I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

It wasn't until Amamiya took out a pen and signed it that Akane's polite yet distant expression, which was based on a polite smile, seemed to melt away a bit, and her 'smile' seemed to become more genuine.

"Then, I hope you will take good care of me in the future..."

"……Owner."

[...I sensed the anticipation emanating from Akane.]

Coopation is now unblocked!

[★1 Ability: 'Elegant Penetration' is now unlocked!]

Amamiya naturally extended her hand and politely shook hands with Akane's outstretched hand.

It was just a fleeting 'polite handshake,' but he could clearly sense that after the bond was established, the 'maids' in front of him underwent a transformation in their attitude towards him, like an iceberg thawing.

Once the bond is established, the 'assistant' who has formed a bond with Amamiya will feel a sense of security that "I am never alone" and "I am closely attached to Amamiya" whenever they are together.

This special 'bond' will become stronger as the bond deepens.

In the end, it will transform into an unbreakable and profound relationship, connecting hearts that were once strangers.

As the bond deepens, those who have formed bonds will gradually come to realize that 'Amamiya will be the only indispensable person in their lives'.

Zhu Yin, who had instantly relaxed all her 'external armor' defenses, suddenly became 'cute, approachable and friendly' again.

"Sensei, is there anything you need to tell us now?"

Amamiya was about to shake her head when she suddenly remembered that Rion had planned to 'cling to her' ever since she repented.

Should we hand her over to the maids and have them accept her...?

After a moment's hesitation, Amamiya temporarily put aside the idea—the grudge in her heart couldn't be erased in a short time.

He was currently unsure of the nature of his relationship with the four members of the maid club, but he suspected that the relationship was strained, even precarious, bordering on hostility.

If he chooses a hardline approach, it will only backfire and immediately shatter the newly established bond.

"We will let you know if anything happens later."

Zhu Yin seemed to sense Amamiya's momentary hesitation and could roughly guess the 'confrontation' in Amamiya's mind.

She didn't say much, but politely gave a curtsy by lifting her skirt.

"In that case..."

"To avoid disturbing your rest this evening, Sensei, the maids will take their leave for now."

"We await your call..."

"Sensei...no."

""Owner"."

Is using vision control in Chapter 9 an essential technique for Kiwatos?

Before the first rays of dawn could even shine through the curtains, Amamiya heard a gentle voice calling him to get up.

“Master, according to your schedule, you should get up and handle official business now.”

It wasn't Sophia, and it certainly wasn't Alona, ​​who was currently secretly competing with Sophia and always liked to be a little ahead of Sophia in everything, putting in a little more effort.

Instead... she was lifting the hem of her maid's skirt with one hand, and with her other hand she was making a "V" sign to Amamiya lying on the bed—a seemingly sparkling "blonde maid."

She stood at the head of the bed, with the drawn curtains behind her blocking out the dazzling yet not warm morning dew and sunlight of winter.

A slight breeze, carrying a hint of coolness, wafted through the slightly ajar window, blowing the girl's surging golden hair into a cascading waterfall of golden strands.

This scene reminded Amamiya of something he had seen in a book outside of Kiwatos, a description that seemed to be from some ancient text—

Its moo is dazzling, its hair is like silk.

A lost soul, yet with a composed and balanced spirit.

A yearning for self-redemption.

Amamiya remembered that this short passage of classical Chinese was used to describe a 'beautiful woman who was lost in the maze of life,' which was quite fitting to describe the feeling she gave off.

But... this vision control is really pushing the limits...

While internally complaining, Amamiya did not get up immediately. Instead, she lay on the bed, hugging her blanket, her gaze meeting that of the 'blonde maid' standing at the head of her bed.

"..."

"..."

There was a silence of about a minute.

Seeing that Amamiya didn't seem to be getting up, Toki tilted her head slightly, blinked, and calmly and 'sharply' remarked, "Sensei, you really are lazy."

She took a small step forward, and at the same time lowered her skirt, which covered her fair, round, and shapely thighs.

So, the 'secret territory of a young girl' that seemed to be barely visible if the skirt were to be opened any further was immediately covered under the skirt, instantly killing any interest.

"Since that's the case, then there's nothing we can do..."

Seemingly hesitant, after a moment's hesitation, she sat down on the edge of the bed, her slender and well-proportioned back to Amamiya.

Then, she fiddled with her hands near her tie at her chest—and immediately, the specially made maid outfit became noticeably loose.

With a rustling sound of fabric, she took off a blue ribbon and placed it in front of the bedside table.

Even after removing the ribbon from her maid outfit, she didn't stop moving.

Then, as the fabric of her clothes loosened further, the girl took off a corner of her maid outfit—her delicate, smooth shoulders and long hair fell down, half-concealed and half-hidden by her fine, smooth golden hair.

Based on the principle that "the cicadas' chirping makes the forest even quieter, and the birds' singing makes the mountain even more secluded," this unique beauty of being "half-hidden" actually inspires a "burning desire to explore."

In contrast, seeing someone wearing a swimsuit, or even more outrageous attire, might actually feel rather uninteresting...

Similar thoughts echoed in his mind, and Amamiya was slightly taken aback for a moment.

He immediately got up, clutching the blanket, and shrank back, asking in surprise, "...Shi? What are you doing?"

Shi's response was straightforward: "Although it's not in the maid's code I've learned, and no one has ever said that before, it's only natural for a good maid to understand and accept all of her master's capricious requests."

"so……"

She paused meaningfully: "...If your wish, Master, is to sleep a little longer, then as your maid, I also have the obligation to sleep with you and become your life-size body pillow—or to warm your bed."

Amamiya was speechless.

Where did you learn these maid rules from?

Is it the other world?

Rubbing his temples, Amamiya did not do anything particularly unreserved, such as 'directly embracing and instantly refining'.

He said helplessly, "I don't think you need to go to such lengths to get me out of bed."

Amamiya could, of course, see that Toki's series of actions were not actually for the purpose of crawling into Amamiya's bed for what she called 'sleeping together'.

It was just a measure to provoke Amamiya into waking up or to make her react in some way.

After all, their relationship isn't at the level of "crawling into each other's beds to warm each other's hearts" yet.

Of course, we cannot rule out a very slight possibility—that she is sleepy and wants to go back to sleep.

After all, when an 'emperor' assists someone, they usually have a peculiar thought process at certain special times...

Judging by the depth of the bond...

For an assistant to "warm your bed," the prerequisite is that Amamiya's bond with them must be at least five stars.

Five stars—that's a very clear dividing line between a 'normal relationship' and a 'profound special relationship'.

At this point, Amamiya and Toki have only established an initial 'bond'. This most basic relationship can be described as almost nonexistent...

At most, it will only make the bondage user feel a special sense of reliance. They will feel that with Amamiya by their side, they will not be alone... that's all.

To make someone feel like they are the only indispensable person in your life, the bond needs to be developed to at least seven stars.

Of course, Amamiya could also shamelessly play dumb and agree with all of Shi's actions, even taking her directly into bed—Amamiya had reason to believe that the other party would not resist.

But in that case, the bond between them would have no chance to continue developing.

Sure enough, upon noticing Amamiya's change, Toki immediately got up, put on her maid outfit, and put the bow tie she had taken off back on.

“Sensei, please encourage me if you think I’ve done a good enough job.”

Seemingly quite pleased with her 'wake-up operation,' she flashed a peace sign with both hands at Amamiya.

Amamiya: "..."

His face darkened slightly. After a moment of silence, he didn't follow her advice despite her obvious pleading look. Instead, he asked curiously, "You... maid rules, who did you learn them from? Rion?"

He simply shook his head.

"President Rion did indeed train me—however, her training focused on armed activities related to bodyguarding, intelligence, and espionage."

"The maid's code is a summary of my understanding based on other sources, such as anime (Black Lagoon [Robert]) and games (Touhou Project [Sakuya Izayoi])."

Amamiya: "..."

Hard clam.

It's hard to imagine how Rion managed to raise such a maid...

Does she have to "endure" this so-called "maid" who probably doesn't know how to cook three meals a day, doesn't consider nutrition or dietary science, and is a complete mess in daily life, so it's called serving but actually "torture"?

He waved his hand, then gave Shi a thumbs up.

【~???~】

"Then, I will assist you in handling the remaining official business..."

Amamiya twitched the corner of her mouth, having already given up on making sarcastic remarks.

Oh well... as long as she's happy.

While feeling helpless, Amamiya was already considering when to meet Rion, who had finished her repentance—she needed to find out from her whether she was going to be "tortured" like this every day.

“Sensei, if you’re wondering if President Rion is usually served like this… then I can tell you definitively.”

Seemingly noticing that Amamiya's mood was a bit off, Rion calmly looked at Amamiya's face and said, "President Rion doesn't need this level of service."

"Usually, the most frequent daily instructions I receive from President Rion are 'make tea' and 'make coffee'."

"Or, it could be 'Go to [XXX] (the name of a certain restaurant in the millennium) to buy [XXX] (the name of the set meal number)'."

"Besides that..." Shi said calmly, "President Rion did not assign me any other daily life tasks."

Fine……

Amamiya didn't ask why she wasn't there yesterday. Instead, she waved to her, indicating that she needed to change clothes and asked her to leave.

This time, Shi didn't offer to help Amamiya change her clothes; instead, she opened the bedroom door and went out on her own.

The moment she left the bedroom, Amamiya saw the prompt from the third eye.

【~???~】

[...I sensed that Shi relaxed her reservations somewhat.]

Coopation has been improved!

【Asuka Mato (Emperor Ryu@1Nerha 罒私岜) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

'Although it was a bit bumpy... it's time to start a new day...'

After changing her clothes, Amamiya unplugged her phone and tablet from charging and checked for any new messages.

An urgent message, slightly highlighted in red, immediately caught his eye as soon as he turned on his screen.

[Noah: Yuka seems to be in a state of...extreme tension?]

Noah: Sensei, are you free?