"A god..."
Lacus murmured as she gazed at the pure white void.
"Anyway, that's the situation. Whether you believe it or not, this is what I know."
Having revealed his greatest secret, Luo Shu felt considerably lighter.
An inexplicable transmigration, suddenly becoming the so-called juvenile phase of a deity.
Though he'd gained the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System cheat, the pressure weighed heavily on him.
Had he transmigrated as a Supreme God King, he'd be ecstatic, indulging without restraint.
But a powerless juvenile phase?
Lion cubs being hunted by hyenas wasn't rare news—it happened daily in Africa.
Would it really be strange for a weak, pitiful, helpless juvenile god to be killed by humans?
"A fallen phoenix is not even as good as a chicken"—Luo Shu was no stranger to this saying.
That was why he had always been carefully building up his strength, knowing full well that time was on his side.
As long as he took it slow, the future would eventually be realised in the present.
But now, revealing most of the truth to Lacus was Luo Shu's high-stakes gamble.
Win, and the SDS's full support would be his to command.
Lose, and everything would remain as it was.
As for why it would remain unchanged, that was naturally due to Kurumi Tokisaki standing beside Luo Shu, blocking the exit of the Hidden Management Zone.
Though the time-manipulating Spirit lacked the ability to erase memories, rewinding time for Lacus by half an hour would reset everything.
"Hard as it is to believe, it seems this really is the truth of the matter."
Lacus glanced at Luo Shu, then at Kurumi Tokisaki, clearly guessing at Luo Shu's contingency plan.
"So... it wasn't a marriage proposal after all."
Hearing Lacus joke again, Luo Shu couldn't help but retort:
"As if you'd actually say yes if I really proposed."
"Why wouldn't I?" Lacus tilted her head in genuine confusion.
That left Luo Shu utterly speechless.
He stared at her with a strange expression, recalling how just last week he'd asked if she'd consider dating—only to be counterattacked by marriage talk this week.
It was... bizarre.
"Can a proposal without feelings even be called a proposal?"
Seeing Luo Shu hung up on this point, Lacus covered her lips in surprise:
"But most marriages in this world begin without love, don't they?"
Luo Shu suddenly had no rebuttal.
"And feelings can be nurtured later, can't they?"
"Unless... Luo Shu doesn't like girls like me?"
Why had the conversation suddenly taken this turn?
Luo Shu studied Lacus with deep suspicion, unable to tell if she was being deliberate or just naturally like this.
But he knew if this continued, he'd be outmatched:
"Anyway, that's the situation."
"To ensure my secrets stay hidden, you're signing this Familia contract—willing or not."
Kurumi watched the blustering Luo Shu with amusement, her gaze flickering between him and the equally amused Lacus.
Instead of answering directly, Lacus curiously surveyed their surroundings:
"If we sign the Familia contract here, will it stop the Kusanagi Sword from causing trouble?"
"Rest assured, Madam Chairwoman."
Kurumi's tone carried playful mischief:
"Even if the Kusanagi Sword tries anything, I'll step in to stop it."
According to Luo Shu's deductions and Truth Astronomy's records, Abyss Artefacts were generally weaker than practitioners of equivalent rank.
So suppressing the Kusanagi Sword was well within Kurumi's capabilities—especially with her time-manipulation abilities, practically a universal undo button.
Hearing this, Lacus gave Kurumi a long look before smiling:
"Then I'll leave it to you."
With that, she turned to Luo Shu and asked curiously:
"So... how do we sign this contract?"
Seeing Lacus's reaction, Luo Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He then raised his hand, summoning the Divine Kingdom to materialise a contract out of thin air.
Formless white mist gathered before Luo Shu, swirling until it transformed into a pale yellow parchment scroll.
With a wave of his hand, the scroll flew towards Lacus, unfurling on its own to reveal a pen tucked inside.
Noticing this, Lacus lowered her head and studied the contract carefully before smiling faintly.
"Quite a lot of this is borrowed from the SDS's new recruit agreement."
Unfazed by being seen through, Luo Shu simply chuckled.
"Well, the contract Kirika Tachibana gave me was the first proper organisational contract I'd ever seen."
Hearing this, Lacus couldn't help but laugh softly. Then, she picked up the pen and signed her full name on the contract before looking up at Luo Shu.
"From now on, my safety is in your hands."
Just as Luo Shu was about to respond, the sword-shaped mark on the back of Lacus's hand erupted with a brilliant, sun-like radiance.
At that moment, a phantom emerged above Lacus's head.
It was the silhouette of a sword.
Its blade resembled a spinal column—pure white and flawless, yet coiling sinuously through the air like a serpent's body, as if a spirit snake flicking its tongue.
A dazzling white light radiated from the ethereal Divine Sword, seemingly intent on dispelling the surrounding mist.
And then, a cold snort echoed from the sky above.
In the pure white space, winds surged and rolled, stirring up waves of white mist.
At that moment, above the dome, clusters of white mist slowly dispersed, revealing an empty throne.
Vaguely, it seemed as though an invisible presence was casting a gaze from there.
Instantly, the phantom of the Kusanagi Sword froze in place.
Simultaneously, Luo Shu, who was controlling the Divine Kingdom and had just let out a cold snort, suddenly saw a flash of imagery in his mind.
In the vision, within a grand shrine.
Hundreds of shrine maidens from Japan, dressed in various Miko outfits, surrounded the shrine, performing dances to please the gods.
At the very centre of the dance, where the deity's statue should have been, the Kusanagi Sword—its blade as white as jade, unlike its current spine-like appearance—was embedded in a stone pedestal. Eyes emerged on its hilt, coldly gazing down at the shrine maidens below.
Then, it seemed as though some invisible presence had arrived from a distant place, piercing through this world in an instant.
Boom!
An invisible hole was torn open.
The Kusanagi Sword on the altar, which had been utterly indifferent, suddenly let out a piercing, agonised scream.
The jade-like blade cracked and shattered, eventually assuming its familiar form, which Luo Shu recognised, before being sucked into the invisible hole, leaving only the still-dancing shrine maidens to continue their ritual.
The vision vanished, and Luo Shu shook his head just as the system's chime echoed in his ears.
[Ding—]
[New Familia member added: Lacus Clyne... hundred million.]