Hidden Management Department Headquarters, 3rd Floor, Luo Shu's Office.
"Apologies for dragging you into a video conference so late."
Seated on the sofa, Luo Shu offered an apologetic nod to Kirika Tachibana, whose face was displayed on his laptop screen.
On the screen, Kirika glanced at her watch before casually crossing her legs:
"No need. It's only 8 o'clock—for me, this is just the beginning of the busy hours."
With that, she turned her head slightly and called out to the side:
"Kurumi, is the communication encryption complete?"
From off-screen, Kurumi's slightly dopey voice chimed in:
"OK~ You're clear to talk freely now."
"Good." Kirika Tachibana nodded, then turned towards Luo Shu: "Yukinoshita is with you, right?"
"I'm here, Director Tachibana."
Yukino Yukinoshita, who had been sitting on the sofa beside Luo Shu, came over upon hearing this and settled next to Luo Shu for convenience before asking:
"Is there a problem?"
Kirika Tachibana gave Yukino a slight nod upon seeing her, then took out a cigarette pack from her pocket, shaking one loose as she said:
"I've read the report you sent. The current minister being monitored by yokai is indeed a thorny issue."
"However, conducting safety inspections on current ministers and retired senior officials is out of the question."
"Why?" Yukino frowned, puzzled. "Since we've already discovered one case of yokai surveillance, wouldn't the best approach be to conduct a comprehensive investigation to identify all the monitors?"
Hearing this, Kirika glanced at Luo Shu, as if signalling for him to explain it to his own subordinate.
Noticing this, Luo Shu gathered his thoughts, pieced together the reasoning, and then tactfully said to Yukino:
"Yukino, often, just because a solution is the best doesn't mean it can be implemented."
"Why?"
Yukino looked at Luo Shu in confusion.
Luo Shu's expression turned somewhat subtle at this.
Meanwhile, Kirika calmly stated:
"You ask why? I should be asking why you want to investigate high-ranking officials and those aristocratic family heads. Are you trying to frame them? Or install surveillance?"
"Or is it really about yokai attacking officials' families? Why haven't they received any warnings?"
"Even if you cite the Fujiwara incident, they'll ask: why did your SDS team discover the problem first? Is this yokai surveillance just a staged act by you?"
"That can't be..." Yukino's face showed reluctance to believe it, but inwardly, she somewhat agreed with Kirika's words.
For those arrogant individuals, it seemed... highly likely they'd spin it that way.
"Once you propose an investigation, things will inevitably devolve into this tiresome scenario. So, as a rule, we avoid probing into dangerous incidents involving the powerful unless absolutely necessary."
"Unless they request it themselves."
At this point, Luo Shu added:
"No, I think even if something really happened, they wouldn't come to us to the SDS. They might not even report it to the police."
Hearing this, Yukino seemed to freeze in place:
"When facing danger, they wouldn't even contact the Metropolitan Police Department?"
Luo Shu couldn't help but retort: "Has it occurred to you that in their eyes, the police might be the greater threat?"
"No, Luo Shu, you're mistaken." Kirika lit her cigarette calmly. "Given their temperament, they wouldn't see the police as dangerous. They'd consider it an insult to have lowly commoners searching their homes."
"Of course, that's the arrogant fools' outward reason. The real reason is probably fear of having their dirty laundry exposed."
Here, Kirika let out a derisive chuckle, as if recalling something.
"By the way, if you have time, you can ask Meer for a pass. The Intelligence Department's archives contain plenty of... interesting information about high-ranking officials."
Though Kirika Tachibana didn't specify what kind of unspeakable things were stored there, her tone implied everything.
As Yukino Yukinoshita struggled to comprehend what constituted 'interesting information', Luo Shu asked curiously:
"Is there anything on Daichi Fujiwara?"
Kirika thought for a moment before scoffing: "His files are probably the most boring among current cabinet ministers."
Then, she narrowed her eyes at Luo Shu: "What? You're interested in Daichi Fujiwara?"
Luo Shu blinked in response: "Didn't I attend his family banquet today? I reported my itinerary, didn't I?"
Kirika immediately looked exasperated: "I couldn't care less about your schedule. Besides, director-level itineraries are classified – only Lacus herself can access them."
"And for god's sake, don't write your real schedule in reports! What if it gets leaked?!"
At Kirika's outburst, Luo Shu and Yukino exchanged bewildered glances.
When the initial shock wore off, Yukino frowned and asked hesitantly:
"But if we don't report real itineraries, wouldn't the schedules Chairwoman Clyne receives become false intelligence?"
"Oh, that?" Kirika waved dismissively. "We used to report in person. Though now with the Astronomy Club acting as intermediary, things are much more convenient."
Even during encrypted video calls, Kirika carefully avoided mentioning the Divine Pantheon, substituting it with 'Astronomy Club' instead.
Kirika Tachibana spoke while instructing Yukino Yukinoshita:
"After this, prepare two versions of Luo Shu's itinerary. One false report to be submitted through normal encrypted channels, and the real intelligence to be written directly on the Astronomy Club's internal forum and sent to Lacus's account."
"Of course, if someone manages to remotely obtain this information from within the Astronomy Club, we'll just have to accept defeat."
"Hey, hey, don't say such frightening things."
Luo Shu couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the Divine Pantheon's internal forum being breached.
Someone capable of that could easily eliminate him, couldn't they? His fragile heart couldn't take such terrifying possibilities!
"Understood." After receiving Kirika Tachibana's reminder, Yukino Yukinoshita nodded to indicate her comprehension.
As the secretary gathered her thoughts, Kirika immediately turned to Luo Shu:
"Speaking of which, I'm surprised you're so concerned about the Fujiwara family matters... Among their three daughters, is there one who can become Familia?"
"Two." Luo Shu raised two fingers, then added: "By the way, while the eldest daughter isn't eligible initially, I later discovered we could spend points to recruit her. There'd be no initial point gains, though, and this method seems only effective for special individuals."
Regarding what made these individuals special, Luo Shu speculated it probably referred to characters who appeared in the storyline - even those only mentioned by name might qualify.
It was akin to recognising someone as potentially useful talent. Though they might not meet heroine standards, they could be recruited as peripheral members through purchased invitations.
Of course, such Familia members wouldn't yield the initial recruitment bonus points, but would still provide monthly points.
To Luo Shu, this recruitment method wasn't a loss - the invitation points might be recouped over time, effectively expanding the Familia's recruitment scope, which seemed beneficial.
Hearing this, Kirika nodded understandingly and sighed:
"As expected, the Astronomy Club has many unexplored aspects."
"Anyway, let's set aside matters concerning cabinet members' families for now and focus on the crucial issue."
Here, Kirika narrowed her eyes and said seriously:
"What exactly is the Hagoromo Group in Kyoto planning?"