I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"You're the founder and chief writer of 'Weekly Pandemonium,' right?"

Amamiya smiled and relaxed his oppressive aura, while stepping back.

Although she relaxed her demeanor and movements, Amamiya's next words still left the girl feeling apprehensive.

"That picture of 'Sharai's Sensei entering and leaving a maid cafe late at night' in the magazine 'Weekly Pandemonium' six issues ago, wasn't that taken by you, Chiaki, using a forced perspective technique?"

As Amamiya spoke, he subtly glanced at the drone floating above his head, which was not very noticeable in the night.

"Next up is the picture from four weeks ago in Weekly Pandemonium, the one that was also used as the cover, the one of my meeting with Iroha, 'Shocking! Sensei of Shirai has such a peculiar taste—he actually likes petite girls?!'. This picture was taken using the classic method of cropping out of context..."

Qianqiu's face immediately turned even more bitter.

However, Amamiya's 'reckoning' was not over yet.

He continued leisurely, "Finally, there's the picture from last week's *Weekly Pandemonium*, the one used as the cover illustration—the one of me and I at Trinity… 'Exclusive! Sensei of Shalai is having a private date with a Pandemonium councilor?!' The way this picture was taken…"

"Wow~"

Unable to withstand the pressure, the girl sobbed and shrank back slightly: "Sen, Sensei... you specifically agreed to this interview, is your real purpose to come and ask me to repent?!"

Before Amamiya could speak, this 'emotionally rich' girl put on an adorable yet pitiful 'let him have his way' look: 'I...I'm going to have my heart stolen by Sensei, I'm repenting right now...'

Amamiya: "...And now, are you preparing to film a news story like: 'Shalai's Forbidden Love as the Scribe of Pandemonium! The Phantom Thief's Message Left at the Scene Turns Out to Be a Love Token?! -- Weekly Pandemonium, Next Issue on Hiatus (Because the Manager Is Going to Fall in Love)'?"

Qianqiu: "..."

After a brief silence, the girl suddenly adopted a deflated expression: "Sensei is practically impenetrable... Damn it, is this the alertness of a phantom thief?"

She seemed deflated, yet also somewhat unwilling.

Huh? Wait a minute...

In her brief moment of despair, the girl suddenly realized something—how did Sensei 'see' her thoughts in real time?!

Is this really something that can be done simply through psychological prediction? It seems a bit supernatural, doesn't it?!

"Sensei, how did you know what I was thinking..." Chiaki pouted slightly, a hint of frustration at not achieving her goal, but mostly curiosity. "Did you use X-ray vision or precognition just now? Or perhaps, the mind-reading secrets of a phantom thief?"

Amamiya remained unmoved, even actively avoiding the girl's curious approach.

“I can answer, but before that, you need to turn off the drone 300 meters above and to the side of my head, and also remove all 11 pinhole cameras that you have hidden in your skirt, on your body, and on your hat.”

Qianqiu: "..."

Sensei even knows how many devices he has hidden on his person?!

"Nothing really escapes Sensei's eyes..."

Realizing that he probably had no chance of making any "big news," Qianqiu was unwilling, but he decisively disabled all the devices used for covert recording.

The girl was inevitably a little disappointed when she didn't get the information she wanted.

As a phantom thief... Sensei is protecting his private information way too well!

I'm still really curious about Sensei's personal privacy...

“Um, Sensei… may I ask some questions about your personal daily life…”

Amamiya interrupted calmly: "I can provide it, but I will not allow 'unscrupulous tabloid reporters' to take things out of context and distort them out of the truth."

Qianqiu pouted; she hadn't said anything yet.

Thousand Autumns.jpg

“I mean, Sensei…”

The girl wanted to say something more, but suddenly she remembered some information she had accidentally learned when she secretly photographed Amamiya not long ago.

Her eyes suddenly flashed, and Chiaki's disappointment vanished. She raised her voice slightly and said, "Sensei... let's make a deal."

Amamiya raised an eyebrow but didn't speak immediately.

He planned to see what Qianqiu was up to.

“I’ve heard that phantom thieves enjoy making deals with their ‘assistants,’ a mutually beneficial arrangement… I’m very curious about Sensei. Therefore, I want to make a special deal with Sensei—”

“Sensei, you have given me a much more detailed understanding of everything about your daily life. And I…”

"Then it will provide the news coverage that Sensei needs—to control your 'reputation' within the Pandemonium."

"How about this deal?"

We've finally gotten to the main point...

Amamiya smiled gently and pretended to ponder for a moment under the girl's expectant gaze.

"...I do need Qianqiu's help."

Chiaki gradually broke into a smile, regaining her lively and energetic image. She winked at Amamiya and said, "So, the deal is done, right?"

"Ah."

A deal has been reached with Qianqiu.

Coopation is now unblocked!

【Motomiya Chiaki (Star) ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[★Ability 1 - "The Journalist's Sense of Smell" has been unlocked!]

"Alright, Sensei, let's begin the interview about the 'Eden Treaty Incident'..."

"This is a completely formal interview, you know? There will be no 'special processing'."

"Also, this coffee at Sensei is on me."

[...I was pulled aside by Chiaki for an interview.]

After the interview, due to the late hour, I had no choice but to return to Xia Lai.

Chapter Five has a feeling of something like a little rabbit...

Xia Lai was a little noisy in the early morning.

Recently moved to Xialai, the girls of Arios's squad, the first exclusive armed force in Xialai, gathered at the Xialai office building early in the morning to familiarize themselves with the surrounding terrain and adapt to their new life.

At this moment, four girls gathered in the club activity room, looking at the area that they would likely visit more and more frequently in the future.

'This is where we'll end up...'

The interior furnishings, which were laid out in a calm and gentle manner, gave Saori, the 'squad leader,' a moment of reflection.

Her reflections did not last long.

It seemed that some kind of automatic playback mechanism had been activated. After a brief pause, the computer screen automatically refreshed and switched to the next video.

After a brief musical interlude, a vibrant, energetic young girl's voice, exuding the air of a 'tabloid reporter,' rang out as the screen lit up.

"Our reporter is here to report on the signing of the Eden Treaty—"

"Shocking! Sensei from Xia Lai led Iroha from the Pandemonium to the Holy Trinity. Was there such a deeper meaning behind it?"

"Next news: After initial negotiations with Gerina's journalists, we've learned a shocking secret about Sensei?! It turns out Sensei likes petite girls... Huh? Can't this be broadcast?"

"Uh...sorry, sorry! Cut it out quickly!"

'Beep—' (a long, drawn-out censored sound)

"Sorry, we just got the wrong press release. The next news item is—the person in charge of the tea party, Kirito Nagisa, publicly declares: Trinity will establish a long-term partnership with Charlene, and Sensei is always welcome to visit Trinity..."

The girls in Arios's squad looked at each other, and then they all looked at Amamiya, who had just finished making coffee and was carrying her coffee cup back to the club room.

Sensing the gazes of the four girls from Arius's squad, Amamiya asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

None of the four girls responded, and then the other three focused their attention on the girl who was the smallest and most cared for in the group.

The girl, who was being watched by her three teammates, had a gentle and princess-like demeanor and chuckled meaningfully with a hint of mischievousness.

"Sensei... The news just reported about you."

Upon hearing this, Amamiya glanced at her computer screen, then looked over the girls from Arius.

He casually placed the coffee cup on the table, walked over to Yazuko, bowed slightly, and asked her under the somewhat strange gazes of the other three, "I see... Everyone in Arios's team, you've been staying in Xialai for a few days now, right? Are you getting used to your current life?"

Habit?

It can even be described as "enjoyable".

The girl smiled, her long, light purple hair swaying slightly, like a newly blossoming hyacinth.

"Thank you, Sensei... You've made us feel truly happy."

"You'll get used to it." Amamiya said, making a gesture as if to pat Akiko's head, hoping to improve her favor through a friendly gesture. "...?"

Noticing the increasingly strange gazes of the other three, Amamiya stopped what she was doing and looked at Saori, who seemed hesitant to speak: "What's wrong, Saori?"

The tall, blue-haired girl with undertones hesitated slightly before shifting her gaze away with a complex expression.

"..."

Receiving no answer from Saori, Amamiya then looked at Misaki.

The girl with short black hair and brown-gray eyes also shifted her gaze slightly, as if it were happening to her.

However, compared to Saori, Misaki at least said something: "Sensei... you should know about the recent news reported by Ghena, right..."

Amamiya finally looked at Hiyori, only to see that the 'crybaby' who usually gave people the impression of being a whiny girl was now chuckling softly.

'Hehehe... If Sensei likes petite girls... then, I should...'

Amamiya: "..."

From Hiyori's 'mutterings,' he instantly understood what was going on.

It seems that... the rumors from Ghenna's side and the rumors from Trinity's side... along with the development of the "Eden Treaty," have eventually merged together in a strange way and spread again.

Rumors like "he likes petite girls" and "the Phantom Thief of Hearts can make girls fall hopelessly in love with him"... Amamiya has heard them so many times he's sick of them.

These rumors and gossip have even been updated with each "version update".

Don't know what to say.

Amamiya pinched the bridge of his nose, considering that 'the more he explained, the worse it would get,' so he didn't try to proactively 'debunk' the rumors with the girls from Arios.

Verbal denials are far less effective than subsequent direct actions.

After sorting out his thoughts, Amamiya returned to his desk and took a sip of his coffee.

Enjoying the warmth and aroma of the coffee, Amamiya chose not to continue the usual conversation and instead asked Saori, "The Arios squad has completed the most basic settlement and adaptation... Next, it's time for related training."

"I've already sent the daily training plan for Arius's squad to everyone. What are your opinions on that plan?"

“No.” Saori shook her head. “Sensei, the training plan you provided is quite reasonable. No one has any objections to the plan itself…”

She paused, seemingly a little embarrassed to speak, and continued in a slightly awkward tone, "However, there are some disagreements about the plans for 'free time after training'... Perhaps Sensei needs to mediate in this regard."

Saori spoke very formally, but Amamiya could easily tell what she was implying.

Everyone in Arius's team needs some alone time.

"Regarding the allocation of free time... I will help mediate."

【~???~】(from Saori, Misaki)

【~???~】(From Hiyori and Azuko)

After greeting the girls in Arios's squad, Saori led her squad members away from the club room under the pretext of training.

Meanwhile, Amamiya began processing the documents sent by the Federal Student Association.

For the vast majority of documents, Amamiya no longer needs to carefully observe and handle them as she did when she first arrived in Givotos.

He can now easily read and provide insightful instructions on handling documents that have relatively minor impact.

As Amamiya flipped through the folder, she found a very special 'proposal'.

"...Hmm? The proposal to close down SRT Special School and the proposal to merge SRT Special School members into Valkyrie Police Academy."

"The proposer was... Hanaya?"

Upon seeing the document before him, Amamiya had a brief moment of doubt.

This flower... what is she up to now?

Amamiya didn't quite understand what Hanaya was trying to do.