I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Yuriko immediately sensed this subtle change in atmosphere and felt a little awkward.

She wanted to say something, but Amamiya spoke first: "Don't rush to say anything, let me apologize."

Yuriko, her fox ears swaying up and down, seemed about to speak but hesitated, then paused, clearly taken aback: "?"

Before she could think, Amamiya moved closer and came up behind her, grabbing her fox tail with both hands, which had become thicker and smoother to the touch.

"...I'm sorry. I spoke too frankly when I was trying to get information not long ago."

The feeling of being 'suddenly attacked' by the tail caused Yuriko, who was initially on the verge of turning around, to briefly freeze again.

'...'

"Because he was eager to get results and wanted to know more, he made some rash and provocative remarks to Yuriko..."

Yuriko: "..."

After being repeatedly touched on the tail in increasingly intimate ways, she really wanted to say on the spot: "I don't really care about verbal provocation, after all, I've withstood pressure before, but physical provocation is a bit..."

The sensation that travels from the tip of her tail to her tailbone, and then surges through her chest like an electric current, is now very familiar to Yuriko; she has even become completely accustomed to it.

It seems that I've even developed a behavioral response like 'I feel inexplicably uncomfortable if I don't get my tail touched like that for a while'.

Sensei's peculiar habit of petting any fox he sees, especially its tail, and his superb fox-petting skills...

Learning from yourself and then applying it to yourself... feels strange.

After regaining her senses, Yuriko shook her head slightly, her expression slightly different: "I don't care."

Actually, if you try to put yourself in their shoes... Sensei's reaction at the time wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

After all, knowing about a major crisis like the 'end of the world', one would definitely want to get the news as soon as possible.

Perhaps due to his 'extreme anxiety,' his somewhat hasty actions are understandable.

—After all, the world is about to end, who has the time to talk about etiquette?

The reason for this... is perhaps the unequal nature of the 'trust relationship' between the two parties.

Yuriko, who keeps her secret, cannot be as devoted and trusting as Rin.

At least until the time after the Akawa Grand Festival ends, we cannot completely trust each other.

This mindset of 'keeping secrets' only changed after he awakened his Persona and experienced the wonders of the other world as a 'phantom thief'.

"I understand... but what Sensei did is still... heartbreaking."

"If it were the tea party organizer from Holy Trinity... given her sensitive nature, being treated like that by Sensei would probably cause her to suffer from insomnia afterwards, repeatedly reflecting on it, and then break down alone, right?"

Amamiya, who was being teased in reverse: "..."

Don't tell me, it's really possible.

In order to obtain information, the way I spoke at the time... although I was restrained enough, it was still too 'lethal' from the perspective of the teacher-student relationship with Givotos.

—If it's just exchanging ideas with the members of the Phantom Thieves, then there's really nothing wrong with it.

After all, the Phantom Thieves grew up through 'stumbles and falls', and there were times when they disagreed with each other.

But this is Kivotos, and the students are all immature girls with nascent and incomplete understanding.

I hadn't learned about the situation from Yuriko at the time, and when I turned to ask about the practice of the secret arts, it was indeed somewhat 'inhumane'.

Recalling my thoughts when Huaye 'spoke wildly'—'Those in high positions of power should be cautious in their words and actions.'

Well, now the boomerang has come back to haunt us.

"We'll leave the 'investigation' of the Sensei incident for later..."

After a brief silence, Yuriko meaningfully broke the subtle romance, her expression returning to seriousness.

"...Let's get back to the matter of 'relics'."

She shook the 'shroud' in her hand, and the pale blue writing on it vanished completely, turning into a wisp of drifting stardust. Watching the stardust disappear into the distance, Yuriko spoke with a slightly serious tone: 'This 'relic'...'

"As Sensei said, if it really is just impurities that are occasionally 'salvaged' up, then..."

"...Why would it appear in the Hall of Flower Mirror?"

I have many questions I want to ask.

However, due to her lack of understanding of 'cognitive science', Yuriko could only try to start with the simplest questions.

Amamiya hugged Yuriko's tail, gesturing for her to sit down nearby.

The railing behind him suddenly transformed into a park bench, and the surrounding scenery also underwent a slight change.

Yuriko didn't pay any attention, sat down as Amamiya suggested, and continued to 'endure' the sensory stimulation of having her tail repeatedly touched.

Perhaps because she was holding a fluffy, soft tail that was constantly wagging in her arms, Amamiya answered in a serious manner, but her seriousness was strangely comical.

"First, we need to start from the most basic level of cognitive science."

"Everything in the world is a product of 'cognition,' which gives it an image according to one's own intentions. There is no such thing as a 'real world.' The world is formed by each person's perception."

"This world, made up of cognition, will not become anyone's prison; it will become 'vast and boundless' as cognition changes."

Therefore, the world is "infinite".

"It is expanding every moment."

Even up to this point, Yuriko could easily understand.

From a scientific perspective, the world is also 'infinite'.

The universe is constantly expanding slightly... or rather, growing.

Regarding 'cosmic expansion', there are two 'ultimate cosmic fate hypotheses' related to it.

—The Great Rip and Heat Death.

Leaving aside these two 'ultimate fates' for now, the universe is indeed expanding... but the 'world' will not expand along with it.

In this respect... it is somewhat different from the claims of cognitive psychology.

Cognitive psychology asserts that 'cognition is the world'—'the world is as big as cognition. Cognition expands continuously, therefore the world is infinite.'

"Yes, I understand..."

"The reason it appeared in the Hall of Flower is actually because of the relationship of 'parallel worlds reflecting each other'."

"This isn't the kind of 'parallel world' theory you use when in doubt. The collective unconscious of a world is like a vast ocean, so how far apart are these 'oceans'? Have 'parallel worlds' ever existed?"

"Cognitive science generally holds that... once cognition arises, it exists. The more organisms that come to know this, the more solidified cognition becomes."

"From the perspective of cognitive science, parallel worlds 'exist.' This is because many people believe that parallel worlds exist where 'they are doing better' or 'they are doing worse.'"

"And parallel worlds can also be observed and even extracted... These special technologies have their uses, but they are not relevant to my main point at the moment."

After saying a lot in one breath, Amamiya concluded: "...Yuriko, you can think of it this way: due to the influence of cognition, 'parallel worlds' have truly been born. And parallel worlds can observe each other."

“If the observer attempts to make contact, then a surreal experience similar to ‘dreams,’ ‘visual hallucinations,’ or ‘auditory hallucinations’ will occur. And if the observer can try to communicate with it in the cognitive world, the experience may be even more unique—it may even occur in ‘temples’ or ‘impression spaces’.”

"...Oh, even the Palace and the Impression Space, from the perspective of cognitive science alone, can be considered a 'parallel world'."

"The simplest way to understand it is that the colorful flowers did indeed come from 'across the sea'."

"She 'self-extracted,' packaging herself across the sea in a manner similar to a 'persona,' thus evading customs inspection. Then, because the recipient was not filled in, the suspicious package was returned to the 'person' by the customs of another country."

Yuriko blinked, her expression blank as if she were listening to gibberish, as she quickly digested and understood this knowledge.

Observing and understanding parallel worlds... this technology sounds incredibly exciting.

This also means endless possibilities...

But what's even more important is the simple and easy-to-understand analogy that follows.

Upon hearing this, Yuriko understood.

The colorful flower is essentially a 'suspicious stowaway' with little time left.

'Customs' must be the boundary between the collective unconscious, right?

After all, no matter how vast the ocean is, it still has boundaries.

And if the 'recipient' is Huaye, then it's even easier to understand.

After all, the colored shadow of Hanaya, although not strictly speaking the shadow of Hanaya in this world, is closely related to her.

Therefore, this 'relic' will appear in the temple of Huaye.

"Well... Sensei, there's another question."

Will such 'relics' ever appear again?

Although I've relaxed my guard against myself, my vigilance against 'colorization' hasn't lessened at all...

Amamiya nodded and took out the tattered butterfly hair ornament from her pocket, showing it to Yuriko: "This is also a 'relic'."

Yuriko: "..."

“Compared to the colorful ‘relics’ left by Kayo,” Amamiya shrugged helplessly, “this relic is unknown to even who left it, or why it grew into the ‘Tree of Regret’ in Kayo’s temple.”

Looking at the 'shroud' in her hand, Yuriko didn't know what to say.

After a brief silence, she uttered a statement that even she herself considered meaningless: "It's not a good thing that these relics appeared in Kivotos."

"But we cannot stop their appearance... Just as with limited human resources, it is difficult to stop large-scale animal migrations."

"..."

Although collecting these things is considered 'unlucky,' Yuriko felt that since it had appeared... it would be better to keep it with her and let Albatross keep it safe.

"Sensei, may I keep this 'relic' in your possession?"

"sure."

Amamiya handed the hand to Yuriko without hesitation: "Then let Yuriko keep it safe."

"..."

"I will not let Sensei down."

【~???~】

"Let's put aside the issue of 'trust' for now... How about we stay and enjoy the night view before we leave?"

"...Sensei clearly wants to pet my tail a little longer, doesn't he?"

Is it really that obvious?

【~???~】

“…Of course.”

"But since it's been a long time since we've used our tails to help Sensei release stress, then this time..."

【…】

[I spent a special night with Yuriko...]

[Leave of Absence Request 2025.9.25] Just venting.

I've been trying to update it, but lately I've been feeling like I've run out of steam...

However, there was still no improvement in my reading (which is normal, since my writing isn't that great).

Without recommendations, I'm really losing my motivation...

After a few days of explosive growth, my performance has dipped and I'm in a bad state.

So... I'll take the day off today.

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—.Moon-Ripples One Mausoleum Doctor Covers the Nine-Syllable Curtain—————

It's almost at 270 million words... This book must be the second longest on Maoke (a Chinese online book platform) (?).

We've fulfilled half of our promise to be the 'King of Longevity'.

(If I could win a Player of the Year award through sheer persistence, I'd be laughing in my sleep, but that's unlikely.)

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