I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

【Lily Garden Saintia (Destiny) ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆】

Only after confirming that her feelings had indeed been conveyed did Saintia sincerely whisper, "Thank you for providing me with shelter during my most perilous 'fate'..."

"At the same time, it allowed me to witness the true power of the 'Trickster,' who can defy fate and reverse the future."

"The impact your arrival will have on my 'fate'... I will look forward to it."

Seemingly considering that Amamiya had other things to do next, or perhaps having foreseen something through her special precognitive abilities—after delivering the chocolates and expressing her beautiful wishes for the future, Seiya gracefully departed.

As the blonde fox-eared girl's lithe and graceful figure, swaying her fox tail, blended into the sunset, Amamiya sighed softly.

If he hadn't received two Valentine's Day chocolates from Fei-Xia and Sheng-Ya, he would have forgotten that Valentine's Day was just around the corner.

'Let's go back first... and while we're at it, think about our short-term plans for the coming period.'

With these thoughts in mind, Amamiya embarked on his journey back to his temporary residence at Holy Trinity.

On the way, to kill time, Amamiya casually turned on her phone and checked if there were any new messages on momotalk.

[Yuka: Sensei, about the latest developments at Trinity and 'special holidays'...]

[Yuka: First of all, congratulations to Sensei for successfully resolving Trinity's problem.]

[Yuka: Also, regarding the 'special festival'... Sensei, could you come to Millennium?]

I also received messages from other people.

Noah: Sensei, do you know what holiday it is tomorrow?

Noah: I have a gift for you. Could you come over here?

I also received messages from other people.

[Hoshino: It seems like it's a... holiday lately...]

[Hoshino: Everyone in Abydos is thinking of you. So, Sensei...]

'...'

[Xiaoyu: I've prepared some chocolates especially for Sensei. Please pick them up in Beritas... or, I can deliver them to your desk in Shalai via drone.]

'...'

[Green: Sensei, everyone in the gaming club has prepared Valentine's Day chocolates for you...]

'...'

[Rin: A special holiday is coming soon... I've placed the special gift I prepared for you in the drawer of your desk. Please check it.]

'...'

[Wakazama: Hehe~ These are Valentine's Day chocolates I prepared for my darling...]

'...'

[Yuriko: I've prepared special chocolates for Sensei. Should I send them to the specified coordinates for you?]

After glancing at the MomoTalk messages I received today, Amamiya was genuinely sweating bullets.

These messages, whether directly or indirectly, are all related to the keywords "Valentine's Day" and "chocolate."

Without exception, those who sent these messages were either explicitly or implicitly hinting that Amamiya should go find her.

Valentine's Day in my first year in Kiwatos was this extravagant...

Valentine's Day the following year, Valentine's Day the third year...

Amamiya couldn't even imagine what a "spectacle" it would be like.

Slightly sweating, Amamiya considered whether or not to reply to the message.

Thinking back to my time as a phantom thief in Shibuya, Tokyo, and the "Valentine's Day Nine-Ship Jumping Hell" incident, and the profound lessons I learned there...

Amamiya realized that he absolutely could not ignore these messages.

Amamiya put his phone away for the time being and decided to reply when night fell.

After returning to his temporary residence at Holy Trinity, Amamiya took the key chain from his waist and prepared to open the door.

However, as soon as he stood at the door, the door slowly opened by itself from the inside.

The blonde girl, who was slightly hunched over and had most of her body hidden behind the door, peeked out a little and greeted them shyly.

"Sen, Seni... Good evening..."

Amamiya hung the keychain back up and, as she entered, glanced at Hifumi, who was hiding in her house.

He finally understood why Hifumi had shown her weakness.

Because... right now, she's only wearing her own oversized white shirt, and she's barefoot in slippers.

Her long, golden hair was damp with moisture, clearly indicating that it had been washed recently and hadn't been dried yet.

It was obvious... the girl had just taken a shower not long ago.

As for Amamiya's own temporary residence... it's obvious that no change of clothes for the girl would be provided.

With no other option, Hifumi could only find an oversized Amamiya shirt to wear.

To be honest, the woman in front of me had long hair cascading down her sides and was only wearing an oversized men's shirt...

Compared to her previous look with pigtails and elf ears, which gave her a very 'normal high school student' vibe, she now exudes a completely different aura.

As Amamiya placed her shoulder bag on the coat rack in the entryway, she casually asked, "Hifumi-chan, did you just take a shower?"

"Um... since I don't have any other clothes, so, so..."

Amamiya, noticing the girl's shy and awkward demeanor, stepped forward and gently ruffled her long, damp hair. "Hmm, it really has that 'boyfriend shirt' feel to it... Hifumi in this state gives me an even stronger 'girlfriend' vibe."

【~???~】

The girl, whose face turned bright red instantly after being teased by Amamiya's words, let out a sob and lowered her head.

"Woo..."

After casually hanging her coat back on the hanger, Amamiya continued, "Shall I help Hifumi-chan blow-dry and comb her hair? Isn't it uncomfortable to stay wet like this?"

This time, Hifumi didn't hesitate and simply responded with a soft "Mmm..."

"Please, Sensi..."

Halfway through her thank-you speech, Hifumi suddenly remembered something and hurriedly took out a handmade chocolate, packaged in a Perolo merchandise box, from the pocket of her 'boyfriend's shirt'. The chocolate had very obvious handmade marks.

"Also, in addition..."

The girl was so embarrassed that she couldn't even look at Amamiya. She just hurriedly raised her voice slightly and forcefully handed the chocolate towards Amamiya: "This, this is for you... chocolate..."

Amamiya chuckled inwardly. After taking the small box from the girl, he deliberately looked it over and then asked teasingly, "Did Hifumi-chan make this herself?"

Hifumi: "..."

The girl didn't reply, but instead buried her head even deeper like an ostrich.

Amamiya didn't press her further, gently patting the girl's head: "Hmm... I did feel Hifumi-chan's feelings."

"What a kind and gentle little angel."

【~???~】

After the teasing, Amamiya began to dry Hifumi's hair and groom her after her bath.

Before we knew it, night had fallen.

After finishing the final touches and making sure she couldn't see anything wrong, the girl changed her clothes, stood at the entrance, and said goodbye to Amamiya.

"Um...Sensei, if I stay any longer, the tutoring club members will get suspicious... so I have to go back now..."

Amamiya expressed understanding regarding Hifumi's wording, which clearly sounded like she had made up an excuse in a panic.

After waving goodbye to the girl, Amamiya watched her disappear into the streets as night fell.

"Next... we should also consider how to handle the invitation that evening..."

Chapter 56 Nagisa's Valentine's Day Chocolate

'It's time to deal with the invitations that came up tonight...'

The thought of all those news items about "Valentine's Day" made Amamiya's scalp tingle.

Temporarily putting aside the incident of jumping nine ships and being brutally beaten the next day, Amamiya carefully considered his replies while also looking for any messages with a higher priority.

Soon, his gaze fell on the message sent by Nagisa.

[Nagisa: I'm so sorry to bother you... Sensei, do you have a moment now?]

[Nagisa: About the tutoring club...Sensei, I'd like to talk to you about it.]

'A message from Nagisa... about the tutoring club?'

Compared to the almost entirely Valentine's Day chocolate-related messages, Nagisa's somewhat unique message seems to deserve priority.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya replied to Nagisa's message.

[About the tutoring center?]

[Nagisa: Hmm. Sensei, do you have time now?]

[Nagisa: [Coordinates] If you have time, please come here...]

Amamiya didn't reply immediately, but instead opened the navigation map to confirm the coordinates sent by Nagisa.

Strangely enough, the coordinates sent by Nagisa, the person in charge of the tea party, were not the headquarters of the tea party, but a street in the self-governing area of ​​Trinity that looked relatively inconspicuous.

Slightly surprised, Amamiya still replied to Nagisa's message.

I'm coming right now.

After making some preparations, Amamiya headed towards the vicinity of Nagisa's coordinates under the cover of night.

As night deepens, the warm yellow glow of Gothic streetlights spreads across the cobblestone streets of the Trinity College's Central European-style architectural complex.

Upon arriving at the location, Amamiya immediately saw... a gray-haired girl dressed in a white formal dress, sitting on a park bench under the night sky, her head slightly tilted back as if gazing at the starry sky, or perhaps lost in thought.

Hearing footsteps, the gray-haired girl's pale yellow eyes, reflecting the stars above, refocused.

"Ah...Sensei, you've arrived."

The girl, seemingly pleased by Amamiya's arrival, rose from the park bench, which was already covered with a layer of dew, and bowed slightly to Amamiya: "Good evening, Sensei."

Amamiya waved to her as a greeting.

"To be here alone at night 'thinking about the future'? That's a bit surprising."

"Sensei, do you think my life as a tea party organizer is any different from others?" The girl smiled gently, yet with a hint of helplessness. "...Whether you're the head of a faction or a hero saving the world, no one can always be 'at ease,' right?"

"What's more..."

She paused, then lowered her voice slightly: "I don't have the power to change the future like a 'phantom thief'... so I can only let myself overthink it."

"Overthinking will only trap you in a vicious cycle of thought."

Recalling her past experiences dealing with Hoshino and Rion, who were similar to Nagisa but were caught in a vortex for various reasons, Amamiya closed her eyes and sighed softly.

"The higher a person stands, the farther they can see, but at the same time, they also become colder."

He opened his eyes and looked earnestly at Nagisa: "If you feel you have someone you can rely on... why not try relying on them? — I hope you can reach the summit and see all the mountains below. But I also hope that you won't be alone in this process, and that you can be happy every day."

Nagisa was taken aback by what Amamiya said, and the angelic white wings behind her suddenly fluttered.

"..."

【~???~】

"Truly worthy of the title 'Phantom Thief of the Heart.' With just a few words, he managed to capture my heart."

After the 'teasing,' Nagisa replied seriously, '...Thank you for your advice.'

"Let's get straight to the point and talk about the 'tutoring club'..."

As they strolled through the park, where only the two of them were present, Nagisa began to discuss her considerations regarding the cram school.

First, there were the four girls from the cram school who burned down the Temple of Eden, saving Trinity from the impending domination of the Temple's master, Beatrice.

"I'm sorry about them."