I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

As if struck by a flash of inspiration, she thought of something that could change the subject.

"I... um... you must be Amamiya Sensei, right?... I'm Alona!"

"I am the system administrator and main operating system stationed at Shiting's Box... I will serve as your 'assistant' from now on to help you!"

Amamiya: "..."

After a few seconds of silence, he took off his mask and looked at the other person with a very sincere gaze.

"Can I... choose another one?"

“…Huh?!”

Chapter Twelve, Alona: Then go find a better AI!

"...Sensei, what...would you like to change?"

Arona paused for a moment, looking somewhat bewildered by Amamiya's seemingly nonsensical yet incredibly hurtful remark.

"……Can't!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, she suddenly understood what Amamiya meant. She became furious and ran to Amamiya in a few steps, pouting and tilting her head back. She even stood on tiptoe to show her oppressive presence—she seemed to think that this would fully demonstrate her oppressive power.

However, the height difference is not so easily bridged.

"Arona is the core of the Shiting Box! She is... the system administrator and main operating system!"

“Sensei, if you think Alona’s performance is too low…” she said, her eyes welling up with tears again, “then you can just find a more advanced system!”

Amamiya: "..."

Sorry... but I think I can actually find a more 'advanced' system.

Thinking of the AI ​​source code named "Sophie" that was dormant in her phone, Amamiya hesitated for a moment... but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to say it, lest she further hurt the AI ​​girl who had almost made herself cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it was indeed a problem with what I said."

Amamiya was genuinely reluctant to subject this AI girl, who claimed to be his 'assistant,' to further 'verbal abuse.'

After putting his hands together and offering a simple apology, Amamiya cleared his throat and got to the point: "Alona... I will sincerely apologize for this later... Let's get to the point now."

【~???~】

As three blue eighth notes floated out, perhaps sensing Amamiya's sincerity... Alona ultimately couldn't shed a tear. She looked up at Amamiya with a fierce glare, as if she were being looked down upon.

"Arona... will remember..."

After saying this in a tone that said, "If you don't compensate me with ten or eight boxes of strawberry milk, this isn't over," she closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and quickly composed herself.

When she calms down, she seems to give off an impression of being a 'sea spirit'.

He patted his cheeks with both hands, as if to encourage himself.

Then, Arona resolutely opened her eyes, her tone filled with a determination to express herself: "Sensei... if Arona isn't mistaken... your purpose in 'waking' Arona..."

"Is it a problem with the facilities of the [Sanctuary Tower]?"

Amamiya was silent for two seconds, then blinked with feigned surprise, raising her voice slightly: "...How did you know?"

"...Of course, it was Alona who arrived at the result by relying on her 'powerful' (raised tone) search ability and her 'super~ amazing' (emphasis added) analytical ability."

Alona, ​​seemingly eager to prove her abilities, gave a soft 'humph,' though she didn't show any other expression—but Amamiya could easily detect the 'How about it, I'm amazing, right? Come on, praise me' anticipation in her subtle movements.

So Amamiya put on a feigned surprised expression, paused for two seconds, and then let out a long "Oh~!" before sincerely exclaiming, "As expected of artificial intelligence... its information retrieval and analysis capabilities are truly powerful!"

【~???~】

Seeing that Alona, ​​though expressionless, emitted three blue eighth notes indicating "increased affection," Amamiya's inner voice shrugged.

See? Sometimes, increasing favorability is that simple...

Although Alona holds the "World" card, she doesn't seem to have the same ability to help people mature.

Generally speaking, as long as you "follow the grain," the rate at which your favorability rating increases will be extremely fast.

After a moment of reflection, Amamiya rubbed her chin between her index finger and thumb, feigning deep thought as she asked, "So... can Alona handle this matter?"

"of course can!"

Alona tilted her head slightly, trying her best to act like a 'professional assistant'.

"Leave it to Alona... Let's begin repairing the link with the Sanctuary Tower..."

Amamiya stood there waiting, wanting to see what kind of tricks this 'AI girl' could pull off.

However, the 'sophisticated hacker interface' or 'code execution interface' that Amamiya had been hoping for did not appear. Alona simply stood there seemingly without making any move, but she quickly provided feedback again.

“Sensei, Alona has obtained full access to the Sanctuary Tower… With such a ‘powerful’ (implicitly emphasized) Alona helping you, you’ve essentially got the entire Giwatos under your control, haven’t you?”

"Next... what does Sensei want to use this permission for?"

Amamiya did not have any ambition to 'have the world at his fingertips'.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that... having saved the world more than once and having obtained the "world" Arcana, he is keenly aware of what kind of 'evil sprouts' will gradually develop when such terrifying power is held in one person's hands.

Whether it was sealing away the 'Mother Planet of Death' or temporarily eradicating humanity's yearning for and anticipation of death...

Or perhaps it's about dispelling the fog woven by lies and restoring the truth to the world...

Or perhaps become a charlatan who 'seizes the world and judges the evil gods'...

The true essence of their actions is actually to 'return the unfettered free will to the world'.

Without a second thought, Amamiya immediately relinquished the authority: "Just give it to the 'group' that most urgently needs it... Please pass it on to [Shichigami Rin] and her 'Federation Student Council'."

Alona still didn't make any move, and Amamiya just waited for a moment.

After completing the transfer of authority, Alona looked up and easily announced the results: "Okay... Sensei, the authority has been transferred to the Federation Student Council. Is there anything else Alona can help with?"

Amamiya was about to shake her head when she suddenly remembered something.

He said seriously, "If nothing unexpected happens... this building will probably be an area where I frequent from now on."

"Arona...could you...act as my 'navigator' for now and help me find the offices...club activity rooms here?"

Concerned that news might differ across the world, Amamiya changed her mind halfway through.

【~??~】

“Leave it to Alona. Sensei, after you leave ‘here,’ head to the surface and take the elevator…”

As the AI ​​girl murmured, Amamiya realized that the world before her was gradually distorting... The seascape, as blue as the ocean, and the classroom with a collapsed corner, all began to blur.

"Huh...? It ran out of power after walking so fast..."

...(ii) Is there any contamination or lack of electricity in the Qi Liu San?

Realizing that Alona wasn't panicked, but only slightly disappointed, Amamiya looked up at the changing scenery, lost in thought.

...The area I was in before was the 'inner space' of the Shiting Box...or to put it another way, a place similar to the electronic world or the code world?

Based on this understanding, the "no power" that Alona mentioned should mean that the "computing power" used to support the world's operation is temporarily insufficient... or in other words, the energy that supports all of this is temporarily insufficient.

Is the Shiting Box, such a cutting-edge technology, really limited by the issue of energy scarcity?

Amamiya's expression was slightly strange, because in his view, this kind of question was like "charging a star-destroying weapon with a battery array"—it was somewhat... a bit off-track on the tech tree.

Perhaps this is the unique limitation of cutting-edge technology...

Amamiya held the tablet in her hand, bent her index finger, tapped the screen with her knuckles, and then asked with concern, "Arona... are you alright?"

【~??~】

The screen lit up, and then showed the empty classroom with 'seawater everywhere' that Amamiya had previously experienced in person.

Alona, ​​standing in front of the screen, waved to Amamiya: "Sensei... It's nothing. It's just because... the energy in the Sensei Box is running low."

"It's just that we can't have the same kind of 'close contact' as before for the time being... Alona can still help Sensei with things like navigation!"

"Next... Sensei, get on the elevator, and then..."

With Alona's "dedicated" navigation, Amamiya toured the entire Shalai Building, gaining a general understanding of its various features.

Finally, Amamiya was led to a 'club activity room' that had clearly been cleaned and renovated not long ago.

A sign on the clean, reflective glass door reads: "Vacant Room, Opening Soon."

Amamiya tried pushing the door—it wasn't locked, and he easily opened it.

Upon opening the door, Amamiya's first reaction was to instinctively shield her eyes from the sunlight streaming in through the window, reflecting off the metallic floor, glassware, and other reflective surfaces before it pierced her eyes.

What appeared before him was an extremely spacious activity room—equipped with all kinds of modern facilities, office supplies, maps, bulletin boards, and so on.

It can be said to be quite perfect.

At the same time, it gives people a feeling of "near-future science fiction" at first glance.

The lighting here is exceptionally good. Located on a high floor, the blue sky and white clouds outside the window seem almost within reach.

After activating his 'third eye' and scanning the indoor environment, Amamiya felt a surge of emotion.

—That's good. At least here, he doesn't have to live in the attic on the second floor of the coffee shop, crammed into such a small and messy room, and then use piled-up beer crates and planks to make a bed.

With her shoulder bag slung over her shoulder, a tablet in one hand, and the other still in the motion of pushing open a door, Amamiya remained silent for a few seconds before letting out a deep sigh.

After carefully entering the room, Amamiya placed her shoulder bag on the back of her office chair.

Then, following Alona's 'navigation,' he began searching for the living rooms—the lounge, bathroom, and toilet—located on the same floor.

That's great... It seems that although I often have to live in this 'office area', overall, I don't need to worry about making a living.

After checking that all the facilities were in good working order, Amamiya had finally settled in.

"In short... after acquiring some personal daily necessities such as toothbrushes, you can officially 'start working'."

"It's already taken a long time to settle things today... so it's best not to go out unnecessarily tonight."

"Let's get some rest today so we can prepare for tomorrow's events..."

After muttering those two sentences to himself, Amamiya paused for a moment, suddenly thinking of the "talking black cat" that had been with him for a long time.

After shaking his head to temporarily banish the strange thoughts, Amamiya began to seriously ponder a question.

...Tomorrow should be his first day in office in Xia Lai.

In gaming terms... he has just gone through a story phase and is about to begin his first day of 'Freedom of Movement'.

So... what should we do?

Amamiya thought about the 'helpers' she had met today.

"Who should we invite first..."

Chapter Thirteen: Medical Lingqi 8 ? Perhaps it's the beginning of the nine-ship jump?

'Om—'

Amamiya was awakened in the early morning by the vibration of her cell phone and the simultaneous call from Alona.

"Wake up... sensei, it's time for my scheduled (yawn)... my scheduled wake-up time..."

The tablet on the bedside table made a sound, and the screen showed Alona yawning, making you want to pinch her cheeks. Her delicate little face, still a bit chubby, was filled with an expression of 'drowsiness'.

Amamiya had long since developed the habit of 'not sleeping in'.

Without any hesitation, he got up, rubbed his full head of black curly hair, and began the washing and preparation that marked the start of the day.

Just yesterday evening, Amamiya used the last little bit of time left in the day to thoroughly familiarize himself with the surrounding area and topography of the [Federal Investigation Department - Xia Lai] headquarters, and memorized the map of the area within a radius of several kilometers.

There's a reason this place is called the 'suburbs'—

This skyscraper is built on a vacant flat area that may be a park or a 'suburban center', and it is the only iconic building in the vicinity, or even a 'landmark'.

It's no wonder that Shichigami Rin proposed that a helicopter be needed to travel from the "Federal Student Council" to the "Shalai Activity Building"—this wasn't a display of "strength," but rather a genuine need for such a convenient vehicle.

The nearest visible building is actually at least several kilometers to more than ten kilometers away from the main building of the event in Chalai.

"It's alright. Maybe it's for the convenience of future students, or maybe it's just for the convenience of me as a 'teacher'. Anyway... a convenience store called 'Angel 24' recently opened in the Xia Lai Building."

Summarizing the information he had gathered yesterday, Amamiya casually picked up his phone and checked out a newly downloaded universal communication software for Kivotos.