I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Noah: I've devised an initial plan to help Yuka relieve stress and clear her mind, and this plan requires Sensei as a key player... Could you come to a seminar this evening?

Chapter Ten Xiaoyu: I was the one who did it first...

Noah's message, marked with a slightly red "urgent" label, made Amamiya frown slightly.

—It is important to know that things should be prioritized according to their importance and urgency.

MomoTalk is the most commonly used social networking app in Kivotos.

This software is quite comprehensive and has all sorts of strange features—for example, 'highlighting important messages in red'.

This feature is only really useful when used in office settings.

Its purpose is simple—to allow the recipient to see the highlighted message immediately.

'This message is slightly highlighted in red... Does that mean Noah considers it different from regular news, a little urgent, and somewhat important?'

After lingering on the highlighted message for a moment, Amamiya hesitated before finally replying to Noah.

Amamiya had every reason to believe that, as a 'literary girl' at the seminar, given her qualifications, position, and personality, Noah would not make such a 'pointless' statement.

—To avoid situations like 'lighting the beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords,' the red highlight on momotalk isn't always usable; it's recommended for use only.

At least, the vast majority of students at Kiwatos have the basic understanding that 'unless there are really special circumstances, try not to mark things in red.'

[Evening? What time exactly?]

Noah replied to the message almost instantly.

Noah: As for the time... I'm free from 4 PM onwards. Sensei, if you're concerned about Yuka's recent situation, please come over around that time.

[Noah: [Image - Noah's selfie] By the way, I have a question... Sensei, what do you think of this hairstyle?]

Amamiya clicked on the picture and, wow...

Noah in the picture is not wearing her distinctive white seminar uniform and black tights.

Instead, she changed into a black seminar uniform and skirt, just like Yuka's, and styled her hair in the same unique twin-tail hairstyle as Yuka.

She even went against the norm by not wearing pantyhose, and instead followed Yuka's example by changing into pure white short socks.

What is this... doing?

After thinking for a moment, Amamiya typed a reply: "I think Noah was more 'amazing' when we first met."

Noah: ...

Noah: Why does Sensei say that?

Amamiya replied quite bluntly: "Noah in that state had a very special 'scholarly air,' and a girl with that scholarly air easily gives people the feeling of 'wanting to make vows of eternal love and commit to her for life.'"

Moreover, Noah's long, straight white hair, and his predominantly white attire, reminded me of a line of poetry: "Two hearts yearning for each other, bathed in snow together; in this life, we may grow old together."

After sending this message, which was as long as a short essay, Noah did not respond for the time being.

After waiting for about a minute without receiving a response from Noah, Amamiya curled her lips into a smile, thought for a moment, and then added insult to injury.

Speaking of which, Noah's aura makes me really want to give you a special book—a book called *When Moonlight Falls on the Left Hand*, a book from outside Kiwatos.

That's a special collection of poems. There's a particular passage in it that's very famous outside of Kivotos—"If I were to send you a book, I wouldn't send you poetry."

[I want to give you a book about plants and crops.]

[Telling you the difference between rice and barnyard grass]

[Telling you about a weed's anxious spring]

Noah still hasn't replied.

Hmm... looks like I won't be getting a reply.

Amamiya simply put away her phone and began her morning work.

After checking on the students on duty for the day, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Since Amamiya hasn't been actively assigning duty rosters recently, the assignment of duty rosters is being done by Alona-Moon*Ripple/7200TempleJiuqiSan in a 'pseudo-random' manner.

Arona will select from the students currently in the Sharai Archives, determining each student's personality, strengths and weaknesses, and then, based on their recent duty records, assigning duties to students who have "not done duty for a while" or "have never done duty before".

Today's 'random arrangement' randomly assigned me to Xiaoyu.

Seeing this 'random result', Amamiya breathed a sigh of relief—in his opinion, Tama was a fairly sensible and well-behaved child.

He's relatively easy to get along with... and he also has some administrative skills, so he can genuinely help him with some relatively simple paperwork.

Because he left a little late, when Amamiya arrived at Natsura, he overheard Tama and Toki's conversation from outside the door.

"……Who are you?"

"I'm on duty today. I'm Tama-chan from 'Beritas'."

Xiaoyu's voice carried a hint of hostility: "And who are you?"

“I am Sensei’s personal maid, Asuka Matoki.”

"Exclusive...maid?"

Shi paused for a short while, seemingly sizing up Xiaoyu.

After a moment, she said, "Do I need to explain the specific meaning of this term to you? The so-called personal maid..."

Xiaoyu interrupted Shi with a hint of resentment in her voice: "You're... a member of the maid club, right?"

"Why... do you keep bothering Sensei..."

Amamiya pushed open the door and glanced at the two girls who were secretly clashing.

He focused his attention on Xiaoyu.

Due to the 'season' restrictions and for her own health, she had changed into a rather warm-looking coat and put on black tights that looked extremely warm, making her extremely well-equipped.

Perhaps due to nervousness, her delicate feet, protected by boots and thick pantyhose, were still trembling slightly.

She wore her hair in a single ponytail, a scarf, and earmuffs, dressed in a warm coat and a floral sweater, almost 'armed to the teeth,' yet still wore a black cotton mini-skirt that contrasted sharply with her usual attire…

Compared to the past, it inexplicably possesses a restrained charm.

At this moment, Xiaoyu is 'getting angry'... Although both her tone and the little stomping of her feet seem fierce and cute, compared to Shi's indifference, Xiaoyu's intermittent and unconfident words seem too 'cute'.

When faced with a cold, indifferent attitude, it has absolutely no destructive power.

Upon hearing Amamiya push open the door, the two girls, who were about to continue their 'secret battle,' immediately turned their attention to Amamiya.

The gaze that came from time to time carried a considerable degree of vigilance, as well as a very slight hostility.

Xiaoyu's gaze, however, carried a questioning tone.

Amamiya was helpless.

He waved to Xiaoyu first, greeting her, "It's been a while, Xiaoyu..."

Then, Amamiya shrugged, implying that things were a bit complicated—the so-called 'exclusive maid' also had some inside story that was not convenient to talk about.

"Recently, a number of things, big and small, have happened here. Some are obvious, some are unknown, and some... are not convenient to tell others casually."

"……so."

Xiaoyu wisely didn't ask any more questions.

As Beritas's hacker, she knew about the 'Maid Club' and was even more aware of what the Maid Club had recently been going through.

So, she chose to temporarily ignore Shi and, as the saying goes, "practice makes perfect," she naturally sat down in the seat that Amamiya had prepared for the student on duty.

Under Shi's sharp and piercing gaze, Xiaoyu awkwardly hunched over slightly towards Amamiya, and spoke in as calm a tone as possible: "Next... I'll help Sensei process... these... documents..."

Time: 'Stare—'

Amamiya naturally sensed Toki's very inappropriate behavior, which was almost as bad as being a third wheel, but she didn't say anything more.

He subtly glanced at Xiaoyu out of the corner of his eye, noticing that she had already sat back on the sofa, her gaze fixed on her as if she were both monitoring and on guard.

Amamiya immediately turned her attention back to Tama.

Compared to most of the 'strange' girls in Kiwatos...

On the other hand, people like Xiaoyu, who have a 'naive girlish charm,' are easier to approach without having to be careful or consider how to speak to them.

He said gently to the girl sitting beside him, "Don't be so nervous, Xiaoyu... just relax and speak freely."

【~???~】

"……Um."

After giving a muffled "hmm," Xiaoyu nervously and very slightly kicked her boots, it was unclear whether she had heard him or not.

After fiddling with her phone for a moment, Amamiya received a message.

[Xiaoyu: I want to know all the details about this other world...]

[Xiaoyu: If you could tell me...]

Chapter Eleven: When Having a Little Temper

Xiaoyu's actions of lowering her head to send messages, or even sending messages directly to Amamiya in person, made Amamiya chuckle.

It seems that Xiaoyu is still a bit shy and reserved... not very good at expressing herself in front of others.

In order to take care of Tama, Amamiya did not force Tama to continue interacting in a normal way.

By linking his consciousness to Sophia, Amamiya then instructed Sophia on his phone to help him send a message.

Recording is not possible in another world.

But in reality, the bizarre and fantastical scenes of the other world can be recreated in the real world in various ways—for example, by having Yusuke draw them.

For example, let Sofia use AI algorithms to simulate and generate scenes.

For Sofia, who personally experienced this adventure, AI-generated data was far too easy.

So, under Amamiya's instructions, Sophia began sending Tama a series of videos, audio recordings, item descriptions, and other informational materials—a kind of "Otherworld Exploration Log"—via MomoTalk.

Xiaoyu began to observe the various messages that came in, consisting of text messages that lasted from a few seconds to a dozen seconds, and at most a few minutes.

A distant and close-up view of the fortress city of Elidoo...

'In another world, Beritas is a well-informed tavern...'

'The Legend of the Demon King's Castle and the Hero...'

'Is this... the background music during Sensei and his group's battle?'

'Life will change...and R In dest...'

Xiaoyu's eyes sparkled, and her gaze became slightly unfocused.

The numerous CGs with an "otherworldly art style" that Sophia sent her sparked her curiosity—

I'm curious about what my 'self' in another world would be like.

Could she be some kind of "witch" who loves music and is skilled with her voice?

It’s not impossible…

I wish I could explore this other world with Sensei and witness my own version of myself there...

With this thought lingering in her mind, Xiaoyu began to hear the music of "Heart-Stealing Melody" and "Battle Song of the Mighty Enemy".

'A classic, timeless story of a hero defeating a demon king...'

Xiaoyu was completely captivated by the incredibly high bitrate sound reproduction delivered by Kivortosne's headphones.

While she was lost in the music, she remembered the song she had heard not long ago—"Even though we have nothing in our hands."

'An epic tale of a hero defeating a demon king, that's not bad either...'

[...I felt the fervent emotions emanating from Xiaoyu.]