I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

The Magician's key words are: unpredictable abilities, the power to make wishes come true, the first card in the Major Arcana (the Fool's number is 0), wisdom, and creativity.

【~???~】(Eri)

"That is to say..."

Eri tensed up slightly, her breathing quickening: "In Mast's opinion... I... I'm also a very qualified... 'assistant'?"

Instead of giving a direct answer, Amamiya smiled mysteriously and asked, "Don't you feel like you've become a little more 'special'?"

Eri was silent for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks and tried to sense it with all her might.

While she was trying to 'perceive', Amamiya used [Determination to Protect], temporarily sharing his own bond skills with Saori through Saori's bond skills.

In an instant, the world became very murky, and then suddenly became clear again.

…My mind became incredibly calm.

Eri felt as if she were standing on a calm lake.

She tried to take a step, and the surrounding emptiness rippled.

'Oh...? This, this feeling...'

Is it... "meditation"?

"This is the Sea of ​​the Heart. It is a very special 'space' that everyone has."

The sound coming from beside her ears made Eri temporarily withdraw her attention from her 'reflection' that had been shattered by the ripples.

"...Mast?"

Amamiya removed the mask that came with his phantom thief outfit, transforming it into a wisp of eerie blue fire that wrapped around his arm.

"Eri, you should be familiar with the concepts of 'individual unconscious' and 'collective unconscious' in mysticism and psychology, right?"

Eri nodded vigorously without hesitation.

After all, tarot cards and divination themselves are closely and inextricably linked to this.

"This is the space of the 'individual subconscious,' more like a 'sea of ​​the heart'... but its area is probably smaller than a small lake. After all, the individual subconscious is ultimately finite."

"And this place symbolizes the end and origin of Eri's personal subconscious... It can be understood using keywords such as 'mental landscape,' 'the original form of the temple,' or 'part of the ocean current of possibilities.'"

"This place contains all the 'personal possibilities,' so one can extract from it anything within the realm of cognition, including but not limited to mystical items, monsters formed from aggregates of negative consciousness, and... 'magic,' and everything else imaginable."

"The Personas, powerful equipment, and armor used by the Phantom Thieves in battle... are all obtained through similar but different methods."

At this point, Amamiya snapped his fingers.

With the snap of fingers, ripples were stirred on the tranquil surface of the sea of ​​one's own heart.

Eri opened her eyes again, and the world before her eyes returned to normal.

"Oh... that's what Master just made me feel..."

So it wasn't meditation after all, but some kind of spiritual vision, or a way of introspection?!

After regaining her senses, Eri tried to grasp the feeling of entering the sea of ​​her heart.

However... after Amamiya withdrew his "determination to protect", Eri tried several times but failed to achieve that 'detached' effect.

"Mast...what is going on? Why, why am I..."

Amamiya gave the girl a knowing look and waved her hand at her slightly anxious expression.

"The 'Magician' is only the beginning of the Fool's Journey... Eri, what I just showed you is the ocean that can only be explored at the very end of the Fool's Journey, after passing through judgment and arriving at the 'World'."

"With her current abilities and mindset, it would be too anxious for Eri to try to pursue it..."

"……Too."

The mystical path is one that one should not rush into.

After all, if something were to happen, the disasters resulting from "magical backlash" or "magical anomalies" would be far more exaggerated than simple technological malfunctions.

“Then…Mast,”

Knowing that things couldn't be rushed, Eri chose to 'settle for second best'.

"Since you truly possess the 'Arcana Magic,' could you perhaps teach me a little... about 'Arcana Magic'?"

Amamiya didn't answer directly, but instead fixed her gaze on Eri's wide witch's hat brim and the face beneath it, which was looking at her with an expression of complete admiration, with little hearts almost appearing in its pupils.

After waiting for a while without receiving a reply from Amamiya, Eri tilted her head.

"Is Master... identifying something?"

She lifted her chest and tilted her head back, revealing an undeniable maturity that seemed almost bursting out of her chest.

"If it's a special stat like 'magic'... Mast, my reserves should be plentiful, right?!"

That's quite a lot.

"It's not a magic-related issue, but rather..."

After thinking about it, Amamiya felt that... it was still not advisable to explain too much about the mystical at once.

Forget it, let’s take it step by step.

“…Eri made such a ‘request,’ but I don’t have any materials prepared in advance.”

"Let's wait a little while. Eri can then take the members of the Mysticism Research Club to Xialai."

【~???~】(Eri)

"Mmm...I understand!"

[...a promise was made with Eri.]

[Coop is now unbanned!]

【Eri Shiroo (Magician) ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

After all, the matter was sudden and the suggestion was abrupt... Eri didn't expect to receive any direct instruction that would allow her to truly use 'magic' right away.

The moment anticipation arose in her heart, Eri suddenly vaguely felt an invisible 'thread' extending outwards, pulling and entwining around her.

There was absolutely no feeling of being 'bound'; on the contrary, I felt a sense of warmth and belonging...

'Is this... "bond"?'

She looked up excitedly, about to say something joyfully, but then immediately stopped.

—Mysticism must remain mysterious.

After all… it’s a special connection that’s ‘intangible and intangible,’ so it’s best not to say it out loud.

Some forms of mysticism follow the principle that 'if you tell others, it won't work.'

"Mast, why have you been staring at my hat?"

"I just want to know what's really under Eri's hat... Can you lift it up and let me see?"

"Does Mast want to see me be shameless? Yes, to me... taking off my hat is no different than taking off my clothes..."

"By the way... Master, besides 'entering the Sea of ​​Hearts,' could you demonstrate some more special magic for me?"

"What does Eri want to see?"

"I don't know what Mast can do... well, if I really have to say..."

"...For example, something like 'Demon Summoning'?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: I'm sorry, I can't do it.

Eri's date started in the evening but didn't end until the stars were high in the sky.

To make a long story short... In order to satisfy Eri's 'occult witness', Amamiya fulfilled almost all of her strange little requests, except for directly learning magic.

Almost nothing went wrong throughout the entire process... except for the occult summoning ritual of "summoning a demon".

Well... Amamiya thought the demon summoning ritual would be fine, but something went wrong.

Amamiya, wanting to see what she could summon, did not use traditional demon summoning rituals or other mystical methods she was familiar with, such as Persona games. Instead, she attempted to summon using her own mystical methods, following the summoning method and 'offerings' provided by Eri.

Then... accompanied by a sudden burst of light from a magic circle made of some kind of fluorescent powder, the aura spread out...

To Erina's utter astonishment, "How could this possibly succeed?", a "demon" appeared in the summoning circle—

She was carrying a bowl filled with all sorts of luxurious ingredients, a feast for the eyes and the palate, with chopsticks in her other hand and a fried shrimp tempura stuffed in her mouth. Upon appearing, she immediately looked around in a daze.

Wasn't I having dinner with the members of the 68 Convenience Store Agency (which has transformed from a low-class "Yorozuya" into a true "agency")?

Where is this place...?

"Eh? sen, Sensei?!"

"Oh... Master's demon summoning ritual was successful?!"

"But why would they summon Gerhena's students...?"

……

In short, the scene was extremely chaotic.

Boarding the last train to Shalai from the station in Gehenna, Amamiya sighed and decided that he should stop trying any strange 'angel summoning rituals' or 'demon summoning rituals' for no reason.

—This kind of summoning ritual might actually work in Kiwatos, and it might even "summon" people over...

This time it's Aru.

Next time, if we prepare an angel summoning ritual, will we be able to summon Mika, Nagisa, the leader of the Rescue Knights, the little angel Serina, Hanae, and all the members of the Justice Committee?

Fortunately, Aru is relatively easy to coax...

After the initial confusion and bewilderment, Arle calmly finished her dinner, which she had bought at a high price from the upscale restaurant Gehenna after selling her "White Tuxedo of the Trumpeter".

Then... she actually managed to easily identify herself as the 'summoned demon' and had a brief interaction with Eri.

The scene at the time was as follows:

Eri: "Since you are a summoned demon, can you demonstrate some magic?"

Aru (smiling confidently): "That's easy! I am you, and you are me..."

As Aru called out, the illusory figure of "Persona-Robin" briefly appeared behind her, throwing a fiery rose that exploded in an instant into the night sky.

Eri: "Wow... This is the Persona!!"

Eri: "Hey demon, can you answer these textbook questions that I don't quite understand?"

Aru: "...Shall we continue to demonstrate the magic under the moonlight?"

Eri: "Even demons find it difficult to learn some obscure and difficult knowledge?"

Aru (drenched in sweat): "Y-of course...even demons aren't omniscient and omnipotent!"

……

As it turns out, the magic of the occult and the knowledge system of reality are quite different.

You can cast magic freely and effortlessly, as if it were an extension of your own arm, even if you don't know its underlying principles.

But advanced knowledge, especially the Wild Hunt, which is clearly more related to art textbooks... if you don't know, you don't know.

Arle is indeed a 'hidden top student', but that doesn't mean she can instantly understand the textbooks across different colleges and then present them in a way that is tailored to individual students.

……

Then, the drawback of 'easy to summon but difficult to deport' occurred.

The so-called 'summoning ritual' magic book provided by Eri only vaguely mentions the concept of summoning demons, but the author of the magic book did not mention 'how to send the summoned demons back'.

Perhaps it's because the author realized that no one could actually summon a demon in this way.

Left with no other choice... after parting ways with Eri, Amamiya could only escort Aru all the way back.

I really wanted to try 'Summon Angel' to see if I could draw... oh no, I mean, summon that Trinity student, but I decided against it.

Well... even if we really have to try it, we should at least try it when everyone has nothing else to do.

This time, they summoned 'Aru eating,' but now they might summon... who knows, a Trinity student in a bathrobe.

Sitting on the last bus, the only one of them, Amamiya gathered her thoughts, took out her phone, and decided to see if Nicole had responded.