Taking in the sight of these unconscious beauties and the faint sweet scent in the air, Luo Shu couldn't help but cover his face.
Were these girls pretending not to know Japan's alcohol regulations?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Luo Shu clearly heard Eriri, her upper body draped over the sofa, lower half slumped on the floor, let out a loud hiccup.
Eriri then mumbled something before slowly crawling onto the sofa and curling up like a cat.
Seeing this, Luo Shu was at a loss for words.
He took several steps forward, carefully stepping over Utaha, who lay motionless on the floor.
He passed by Yukino Yukinoshita, who lay sideways on the sofa with the most elegant sleeping posture.
Finally, he reached Kisara, who was crouched by the sofa armrest with her head resting on her arms, and said expressionlessly:
"Your breathing's uneven, Miss Kisara."
Kisara's ears seemed to twitch at these words, but she remained silent, still pretending to sleep against the armrest.
Seeing Kisara play dead, Luo Shu sighed helplessly, crouched down, and gently patted her back:
"Hey, wake up, Kisara. Wake up!"
"Mmm..."
Kisara let out an adorable murmur before opening her eyes. Her flushed little face still carried the dazed look of someone just waking up:
"Good morning, Shu-kun."
"Good morning..."
Luo Shu returned the greeting with undisguised resignation before asking:
"Now then, could the lovely Miss Kisara explain exactly what happened here?"
As he spoke, Luo Shu glanced around the room. Noticing no alcohol bottles - just a takeout hotpot spread across the table and several unidentifiable takeaway boxes emitting a sweet aroma with traces of rice grains - he raised an eyebrow:
"Who brought these food containers?"
Hearing this, Kisara blushed and explained:
"I was wondering why the smell seemed so familiar..."
Luo Shu gave the disposable bowls on the table a resigned look. From the looks of it, everyone had eaten amazake.
Amazake was essentially rice wine, though with low alcohol content - no more than 5%. Yet this sweet porridge-like drink had managed to knock out this entire group.
Thinking this, Luo Shu dipped his finger into the residue in one bowl and tasted it.
Hmm, sweet - just how he liked it. The alcohol content wasn't high, and the texture was pleasant.
After sampling it and finding nothing obviously wrong, Luo Shu had no choice but to consult the Mysticism Encyclopaedia.
"The amazake brewed from rice produced in the Abyss has the effects of regulating the body and relieving fatigue. The side effect is that one hour after consumption, the eater will become extremely drowsy and exhibit drunken behaviour."
Seeing the information provided by the Encyclopedia, Luo Shu thought to himself, 'As expected.'
"So it really is an ingredient from the Abyss... But what's Meer trying to achieve by bringing these things here?"
Hearing this, Kisara averted her gaze, her lips twitching as she said:
"Probably to get us drunk so she can sneakily get intimate with you, Shu-kun? Hehehe..."
Hearing Kisara's yandere-like laughter, Luo Shu's eyelid twitched before he sighed:
"If she wanted to do that, she should at least have waited until I was around."
With that, Luo Shu stood up, glanced at the three girls sleeping soundly, and scratched the back of his head:
"Well, since things have come to this, there's no helping it."
As he spoke, he walked over to Eriri, picked up the phone that had fallen beside her cheek, took her hand to unlock it via fingerprint, then found the contact labelled 'Mum' in the address book and dialled.
"Eh?" Kisara was utterly baffled by Luo Shu's actions.
Just then, after several beeps, the call connected, and a sweet voice came through.
Hearing Sayuri Sawamura's voice, Luo Shu cleared his throat.
Noticing that the person on the other end was clearly male, Sayuri Sawamura on the phone seemed stunned for a moment before hesitantly asking:
"May I ask who this is?"
"Are you Eriri's mother?"
Without waiting for a response, Luo Shu continued:
"I'm Luo Shu from Class 3-A at the same school."
It seemed to take Sayuri Sawamura a full 3 seconds to process this information before she replied in a peculiar tone:
"Is it just Eriri and Luo Shu-kun there right now?"
Luo Shu immediately sensed something off about her tone.
'Madam, why do you sound so delighted?'
'What exactly are you happy about when your daughter is alone with me?'
"No, there are other classmates here."
Kisara, who had been eavesdropping nearby, immediately retorted indignantly: "That's right! There's no way Shu-kun would be alone with Eriri!"
Hearing the distinct voice of a third female, Sayuri Sawamura's tone became tinged with regret:
"I see... Could you send me your location via mobile? Just wait a moment."
"Understood." Luo Shu quickly sent the location and added, "The exact location is the third room on the left, third floor. You can enter through the main building on the first floor and take the elevator."
"Got it. Thank you very much, Luo Shu-kun. As Eriri's mother, I'm truly glad she has a friend like you."
"You flatter me."
After exchanging a few polite words, Luo Shu hung up, placed the phone back beside Eriri, then moved to Yukino Yukinoshita's side and picked up her phone.
At that moment, Kisara blinked and asked, "Shu-kun, are you planning to notify all their families?"
"What else can I do?"
Luo Shu rolled his eyes and said irritably:
"Let them sleep overnight at the department headquarters until their parents file missing person reports tomorrow?"
He couldn't help but complain:
"That Meer really knows how to dump work on me. And Kirika Tachibana—that woman definitely knows something. No wonder she was so mysterious when she dropped me off earlier."
"No wonder she took Maya Natsume away, claiming she needed to discuss something. She was clearly making me clean up this mess."
After venting his frustration, Luo Shu repeated the process with Yukino Yukinoshita's phone. But when he saw the contacts list, he suddenly fell silent.
Seeing Luo Shu's silence, Kisara curiously approached: "What's wrong?"
Her eyes then landed on Yukino Yukinoshita's phone screen.
'Does Yukino-san not have any friends her own age?!'
Soon, the call connected.
"Moshi moshi! Yukino-chan, you actually called your sister today?!"
Hearing Haruno Yukinoshita's voice, Luo Shu calmly replied: "It's me."
There was a pause on the other end before Haruno said in surprise:
"Luo Shu-san?"
"Correct." Luo Shu confirmed.
Another silence followed before Haruno's voice trembled slightly:
"...Has something happened to Yukino?"
The fact that her younger sister's phone was being used by Luo Shu, her superior, immediately triggered Haruno's worst fears about Yukino's involvement with the mystic side.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu glanced at the peacefully sleeping Yukino Yukinoshita beside him and replied expressionlessly:
"Yes, there's been a small incident."
Before Haruno could react, Luo Shu added:
"She overate."
"Eh?"
Expecting to hear tragic news and on the verge of emotional collapse, Haruno Yukinoshita was visibly dumbfounded.
At this moment, Luo Shu's lips curled into a mischievous smirk, though it quickly disappeared as he said:
"Your little sister drank some amazake and is now fast asleep on the sofa at the department's base."
"Would you like to come carry her back?"
"Well..."
'Yukino? Drinking alcohol?'
Haruno couldn't even begin to imagine her refined younger sister drinking.
Shouldn't her usual response be "I have no interest in such crude alcoholic beverages that only impair cognitive function"?
'How did you end up drinking? And getting so drunk that your superior had to call family to collect you?'
"Um... Mr Luo Shu, please wait a moment. I'll be right over to take pho- I mean, to pick up Yukino."
Luo Shu was speechless upon hearing this.
'You were definitely about to say "take photos", weren't you? Were you planning to find the perfect angle for commemorative shots, too?'
Amused by the thought, he teased:
"Shall I take some photos for you on site?"
"Ah, I'd be so grateful! Please make sure to get good angles."
"You're actually serious..."
Luo Shu looked at the disconnected call with a wry smile, then walked over and sat on the sofa next to Utaha:
"Well, the only thing left is waiting for everyone's families to come collect them."
"By the way, where's Kurumi?"
"Miss Tokisaki seems to have been training in the underground Hidden Management Zone this whole time."
Kisara answered Luo Shu before giving Utaha, who was sprawled on the floor, a strange look:
"But don't we need to call someone for Kasumigaoka-san, too?"
Without looking up, Luo Shu instinctively replied: "Who would we call? Her family's right here."
Kisara froze.
She glanced at the unconscious Utaha on the floor, then at Luo Shu, who was typing messages on his phone, before her expression gradually twisted:
"Is that so? So you and Kasumigaoka-san are siblings? Hehehe, what an unexpected revelation."
Having just sent a message to Lacus and realising his mistake, Luo Shu quickly looked up and played dumb:
"Siblings? Do unrelated siblings from different parents even exist these days?"
"They probably do..." Kisara smiled thinly at Luo Shu. "Right, Shu-kun?"
Seeing Kisara's strained expression, Luo Shu's face turned slightly awkward:
"Well, if that's how you want to interpret it, Kisara..."
He glanced uncomfortably at Utaha on the floor and added:
"Speaking of which, leaving them lying around like this probably isn't good..."
Before he could finish, Kisara dashed to Utaha's side, crouched down to support her while blocking Luo Shu from approaching:
"I'll handle this! Don't you have things to do, Shu-kun? You should attend to your business."
"You mean...?" Luo Shu's expression turned peculiar.
'Miss Kisara, when you say "business", are you referring to my LINE chat with Lacus? How is that any different from me carrying Utaha somewhere?'
"No need for explanations! Just leave these trivial matters to me!"
"Alright, alright, have it your way."
The only question was whether Sayuri Sawamura or Haruno Yukinoshita would arrive first.
The wife card or the older sister card?
"Let's see which one I'll draw later."