I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Amamiya was slightly exasperated—because Noah's underlying intentions were quite obvious.

'Sensei...like this "indirect kissing incident" that holds special significance for Yuka's memories...'

'You wouldn't discriminate, would you?'

This was her 'selfish' desire to avoid being noticed by Yuka, and it was also the 'special mark' she wanted to obtain only at this moment.

Having been immersed in literature for so long, Noah, as a young girl with a love for literature, longed to experience an event with such a strong 'youthful literary flavor'.

Amamiya was helpless because he could understand Noah's implicit expectations.

Amamiya took the canned coffee from Noah and drank a third of it.

"Being able to 'indirectly kiss' two beautiful girls in such a short time is indeed an unforgettable experience."

"..."

Noah thought that with Yuka's experience of 'wading' as a foundation, he shouldn't be as embarrassed as Yuka.

However... when he witnessed it, Noah still felt a sudden, abrupt feeling, as if his heart had skipped a beat.

Noticing Yuka running back after redeeming her prize, Noah naturally took the canned coffee from Amamiya and smoothed his hair back with his other hand to hide his embarrassment.

"Does Sensei have anything else to do?"

"There are indeed still things to do..."

Sipping coffee, under the watchful eyes of Noah and Yuka, Amamiya briefly explained the purpose of his trip to the Millennium.

Besides checking the situation at the stadium, the main thing was to fulfill Yuriko's request to go to the engineering department to see the support outfits they had prepared—and, incidentally, to confirm what kind of weapon Yuriko had prepared for Kai.

"Since Sensei still has more important things to do..."

Noah waved slightly in farewell: "Then we won't take up any more of Sensei's time."

"We might be very busy during the Akawa Grand Festival..."

"So, if possible... please, Sensei, show your 'care for students' by paying more attention to us, okay?"

Compared to Noah's deeply meaningful farewell, Yuka's 'farewell' was much simpler—

She shoved the bottle of sea salt lemonade she'd won as part of her "buy one get one free" prize into Amamiya's hands, then turned and fled after Noah without looking back.

Amamiya watched as the two girls in gymnastics uniforms disappeared into the distance among the students coming and going near the gymnasium entrance before turning her gaze away.

It's almost noon; the engineering department should be mostly present by now.

'Next... let's go to the engineering department.'

Chapter Fifty: The kids are all grown up; it's time to respect their privacy.

The Engineering Department of the Millennium Science Academy... is becoming an increasingly magical place.

It processes a large amount of raw materials for mechanical components every day, and then outputs products with a cold and fantastical texture that are unique to the engineering department's research and development.

During the repair and maintenance process, the building itself gradually developed a fantastical steampunk feel.

The engineering department members who regularly travel here... used to be called 'Cyber ​​Witches'.

"It seems... the students from the other academies are treating the Engineering Department as... a landmark tourist attraction?"

Looking at the engineering department building from afar, Amamiya, as always, first observed the situation... and as always, immediately sensed the gazes watching him.

No... now it can probably no longer be called spying, but rather "openly looking".

'Beep beep—'

After a brief period of electrical interference, Amamiya's old cell phone emitted an albatross-like, intellectual and gentle sound, but upon closer listening, one could discern a mechanical, synthesized quality.

【welcome--】

After a grand and solemn welcome speech with drawn-out tones, the albatross even playfully played an audio clip taken from the game, titled "The Poem of the Soul of All People."

[—The engineering department's best guest.]

【Welcome, Mr. Phantom Thief…】

Amamiya took out her phone and looked up at the mature and elegant AI girl with white hair and red eyes through the screen.

They've also adopted the 'Psona' art style.

Without Amamiya asking, Albatross, noticing Amamiya's change in expression through its front-facing camera, naturally moved away from the lens, struck the classic 'A-POSE' pose, and displayed its virtual avatar in almost every detail.

[She looks a lot like Yuriko Koike, doesn't she?]

That's because the model was built almost exactly according to Yuriko's most anticipated and final form.

[Due to thousands of years of...some...well, rules and regulations.]

This special profile picture will be registered as that of a regular student for me to register accounts and surf the internet.

As for why the alternate art style of 'white hair and red eyes' was used... let's temporarily describe it using the concept of 'alternate art' from card games.

[This version was chosen because... in the calculations, the white hair and red eyes feature is a color scheme that has a probability of matching Mr. Phantom Thief's aesthetic preferences.]

Albatross is always so talkative when it comes to acquaintances he knows and can talk to.

Of course, this "talkativeness" is relative—if the other party in the conversation is more proactive, then the albatross is more willing to be a 'gentle and friendly listener'.

After the demonstration, the albatross returned to the camera.

[Mr. Phantom Thief, what do you think?]

Amamiya frowned as she looked at Albatross, who was smiling gently and waiting for a reply, through the screen. Instead of commenting, she raised a question.

"Yuriko...is there still a possibility of her developing further?"

Yes, absolutely.

Albatross took off its shawl and deliberately showed off its overly voluptuous upper body.

[Yuriko's most recent change... well, 'a girl changes a lot as she grows up,' didn't you, Mr. Phantom Thief, witness it firsthand at the resort island?]

He pulled up his chest strap to demonstrate the smooth and fluid physical collision and cloth settlement effects of the model he was currently 'driving,' and then asked questions with the eagerness of a salesman.

[Now that you've witnessed Yuriko's 'final form' of growth, does Mr. Phantom Thief have any further plans to win her over?]

Amamiya really wanted to answer, "Yes, absolutely."

But anticipating that such an answer might lead to more questions, Amamiya pondered for a moment, then shook her head mysteriously: "It's not convenient to tell you."

Albatross immediately let out a sound of "Hey!"

The kids are growing up; it's time to respect their privacy...

Sighing sadly, the albatross continued: "Asking Yuriko, she often unilaterally blocks questions containing keywords related to you, especially those concerning relationships..."

Amamiya found it interesting.

It seems that the albatross and Yuriko's "unity of mind" is far more flexible than I imagined.

"Mr. Phantom Thief, you're here to see Yuriko to confirm matters related to the weapons prepared for... the princess's guards, right?"

I'll open the door right away.

There was another 'beep' sound of electricity, the albatross's virtual image disappeared, and Amamiya's phone screen returned to normal.

With a 'click', a small door opened in the building in front of Amamiya.

—To avoid any potential dangers from the engineering department affecting unrelated personnel, and to prevent the engineering department from being disturbed every day, the engineering department is no longer a place where just anyone can come and go as they please.

The engineering department's access control system is quite strict.

Following the "mischievous navigation" that Albatross probably made on the voice channel out of boredom, Amamiya walked through the corridors and halls and arrived at a spacious area that resembled a production workshop, where the members of the engineering department often gathered.

Unless there are special circumstances, the engineering department members who usually gather here are all here this time.

However... unlike the usual academic atmosphere where everyone would gather to discuss how to modify equipment, the engineering department was a little "lively" today.

Amamiya, who had just passed through the long corridor and was waiting for Albatross to open the door, hadn't even fully seen the situation inside the workshop when she first heard Utahara's slogan.

"Next... get ready—"

"Go! Go! Charge! Ignite your faith and achieve victory!"

"Go, Millennium! Millennium, you will win!"

Amamiya looked in the direction of the sound and saw Utahara shouting cheering slogans and making gestures to guide the cheering dance.

With her long, straight purple hair tied in a high ponytail, and dressed in a formal suit with a long coat and trousers, the leader of the cheerleading squad, Utahara's movements were clean, crisp, and expansive. In contrast to her usual mature and composed aura, Utahara, who was in charge of leading the cheerleading dance, appeared dashing and heroic.

As members of the "cheering squad" responsible for supporting the athletes who have lived for millennia during the Akawa Taisai festival, the engineering department truly comes up with ingenious ideas.

Utahara's aura undoubtedly fits the unique drive of a 'cheering squad leader'.

However, the few girls she led, including Hibiki, Yuriko, and Cortotelli, who were wearing support outfits and dancing support dances, each had their own unique charm.

After a brief observation, Amamiya can only say that... there is still significant room for improvement.

Judging from their proficiency, they must have just started practicing this support dance. There are still quite a few flaws in terms of coordination and uniformity of their movements.

Xiang looked a little flustered. Although she was trying her best to cooperate, she was always a step behind.

Yuriko's movements were very precise and she could keep up with the rhythm. But it was precisely because her movements were so precise and meticulous that she seemed 'disconnected', as if she wasn't cheering or doing something, but rather completing a task.

As for Cortoline... she can keep up with the rhythm and is very enthusiastic about cheering. But perhaps because she doesn't exercise often, her movements are sometimes unnaturally stiff.

Although the cheering squad didn't get as much screen time as the athletes participating in the games...

'But, is it really okay...?'

As Amamiya watched, a sense of unease began to creep into her heart.

Amamiya didn't go up and disturb Utahara and the others' practice. Instead, she walked around the practice area and observed them.

In the vast 'workshop', Amamiya's figure pacing back and forth was quite noticeable. The girls in the engineering department noticed Amamiya's movements immediately, but they did not stop right away, instead persisting in completing this round of practice.

"Okay—that's all for now!"

After slowly assuming the posture of 'ending', Utahara breathed a sigh of relief and immediately asked with a bright and confident expression, "Sensei... how was it?"

Not wanting to dampen their enthusiasm, Amamiya gave them a thumbs up without hesitation: "Excellent. As expected of the 'masters' of the engineering department, they quickly mastered the completely unfamiliar field of game support."

【~???~】(Utahara, Hibiki, Cortoline)

【~??~】（Yuriko）

"Sensei's reviews are actually this good. I thought..."

Amamiya interrupted in time, saying, "Although there are still some minor flaws... in terms of current proficiency, everyone has done a very good job."

The interrupted singer, Kahara, lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

Hmm... I understand.

The reason Sensei didn't want to say much was probably to avoid discouraging people's confidence.

Or perhaps... at least because they didn't want to undermine the confidence of individual members?

The dog, who had just finished training and was slightly sweaty, had its ears drooping and its tail swaying unnaturally.

When facing Sensei...

There's something inexplicable about it...

A strange sense of shame, as if 'everything has been seen'...

Unsure whether to dodge the question, Hibiki, still hesitant, asked curiously, "The reason Sensei came to the engineering department is..."

"Some time ago, Alice asked the engineering department to create a 'custom weapon' for us."

Crafting custom weapons...?

Oh, it was the time Sensei brought SRT students here before, right?

Cortori suddenly realized, and then said directly, "Regarding the commission for that weapon... we did accept it! However, we only participated in the initial concept design stage of this weapon. After Yuriko learned about the situation, she took the initiative to accept the commission for customizing this exclusive weapon."

Yuriko took the initiative to take on the task?

Amamiya looked at the fox-eared girl who had also 'coincidentally' cast her gaze upon him.