I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Urged on by the unified 'voice' that instantly resonated within her, the girl remained unhurried.

After a long pause, she gently raised her head.

"……Can."

"Sensei, if you're curious about this kind of knowledge..."

"I will... teach you without reservation."

Chapter Seven: The Rabbit Squad Discovers Clues

What do the little rabbits do in the evening?

In the past... they might have been preparing for 'survival resources' for the night.

—Including but not limited to, purchasing survival supplies for the next few days;

Wander around the rabbit park and collect any wild resources you can use;

Also, I need to go to Angel24 to pick up today's pre-expiration bento box...

Recently, thanks to the preparations for the "Kōrin Taisai", the rabbits' "living conditions" have been greatly improved.

"Nothing particularly wrong happened today, right?"

With her coat half off, a purple-haired girl in a white summer seminar uniform carrying a tablet hurried over.

Miyako has already accumulated some experience in communicating with this seminar accountant who always seems very busy and has been known as the 'Cold Calculator' for a thousand years.

While exchanging glances with her companions, Miyako stood up and answered in a concise and efficient manner: "Yes, the Rabbit Squad has deployed defenses and conducted regular patrols in the surrounding area, and has not found any dangerous targets."

"It seems that preparations for today's Akawa Grand Festival are going very smoothly..."

With a sigh of relief, Yuka said, "I'll continue to leave the safety of the area around the stadium to you."

While 'expressing her feelings', Yuka quickly confirmed the little rabbits' reactions with her 'keen observation skills as a cold-blooded calculator'.

'It seems they're quite used to the pace of a thousand years...'

'This way, we should be able to help Sensei look after these rabbit squad members who have nowhere to go for the time being...'

Under the guise of 'checking on safety,' Yuka observed the members of the Rabbit Squad as usual before hurriedly leaving again, as she had other things to attend to.

After saying goodbye to Yuka, the little bunnies returned to the dormitory that Yuka had specially arranged for them, which was reserved for 'Akawa Grand Festival participants' during the competition preparation period.

With the identity verification complete, the high-tech mechanical door opened with a 'whoosh' sound, and a gust of cool air blew out from the automatically turned-on air conditioner.

Living in a clean, tidy, and even somewhat uniquely styled thousand-year-old dormitory, the little rabbits were temporarily spared from 'eating in the open'.

After Miyu, the last to step into the dormitory, closed the door, the little bunnies who rushed to their respective beds began to 'reflect'.

First up is cute illustration.

She stretched and then moved her slightly sore shoulders. After a few clicks of her tongue, she gave a brief 'comment' on Yuka, who had just left: "Truly worthy of being called the 'Cold-Blooded Calculator'...that unapproachable, oppressive aura..."

Taking off her ankle boots that she had worn all day, Saki gave a completely different opinion from Moe: "I think the white-haired secretary who comes by occasionally is more 'terrifying'."

Listening to her teammates' conversation, Miyako felt a subtle premonition rising in her heart.

According to recent workshop participants I've spoken to... they're all very close to the workshop's higher-ups...

There were even rumors of a 'special relationship' between them.

How did Sensei manage to contact those high-level executives at the seminar who seemed so 'distant' in both temperament and demeanor?

Lost in her fantasies, Miyako then recalled the emotions her senior had unintentionally revealed during their recent 'chance encounter'.

Did I... truly encounter the most authentic side of Sensei?

While Miyako was deep in thought, she suddenly heard the 'noisy' sounds of her teammates again.

"Oh my god... It's coming, is it coming?!"

"Moe...can you please stop making such strange noises..."

"We're just cracking surveillance videos, there's no need to get this excited, is there?"

After regaining her senses, Miyako turned her gaze to Moe, who was sitting on the bed, already using her laptop and USB drive.

With her eyes shining, Meng Hui plugged in the USB drive and began her 'hacking project'.

Her fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard, demonstrating a hacker's absolute control over their computer. Unconsciously, Meng Hui focused her mind intently.

"Xia Lai's firewall... its security level is really..."

While cracking the code, Meng Hui also took the time to complain about Xia Lai Na's security measures, which were quite terrifying for an individual's computing power.

"A tough nut to crack..."

"Fortunately, hackers' methods of intrusion are not limited to network intrusion... Physical intrusion can also be considered an intrusion..."

"Let's see what kind of footage we obtained when we infiltrated Xia Lai last night...?"

As Menghui typed the last line of code, the progress bar on the computer screen finally reached 100%.

With a strong sense of anticipation, the girl, whose smile seemed slightly sickly, rubbed her hands together, her eyes glued to the screen as it was about to refresh, along with the other three little rabbits who had come over.

After a brief black screen, the video file of the successfully hacked surveillance footage was opened.

The little rabbits gathered around the computer screen, holding their breath and eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

However... after the video started playing, a series of things began to happen that shocked them.

In the surveillance footage, Amamiya, with Yukino whose face was ashen and whose expression and spirit could not be fully described as 'dejected', walked through the corridor of the Sharai Building.

The intimate interactions were captured in minute detail by the high-definition monitoring equipment.

As they watched, the rabbits' originally solemn expressions were gradually replaced by an indescribable 'strange' look.

"I am not wrong, right……"

Saki looked utterly incredulous, as if the sky had fallen: "Yukino-senpai from Team Fox, actually..."

As the 'development' continued, Yukino's exceptionally sweet and tender "favorite" confession, followed by her "staying overnight" request, instantly shattered the little rabbits' impressions of their senior.

Even more unbelievable is...

After displaying an exceptionally 'cute' side, Yukino in the surveillance footage then did something that the girls in the Rabbit Squad wouldn't even dare to imagine—

After confirming that no one was around, she actually picked up the uniform jacket that Amamiya had worn from the back of the chair, sniffed it intently for a long time, and then revealed a look of infatuation.

And... in the end, he even wore that coat himself?!

Menghui paused the video, rubbed her eyes repeatedly to make sure that what she saw did not deviate from the surveillance footage.

"What exactly is going on……"

Moe is starting to lose confidence.

Rather than believe what she saw was real... she preferred to believe that her hacking skills were not up to par, triggering some decompilation measures and deciphering the fake file.

Only Miyako knew the truth...

These surveillance videos are absolutely 'real'.

Because when she visited Shirai, Yukino-senpai was wearing Sensei clothes.

Miyu rarely chimed in, but her focus was quite peculiar.

“Sensei… is so kind to Yukino-senpai.”

"Wow...this progress..."

When Moe's voice reached her ears, Miyako narrowed her eyes slightly and remained silent.

At this moment, Miyako, who was originally worried about whether the Fox Squad would do something to Sensei, suddenly lost all hope in the glorious and majestic image of the Fox Squad presented on television.

...So, even the senior members of the Fox Squad had times when they were 'deeply depressed'?

As Miyako was reflecting on this, she suddenly noticed that the gazes of the other three members had fallen on her again.

"The captain isn't bad either... He actually chose to 'ambush' Sensei when none of us knew..."

Moe clicked her tongue, her expression, which was originally tinged with the 'exaggerated' behavior of the Fox Squad seniors, was replaced by a meaningful and slightly hostile one.

As the surveillance footage played at double speed, it showed the scene of his 'sudden visit to Xia Lai'...

Saki's expression and eyes were not as aggressive as Moe's, but the subtle, undisguised feeling made Miyako blush with guilt for a moment.

"What... In order to protect Sensei's safety, not only are they going to give their senior a hard time, but they're even going to investigate their senior's motives afterwards...?"

"...As expected of the leader of the Rabbit team, he's really thoughtful."

—Although Saki's words didn't sound like anything, in this situation, they sounded like a barb.

Miyu didn't say anything, or even make any other comment.

But her gloomy and metaphorical gaze made Miyako feel a sense of unease.

As the video continued to play, the scenes of a 'warm family dinner' made the members of the Rabbit Team look at them more and more strangely.

Miyako realized that she couldn't continue like this—she had to change the subject.

"That, that..."

Feeling guilty, she suddenly realized a blind spot that she could use to change the subject.

"...Oh right. When I left Xia Lai, it seems that Yukino-senpai hadn't left yet."

Under the gazes of the other members, Miyako looked at Moe.

"I'm also very curious about where Yukino-senpai went."

"With the current conditions, is it possible to investigate this?"

Chapter Eight, Miyako: Impossible, absolutely impossible!

The little rabbits' investigation began in a state of trepidation and ended with their eyes meeting in a state of mutual anxiety.

"That is to say..."

Taking off her listening earpiece, Moe, with an incredulous expression and tone, summarized what she could glean from the surveillance video: "Yukino-senpai, after entering the Xia Lai residential area, didn't come out until the next morning..."

Nighttime, alone together, feeling uneasy, the clingy senior...

What will happen when these elements come together?

The gap in the story, which left everyone scratching their heads, made the little rabbits all very curious.

The video freezes on the moment Yukino leaves with a refreshed and satisfied expression, and the little rabbits exchange glances in silence.

"Could it be..."

'No, it's impossible no matter how you look at it...'

'Yukino-senpai, and the Fox Squad's senpai, how could this be...'

'It's unlikely that the Fox Squad coerced Sensei.'

'But if Sensei threatened the Fox Squad... that doesn't make sense...'

'Yukino-senpai stayed at Xia Lai for one night...'

After exchanging glances, the little rabbits quickly made a decision—

The investigation into Xia Lai cannot stop here.

We must find out the true purpose of the Fox Squad's predecessors, and also...

……

"Is there any other special contact, Alona?"

"Um……"

The tablet briefly lit up, and the AI ​​girl in the ocean-view classroom carefully browsed through the various messages from the day.

"Aside from receiving a package from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, there shouldn't be any other noteworthy news..."

A package sent by the Classic of Mountains and Seas?

Amamiya, who was interacting with Alona on a tablet, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this as she stepped out of the station with a shoulder bag on her back.

Could it be Saya? Or Hime, Minami... or Rumi?