Five minutes later.
On the third floor of the newly cleared-out office.
The empty bento boxes were still sitting on the table, but the air in the room was nothing like the casual mood of dinner just now.
"Sorry, the table's a bit messy—let me clean it up."
As she entered, Kisara smiled and, with the ease of a hostess, deftly set about clearing the table.
"Homewrecker."
The voice was quiet, but everyone in the room heard who said it.
"…?!!"
Still smiling, Kisara turned her face toward Kasumigaoka Utaha. Seeing the anger burning in Utaha's gaze, her own smile only grew brighter.
Following behind, Eriri whispered, both afraid and thrilled:
"Amazing… it's like a real-life love triangle scene."
Snap!
The sharp sting of fingers striking skin made Eriri hiss in pain and take a step back.
Standing there with his right hand still in snapping position, Luo Shu strolled into the office, giving Eriri a casual glance.
"People who gloat over others get a flick to the forehead."
A little guilty, Eriri rubbed her brow and stuck out her tongue at him.
Luo Shu bypassed her, scanning Utaha's visibly displeased face, then glancing at Kisara, still smiling as she stuffed dinner trash into a bag. Sighing helplessly, he walked over to the desk.
"Kisara is the demon I brought back from Chiba over the weekend."
At that, Utaha's expression plainly eased, though she still kept her tone sharp:
"And what's that got to do with me?"
As she stepped further inside, she gave Kisara a sidelong glance:
"Don't tell me you're saying this stray cat you picked up is a little too clingy?"
Hearing that, Kisara, still smiling as she swept bento trash into a plastic bag with her chopsticks, said brightly:
"Speaking of which, Shu, should we keep a cat at home?"
"…A cat?"
Sitting down in his office chair, Luo Shu froze for a beat—then understood perfectly what Kisara was implying. The "house cat" she spoke of was herself.
"Something like that? Kisara, you can decide entirely—my principle is always yes."
Kisara nodded and kept smiling.
"In that case… if that house cat were to climb into your bed to sleep, that'd be fine too, right?"
Clatter!
Utaha's chair screeched loudly against the floor as she adjusted it, drawing every eye in the room.
"Sorry—slipped."
She settled into the high-backed chair, then looked straight at Luo Shu.
"Oh, right, Luo Shu-kun. You didn't take the toiletries you left at my place last time. Do you want to come by later and pick them up?"
At that, Kisara's expression shifted, and she turned sharply to study Luo Shu's face—as if to confirm something.
What circumstances would lead to a man leaving toiletries at another woman's house?
Her mind leapt to an image she couldn't quite believe—before she'd stolen his lips, had someone else already taken him to bed? Impossible! Miss Mira had never mentioned anything of the sort!
"Toiletries, huh…" Luo Shu thought grimly. These two women—always finding just the right pot to stir.
But judging by Utaha's current look, if he so much as suggested those toiletries were Utaha's and that he'd merely borrowed the cup and toothbrush last week, Utaha might very well blow up anyway.
"Just leave them there."
In that instant, Kisara's eyes lost focus, while Utaha smirked, even starting to bounce her leg.
Watching their verbal sparring escalate into an invisible war, Eriri realized—this was cat, bed, toiletries… it all sounded like casual chatter, but it felt exactly like a battlefield.
So, this was a high-level match… one she figured she couldn't possibly get involved in successfully unless her mother substituted for her… no, wait, why her mother?
She shook her head quickly, ponytail whipping.
Then she looked at Luo Shu and asked cautiously:
"Um… if there's nothing else, can I leave first?"
Yes—Eriri wanted to retreat. She was sure this was not ground she could stand on.
Hearing her try to slip away, Luo Shu's brow twitched. He gave her an encouraging look.
Well done, Sawamura! Finally, a chance to break free from these two's pace.
"Wait a second, Eriri. Before you leave, there are a few things I need to brief you all on."
"No, that's not the issue," Kisara cut in immediately. "The real question here is why your toiletries are at—"
But Luo Shu kept speaking right over her.
The easiest way to shut someone down was simple: She says hers, I say mine.
An old hand at this kind of conversational fencing, Luo Shu simply continued:
"Due to an agreement with SDS's leader, the Secret Management Division is now directly under my command."
Seeing him not hear a word she'd said, Kisara could only sigh and keep tidying the trash.
"In a sense, the Secret Management Division can basically be seen as the new name for the Astronomy Club. The leader herself gave me almost her full autonomy—next only to her."
"As such, personnel transfers, promotions, finances, and data management are all handled by me personally."
"Given that, I plan to link the Astronomy Club's space here as well. Which means, besides the clubroom at school, the club will also be connected to this office."
"Since I'll be spending a lot of time here handling division matters, and as you're all original Astronomy Club members who will naturally be active here, for safety, I'll enter your information into the department's management system as members."
"However… for some people, an entry like that might cause… complications."
As he said this, Luo Shu's gaze settled meaningfully on Eriri—leaving no doubt who he meant.
Nervously, Eriri half-raised her hand.
"Uh… Luo Shu-kun, what exactly are you saying?"
Luo Shu's smile turned faintly sharp.
"I'm saying—once your info is in the system, your father might find out about it."
"No way, absolutely not!!" Eriri bolted to her feet, refusing outright. "You cannot let my dad know about this!"
"Alright, I get your position."
Luo Shu opened a desk drawer, pulled out some bills, and began jotting notes as he went on:
"Even though I doubt the British Consul to Japan can access SDS's internal records, let's treat him as a supernatural-side insider—for the sake of caution."
It wasn't possible for Britain's ambassador to Japan to marry into a local noble family, so Eriri's father was actually a consul at the embassy. His normal work involved protecting British citizens' rights in Japan and handling consular matters.
But Japan's biggest current strategic value was as the trading hub for Abyss Artifacts—a fact which, as far as Luo Shu knew, was only known to the British ambassador and the consul general.
And even they merely knew; the people actually handling supernatural matters were MI6—the legendary British Secret Intelligence Service.
"So, you want it kept secret?"
Luo Shu's cheerful tone made Eriri seethe.
"Of course I want it secret!"
"If my dad knew—" Eriri stopped short, but her meaning was obvious to everyone.
Seeing this, Utaha—who had been ready to spar with Kisara—lost the mood. Like an exasperated elder, her voice softened a fraction with concern:
"Sawamura, if you keep going half in and half out like this, you really will run into trouble."
Both she and Luo Shu knew—if the supernatural side existed, then danger was only a matter of time.
And when that danger arrived, the only way to avoid tragedy was to have the strength to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Yet here Eriri was, showing no intention of adjusting her mindset or even talking things over with her father, who might actually have contact with the mystical side—choosing instead to hide it.
Luo Shu's inner voice reached Utaha through the internal comms: Looks like I won't be visiting the Sawamura house anytime soon.
You dodged a bullet this time, Utaha replied with the faintest raise of her brow.
After that brief silent exchange, Luo Shu, noticing that everyone's attention had swung back to him, continued aloud:
"So—you two have no objection to being entered into the Secret Management Division's records?"
Utaha glanced at Eriri. "No objection from me."
"As long as my family doesn't find out, I… I'm fine with it," Eriri added, her tone far from confident.
"Good. Then that's settled—for now. Let's move on to something more important."
For the first time today, Luo Shu's expression grew serious as he looked directly at Utaha and Eriri.
"This concerns our abilities."
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