I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

【~???~】(Mary)

"actually……"

Amamiya rubbed his neck, then suddenly spoke in a 'sentence to heart' tone: "There's another reason why I proposed this plan, a personal one..."

The girl, who was very good at being a listener, responded naturally—turning her head slightly to the side, revealing a hint of curiosity.

"...This 'personal reason' is actually that I want to spend some time alone with Mary."

"...?!"

"Is that so... Ahahaha..."

Upon hearing Amamiya's words, Mary naturally recalled her 'intimate activities' with Sensei on the rooftop during the night festival after the Akawa Grand Festival.

They not only hugged, they even kissed...

Afterwards, Mary prayed fervently for a long time, but she was unable to break free from the state of being constantly distracted and feeling guilty whenever she thought about it.

Whenever I think of Sensei, I can't help but want to do something with Sensei...

Strange, bizarre things...

Blurry images involuntarily surface in my mind...

It seems that by doing things like Sensei, one can vent the mistakes accumulated over time as a 'listener,' and thus achieve a special kind of 'redemption.'

Am I... born a 'bad kid'?

There are always innocent girls whose thoughts are dominated by such simple ideas, and they will feel guilty from time to time.

All sorts of strange images floated through her mind, and the girl, who was suppressing herself with her nun's habit, still managed to show a very approachable, pure white and holy smile.

"For example, if Sensei wants to spend more time with me, or... you can... sob."

Mary bit her lip and made a purring sound like a cat, then stopped talking.

"...Sen, Senti, let's talk about the idol project...?"

Do you have any specific ideas?

Speaking of 'idols'...

Amamiya narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling the first keyword she heard from the students after arriving in Kivotos: "idol."

—It should be traced back to that scorching desert afternoon.

When the girls on the countermeasures committee were gathered in the club room discussing the debt issue, Nomiya suddenly brought up something about idols out of the blue.

Of course, since the suggestions, such as robbing a bank, were all increasingly impractical, Nomiya's relatively 'normal' idol project proposal ultimately failed as well.

In fact, Nomiya's statement at the time was indeed worth discussing.

—The internet meme "In order to save the club from bankruptcy, the girls decide to debut as idols" may have originated from the idol anime "LoveLe!" as far as Amamiya knows.

In this anime series, the reason the girls debut as idols is because they want to "save an abandoned school".

From this point of view alone... when Nomiya made such a proposal, it might not have been as simple as just 'paying homage'.

Student idols... are a possibility in Chivotos.

Of course, this feasibility depends on many factors, such as the firm being reliable and the agent being highly capable.

Amamiya doesn't know many students who have the qualities of a 'common sense person', and even fewer who know how to take care of 'others,' that is, idols.

However, when it comes to what an agent, or 'Prodiu-san', does, Amamiya is quite familiar with it.

Although I've never been a manager in the real sense, I did learn a little bit from some idol training games. In addition, I also came into contact with real idols and some industry celebrities during my 'Phantom Thief Activities'.

Whether it's an idol or a celebrity, the things they need to pay attention to are essentially the same—so Amamiya felt that even if she herself were to take on the role of Prodiussan, even with only a superficial understanding of the subject, she could still manage to meet the basic requirements.

However, for the specifics... let's go find out from Nomiya first.

She should have a truly deep understanding of the field of 'idol'.

"Well..."

Thinking of this, Amamiya's eyes brightened slightly: "...Indeed, I have some ideas."

"You could try to find some students who might actually be familiar with the word 'idol' to learn more about it. As far as I know, there are students in Abydos who are knowledgeable about this."

'Abydos…'

Mary murmured softly, repeating the place name.

She only had a vague impression of the school struggling to survive in that yellow sand.

"So, Mary? Shall we go over there and take a look now?"

After all, time is of the essence, and every day that can be delayed is a day less.

Although she is a gentle nun, nuns are not necessarily 'indecisive'.

If necessary... Mary can also 'swiftly and decisively' do things that violate the doctrine.

"Hmm... since Sensei has an idea, let's go with Sensei's suggestion and go check out Abydos first..."

Having made the travel arrangements, Amamiya planned to first take Mary by car to Shale, and then drive Shale's car to Abydos.

Or... could you say hello to Xiaoshi and ask her to drive over?

As soon as the idea came to mind, Amamiya secretly shook his head and rejected it.

—I feel that Xiaoshi's appearance might make things that are already difficult to discuss more complicated, so I'll leave it at that.

Like summoning vehicle-type personas for travel, similar to other worlds?

For Amamiya's current stamina, there is indeed no problem... Amamiya, whose "Sea of ​​the Heart" is truly a vast and boundless ocean rather than a babbling brook for ordinary people, certainly has the mental strength to burn the Persona like oil.

But this is too much effort...

Let's stick to the most 'traditional' way of getting around.

Walking alongside Mary, Amamiya intended to head to the station.

However—just as he was about to step out of the gates of Trinity College, a little 'accident' occurred.

Unlike Mary's scent, a faint, sweet fragrance swept past her like a breeze, and then a pink-haired girl wearing a nurse's cap suddenly appeared in the shadows near Amamiya.

“Sensei…and Mary?”

As her gaze swept over Mary, who was traveling with her, Cinna's gentle and approachable expression underwent a slight change for a moment.

Mary, on the other hand, was slightly startled by the sudden appearance of Cinna.

Mary twitched her cat ears, looked Celina up and down, and then suddenly began to doubt herself.

Although my vigilance decreases somewhat when I'm with Sensei... it shouldn't be to the point where I can easily overlook even obvious glances and traces.

How did she end up in my blind spot?

Amamiya half-closed her eyes to suppress her urge to complain.

Normally, a game's 'monster spawning mechanism' would at least trick you a little, spawning monsters in places the player can't see...

But is it true that Cinna's 'refresh mechanism' is so over-the-top that she doesn't even need to pretend, and she even appears directly in front of you?

"It's Qin Na..."

Seeing that Mary seemed a little dazed, Amamiya naturally took a small step forward, blocking part of Serina's view: "Mary and I received a 'request' from the nuns not long ago, it's..."

"It's a request about an 'idol project,' right?"

Serina sighed helplessly, picked up where Amamiya left off, and naturally explained her purpose.

"...Sensei, after hearing that Sister Mary would be accompanying the nuns, she believes that the Knights of Rescue should also send at least one student to accompany them in order to 'maintain balance'."

Amamiya: "..."

Are the Knights of Salvation and the Sisters of the Nun 'tacitly' sending their 'little angels' to accompany them on this journey?

That's good.

"Not only do you have to take care of the wounded, but you also have to get involved in the idol project... Serena is really working hard."

【~???~】(Serena)

"As long as the injury can be taken care of... no, that's not right."

Realizing she'd misspoke halfway through her sentence, Serena quickly corrected herself: "...As long as it helps make this 'School Festival' even a little bit better, a little extra effort is fine!"

"Moreover... the Rescue Knights have also made special arrangements for transportation for this matter."

As she spoke, Serina came to Amamiya's side and handed her a light pink car key with a cross emblem.

— Obviously, the Ambulance Knights wouldn't be so outrageous as to have 'ambulances as their only mode of transportation'.

Based on his driving experience, Amamiya can roughly tell the type of a car just by looking at the key.

The moment he got the keys, Amamiya could roughly 'sense' that the vehicle provided by the Rescue Knights was a high-end sports car.

After all, Trinity College is the wealthiest school on average... so it's reasonable that they can afford to use sports cars as public transportation.

Hopefully, it's not some common-sense car; it's a convertible...

Otherwise, it might be cool, but going to the desert would be a real ordeal.

With a slightly uneasy feeling, Amamiya followed Serina to a parking lot, where they saw a low-key yet luxurious sports car with paint so new it looked like it had just come out of the factory.

It's not a convertible sports car... that's alright then.

"Since the Ambulance Knights have even provided a vehicle..."

Amamiya sighed and shook the car keys in her hand: "Then... let's just set off."

Chapter Nineteen: Abydos, the Escaped Idol

Even in autumn, the scenery and daytime temperature in the Abydos desert do not change much.

After parking the car in a parking lot covered with a thin layer of sand, Cinna and Mary, who got out of the back seat, immediately felt the harshness of the desert environment, something they had never experienced before.

'It's hard to imagine... that such a large academy, comparable in size to Trinity College, once existed in this desert.'

'This place looks so desolate... Why are the students of Abydos staying here?'

Looking at the school grounds that were already showing signs of lush greenery and planted with many plants, both Cinna and Mary, who were quite used to the environment of Trinity, had similar thoughts.

"Countermeasures Committee..."

The experience of the last trip to the countermeasures committee is still fresh in my mind.

Even now, when I think about it, Amamiya still feels a phantom pain in her lower back.

There are indeed very few students still holding on here, but they are the elite of the elite, and their fighting spirit and endurance are truly astonishing...

The secret weapon, Geng Liuqi! It seems that what she's doing is giving Amamiya endless surprises!

Even a 'good girl' like Ayane is relatively restrained...

Bai Zi's demands are never-ending;

Although Hoshino is sensitive, his endurance is also extraordinary;

The fragrance of celery is...

Some things are better left unremembered.

Burying the 'painful' memories in her heart, Amamiya, along with Mary and Serina, headed straight for the countermeasures committee.

During the daytime... the members of the countermeasures committee either have their own things to do, (6) 卅艺琦1罢斯岜L峮 or they are busy with matters related to the operation of the island resort.

But at least one member will remain in the Countermeasures Committee's activity room to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

And the person stationed in the Countermeasures Committee's club activity room today... is Nomiya.

Hmm... Nomiya seems like a gentle young lady, but in reality, she has an extreme contrast in some subtle ways.

When Amamiya pushed open the office door, Nomiya was flipping through four magazines: "A Collection of Stories" (Part 3) and "The Story of Nomiya".

She was completely engrossed in reading it, but there seemed to be something wrong with the magazine itself—

From that fleeting glimpse, Amamiya saw a few words that sent chills down his spine: "Childcare and Maintenance..."

These words caused Amamiya's expression to become subtle. Using the new bond skill "Librarian's Wisdom" that he had acquired from Shimiko, Amamiya quickly searched through the contents of the other books in the office that appeared to be books.

Goodness, each one is more important than the last.