I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

The "Festival Operations Committee" of the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons)... or rather, the izakaya (Japanese pub) jointly operated by Hyakki Yagyō (Hyakki Yagyō). The service is elegant and attentive, and the prices are very reasonable. For a student like Ye Zhu... it is indeed a good place to de-stress at night.

After boarding the evening train, Ye Zhu changed trains along the way and headed to Xia Lai.

Nowadays, in addition to the office building, Xia Lai also has a very rich and vibrant living area with facilities that can basically meet all the daily needs of students, such as a coffee shop.

As Ye Zhu disembarked at the station, he looked up and gazed at the towering office building that stood majestically on the earth, reaching into the clouds.

It's natural to feel a little nervous when you come here for the first time.

Suppressing his emotions, Ye Zhu followed the light and quickly found his 'destination'—the Xia Lai Café.

The semi-transparent glass reveals a dim, modern, and jazzy interior lighting, creating a slightly relaxing atmosphere just by looking at it.

"Speaking of which... when Sensei was a phantom thief, he lived in the attic on the second floor of the café."

'Is the style of this café in Charlene based on Sensei's memory of "Café Leblanc"?'

As Ye Zhu got closer, he saw the sign above the coffee shop.

It's not "CLOSED" which symbolizes 'closing down', but "OPEN$二龄侕貳盈衫.疤貳{".

It's still open at this hour, as if it's deliberately waiting for a student to visit...

Ye Zhu took a step forward and tried to push open the door of the coffee shop.

'Jingle Bell--'

……

Amamiya, who had just discussed the scale and method of the 'attack' with Ranmai not long ago, was currently entertaining a girl with green hair and mink ears.

"Is this the 'Charles Café' that Sensei mentioned...? Indeed, there is a sense of belonging that is hard to explain but I feel a vague fondness for."

After taking a curious stroll through the coffee shop's kitchen, the girl's gaze naturally fell upon the source of a tantalizing aroma, a blend of subtle fruity notes, that she could faintly detect with a sniff.

Could there be some 'adult special drinks' in that small cabinet...?

"Sensei, may I open it?"

Although she was filled with curiosity, Shigure did not act rashly, but first consulted Amamiya for his opinion.

"of course."

Amamiya smiled and nodded: "If Shigure wants... this place will be a place where only Shigure, a very small number of students with special talents in cooking can freely enter and exit, besides me."

"As an indispensable 'front bartender' at the Linjia Coffee Shop, it's only natural to familiarize myself with everything beforehand."

【~???~】(Shigure)

Having received permission, the girl turned to Amamiya and gave her a playful yet gentle smile: "Thank you for your 'forgiveness,' Sensei."

Immediately afterwards, she swung her smooth, alluring turquoise sable tail and tiptoed to open the cabinet where she could smell the exotic fragrance.

—As expected.

The cabinet was almost completely filled with glass bottles containing all sorts of colorful liquids.

Shigure, who is very knowledgeable about alcohol, was able to immediately confirm that... these colorful glass bottles were all made from the same base spirit.

Shigure didn't know how they were brewed, but he could sense that this wine was 'extraordinary'.

Contrary to most stereotypes about alcohol... these base spirits tucked away in the cabinet naturally exude a subtle, almost imperceptible, fruity aroma. Their scent isn't pungent or spicy... rather, it has a 'the more you smell it, the more invigorated you become' quality.

Shiyu took out a cherry blossom pink bottle from the cabinet, examined it carefully in her hand, then shook her mink ears, opened the stopper, and sniffed it.

"Sniff sniff..."

With a sniffle, Shigure felt an increasingly novel sensation in her heart.

Although it's brewed using winemaking methods... its nature no longer seems like that of wine.

Taking a small sip, Shiyu closed her eyes and frowned, trying to savor the flavor that lingered on her tongue.

...a fragrance, like that of cherry blossoms.

Shigure blinked, looking at Amamiya with a mixture of surprise and curiosity: "Sensei... this can't really be considered alcohol anymore, can it?"

Amamiya shrugged: "To Shigure, who is used to high alcohol content, this might not be considered alcohol... but it is indeed brewed using traditional brewing methods and does have a certain alcohol content..."

"These wines are brewed by me using a 'special method,' taking various fruits or flowers as models. They all have a unified name—'Fairy Delicacies Wine.'"

Amamiya's so-called "special method" is to directly summon the Persona [Meliusius (Arcana: The Hermit)] and use the legend of this honey god extracting "divine wine" from honey that can make people immortal to refine and brew it.

Because the ingredients used are very ordinary... even though the brewing process is "divine", the effect is still very limited.

Due to material limitations, it's not yet possible to truly achieve immortality.

In the real world, at most it makes the drinker feel more energetic and refreshed, while also slightly healing injuries.

However, in another world, it can still be used to restore mental strength, restore the fighting power of teammates who are on the verge of death, remove negative effects, and so on.

"Immortal Delicacy Wine: Restores 50% HP to one ally from an incapacitated state. Alternatively, restores 50% HP and 100 SP to one ally, removes all negative status effects, and applies 'Skukkaga' and 'Rakukkaga'."

It can have some effect in the real world...

In another world, it would definitely be a very high-level recovery item.

"'Immortal Delicacies and Honey Wine'..."

Shiyu repeated the peculiar word awkwardly, becoming increasingly curious.

These 'wine's' clearly come with all sorts of wonderful 'supernatural effects'—either the ingredients used to make them are special, the brewing process is special, or both.

For wine lovers... this is truly a "priceless treasure" with endless possibilities.

“Sensei, these base spirits…”

Amamiya replied earnestly, "From now on, Shigure will be in charge of managing it... I will replenish these drinks regularly, and we'll see what kind of effects Shigure can achieve and what kind of developments he can make."

【~???~】(Shigure)

Shi Yu now felt that his journey from the distant Red Winter Federal Academy, which took almost a whole day by train, was indeed 'worth it'.

The infinite possibilities built on such a solid foundation... are simply irresistible to wine lovers.

"Yes, I will try my best to innovate... to live up to Sensei's expectations."

Holding the bottle of cherry blossom-flavored 'Fairy Delicacy Wine' in her arms, the girl made a solemn promise.

[I could feel the calm and energetic spirit emanating from Shiyu...]

[COOP Improvement!]

【Intermittent Night Rain (Priestess) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

'Next, we need to consider bringing back this batch of base liquor, along with the supplies Sensei provided to Operation Squad 227...'

Before Cerino's promise to "cancel the punishment" has been fulfilled, and knowing Cerino's tendency to forget important matters, Shiyu has basically given up hope that 227's punishment will be "cancelled."

With Sensei's support... the 227th Action Squad might just be able to create a 'Shangri-La' in the harsh conditions of the old school building.

After confirming the first batch of supplies to be handed over to the '227 Action Team' with Shigure, Amamiya then settled Shigure in the attic on the second floor of the coffee shop for the time being.

Upon arriving at the front hall, Amamiya was about to change the sign hanging on the door when she suddenly heard a clear, crisp sound of a wind chime.

'Jingle Bell--'

Amamiya paused, then naturally noticed Ye Nagisa entering through the door.

"よう、帰ってきたか (Oh, I'm back)."

After greeting Sojiro in his own voice, Amamiya naturally stood behind the bar.

Noticing the fatigue and worry between Ye Zhu's brows, Amamiya invited her to sit down at the bar.

Amamiya pulled a glass from under the bar, poured in ice and a small glass of 'Immortal Delight Wine,' which is especially suitable for relieving fatigue in the real world. Without saying much, he pushed it to Ye Zhu.

Ye Zhu could tell it was wine just by smelling it, but she didn't refuse.

Sometimes when the pressure is too much... you really need to drink some of this.

Ye Zhu picked up the cup in her hand and sipped the uniquely flavored 'wine' that wouldn't make her drunk.

Seeing that Ye Zhu did not refuse, Amamiya went a step further and directly touched the fluttering dog ears on the head of the blonde girl who, although only 17 years old, appeared more melancholy and tired than most adults.

Ye Zhu stopped what she was doing, slightly raising her eyelids as if to warn him.

Realizing that Amamiya showed no sign of stopping, she sighed softly and warned him with a hint of helplessness, "Sensei... touching your head and ears without permission is... harassment."

Amamiya continued working, teasingly saying, "So according to Ye Zhu's logic... my current behavior shouldn't be considered harassment, but rather 'assaulting a police officer,' right?"

Ye Zhu: "..."

【~???~】(Ye Zhu)

Never mind, I don't want to say any more.

Setting down her empty glass, she spoke in a tone of reminiscence about everyday life: "Today... several small warehouses in Valkyrie suffered a 'retaliatory attack' by members of the Helmet Corps."

“I led a team on an emergency response and witnessed the helmet gang, but we didn’t catch anyone. We only found some unnumbered equipment at the scene, which the members of the helmet gang probably didn’t have time to take with them when they fled in panic.”

Amamiya replied without surprise, "Yes, I know."

'Know'……

The fatigue in my body and mind was completely dispelled by the 'Immortal Delicacies Wine', and my dulled mind became sharp again.

With just a slight 'sip', Ye Zhu understood the unspoken meaning behind Amamiya's calm words.

"Is it... about to begin?"

Amamiya's reply remained calm: "Yes, it's about to begin."

Ye Zhu understood.

She didn't say much or ask many questions, and stretched as she got up from in front of the bar.

today……

That concludes our "nightlife" for the foreseeable future.

Ye Zhu strolled slowly to the door, leaned against the glass door frame, and briefly glanced at the night view outside the window.

She then turned back and took another look at the classic and elegant coffee shop.

After this is all over... this place will probably become a regular spot for me to relax and unwind.

"Sensei..."

Amamiya, wiping the glass, tilted her head slightly: "Hmm?"

"...While I'm away, if possible, please take good care of...the children at the Bureau of Life Safety."

"Ah."

Chapter 49 Kirino: What? My aim was actually pretty good!

Perhaps it was because Arius's team had set off early in the morning, heading towards the millennium...

The Xialai residential area was a little quieter today compared to yesterday.

The Helmet Gang's small-scale attack, a special operation to 'retaliate' against the Valkyrie Police Department, has already begun fabricating 'traces of life' for Arius's squad.

The next phase of Operation Clover—a powerful blow against the Valkyrie Police Department—is already brewing.

"Things are actually fine in Xia Lai's area for the time being..."

After capping and putting away the pen, and neatly categorizing the documents, Amamiya leaned back in her chair, her gaze subtly lingering on the student on duty for the day—Kirino Nakamatsu—whom Amamiya was about to call upon to do something.

Perhaps because she hadn't slept well last night after being informed by Alona that she was on duty for the day, and was too excited... her long, straight white hair, which was draped over her shoulders, still had a bit of frizz and unnaturalness from being unkempt.

“Kirito…”

Amamiya tried calling out, and the girl, tense as a taut string, immediately sat up hastily and nervously responded.

"Sen, Sensi... Is there a problem?"

"Or... is there something I need to do?"

Amamiya didn't reply, but continued to scrutinize Kirino with a critical gaze.