Hidden Management Department, first-floor elevator entrance.
"Ayano, are you nervous?"
Lingyin Huang, bringing up the rear of the group, whispered to Ayano Kannagi ahead of her.
Compared to her usual confident young lady demeanour, Lingyin was visibly tense now.
She felt as nervous as when she'd first returned to the Huang family's ancestral home in Hong Kong.
In fact, Lingyin found this situation even more terrifying than being taken back by her divorced mother to meet the family.
Because this time, she wasn't going to meet her stern and unfamiliar grandfather, but to appear before an actual living deity!
A genuine living god!
Judging by the Huang family's ancestral rituals for audiences with the Spirit King, the protocols for meeting a god must be even more stringent, right?
Was wearing just a skirt to such an audience too disrespectful?
"Why would I be nervous?" Ayano turned back with a puzzled look. "We're just going to see Luo Shu. What's there to be nervous about?"
"I've met him before - we even had dinner together a fortnight ago. He didn't seem particularly special then?"
Lingyin gaped at her in surprise and admiration.
This must be the natural confidence of a Flame Arts sorcerer's daughter raised since childhood.
How enviable - completely different from someone like her who came to this path later in life.
Drawing confidence from Ayano's attitude, Lingyin patted her chest and sighed in relief, about to regain her usual energetic demeanour.
But then she noticed Ayano's left hand, hanging by her side, clutching her skirt so tightly that the once-neat hem was now wrinkled beyond recognition.
Lingyin froze.
Wait, with this telltale gesture...
So you're actually nervous, despite what you said?
Staring dumbfounded at Ayano, all confident smiles above while secretly gripping her clothes below, Lingyin suddenly felt like a complete fool.
Ayano wasn't unafraid at all - she was absolutely terrified!!
"Ayano!"
"What is it?"
"Has anyone ever told you you're a really good liar?"
"Huh? But my friends always say I'm too simple to lie properly."
"Then that must mean I'm even more gullible than you."
"Eh?!!"
Before Ayano could process this, the elevator doors dinged open.
Kato Megumi stepped out in her professional black suit, scanned the group, then addressed the leader, Kochou Kanae: "Get ready, the Director wishes to see you."
With those words, she turned and entered the elevator, pressing the button before watching the five girls step inside.
As the doors slowly closed...
Ayano Kannagi and Lingyin Huang swallowed hard as they stared at the narrowing gap of the elevator doors.
Under their nervous gazes, the doors sealed shut.
Time seemed to lose all meaning.
By the time Ayano and Lingyin regained their senses, they found themselves standing in an office.
Before them, Luo Shu sat on the sofa, fingers interlaced beneath his chin, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Instantly, Ayano felt her scalp prickle, while Lingyin's teeth began to chatter.
Before either could react, Kanae Kocho and Shinobu Kocho dropped to one knee simultaneously.
"Kanae Kocho and Shinobu Kocho greet the Director!!"
Seeing their actions, Aya Natsume quickly followed suit, prompting Ayano and Lingyin to instinctively kneel as well. Even Yukari Shinomiya and Nanase Kudō, standing nearby, mirrored the gesture.
"Ayano Kannagi, Lingyin Huang, Asuna Yuuki, Yukari Shinomiya, and Nanase Kudō greet the Director!" X5
Utaha Kasumigaoka, standing behind Luo Shu, observed the scene with a peculiar expression.
'Was this part of the protocol?' she wondered.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu regarded the girls with surprise, casting a glance at Kanae Kocho—the apparent source of this unexpected formality—before smiling and saying:
"Rise, all of you."
The seven girls stood up obediently, heads bowed in silence, as if awaiting further instructions.
Though unprepared for this development, Luo Shu adapted to the occasion with appropriate remarks:
"To have seven qualified candidates emerge from the first batch of recruits... I must admit, even I'm somewhat surprised."
While Asuna Yuuki, Yukari Shinomiya, and Nanase Kudō had been somewhat coerced into joining, adding three more examinees posed no difficulty for Luo Shu.
Moreover, seven passers among thirty-plus applicants would serve as encouragement for others seeking to join the Hidden Management Department—an unintended but beneficial outcome.
"However, having chosen to stand here, you should already understand from the basic knowledge imparted that you are special individuals."
As Luo Shu spoke, Asuna's expression flickered with unease, while Nanase wore a look of mingled joy and apprehension.
Unlike Ayano Kannagi and Aya Natsume, who were already part of the mystic side, or Kanae and Shinobu Kocho, who had crossed over from a Taisho-era world, Asuna and Nanase, though from Kannagi-branch families, had grown up as ordinary people in normal society.
Childhood fantasies of being superhuman might have existed, but now that those dreams had become reality, both still struggled with the surrealness of it all.
"Yes, you are special."
Luo Shu smiled down at the seven girls, his tone encouraging:
"Or perhaps it's more accurate to say—those I've chosen are destined to be special."
"As members of my Familia, I shall bestow upon you wealth, fame, and power. But in return, you must dedicate your entire selves to me."
At this point, Luo Shu looked meaningfully at the young Familia members, his gaze sweeping over each one.
Facing Luo Shu's stare, only Aya Natsume and Kanae Kocho, who had already accepted everything, lifted their heads; the others lowered theirs, not daring to meet his eyes or confront the blunt reality.
Luo Shu wasn't surprised by this, though he felt somewhat disappointed.
"From now on, you will be under the command of the First Spirit, Origami Tobiichi, as official members of the Hidden Management Department."
"Corresponding Adjuster enhancements and Class development tendencies will be taught to you by specialists."
"The Familia will do everything in its power to nurture you."
Here, Luo Shu's tone shifted, becoming serious and leaving no room for doubt:
"And I only have three requirements: loyalty, loyalty, and more loyalty!"
After speaking, Luo Shu gave them ten seconds to mentally adjust before smiling and saying:
"Though it might be a bit late to say this now."
Luo Shu chuckled lightly and addressed the group:
"Welcome to the Hidden Management Department!"