I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"As for what changes will occur in the black market after that... I cannot predict what the future holds... I leave it to you to witness."

After uttering these "last words," the once invincible 'Shadow Sun Wheel' collapsed with a crash, ultimately vanishing in a burst of light.

The next second, the girls, who had just finished the battle and hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath, suddenly felt a tremendous, earth-shaking collapse beneath their feet.

Large chunks of rubble and what looked like fragments of the stadium began to fall from the dome, and then—the entire 'sky' of the Tower of Babel seemed to be gradually collapsing.

The cheering audience erupted into panic and chaos, scattering in all directions.

The phrase "the music ends and the audience disperses" evokes a sense of "the curtain falling."

Under the watchful eyes of the girls, who appeared exhausted yet remarkably bright, Amamiya reached out and grasped the radiant treasure—the [Golden Card].

Then, he smiled and nodded slowly to the girls.

"You did it...you successfully reclaimed your future."

"However, this place is about to collapse. As for more details... let's go outside and talk about it."

As Amamiya spoke, he summoned the majestic phantom of the 'heretic archangel' once more.

The Demon King lowered his arm to the ground and slowly placed it in front of the girls, his palm facing them.

"Come up."

After taking the exhausted girls, who were too tired to speak, into his hands, the Demon King's imposing phantom slowly nodded to Amamiya.

"Let's go, Satanyal!"

Amamiya turned around and jumped directly onto the Demon King's shoulder.

Then, in the next second, the Demon King flapped his wings, shattering the fragments of the collapsing otherworldly building, and flew away into the wind.

"The Tower of Babel, a symbol of pride and greed... collapses!"

Chapter Nine: What exactly is the secret treasure of the Caesar Group...?

In the club activity room of the countermeasures committee.

The girls, who were teleported directly back to the club activity room by the 'heretic archangel,' immediately lay sprawled on the floor.

After a long while, they finally regained some of their strength to speak.

Today was probably the most tiring, but also the happiest day of their lives.

Because on this very day, not long before—in an unknown other world, they reclaimed their future, which had been stolen and was about to be dominated.

"Phew... Is it finally... over...?"

"I feel so tired... I've never been this tired before..."

"How is everyone doing... um..."

"It's nothing... I just feel like I need to rest for a while..."

"Hoo... The battle to defeat the Demon King..."

Having finally regained some control over their bodies, the girls' auras dimmed, and exhausted, they forced themselves to sit back in their seats at the conference table.

"The secret treasure...is it..."

Upon hearing Ayane's question, Amamiya casually placed the gold card she was holding onto the countermeasures committee's desk.

He had seen this thing with his 'third eye'. It wasn't some mysterious card with special powers, but it was still a very useful and meaningful card.

The card is predominantly gold in color, the size of a standard bank card, and adorned with some ornate patterns. These patterns eventually converge to form a "tower" that has been struck by divine lightning and is in a state of disarray.

[Secret Treasure: Black Market Caesar Group's Highest Authority Card]

[The source of desire, the true form of the treasure. It is precisely because of the insatiable, boundless greed for wealth, and the arrogance born of that greed, that desire was gradually distorted into the Tower of Babel, a tower humanity used to approach the gods, ultimately incurring divine punishment.]

[By possessing this highest-level card, one gains complete 'control' over the Caesars Group located on the black market and acquires all of its wealth up to the moment the card was acquired.]

The girls stared intently at the golden card, each one seemingly lost in thought, either pondering or filled with curiosity.

This was their first time doing something like 'stealing hearts,' so they had a vague understanding of concepts like 'secret treasures.'

Hifumi, who recovered the fastest, let out a long sigh, giving herself enough time to finish her sentence. Then she turned to look at the young man beside her and asked curiously, "Why... is the treasure a card?"

"This is something I haven't had a chance to explain yet."

Amamiya smiled and then explained simply, "The so-called 'treasure' can actually be understood as a 'trigger' that gives rise to twisted desires in a person... For example, what makes a person greedy? Is it because they acquire a large denomination banknote? Then that banknote could become the source of twisted desires, which is the treasure."

"And the source of the Kaiser Group's twisted desires for this card is the authority to control the black market and the wealth gathered there."

"With this card... you can take as much as you want before the black market bank goes bankrupt. It's limited to various Caesar institutions located in the black market, and you can also use them at will to do anything without paying any hiring fees or costs."

After Amamiya briefly explained the purpose of the access card, the girls on the countermeasures committee all stared wide-eyed.

Amamiya glanced around at their expressions with a slight amusement and found that everyone, including the rich young lady, looked as if they had been struck by lightning.

Imagine one day, the world's largest bank gives you a card and tells you that you can withdraw as much money as you want, that the bank is at your beck and call, and that its subordinate forces, such as security and construction companies, are also at your disposal...

Yeah, I bet you had a similar expression.

As Amamiya said, this card represents unprecedented 'greed' and 'arrogance'.

Greed and arrogance both require capital.

And the Kaiser Group happens to have that.

The Caesar Group, which controls the entire black market, possesses astronomical sums of money at its disposal; it boasts technological security standards comparable to the Millennium Technology Academy; and it has various affiliated companies such as construction companies and PMC mercenary corporations...

This authorization card, representing the chairman level of the Caesars Group, signifies true 'control'—the control over 'greed' (endless funds) and 'arrogance' (the power to look down on the black market).

It should be noted that the Caesar Group's overall strength is such that it doesn't even consider the Federal Student Council a threat, and it could win against any large academy power if it went to war.

Even if the black market version of the Caesars Group doesn't represent the full picture, its power is still quite formidable.

"This card... is imbued with unimaginable greed and arrogance. You may use it freely from now on... but be careful not to fall into the trap of greed and arrogance, which can easily grip the human heart, like the Caesar Group did."

Without a second thought, Amamiya slammed the treasure in her hand onto the table and tossed it to Hoshino, who was still somewhat caught off guard.

Before the girls could say anything, Amamiya continued, "These are your spoils of 'reclaiming the future.' They should be properly kept and rationally disposed of by you."

"Sensei..."

Holding the card, Hoshino suddenly felt a strange sense of emptiness.

They clearly won the battle to reclaim the future, and successfully made the Caesars Group repent...

But why do I have this feeling in my heart...?

It's strange, I don't want the story to end here?

Amamiya twitched the corners of her mouth, then smiled at the girls: "You must all be exhausted today... Let's rest first."

"The results of repentance will begin to show tomorrow, and will gradually become more apparent within about a week."

He didn't say anything more encouraging or to liven things up. Instead, he took Hifumi, who could barely walk with support, and left like an outsider who had 'participated in the story,' amidst the reluctance or the emptiness in the hearts of the girls on the countermeasures committee.

The girls, who should have been celebrating and cheering, silently looked at each other, and then all looked at the "Tower" access card in Hoshino's hand, which was constantly flashing with golden light.

For them, this was an earth-shattering battle to reclaim their future...

But none of them felt happy.

Because they all realized that... the more fairytale-like the beginning, the more thrilling the story, the more reluctant it is to see it end.

The adult who brought them such an opportunity and such a change...

The adult who gained their complete trust in a very short time...

Just before the story was about to end, he got up, turned around, and left.

"So... sir~~"

After a long pause, Hoshino carefully put away the golden card in his hand, and broke the silence with a drawn-out sigh.

"Always so 'cunning'..."

'They stole our hearts...helped us spread our wings of freedom...and then left without a second thought...'

'How cunning!'

"Hmph... If Sensei leaves without saying a word... I won't let him get away with it."

"He left without even saying goodbye... That's... too cunning!"

'Squeak—'

The door was gently pushed open again, and the girls who were just moments before 'lamenting the passing of spring and autumn' and about to start shedding their pearls were all stunned on the spot.

"Fortunately, General Chai's reply came very quickly..."

Amamiya led Hifumi in and greeted the stunned girls: "General Shiba told me that tomorrow a special spot will be set aside for Shiba-kan Ramen for our 'victory celebration banquet'."

"General Chai also said that to celebrate our victorious return... the ingredients and orders can be consumed freely within the limits allowed by the shop, and this time it's free."

When he realized that the girls on the countermeasures committee were just staring at him blankly, each one of them looking like they wanted to 'eat' him up on the spot, Amamiya shrank his neck slightly.

"Everyone, don't look at me like that... Every story has its end. Until then..."

"Enjoy it."

Chapter Ten: As long as saints live, great thieves will never cease.

The sunset glowed like fire, and as the last rays of the setting sun dipped below the horizon, they gradually faded, taking away the last bit of warmth that belonged to the daytime.

Amamiya yawned, preparing to consider his schedule for the rest of the day.

The matter in Abydos has been temporarily resolved...

At least, the debt problem that plagued the Higher Institute of Abydos, as well as other issues such as land, large and small, have been resolved.

As for natural disasters like sandstorms... Amamiya could indeed directly take action to resolve them, but he felt things weren't that simple.

If we try to resolve the issue without first ascertaining the truth, who knows what other troubles, big or small, might arise.

"Arona... have you had any new contacts or schedules lately?"

As the sunset gradually melted into the horizon, Amamiya leaned against the railing, feeling the wind blowing, and inquired about the Shittei no Hako in her shoulder bag pocket.

Immediately afterwards, the AI ​​girl's muffled voice, obstructed by the shoulder bag, came from inside.

Instead of answering Amamiya's question immediately, he began to express his own feelings.

"Waaah... It's such a shame I didn't get to see Sensei steal my heart..."

"Ah... Is Sensei asking about recent schedules or something? Let Arona take a look..."

The AI ​​girl's voice fell silent for a brief moment. A moment later, Amamiya heard her voice rise in surprise.

"Eh--?"

Amamiya tilted her head slightly and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Um... it seems the Federal Student Union sent... a special 'congratulatory message'?"

"...?"

Raising an eyebrow, Amamiya decisively took out the Shitei Box, lit up the screen, and glanced at the 'congratulatory message' that Alona was reading.

The message wasn't sent privately by a member of the Federal Student Union, but rather... it was posted directly on a 'blog platform' within Kivotos, similar to the Little Bluebird, using the official account of the Federal Student Union.

He offered a very formal congratulatory message on the establishment of the 'Federal Investigation Department - Xia Lai', and stated that Xia Lai had resolved a troublesome incident.

It wasn't explicitly stated what it was, but the timing of its release is quite intriguing.

Sensing that something was amiss, Amamiya opened her MomoTalk account and checked her chat history.

...As expected, the chat interface crashed.

Even now, he is still being bombarded with new messages.

[Yuka: 'The Phantom Thief of the Black Market'... What exactly is going on? Does it have anything to do with you, Sensei?]

'...I also received messages from other people.'

[Jing: Oh... the Phantom Thief who steals hearts? I consider myself quite knowledgeable about the term 'phantom thief'... Shall we talk about it in more detail? Sensei?]

'...'

[Ruozao: Darling, come and steal Ruozao's heart too~~]