I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

For example, while walking, you might find a place to sit down and stare blankly up at the sky, tracing the path of the clouds on the horizon;

For example, if you hear rustling and birdsong coming from the woods, you might go over to investigate.

For example, he would occasionally ask questions that would cause Amamiya's brain to momentarily freeze—

When faced with questions like, "I've heard that people shine when they work hard, but where exactly does that light come from?" Amamiya would often find herself speechless and unable to answer.

"It's good that we found it..."

Amamiya let out a soft breath, about to say something like, "Chise can come to me if she needs anything in the future," when she suddenly noticed that Chise was already holding her phone, head down, editing a status update.

"Chise: [Photo] Witnessed the battle between shrimp soldiers and crab generals on the beach. Also, Sensei patted my head and acted as a cat."

"The battles between the shrimp soldiers and crab generals are very interesting, and Sensei's hands are very gentle."

"Being with Sensei is a strange feeling. It's very comfortable."

"I've found new inspiration."

Upon catching the message posted by Chise, Amamiya's brows twitched, and a sense of foreboding immediately rose in her heart.

Apart from Chise—and only Amamiya herself knew that there were absolutely no problems with their interactions during that time.

For most of the afternoon, aside from watching the 'battle' between crabs and shrimp fighting for territory on the beach with Chise, Amamiya spent the rest of the time being led by Chise to explore the island more deeply.

There was nothing unusual about it...

However, after being modified by such vague and ambiguous language as "Thousand Generations," it becomes so easy to misunderstand it no matter how you look at it.

After much hesitation, Amamiya ultimately decided against letting Chise 'correct the vocabulary'.

Who knows, after Amamiya said that, Chise might write an even more outrageous version.

Unable to fathom the inner thoughts and behavior of the 'eccentric literary girl,' he ultimately shrugged and said: Let her be.

As Amamiya led Chise into the "Sea House" street area, the izakayas, wagashi shops, and various other roadside stalls open to animal residents had already begun to enter nighttime mode.

The festive decorations, complete with lanterns and colorful lights, added a touch of wonderfully lively atmosphere.

To avoid further distracting Chise's already erratic attention, Amamiya kept her eyes straight ahead and acted as if she didn't see anything.

Before nightfall, he half-forced the 'eccentric idol' girl back to the seaside house.

The moment he entered, Amamiya sensed a fleeting emotion called "reluctance" emanating from the girl beside him.

Amamiya certainly noticed Chise's sudden desire to "want to travel around with him," but he couldn't say anything—he couldn't really take the mature and innocent Chise to experience the "adult world under the night sky."

Feeling the girl who was holding his wrist slowly loosen her grip, Amamiya felt a sense of relief and prepared to say some farewell words.

But then he heard a rather sarcastic "welcome".

"Welcome, Sensei! It's a rare treat to come all this way. Don't you plan to stay a little longer?"

"Our Chise-nyan from the Onmyoji Department seems to be quite 'dependent' on you~ Are you really planning to leave so 'heartlessly'~?"

He deliberately emphasized key words and phrases, intentionally raised the pitch at the end of sentences, and dragged out the final sound, speaking with a sound like the rustling of a folding fan opening or closing, or the gentle breeze of a folding fan being fanned.

Without a doubt, it's Nia.

Amamiya paused in her turn, then stopped, looking 'helplessly' at the 'Onmyoji strategist' who was standing at the door leading to the employee passage, leaning against the door frame and holding a folding fan.

Noticing Amamiya's gaze, Nia snapped her folding fan shut with a 'whoosh' and gently waved it at Amamiya as a greeting.

Then, she walked gracefully to Amamiya's side, her high-heeled wooden clogs clicking softly.

First, Nia looked Amamiya up and down 'on her own,' and then her gaze quickly shifted between Amamiya and Chise before she nodded meaningfully.

"It seems your relationship with Chise is progressing very quickly, Sensei~"

"As expected of the 'Phantom Thief of Hearts,' she always manages to manipulate the innocent hearts of young girls with such ease..."

Amamiya, of course, knew what this vengeful 'Onmyoji strategist' who loved to give his targets 'headaches' wanted to see—

This time, it's not that things can't go her way.

As the saying goes, "the moon waxes and wanes," and after some consideration, Amamiya chose to remain patient for the time being.

Now, just be patient and then you can invite her out. While you're alone together, build rapport and make her embarrass herself.

This isn't a "battle of wits in love," it's "social maneuvering."

Amamiya's face fell, and she sighed softly, "You have no idea how long it takes me to connect with the radio waves of thousands of lifetimes."

【~???~】(from Nia)

As expected, Amamiya gained favor by deliberately displaying a 'defeat' demeanor.

He then 'broke his spirits' again: 'But it's really fun running around with Chise, 'chasing inspiration' everywhere. Maybe it's because of my past life, but I'm getting a lot of inspiration coming to my head right now.'

【~???~】(from Qian Shi)

After subtly teasing Chise, Amamiya then waved her hand at Nia, feigning reluctance to discuss the matter further, saying, "Let's not talk about this for now..."

"Nia came here...is there something you need?"

"There is something, but it shouldn't be anything particularly important to Sensei."

As she spoke, Nia magically produced a complete paper document from the sleeves of her wide, split-sleeve, haori-like garment.

"The case report regarding the 'Resort Hunt' incident has been completed!"

Nia's smile was slightly infuriating to Amamiya: "If Sensei, you're not afraid I'll embellish this report, feel free to submit it to the Federal Student Council~"

Amamiya took the heavy document from Nia's hand, and then glanced at Nia's loose sleeves, which seemed to hold anything.

Curious about how Nia managed to do it, Amamiya then opened the incident closure report and examined it in detail.

After glancing at her a few times, Amamiya then turned her gaze to Nia, whose expression had remained unchanged throughout, her eyes narrowed and her smile unfathomable.

The report was written in a neat and elegant handwriting, and the wording throughout was very...formal.

Amamiya could only think of one way to describe it—in his opinion, this document, being handwritten, was free of phrasing errors and even precisely controlled in terms of sentence structure, word choice, and other written factors that affect the reading experience…it was definitely the result of careful consideration.

Amamiya also didn't see any trace of what Nia called 'embellishment'.

"...?"

Sensing Amamiya's slightly questioning gaze, Nia's squinting smile showed a change that Amamiya hadn't expected for the first time.

She sighed softly, feigning sadness as she spoke, "Sensei... why do you look at me with such skeptical eyes?"

"Don't let my appearance fool you... I often like to tease people, but when it comes to things that need to be done properly, I won't slack off!"

As she spoke, she put on a pitiful expression, saying, "It hurts me so much that Sensei looks at me like that," and wiped the corner of her eye with her wide sleeve.

She really wasn't willing to give up any opportunity that could give her the upper hand...

Amamiya spoke sincerely and earnestly: "I believe in Nia."

As the saying goes, lies don't hurt, but the truth is the sharpest knife...

No, it should be said: "Sincerity is the ultimate weapon."

Nia's tearful movements paused slightly after being suddenly attacked by Amamiya, and she slowly withdrew her movements.

【~???~】(from Nia)

"Then I... thank Sensei for his trust?"

[I sensed a special emotion emanating from Nia.]

[My bond with Nia has deepened...]

【Tenchi Nia (Demon/Evil) ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[★3 Bond Ability "Pleasure of Yourself" is now unlocked!]

Having gained an unexpected trust that she had never received before, Nia looked Amamiya up and down again with a newfound appreciation.

After confirming that Amamiya's 'trust' was genuine, Nia's tone softened slightly, becoming less sarcastic.

As if discussing everyday topics, she spoke softly, "Sensei... do you have any other plans after this?"

Any other plans...?

Amamiya did not answer immediately, but looked out of the hall window of Hyakuyado towards the distant 'island atmosphere'.

Staying on the resort islands and interacting with beautiful girls in swimsuits is indeed a very tempting option.

But after so much 'leisure time'... it's time to return to daily life.

"It's almost time to leave..."

Nia immediately understood.

After nodding slightly, she didn't ask any more questions, nor did she try to stop Amamiya from leaving.

Leng (II) (II) Yin Sanling VI waved her folding fan lightly as a farewell, and then Nia pulled Chise, whose gaze was still fixed on Amamiya, and turned to walk towards the 'employee passage'.

Amamiya, meanwhile, walked out of the sea house feeling carefree.

Following his old habit from his time at the Leblanc café, before locking the door, Amamiya casually flipped the signboard on the glass door of the Sea House from "OPEN" to "CLOSED" before closing it.

'Before leaving, let me double-check if there's anything else I need to do...'

Chapter 118 Is this photo of you?

The hangar at the "Resort Islands" was not as peaceful as it had been in the previous days at dawn.

Comparing the 'petite and cute' fox-eared girl in his memory with the poised and elegant fox-eared girl standing before him, who, including her erect fox ears, was about the same height as him, Amamiya still felt a... indescribable sense of disorientation.

He took out his phone, opened his photo album, found a picture, and compared the image in the photo with the girl in front of him repeatedly.

"...?"

Noticing that Amamiya's gaze was becoming increasingly strange, the girl's pair of nimble fox ears on her head twitched slightly.

"...What's wrong, Sensei?"

Amamiya gripped the edge of the screen, showing one side to Yuriko: "Is this photo of you?"

Yuriko nodded firmly: "It's me."

Amamiya raised an eyebrow suspiciously: "Really?"

Yuriko continued earnestly, "Yes, I was very young back then."

Amamiya's tone turned slightly heavy: "This isn't you."

"Isn't it?"

Yuriko blinked, then suddenly said, "Sensei, if you don't believe in the changes that have happened to me, you should believe in the Albatross that is traveling with me."

Upon hearing this, Amamiya turned her gaze to the "large air gunship" docked in the hangar.

"..."

Before he could ask, the distinctive, gentle voice of the albatross rang out from the gunboat: "As you can see... Mr. Phantom Thief."

The woman standing before you now, with a more mature demeanor, is indeed the Yuriko you remember.

Amamiya withdrew her gaze, then looked at Yuriko's head again with considerable surprise, confirming the shape of the halo above her head—

In Kivotos, each student has a halo of a different shape above their head.

Just as "no two leaves are the same in the world," there are no two halos in Kivotos that are theoretically exactly the same.

Therefore, a halo can serve as a symbol for identifying a student's personal identity.

However, the students seemed unable to distinguish the shapes of each other's halos.

Only Amamiya, this 'outsider' from Giwatos, has the special skill of recognizing people by their auras.

After repeatedly examining the halo, Amamiya finally confirmed that the person standing in front of him was indeed Yuriko.

After confirming it several times, Amamiya was both surprised and increasingly curious.

How did she manage to do that?

How could she have completely changed overnight...?

Overnight, she shed that immature awkwardness, her figure became slender and tall, her thighs became firm and strong, and the charm of a 'JK-style girl' emanating from her elegant posture contrasted sharply with her previous immature awkwardness...