circle in her eyes, but she reluctantly agreed.

"Um, um... I'll try my best!"

Hasumi: "..."

Is my aura really that scary?

With this doubt in mind, Hasumi sighed: "We also need to change the participants."

"Yes, I've memorized it."

Yuka, who had been observing the interaction, nodded, her mood growing even heavier.

'It seems everyone is prepared to go all out in the borrowing competition…'

'This is bad...'

"Well then, everyone on the executive committee, as we begin this afternoon's activities... good luck!"

After using this word of encouragement as a call to dismiss them, Yuka deliberately waited a short while before giving Amamiya a look.

'Sensei... Could you stay a little longer?'

Chapter 77 The best way to strengthen physical strength is...?

"Aha……"

"Sen, Sensi... It hurts and itches... Ouch..."

In the quiet athletes' individual preparation room, a soft, unconscious nasal sound, emanating from a young girl, suddenly broke the silence, carrying both pain and allure.

"Don't worry, Yuka... the pain will stop soon."

Her response came from a calm, reliable young voice, tinged with a hint of teasing.

"But...but...Ugh...Sensei, be gentler..."

"If it doesn't hurt now, it won't feel good later, Yuka."

With his hands resting on the girl's delicate shoulders and neck, which were only separated by a shirt, Amamiya was constantly controlling the pressure of his grasping, kneading, and pressing.

"How are you now, Yuka?"

The girl remained silent, her eyes closed and head bowed, occasionally letting out a muffled groan that sounded like either pleasure or pain.

"Much better...?"

After 'enjoying' it for a while, feeling the relaxation and ease coming from her shoulders, and the gradually fading numbness and pain, Yuka gave an indeterminate response.

"It seems that the body has indeed relaxed..."

Noticing Yuka's change in expression, Amamiya smiled and said leisurely, "You're the one who's 'fighting' in place of Yuzu in the borrowing race, so why are you getting so nervous, Yuka?"

"Even though I've been doing squats and other yoga-like stretching exercises to maintain my fitness level recently... my body is still so stiff."

In response, Yuka gave him a quick, sharp, but mostly gentle, helpless and bright, eye roll.

“Sensei, don’t make sarcastic remarks at a time like this…”

"This match is crucial for whether Millennium can win, further close the gap with Gehenna, and even take first place..."

With Amamiya's help, she began to tie her hair into a ponytail. The girl's hands moved quickly, yet she acted as if she were a girlfriend being coquettish or throwing a tantrum, saying rather irritably, "If this crucial match is lost because of my mistake, then..."

“When I return, I will properly ‘punish’ Sensei.”

Amamiya found it amusing: What does this have to do with me?

Since establishing their 'special relationship', Yuka has become increasingly able to 'act naturally and willfully' only when the two of them are alone together.

After helping Yuka tie her hair, Amamiya took a step back, smiled without saying a word, and watched as the purple-haired girl, who was basically ready, flexed her shoulders and jumped to her feet.

"Next, do some leg stretches a little... Sensei, please do this too..."

Before Yuka could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door, followed by Noah's deliberately drawn-out question.

"Yuka-chan~ Are you ready?"

"The 'Borrowing Objects Race' is about to begin! The contestant announcements are coming up soon!"

Yuka froze, swallowing back the even more 'ambiguous' words she was about to utter due to extreme guilt.

"Eh……"

"I think I just heard Sensei's voice~?"

"Sen~sei~? Are you inside? Are you with Yuka-chan? Are you preparing Yuka-chan for the match?"

Yuka, who had arrived at the warm-up exercise equipment and was about to stretch her legs, suddenly froze.

After her initial shyness and awkwardness subsided, Yuka raised her voice and spoke to Noah across the room: "No-Noah? Is the match starting so soon? Just wait a little longer, we'll be ready in no time..."

"As for Sensei..."

After focusing her gaze on Amamiya, Yuka quickly glanced at the back door, her meaning quite clear.

'While I myself am fine... but for Noah, for everyone to know about this... wouldn't it be somewhat... damaging to Sensei's reputation?'

Amamiya, having discerned this intention from Yuka's flustered and nervous gaze, didn't linger. He smiled, waved goodbye, and left silently through the back door.

Yuka breathed a sigh of relief before continuing, "Noah? You must have misheard. Sen, Sensi... isn't here at all..."

"But I heard before that after the midday executive committee's summary, Yuka deliberately called Sensei over..."

With a 'click,' the door was pushed open from the outside by Noah, who was also wearing a gymnastics uniform.

The white-haired girl, gripping the doorknob, quickly glanced around the room while spouting rumors she'd heard.

As the scribe of the seminar, and also a 'literary girl', Noah's observational skills are far superior to those of the average student.

After scanning the area, Noah noticed something amiss.

The room still held a familiar scent; faintly, almost imperceptibly, were the footprints clearly left by Sensei's shoes, and... the sweat on Yuka's forehead, and the slightly flushed, guilty expression that was typical of the period after seeing Sensei...

'Detective' Noah confidently closed his eyes and quickly envisioned a scene in his mind that was 'not far off'.

With an "I see" expression, Noah nodded, deliberately not delving into Yuka's reaction or the subtle but noticeable traces in the room.

"Yuka-chan, the competition is about to start, let's make some final preparations~"

"Uh-huh……"

Yuka brushed her hair aside and answered guiltily.

"Speaking of which, could this 'borrowing race' also produce that 'special' note that once troubled the executive committee members?"

Noah chuckled softly, his eyes narrowed, and then suddenly mentioned a "trivial anecdote" from the Akawa Grand Festival.

"It is said that as early as several, even a dozen, previous Akawa Festivals, a special note appeared during the 'Borrowing Race'... There was always one and only one such note, with the words 'The person I like' written on it."

Yuka swallowed unconsciously, and her heart tightened immediately.

Noah continued, "Back then... students who received this borrowing slip were often embarrassed and ended up leaving with a bitter taste in their mouths..."

"do not know either……"

At this point, Noah paused deliberately for a while before smiling and speaking in a 'deep' tone: "Every time, a student is embarrassed and leaves because they draw this slip of paper, and now it has become the most anticipated part of the Akawa Grand Festival... Will this situation be completely eradicated because of Sensei's arrival...?"

"Also... what kind of slip of paper will Yuuka-chan draw? Will it be related to Sensei~?"

Yuka, embarrassed and indignant, interrupted Noah's 'mutterings': "No-Noah?! What are you saying?!"

Noah didn't respond to Yuka's 'question,' which clearly seemed to be trying to end the conversation. Instead, he slowly clenched his fist and gave Yuka a serious gesture of encouragement.

"Go for it, Yuuka-chan~"

After saying that, without waiting for Yuka's reaction, she gracefully left.

After a brief moment of embarrassment and stunned silence, Yuka took a deep breath to calm herself, pinched her cheeks to hide her shame, and then walked towards the preparation room.

Having witnessed this scene, Amamiya naturally saw no need to continue hiding in the shadows.

After confirming that Yuka and Noah had left one after the other, Amamiya withdrew through the back door and headed to the 'spectator observation deck' that he had prepared in advance.

The midday sun was not as bright and sunny as usual.

Thick cirrus clouds obscured the sun, making the azure sky, once shrouded in a halo, less scorching. A thick cloud drifted right above the stadium, significantly reducing the heat falling from above for the spectators and participating students.

Almost as soon as Amamiya arrived, the airship that had been hovering and circling near the ground above the stadium, suspended under the clouds, also began to move.

The holographic projection on the airship hot air balloon was activated, and then the screen in the studio lit up.

Shion's greeting, devoid of any sign of fatigue, immediately came to mind: "How was everyone's lunch break? Did you discover anything interesting in the streets near the stadium?"

"Welcome everyone to the afternoon's Aurora Grand Festival! Kronos Press Service will continue to provide you with live coverage!"

"Please wait a moment... The afternoon event of the Akawa Grand Festival—the 'Borrowing Race' that everyone's been waiting for—is about to begin!"

Mai's image then appeared: "Clearly... everyone has an extraordinary passion and anticipation for this crucial 'borrowing race'!"

"As for the reason... of course, it's because this year's Akawa Grand Festival has an additional special 'variable'..."

"Sensei from Charlemagne!"

"What kind of special changes will his appearance bring to the Akawa Grand Festival?"

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

Shion chimed in: "Keep your eyes open and stay enthusiastic..."

"Let's wait and see what the upcoming matches bring..."

"The contestant introductions will begin shortly!"

Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Borrowing Race - Part One: The Mysterious Keywords of Borrowing

On the airship's broadcasting system, Shion and Mai's voices continued to play alternately.

"Alright, the contestants are now entering the arena—"

"Let's briefly introduce the contestants! The contestants are..."

"The 'calculator who is not cold-hearted but is cold-hearted' from a thousand years ago, Hayase Yuka!"

"From Gehenna's disciplinary committee, 'Sensei's beloved dog' Ayako Amami!"