I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

'It seems that traditional incentives are indeed ineffective in securing Sensei's support...'

'But that's understandable. After all, he's a phantom thief who walks the line between desire and has an exceptional understanding of the 'inner world.' How could his unwavering path be crushed by such petty favors?'

But since bribery didn't work...

Hua Ye's eyes flickered slightly.

The worst possible course of action is to resort to force directly.

But for Huaye, who had witnessed the power of the 'Persona,' this choice was still too foolish—unless absolutely necessary and she was truly certain of success, she wouldn't be so reckless as to rush headlong into it.

"Satanyeel" stood behind him, the figure of the Demon King who blotted out the sky, hunted the great sins, and brought the will of freedom and chaos to all intelligent beings... Its majesty still lingers in Huaye's heart for a long time.

Direct force won't work, and bribery won't be very effective either, so...

Quickly considering all her 'advantages', Hua Ye casually changed the subject: "Sensei, what do you think of my performance as the head of the defense office of the Federal Student Council?"

Let Ye Zhu sit down.

"In my opinion, what Director Huaye did was very 'conventional'."

Amamiya thought for a moment and gave an ambiguous answer: "I don't see any obvious 'strengths' or 'weaknesses' in Chief Hanaya."

【~?~】(Flower)

"Is that how Sensei sees me?"

The assessment seems fair... but it sounds much better than the assessment of Rin.

This means... in Sensei's eyes, she is slightly better than Rin?

'The advantages I can utilize... um...'

'...By the way, how's the Fox team?'

Hua Ye then thought of the Fox team now.

The saying goes, "When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away."

Fox Squad is indeed a useful 'good bow'.

But a weapon is just a weapon... once it's no longer useful, it should just be left to gather dust.

The conditions they proposed for 'restoring SRT' are quite thorny.

The thought of possibly frowning over the reopening of SRT made Hua Ye feel irritable.

Fox Squad's "good bow" is now showing signs of the bowstring almost snapping.

Nicole and Sensei are in frequent contact... they've even started dating secretly.

With Nicole in this state, the rest of the Fox team, while not yet defecting... are not far from a collective defection, given Nicole's 'leading role'.

After Nicole gets a taste of success, she'll be going to Xia Lai more and more often, and then she'll gradually be noticed by the other team members... And then, Sensei will be 'cruelly devoured' by these foxes (meaningful)?

In this matter... could the Fox team shine one last time?

If you propose a 'transfer of student status' as a condition, and then assign a mission to the Fox team, causing the Fox team and Sensei to 'run in both directions,' creating a tug-of-war between them...

Meanwhile, I used this time to lay the groundwork and prepare for what was to come.

If Sensei is bogged down and unable to take charge at crucial moments, the chances of him winning the position of acting president of the Federal Student Council will significantly increase.

But simply winning isn't enough... you also need to be able to hold your position.

But how can one sit still?

Should I really listen to that voice in my heart?

Listen to... the advice of "Persona"...

While pondering, Hanaya began to try chatting with Amamiya about some 'all over the place' but impractical topics.

Amamiya did not press the issue aggressively, nor did she launch any tight offensive, giving Hanaya ample time to think.

He really didn't understand how Huaye dared to say something like 'kick Rin out'.

If she has any feasible plan, wouldn't it require a series of coincidences to come together?

If there really is a possibility that Hanaya could succeed in a certain timeline... then how exactly did Hanaya succeed?

Amamiya really didn't dare to think about it.

Relying on the Kaiser Group?

...Relying solely on the Kaiser Group wouldn't be enough, would it?

The Kaiser Group is currently facing a series of problems with its logistics.

Immediately after the incident, the Caesar Group received Huaye's request for replenishment and replacement of goods. Then, Caesar Logistics and Caesar PMC immediately sprang into action, racing against time with the investigation team formed by Amamiya.

But unexpected things happened frequently—the most unusual of which was that those delinquent girl gangs and gangs that mingled in the gray areas, somehow got wind of something and had some powerful figure guiding them...

They began periodically conducting "search, raid, and removal" operations against the Caesars Group and Caesars Logistics.

They could even acquire heavy vehicles and man-portable missile launchers to build temporary defensive fortifications and block bridges.

The Caesar Group was in a real bind. The only thing they were certain of was that... Sensei of Charlene had not given any instructions regarding this matter.

These delinquent girls who came to 'take advantage of the chaos' were not much stronger than the Caesar Group's PMC, and apart from having relatively accurate intelligence channels, they were completely disorganized and undisciplined.

Kaiser PMC had questioned students who lost because they didn't have time to leave, but the reasons they gave were all different.

including but not limited to--

Why attack Caesar Logistics' transport truck? Are you deaf to me saying the delinquent girls lack supplies?

【I didn't know. They said there were fresh, high-quality supplies here, so I came.】

What do you mean "yours"? I grabbed it, so it's mine!

Why block the bridge? Because blocking the bridge is a relatively easy way to make a fortune.

……

Since they couldn't really do anything to these students, otherwise it would directly damage the prestige of the Federal Student Association and cause even bigger conflicts, the Kaiser Group was also helpless.

The supplies these students stole were, in the grand scheme of things, like a mosquito bite to the vast Kaiser Group.

The total amount is small, but the quantity is too large.

Never mind... I'll keep getting robbed.

Managing it... there's no benefit to it, and it could easily lead to conflict with the Federal Student Association.

Given the current state of the Caesar Group, even if Faye has done Caesar a great favor, the Caesar Group, which is currently preoccupied with its own problems, probably doesn't have the time to support Faye's madness and assist her in "storming Capitol Hill."

Now, the chances of Faye gaining Caesar's support are extremely slim.

So... how could Huaye possibly succeed?

Huaye is a gambler. Gamblers will give everything for a goal that is vague but real, and even if they lose everything in the end, they will not wake up, but will firmly believe that "I can do it again if I try."

And Caesar... was a merchant.

Compared to the boundless risks, businessmen pay more attention to the optimal balance between risk and benefit.

For something with such frighteningly high risks, even though the returns are incredibly high if successful, it's something with no end in sight that you should absolutely not gamble your entire fortune on.

After pondering for a while from the perspective of 'I'm not in Giwatos, but the Giwatos timeline is still normal'... Amamiya finally concluded:

If Huaye is truly successful, then this success must be built upon countless coincidences.

Moreover, this success will certainly not last long.

If it really succeeds... then how long can Huaye stay in the position of acting president?

a year?

More than half a year?

Six months?

Surely it can't have been less than a month?

Even though he tried to guess as few possibilities as possible, Amamiya still felt it was a bit risky.

While he was pondering, Huaye seemed to have already completed the connection of her 'plan'.

She spoke slowly, "...Sensei, what are your thoughts on the Fox team?"

Without hesitation, Amamiya gave a very pertinent answer: "The ace team. Even now, with the addition of Arios's team to the Sharai, there are still many areas where they cannot match the Fox team."

【~???~】(Flower)

"It seems like Sensei has been getting quite close to the vice-captain of the Fox team lately."

Hua Ye smiled meaningfully: "...Sensei. I have a deal here, would you like to hear about it?"

When Amamiya saw Hanaya smiling mysteriously and lowering her voice to 'negotiate', she realized... Hanaya was about to say something strange, but definitely surprising, about 'dealing terms'.

As the saying goes... a bad person's cunning is no match for a fool's quick thinking.

Some people achieve in a single move what others can never reach in a lifetime.

Amamiya immediately prepared herself, ready to hear what earth-shattering things Hanaya might say.

However... Huaye was surprisingly normal.

She maintained her enigmatic, faint smile: "Sensei... you really like, you really like the Fox team, right?"

Amamiya did not deny it, making a slightly tempted acquiescence.

"...So? What kind of deal does Huaye want to propose?"

If you don't deny it, then it means you've tacitly agreed.

Feeling that she had gained some control, Hua Ye straightened up, her voice noticeably more confident: "This deal... is about the 'transfer' of the Fox team."

Amamiya knew that at this moment, she needed to provide ample 'emotional value'.

So he placed his hands on the bar counter and, with a feigned curiosity, asked, "Oh... specifically?"

"Hmm~ to be more specific..."

Hua Ye raised a finger, his smile sly: "Has Sensei never worried about the Fox team's 'student status issue'?"

"After all... Fox Squad is currently nominally under the Defense Office, and their relationship... while it's not quite to the point of 'shared fate, shared prosperity, and shared ruin,' if the Defense Office is damaged, Fox Squad will definitely suffer as well, right?"

Amamiya nodded in agreement with Hanaya's statement.

In a practical sense... that's certainly true.

If there were a timeline where the Fox team followed Huaye down the same dark path, then if Huaye committed a crime, the Fox team would definitely be held accountable during the subsequent reckoning.

The mere fact that they 'committed the crime of assaulting members of the Federal Student Council' is enough to keep them in jail until they reach adulthood.

While fan fiction like 'being rejected by various schools after being released from prison and forced to marry Sensei (?) in order to find a way out' might be quite interesting...

But setting aside the heartwarming and humorous surface of the fan-made content, and disregarding the harsh reality beneath... this kind of future is undoubtedly particularly tragic for the members of the Fox team.

"So...Sensei, if you care about the 'future' of Team Fox, why not take out an insurance policy now?"

"Although the attitude of the three 'foxes' in the Fox Squad, apart from the vice-captain, towards Sensei is... hard to describe. But if it's Sensei, it shouldn't be too difficult to gradually build a good relationship with them."

“Sensei can now transfer their student status to Xia Lai. This way… they will be spared the danger of ‘encountering an accident’.”

"Sensei, what do you think?"

Amamiya: ...

What do I think? I think you've played a terrible hand, Huaye.

Four twos with the King and Queen, and they insist on playing them one by one... Now, even the Fox team has become a 'trump card' that can be thrown out for a small, short-term goal?

Amamiya did not answer under Hanaya's probing gaze, but instead asked, "...Then, what is the price?"

【~???~】

"What is Sensei joking about?"

With increasing confidence, Hana shook her index finger: "How can you say there's any 'cost' involved in things like transferring student records and Sensei's care for students?"

"Does Sensei think I'm the kind of person who makes demands just because I have advantages, or who takes advantage of the mentality of 'he who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding'?"

Amamiya was surprised: Aren't you one?

Surprised as she was, Amamiya naturally wouldn't express her emotions directly.