Although her words were sincere and without malice, Lacus knew all too well—Luo Shu was currently doubting her motives.
To that, Lacus could only feel helpless. After all, personal thoughts weren't something she could interfere with, nor did she believe she should. In fact, being able to manipulate others' thoughts was, in her opinion, the most terrifying power of all.
"The offer I mentioned earlier—SDS allowing members to withdraw—still stands. If you ever change your mind in the future, Luo Shu, you're welcome to come to me anytime."
When Luo Shu heard this, a trace of hesitation finally appeared on his face. "Are you sure you're being serious?"
Then as if something suddenly occurred to him, he added, "It's hard for me to imagine you'd really let me leave."
"Is it because of Kirika's methods that you think that way?" Lacus asked, her tone firm and certain.
It was clear she'd mulled over Kirika's behavior more than once before.
"Kirika and I both value talented individuals, that much is true. But I've never agreed with her way of doing things."
As she spoke, Lacus picked up the pink Haro robot on her lap, held it in her hands, and offered it to Luo Shu.
"I imagine you've probably guessed already—SDS is severely understaffed, isn't it?"
"I can guess as much." Luo Shu nodded. It wasn't exactly a tough deduction, especially considering how SDS had only a single branch office in Tokyo and had only just started considering a potential Division in Chiba Prefecture.
If it were an international company, having one branch in a foreign country might be understandable. But for an organization like SDS, which specialized in the containment and recovery of Abyssal artifacts, that kind of presence seemed completely inadequate.
To put it bluntly, recovering Abyssal items—which could appear at random—should require SDS to have personnel and offices in every major prefecture and city across Japan. Ideally, even rural towns and villages would have some level of presence.
In simple terms, Luo Shu's expectation was that SDS should function more like a national postal service.
Only an institution as vast and widespread as the postal service could penetrate every corner of a country with its influence.
But as things currently stood, SDS wasn't even close. Setting aside its ties with North American forces, SDS's capacity within Japan barely matched that of a mid-range private security firm.
In Tokyo, they could still bluff and rely on military deterrence to secure and contain Abyssal artifacts. But beyond the capital, their means of enforcement were extremely limited.
Today's mission to secure the demon was a perfect example—resorting to full military deployment and city lockdown was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
That alone gave Luo Shu a clear picture of SDS's true condition.
They had capability, strong backing, ample resources—but they were short on personnel, and their influence was patchy and uneven.
Just from Luo Shu's expression, Lacus could tell he'd already figured out SDS's biggest weakness. She sighed, holding the spherical Haro robot in her hands and said:
"Even though we have no shortage of resources, SDS was originally founded by Kirika and me during our freshman year at university. It's only been around for less than four years."
"Hold on a sec?" Luo Shu raised his hand to interrupt her, giving her a once-over before asking, "How old are you exactly?"
"Seventeen," Lacus tilted her head and replied. "I was specially admitted to university by three professors when I was thirteen. Is that strange?"
"Nothing strange at all. That's a very 'Coordinator' thing to do." Luo Shu nodded solemnly, secretly envious of a Coordinator's natural talent.
After being interrupted, Lacus took a deep breath and steadied her thoughts before continuing.
"Where was I? Right, due to the increasing frequency of Abyssal descents in recent years, with help from my father, I expanded the original special materials research office—once limited to Massachusetts—into a department with offices across the entire U.S., and branches in all major world powers."
"But naturally, that kind of expansion led to a serious shortage of manpower."
"Of course, part of the blame lies with my own recruitment criteria."
Recruitment criteria... Luo Shu thought back to Kirika's aggressive and slightly coercive recruitment tactics.
"So, there's a disagreement between Chief Kirika and Miss Lacus regarding personnel matters?"
"Yes." Lacus nodded slightly, not hiding the internal conflict in the slightest.
She held up the pink spherical robot Haro and extended it toward Luo Shu.
"For example, this Haro in my hand represents the kind of personnel who meet the standards of the Special Data Sorting Department—SDS."
Lacus showed Haro to Luo Shu, then slowly pulled it back toward herself.
"I want Haro to join SDS because he believes in our vision, by his own free will."
At that, she gently tossed Haro toward Luo Shu, who caught it mid-air.
"But Kirika believes that since Haros are in short supply, we should use all available methods to cast a wide net, prioritizing the urgent need for manpower over so-called ideological alignment or following one's inner will."
"Ah, quality vs. quantity." Luo Shu remarked thoughtfully.
"Exactly," Lacus said with a sigh. "Kirika joined SDS in the first place because she believed in my desire to contain the Abyss and protect everyday civilians. But now, she no longer sees ideology as a necessity."
"Putting the cart before the horse," Luo Shu quipped with a proverb, before internally musing: So SDS is basically a mini SCP Foundation? We Contain! We Secure! We Protect!?
"A Chinese idiom, is it? A very fitting description," Lacus smiled gently, while the Haro in her hand bobbed its ear-like parts as if nodding in agreement.
"So, what's your reason for coming to me then?" Luo Shu asked, though he already had a hunch.
Holding Haro close, Lacus spoke with a touch of apology in her tone.
"Because Kirika kept telling me how she recruited an outstanding member in Tokyo through her own methods. I was worried about your situation."
"Worried I was forced to join and harbored resentment, leading me to act irrationally?"
Luo Shu could more or less guess Lacus's concern, but at the same time, he looked somewhat exasperated.
"And in the end, you accidentally caught a potential Abyssal visitor like me?"
Given how many transmigrators existed in this world—and how they were typically called 'Abyssal visitors'—Luo Shu didn't mind exposing that part of his identity.
"Exactly," Lacus said, barely holding back a smile as she looked at Luo Shu's sulky expression.
"Sigh."
Luo Shu let out a long breath. He no longer minded being exposed—perhaps because Lacus's demeanor was so gentle, or because they shared a similar otherworldly experience. Either way, his guard had dropped a little.
"I admit, I'm not really the type who likes rushing to the front lines and playing firefighter. I value my life a little too much. I've even considered what I'd do if Chief Kirika issued a mandatory order—whether or not I'd defy it."
"But at the same time, I'm not opposed to seizing opportunities presented by the Abyss. After all, having a gun and not having a gun are two completely different things. Would you say that analogy makes sense, Miss Lacus?"
"It does."
Lacus didn't accuse Luo Shu of selfishness—because it was human nature.
Humans needed to hold the gun in order to protect the life they wanted to preserve. That had always been her belief.
"So then, can I understand it like this?" she asked, lifting Haro again. "Luo Shu, you're willing to work with SDS, on the condition that it's safe and manageable, in order to obtain the power from the Abyss—to protect yourself and the people you care about?"
Lacus tried to summarize his thoughts and then raised Haro in a playful yet sincere gesture.
"So… would you be willing to hear my opinion now?"
Luo Shu nodded.
"I'm listening."