I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Amamiya felt a subtle sense of 'speechlessness' at Yuriko's tone, which had become slightly lighter due to her cheerful mood.

Forget it, it's best not to dwell on such deep-seated 'personal grudges'.

After some thought, Amamiya gave a fair assessment: "Both sides brought their fighting abilities to the limit under the conditions, and their performance was brilliant."

【~???~】(Kay)

【~??~】（Yuriko）

"The weapons and armor tests went smoothly."

Kai sighed softly and slung over his shoulder the large canvas bag that Yuriko had prepared, neatly packed with equipment.

"It's time to go back now."

"Regarding weapon customization..."

Yuriko originally intended to give some more reminders about relevant precautions, but her reminders reminded Alice of the checkout process that followed.

Based on the experience I learned from Momoi, this is the method I should use to "reduce consumption" at this time.

With this in mind, Alice suddenly stepped forward, interrupting Yuriko's next words, and after a brief moment of solemnity, she forced out a cute smile that had previously easily won over Utahara, Hibiki, and Katori.

Noticing Alice's actions, Momoi's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong. She wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

"—Yuriko's mother!"

Yuriko's fox ears, which twitched occasionally, and her swaying fox tail froze simultaneously, and her gentle and cheerful smile showed obvious stiffness and cracks.

"...?"

The atmosphere at the scene was temporarily frozen, and Alice became somewhat hesitant after realizing that something was wrong.

"If Alice calls her 'Mom,' she should be able to get a discount at checkout, right..."

Hearing Alice's doubts and self-blame, Yuriko, who had been frozen in place, came back to her senses, and her stiff smile was once again filled with tenderness without leaving a trace.

She knelt down and hugged Alice, her voice gentle: "Alice-chan... I'm not old enough to be a 'mom' yet."

"Besides... calling someone 'Mom' casually just to gain sympathy or get a discount is not a good habit."

The gentleness of her words did not diminish the piercing gaze that Yuriko held when she looked up, demanding, "Who taught this?"

[Ling Liusi] Liuba Erba Amamiya shrugged and slightly raised his chin in the direction of Momoi.

Yuriko followed the gaze and immediately noticed Momoi's guilty conscience, her small movements as if she wanted to escape after her scheme was exposed.

She released Alice from her embrace, and stood up with a gloomy smile.

"The rest of the game development team can disband for now."

“…Momoi Saiha.”

"Stay here and help me with some 'weapons testing'."

Momoi swallowed hard, looking up at Yuriko, who had a particularly terrifying 'squinting, smiling' look.

Comparable to Yuka the Great Demon King...

No, it has a deterrent power that is ten or even nine times more terrifying than Yuka the Great Demon King!

So nervous that her teeth chattered, she stammered her refusal: "No, no..."

He backed away, waving his hands repeatedly, his face full of resistance... He was truly terrified to the extreme.

Amamiya sighed for a moment, then felt Momoi's pleading gaze.

"Sensei save..."

Amamiya sighed.

He shrugged without a hint of pity and waved goodbye to Momoi.

"Momoi, come back alive."

After leaving the engineering department under the twilight with the rest of the game development team except for Momoi, Amamiya stood at the door to breathe in some fresh air and then heard Momoi's deafening wails coming from inside the engineering department.

"It's so bitter~~~ It's so bitter~~~!"

Amamiya and the members of the game development department selectively ignored Momoi's deafening wails.

'I hope Momoi (older sister) (Momo) is alright...'

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Game Development Department's "Development" Night...?

"Sensei, will my sister... really be alright?"

On the way back from the engineering department, Xiao Lü, who had been silent the whole time, finally dared to express her concern for her older sister who was being punished for her reckless behavior.

"It should be fine."

Amamiya didn't want to sympathize with Momoi for reaping what she sowed, but seeing Alice's self-reproach and guilt-ridden expression as Momoi was left behind because of her, she explained, "Yuriko should be very sensible... at least, she wouldn't do something like corporal punishment."

...As long as it's not the kind of thing where you 'have to stay in bed for several days afterward,' then it's actually not a big problem.

With this mindset in mind, Xiao Lü breathed a sigh of relief.

"Does Sensei have any special plans for tonight?"

Little Green's skill in changing the subject was very clever. With just one sentence, she put Yuzu and Alice at ease about their worries about Momoi, while also making Kai, who was walking half a step ahead and only showing his back, slow down a bit.

What are the plans for the evening?

Amamiya frowned and pondered for a moment, then answered somewhat uncertainly, "It's not particularly special, but there are indeed plans."

Evenings offer many areas 'worth exploring,' and there are quite a few students who can spare the time during this period.

Is it necessary to go to the training department to help Li develop a training plan that can improve her hitting percentage?

Should I accept Yuka's invitation to go for a night run and help her stabilize her gradually declining physical strength and endurance?

Or... how about a trip to Beritas and a friendly interaction with those 'cyber ghosts'?

"That's it..."

Xiao Lü pursed her lips, her tone seemingly disappointed: "Sensei's evening plans..."

Besides 'changing the subject', Xiao Lü's ability to 'set the pace' is definitely the best in the game development department.

When Midori said that, Alice, who was already a little worried about Momoi, immediately felt the unpleasantness of 'about to temporarily lose another key partner'.

"Is Sensei leaving Alice?! Alice doesn't want to lose Sensei...!"

"Alice wants to be with Sensei..."

Alice's simple yet ambiguous statement undoubtedly expressed the feelings of the members of the game development department.

Yuzu's eyes narrowed slightly, and she immediately chimed in, "Me too..."

Xiao Lü said with ease, "It seems like everyone in the game club doesn't want Sensei to leave..."

Glancing at Kai, and seeing that Kai didn't respond, seemingly tacitly agreeing, Little Green felt reassured and boldly continued with her eyes closed: "...Including Kai-chan. Everyone wants to stay by Sensei's side, so..."

"So, Sensei... could you stay in the games club tonight?"

Assuming there are no other official business trips from the Federal Student Association, I will stay overnight at the student club...

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that I only stayed at Hyakuyado for a few days once, during the "Cherry Blossom Festival of a Hundred Nights".

And those who volunteered to stay overnight... it seems the game development department was the earliest and most frequent to do so?

It's said to be the earliest because this story can be traced back to when Alice was first picked up from the ruins, and Amamiya stayed in the game club watching Momoi and Midori teach Alice "common sense"—which was actually just playing various games.

As a result, Alice was taught the wrong way, turning her into a 'cute hero who understands reality from a game perspective'.

Amamiya gave a forced smile: "May I politely decline?"

As she spoke, Little Green directly set an example by hugging Amamiya from the front.

“Sensei can certainly refuse, but we can also take ‘coercive measures’.”

After Little Green set an example, Alice responded the fastest.

"As long as Alice launches her cute offensive... everything will be alright!"

With her index finger pointed at the target, Alice naturally adopted a pitiful expression, as if she would cry if Sensei didn't agree.

"Sensei..."

Yuzu squinted, too shy to act cute directly, but she inadvertently showed her reluctance to let Sensei leave.

"..."

Surrounded by three petite, adorable girls, each with their own unique characteristics, Amamiya sighed helplessly.

Now that things have come to this, there's no need to ask pointless questions like, "Won't Kay offer any opinions?"

Kai remained silent purely out of pride and because he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Her silence was the best admission... If Amamiya had asked that question, she might have received a response that was both angry and embarrassed.

In the warm, hazy night, Amamiya was forced to hold Midori's left hand and be held by Alice with her right, with Yuzu by her side. In a 'warm yet helpless' way, she followed the members of the game development department back to their club activity room.

Carrying a canvas bag filled with equipment and weighing tens of kilograms, Kai walked in front and placed the bag in the corner of the room after opening the door.

"Does Sensei have any dietary restrictions... or anything she doesn't want to eat?"

Amamiya knew that Kai asked the question because she was about to start preparing dinner for the game club again.

"There's nothing I can't eat or don't want to eat. As long as it's made by Kai, I'm fine with it."

【~???~】(Kay)

"Alice too! Go, Kay's mom!"

Before Kai could even feel shy, Alice's next words made him 'painfully' rub his forehead with one hand.

“…Princess, I’ve told you not to call someone ‘Mom’ so casually.”

"Even if the princess calls me that, I won't be able to make a better dinner."

After harshly and helplessly correcting Alice's way of addressing him, Kai turned and walked towards the kitchen.

That being said, after being 'spurred' on by Alice, Kai should be able to give it his all, right?

Amamiya got up and was about to follow Kai to the kitchen.

"Let me help."

After taking only two steps, Amamiya felt a dragging and heavy feeling coming from the hem of her clothes behind her.

When she turned around, Amamiya met two pairs of eyes that were staring at her.

Little Green's eyes gleamed with a sinister glint: "Sensei, let's play some online games together. I recently bought 'The Ring: Night Reign'..."

Alice, holding the controller, exclaimed innocently, "Alice and Sensei are going to team up for a monster hunt in 'Monster Hunter'! What weapon does Sensei like? Alice likes the katana!"

Kai, who had clearly noticed this scene as well, paused for a moment and shook his head.

"Thank you for your kindness, Sensei... but no thanks."

"Sensei... you should spend more time with them."

Again.

Previously existing as an auxiliary AI, she recently acquired a body and before she even had a chance to experience the 'world's splendor,' she was forced to develop maternal instincts because she needed to take care of the members of the game development department... This kind of life is truly tough on Kai.

After Kay went into the kitchen, there was no further movement for a while.

After a brief argument among the game development team members about which game to choose, Amamiya joined them in playing a multiplayer online game.

"Let's play this... Alice from 'Final Fantasy X' has also prepared a new account for Kai..."

"Sensei, the Dark Warrior, plus Alice's Red Mage, Yuzu's Ninja, and Green's Summoner, should be able to form a team!"

"Wait, this team doesn't have a healer?"

"Alice will contact a friend she often plays games with and have her log into her account... that should be enough to handle the dungeon raid!"

"...Wait, Greenie, why are you sitting in Sensei's lap?! That's Alice's spot..."