I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Thank you for your concern, Sensei, but you look quite tired too... Are you really alright? Or should I take you home?"

"I will always cherish Sensei's signature!"

Surrounded by the somewhat boisterous Valkyrie students, Amamiya boarded the train and found a seat.

Kirino immediately sat down next to Amamiya without hesitation.

"As expected of Sensei..."

"Sensei's performance during this period, as well as the continued 'attendance' of the squad currently under Xia Lai, has reduced a lot of pressure for us during the Akawa Grand Festival..."

"Director Ye Zhu told me that if I see Sensei during this time, I must remember to express my gratitude to Sensei on her behalf!"

Kirino's performance was clearly a forced display of strength, causing Amamiya to keep glancing at her.

To be honest, because the main focus was on the Grand Festival of the Archaeological Park, the Valkyrie Public Security Bureau hadn't had the extra energy to investigate the 'abnormalities'...

Now that the Grand Festival has ended and things have settled down, it's time to investigate the anomalies behind the Valkyrie Public Security Bureau.

Amamiya, who had entered 'energy-saving mode', didn't say much. He just kept looking at Kirino with a half-closed gaze that was clearly lazy and tired.

But when that 'silent and persistent' gaze fell on Kirino, the feeling was completely different.

Kirino was initially puzzled, then looked up and tried to meet Amamiya's gaze.

After realizing that she couldn't focus her gaze, Kirino subconsciously began to concentrate... and then she suddenly realized something was wrong.

and many more……

The current state of Sensei is... quite peculiar!

Her curly, soft hair is quite different from Sensei's usual, unchanging look... both lazy and... cute?

Sensei is looking at himself like that... what is he thinking?

Difficult...difficult...Could it be that Sensei is currently having wild thoughts, about this officer...?

With a surge of 'hot blood', Kirino was instantly wide awake, at a loss, her body instinctively flinching and dodging, unsure how to respond to that gaze.

No... there are other Valkyrie students watching, I can't show weakness...

“Kirito…”

Amamiya slowly began to speak: "Regarding Valkyrie..."

Kirino jumped: "Eek!"

Then, she awkwardly twisted the hem of her clothes, her eyes darting away, and stammered, "Ugh..."

"Sen, Sensi... Dating a student isn't a crime in Giwatos. But... confessing... requires building up feelings first..."

Amamiya tilted his head inexplicably.

He had originally intended to take this opportunity to inquire about information from the Valkyrie Police Department...

What's wrong with Kirino?

Kirino seems to have misunderstood something and is very nervous...

[Coopation Improvement!]

【Kirino Nakamatsu (Justice) ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

Amamiya wanted to say something more, but Kirino lowered her head shyly, not wanting to say another word.

Faced with her behavior, Amamiya realized that there was no point in saying anything more.

After exchanging glances with the Valkyrie students around him, who could clearly see that this was an accidental misunderstanding, Amamiya leaned back in her chair and looked out the window.

Let me ask again when I have time later...

Chapter Two: The Major Investigation Reveals Huaye's Tax Evasion...?

The first morning after the celebration is usually a bright, sunny day with fresh air.

Dragging her slightly tired body, when Amamiya pushed open the door to Xia Lai's club activity room, she felt more than just the sunlight shining through the deliberately drawn curtains.

There was also a pink-haired, fox-eared girl with short, fresh pink hair and a bright, white summer outfit, looking at him with a strange, ambiguous yet loving gaze.

"Excuse me...Sensei."

She smiled at Amamiya and then naturally moved closer to her, taking Amamiya's hand and helping her take off her slightly heavy coat.

She folded it neatly in half and draped it over her arm like a piece of laundry, then, with a slightly awkward touch—a touch she had probably only recently learned—pressed Amamiya's shoulder.

"You must have had a great time at the Akawa Grand Festival... You must have enjoyed the after-night festival, right?"

Feeling the pressure from her shoulder, Amamiya moved her lips and turned to say something, but she happened to meet the girl's bright, clear, and alluring eyes, which were not as charming as her age.

Swallowing back what she was about to say, Amamiya simply nodded half-heartedly, acknowledging Nico's 'teasing'.

The foxes of Kiwatos, regardless of size or personality, always seem to stand out from the crowd with their innate charm.

Amamiya deliberately shifted her gaze, enjoying Nicole's massage service, which felt like that of a newlywed wife.

While her hands continued moving, Nicole offered a half-hearted apology: "Sensei's current state... gives me... an unusual urge to care for her. I'm sorry for overstepping my bounds..."

Amamiya waved her hand: "It's okay, I'm fine."

People who frequently care about others are often the ones who need care the most.

Nicole now has a lot of the qualities of a 'young mother'...

【~???~】(Nicole)

"Thank you for your understanding, Sensei."

Nicole's movements as she massaged her shoulders became slightly more forceful and expansive. Her fox ears folded down, and she suddenly smiled mischievously as she spoke: "Sensei...were you thinking about something strange just now?"

Amamiya raised an eyebrow: "How did Nicole sense that?"

"Did they not deny it, but rather acknowledge it from another angle?"

Nicole didn't intend to delve into the main content of the 'strange idea,' but instead sighed with slight concern.

"Sensei... and Yukino-chan, they've already... done it, haven't they?"

【Nicole's Mom】.jpg

Amamiya's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately perked up.

He feigned confusion and asked, "...What do you mean?"

“Like this kind of ‘intimate contact’.”

"However, I'm the one who cares about Sensei... while Yukino-chan is the one Sensei cares about."

Nicole maintained a worried and sighing expression, saying things that seemed to be true but were actually false.

As she said this, Amamiya also sensed a latent, sharp curiosity and desire to explore emanating from her.

Using Yukino's sentence structure, Amamiya replied with a gentle smile, "Well, according to Nico... I've 'done' it with many students."

"Caring for others...and being cared for by others are the most inseparable parts of interpersonal relationships."

【~???~】

The 'probing' failed, and Nicole quickly adjusted her mood with a slight sense of regret, while agreeing and echoing, "Sensei is right."

"The reason I'm bothering Sensei at this time is because of Yukino-chan... no, I should say, it's about Team Fox."

What... did you find out this time?

Or did we encounter some problem?

After stretching his shoulders, Amamiya sat back in his usual ergonomic chair.

"What's wrong lately?"

"Director Huaye did not distribute the activity funds for this month."

Nico's words were simple, but just that one sentence made Amamiya frown deeply.

Is Hua Ye abandoning even the Fox team? That doesn't make sense...

From Huaye's perspective, shouldn't the Fox team be the only powerful, reliable, and trustworthy "key card" that she can use at will?

It's important to understand that while the Fox team's overall capabilities may not be outstanding individually, their teamwork and 'all-rounder' task handling abilities are top-notch, elite among elites.

This is an elite squad whose level of expertise and the rigor of its missions are comparable to that of the Navy SEALs—to put it bluntly, such a squad would be treated to the best of everything.

While Hanaya's actions were indeed a bit foolish... Amamiya felt that she wouldn't actually do something like "wanting the horse to run but not letting it eat grass"...

Noticing the change in Amamiya's expression, Nico knew that Amamiya had realized the abnormality beneath the surface.

She came here, of course, not because of the trivial matter of 'Fox Team's funding being cut off'.

This matter is not important—at least not in the short term.

Even without funds for operations, the Fox team's equipment is not badly damaged and they have some reserves, so maintaining the team's normal operation and peak combat power for a period of time is not difficult.

"Is there any explanation from Huaye's side?"

Amamiya pondered, rhythmically tapping the surface of her desk with her knuckles.

"Yukino asked Head Hanaya about this matter. Head Hanaya's explanation was: 'The finance department is having problems this month, so there's no funding. We'll reimburse you next month.'"

Is the finance department causing trouble?

Amamiya was fairly aware of the Federal Student Association's tight budget situation.

I had heard Yuriko mention before that Aoi, who was in charge of the finance department, had been keeping the budget tight when it came to commissioning projects.

Yuriko complained at the time: "I can understand that the Federal Student Association's budget is so tight that it's barely enough, but... is it really something a department head with a normal brain could write to reduce the salary to 37% of the normal quote?"

"Besides, it's an aerial surveying commission... If she dares to use such underhanded tactics to bargain, isn't she afraid that I'll just give her some seemingly fine data and say 'you get what you pay for'?"

—Even so, Yuriko still meticulously completed the aerial surveying commissioned by the Federation Student Council and submitted complete and accurate data.

Although Aoi was trying to cut the budget... as the head of the finance department of the Federal Student Association, she understood the principle of "using good steel where it's needed most".

Amamiya believed that Aoi understood this better than anyone else: what could be budgeted down and what absolutely could not be cut even a fraction of the way...

The finance department is making trouble... but what could they possibly use to make trouble?

After thinking for a while, Amamiya came up with three possibilities.

The first possibility is that Huaye added a lot of extraneous items to the monthly budget report, which was discovered by Kui and then cut.

Therefore, the budget was still issued according to the normal specifications, but it wasn't enough for Hua Ye. She took her share to achieve her goal, while falsely claiming to the outside world that the finance department had launched an attack.

To put it bluntly, this is a very, very serious case of embezzlement and misappropriation of personal funds... something that Huaye is very likely to do.

The second possibility is that Hanaya rejected the Valkyrie Public Security Bureau's monthly budget application, but Aoi rejected it as well, and no extra funds were allocated. So Hanaya had to rob Peter to pay Paul, and since the Fox team didn't have any funds for the time being, she stopped funding there.

To put it bluntly, this is because they thought their plan was foolproof, so they didn't make any contingency plans.

The third possibility is that the budget was submitted in its entirety, but Aoi didn't have enough money and could only deduct some unimportant items. However, Hanaya still embezzled a portion of it, and the remaining amount couldn't be supplied to both the Fox Squad and the Valkyrie Public Security Bureau simultaneously.

With the idea that "it's better not to give funding at all than to cut it," Huaye simply stopped funding for the Fox team for this period.

'The revision of the annual budget of a large subordinate law enforcement agency not only prevented its proper approval but also resulted in the illegal misappropriation and embezzlement of a portion, leaving the department operating at a minimum.'

"Even at a lighter level, it still means failing to properly balance and utilize the limited budget, and not securing sufficient funding for one's subordinates... Even considering the situation of the Federal Student Association, this is still a dereliction of duty."

If even one of these assumptions of mine were true...

Tut tut...

As Amamiya pondered, her expression grew increasingly strange.

No matter how you look at it, Hua Ye's actions are at worst dereliction of duty, and at least negligence.

Either bad...or stupid.

Or, they're both bad and stupid.

"...Sensei?"

Nicole's voice temporarily brought Amamiya back to his senses amidst the brainstorming session.