I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

After all, it was a bond that had been established not long ago, and she had 'completely expressed her feelings' and even done that kind of thing...

Naturally, Yuka seems to have developed a sense of dependence on him, feeling uncomfortable if she doesn't see him for a day.

“I don’t want Yuka to get sick for some weird reason, like ‘because she got soaked in the snow while waiting for me outside and ended up catching a cold.’”

【~???~】

"I'll be more careful next time..."

Feeling a slight flush on her cheeks, Yuka shyly separated from her embrace, turned around, coughed lightly, and looked towards the engineering department's activity building: "Sensei... are you here today to inspect the engineering department's 'research results'?"

"Hmm, Yuka wouldn't happen to be coming to the engineering department for some other reason, would she?"

Yuka felt a little guilty as she clearly heard Amamiya's 'deliberately emphasized' pronunciation.

After a long pause, she softly hummed in agreement.

"The engineering department also participated in this Millennium Grand Prix... so, so... I need to understand their submitted projects in advance."

Amamiya chuckled, not revealing the girl's little secret.

Together with Yuka, Amamiya entered the engineering department, which now had an increasingly bizarre style and resembled some kind of 'Druidic Heritage Temple'.

The process was the same as last time. Yuka used her seminar ID to swipe her card for authorization and then led Amamiya to the engineering department's 'event workshop'.

As luck would have it, all three people from the engineering department happened to be there.

Just as Amamiya arrived outside the last access gate of the engineering department, she heard Utahara's stern command.

"The masked hero hidden in the darkness... Henshin (transformation)!"

Amamiya paused for a moment, and Yuka, who was about to open the door, also clearly hesitated. Then she frowned, looking puzzled, as if wondering what kind of bizarre invention the engineering department was working on now.

After Utahara's voice, Cortoli's voice followed.

"Clear Mind! When the gathered stars unite as one, new bonds will illuminate the future! Become a path of radiant light—Super-Limited Accelerated Synchronization! Light of Evolution, Meteorite Dragon!"

Amamiya: ...

Yuka: ...?

She had already begun to secretly cultivate her intimidating aura of a 'ruthless strategist,' intending to break down the door and find out what was going on.

'laugh--'

The heavy metal door was opened with an access card, and the sounds inside the 'workshop' immediately stopped.

There was no epic scene of 'masked heroes battling a dragon of light and shadow' as Amemiya had envisioned.

The three girls from the engineering department were standing around a cylindrical, transparent pod, looking back at the suddenly opened doorway with expressions of astonishment and disbelief.

Meanwhile, inside the strange 'capsule chamber', something was currently being soaked...

A woman who looked exceptionally beautiful...

Red-haired girl.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Noah's Most Daring Episode

As Yuka burst through the door, Amamiya followed her into the room—

The three girls from the engineering department happened to look at them, and the group looked at each other in silence.

"Hmm~"

Perhaps because she hadn't displayed that ruthless and demanding attitude of a 'cold-blooded calculator' for a while, Yuka's increasingly intimidating voice sounded subtly unnatural at this moment.

After the usual opening 'deterrence', Yuka stepped forward and looked up at the strange-looking capsule surrounding the engineering department.

"...What are you doing?"

Yuka's initiative broke the silence, and Cortori, realizing what she should do, immediately moved to the side and took a deep breath with great interest.

"Do I need to explain?!"

The lively girl, chattering like a little bird, pushed up her peculiar glasses and, without flinching under Yuka's oppressive gaze, began her own ending.

"First, let me introduce you—Yuka, the accountant for the seminar… What you see now is the legendary masterpiece that our engineering department has painstakingly completed over the past few days and nights—"

Yuka blinked, and involuntarily glanced at the red-haired girl in the cabin again out of the corner of her eye.

So... it wasn't some kind of 'human experiment' after all?

That makes things easier...

"We'll temporarily name her 'Erpis Mark0'! She's a bionic body we created by combining advanced disciplines such as human bionics, nanoengineering, biology, and botany, drawing upon the wisdom of the stars... 'infinitely close to a student'!"

"Regarding her various 'functions'..."

Kotoli wanted to say something more, but Yuka knew very well that if she let her keep talking, she might waste several hours going inside.

So she decisively coughed lightly to interrupt Cortoline's 'further explanation' and asked curiously, "So, your 'entry' is this... bionic body?"

"Ah."

Utahara, who also sensed that Yuka didn't want Cortori to say more, was very disappointed and aggrieved by Cortori's performance. She pouted and took a step back, giving Cortori a meaningful look.

She then took over Cortoli's 'responsibility' and began to give a brief overview of the basic performance of this 'body'.

"With breakthroughs in bionics and other technologies... this body is almost identical to some students who excel in combat. If we were to categorize combat strength, with top-tier students ranked as T0, then this body's standard combat strength would be T1."

In other words... she is second only to top-tier players like Hina and Hoshino, but not by much.

"Then, due to the adoption of many new technologies, it has two special start-up modes... One is that it is remotely controlled by students through a principle similar to VR devices—in this state, the student controlling the body can choose to empathize with the body."

"Another way to operate is to input an 'AI intelligence' into it, so that it can acquire the thinking and comprehension abilities of that AI intelligence."

Compared to Cortori's endless narration, Utahara's account was much simpler and easier to understand, and the information was much more concise.

In just two or three minutes, Utahara made Amamiya and Yuka completely understand the 'advantages' of this body.

Even without considering AI control, this special body has unlimited potential.

This unique 'invention' will undoubtedly greatly enhance the average strength of the Millennium Technology Academy. At the same time, it will also provide considerable combat power to students who are physically weak and unsuitable for battlefield combat…

After saying everything that needed to be said, Utahara quietly added, "She ("Erpis Mark 0") has many advantages, the only downside is... she's too expensive."

Yuka paused, then asked, "...Too expensive?"

Amamiya easily understood Utahara's 'hidden meaning'—Utahara was hinting at the issue of 'funding approval'.

After glancing at the slightly dazed girl beside him, Amamiya exchanged a glance with Utahara.

"...Too expensive, how expensive?"

"This one……"

Kaori and Hibiki exchanged a glance, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Or... I'll say it."

With its limp dog ears twitching, Xiang uttered an astronomical figure that sent a shiver down Yuka's spine amidst the silence.

Finally, to convince Yuka that they had indeed used the funds and were not lying about them, Hibiki even produced a stack of documents as evidence and handed them to Yuka.

As an accountant, Yuka has a natural sensitivity to various accounts and reports.

After carefully reviewing the documents, she realized that... the three people in the engineering department really hadn't lied about the expenses.

"They actually used the equivalent of a year's budget from the engineering department..."

Yuka, now having gained a completely new understanding of the 'high-tech' cabin in front of her, fell into a brief silence as she looked at the bill in her hand.

Seeing that the opportunity had come, Amamiya seized the moment and began to whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

(P.S.: "Whispering in someone's ear while they're in bed" is an incorrect usage here.)

"Yuka, what do you think of the engineering department's invention?"

Startled by Amamiya's sudden whisper close to her ear, Yuka felt her ears go weak and her tone softened involuntarily.

"The technical content is indeed very high..."

She paused, then frowned and glanced at the shocking amount of money invested.

"But...but it's just too expensive..."

Kahara's eyes flashed, and he suddenly interjected, "This is just Unit-01—as everyone knows, in order to achieve the level of Unit-01, the equipment is manufactured with the 'extreme stacking'."

Yuka understood.

What the original speaker meant was... if small-scale mass production could really be achieved, then the cost would certainly not be so 'sky-high' and would definitely decrease significantly.

"Yuka, about the funding for the engineering department..."

After exchanging another glance with Utahara, Amamiya rubbed her hands knowingly and suggested, "Perhaps, we could be a little more lenient?"

"Um……"

After careful consideration, Yuka felt that since the engineering department had developed this kind of 'black technology,' it wouldn't be unreasonable to give them more funding, and even if it meant Yoling Yoqi Jiu was IX (eight)...

She looked up and carefully scanned the three engineering department members who looked hopeful.

Meeting their pitiful, pleading eyes, Yuka's heart softened even more.

"...Okay. I'll consider increasing the funding when I get back."

Upon hearing this, Utahara revealed a victorious smile.

I sensed a sense of relief emanating from Utahara...

Coopation has been improved!

【Shiraishi Utahara (The Pope) ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

[★3 Ability - 'Technological Innovation' is now unlocked!]

As for Hibiki and Cortoline, they both visibly breathed a sigh of relief or expressed considerable anticipation.

[I sensed the positive emotions emanating from Hibiki...]

Coopation has been improved!

[Nekozuka Hibiki (Power) ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆]

Hibiki, whose bond has already been unlocked, also gained a star in bond level... but Katori, whose bond hasn't been unlocked, hasn't had her bond unlocked yet...

That's normal. After all, unlocking 'bond events' is generally easier when there are two people involved.

"but……"

Yuka's sudden change of tone made the three engineering department members, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, instantly become serious again.

After humming twice, Yuka smiled 'naturally and gracefully,' but her expression carried the same 'dangerous' quality as Noah's.

"If any of your 'strange inventions' cause damage... you'll still be punished by having your funding deducted."

"We will definitely follow the rules..."

Kahara naturally stood up and guaranteed it—as for whether they would follow the rules after the funds were distributed, that was another matter.

After confirming that the three people in the engineering department were all in good spirits, Yuka symbolically took out a small notebook and wrote down the engineering department's invention project and its 'general description of the effect'.

After completing the engineering department's exploration, Yuka quickly regained her youthful and shy charm.

“Um, Sensei…”

Actually, besides wanting to see Sensei and draw warmth from him, she also had a crucial question to ask when she came to see Sensei this time—

"Ok?"

Standing on the entrance canopy at the entrance of the engineering department building, which is used to shield people from rain and snow, Amamiya stopped what she was doing and unexpectedly turned her head to look at Yuka, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

"Um... what are your plans for Christmas...?"

The girl's slightly reddened cheeks, touched by the cold, echoed the snow scene so close at hand.

After 'thinking about it carefully' for a moment, Amamiya slowly said, 'No, not really...'

We can't just say 'yes'...

"Then...Sensei, about Christmas..."

At the moment Yuka hesitated, Amamiya chose to turn the tables and take the initiative.