I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"In the end... even I am surprised by what happened to me."

After a pause, she cut to the chase and asked the question that had recently arisen in her mind—

"Sensei, can you tell me... what is it about you...?"

"The one who cured my body?"

...So it was because of the real changes that had occurred in me that they were curious about these changes and that's why they called me over?

Amamiya lowered her guard a little and did not answer Himari's question immediately, but instead considered the 'starting point' from which she asked the question.

Clearly... while Himari was asking 'how to cure her body,' her true intentions were not actually on that matter.

Amamiya had recently attempted to heal Himari using Messiah's abilities—Amamiya was certain that some advanced healing skills could fundamentally alter and improve students' physical condition.

It seems that Himari knows more about the changes in her body than Amamiya does.

The 'cured' she referred to wasn't Amamiya curing her previous 'weakness' and restoring her body to the physical condition of a normal student, but rather...

The saying goes, "A mental illness requires a mental cure."

After thinking it over, Amamiya calmly replied, "If you know this, you should be able to roughly guess the method of 'treatment'."

"If a person has 'defects' in both body and mind... and you only treat their physical body, then there is still a possibility that they will firmly believe 'my body has defects'..."

"Therefore, even if the physical defects are treated, the person will still be unable to 'act normally' because they do not acknowledge or deny it in their mind."

"So... what if we choose to enter the target's inner world and psychologically 'treat' their abnormal symptoms?"

After a brief silence, Himari skillfully concealed the curiosity and inquisitiveness in her eyes, thoughtfully raised her head slightly, and directed her gaze towards Amamiya, where they met.

Is this also a form of "repentance"?

Amamiya nodded—in a sense, this was indeed a form of 'repentance'.

However, compared to repentance, it is far too mild.

"I see……"

【~??~】

After giving a meaningful, slow nod, Himari stopped speaking and instead tried to fill in the blanks of the other world with her own imagination.

Ok……

It must be that Sensei saw me, the 'all-knowing and beautiful princess,' in another world, was immediately awestruck, and then felt sorry for my current state. In the end, she searched the whole world, found the medicinal herbs to cure my illness, brewed some kind of potion, and that's how she 'cured' herself.

The healing of the shadows of the other world will also manifest in the corresponding people in the real world...

While it may be insignificant to the physical symptoms experienced by people in the real world, this unique, placebo-like shift in mindset is still worth exploring…

Having considered this, Riju lowered her eyelids slightly, and a subtle, (in her opinion) graceful and elegant smile appeared on her lips.

"Regarding the progress of our exploration of the 'other world,' Sensei... could you give me a general overview?"

It's not that I can't say it.

Amamiya hummed in agreement, then briefly summarized, "We've obtained information from you in the other world, as well as from Beritas... We now know that Rion does indeed exist in the Palace, and we're preparing to go there for an adventure."

'Oh……'

Riju showed a rare hint of curiosity and surprise.

After giving a soft "oh," she became engrossed in her own thoughts again, without asking any further questions.

She was indeed curious about this 'mysterious thing'... but she also knew the priorities in interpersonal relationships.

Before the relationship between two people is good enough to be completely open with each other, it is absolutely taboo to ask about someone else's secrets in such depth.

"So next... it should be a busy time of planning the strategy, right?"

After her gaze lingered briefly on Amamiya's profile, Himari softened her tone and made her 'promise' with a hint of weariness.

"Sensei... if there's anything I, the [clear-sounding genius beautiful hacker], need to do... just let me know."

[...I felt the support from Rimari.]

Coopation has been improved!

【Celebrity Himari (Bird and Fish/Empress) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Also, Sensei... please take note."

Seemingly wanting to yawn, but ultimately turning to a sigh, Himari's tone became more serious.

"I suggest you... take a look at the ancient ruins."

"As Alice was taken away... something seemed to have changed there..."

Chapter Eighteen: Because Alice is My Princess

The weather in Kivotos is getting colder day by day as the year draws to a close.

This chill was directly reflected in the thin layer of frost that hung from the glass mirror when Amamiya was washing up in the bathroom in the early morning. This frost had condensed on the mirror because the window wasn't closed properly.

'It feels like soon we'll truly be able to see snow in this world...'

With a slight anticipation for the vibrant 'coldness' that the snowy season in this world might bring, Amamiya began to plan her daily work for the day.

Let's finish all our work for today first, and then start exploring Rion's 'hall'...

'Before exploring the palace, we need to travel to the other world of [Elido] to inquire with Himari there, to see if Rion has any weaknesses, vulnerabilities, or other noteworthy aspects.'

Having made up her mind, Amamiya began her daily work—

The increasingly complex paperwork from the Federal Student Association takes up almost half of Amamiya's time every day.

The Federal Student Council seems to use a precise calculation and evaluation system to "flexibly" assign Amamiya's daily tasks based on parameters such as her efficiency and accuracy in handling work...

The daily workload is allocated just right, giving people a sense of precision, neither too much nor too little.

Whether Amamiya worked hard or slacked off, the workload was just right and could be completed within a morning.

"The way the Federal Student Union handles paperwork and job allocation is quite unique..."

After reviewing the last document, Amamiya straightened up and stretched her body, which was a little stiff from sitting all morning.

After gazing out the window at the view below the Xia Lai Building, Amamiya took the elevator downstairs and headed straight for the Millennium Game Development Department.

Standing outside the club activity room, Amamiya, who had been preparing to push the door open, easily heard Momoi's energetic and expectant voice.

"Where will Sensei take us today...? Are we going straight to the 'Demon King's Castle'?!"

"The thought of facing our enemy today, who might be the legendary demon king of the seminar, is making me excited..."

Amamiya, who was about to knock on the door, paused slightly, thinking to herself that Momoi was as energetic as ever...

—As everyone knows, it's precisely because of this kind of 'energetic, silly girl' that it's easier to 'make fun of others' when you tease her occasionally.

After a mischievous idea suddenly popped into her head, Amamiya, adhering to the principle of doing what she thought of, first used her special walking technique to imitate the crisp sound of high heels hitting the ground.

With a slight bend of his knuckles, Amamiya knocked on the door of the club room, then used his 'phantom thief's voice-changing technique' to imitate Yuka's voice and tone.

"Momoi~ Midori~...Are you in there?! Open the door right now and explain what's going on with the games club lately!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Amamiya could clearly feel that the club room became completely silent.

After a long silence of several seconds, Momoi, feeling a chill, finally let out a belated sob.

"The taste...!"

"Oh no, Yuka the Great Demon Queen is here! Alice, we need to get ready..."

After a very slight tinkling sound, Alice's slightly hurried and nervous voice came through.

"As long as I can lower Yuuka's guard by acting cute, just like last time, right... Alice will do her best...!"

Standing outside the door, Amamiya then heard a series of light footsteps approaching from afar.

'Squeak—'

The door was gently opened from the inside, and then a small head with misty blue eyes peeked out timidly from the door frame.

Her delicate, clear, azure eyes contained fragile and tender emotions that didn't need any 'algorithm' or 'imitation' to come alive. Her exquisite and adorable cheeks, like solidified cream or a doll, were also tinged with a faint blush that seemed to be either pitiful or shy.

"Um, Yuka-senpai, Alice...?!"

Even the tone of her voice when she speaks has a unique quality of a 'junior girl,' somewhere between timid and hesitant, which sounds so gentle and vulnerable that it makes people want to soften their hearts.

However, the sound stopped abruptly when the girl saw the figure standing outside the door.

"Eh... not Yuka-senpai, but Sensi...?"

Amamiya wore an expression somewhere between 'suppressing laughter' and gentleness, and reached out to pinch Alice's surprised, bewildered cheek, which seemed to be frozen in shock, not quite understanding what had happened yet.

"I have to say Alice is really cute... If she were to use such a disguise to 'deceive' the Demon King Yuuka, she would surely soften the heart of the cold-blooded Demon King."

Alice, whose cheeks were being rubbed, quickly revealed a comfortable and pleasant smile as she reveled in the blissful touch.

"Does Sensei think Alice is cute like this...?"

Amamiya replied in a serious tone, "Alice is of course cute."

Thinking back to yesterday in the other world, when Sophia awakened Alice, she temporarily added the "princess" buff based on Kei's title of "Princess of the Nameless Gods" to Alice. Amamiya's smile deepened, and she added earnestly in a soft voice, "Because Alice is 'the princess who belongs only to me.'"

【~???~】

Although the two sentences seem unrelated, Alice easily sensed the sincere kindness and the accompanying 'cherished treasure' in Amamiya's words.

Gaining human emotions is an extremely difficult task for 'AI'...

For Alice, experiencing it was an experience that made her want to push her luck.

Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why 'human beings always greedily absorb recognition and various other positive emotions from the outside world'.

It really can make people greedy, and then addictive...

As an AI that has only recently acquired its own 'emotions and heart', Alice is like a blank sheet of paper when it comes to such calm emotions—therefore, her resistance, if not negative, is almost infinitely close to zero.

"Alice is not only everyone's hero... but also a princess who belongs only to Sensei... hehehe..."

Alice, whose face was about to be rubbed raw by Amamiya, squinted her eyes like a cat enjoying itself and murmured softly without realizing it.

This 'comfortable enjoyment' lasted for about ten seconds until Momoi, puzzled by the lack of further sounds from Yuka, tentatively asked a question.

“…Alice?”

"Where is Yuka...?"

Amamiya paused, gave Alice a meaningful smile that said "keep quiet for now," and then, pinching his throat with his index finger and thumb, spoke in a very "stern" tone.

"Momoi...? I heard your voice! Come out right now!"

"Kougua!"

Momoi, who had been skeptical, was suddenly jolted and showed great fear.

Perhaps due to excessive fear, her voice trembled noticeably in response.

"Could it be... that Alice has already been... done to by the Demon King Yuuka..."

"Am I next?!"

Realizing Amamiya's intention, Alice immediately adopted a crying tone as if she had been caught.

"Waaah... Alice has been captured by Yuuka the Great Demon King... Momoi, run..."

Alice's words only made things worse, as Momoi seemed to panic even more in the room, and then Yuzu let out another short cry.

After the room had calmed down, Amamiya imitated Yuka's steps and, amidst Momoi's increasingly frightened cries, quickly pushed open the door—

He stood against the light at the doorway, surveying the consistently dim environment of the game department before focusing his gaze on the 'shivering and sweating' metal cabinet.

Amamiya, who could see with her "third eye" that three tarot cards were floating on a small metal cabinet at the same time, couldn't help but chuckle. She thought to herself that Yuka's title of "Great Demon King" was really intimidating to these clowns in the game club.

Upon entering the room, Amamiya reverted to her normal voice, then went to Yuzu's metal cabinet, reached out and pulled on the door, opening it...

The three members of the gaming club were crammed into a cabinet that was usually only for Yuzu to stay in, in a very strange way. Each of them had an indescribable fear, worry, and apprehension on their faces.