I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Welcome, Alice, who has temporarily been reassigned as the 'Christmas Reindeer', Sensei and..."

Alice turned her gaze to Yuka, who was peeking suspiciously through the crack in the door, trying to see if Momoi and Midori were up to something. Alice suddenly gave a 'mischievous' smile.

Unfortunately, Yuka, distracted, didn't notice the change in Alice's expression.

"...Yuka's mom!"

Yuka was startled by Alice's soft, sweet, and lively "Mama".

"Hey?!"

After instinctively letting out a soft "Ah," Yuka seemed to immediately realize that this might be an 'answer,' so she hurriedly waved her hands repeatedly.

"Wait, wait... Alice?! Why is she suddenly calling me 'Mom'?!"

Because they had only recently established a 'special relationship,' Yuka was particularly sensitive in this regard—she was on the verge of breaking down on the spot after Alice's gentle 'poke.'

Twisting the hem of her clothes nervously, Yuka felt awkward all over after Alice called her "Mama," and at that moment she also felt a teasing gaze coming from the side beside her—

"Sen, Sensei...!"

"Is Alice calling me that because you, Sensei, instructed me to do so beforehand...?"

Amamiya innocently raised her hands.

"Yuka, you can't blame everything on me... Alice calling you 'Mom' isn't something I told her to do..."

Alice picked up where Amamiya left off: "Well, Alice wasn't instructed by anyone... Alice just felt that Yuka, although she usually acts like a great demon king with a terrifying aura..."

"But she also has a very gentle side, and she thinks of everyone... just like a mother!"

"Even if you say that..."

Yuka, so ashamed that her toes were clenched, felt her cheeks burning and her voice lost its strength: "Even if you say that... I won't go easy on you~?"

'Speaking of which... Alice really does seem like a 'cute daughter'... If I marry Sensei in the near future...'

'If only my daughter could be as cute as Alice…'

【~???~】(from Yuka)

After a moment of tension and awkwardness, Yuka, in an attempt to distract herself, forced herself to calm up, raised her head, and coughed lightly with her fist to her lips.

"I'm here today to check on your development progress..."

Alice naturally stepped aside and then slipped right next to Amamiya, making a gesture as if she wanted a hug.

Amamiya naturally hugged Alice as if she were a daughter, and then reached out and rubbed her cheek.

【~???~】(from Alice)

【~??~】(from Kei)

Upon entering the game club's activity room, Yuka realized that this small game club was actually filled with talents from 'other fields'.

"Hmm... the debug test should be fine, it should pass completely."

Amamiya, who followed Yuka into the room, immediately heard Maki's voice.

With his gaze focused slightly, he indeed spotted the 'three-person group' from Beritas.

The trio, along with Momoi, Midori, and Yuzu from the game club, were gathered on a 'carpet' made of puzzle flooring, seemingly conducting game testing.

"The compatibility across multiple platforms has also been optimized to the best we could..."

After the 'pop' sound of the soda can being opened, Qing let out a soft sigh: "As long as the final sealing is completed..."

"I've also done my best in the sound effects..."

Although Xiaoyu's voice was very 'weak', it was still like a burning flame.

"Whether it's the voice acting, the soundtrack... or the visual presentation, everything is top-notch. The gameplay and stats have undergone a balancing adjustment... Aside from the protagonist being too overpowered, there are no flaws. But even if the protagonist is overpowered, it's for the sake of realism..."

"Now……"

Yuzu's voice carried a sense of relief: "...We can announce that the development phase...has come to an end."

"Thank you all for your... hard work..."

Maki put down the controller in her hand and took an unopened bottle of Monster Energy drink from Haru and opened it.

Hearing Yuzu's thanks, she freed one hand to touch her bun and chuckled in response, "It was nothing for us, no need to thank me..."

"I can't wait..."

Qing's voice carried a slight weariness and a weakness akin to 'over-cultivating immortality': "Looking forward to the performance of this highly anticipated collaboration, 'Goddess Legend Side Story: Persona'..."

“Sensei’s ‘action log’…it’s sure to cause quite a stir…”

Upon seeing the Beritas trio in the room, Yuka felt a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.

While Beritas can be unreliable at times, he is trustworthy most of the time.

If the game club's new game is still only produced by the game club, then she might still have some concerns...

However, with Beritas's technical support, key elements affecting the game's enjoyment, such as audio-visual presentation, compatibility, and numerical balance, will all receive a major upgrade...

Alice stood gracefully beside Amamiya, without making a loud noise to interrupt the other members who were focused on the game test.

She very 'understandingly' tugged at Amamiya and Yuka's sleeves in the dark, and looked up at them with a 'seeking opinion' look.

Yuka felt she didn't need to watch any further—at least, the fact that the terrible nightmare wouldn't be projected into reality was enough for her.

After shaking her head at Alice, she chose to leave Amamiya without saying goodbye.

……

After leaving the game club, Yuka, now completely certain that the 'nightmare wouldn't happen,' looked up at the sky—the sun was shining brightly, the weather was peaceful, and everything looked so 'thriving'.

"How are you, Yuka? Are you feeling more relaxed now?"

She subconsciously moved closer to the voice beside her, took the other person's arm, and then mumbled an "Mmm" in response.

【~???~】

Immediately afterward, she heard teasing from the people around her.

"The moment Alice called her 'Mom,' Yuka seemed to tense up noticeably~"

"Is it anticipation, or is it...?"

Yuka remained silent, shrinking her neck like a quail and offering no reply.

Amamiya didn't make any further jokes, but after a brief banter, she quickly returned to a serious tone.

"Next, let's help Yuka with today's official business..."

After taking a walk around the game department, Amamiya and Yuka returned to the seminar's office building.

After heading straight to the office, Amamiya observed the general scene inside... well, it could only be described as 'orderly chaos'.

Many students from the millennium hurried by, and Amamiya even spotted Yuki running past with documents in her arms.

Noah, as the clerk, was certainly not idle. She sat in a corner of the office, in what previously appeared to be Rion's seat, seemingly dealing with the 'historical issues' left behind by Rion.

Noticing that Amamiya and Yuka entered the office together, she paused flipping through the documents in her hand, then raised an eyebrow at Amamiya and gave her a 'meaningful smile'.

Amamiya gave a helpless smile and then followed Yuka to a small mountain of documents.

—It can only be said that the number of documents the seminar has to handle every day is probably no less than the number of documents the Federal Student Association has to deal with every day.

Amamiya had only ever seen such a 'mountain' of documents in Gehenna's disciplinary committee, the Federation Student Council, and Rin's office.

As far as the 'description' goes, it is extremely exaggerated.

But it's not an exaggeration at all.

“Sensei… I’m counting on you for the next while.”

Amamiya replied earnestly, "I will do my best to assist Yuka."

Now, with many bond skills that accelerate her comprehension and processing speed, Amamiya's office skills can be said to be 'on par' with the current acting president, Rin.

Amamiya then said in a low, earnest voice, "With Yuka's 'power,' I'm sure I'll be able to overcome this difficulty soon."

【~???~】

Yuka paused slightly as she picked up the document, then rolled her eyes at him with a mixture of helplessness and embarrassment.

'Sen, Sensei... don't say anything weird or romantic at a time like this... what if Noah, or the other Millennium Students, hear this...'

There was a lot of paperwork involved in the seminar.

Even with Yuuka's [Basic Factorization], [Cold-Blooded Calculation], [Emotional Factorization], Rin's [Highly Effective Focus], and Aru's [Perfect Omen], all of which enhance efficiency...

Amamiya and Yuka were still doing it rather reluctantly.

—By evening, the mountain of documents was finally processed in one go.

"Phew... It's finally over..."

After sending off the last stack of documents, Yuka stood up with a sigh of relief and stretched.

Then she lazily half-closed her eyes and lay on the table, her eyes lifeless as she began to exhale.

It’s really too difficult…

Fortunately, we have Sensei's help...

Indeed, as Sensei said.

Whenever I'm with Sensei, I feel a strange connection that makes me feel 'no longer alone,' and I have a confidence that 'I can overcome anything.'

"Yuka... are you alright?"

Poke, poke, poke...

It was that familiar sensation again, the feeling of my index finger touching my cheek.

"Sensei...don't poke my cheek like that..."

Yuka, feeling a slight anger rising within her from this unusual way of showing care, puffed out her cheeks and said sullenly, "Even if you poke me like this, I won't let all my emotions out like a deflated pufferfish."

……

However, when it comes to 'releasing emotions'...

With a sudden burst of energy, Yuka sat up from her desk, a mischievous glimpse of her surroundings catching her eye.

Well, since it's so late, the other millennium students, including Noah, have already left...

The door seems to have been closed as well... Did Noah do that?

In that sense, it seems I've returned to the 'comfortable environment of being alone with Sensei'...

So, things I haven't had a chance to try yet...

'Thump; thump...'

At that moment, Yuka seemed to hear the clear, gradually accelerating sound of her own heartbeat.

She grabbed Amamiya's index finger, which was still relentlessly poking her cheek.

Amamiya was instantly surprised: "...Yuka?"

"..."

His response was the girl's enigmatic smile, which inexplicably began to convey a sense of 'confidence'.

"Sensei..."

"There's still some time before evening..."

"There's no one else around, so..."

"It...it can let me..."

"Just a little taste..."

"'Experiences between couples'...?"