I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Miyako glanced furtively at the kitchen not far away, where the sound of running water could be heard, and felt somewhat uneasy.

—It wasn't because I was unsettled by the uncertainty surrounding the future of Operation Clover.

Rather, it was the surging girlish feelings and possessiveness in his heart that made him restless.

'Moe's behavior this morning...'

Recalling how Moe had "broken through" the massive amount of encrypted data that morning, then "throw a tantrum" at Sensei, which ultimately led to Sensei making a promise to "train Moe to become an excellent occult hacker," Miyako felt a little troubled.

Although as the 'logistics' of the Rabbit team, a hacker who also provides technical and logistical support, Moe's responsibilities were already numerous and heavy, it was only natural that she received 'individual instruction' from Sensei, but...

I feel a little envious.

Compared to Moe-e... do I have any 'special advantages'?

While pondering, Miyako compared her own core competitiveness with that of Miyu and Saki.

Compared to Miyu...

Miyu was the first member of the Rabbit team to meet Sensei... and also the first to open up to Sensei.

Furthermore, considering the previous "snake in the camp" incident, it seems that Miyu has been looking for time to be alone with Sensei... She probably intends to thank Sensei or apologize for Sensei suffering an injustice because of her, right?

Once Miyu is alone with Sensei... given Sensei's usual slight 'favoritism' towards Miyu, what if...?

Thinking about this, Miyako's thoughts became somewhat romantic, and a few 'not-so-healthy' associations gradually emerged in her mind.

'A lone rabbit is more likely to be caught by a predator...'

'If Miyu manages to get some time alone with Sensei... will she be "captured" by Sensei as a result?'

Her worries deepened, and Miyako compared herself to Saki.

Saki doesn't seem to have shown any particularly obvious emotional reaction to Sensei...

Sensei, on the other hand, usually adopts a 'not-so-serious teasing' attitude when talking to Saki, who is serious.

When Saki clashes with Sensei, she easily loses out and then becomes shy.

To put it another way... Saki may be old-fashioned and steady, but Sensei also enjoys teasing students with Saki's personality.

In other words, Saki is still a bit 'emotionally oblivious' right now. Once she realizes her feelings for Sensei, she'll become more proactive...

From this perspective, Saki also has a completely different area of ​​advantage than herself.

"What should we do during this time?"

"Just do what you're supposed to do."

With her legs crossed and looking rather lazy, Meng Hui casually replied, "Anyway, I have to keep an eye on the file parsing progress, I have to keep watching it..."

Hey.

I wish I could spend more time with Sensei during this period.

A fleeting thought of regret crossed her mind, and Menghui began to devise algorithms for decrypting encrypted files, as well as various methods for filtering and classifying the files after decryption.

Moe's 'dejected' state made Miyako and Saki hesitant to suggest any 'outing activities'.

The Rabbit team is, after all, a 'unit', and they can't do things like making the team members suffer and endure everything while the rest of the team goes out to have fun.

"Then let's find something to do near Xia Lai..."

After thinking it over, Miyako suggested, "I heard that the Arius squad, which is currently under the command of Xia Lai, often patrols the area around Xia Lai and is responsible for maintaining the security of the surrounding area."

"Although the Rabbit team hasn't officially joined Sharai yet, they are, after all, elites from SRT. Even if we don't consider Sensei's interests, 'maintaining peace and justice' is something we should be doing..."

"Moreover, doing this can also help to share the pressure..."

With a change of heart, Gongzi did not utter the half-sentence that was hidden in her heart.

Moreover, the members of Arius's squad usually patrol separately.

And if you happen to run into Sensei during a solo patrol, wouldn't that mean... you'd have a long stretch of private time alone with Sensei without having to come up with a reason?

If I manage to 'bump into' Sensei, I'll take advantage of that opportunity... hehehe.

Saki, who was already worried about having nothing to do, immediately chimed in, "I have no objection."

Miyu, who had been silent until now, finally timidly shrank her neck and lowered her head, raising her hand in agreement: "I...have no objection either..."

As the sound of water in the kitchen gradually subsided, the quick-thinking Miyako immediately looked expectantly towards the kitchen doorway.

After washing the dishes and shaking off the remaining water from her wrists, Amamiya glanced at the seemingly 'idle' little rabbits.

“Um, Sensei…”

Gongzi stood up, hesitant to speak, about the recent arrangements for the Rabbit team.

Amamiya raised her hand, timely interrupting Miyako who was about to say something.

"...?"

For some reason, a bad feeling arose in Miyako's heart.

"There's something I need to ask of the Rabbit team who are currently stationed in Xialai."

Amamiya spoke earnestly, "Regarding the patrols around Xia Lai these past few days..."

“In the next few days, Arios’ team may not be available, and Rabbit’s team will need to take over.”

Saki, who had immediately stood up in anticipation when Amamiya said "I have something to ask you," almost burst out laughing when she heard this.

She smiled brightly and cheerfully, with an expression that seemed to say, "I thought it was some important mission, but it's just like this," as if they were on the same wavelength.

“We’ll do this on our own initiative, even without Sensei saying it…”

She suddenly realized something was wrong halfway through her sentence.

Miyako, who originally made this request... why hasn't she made a move?

Saki was somewhat confused. She observed Miyako's expression and saw that she was full of thought and worry.

Saki: "...?"

What... what happened?

As Saki grew even more confused, Miyako, having finished gathering her emotions, tentatively spoke: "Sensei..."

"Could I inquire why Arius's squad... has been so busy lately?"

Instead of answering the question directly, Amamiya asked a different question: "Miyako, do you know if there are any special holidays recently?"

Gongzi was taken aback, and immediately began to calculate the recent calendar dates.

The Akawa Grand Festival has just ended, and the various academies are probably still in the afterglow of it, so they likely don't have the capacity to hold any more festival activities in the short term.

But... there is one exception.

Thinking of a school festival, Miyako felt increasingly uneasy.

Why is Arius's squad 'unable to get away' at this time?

Why has the patrol around Xia Lai been handed over to the Rabbit team during this period?

Taking a deep breath, Miyako, still clinging to a sliver of 'hope,' tentatively began, "The reason Sensei handed over the patrol duties to the Rabbit squad for this period of time is because..."

"...Going to the 'Ivan Kupala Festival' in Red Winter with Arius's squad?"

Feeling a little uneasy under the rabbits' dangerous gazes, Amamiya could only nod slowly with a stiff expression.

This was agreed upon with Arius's squad beforehand... Now that an entire squad is going on the trip, it's hard to keep it a secret.

This feeling of 'having to go because of a promise'...

It reminded Amamiya somewhat of his summer school trip to Hawaii.

At that time, Makoto Niijima had just stolen the data from his older sister, Sae Niijima.

At that time, the data also required Shuangyehua to analyze it.

While Futaba was analyzing the data, the Phantom Thieves participated in a school trip organized by the school.

And that time... after Futaba finished her school trip, she analyzed all the data and made a 'major discovery'.

Under the resentful and strange looks from the little rabbits, Amamiya sincerely promised, "I will 'make it up' to everyone in other ways later."

The little rabbits' eyes gradually changed from 'resentment' to 'doubt'.

Subsequently, the initial skepticism gradually turned into acceptance.

Saki: "Since Sensi has said so..."

Moe: "Sigh... That's the downside of being at a critical juncture in the mission."

Moe: "Since I can't participate in this special trip... then I'll wait for the 'victory celebration' later."

Miyako: "...That makes sense. Let's keep Sensei's promise until after Operation Clover is over."

Miyu: "Sensei, have a safe trip..."

The other three little rabbits simultaneously turned their gazes to Miyu, who shrank back in fear.

After a brief silence, Miyako spoke first: "Sensei, please rest assured. During your absence... the Rabbit Squad will do its best to complete the patrol and security missions in the area surrounding Xialai."

After bidding farewell to the resentful and reluctant little rabbits, Amamiya let out a long sigh.

'Data parsing should be almost finished by the time I get back.'

Let's change our mood and look forward to the festival at the Crimson Winter Federation Academy...

What's wrong with Azuko singing "Renai Circulation" in Chapter Twenty-One?

"Light as a feather~ Light as a feather~"

"Your softly uttered name, just like that, makes me float in the air~"

"Light as a feather~ Light as a feather~"

"You're smiling~ Just that makes me smile~"

"Thank you, God~ Even if it's just a cruel joke of fate~"

"My encounter with Sensei made me feel happy."

On the train heading to the Red Winter Federation Academy, the scenery rushing past the window was gradually covered by a blanket of white snow.

In contrast, there was the purple-haired girl's warm and sweet humming voice, which had endured the heat of summer and the cold of winter without fading.

Please keep looking at me like this. Forever and ever.

Following the rhythm played on Amamiya's phone, the purple-haired girl finished singing a song, her red eyes gleaming, and her tone bright: "Sensei... is this enough?"

"Ah."

Amamiya casually pressed the pause button on her phone's music player and clapped her hands in praise: "Although it's her first time singing... Azuko has already sung very well."

【~???~】(Ajinko)

The only 'passengers' in the carriage, besides Amamiya herself, were the girls from Arius's squad.

The train attendant from the Highland Railway Institute, who was responsible for inspecting the carriages, had just left this carriage not long ago, and the next regular inspection would be some time away.

Quiet, without worrying about disturbing outsiders, nor being disturbed by outsiders.

Despite receiving praise, Akiko felt something was off.

“Sensei…this song is called ‘Renai Circulation’…”

The girl, whose smile was gentle yet carried a hint of mischievous mischief, gathered her long, light purple hair and her tone suddenly became somewhat ethereal.

"There's a strange feeling..."

"I feel like I should be the one to sing this song."

"And the lyrics are also very unique..."

"Although there are some lyrics that I don't quite understand, the rest that I can understand are like the feelings that I and everyone in the Arios squad gradually developed for Sensei after getting to know Sensei."

"Um……"

The girl, curled up in her seat, uttered unusually heavy words in a dreamlike whisper.

"It even matches the song title... Could it be that the members of Arios's squad... are 'in love' with Sensei?"