I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The Red Winter Federation Academy was not quiet in the afternoon.

The sounds of marching, slogans, and occasional gunshots and explosions coming from outside the street startled Amamiya and the members of Arius's squad, who exchanged bewildered glances.

Arriving at the window of the lounge, Saori looked out and easily spotted the 'powerful Akafuyu Security Committee Chairman' whom Cerino had used to compare herself to in the crowd.

A blonde girl in military uniform, standing tall and straight, raised her hand, held a gun, and shouted rebellious slogans.

Her personal guards and the helmeted Red Winter students were in high spirits, cheering enthusiastically and gathering in large numbers.

A group of students chanted slogans in unison on a snow-covered square bathed in the afternoon sun... From an outsider's perspective, it might seem 'spectacular' and that these students are very conscious of their beliefs.

But after spending the morning learning about the Red Winter Federation with Cerino and basically figuring out the academy, Saori felt that it was more absurd than she could possibly be.

"Sensei..."

Turning her gaze away, Saori prepared her weapon and quickly approached Amamiya, asking briefly with concern, "Is it alright to let them do this...?"

Amamiya crossed her legs, took a sip of her coffee, and calmly gestured to Saori not to rush.

"Before coming here... or even shortly after arriving in Kivotos, I learned about the Crimson Winter Federation by talking to students from various academies and researching information..."

"This academy has an extremely frequent 'power structure,' changing almost every three days for a minor change, every seven days for a major change, and in extreme cases, even several times a day..."

"...There's nothing surprising about this anymore, is there?"

【~??~】(Saori)

"……Too."

Saori forced a smile and sat back down in her seat, drinking her coffee.

"Don't we need to do anything, Sensei?"

Misaki had prepared submachine guns for a breakout, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

—The 'rebellious groups' outside are not yet at the point where Arius's squad can 'crush the difference in combat strength with an absolute difference in numbers'.

Although they did not bring their main weapon—a recoilless rifle—on this trip, only a submachine gun and a "pistol," Arius's squad was still powerful enough to overwhelm and disperse these clueless students.

The [Scapegoat Angel] gun, etched with patterns beneath its thigh holster, glows with a bloodthirsty dark red light. As a Persona summoner, it awaits the summoning and use of the Persona user.

In Misaki's opinion...

The students' spirit of 'rebellion' is commendable.

However... their 'resistance' was meaningless.

A spur-of-the-moment, rootless rebellion... ultimately proved futile.

If the Red Winter Federal Academy were a tree, then these students would be the ones eyeing the fruit beneath it.

They only know that they can eat their fill of fruit by picking it down, but they don't understand that fruit can grow back and trees can regenerate after being cut down.

Even if the desire for fruit is alleviated in the short term or in the longer term, the outcome remains unchanged.

Resistance should not be manifested merely in reaping the rewards.

Instead, one should change the soil composition in one's own way, so that the trees cannot draw nutrients and wither, so that they cannot bear fruit—even if they do, it will exhaust the tree itself, and the fruit will become small and sour, tasteless and worthless.

It's just like……

Beatrice did the same things to the Arius branch after seizing the student council president's authority.

However... Beatrice's aim was "to rule" rather than "to resist".

The saying "a single spark can start a prairie fire" is true... the key lies in clusters of "sparks".

After awakening her Persona, Misaki saw things very clearly.

The phantom thieves' 'rebellion'...or rather, their heart-stealing.

Stealing the treasure to repent of desires... seemingly picking the fruit, but in reality, it is using a more idealistic method to change the composition of all the soil touched by the roots of a tree, and extracting the nutrients called desire.

As large as the "World Tree" growing in the otherworld of the Holy Trinity and the "Garden of Eden" that Beatrice upon it... as small as a seedling.

When subjected to such probing, none can escape the fate of withering away.

After much thought, Misaki's only opinion on the 'rebellion' of the Akatsuki students marching in the streets was: she did not agree with it.

“Sensei, if they pose a threat to us…”

“We will help you break through the encirclement on the grounds of ‘legitimate self-defense’.”

Akiko was also carrying out pre-battle preparations, including weapon maintenance and self-inspection. The chaotic yet lively scene outside the window made the girl sigh repeatedly.

"It's like playing house..."

This is the word that Azuko thinks of most frequently after arriving at the Red Winter Federation Academy, and it is also an accurate summary of the current situation of the Red Winter Federation Academy.

Rihe remained silent, quietly adjusting his "M39 EMR Enhanced Marksman Rifle".

Yuriko's custom-designed weapon for Arius's squad is extremely reliable.

The reputation of "Fox Workshop products are guaranteed to be of high quality" is not something that can be built on the back of paid promoters.

After a brief adjustment of their firearms and pre-battle preparations, Saori and her group remained in a 'resting' state, but were all prepared to engage the enemy at any time and launch a breakout operation.

They really had nothing to do with this 'rebellion' and didn't want to be associated with it in any way.

But if any of these rebels suddenly had a brilliant idea and wanted to stage a scene of 'using Sensei to command Xia Lai', then they wouldn't mind...

Under the guise of 'self-defense,' they crushed these fools who didn't know what was good for them.

Amamiya made no move.

The reason for not taking any action... is mainly to see what exactly the 'daily features' of the Red Winter Federation Academy are all about.

This is ultimately a matter for the Crimson Winter Federation Academy itself, and the academy has no intention of contacting them. To intervene now would be too reckless...

Thinking it over, Amamiya put down her coffee cup and went to the window to observe the situation.

Just as he made a move, the back door of the lounge was hurriedly opened.

Not long ago, Ba returned from his "important task" of "preparing a nap bed for Chairman Cerino".

"Sensei, something bad has happened..."

"An emergency has occurred... Fully armed students, led by Chairperson Marina, have launched a rebellion..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ba felt the subtle gazes of the members of Arius's squad all fall on him at the same time.

From the way they looked at him... Ba didn't feel nervous at all.

It even seemed like they were... eager to try?

Amamiya, who had already planned to make some moves, stood up and greeted the slightly confused Tomoe.

"Hmm...we've already seen the situation."

Pointing to the chaos outside the window, Amamiya then asked with some curiosity, "Is this the norm at the Akatsuki Federation Academy?"

bar:"……"

The pink-haired girl, still holding the doorknob and pushing the door open, was rendered speechless by Amamiya's question, which contained no teasing or mockery but was simply a question of curiosity.

It seems... that's actually the norm.

“Ah…hahaha.”

【~???~】(巴)

The 'Grey Cardinal' who was so mature and composed this morning is now incredibly embarrassed.

Knowing that she couldn't answer this question no matter what she did, she simply changed the subject: "There's a high chance of a fierce gunfight going to happen next... so, Sensei, and everyone in Arios's squad... let's go take shelter together first?"

Amamiya didn't speak, but instead turned around to observe the expressions of the Arius squad members.

Saori: "...诌霓瘤v久易厁E八...?"

Confusion, bewilderment... Saori's expression, 'calm tinged with doubt,' seemed to ask: Avoid the limelight? Me? Avoid their limelight?

Misaki: "……."

It's all good now... You learn something in one go. If they don't succeed, then there will be 'bloodshed'. If there's bloodshed, then they should learn a lesson... Even if only one person learns a lesson, that's good.

But if none of them learn from their mistakes, then it only proves that they are a mob.

Hiyori: "??"

An enemy of this size and strength... Arius's squad could handle it without any problem. Why didn't she ask Sensei to send his squad to help?

There must be some deeper meaning...

Azuko: "Hehe."

'Seeking refuge and fleeing'...that sounds interesting.

Having observed the performance of Arios's team members, Amamiya turned around and responded.

"Okay, let's go out and 'take refuge'."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: When I was a kid, I watched this episode and was sent to Siberia to dig potatoes.

The snow-capped mountains of the Red Winter Federation Academy stretch out into mountains beyond mountains.

Walking through the rugged terrain dotted with coniferous forests and covered in snow, Amamiya could feel the chilly stillness of the forest rushing towards him with just a slight upward glance.

Snow-white and emerald green, scattered like stars in the sky, fill the view.

The majestic snow-capped mountains, layer upon layer, are so vast that they stretch as far as the eye can see.

"Woo..."

A listless grumbling came from the side.

"We've been walking for over an hour..."

The crunching sound of footsteps on the snow slowed down. Looking at the seemingly unchanging snow-covered mountains around him, Cerino finally couldn't help but complain, "...Forget about the old school building, I haven't seen a single building!"

She looked questioningly at the pink-haired girl beside her, whose breathing was steady and whose steps were firm: "...How much longer do we have to walk?"

Ba, who was being 'held accountable', stopped, straightened his long hair, and half-ignored and half-explained: "The area of ​​the Red Winter Federation Academy... is quite large among all the academies."

"It takes quite a bit of time to walk to the vicinity of the outlying territory."

"so……"

Before Ba could finish speaking, Cerino covered his ears with both hands and shook his head repeatedly: "I can't, I can't take another step!"

Ba Rou smiled gently and wisely suggested, "Then... shall we all take a break?"

Amamiya knew that Amamiya was asking this question mainly to get her opinion.

Hey……

As the student council president of the Crimson Winter Federation Academy, Cerino's current performance is truly...

Not satisfactory.

They lack the balancing power of Nagisa at the Sanichi Tea Party, who could "keep a balanced view in a complex situation."

She lacked the vigilance and thinking ability of Rion from the Millennium Symposium, who was "obsessive yet far-sighted."

They lack the ability to change appearances and scheme behind the scenes that Nia of the Hyakki Yagyō Onmyō-bō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) possesses.

I feel... she's similar to Makoto, and can be summed up in the derogatory sense of "the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix."

Amamiya felt that his brief trip to the Red Winter was filled with "arrogance and prejudice".

But there's nothing we can do... Red Winter is just like that, so abstract that it's truly speechless.

"Then let's rest..."

Cerino, who had been complaining of being tired just moments before, suddenly raised his hand and loudly stopped Amamiya.

"That's not necessary!"

Amamiya: ...

How did a famous quote from the Locus series suddenly come out?

So... are we going to start 'disconnecting ultimates' next?

Amamiya lowered his head and looked at Cerino. The latter, with his small face tilted up, stood taller than 1.3 meters despite wearing a Cossack hat, striking a pose with his chest out and head held high, exuding a rather 'powerful' aura.

...If you ignore the fake mustache on her face, she might have a more commanding presence.