Hearing those teasing words—
"Have you eaten? Want to join us for a bite?"
"Not yet... Hmm?"
Kirika responded, then immediately froze at the sight of the spread of dishes on the table, asking oddly:
"Don't tell me this whole table of food is for expense claims?"
At this, Utaha burst out laughing.
Beside her, Kisara was both exasperated and amused:
"I made this meal for Shu-kun."
"You can actually cook?"
Kirika gave Kisara a surprised look, then shamelessly sidled over, plopping down beside her with a grin:
"Got any chopsticks? Perfect timing—I haven't had lunch either. Let's make do together."
With a sigh, Kisara turned and retrieved spare utensils from the bag at her feet.
She'd wanted to have lunch alone with Shu-kun... Having Utaha here was bad enough, but now Kirika too?
No more people, please...
As Kisara brooded, Luo Shu asked curiously:
"You're not flying all over the world at this hour? Showing up here instead—something going on?"
Kirika accepted the chopsticks from Kisara, replying lightly:
"What makes you think I'm not flying all over the world?"
This took Luo Shu by surprise.
"Right now, this is a clone of sorts."
"There's actually an artefact like that?"
"You haven't seen even half of the bizarre artefacts out there."
Kirika casually picked at the bento, taking a few bites to satisfy her craving:
"The taste transmits in real time, too? That's kinda interesting."
Then she looked up at Luo Shu, glancing at Kisara and Utaha as she said:
"Bringing two little lovers along during work hours, you sure know how to enjoy yourself."
Hearing this, both Utaha and Kisara's expressions turned slightly awkward.
Luo Shu curled his lips and shot an annoyed glare at the troublemaker Kirika Tachibana, retorting with a laugh:
"Spit it out if you've got something to say. You didn't come looking for me just to cause trouble, did you?"
At this, Kirika Tachibana also smiled:
"Seeing how leisurely your department is, of course, I had to find something for you all to do."
She paused at this point before continuing:
"Have you heard of virtual reality technology?"
Luo Shu was somewhat surprised by this:
"That thing Verde developed? You're handing it over to us?"
"No choice. Every other department is swamped right now."
Kirika Tachibana spread her hands, looking helpless while giving Luo Shu a playful wink.
Seeing this, Luo Shu immediately understood. Under these circumstances, deploying virtual reality technology really wasn't a priority.
"Of course, the main reason is that virtual reality technology is our cash cow, and the Commercial Department lot aren't... our kind of people."
Kirika Tachibana did not attempt to hide her thoughts from Luo Shu, openly displaying her likes and dislikes:
"Not our kind of people?" Luo Shu asked, surprised.
This was the first time he'd heard Kirika Tachibana mention the Commercial Department.
"Right, not our kind."
Kirika Tachibana pushed her food around with chopsticks, saying coldly:
"Most of the senior management from the zaibatsu that Mr. Siegel married into - the SDS's predecessor - are now in the Commercial Department."
"To those people, money is all that ultimately matters."
Here she paused, seeming unwilling to elaborate further, merely adding quietly:
"Anyway, that lot can't be trusted. Handing virtual reality technology to them might maximise profits, but the consequences would be uncontrollable."
Luo Shu rubbed his chin thoughtfully: "But realistically speaking, developing the economic benefits of virtual reality technology would require these people, wouldn't it?"
"That's exactly why we're putting you in charge." Kirika Tachibana glanced at Luo Shu, then at Utaha, before breaking into a mischievous grin.
Seeing this, Luo Shu and Utaha exchanged looks, both arriving at the same conclusion simultaneously.
"Divide and control?" Luo Shu ventured.
"Mind Reading screening," Utaha supplemented.
Hearing this, Luo Shu had something of an epiphany and couldn't help but laugh:
"So you're here to conscript Utaha as manual labour!"
"Manual labour sounds far too crude."
Kirika Tachibana rolled her eyes before calmly stating:
At this, Utaha frowned:
"Even so, not every member of the Familia has business-related abilities..."
"That doesn't matter." Kirika Tachibana's expression remained impassive: "When capital accumulates beyond a certain point, even a pig sitting in an executive position can turn a profit."
"And compared to incompetent pigs occupying those seats, we'd naturally prefer loyal ones. This was decided long ago - even if Luo Shu hadn't joined, we'd have purged the Commercial Department regardless."
"Now, if we can find loyal personnel with special abilities, even if their skills aren't business-oriented, as long as they hold the positions, remain devoted to the organisation, don't act recklessly, and delegate authority to experts who can actually generate profits, the outcome can't be too bad."
"After all, this world always has the incompetent occupying so-called leadership positions."
"Conversely, the truly loyal are an absolute minority, while Familia members, due to their innate uniqueness, are the ones we can trust most and are the most devoted candidates..."
At this point, Kirika Tachibana couldn't help but laugh. Massively inserting Familia members into the SDS during their weaker periods wasn't without risks.
Given enough time, the question of who the SDS ultimately answers to could become fatal.
"As for mystic-side training, it's not impossible to conduct simultaneously. In my view, this would also allow Familia to better serve as the organisation's hidden force."
Hearing these ruthlessly pragmatic words, Luo Shu couldn't resist quipping:
"Isn't this just equivalent to paying high salaries to keep people?"
Inserting temporarily weaker Familia members into the Commercial Department continuously dilutes it.
Hah, quite the beautiful plan. Whether it'll actually work in practice remains to be seen.
The intention might be good, but execution, turning virtuous plans into wicked deeds, isn't uncommon.
"We have to try eventually, don't we?"
Kirika Tachibana said this while smiling at Utaha:
"After all, as Familia members, surely none of you want to be completely worthless?"
Seeing this, Luo Shu immediately fell silent, as this concerned Utaha personally and weaker Familia members in general. His interference would only complicate matters.
Utaha's pupils contracted slightly before she sank into silence.
While Luo Shu had indeed provided her with a substantial amount of points, Utaha remained deeply dissatisfied with herself.
Whether in terms of ability or value to the Familia, she found herself lacking.
Now, with Kirika proposing an alternative path, Utaha began considering it seriously.
Abilities like Mind Reading and Hypnosis might not be particularly strong against mystic-side individuals, but against regular people, they represented overwhelming superiority.
Perhaps... if she couldn't become someone fighting alongside Luo Shu, being the woman behind him wouldn't be such a bad alternative?
After a brief silence, Utaha sighed and murmured:
"...The Commercial Department then?"
"It might prove an interesting challenge."
Seeing this, Kirika said nothing more, simply stating calmly:
"So for now, we'll begin with commercial development of virtual reality technology."
"I'll arrange personnel to coordinate with you."
Hearing this, Utaha glanced at Luo Shu and couldn't help smiling:
"What a coincidence."
"Quite," Luo Shu responded with equal amusement.
Kirika, observing their exchange, looked puzzled:
"What coincidence?"
Nearby, Kisara quietly explained:
"Just now, Shu-kun discovered a girl at the hospital suitable to become Familia who's apparently participating in the first batch of virtual reality technology tests."
Hearing this, Kirika looked startled:
"That is rather coincidental."