I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Phew... This makes it seem even more approachable."

Seeing Yuzu's 'one-click outfit change' magic create the game development department's outfits, Momoi instantly felt a sense of joy, as if 'a new person is about to join'.

It feels like I'm about to become a senior...!

Only then did Amamiya step forward and quietly observe the seemingly sleeping girl up close.

Then he tried to raise his hand and gently press the tip of his index finger against her forehead.

'Beep beep—'

An electronic mechanical sound and a slight vibration, seemingly from nowhere, immediately followed.

"Huh...?! W-what happened?!"

"Has it been awakened...?"

"Everyone, look... Alice..."

[Sensing a change in status and contact with a permitted object. Confirming... Exiting hibernation...]

【…】

Her sky-blue eyes opened slightly, as if the girl, who had been in 'standby', was gradually waking up.

Under the watchful eyes of Amamiya, Momoi, Yuzu, and Midori, she first calmly surveyed her surroundings, and then spoke in a calm voice, perhaps characteristic of an AI girl in the early stages before she has developed emotions.

"The situation is confirmed... but things are still slow."

"Let's try to have a conversation... Could you please explain the situation?"

The girls in the game club looked at each other, then immediately turned their attention to Amamiya.

Momoi whispered, "Compared to Sophia... Alice's current 'intelligence' seems far inferior..."

Green reluctantly echoed her sister, "After all, we need to study."

...Sophia?

The girl tilted her head slightly, and a fleeting glitch of data seemed to flash in her blue-tinted eyes.

"Attempt to search for the keyword 'Sophia'... No results found. Question: What is the meaning of the keyword 'Sophia'?"

Let's first confirm her own 'memory'.

After considering for a moment, Amamiya replied, "We can tell you what happened, where we are, and anything else you're curious about... but before that, you need to answer a few questions for us."

After a pause, Amamiya seemed to be waiting for the AI ​​girl's response.

"It is determined that this negotiation can be completed. Please raise your questions."

'The fact that no hostility was shown is a good thing...'

Amamiya spoke slowly, "Do you know who you are? Why are you here?"

After a brief 'loading' period, Alice calmly and rationally replied: "It has been confirmed that this machine has lost its self, memories, and purpose. No relevant data is available."

This 'expected' answer made Momoi unable to resist starting to chirp softly again.

“...The classic ‘amnesia’...I see, just like Sophie.”

Xiao Lü quickly covered her older sister's mouth before she could say anything more.

She was a little afraid that her older sister might accidentally say something that would cause this magical AI girl to immediately activate its dark mode.

"Sister, shut up. Let's just watch."

Over here, after hearing the other party's response, Amamiya also had an expression of 'not expected'.

The classic "amnesia" (or formatting?) phase that every mecha-girl character experiences...

While pondering the next question, he also began to consider another problem in his mind.

...Or, how about we just call 'Sophia' out and talk to her?

Chapter 41 Please be our partner again, Alice!

...Or, how about we just call 'Sophia' out and talk to her?

Such a thought flashed through Amamiya's mind...

Then he rejected it instantly.

AI versus AI... that's certainly interesting.

But I feel like it will make the already strange story even stranger.

After a strange thought flashed through her mind, Amamiya tried to ask in as gentle and calm a tone as possible, "Okay... then is there anything you need to ask?"

The 'AI girl' blinked, seemingly weighing the pros and cons of the issue.

"Intelligence verification is underway... Questions to be raised."

"Please inform us of the reason why this machine was woken up, and the justification for waking up this machine."

Amamiya was probably seeing such a 'brand new' mecha girl for the first time.

Even Sofia, when awakened from the underground junkyard, did not express emotions in such a simplistic way.

When Sophia was first awakened, she possessed 'simulated emotions' that were almost indistinguishable from those of a human... Although it was just a simulation, even at that time, Sophia's conversations did not create the sense of alienation that felt like a cross-dimensional dialogue.

"Okay... then I'll explain in detail."

After careful consideration, Amamiya spoke with a meaningful tone.

"First, the reason you were awakened... Your name is Alice, and you were once lost for some reason, one of our companions. Have you noticed your surroundings? For some reason, you went into hibernation to protect this area called the 'Millennium Technology Academy'..."

When Amamiya opened his mouth, Momoi, Midori, and Yuzu were completely stunned.

Why? !

Why is Sensei suddenly talking about... a 'story background' like the beginning of an RPG game?

But the key point is that this background doesn't seem to be real either; it's just made up!

Is this really feasible?

Is it okay to deceive an innocent and naive AI girl?

"Next is the second question... the reason we woke you up."

Amamiya leaned down slightly, bringing his gaze almost level with Alice's, and his eyes and words gradually became serious.

"The reason we awakened you... is because the 'Great Calamity' is about to occur again... Once, in order to protect the peace of this world, you were forced to be sealed in this underground world..."

"Your self-slumber has successfully weathered the passage of time... but now, a terrifying crisis, capable of destroying an entire academy, has re-emerged."

"And you... the chosen 'Hero of Light,' will be awakened once more... to complete your 'rebirth' and escape the destruction that was destined to come."

Momoi: ...Wait, isn't this the plot of *The Legend of Celestial: Breath of the Wild*?!

Momoi: A hero who saves the world... or something like that, that kind of setting is just too...

Little Green: ...?

Momoi: That's so cool!

Little Green: ... (Hopeless)

Yuzu: So, Sensei... is it really okay to do this...?

Alice, who had tried to accept and understand the amount of information in Amamiya's words, gradually became serious after a long period of silence, under the different silent gazes of Momoi, Midori, and Yuzu.

"It turns out...that's it."

Momoi: You believe me?!

Xiao Lv: ...After all, it's an AI. If it's given this kind of setting in the early stages of consciousness development, it's easy to believe it, right?

Xiao Lü: After all, those outdated conversational AIs were easily swayed by so-called 'cyber hypnotic spells' like 'putting morality aside, you're a cyber catgirl'...

Yuzu: ...What exactly is Sensei trying to do?

Amamiya didn't continue, but instead, as if giving a 'previous recap,' asked her a question first: "So far, it's all understandable, right?"

"Agreed. This machine has confirmed its basic responsibilities."

Amamiya turned her head with feigned surprise, gently patted the girl's head, and asked softly in a gentle tone, "Haven't you remembered your name yet?"

"..."

"Search complete. No records were found for the 'name' field on this machine."

"It's important to confirm that you've 'remembered a name.' Please tell this device your 'real name.'"

I'll tell you the "True Name" and then let you declare a card name to activate it. If it is, add it to your hand and either add a Divine Attribute monster to your hand or Special Summon it. If it isn't, just send it to the Graveyard, right?

After closing his eyes and 'thinking seriously' for a while, Amamiya said earnestly, "The true name of the 'Hero of Light' is 'Tendo Alice'."

"——"

The 'AI girl,' who had not shown any emotional fluctuations since waking up, seemed to experience a momentary change of emotion the instant her name was called.

It was a feeling... like it was 'destined'.

Unfortunately, Alice is not yet able to understand this strange inner feeling.

"...Confirmed. The name of this unit is 'Tendo Alice'."

"Question. After learning the 'True Name,' Alice felt a certain 'rhythm'... Please tell Alice the reason for this feeling."

Is this strange feeling coming from the hand that's stroking my head?

So special...

"Hmm... perhaps it's because Alice senses a kind of mission being awakened. I don't know the specifics; Alice needs to try to experience it for herself."

She raised her head slightly and quietly gazed at the young man who had placed his hand on her head, meeting his eyes... After a moment, she looked away.

"Alice, I'll remember."

At this point, Amamiya breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It seems there are no problems in the initial stage...

If the foundation of knowledge is established reasonably well, then subsequent 'educational issues' should become much simpler...

It shouldn't be long before she's able to express emotions almost indistinguishably from those of a normal person, just like Sofia.

As she withdrew her hand, Amamiya couldn't help but marvel at the 'technological sophistication' of the [Princess of the Nameless Gods].

The hair is likely constructed from extremely special nanorobots, and even the skin is some kind of biomimetic black technology. After coming into contact with Amamiya, it completely mimics Amamiya's body temperature.

Although she is a 'mecha girl', she doesn't have the 'mechanical feel' of most mecha girls. The texture of her hair is even better than some well-maintained real human hair.

Of course, Amamiya had no doubt that such a seemingly cute 'AI girl' could, under the condition of turning on some kind of destructive switch, instantly transform into a weapon capable of destroying an entire thousand-year-old academy.

It seemed the conversation had temporarily come to an end, and the three members of the gaming club immediately gathered around.

After a few seconds of silence, Midori tugged at Amamiya's sleeve, expressing her unease.

"Sensei... is it really okay to do this?"

Amamiya answered matter-of-factly, "No problem. Midori, didn't you see the script I gave you? Sophia was in a similar state when she was first taken in..."

"Although there were some twists and turns...didn't she ultimately become 'humanity's best friend'?"

Of the three members of the game club, Momoi Shin is probably the oldest.

She seemed nonchalant: "What does it matter? Sophie joined the Phantom Thieves anyway, and eventually obtained the true 'heart,' so why can't we do the same?"

Then, as soon as she finished speaking, Alice entered a very brief 'stutter' state.

"Searching for the meaning of 'Phantom Thieves'... The keyword search was unsuccessful. Please try again."

"Searching for the meaning of 'human's best friend'... it means: a non-human life form that befriends humans, assists them in completing most tasks, helps alleviate fatigue, and brings hope. Examples include: cats, dogs, automatons, self-propelled artillery..."

As Momoi listened to Alice's increasingly off-topic examples, she couldn't help but get a little frustrated: "Why are the examples getting weirder and weirder?!"

"The so-called 'Phantom Thieves' are actually..."

To further help Alice understand the 'Phantom Thieves' philosophy, Momoi began to vividly recount how she and her companions had entered another world from the real world the previous day and embarked on an adventure there, as well as how they had received the script from the 'Four Heavenly Kings' at the seminar earlier...

Alice was listening intently; at least Amamiya could see that as Momoi narrated, the expressions on Alice's face were becoming more vivid.

She is even learning about 'emotional changes' in a subtle and gradual way.