I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

After taking a few deep breaths, Yuzu's tense, petite body relaxed slightly.

"I... really want to try doing this with Sensei..."

Her eyes were vacant, and her tone was longing: "I want to be like this now, nestled in Sensei's arms, playing games with Sensei during our relaxation time..."

"Sensei's embrace, Sensei's back view... make me feel so at ease."

The girl's deliberate attempt to project the image of a 'GalGame heroine,' along with the lines that seemed to have been copied from some GalGame incidents, amused Amamiya.

Yuzu temporarily put herself into the role of a GalGame heroine in order to eliminate the awkwardness caused by her introverted and socially anxious tendencies.

Unfortunately... I'm a phantom thief who doesn't follow guides.

I'll teach you this principle in this way today, Yuzu.

While Yuzu continued to prepare her lines, Amamiya slowly rested her chin on Yuzu's shoulder. Her voice, enhanced by the [Voices of the Stars] bond skill, became ethereal yet highly penetrating. She whispered in Yuzu's ear at just the right moment, using a method as lethal as ASMR, that was no less effective than close-range whispering.

"If the first feeling a pomelo evokes in me is 'reassurance'... then my first feeling about a pomelo is 'perfect ripeness.'"

"Do you remember what I said, Yuzu? I told Yuzu before..."

"If I could see Yuzu reach this point... wouldn't it be like a classic 'raising game'? Raising a level 0 character with all 'normal' stats to a max-level character with all 'advanced' stats."

Related Chapter: Eternal Calamity Scroll, Chapter 36

"In my opinion, Yuzu has already become that kind of character, possessing several [advanced attributes]."

As Amamiya stroked Yuzu's fragrant, fluffy red hair, she teased her, then whispered, "Although she's still a long way from reaching the [max level]... compared to the other members of the game club, Yuzu is already far ahead."

As the speech began, Amamiya could clearly sense...

The girl sitting in his lap was completely frozen, like a program that had stopped running.

Yuzu's current reaction... feels like that of a player who "followed the walkthrough and chose the corresponding options, but instead of triggering the corresponding plot, they entered a completely new storyline" and is at a loss.

After a long pause, Amamiya finally heard her soft, deliberately lowered voice, which was clearly unexpected.

'Huh...huh?!'

Amamiya adjusted her posture slightly, resting her chin on Yuzu's other shoulder, and continued to bombard Yuzu with low-frequency kisses.

"In my opinion, Yuzu right now... while not fully ripe, is already the one in the gaming club with the most 'girlfriend vibe.'"

"If we muster up a little more courage... maybe the pomelo will become even cuter."

Then, Amamiya changed the subject and said gently, "But Yuzu is already very cute now."

'Woo...'

Yuzu let out another soft sob—this time not because she felt any negative emotions, but simply because she was overly panicked.

Yuzu's mind was completely blank; she had no idea what to do next, but instinctively, she wanted to shout out the only thought in her mind at that moment—

"Sensei, I xi..."

Before the sound could spread, Amamiya stretched out a hand, put her index finger to Yuzu's lips, and made a soft shushing sound.

'Shh—Pomelo, attracting too much attention will cause trouble.'

The storm contracted and compressed itself before it spread.

Yuzu, instantly calmed down, then chose another way to express her emotions.

She removed the hand that Amamiya had used to cover her lips and stop herself from speaking out loud, and calmly, stroke by stroke, wrote words on it.

I want to be with you forever.

Amamiya paused for a moment, and only breathed a sigh of relief with a smile after Yuzu finished writing the sentence stroke by stroke.

Following Yuzu's example, he grabbed the hand that Yuzu had used to write on his palm earlier, and while the girl's heart was pounding, he used his other hand to write on it.

I agree.

【~???~】(Pomelo)

[I've developed a special relationship with Yuzu...]

There's no going back...

【Hanaoka Yuzu (The Hermit) ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆】

[★6 Bond Ability "Game Queen's Romance Cheat Code" is now unlocked!]

Yuzu stopped moving, moved closer, and smiled happily with her eyes slightly narrowed, as if enjoying this moment of tenderness.

From this moment on, she was no longer an 'NPC', but a real one...

The female protagonist of a GalGame has obtained her own "exclusive CG".

Until the tram slowed down and came to a complete stop, and the passengers in the front rows began to disembark—

Seemingly realizing that continuing like this would inadvertently increase the risk of attracting attention, the girl reluctantly left Amamiya's embrace.

But she was still unwilling to give up the few opportunities she could have alone.

'I want to spend more time alone with Sensei…'

Before heading to the game development department…

'Could we...stay on the tram a little longer...?'

Chapter Thirty-Nine: As everyone knows, the so-called hero...

After spending a while with Yuzu in the quiet, peaceful, and deserted tram parked at the afternoon station, Amamiya got off the tram with the girl who looked 'reluctant' to leave.

Yuzu, looking slightly dazed, had a blush of happiness on her cheeks.

The girl carefully and attentively felt the warmth lingering in the palm of the adult's hand that she had been holding all the way, tucking her hands into the wide sleeves of the windbreaker.

"This is... what it feels like to be in close contact with Sensei..."

I was so happy I was almost in a daze.

'If only I could take my relationship with Sensei a little further…'

'A more intimate contact would be...'

How can I get Sensei to use the "Yuzu usage voucher" I prepared...?

For a moment, Yuzu's thoughts were in turmoil.

Having already made significant progress ahead of the rest of the game development team, she is now already 'planning ahead' and 'preparing for the future'.

—Apply buffs before the battle, do a post-battle summary, and then check the logs to confirm the overall situation. That's roughly it...

He could be considered a pretty good 'gamer'...

No, this should be the unique seriousness and self-awareness of a 'game queen' who earnestly seeks the ultimate.

Seeing Yuzu's calm expression—that she felt happy but wasn't blinded by it—Amamiya almost wanted to give Yuzu a thumbs up for her unique composure.

I quickened my pace slightly, leading the way for Yuzu while preventing her from tripping or falling due to a lack of focus.

In this seemingly unrelated yet closely intertwined way, Amamiya and Yuzu traversed the vast Millennium Science Academy campus, arriving at the Game Development Department's club activity room.

Ever since Rion was "repented" by the girls in the game club, she felt indebted to the game club (especially Alice), and tried many ways to make up for the mistakes she had made in the past...

Therefore, the "treatment" of the game club can be said to have directly completed an epic change from "on the verge of being abolished" to "ranked 8th in the top 10 most desired clubs in the past millennium".

Amamiya stopped in time, then turned around steadily, bowed and opened his arms to catch Yuzu, who was so engrossed in thinking that she wasn't even looking where she was going.

As the head of the gaming department, known in the gaming community as the 'mysterious number one player' UZQueen, who would have thought... that the person who ranks first in multiple games and is unattainable for ordinary players would be such a socially awkward girl with a light and refreshing grapefruit scent?

'Woo...'

Yuzu let out a soft whimper after being 'bumped', and then suddenly realized that she was standing in front of the game development club.

After losing her balance for a moment, the girl immediately felt the hands that steadily wrapped around her waist, and the adult's broad and unique embrace.

"Yuzu...shouldn't we be a little more careful?"

【~???~】(Pomelo)

After receiving a muffled "hmm" in response, Amamiya relaxed his embrace and let Yuzu, in her capacity as club president, open the door to the game development department's club activity room.

As spring fades and summer approaches, the indoor environment of the game club has begun to change.

In a 'summer' scene entirely composed of pixel art, the 'weapons of the heroes' who once fought against the 'Black Lord' (Rion) are displayed on a special weapon rack.

The "mage outfit" consisting of a pomelo's staff and a wizard's hat with stars hanging on top is surrounded by pixelated natural elements, with earth, water, fire and wind swaying, colliding and splashing colorful sparks.

Xiao Lü's "Assassin's Suit," consisting of a sheathed dagger and accompanying straps, exudes a shadowy black pixelated mist that occasionally transforms into strange shapes resembling a scythe of death, a skeletal warhorse, and so on.

Momoi's "Warrior Set," consisting of a sword and shield, is surrounded by holy light effects symbolizing a paladin and rage effects symbolizing a warrior. The sharp blade and the broad shield are hard to conceal even with the pixelated overlay of the "pixelated weapon."

The most unique item is the "Hero and Demon King Set," which consists of a broken hero's sword that is sometimes exuding a deep purple demon king's aura and sometimes covered by a bright blue hero's halo, and an equally broken demon king's cloak.

These pixelated weapons were deliberately placed in the most conspicuous spot in the game department, looking like nothing more than useless scene decorations.

No one would have imagined that these seemingly ordinary scene decorations had once truly led "The Black Ruler" (Rion) to repent.

Recalling her recent experience in another world, Amamiya felt a little emotional.

Perhaps it's because everyone in the game club also has a deep impression of this memory that they deliberately displayed these otherworldly weapons, which should have been treasured, as the 'face' or 'special effects' of the game club.

As Amamiya took a step forward, blonde girls wearing cat-ear headphones suddenly emerged from behind the arcade machines on both sides.

They leaned against the machine on either side, one joyfully and the other calmly and gently pulling the pins of white and pink striped and white and green striped confetti cannons in their hands.

With the soft popping of confetti cannons, pink and green confetti instantly covered Amamiya's head and face.

He could have easily dodged it using his "phantom thief's intuition"... but there was no need.

This is, after all, a way to welcome someone who has been away for a long time, not a real danger.

"Sensei~ Welcome to the Games Club~!"

The 'Pink Cat' wearing pink cat ear headphones has a bright and sunny smile. Although she is energetic, she also looks a little silly.

"Long time no see, Sensei."

The 'Green Cat,' wearing green cat-ear headphones, was much calmer, her words tinged with a hint of resentment, "As expected... it really takes a 'lovable' minister like Yuzu to lure Sensei here."

Amamiya sighed helplessly: Midori, please don't develop such a strange prejudice...

If we're really talking about "being lovable"...

Alice is definitely the most "lovable" member of the game club.

Amamiya approached Midori and Momoi, and bent down to touch their almost identical blonde hair.

Momoi was immediately delighted by the touch, and after enjoying it for a while, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to struggle free.

"Sensei~ It's so itchy~"

"A little something is fine... You can't do things like patting someone's head to increase affection every day in a visual novel, right?"

【~???~】(Momoi)

So, Amamiya released the hand that was on Momoi's head and then pinched Midori's cheeks with both hands.

"Well……"

Compared to the emotionally insensitive "Chariot," the "Empress" is much more emotionally sensitive.

Instead of showing any discomfort when Amamiya cupped her cheeks in his hands, Midori proactively cupped Amamiya's hands in return, trying her best to prevent him from 'pulling away after a brief touch'. With a shy yet affectionate and gentle expression, she said meaningfully, "Sensei's touch... is so warm."

"If only I could experience it more."

Although her tone was gentle, Xiao Lü's actions became even more 'intense'.

She gently held Amamiya's wrist, forcing him to touch her cheek for half a minute before reluctantly letting go.

【~???~】(Green)

After touching the twin sisters, whose personalities were almost completely different yet formed a wonderfully complementary relationship, Amamiya took another step forward and walked into the darkness where no light shone.

Suddenly, the indoor equivalent of the game development department underwent a transformation from daytime to a dazzling starry night.

The pixel art style was transformed by a gust of wind into a quiet forest with stars everywhere at night, and at the same time, a pedestal with a sword stuck in it appeared before Amamiya.

"O hero..."

In Amamiya's ears, Alice's voice, though feigning maturity, sounded all the more endearing: "...Now, you have arrived at the legendary 'Forest of Hidden Swords.' This is where the Hero's Sword is kept..."

"Draw this sword... The fate of the world now rests in your hands..."