Faced with Sharon's teasing, Luo Shu's expression didn't change at all, even as he mocked himself:
"You can just think of me as a lecherous god who covets the beauty of his Familia members."
Although the rules weren't set by Luo Shu, he had to admit that only recruiting female Familia members aligned rather well with his darker inclinations.
What man doesn't dream of a harem? Those who don't are rarer than giant pandas.
Faced with Luo Shu's shamelessness, Sharon found herself at a complete loss - not that she particularly minded, really. She just couldn't resist teasing the inexperienced chief deity when she caught sight of him.
It didn't quite fit the devout nun persona, but that was simply Sharon's nature:
"How does one judge a girl's talent? By her looks? Her strength? Or something else?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu realised something. It seemed Sharon couldn't determine who could be recruited into the Familia?
Considering this, Luo Shu opened his system to consult that incompetent God's Servant, eventually receiving the reply that he needed to spend 1000 points to activate the Eyes of Fate bestowal for Familia members.
Mentally cursing the system's money-grubbing ways, Luo Shu opened the interface and bestowed Sharon with the Eyes of Fate before saying:
"Alright, I've given you the ability to assess potential now. When someone qualified appears within 50 metres of you, you'll sense their presence."
At this, Sharon arched an elegant eyebrow before leaning on the table and cupping her chin:
"So... is that all you needed to do?"
"Pretty much."
Luo Shu thought about it but couldn't recall anything else requiring Sharon's attention.
Gathering intelligence on secret organisations? Sharon had been handling that for 22 years already - no reminders needed.
With the recent Ghoul operation concluded just days ago, they were currently in the mop-up phase with no immediate combat requirements.
Upon reflection, Luo Shu realised that apart from recruiting Familia members, he actually had no tasks for Sharon.
Yet meeting a girl just for a bowl of ramen seemed odd even to him.
Moreover, in such a short time, Kurumi Tokisaki probably hadn't gathered much intelligence either.
Their mutual trust simply wasn't established enough yet - Kurumi's probing would inevitably take time.
After a moment's silence, Luo Shu changed the subject:
"By the way, have you sorted your accommodation?"
"All arranged."
Still cradling her chin, Sharon replied:
"Sakura Apartments near Ikebukuro Station in Nerima Ward, room 201."
"Oh, Sakura Apartments? Same name as where I... wait what?"
Luo Shu looked up from his noodles with a strange expression:
"You rented the place above me?"
The corners of Sharon's lips curled upwards as she answered cheerfully:
"Not rented, exactly. More like... borrowed for free."
"Miss Mira was quite kind. When she learned I was also your Familia member, she let me pick a room at no charge."
Luo Shu's mouth twitched at this revelation:
"So you've been living below me this whole time?"
"Not yet moved in. Just secured the safehouse and had Miss Mira arrange some modifications."
Sharon studied Luo Shu carefully before asking:
"Don't you have anything to say about this?"
Realisation dawned on Luo Shu: "You haven't bought household supplies yet?"
"Yes." Sharon's smile brightened slightly at that.
"Well then, let's go shopping after lunch and spend some of the department's budget while we're at it."
As he said this, Luo Shu couldn't help but grin.
Hearing this, Sharon looked somewhat puzzled: "But isn't the budget money you earned yourself?"
"You don't understand. Spending your own money versus spending public funds—those are two entirely different pleasures."
"One is the satisfaction of hard work paying off, the other is the thrill of taking advantage of the system. Which do you think is more fun?"
After a brief silence, Sharon couldn't resist remarking:
"If you ever ran for office, you'd make an excellent politician."
"I'll take that as a compliment." With that, Luo Shu focused on finishing his lunch.
Too much chatting, and his noodles would go soggy.
...
The Hidden Management Department's basement.
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed as Kurumi Tokisaki, clad in her Astral Dress, arrived via the elevator.
Upon reaching her destination, Kurumi sighed at the sight of the wide-open metal doors and the deactivated GINN Mobile Suit standing guard:
"To think Luo Shu would even disable the security systems before leaving..."
She was well aware of the robotic sentinels guarding this space.
Or rather, Truth Astronomy's records contained detailed intelligence on such things.
Autonomous Mobile Suit GINN.
Reportedly costing 100 million USD per unit, equipped with energy disruptors, beam weapons, electronic jammers and stealth armour—these were SDS's flagship combat machines. Just twelve could suppress a small nation.
Truth be told, against a fully operational GINN, Kurumi had few means of destroying it.
Her abilities had never excelled in direct combat. Facing the world's most advanced armour like the GINN, her only options were dragging it into the City of Devouring Time before its energy disruptors activated.
Or simply using time-stop or time-reversal abilities to disorient the target before making a swift retreat.
Fortunately, a certain dutiful Director—considering how much lifespan Kurumi would waste fighting the GINN—had deliberately petitioned the High Council for special authorisation to deactivate the defences.
Given this, Kurumi could walk past the GINN-guarded entrance into the Hidden Management Zone without complications.
Honestly, the more accommodating Luo Shu became, the warier Kurumi grew.
She was starting to suspect this might be an elaborate trap—that the Hidden Management Zone contained something specifically designed against her.
Yet Luo Shu's recent series of transparent actions also made her hesitate about whether to trust him this once.
Most crucially.
Standing before the Hidden Management Zone's entrance, Kurumi's true body could distinctly sense an intense calling.
This aligned somewhat with what Luo Shu had told her clone earlier.
"So should I still attempt this?"
As Kurumi murmured to herself, clusters of black-red shadows pooled at her feet.
Two Kurumis emerged from the shadows, handing paper documents to the original.
"Main body, we've swept the entire building. Apart from these files found in Luo Shu's office, there's nothing else of note."
"Is that so..." Kurumi Tokisaki gazed at the documents being handed to her, her eyes flickering slightly: "It seems this must be what Luo Shu left for me."
As she spoke, she took the documents and scanned their contents:
[Astronomy Club Membership Application]
Kurumi's eyes swept across the text, briefly noting details such as signing contracts under divine witness, salary, benefits, logistical support, and other information.
Then, Kurumi narrowed her eyes at the contract:
"So this is Luo Shu's goal? Inviting me to join this so-called Astronomy Club?"
"It does somewhat resemble the membership contract for Truth Astronomy, though the contents here are more extensive. Instead of euros as payment, there's something called points..."
Kurumi stared at the contract Luo Shu had specially prepared for her, remained silent for a moment, then held it in her hand as she addressed the two clones behind her:
"You two, go in and investigate for me."
As the words fell, the two Kurumis exchanged glances before leaping into the black-red shadows.
The next second, they appeared at the entrance of the Hidden Management Zone, summoning a passage from the City of Devouring Time that covered the metal walls before entering.
When her clones stepped into the Hidden Management Zone, Kurumi froze:
"How can this be? My connection with clones has been severed?"
Not death, nor disappearance, but rather like entering a service dead zone where signals are lost.
This discovery made Kurumi's scalp tingle.
It was the first time she'd encountered something capable of disrupting her Angel Zafkiel's abilities.
"Was this intentional on his part, or is this place inherently like this?"
Kurumi hesitated now, even entertaining thoughts of retreat.
With her troublesome time-based abilities and near-immortal lifespan, there was no need to take such risks here.
The loss of two clones had heightened her wariness towards Luo Shu.
After all, they'd only met two or three days ago - hardly enough time to dispel her caution.
Yet that faint sense of calling in her heart told Kurumi that beyond those doors lay something fatefully connected to her.
"Should I gamble?"
Instinct told Kurumi the contents were vitally important to her, yet she remained hesitant.
Standing silently at the entrance for a long while, Kurumi finally sighed.
At that moment, a clone rose from her shadow to stand beside her.
Taking a deep breath, Kurumi summoned Angel Zafkiel, pressing the short barrel against her clone's forehead as she said:
"I'll set the reset time for 10 minutes. If I don't emerge by then, Zafkiel will activate, making you the new original."
"Understood, original." The Kurumi clone nodded, then took a deep breath before offering sincere advice: "Perhaps... his intentions might genuinely be good?"
"Let's hope so."
With those words,
A gunshot rang out.
Watching her bullet-stricken clone, the original Kurumi slowly closed her eyes. When they reopened, she stood before the entrance to the Hidden Management Zone.
The next moment, she stepped forward into its depths.