I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Relatively speaking... Hanako has a particular advantage in this regard.

Amamiya dimmed the lights and approached, teasingly asking, "...Hinata, you're not thinking about anything strange, are you?"

"..."

Hinata remained silent, only twisting her fingers incessantly.

"Shall we... take a short break?"

Amamiya put her arm around Hinata's shoulder.

"..."

Hinata took a deep breath, and then his expression suddenly changed to one of Sakurako's "Realization!"

Her slightly trembling eyes regained their composure, and the girl looked up to meet Amamiya's gaze, her expression devoid of any other emotion.

"……Um."

Amamiya: "..."

It's not that he should be making such a pilgrimage-like expression.

The reason Amamiya dared to extend such an invitation was because he knew that Hinata wouldn't actually do anything to him like other students.

Ok……

If it were Noah, Yukino, or the other students on the Strategy Committee who had already experienced the "meat" (a euphemism for sexual activity)... their beds would probably be creaking loudly right now.

"Don't be nervous... relax."

After offering a comforting remark with "The Voice of the Stars," Amamiya began to lull Hinata to sleep.

...Of course, Amamiya did not, and would not, do anything to Hinata.

At most, he could only serve as her body pillow during the period between Hinata's light and deep sleep, and at the same time, experience just how warm the nun's embrace could be.

It turned out that... it was not only warm, but also had a strange, refreshing fragrance.

After killing some time, Amamiya heard soft murmurs coming from beside her.

The design of the nuns' habit by the Sisters of the Nun... they really have a lot of awareness.

But speaking of which... how did Hinata fall asleep so quickly?

Confused about how quickly Hinata fell asleep, Amamiya suddenly appeared and broke free from Hinata's embrace in spirit form.

Let's go check on You's side.

With an invisible presence and remaining silent, Amamiya arrived at the work area under the lamp.

Wearing thick, gold-rimmed round glasses, the girl with slightly dark circles under her eyes was focused on restoring ancient books, occasionally picking up tattered pages and carefully gluing them together.

She didn't seem to be completely absorbed in the moment, and she wasn't surprised to notice Amamiya's figure.

"I also want to thank Sensei for protecting this ancient book... The child is just 'fallen apart,' not 'shattered.'"

"The repairs will be completed soon."

Perhaps they mistook me for someone who came to check on the repair progress?

Amamiya slightly curled the corners of her lips, walked to the lamp and sat down in a spot where Yu could see her but wouldn't be too bothered.

"...No wonder he's called the 'Magician of the Antique Library'."

【~???~】(worried)

"...Even if you praise me like this, it won't do me any good."

Her hands never stopped moving, and the girl showed a slight shyness in her actions.

"However...Sensei's praise really had a... 'special' feel to it."

"Very gentle...it seems to give the person being praised a kind of...motivation."

“Um, Sensei… about the cake, no, I should say about the repair materials…”

Amamiya waved her hand and said softly, "It can't be 'occasionally' anymore. As the Sensei of Sharai... I 'must' forgive the students for their willfulness towards me."

worry:"……"

After pausing for a moment, she gave a look of sympathy, as if to say, 'Sensei has it tough too.'

"...Sensei knew all along that my behavior was willful, but still went ahead and fulfilled these requests?"

“Um, Sensei… may I ask some questions about the Book Collector’s Book?”

Amamiya remained composed, tilting his head back slightly and nodding.

"What do you want to ask?"

"Um……"

"Regarding the origin of this book. Sensei, you said this book is a special kind of rotation, but I have a... very strange feeling."

"...It's like, it's a condensation of someone's entire life, that kind of feeling."

“Sensei, this book…”

Going along with Yu's thoughts, Amamiya replied softly, "Indeed, it's a 'supernatural' book."

"Moreover... this isn't your average 'supernatural' book. While it can certainly be read... its true purpose is to be burned."

"Then... by acquiring and refining the knowledge in books, one can obtain the skills that the authors are proud of."

"……really."

After a brief moment of surprise at the book's purpose, nothing else came of it.

"Besides Sensei and Kivotos... are there any other 'supernatural books'?"

"Of course there are..."

Amamiya thought for a moment and then said, "In a certain fantasy world, there are many swordsmen who fight using the power of books. The swordsmen there are fighting for a book called 'The Book of Omniscience and Omnipotence'."

"They fought with the power of the holy sword recorded in the books..."

……

"I see... 'I decide the ending of the story.' As both a 'swordsman' and an author, I've gathered the power of books and opened up a new path..."

After listening to this story, which was simplified by Amamiya and was not too long, Yu's book restoration has also made considerable progress.

'Books about fantasy worlds...?'

'Enter the world within books, or burn books to transform them into power, drawing upon the fantasies within them as armor for battle…'

There are many different kinds of books about the supernatural.

“Sensei, about that book…”

Amamiya waved her hand: "It was originally a gift for Yu, so there's no need to say anything else."

"..."

“Sensei opened a new world for me... I will remember it.”

[COOP Improvement!]

【Gu Guanyou (The Hermit) ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆】

[★4 Bond - "Book Replication Technique" is now unlocked!]

Since the books were not completely damaged, the restoration work is progressing very quickly.

She had finished restoring the books before dusk.

However... Yu stopped Amamiya from waking Hinata.

"Sensei... wait a moment." Yueyi leaned against the neighbor, abandoning the four pieces of paint, the passing of Wu Liu.

"To prevent any further strange occurrences with this ancient book... please allow me to make a copy."

"Then... please return it to its original location using your 'phantom thief' methods."

Chapter Fifteen: It's all your fault, Saint Garden Unflower!

On a late autumn night, lamps were lit near the ruins of a church in the desolate countryside.

The ever-present wind swept past beneath the girl's skirt, as if to stir up the stardust beneath it.

A spindle-shaped halo, like a nebula, swirled around, with stardust constantly expanding and contracting in a repetitive cycle. Amamiya, feeling a pink glow on her face, couldn't help but think—

If it were to collapse due to loss of color, that brilliant nebula might become a black hole that devours light.

Thinking of the halo shattered, the halo ...

Unpainted flowers have great potential... even 'colorization'.

"It surprised me that……"

The pink-haired girl standing to the side suddenly spoke, interrupting Amamiya's thoughts.

"...So the call I heard back then really was from Sensei..."

The reason why Mika came to find him was somewhat coincidental, and even made Amamiya both amused and exasperated.

He truly hadn't expected that the Persona he had 'retrieved' this time—"Michael"—would resonate with Mika to some extent when used, leading Mika to find him by following that feeling of 'resonance'.

When I used Persona in Ghenna or other academies before, similar consequences never occurred...

...Perhaps, it can only be blamed on the fact that the Persona Amamiya 'pulled' this time was special, being an SSR Persona, which triggered this coincidence.

When it comes to Persona summoning, aside from special targeted summons, Amemiya has never been particular about details.

The fact that personas and sub-personas derived from the same prototype can be infinitely varied precisely proves the saying "one person, a thousand faces".

Although the "Monkey King" summoned by Yu Narukami and Ryuji Sakamoto share the same name, there are significant differences in their appearance, skills, and even basic abilities.

The Personas summoned by Amamiya... are even more varied.

Each time a Persona is summoned, instead of flipping through an outrageously large list, a 'random' one is summoned after specifying a type, much like drawing cards.

Because it called out a 'special individual,' Mika also felt as if she had been summoned... This is really something.

“Sensei can establish this kind of connection with me through that ability called ‘Persona’…”

After learning about the current situation, the girl, who had come based on her feelings, was filled with mixed emotions.

Could this be seen as a 'similarity' between myself and Sensei, or rather... a 'bond'?

【~???~】(Unspecified)

A hint of hesitation gradually appeared on the face of what seemed like an innocent princess.

This is a golden opportunity...

But should I speak out about the question that's been lingering in my heart...?

After flapping her wings and struggling for a moment, Mika decided to ask the question that had been troubling her ever since the "Eden Treaty."

“I will take you there to the ‘Great Cathedral’ under the guise of a tea party… but before that,”

"Sensei... could I possibly take up a little of your time?"

Amamiya gave a slightly surprised "Oh," and said, "Of course."

"...Does Mika have something she wants to say?"

"Well, how should I put it..."

"It's about... the 'Eden Treaty'."

Amamiya was a little surprised that even after so much time had passed, Mika was still holding a grudge about it.

He immediately pretended to listen attentively: "Yes, I'm listening."

"Although I don't know how Sensei and those cram school kids conquered the Hall of Another World, that winter, Nagisa, Seiya-chan, and I all felt it..."

"Ugh... How can I describe it? It felt like I had just woken up from a real dream..."

I really didn't know how to describe it. After hesitating for a moment, Mika hesitated slightly: "Like today, when Sensei was using 'Persona'..."