After 10 PM, the yakiniku restaurant hadn't quieted down—in fact, the atmosphere was only getting livelier.
Amid the crowd of salarymen eating grilled meat in groups of twos and threes, Luo Shu and Chisato Nishikigi each dragged one of Mizuki Nakahara's arms, hauling the drunken woman out of the restaurant.
Although dragging Mizuki wasn't exactly exhausting, Chisato still grumbled as they walked, "Mizuki-senpai, did you gain weight? You're way heavier than before."
"Shut it, you little brat. You never say a woman's fat!" Mizuki shot back and reached out to pinch Luo Shu's left cheek. But when she gave it a good squeeze and it didn't budge, she let out a confused, "Huh?"
"That's weird… Chisato, your skin's gotten rough. Were the skincare products I recommended no good?"
"No, you just pinched the wrong person."
Luo Shu, clearly unimpressed, looked at the drunk woman in front of him and said dryly, "And sorry that my face is apparently so rough."
Next to them, Takina Inoue glanced at Luo Shu's profile and quietly offered, "Actually, your skin's already pretty nice. If you used a little toner, it might get even better."
"Huh? What was that?" Luo Shu turned his head, surprised, and Takina, looking flustered, quickly turned away and muttered, "N-Nothing. I didn't say anything."
Meanwhile, even though he was also clearly tipsy, Mika still managed to keep some sense about him. Holding his head, he sighed in annoyance, "Mizuki really overdid it this time. Thanks to her, I'm probably over the legal limit now too. My head's spinning. Guess you two will have to drive."
"Hey, Mika, you're not supposed to drive after drinking in the first place," Chisato said, exasperated.
Then, as she continued dragging Mizuki, something seemed to come to mind. She turned to Luo Shu and asked, "By the way, Luo Shu, you live in Nerima Ward, over in the Ikebukuro area, right?"
"That's in the opposite direction from us."
She looked over at Takina, then turned back to Luo Shu. "How about someone drives you home? Let Takina go with you…"
"Eh?" Takina froze, completely caught off guard by Chisato's suggestion.
"No need. I think I'll just take the subway. It's still early, after all," Luo Shu replied.
Then, looking around at the others, he asked curiously, "Come to think of it, aren't you guys all living near the café in Chiyoda?"
"Not exactly," Mika replied, shaking his head. He then turned away and let out a loud burp before continuing, "We take turns staying at the café. There are always a few people scheduled to keep watch at the back entrance. But the rest of us usually stay elsewhere."
He rubbed his nose, then looked at Luo Shu and added, "Since you're one of us now, you'll eventually take shifts guarding the café too. But since you're still new, we'll let you settle in for a month before putting you on the rotation."
"I see…" Luo Shu nodded, considering this.
Mika then turned to Takina again. "Takina, I'm on duty tonight. Mizuki's place is also in Chiyoda, so you can drive us there later."
"Oh, and you and Chisato live together, right? You okay splitting up for the drive?"
"No problem. The safehouse garage is big enough."
Takina nodded and explained calmly, "For security reasons, we rotate between three rented safehouses. The one we're currently using is in Minato Ward. It has three garages—plenty of space."
When Chisato heard the word "Minato," she couldn't help but pout. "Because of 'security reasons,' we always have to rent entire houses—and three of them at once! And they all have to be in areas with good public safety. The rent is outrageous!"
"Add in daily expenses, and both my and Takina's base salaries basically vanish."
"Ugh, is there any way to earn some extra cash? I want to buy five houses of my own!"
"You mean you're just upset that today's side gig fell through." Mika cut in with a look that said I see right through you.
Chisato didn't deny it. Seeing Luo Shu's confused expression, she added, "Oh, right, you probably don't know this yet. In SDS, if we recover an Abyssal Artifact and hand it over to the research institute, we get a bonus."
"Normally, it's ¥500,000 for a Level 1 artifact, ¥2 million for Level 2, and a full ¥10 million for Level 3. That's just the research fee—we still keep the artifact. So, it's a common way for us to earn a bit on the side."
"Of course, if you hand over the artifact completely, you get paid more. But Big Sis doesn't recommend that—says the pricing is a rip-off. So normally, we just keep the artifacts in a special vault, and Big Sis arranges for them to be guarded—with 'public funds,' of course."
"That's not public funds—it's a member benefit," Mika corrected flatly.
Chisato made a funny face at him, then continued explaining to Luo Shu, "So yeah, if you find an Abyssal Artifact later, I recommend handing it in for research first. That way, you get the bonus, and they'll also test for any side effects—it makes it safer for you to use later."
"Of course, if you don't use it often, you can just store it in the vault. We have storage perks, after all."
Then she added with a mischievous grin, "But I gotta warn you, there's a risk to using the storage benefit: if Big Sis gets mad, she might 'borrow' your artifact."
"For example—take the Kusanagi Sword. That's a Level 3 Abyssal Artifact deposited by one of the higher-ups. Big Sis didn't file a report today—she just grabbed it and used it. Totally unauthorized."
Takina's face instantly changed when she heard that and shouted, "Chisato!"
She quickly looked around to make sure no one else had overheard, then sighed in relief and jabbed Chisato with her elbow. "Why would you say that out loud?!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Realizing her slip-up, Chisato clasped her hands together and apologized to Takina.
As soon as she let go of Mizuki, the drunken woman's body slumped forward and landed right on Luo Shu's shoulder.
Luckily, Luo Shu's physical conditioning had improved lately, so the weight didn't knock him over—though a bit of bodily contact was inevitable.
"Could you at least be careful?" he muttered.
"My bad, my bad, don't be mad~" Chisato laughed sheepishly.
Listening to all this, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes and muttered, "So there are bonuses for handing in artifacts…"
But deep down, his heart was bleeding.
Because of his need to keep up appearances and conceal his identity, he clearly couldn't submit all the Abyssal Artifacts he had for research. Which meant those big bonuses were pretty much off-limits to him.
At best, he could turn in a few items that SDS already knew about. That was… awkward.
It was hard not to feel bitter, watching money he could've earned just fly out the window. But thinking about how crucial his secrecy was, Luo Shu could only grit his teeth and accept it.
Not long after, Luo Shu and Chisato finally got Mizuki to the parking lot and worked together to load her into a car.
Once everyone was inside, Chisato pointed to a nearby red Ferrari and grinned at Luo Shu.
"Sure you don't want me to drive you home? This one's the real deal—beauty and a luxury car, all in one package."
Looking at Chisato shamelessly showing off while gesturing at the Ferrari, Luo Shu's mouth twitched, and he replied, "Rather than ride in a car that costs tens of millions, I'd rather take the subway that's worth hundreds of billions. By the way, sports cars can only carry one beauty, but the subway? It can fit plenty."
Chisato was stunned for a second. Then she burst out laughing and clutched her stomach. "Only one beauty in a Ferrari, but a whole bunch on the subway? That's actually a hilarious way to put it."
Seeing Luo Shu was serious about not needing a ride, Chisato waved goodbye. "Well, if that's how it is, I'll head out first. Bye-bye~"
"Bye." Luo Shu waved back and watched as Chisato and Takina drove off in their respective cars.
Once they were gone, Luo Shu turned his head and looked up at the moon.
After staring for a while, he let out a long, weary breath and murmured, "Time to go home and rest. I'll handle the intel Sharon handed over tomorrow."
With that, Luo Shu made his way on foot toward the nearby subway station, ready to head home for the night.
And just as the SDS members' nightlife came to an end, for others involved in today's events, their night was only just beginning…