I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Kurosaki Koyuki~!"

Amamiya looked in the direction of the sound and, as expected, saw Yuka, wearing a seminar uniform dress with a hemline that seemed noticeably shorter than Noah's and Koyuki's, walking slowly out of the seminar building.

He was dual-wielding two submachine guns that appeared to be personally painted and maintained, with the triggers firmly on his hands, giving the impression that the safety had already been disarmed and he was ready to 'execute' his target on the spot at any moment.

Her steps were slow and deliberate, yet they carried a terrifying aura befitting an empress. Her expression was a gentle, almost radiant smile, but perhaps due to the twilight, the shadow cast beneath her bangs, completely obscured by the light, made her appear as if she were about to utter, "You've had a tough journey to get here. Now, I, the Demon King Yuka, will be your opponent," before her health bar blazed.

"Wow--!"

Startled by this 'terrifying aura' and triggering a stress response, Xiaoxue seemed to recall the fear she had once felt when she was dominated by Yuka.

After letting out a miserable scream, Yuki, seeing Amamiya's slightly speechless expression, darted behind him, grabbed his right arm, and peered at Yuka with trembling eyes.

"Sen, Sensi... help me... I don't want to be..."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt her body lighten slightly, and then... it felt as if someone had easily and gently grasped the back of her neck.

After seemingly shifting slightly in mid-air, Yuki approached Yuka with increasing despair and finally stood in front of her.

Then, Xiaoxue felt the hand that had been 'pinching the back of her neck' without giving her any strange feeling slowly loosen and withdraw.

"Yuka, what's wrong with this child?"

For some reason, Xiaoxue always felt like a 'kindergarten teacher' was reporting on her child's recent situation to the 'child's parents'—and she was the child being reported on.

"..."

Yuka put away her submachine gun and rubbed her forehead with one hand, looking slightly troubled.

"I'm sorry, Sensei... I've made you laugh."

Yuka delivered a sharp slap to Xiaoxue's head, successfully bringing the pink-haired girl to tears. She sighed deeply, her expression seemingly carrying a subtle and complex mix of disappointment and frustration.

"She is a member of the seminar... Koyuki Kurosaki."

"Well... although he's very talented and has potential, he's a restless kid... sigh."

Amamiya really wanted to show an expression that she couldn't help but laugh.

Because at this moment, Yuka in his eyes really gave off the feeling of a 'young mother taking care of a child'.

The atmosphere of daily life is almost like that of childhood sweethearts, and there is a very rare and obvious maternal quality in girls of this age... Absolutely wonderful.

"Very talented...but restless?"

Amamiya pondered for a moment, then quickly sighed in a tone similar to empathy, "...I do feel a bit of empathy."

"Does Sensei know any friends who are similar to Yuki?"

After mimicking Yuka's subtle and unique aura, Amamiya shrugged and said quietly.

"Yes, sometimes you impulsively do things without considering the consequences, and your actions are worrying... right? Yuka, in this respect, I may really understand how you feel."

【~???~】

Yuka couldn't help but glance at the young man, who was bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, as he uttered those words.

For a moment, she seemed to see in this adult who looked only slightly older than herself a kind of... indescribable, somewhat captivating melancholy.

It's dreamlike... indescribable... like a casual chat with someone after work, talking about all sorts of things, a very ordinary yet indispensable... life 'senior'.

"Hey~ Why is Yuka-senpai blushing?"

Boom!

In response to Xiaoxue's cheeky, seemingly provocative words, Yuka delivered an even more powerful and devastating blow, almost like a critical hit, making Amamiya want to imitate the tone of a poetic drama and shout, "The earth trembled!" "A powerful blow!" A powerful chop of words.

(PS: These two lines are from the ancestor voice lines triggered when a hero attacks an enemy and lands a critical hit in Diablo 1.)

"Ouch~~~"

Xiaoxue covered her head, hugged her head with her legs together, and squatted down in pain.

The halo above her head flickered abruptly as if there was a malfunction, but thankfully it eventually returned to normal and did not go out completely, which would have been worrying.

With her cheeks slightly flushed, Yuka maintained her 'hand chop' stance, slowly withdrawing her hand, which seemed to be emitting wisps of smoke. She clenched her fist and coughed lightly to defuse the awkwardness.

"Ahem... Sorry, Sensei..."

"Xiaoxue, she..."

Amamiya raised her hand, smiling as she took the initiative to defuse the awkwardness for Yuka: "I understand... Although physical education is not encouraged, it really does need to be used in special circumstances."

"Um, Sensei... he must have received my message, which is why he came to the seminar."

"I'd like to talk to you about something related to the game development department (hereinafter referred to as the game department)."

"Also... please come with me to the reception room and office of the seminar."

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Twin Sisters of the Game Club

The seminar's office building, and the 'offices' themselves, gave Amamiya a feeling that was almost comparable to that of the Federal Student Council's office building.

On the way to the office building after Amamiya completed her certification, Amamiya saw quite a few students along the way... well, they all looked like 'science girls' in their attire.

Their typical 'school uniform' attire seems to consist of a relatively conservative white long skirt with black lace trim, black knee-high socks, and high-heeled flat boots.

Their outer garments were similar to white doctor's uniforms or researcher's robes, and it seemed that they had hardly ever worn their 'outer garments' properly... At least, most of the students that Amamiya had seen preferred to wear robes, or robes that were a size too big, which meant that their hands were mostly tucked into their sleeves.

It looks like a character with the "little ghost" attribute, which gives it a special kind of cuteness.

Amamiya glanced discreetly at Yuka, who was leading the way a step ahead, and at Koyuki, who was following closely behind Yuka, her hands covering her head, her back slightly bent, her eyes brimming with tears, as if she hadn't recovered from the excruciating pain.

Judging from his subtle movements after entering the room, Amamiya roughly knew what had happened earlier.

The invitation message was indeed sent by Yuka.

However, the subsequent replies from "Yuka" after Amamiya replied to the message were not actually from Amamiya herself.

At that time, Yuka had temporarily gone out for some trivial matter, and Yuki happened to get her phone. Through reasons such as 'familiarity with her senior', she unlocked the password and exchanged a few words with Amamiya.

The elevator went up for a short while before the doors opened.

After leading Amamiya to what appeared to be a converted 'seminar reception room', Yuka sighed slightly and then gave Amamiya a somewhat apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Sensei... I need a little more time to deal with Xiaoxue's problem... I can't explain the purpose of this invitation right away..."

Amamiya waved his hand and, quite 'consciously,' walked over to the bookshelf closest to the door, picked up a book, and began to read.

"I'll wait here. Yuka, you can go and do your own thing."

Yuka didn't say anything more about apologizing. She simply grabbed Xiaoxue by the back of her collar and pulled her back into the elevator.

As the elevator doors slowly closed, Amamiya relaxed slightly and then began to look around at her surroundings.

Hmm... It's a very normal 'reception room environment'.

There also seem to be specially prepared areas, such as next-generation game consoles, snack areas, and tea areas, which may be for guests to pass the time and relax.

It looks like it was carefully designed; it's pleasing to the eye just by looking at it.

Of course, the ubiquitous gun racks, pegboards, and glass display cases showcasing firearms or scientific research achievements are also not to be overlooked.

Without even looking closely, Amamiya knew... those 'exhibits' on the gun rack were definitely genuine.

The kind of genuine product that can be fired immediately after being loaded with bullets of the corresponding caliber.

After turning her gaze away, Amamiya looked at the book she had casually picked up from the bookshelf earlier.

Firearms Manufacturing and Safety Guide - Pistols and Submachine Guns...

“This… if it were in a world outside of Kiwatos, it would definitely be a ‘forbidden book that could not be obtained without special means’.”

After weighing the book in his hand, Amamiya felt a little ashamed.

After opening and looking through the book, Amamiya was absolutely certain that the knowledge contained within was entirely true.

What appears to be an ordinary book surprisingly showcases the assembly and manufacturing process of the internal components of dozens of handguns and submachine guns without reservation.

You should know that... the 'pistol design drawings', as well as some other design details, are classified as military secrets outside of Kivotos.

'I've read a lot about the design principles and content of pistols and submachine guns...'

'I feel that this knowledge might be useful in practical applications…'

'I feel my "knowledge" and "dexterity" have increased slightly... I'll try it next time I make a weapon.'

Using the bond skill [High-Efficiency Focus] learned from Rin; the bond skill [Basic Factorization] from Yuka; and the bond skill [Princess Diligence] from the Cat Princess (Serika: Huh?), Amamiya's reading speed was incredibly fast, reading ten lines at a glance and remembering everything she read.

'I wonder if there's a library in Givotos, or students with a deep connection to "books"... If there are such people, perhaps I can learn some reading skills, comprehension skills, and book-related skills from them.'

After adding a little 'knowledge', Amamiya was about to put the book back in its place.

Just then, he heard the elevator sound again.

I glanced at the time and realized that a quarter of an hour had already passed.

The elevator stopped on this floor and opened with a 'ding'.

"Sorry to keep Sensei waiting."

Stepping out of the elevator was Yuka... and a pair of sisters wearing cat-shaped headphones, who looked slightly shorter than Yuka, appearing to be only a little over 1.4 meters tall...?

"This is Sensei... who solved the predicament of Abydos Higher Academy in an unbelievable, 'heart-stealing' way."

Yuka first turned to the pair of girls who looked like sisters following behind her and 'introduced' Amamiya. Then, she came to Amamiya's side and gave her a brief introduction as well.

“They…are…” Yuka paused here, then continued, “the game club that was ‘about to be disbanded.’ They are a pair of sisters, both members of the game club…”

At this point, Yuka winked at her sisters, who seemed to have reservations about the term "discarded club," signaling them to introduce themselves.

"I'm Saiha Momoi," the girl wearing pink cat-ear headphones stepped forward, "a game enthusiast! And also a member of the game development department!"

Seemingly quite confident in her self-introduction, she then adopted a mysterious tone, humming and humming as she spoke.

"Hehehe... Sensei, the 'Phantom Thief of Hearts,' and also the hero who stopped the proposal to abolish the game development department, we've been waiting for you for so long..."

"Shut up, sister."

Seemingly feeling that her older sister was being a bit too embarrassing, and that her sister's figure was blocking most of her view, thus preventing the 'meaningful' gaze from falling on Amamiya, the girl with green cat-ear headphones impatiently stepped forward and pushed away her sister who wanted to show off further.

"The concept artist in the game development department is Midori Saiba. Her hobbies are... drawing, and also, game development."

"that……"

After giving a smile that seemed to convey a sense of certainty, she smiled and nodded to Amamiya: "Nice to meet you, Sensei."

【Momoi Saiba/The Game Twins (Older Sister)】

[Arcana: Chariot]

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'The Chariot of the Etteilla Tarot cards...'

Amamiya then looked at her 'sister'.

【Taeyu Green/Game Twins (Younger Sister)】

Arcana: The Sky

[Assistance Relationship: Not Unlocked]

'It's also from the Etteilla Tarot deck, but it's the Sky card, symbolizing the "Empress"...'

The Etteilla Tarot is one of the oldest tarot decks in the world. While these cards can all be found in the now-comprehensive Major Arcana, their interpretations differ from those in the standard Major Arcana.

Among these, the "Chariot" card, although it is equivalent to a "war chariot," actually symbolizes "professional achievements." This card can also symbolize "a desire for revenge."

When this card is reversed, it may symbolize seeing or participating in the overthrow of a tyrant. This so-called "tyrant" is not a monarch in the true sense, but rather a superior in the workplace or community.

Additionally, this card can also symbolize "ambition".