I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

A misty fog seemed to gather in her eyes, eventually turning them into teary eyes.

The AI ​​girl's particularly lively voice now carried a hint of grateful tears: "If we understand it by human standards... the three seniors are like my [mothers]~!"

【~???~】(from Utahara, Hibiki, and Katori)

Sophia's emotional expression was quite rich, but her common sense was clearly lacking, causing Utahara, Hibiki, and Cortori to blush.

They truly do regard their creations, to which they have poured their utmost effort, as 'daughters'...

But being called 'Mom' by the child of your life's work... it feels...

It's still... subtle.

The one who felt it most acutely was Kahara. When Sofia uttered "Mom" without any psychological pressure, Kahara immediately felt a sharp pain in his heart—as if he had been pierced by an arrow.

The arrow even hit a weak point and a critical hit, causing a feeling that was hard to describe, a desire to take extra care of Sophia, who was like a newborn baby, to well up in Kahara's heart.

After a moment of stunned silence, the ear on the top of Xiang's head suddenly flew off with a whoosh.

'Daughter and such...'

'To see one's own invention as a daughter, and to be called "Mom" by someone else...it feels...'

Even Cortoline, who is usually very talkative, showed a subtle reaction of surprise followed by embarrassment and retreat.

Noticing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Sofia was a little confused.

"...Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"Do not."

Yuriko, instead of her 'awkward' and 'self-serving' seniors, diverted Sofia's attention.

Approaching Sofia, after a few seconds of eye contact, she said earnestly, "...The predecessors may still be immersed in the joy of their inventions working successfully. So, it's understandable that they are a little 'at a loss'."

Amamiya: "..."

Is it really?

Glancing at Utahara and Hibiki, who seemed to be starting to 'activate their maternal instincts,' and at the slightly confused Katori, Amamiya thought to herself that things didn't seem so simple.

Clearly, in terms of "cuteness," Sofia is just as irresistible as Alice.

Moreover, compared to Alice, Sophia has an additional natural advantage for the Engineering Department—Sophia is the 'crystallization of the labor of love' created by the three members of the Engineering Department.

In some ways, the difficulty and effort involved are almost the same as truly creating life from scratch and raising a child.

Therefore, Sophia's cry of "Mom" was especially impactful on the three members of the engineering department.

Even just hearing that one word stirred up a maternal instinct in Utahara and Hibiki.

Miyako shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose and inwardly smiling bitterly.

Feeling he couldn't let the three of them continue acting so strangely, he raised his hand to interrupt them: "Geyuan, is there anything special about 'Erpis' that we should pay attention to?"

Upon being asked this question by Amamiya, the three members of the engineering department seemed to suddenly realize something, followed by shy expressions with slightly flushed cheeks.

The first to realize what was happening was Kahara, who first gave Sophia a deep look before clearing her throat and beginning to explain the 'precautions'.

"While 'Erbius' is a near-perfect work that we cannot yet definitively say we can replicate, it does have some technical flaws that we haven't been able to overcome yet..."

"First and foremost, there's its operating energy."

"Although our 'standby time' has been greatly extended by the breakthroughs we've achieved in the energy field using Eden Metals, and the power supply, storage, and conversion modules have all undergone major upgrades, we still need to pay attention to its 'standby state' and 'combat state'..."

"If possible, it is best to eat high-energy foods at fixed times, like a normal person, through 'three meals a day,' or directly consume batteries or drink high-energy items such as special motor oil."

Utahara rattled off several 'points to note' to Amamiya in one breath.

In summary, it's all about daily life and routines.

After Utahara made the first point, Hibiki and Cortoline racked their brains and added a few other points to note.

They even dug up precautions such as "needing to make clothes regularly".

Amamiya had some doubts; they really intended to treat Sophie Adam's daughter as such.

Their amusing antics made Amamiya somewhat expectant.

The girls in the engineering department are all so 'cute'...

What about Himari, who almost couldn't handle being called "Mom" by Sofia before?

(PS: Related plot: Chapter 27 of the [Eternal Calamity] volume)

Amamiya felt that she should have Sofia greet Himari later, and then have Sofia call Himari "Mom" to see if this girl, who claimed to be a "super genius, clear-headed, sickly beauty," but actually seemed to have the temperament of an old lady, could handle it.

"...That's about all the points to note."

After listing over a hundred points of caution, the three of them stopped for the time being.

After the girls' gazes lingered on Sophia for a moment, Utahara took the lead and asked, "Sensei, is there anything else worth adding?"

Amamiya shook her head, thinking to herself that if this continued, it would truly become a 'parenting plan'.

"so……"

Utahara seemed relieved.

After making some suggestive remarks in a serious tone, the purple-haired girl responded with a muffled sound. Then, she thoughtfully rested her elbow on one hand and gently pinched her chin with the other.

Speaking of which... is there something I wanted to say but forgot to say?

Utahara's contemplation continued until Yuriko coughed lightly and called out "senpai" helplessly.

"Oh, right... there's also Yuriko's matter."

Still seemingly immersed in the strange emotions of 'unexpectedly gaining a daughter,' Kahara realized that the real 'theme' had not yet begun.

"Inviting you to the engineering department this time... is not only to 'accept the results', but also to introduce you to the younger generation."

"When you were brought here, Yuriko should have already given a brief introduction of herself... We need to add more information about Yuriko beyond that..."

After instructing Sophia to stay near the incubation chamber for the time being, and indicating that there was still a final safety measure in place for the body, Utahara turned his gaze to Amamiya.

“Sensei…come with us. We’ll take you to see that thing that recently appeared in the millennium, and has thus been noticed or alerted by some people…”

"Yuriko's 'Big Friend'."

Following in the footsteps of Utahara and her group of four, Amamiya stepped into the elevator leading to the rooftop helipad of the engineering department.

Soon, he saw the person Utahara had mentioned, 'Yuriko's best friend'.

It wasn't the 'mechanical bird' I had imagined, produced by the engineering department, but rather...

One, with a peculiar aura...

"...gunships?"

Chapter 56 What is SRT's motto?

Looking at the enormous machine parked on the I-shaped helipad, Amamiya was slightly taken aback.

Ge Yuan, who was traveling with him, had already raised his head and looked at this enormous behemoth, which was quite exaggerated to humans, with a slightly complicated gaze that seemed to be 'reverent' yet also wanted to dismantle it to see what kind of structure it was.

Quickly turning his gaze away, Utahara gave Amamiya a brief introduction.

"This is Yuriko's 'big friend.'"

Measuring approximately 32 meters long, 33 meters wide, and 9 meters high, it certainly qualifies as an "aerial behemoth."

After Utahara finished speaking, Amamiya heard a high-frequency, slightly piercing sound, like radio wave adjustment.

Then, a mature and gentle voice, like that of a kind older sister, entered his ears.

[Nice to meet you... from Xia Lai's "Phantom Thief".]

I am Yuriko's "companion." My call sign is "Albatross." You may also call me that.

It's often said that 'mecha is the romance of men'—Amamiya's aesthetic is no exception.

This kind of large war machine, which looks particularly 'hardcore and ruthless', has a natural and special charm for Amamiya.

'Albatross'...

It definitely has that feel of a 'Modern Warfare' game, where players can call in ultimate-type air support.

After glancing at the 'albatross' for a moment, Amamiya looked away and turned to Yuriko and Utahara.

What is your relationship with him/her?

To be honest, Amamiya found it hard to imagine how a former SRT student could be involved with something as mysterious as the 'Legacy of the Nameless Gods' as Giwatos could possibly be.

Naturally, Amamiya needed to pay attention to the strange relationship between Yuriko and 'Albatross'.

[You can think of it as a relationship that sounds relatively unscientific, such as 'consciousness connection' or 'extraordinary symbiosis'.]

Yuriko blinked, the liveliness in her eyes seemingly briefly covered by another kind of almost cold and ruthless 'glamour'.

In that instant, her eyes, just like Alice's body being controlled by Kei, changed color.

Slightly different from Kei temporarily controlling Alice's body, Yuriko, whose body was temporarily borrowed by Albatross, has eye color that resembles the representative color of the 'Cross God's Name'—bright orange or orange-yellow.

“We can ignore the distance and establish a consciousness connection with each other to exchange information and consciousness, or control each other’s bodies.”

Using Yuriko's words, Albatross continued, "According to what you said, Mr. Phantom Thief... our relationship can also be compared to that of a Persona and a Persona User—you are in me and I am in you."

Or rather...

Yuriko, who was controlling the albatross, replied: "You are me, you are me."

Amamiya immediately understood and figured out what was going on between them.

He had seen this special type of 'symbiotic relationship' many times before.

Using the power system that Amamiya himself understood, this relationship could be described as a "soul connection."

Due to the strange reactions caused by the mutual crushing, assimilation, and erosion of the 'mysterious' elements, Yuriko and the 'albatross' formed a soul contract that was almost like a fantasy magic.

While they do gain special advantages such as the ability to control each other's bodies and more conveniently transmit their consciousness, it is not without its drawbacks.

In this situation, the lives of both parties are intertwined, one prospers and the other suffers.

If any attack targeting the soul type were to harm them, they would suffer at least double the damage.

Of course... in Givotos, a world dominated by technological power, Amamiya felt that magic involving the soul level was probably impossible.

Even high-level or max-level Personas might not possess this type of special magic.

Only true "demons" or even "gods" could wield such advanced magical attacks.

However, if such a 'deficiency of consciousness' were to act in another world, it would naturally be reflected there as well—meaning that Yuriko's weakness is the 'telekinesis' attribute.

"Your 'relationship' is really quite peculiar."

After some deliberation, Amamiya made a somewhat novel remark.

Kahara, standing nearby, immediately chimed in, "That's right."

“From a scientific point of view, it is a miracle that Yuriko can achieve symbiosis with her (albatross) in the way she does now.”

Kahara hesitated for a moment, not revealing all his thoughts.

Actually, she really wanted to say... If it weren't for Yuriko's personal safety, their engineering department would have really wanted to disassemble the 'Albatross' to see how the nameless gods' black technology was actually implemented.

Albatross seemed to understand the intentions of the three, Utahara, and didn't say anything more, waiting for Amamiya to raise other questions.

In her view, it is essential for both parties to establish a basic level of mutual trust and therefore to share some basic information.

After a moment's thought, Amamiya asked curiously, "So, you're the one Kei felt earlier, the one with the 'suspected dangerous reaction'?"

It seems she has already shared some of the information with you.

The albatross's voice sounded somewhat helpless: "I really hope that child didn't distort the facts because of his stubborn arrogance and prejudice."

It seems like they have quite a lot of opinions about Kei?

"You know Kei? What's your 'grudge' with him?"