I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Even students from various clubs, including members of the Research and Printing Society, have changed into miniskirts that barely cover their thighs.

The refreshing feeling brought by the season is indeed invigorating...

The only downside is that pantyhose are almost nowhere to be seen at this time of year.

After a while, you might not even see 'socks' anymore—everyone will probably switch to more refreshing sandals and then inadvertently show off the feet of a beautiful young girl with fair skin and lovely features, right?

After pausing briefly, Amamiya decided to head directly to Beritas.

He had only taken two steps when a black-haired girl with a single ponytail, wearing athletic shorts and sweating profusely in the early spring sunshine, ran past him at a leisurely pace.

A purple-edged sports vest embroidered with a certain flower, simple leggings and sneakers, and bright, expressive purple eyes as she breathed softly—this outfit was unheard of at Millennium Technology Academy.

Amamiya felt that even in the entire Gevotos, where delinquent girls all wore skirts... this 'athletic girl' attribute was quite rare.

Amamiya carefully reviewed the list and realized that among the students she knew who wore long pants... it seemed that only Saori was the only one.

Given the significant difference between her art style and that of the science-oriented girls of the past few millennia, Amamiya paid special attention to her.

[Assistant: Sumire Otohana / The Millennial Sports Girl]

Arcana: The Strength

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'Oh...it's the "Strength" card?'

This card symbolizes the wisdom of "overcoming strength with gentleness" in a philosophical sense, and overall it is quite positive and uplifting.

People with abundant inner strength are not easily angered or troubled, and their inner will is unwavering—these are almost universal characteristics of such individuals.

This is the second time Amamiya has seen a student with the "Power" card (the first "Power" card was Hibiki).

Noticing the gaze, the girl, who seemed to be doing sprints for exercise, slowed down.

As she braked, her high ponytail swung wildly, and for a moment Amamiya even caught a glimpse of the sweat, carrying the scent of a young girl, falling from it.

"Sensei...?"

After a brief pause, she tried to call out.

'They really have a youthful vibe...'

After a moment of reflection, Amamiya smiled and greeted the girl, "Yes."

Are you... working out?

Bathed in sunlight, the girl smiled easily, nodding as she explained her motivation for working out: "Yes, I'm preparing for the 'Kōrin Taisai' (Radiant Ridge Festival)."

Zhuanglun Festival...

Amamiya recalled the "hot spring trip" incident not long ago, which she had talked about with Yuka and Noah at the time.

(Related plot: Chapter 43 of this volume)

Amamiya pondered for a moment, then feigned sudden realization: "I see..."

"No wonder you shine so brightly at this moment."

Jin, who was gently smoothing her bangs and wiping away sweat with a towel, suddenly stopped.

【~???~】(from 堇)

After a moment of complex emotion, the girl hesitated before saying, "...Thank you for the compliment, Sensei?"

For some reason, in that fleeting moment, Jin felt that... the curly-haired young man in front of her, who seemed to have casually uttered an exceptionally kind compliment to her, had become... 'sunny and cheerful'?

That's not quite right... After all, a 'phantom thief' is unlikely to be sunny and cheerful.

It's hard for Violet to describe this feeling...

There's an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, like that of someone "of the same kind".

(Shiroko's Bond Skill [Sporty Girl's Vitality])

Sensei, after all, often goes to other worlds to carry out phantom thief activities... Phantom thief activities, although they do not have a regular scientific training system, can still be regarded as a high-intensity form of exercise, right?

The feeling of being "like one" that I experienced was because... subconsciously I felt that Sensei was an adult who really liked sports?

After a moment of daze, the girl realized that a bottle of energy drink had been placed in front of her.

Jin, not immediately realizing what was happening, hesitated briefly before instinctively taking the towel and handing it over.

It wasn't until she unscrewed the energy drink in her hand and took a sip that the girl suddenly came to her senses... It seemed that she had unconsciously made the same 'subconscious reaction' she had in the training department.

Realizing that the towel, saturated with her own sweat, had been handed to Amamiya, the girl panicked for a moment and tried to take it back.

“Um, Sensei…”

Amamiya, of course, wouldn't let this 'opportunity' slip by. Pretending to be oblivious, she took the opportunity to wipe the sweat from her cheeks with the towel and spoke in a natural tone like that of an 'old friend': 'So you're trying your best to bring honor to Millennium Technology Academy...'

As she spoke, Amamiya reached out to hand over the towel in her hand.

"Huh? Ah... um?"

Sumire was a little confused by Amamiya's overly familiar approach.

After a moment of mental blankness, she reached out to take it—and then, both her hand and Amamiya's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

Amamiya fell into an unexpected and awkward silence.

"..."

"Uh, sorry... I accidentally used your towel... Um... you don't mind, do you?"

Violet stood frozen in place, her eyes momentarily blank: "Um, um..."

For a moment, she didn't know whether she should answer the call.

"Um, this towel... seems to have a very special fragrance on it."

Jin felt her brain was getting increasingly 'stuck', and it briefly crashed again.

【~???~】

"Uh... thank you for the compliment, Sensei?"

Not knowing what to say, she finally took the sweat-soaked towel from Amamiya's hand.

"Speaking of which... I still don't know your name."

Jin was a little confused again—oh right, she didn't seem to have introduced herself yet.

"I am Sumire Ottohana, the head of the training department."

"Um……"

"Thank you Sensei for your... uh, appreciation?"

Not knowing how to describe it, she strangely chose the word 'appreciation' to summarize Amamiya's attitude.

After a brief silence and awkwardness, Jin, feeling a little embarrassed, began to try to make conversation.

“Um, Sensei… about your demeanor and habits…”

Are you also interested in the field of sports?

Amamiya hummed in agreement: "Aside from my main activity of being a phantom thief in another world... I actually really enjoy sports and fitness."

Amamiya wasn't lying about that.

Back when he was a phantom thief in Shibuya, Tokyo, he eventually ran out of people asking him to help him. So, the few things Amamiya did to pass the time were going to the gym to work out, going to temples to meditate, and going fishing at the fishing grounds.

Exercising is the preferred choice most of the time.

Upon hearing this, Jin's eyes brightened slightly: "What sports does Sensei like?"

Amamiya answered without hesitation: "Well... bench press, jogging, weightlifting, and (practice) wooden dummy exercises are areas I'm relatively good at."

He usually trains these few exercises at the gym.

【~???~】

"That's it..."

"Sensei seems to have a lot of experience in the field of sports..."

The 'embarrassing' incident was quickly forgotten.

Sumire thought of the upcoming Akawa Grand Festival and the recent training schedule, and suddenly an idea came to her mind.

“Sensei…may I ask you to be my coach?”

Amamiya pretended to ponder for a moment.

"Um... OK."

[...I sensed Sumire's positivity.]

【Violet Erythrina (Strength) ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[★1 Ability "Sports Girl's Passion" is now unlocked!]

"Then, I'll be bothering Sensei from now on..."

Chapter 79 What does "Caesar is causing trouble again" mean?

After saying goodbye to Sumire, Amamiya traveled all the way to "Beritas".

As a club that is both 'famous' and 'unknown' over the millennium, Beritas does take on various commissions related to cybersecurity, but not many students usually come to visit.

Standing in the corridor outside the club activity room, Amamiya, as always, first activated her [Third Eye] to sense the eavesdropping and recording devices around her.

Hmm... it's still an exaggerated level of 'strict defense'.

After a soft sigh, Amamiya knocked on the door, carrying all the snacks and energy drinks she had bought.

The door of the Shirt-like Neighbor (VII) opened with a creak. Immediately afterwards, Amamiya felt the cold air from the air conditioner blowing in from inside.

They're already using air conditioning at this stage... How intolerant of heat must these 'genius geek girls' be...?

As Amamiya stepped into the room, the lights clicked on—perhaps because the members were all quite comfortable in the dark, the indoor lights mimicked the cool tones of the ambient light.

Immediately afterwards, a side door inside the room was also opened.

Maki, Tama, and Haru squeezed into a small, dimly lit room illuminated only by the light from the screen.

Maki, standing behind the door, waved energetically to Amamiya while still holding the door open.

"Yo~ Sensei, welcome to Beritas!"

Amamiya smiled and nodded in response: "It's been a while since I've seen you all in Beritas."

The room was furnished quite simply, with only basic tables and chairs, and a large number of screens hanging on the walls.

The white-haired girl, her coat draped loosely, lay on the back of the chair as a cushion, her petite frame accentuated by her small stature. Noticing Amamiya's gaze, she maintained her gentle smile and waved slightly in greeting.

The blonde girl beside her pushed up her glasses, her violet eyes sparkling with the joy of a long-awaited reunion;

The most mature black-haired girl leaned against the table, seemingly deep in thought, only looking up towards the door after hearing Maki's welcoming voice.

After greeting Amamiya, Maki, who was closest to her, immediately noticed Amamiya's other hand, which was carrying a large shopping bag.

Through the semi-transparent shopping bag, she immediately spotted a number of brightly packaged snacks or energy drinks from brands she was familiar with.

"Did you buy this for us? Oh dear, we're so glad you came to visit 'Beritas', Sensei... We're so sorry to have to prepare all this..."

While saying this with an 'embarrassment', the red-haired girl jumped forward with a 'whoosh' and snatched the large shopping bag from the slightly helpless Amamiya's hand.

"Oh...it's quite heavy...it must have cost a lot of money, right?"

【~???~】

While saying sorry, he accepted the 'gift' without any hesitation...

For some reason, Amamiya had a sense of déjà vu, like "children in the Classic of Mountains and Seas receiving lucky money during the Lunar New Year".

"A small gift prepared for everyone in Beritas... It's nothing much."

After paying special attention to the unusually lively red-haired girl, Amamiya then chose to 'get straight to the point'.

"Chihiro, I've come to 'Beritas' this time because I need your help with something..."