I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Ready at all the time."

At this moment, the tarot cards floating beside Yuriko, who was swaying her fox tail, gradually burned out. The "High Priestess" tarot card, which depicted her own portrait, gradually disappeared, leaving a blank space.

She tapped her brow with a marker and finished annotating the map.

"The preliminary investigation has been almost perfect. Sensei has nothing to worry about."

“Sensei tarot cards are very useful as ‘temporary reinforcement tools’.”

Yuriko reached out and used the space between her index finger and thumb to catch the "High Priestess" card that had fallen back into her hand, then shook the tarot card.

Unlike its initial state of abundant starlight when it was first obtained, the "Pope" held between Yuriko's fingers is now dim and lifeless, clearly resembling 'burnt-out ashes'.

"This one……"

Amamiya waved his hand: "No need to return it. Keep it for Yuriko as a souvenir."

"commemorate……"

When Yuriko repeated the word 'commemoration,' Amamiya sensed that she seemed to be in a daze for a moment.

【~???~】(Yuriko)

Yuriko didn't try to be coy or play games by offering a "further refusal," but instead carefully put the item away as if it were a keepsake.

“I accept this gift, which is of great ‘special sentimental value’.”

People change, and so does the world.

Everything exists in motion... There are "transformers" and "untransformers" that stand firm like pillars in place.

Although this card is no longer effective, but...

In any case... the "unchanging" amidst the "change," and the "empty shell" that is merely a shell of existence, have a special collectible value.

Furthermore... this card is not just limited to its collectible value.

It is a "container"... much like the precious container in the story of "buying the box and returning the pearl"—the value and "technological sophistication" of the container itself are far more important than what it contains.

When Yuriko held this "container" in her hand, she had a subconscious feeling.

This container... perhaps, is also a high-quality material for containing "self".

'A Persona... is something created by attaching one's own spirit to it, using it as a vessel...?'

After fiddling with the tarot cards in her hand for a moment, Yuriko thought of something completely unrelated.

'If we understand the act of projecting a personality onto someone as sowing seeds, then...the process of that personality gradually growing and transforming into a persona...could it be understood as...plant cultivation?'

"I've done what I was supposed to do..."

Yuriko turned around, then seemed to remember something, stopped to the side, and waved to Saori and her group.

"Now it's your turn to do what you're supposed to do."

She then turned to Amamiya: "Sensei...do your best."

After waving goodbye to Yuriko, Amamiya turned to look at the Arius squad, who were standing ready and poised for action.

"……let's start."

Chapter 79 Kirino's Awakening Method

Arius's squad began their operation...

As for Amamiya... stimulated by the 'nightmare', she temporarily lost the desire to continue killing time and deepen her bond with her assistant.

After a moment's thought... he decided to contact Kirino.

—In most cases, personas are 'born from the heart,' driven by idealistic forces.

The stronger one's mind and beliefs, the greater the power that Persona can unleash.

And Kirino... her "justice" destined her to be a highly talented Persona user.

Before Amamiya could even start browsing her contacts after opening MomoTalk, she received a message from Kirino.

[Kirino: The weapon Sensei gave me is really useful! I've taken down quite a few delinquent gangs lately, thank you Sensei!]

[Kirino: Um... Also, the director told me that we should prioritize Sensei's information during this period. Did Sensei give any instructions today?]

They really came as soon as they were told...

Amamiya chuckled slightly upon seeing the message.

After thinking it over, he decided not to beat around the bush with Kirino—after all, a simple-minded, hot-blooded police officer might not understand any of the intricacies involved.

Therefore, Amamiya did not compose any words, but instead typed out his thoughts directly.

[Amamiya: Kirino, do you have time now?]

[Amamiya: I need to see Kirino immediately...]

[Amamiya: It's about 'another world,' about 'phantom thieves.']

After sending three messages in a row, there was a brief silence on the other end.

[Kirino:? ! 】

Kirino: R-Really?!

[Kirino: Am I going to become a phantom thief who 'fights evil and promotes good' too?!]

[Kirino: I can ask the chief for leave right now!]

[Kirino: Where am I supposed to find Sensei?!]

Kirino's incessant chatter, including messages with misspelled words, allowed Amamiya to vaguely "see" on the other side of the screen a white-haired girl running breathlessly while sending messages.

Where should we go to help Kirino awaken her Persona...?

Kirino's "justice" and the conventional way of stirring up rebellion and then revealing her true self through the mask are clearly not suitable for her.

Therefore... we need to adopt another method of 'awakening'.

Besides stirring up rebellious thoughts, masked individuals can also enter other worlds to find their own shadow and achieve mutual recognition with it, thus transforming the shadow into their own persona mask.

The members of the "self-proclaimed special investigation team," who used to travel back and forth between the "television world," all adopted this method of awakening.

Even Futaba, whom Amamiya was familiar with, awakened her Persona by entering her own sanctuary and making a pact with her own shadow.

The necessary prerequisite for this method of awakening is to 'find the corresponding shadow in the collective unconscious'.

Although Kirino usually patrols around, she spends most of her time at Valkyrie Academy outside of patrols.

Therefore... we need to go to the Impression Space near the corresponding Valkyrie Academy...

With that in mind, Amamiya typed a reply.

[Amamiya: I'll go find Kirino instead.]

[Amamiya: Kirino, first find a café near the school, or another shop that's not busy at this time, then send me your location. We'll meet near the school.]

Before long, Amamiya received a message from Kirino with the coordinates.

After checking the coordinates on the electronic map, Amamiya realized that this seemed to be a commercial street with extremely high foot traffic at night, but almost no customers during the day.

The main consumers here are probably students from the Valkyrie Police Department, and Valkyrie students are either on duty, on patrol, or studying and training during the day... they basically have no time to spend money.

Following the coordinates Kirino sent him, Amamiya arrived at the shopping street and immediately spotted a white-haired girl who had just bought two cups of milk tea. She was sipping one cup and holding the other, looking somewhat hurried and lost in thought as she gazed into the distance.

"Ah, Sen..."

Upon seeing Amamiya for the first time, the girl's spirits lifted, and she wanted to wave and greet him. However, she suddenly remembered the rule that "a phantom thief should remain unknown, so he should attract as little attention as possible," and she kept quiet.

Kirino took two big sips through the straw, finishing her milk tea in one go. She then handed the other cup of milk tea in her hand to Amamiya and turned to walk into the street.

The streets were almost deserted during the day, and nine out of ten shops were closed.

Leading Amamiya to a side street, in front of a shop with its roller shutter closed, Kirino looked around for a moment before speaking with a hint of anticipation: "Sensei... this place should meet the requirements, right?"

Amamiya looked around at the surroundings to make sure there were no surveillance cameras.

"Hmm... this will do."

When I infiltrated the Kamoshida Palace before, I always chose alleyways as my entry and exit points...

There are few surveillance devices here, and it's quite 'dark' during the day, making it a good location for infiltrating and evacuating from another world.

"Sen, Senshi... As a phantom thief, should I prepare anything?"

Amamiya, who had already taken out her phone and opened the otherworld app, stopped what she was doing upon hearing the sound and glanced at Kirino, who was slightly unnatural due to nervousness.

You can tell you're nervous, but there's really no need to be so nervous...

"Kirino has great potential, so let nature take its course."

【~???~】(Kirino)

After saying something ambiguous and encouraging, Amamiya directly launched the Otherworld App.

[Start navigation.]

'Om—'

A feeling of dizziness washed over her, and Kirino instinctively closed her eyes.

Immediately, she felt an unexpected wave of scorching heat rushing towards her.

Startled, Kirino opened her eyes again, only to find that she was no longer in the quiet commercial streets and alleys that were bustling at night...

Instead, it was a scene of swirling yellow sand and a high-hanging sun, where all that could be seen was a vast, empty wilderness?

Before she could adjust to the sudden change in environment, Kirino noticed the building across the street that had completely changed its style.

The street's 'structure' was no different from what Kirino had perceived, but almost all the buildings had 'degenerated'... becoming like the buildings that would appear in a 'Western Wild West' movie.

Kirino still remembers that the shop across the street used to be an izakaya run by the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons).

But now, it has been transformed into a two-story, almost entirely wooden old-fashioned bar with its salon doors swaying in the wind.

"Eh……"

With a somewhat incredulous "Eh," Kirino tilted her head and glanced around the streets, then became even more curious and excited.

All the buildings on both sides of the street have changed, becoming very much in the style of a "cowboy film".

A mining pickaxe was placed in the corner of some buildings;

There were piles of coal at the bottom of the steps of some buildings;

Some buildings are even directly labeled "Gold Mine Sales Office"; "Equipment Shop"...

At noon, streets covered in yellow sand, dry tumbleweeds swaying in the wind...

"Sensei..."

Turning her gaze away and temporarily suppressing the novelty and shock in her heart, Kirino asked, "Is this... another world?"

Amamiya, who was also surveying her surroundings, shook her finger: "To be more precise... this is the 'other world' that corresponds to the vicinity of Valkyrie Academy."

Amamiya was genuinely a little surprised.

The space near the Valkyrie Police Station is surprisingly a scene of 'Western Wilderness'.

Speaking of which... the students of the Valkyrie Police Department do indeed fit the image of a cowboy in a cowboy movie who "draws his gun for justice"?

Amamiya found it quite interesting to look at the impression space corresponding to the 'black market' on the distant horizon, which could be seen but could not be directly reached in the other world.

Hey……

In the distance is the 'criminal gang's' hideout...

So is this a gathering place for 'gold diggers' and 'sheriffs'?

That's quite reasonable, isn't it?

Kirino didn't quite understand why Amamiya had to emphasize the location keyword "another world near Valkyrie Academy," but for her, knowing that this was another world was enough.

“Sensei… what should we do next?”

Kirino was full of ambition and eager to try.

After waiting a little while, she received an answer that made her eyes turn into 'beads'.

"First, find 'yourself' in another world."