I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

As the chains were being dragged along and the clanging of metal made as they swayed, Amamiya saw the door to the back of the café being pushed open at the same time he pushed the door open.

A petite maid, dressed in a modified maid outfit, calmly pushed open the door.

She appears to be only a little over 1.4 meters tall, and her expression doesn't resemble that of a typical 'maid,' but rather something between serious and fierce, making her seem more like a delinquent girl...

In addition, that jacket, which is completely different from the maid outfit in style and has bright colors, looks like a thug's jacket... Is it a modified version of the old school uniform, or a special style of baseball uniform?

With red hair and red eyes, she was wrapped in chains that were different from the maid's style and resembled Kratos's Chaos Blades—chains long enough to drag on the ground—which, combined with the oppressive and intimidating power hidden within her petite frame...

Amamiya has a strong sense that if you gave her a blade of chaos, she could tear the Olympian gods apart with her bare hands.

[Assistant: Meganero / The Strongest Victory Maid]

Arcana: The Tower (XVI.The Tow)

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

"you……"

The red-haired girl's sharp, unsettling gaze fell upon Amamiya.

After giving Amamiya a once-over, she casually said, "You're that... Sensei from Xia Lai, right?"

“I am Meganero, the minister of the Millennium Academy’s agency, C&C.”

'A tower...?'

Amamiya quickly composed herself and greeted the other person calmly: "Hello."

Immediately afterwards, he went straight to the point.

"So... did President Rion invite me here because there's something she wants to tell me, or something to discuss? Or is there something she needs to convey?"

【~?~】

Thanks to the bond skills "Frenzied Snow Moon Flower" and "Crimson Calamity Charm" which provide bonuses when negotiating with designated special types of assistants, Nero has a fairly good impression of Amamiya.

'I never expected... that such a small [violent maid] would have two bond skills that are both related to 'destruction'...'

After a moment of reflection, Amamiya calmly accepted Nero's scrutiny.

"Hey, can you tell me exactly how you steal hearts?"

Amamiya: ?

After a moment of surprise, Amamiya smiled naturally: "Well... I'm sorry, I can't tell you the 'details.' After all, it's a special secret."

"Ok."

As expected, Nero didn't get a direct and clear result, and he curled his lip in disapproval.

"Then can you 'demonstrate' it in front of me? Target me... turn my desires into objects, steal them, and let me see them?"

Amamiya: ...

He really wanted to say, "I'm a 'phantom thief,' not a 'robber'..."

Forget it.

Amamiya shook his head with a wry smile: "That's impossible... Stealing hearts requires complex preliminary investigations; it's impossible to do it just by standing in front of someone."

"If you were to directly steal someone's desires from their face and take them into the real world... wouldn't that make you a 'robber'?"

"...That's it."

Nero, who seemed to show a very slight sense of 'relief' for this reason, was also somewhat disappointed.

"I heard from the Federal Student Association that stolen desires can turn into various items in the real world... I really want to see what my 'desires' will turn into."

Amamiya twitched her lips, thinking to herself that she had never seen such a 'proactive request' before... well, she had.

Saori and her group are the 'first' of such a special case.

Nero would then be the second example.

If a normal person heard that "the person in front of you has the ability to enter your inner world, steal your desires, and spy on your secrets," they would probably want to keep their distance.

Like Saori, or Nero, who actively seeks to steal hearts... (III) Emu? Jiu} Japanese?

Either they have a deep-seated reason, or... they might simply be curious about what the 'crystallization of desire' in their hearts will be and how it will manifest itself.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that 'this was a problem that Rion deliberately instructed Nero to solve.'

After a meaningless sigh, Nero turned around and waved to Amamiya.

“Sensei, come with me.”

After following Nero from the front of the 'maid café' to the back, Amamiya suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

Compared to the seemingly mild and unremarkable front hall, the back of the coffee shop is just right.

Whether it's the style of the walls, floors, or ceilings, or the simple little devices that can be seen everywhere, which look like micro-weapons used by secret agents, as well as various other tools... it all gives a real sense of a "hidden hideout".

After leading Amamiya to a preparation room that resembled a conference room, Nero said "Wait a moment" and hurriedly left.

She hadn't been gone long, only about two or three minutes later, when Amamiya heard footsteps outside the door that seemed to be deliberately lowered.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and tall maids in high heels walked in one after another with crisp and elegant steps.

The first maid to enter had a healthy dark complexion and long, black, Hime-style hair that reached her calves, making her appear somewhere between 'professional' and 'unprofessional'.

Tall and mature, she wore a maid outfit mainly in blue, white, and black, which gave her a 'just right' feeling.

Combined with those golden vertical pupils and that healthy dark skin...

This level of astringency, who could resist it?!

The moment she saw the other person, Amamiya instinctively straightened her body and adjusted her posture.

Good heavens... how does one person possess such 'natural sex appeal'?

[Assistant: Kakutate Karin / The Cautious Maid with a Discrepancy]

[Arcana: The High Priestess]

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'The Pope, and this title of 'cautious contrast'...'

Amamiya had reason to believe that she was probably the most 'normal' one in the club, just like Kayoko from Handyman 68 and Ayane from the Countermeasures Committee.

Noticing that Amamiya's gaze lingered on her briefly, Karin, upon entering, promptly straightened her back and puffed out her chest, trying to make her posture as imposing as possible.

She didn't greet Amamiya directly... after all, the other two members hadn't come in yet.

"Huh...? Is he Xia Lai's Sensei...?"

"When I saw it with my own eyes, it was indeed completely different from the information I had seen online..."

Before she was seen, her voice was heard; before the next member even entered, Amamiya could hear her energetic and lively voice.

Then, accompanied by footsteps, a girl who looked like a 'golden retriever' and seemed extremely friendly, whom Amamiya had seen in the other world not long ago, squeezed in.

'She is... that shadow of the maid from another world...?'

Chapter 59 Sensei, have you heard the story of the "Ark"?

Upon seeing the second maid enter the room, Amamiya frowned slightly and carefully examined the maid once more.

He found the maid very familiar... The reason she looked familiar was because, not long ago, when he, along with the game club members and the two 'outsiders,' Shirako and Hoshino, were conducting reconnaissance...

He beat up a shadow that looked almost exactly like her.

The shadow of that 'maid' is a product of the personal perception formed by the master of the otherworldly palace—who is highly suspected to be the target of Tsukigami Rion.

In other words... although the shadow looks exactly like the person, it is ultimately a product of the temple master's willpower and has nothing to do with the person himself.

What truly relates to her is the shadow of another world that exists in the 'collective unconscious' and corresponds to her.

[Assistant: Ichinose Asuna / The perceptive lucky maid]

[Arcana: Destiny (LA ROUE DE FORTUNE)]

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'Agility and good luck... So perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that the shadow managed to evade my grappling hook attack.'

"Since I'm a 'maid'... then I should call you 'master'!"

A girl with long, gray-gold hair that resembled flaxen hair, bouncing and surging, approached Amamiya and introduced herself after a sweet greeting.

"Nice to meet you...Sensei, no...Master! My name is 'Ichinose Asuna,' my maid!"

Not only does it give the impression of being "like a golden retriever"... but the feeling it evokes upon closer contact is the same...

'She really is consistent inside and out.'

Amamiya, whose hand she had taken and then shook hands with, smiled slightly and nodded to Asuna.

—This charisma is just too powerful.

The last one to enter was a woman with very long, light brown hair and an equally stunning figure. Her maid outfit, however, was unusually 'classical' – a long skirt reaching her ankles, glasses, and an almost 'airtight' covering, giving her an aura of 'perfect elegance'…

"Heh... Asuna is right. Even if we only establish the most basic relationship with Sensei from this moment on... then, from a maid's perspective, we should call Sensei 'Master'."

“Now that Sensei has come here… then Sensei shall be our ‘master’.”

With a gentle smile, she lifted her skirt and bowed slightly to Amamiya in a maid's greeting. Maintaining the maid's etiquette of keeping her head down and not looking directly at Amamiya, the girl introduced herself in a soft and mature voice.

"Zhu Yin of C&C sends you his greetings."

[Assistant: Akane Muroksa / The Perfect Armor-Piercing Maid]

Arcana: The Empress (I.The Empress)

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'She's the same type of rich young lady as Okumura Haru... She seems very gentle most of the time, but once she enters battle mode, or rather, 'gets really angry,' who knows what she might do...'

"So why is her title 'Perfect Armor Piercer'...? 'Perfect' is easy to understand; it describes her maid-like demeanor. But what does 'armor piercer' mean?"

Nero entered last, closing the door behind him, after the other three members had all gone inside.

It has to be said that... her short stature of 1.4 meters stands out starkly among a group of maids with an average height of 165cm and a mature, sophisticated build.

However, her undeniable 'fierce' nature perfectly offsets this.

Despite his small stature, his strength should not be underestimated...

"Ahem... Now that everyone is here, as agreed beforehand, let's proceed..."

"Let's get down to business."

After clearing his throat and starting a conversation, Nero decisively handed over the 'voice' to Akane, who was the 'decision-maker' most of the time.

Amamiya immediately leaned forward, placed her hands on the table with her fingers interlaced, and made a gesture of 'listening attentively'.

"Hmm, what exactly did that 'highest-ranking person in charge of the seminar' advise?"

Zhu Yin seemed to have been prepared. After rummaging through her box containing various explosives, she took out a document and placed it on Amamiya's desk.

“Sensei…please take a look at this.”

"in addition……"

After a brief pause, Zhu Yin pretended to be thinking, as if recalling Li Yin's tone at the time.

"President Rion asked us to pass on a message to you..."

After another slight pause, the girl lowered her eyebrows slightly, pushed up her glasses, and mimicked the tone of Rion when she said those words, speaking meaningfully.

"Sensei..."

Have you heard the story of the "Ark"?