I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

When Amamiya opened the door, she happened to see a rather interesting scene—Saori, wearing a baseball cap, a gardening apron, and gardening gloves, was digging and watering the soil on the balcony... clearly engaged in gardening activities.

Upon hearing the door open, Saori probably assumed that other members of Arius's squad had arrived and didn't pay much attention—until she 'inadvertently' glanced in the direction of the door.

"..."

Surprise, unexpected, shy, at a loss...

This was the first time Amamiya had ever seen such a 'complex' and adorable expression on a girl who looked and felt exceptionally mature.

"Sen, Sensei...why did you suddenly come?"

After a moment of panic, Saori quickly regained her composure.

She hurriedly took off her gardening gloves and then ripped off her apron, placing it on the clothes rack beside her. She then quickly walked up to Amamiya.

"Sensei, is there a mission that our team needs to complete?"

Amamiya waved her hand, indicating that Saori shouldn't be so serious.

"No, no... I just came back temporarily to take a look around and brought the students to visit."

Upon hearing this, Saori turned her gaze to the girl behind and to the side of Amamiya, whose body was partially obscured by Amamiya.

Feeling the gaze, Yuriko, who was subtly observing her surroundings, looked back.

"Hello, you're Saori Tsubaki from the Arios Squad, right? I've heard Sensei mention you and some of the Arios Squad's history."

Amamiya paused, not intending to correct Yuriko's statement.

In fact, he never told Yuriko anything about it...

Yuriko said this mainly to dispel Saori's suspicions and wariness towards her.

“I am Yuriko Tennishi from Millennium Technology Academy, a… gunsmith.”

“Saori, I’ve heard that Arios’s squad, both before and after joining Sharai, has had some problems with weapon supplies and other aspects.”

After identifying a 'potential customer,' the girl naturally took out a business card made of some kind of hard material, standard for the engineering department, from her pocket and handed it to Saori.

"As the first squad to be stationed in Xialai, if your squad has any ideas about being equipped with standardized weapons, or if there are any issues with weapon supply or maintenance... feel free to contact us at any time."

"Considering your current direct relationship with Sensei, I will try my best to offer you a discount."

Saori, who is not good at interpersonal communication, was a little confused.

With an unnatural expression, she tried her best to control herself from showing any fierceness or disgust, and stiffly accepted the business card that Yuriko handed her.

"……Um."

After developing a 'potential customer,' Yuriko returned to her slightly curious expression, looking around with a hint of novelty.

"Is this Xia Lai's working environment...?"

"It feels...to my personal liking."

After observing the surroundings, the girl returned to Amamiya's side and tilted her head slightly towards him: "Sensei..."

"Shall we go and look around somewhere else next?"

Chapter 75 Yukino: An adult like you...

Amamiya didn't immediately understand Yuriko's intentions, but he readily agreed to her request and showed her around the various floors of the Xialai Building.

Apart from the relatively important "Shalai Basement" where the Shitei Box is stored, Amamiya looked at everything from top to bottom, even the warehouses in the Shalai building used to store items.

"Hmm...this one is nice."

"This one probably won't work...the load-bearing area..."

"This one is fine."

Listening to the girl's 'muttering' all the way, Amamiya noticed her 'thoughtful' expression and casually asked, "What is Yuriko doing?"

"For the selection of a site for the auxiliary workshop."

Yuriko didn't hide anything, shaking her fox ears that would occasionally flap, and answered seriously: "If we want to equip the forces of Xialai with standard weapons and provide fire support... it is very necessary to establish a workshop here."

Indeed.

After all, they've practically provided you with free services... You can't expect to handle all the logistics yourself, can you?

Considering the training of Arius's squad and various events such as possible firefights, it is necessary to establish a workshop to provide weapons supplies.

Correspondingly, Cinna said she would provide 'medical services'.

However, this medical service also requires beds, pharmacy rooms, and other medical resources, and it also requires land.

Amamiya didn't say anything more about thanking him.

The value of the word 'thank you' diminishes significantly if it's used too often.

As the saying goes, "Great kindness needs no words of thanks; a small gift carries great meaning."

The expression of 'thank you' should not just be a verbal phrase...

We should be more practical...

For example, inviting Yuriko to go on a date?

Should I take this opportunity to win over Yuriko?

The black-haired girl's fox ears twitched like radar, and then she looked at Amamiya as if she sensed something: "...Sensei?"

The girl looked suspicious and hesitated slightly: "...Are you thinking about something strange?"

Amamiya thought to herself that her facial expressions shouldn't be so obviously written on her face.

Since it's not a problem with her own facial expression management... then Yuriko must have a special ability similar to 'telepathy'?

Isn't that a bit like Mimori?

Amamiya ignored the girl's slightly questioning and strange gaze, and instead gently changed the subject with a question: "Have you chosen an address yet?"

"Hmm, I've chosen..." Yuriko turned her gaze to a warehouse room in front of her. "This one will do. It's close to the ground, making it convenient for resupply."

"With bulletproof partitions, other protective measures, and subsequent fortifications, it should be quite safe."

"Considering the worst-case scenario... even if a secondary explosion occurs, it will not have a fatal impact on the entire building."

Upon hearing this, Amamiya gave a slight twitch of her lips.

She was so meticulous that she even considered the possibility of a secondary explosion...

It's not necessary to take it that seriously, is it?

Previously, Xia Lai's protection was practically nonexistent, but now with Arius's squad stationed there, the protection shouldn't be so weak.

"Well, in that case... let's keep this room as Yuriko's reserved workshop for now."

After evaluating the warehouse room that Yuriko had specified, Amamiya ultimately decided to allocate it to Yuriko.

Yuriko's suggestion does indeed have a considerable degree of merit.

Of all these, what Amamiya liked the most was Xia Lai's standard equipment supply plan.

The members of Arius's squad used equipment that was almost entirely difficult to resupply.

If we could equip them with a set of Sharai standard weapons, with uniform paint and Sharai logo, on top of their existing equipment, their professionalism would likely improve significantly.

【~???~】(from Yuriko)

“So, Sensei…”

Having confirmed the 'warehouse location,' the girl, seemingly having finally accomplished her hidden objective, hesitated briefly before saying goodbye: 'It's almost time...'

I need to go back and try on my swimsuit to see if it still fits, and I also need to pick up various parts of the helicopter...

Time is relatively limited.

Coincidentally, Amamiya was also preparing to go to "Beritas" to dig into the behind-the-scenes stories of the resort islands.

In addition, I need to set aside time in the evening for Nia, who is coming to see me and discuss matters...

Amamiya waved to the fox-eared girl who was still very interested but had to leave due to time constraints.

He didn't say any 'standard farewell words,' but instead said something very meaningful: 'I will wait, and look forward to it.'

Yuriko paused slightly in her departing steps, turning back in confusion: "?"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Yuriko in a swimsuit, she'll definitely be adorable!"

"...?!"

【~???~】

After giving her a look that was somewhere between 'slight disgust' and 'shame', Yuriko suddenly turned around and quickened her pace to leave.

Amamiya's gaze followed Yuriko as she left, until her figure completely disappeared, before he prepared to withdraw his gaze.

Before heading to Beritas, let's buy some drinks and snacks...

With this thought in mind, Amamiya turned and walked towards the Xialai Building, eventually arriving at the entrance of "Angel 24".

With a "ding" as the door opened, Amamiya also heard Sora's slightly hurried welcome.

"Welcome, Sensei!"

As Xia Lai's popularity has gradually increased recently, the number of students coming and going here every day, including Angel 24, has gradually become more popular.

When Amamiya entered "Angel 24", there were still several students wandering between the shelves, selecting goods.

Naturally, they also noticed Xiaokong's unique welcome speech.

In an instant, Amamiya felt many eyes focused on him.

And among them...

There were gazes filled with complete disgust, unfamiliarity, and resistance.

This surprised Amamiya and aroused her curiosity, making her think, "This shouldn't be happening."

Given his current widespread fame in Kivotos, would any student still dislike him?

It's not that Amamiya is narcissistic...

As a heart-stealing phantom thief who is extremely sensitive to the element of "popularity" or "popularity rate", Amamiya has a clear understanding of her current popularity and reputation in Giwatos.

— Relying on the guild leader's bond skill [Déjà Vu], Amamiya checked his 'fame' and 'popularity' throughout the entire Givotos.

The brand awareness rate is 56.8%, which means that within Kivotos, more than half of the academies and students have at least a detailed understanding of themselves.

The popularity rate is 78.9%, which means that if any student knows of Amamiya's existence, at least 8 out of 10 students will have a very high initial level of goodwill towards Amamiya.

In addition, Amamiya currently possesses a strange set of bond skills that can be used in various situations... The probability of gaining high favorability upon first meeting should almost reach 100%.

In this situation, how could I still be disliked?

After greeting Sora, Amamiya was about to subtly glance at the source of the disgusted gaze when she caught a series of hurried footsteps approaching from afar.

'...Is the target heading towards me?'

'Are they trying to attack me?'

For a moment, Amamiya felt only novelty.

That hostile gaze, and those hurried steps…

Even members of the Helmet Gang, or other delinquent girl groups, probably have a lot of longing for their current selves, right?

What are they doing...?

Amamiya certainly didn't intend to 'sit and wait for death'.

He turned around at the opportune moment and looked at the figure rushing towards him, seemingly intending to launch a 'surprise attack' on him.

The group that wanted to 'attack' Amamiya was a group of four girls, all of whom had fox ears.

Amamiya astutely discerned the source of the hostility and malice—

It was the girl with black hair and red eyes who was in the lead.

Amamiya attempted to use his "third eye" to investigate the group of four, and then discovered something even more interesting—

Despite their hostility, they did not display any outline markings that symbolized a true "enemy".