I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

【★2·Financial Planning】

[Financial Planning: I commissioned Yuka to do financial planning, which reduced Xia Lai's expenses to some extent. I also learned some tips on how to plan spending from Yuka, which I might try to use to make money grow, or for other purposes such as bargaining.]

[Assistant's Profile: An accountant for the seminars at Millennium Technology Academy. Known as the "Cold-Blooded Calculator" because she controls the disbursement of funds for numerous clubs and 'acts according to the rules', she proves to be less 'cold' than her title suggests.]

There shouldn't be anything else to do today... so let's rest.

'Starting tomorrow, I need to prepare to handle all sorts of complicated matters concerning Xia Lai…'

'Speaking of which, it's time to arrange the duty roster for the first "duty student" and the subsequent "duty students"...'

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Salt Noah Notices Something Strange

Late at night, in the seminar office.

In the brightly lit office, a 'literary girl' carrying a book, preparing to leave the seminar, arrived at the door.

"Yuka~ Haven't you finished finalizing today's accounts yet?"

Yuka, sitting in her seat, heard her best friend's voice and, with her intense concentration, slightly looked up.

The unwavering focus and composure in her eyes, coupled with the intense concentration that accompanied it, made even her best friend Noah feel slightly ashamed.

—You must understand that there are limits to human capabilities.

It is simply impossible to maintain long-term, highly efficient, and detached concentration to do one thing with complete focus.

Although there is a saying that "when the body can't hold on any longer, the will will lead you to break through the encirclement"... in reality, that is just a relatively emotional statement.

Human spirit, or rather 'reason', 'concentration'... whatever you say, has its limits.

Because of their aura, the students of Kivotos are physically much stronger than normal 'humans', and naturally, their spirits are also relatively more resilient...

Yet, they still retain the 'immaturity' that one would expect at this age.

"...Yuuka, are you okay?"

Sensing that something was wrong with her best friend, Noah moved closer to Yuka with a little concern.

He pulled out the top stack of documents and glanced at them. Relying on his photographic memory and his still outstanding mental arithmetic ability, which was slightly inferior to Yuka's, Noah tried to calculate the contents of the documents.

Then she was surprised to find... there were no mistakes.

Of course, the surprise wasn't in the 'no mistakes'—after all, simply not making mistakes was routine for Yuka.

Moreover, accounting is a profession where 'mistakes' are the least tolerated.

Noah was surprised... Yuka was able to process documents at her peak speed continuously and efficiently from the end of dinner until 22:00 PM, and still without making any mistakes.

"I'm fine, I'm okay..."

After finishing the last document, Yuka stood up, took the financial form from Noah's hand, and placed it on top. Then she placed the one she had just finished on top of the one Noah had previously taken.

After moving her slightly sore wrists, which were met with a surprised yet inquisitive gaze from her 'best friend', Yuka seemed to notice Noah's 'unusual gaze' as well.

"...What's wrong, Noah? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Noah took out a small notebook, flipped through it, and then smiled and began to explain in a 'reasonable and well-founded' manner.

"Could you please explain the unusual phenomenon of being able to concentrate fully on working from 19:00 PM to 22:00 PM and maintain that 'peak performance' throughout, Yuuka-chan~?"

Yuka looked surprised by Noah's 'questioning' with a squinting smile.

"Huh? It's already this late..."

After glancing at the mechanical clock in the seminar office, Yuka suddenly realized that she had actually been concentrating on her work for quite some time.

I didn't feel anything at all... it was as if only ten minutes had passed.

Why am I like this?

After this unusual question arose in her mind, Yuka subconsciously reached for the Kongming lock in her waist pouch.

Is the reason I'm in a state of complete focus and concentration for so long... because of this unique 'accessory' that Sensei gave me?

Noah did not continue questioning, but silently watched Yuka rummage through her waist bag.

This is… ?贰酒"?流就}亦卄删虾陆>/Q〣*un…

Is it some kind of educational toy that looks like it's made of wooden parts?

'How strange... Holding it in my hand, I feel as if I can sense an endless flow of wisdom and composure...'

Noah keenly heard his best friend's murmured words.

"Yuka-chan~ Can you tell me what this is?"

Yuka blushed slightly at her words, instantly displaying a shyness and panic that was completely unexpected for Noah and unlike what a 'cold-blooded Calculator' would show.

"This, this is..."

"A puzzle toy called the 'Kongming Lock'... is said to have been invented by a great strategist outside Kiwatos..."

Noah stared intently at the exquisitely crafted object, which looked nothing like the small creations sold in Kivotos.

A moment later, she rested one hand on her chest and the other on her elbow, while raising her index finger to her lips with the other hand. With her eyes half-closed, she spoke with a playful smile that seemed to see right through people: "It was... given by Sensei to Yuuka-chan, wasn't it?"

"...!!"

Yuka, whose 'origin' was instantly exposed, found it difficult to come up with excuses like 'it was bought from somewhere else'.

After a few seconds of silence, Yuka lowered her head and mumbled an "Mmm," acknowledging Noah's guess.

"This is a gift that Sensei gave me when she visited the seminar today... I feel like wearing it gives me an incredible sense of calm and makes it easier to concentrate..."

Not knowing how to explain, Yuka hesitated for a moment before handing the Kongming Lock to Noah.

"Noah can try it too... He should feel that way if he holds it in his hand."

Noah, with a hint of skepticism, took the Kongming Lock from Yuka's hand with a teasing look that seemed to say, "Yuka-chan actually lent me such a precious gift."

Perhaps it was the 'literary background' that made Noah more empathetic towards all things. The moment Noah received the Kongming lock, the feeling that Yuka had described appeared.

For a fleeting moment, she seemed to see the image of an older, strategist with a feather fan and silk turban (PS: this phrase was originally used to describe Zhou Yu, but Zhuge Liang is more famous).

indeed……

There's a very subtle feeling.

It seems that as long as you wear it, a continuous flow of wisdom and unwavering perseverance will flow into you.

It was as if a strange strategist had given him wisdom, courage, and perseverance.

After a moment of confusion, Noah nodded gently and returned the strange object to Yuka.

"It's strange... there really is a 'special feeling'."

I see... A gift from Sensei... with special effects.

Speaking of which, shortly after Yuka made an emergency visit to Xia Lai last time, she saw her playing with a Rubik's Cube that she had never seen before.

Noah had observed this Rubik's Cube up close—in terms of manufacturing process and other aspects, this '12x12 Rubik's Cube' could be far surpassed by the production capabilities of most of the schools in Giwotos.

But Yuka cherishes this 'outdated creation' and occasionally takes it out to play with it.

Were that special 12x12 Rubik's Cube, and this [Kongming Lock], gifts from Sensei to Yuka...?

His gaze grew increasingly subtle, yet a slight sense of loss began to stir within him.

Noah's expression remained unchanged, maintaining that gentle smile with his narrowed eyes: "It seems Sensei really values ​​Yuuka-chan~ Whether it was last time or this time, they've prepared special commemorative gifts for Yuuka-chan..."

Yuka's face turned red instantly after Noah's words pierced through her defenses.

"Noah?!"

Her face flushed, she wanted to argue, but she just couldn't get the words out.

—As Noah said.

Sensei gave her a 'special gift' twice... a Rubik's Cube brought from outside Giwatos. Although its manufacturing technology and materials were outdated, it had collectible value since it came from outside Giwatos.

And this [Kongming Lock] goes without saying. Although it is even more 'outdated and primitive' than the Rubik's Cube, it is a handmade item that took a lot of time to prepare and contains genuine care... In fact, this handmade item also has a special effect that makes the person holding it feel calm.

"This is a kind gesture from Sensei, Yuuka-chan, please cherish it and make the most of it~"

After winking at his 'best friend,' Noah successfully made Yuka 'run away in shame and anger.'

"Seriously, Noah... stop talking nonsense!"

"It's already quite late today... so let's get some rest. You've worked hard on the final accounts, Noah."

After saying a few words, Yuka only had time to hurriedly say "Remember to close the door and turn off the lights" before running away.

"..."

Watching his 'best friend' leave in shame and anger, Noah gradually frowned.

Then, she looked at the book she was holding.

How to truly understand a person of the opposite sex.

Clutching the book, the pensive young woman reached the door, turned off the light, and locked it. Her footsteps faded into the distance down the corridor.

"So... Yuka joined 'Shalai' today..."

"Ha ha……"

"Joining Xia Lai might be a decision worth considering..."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Xia Lai's "First Day" in Office

"Sensei... Today is your first day as the new leader of Xia Lai in every sense of the word. Are you ready?"

"Arona will act as my assistant and do her best to help Sensei!"

Hearing the energetic and earnest voice of the AI ​​girl coming from the Shitei no Hako, as if everything was ready, Amamiya couldn't help but perk up. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, he straightened his "Shalai uniform" that was specially tailored for him.

This is a set of men's clothing with white as the main color, and the style is probably similar to that of the Federation Student Council President, Rin, and other members of the Federation Student Council.

It's somewhat like the "naval admiral's uniform" of some countries, with white as the main color. When worn by a person with a straight posture and a calm temperament, it automatically becomes a unique sight.

After straightening his suit and tie, Amamiya felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were wearing a butler's uniform (phantom thief's outfit) in another world.

"Arona, help me see how my clothes look on me..."

Amamiya picked up the Shitei Box from the bedside table and then pointed the front lens of the Shitei Box at the full-length mirror.

"Hmm... Let Alona take a good look... Huh?"

【~???~】

"It suits Sensei very well... um."

Through the reflection in the full-length mirror, Amamiya clearly saw that the sea-blue AI girl on the screen seemed a little stunned, and then the halo above her head was distorted into a heart shape emitting pink heart-shaped particles.

"That's good."

Amamiya put away her tablet, went downstairs to Angel24 to buy a breakfast bento, quickly ate it, and took the opportunity to do her final self-care.

Upon arriving at Xia Lai's club activity room, he flipped the activity sign for "Federal Investigation Department Xia Lai" to "Working" for the first time.

Bathed in the bright morning sunlight, Amamiya opened the curtains and sat down at her desk. She began working on a document transfer machine that could instantly transmit paper documents, but was technologically far superior to a fax machine.

It must be said that there are a lot of things happening in various colleges and universities...

Some tasks require Amamiya to personally go to the target location to complete them.

Some tasks can be accomplished indirectly through the office methods of grading documents, with the help of the Federal Student Union, the Valkyrie Police Department, and other resources available to them.

The various tasks, big and small, that Rin sent out were almost all the kind of work that only required Amamiya to revise the documents and provide the corresponding strategies, which they could then carry out and complete.

The Shalai is an organization that "has authority but no goals," and there is no coercive force that "must do something special." In other words, as a 'Sensei,' Amamiya can do whatever she wants.

In fact, he could have easily refused to handle these extremely mentally taxing and patience-testing paperwork tasks.

But this was somewhat contrary to his original intention and the promise he made to the president of the Federal Student Council on the 'tramway between dawn and dusk'.