"I understand why you can't accept Kirika's approach."
In truth, this was exactly what had driven Lacus to travel all the way from the America to Japan. Knowing Kirika's personality, it was inevitable that she would keep sending Luo Shu to the front lines repeatedly. In such conditions, the already-fragile trust between them would easily collapse under the weight of escalating danger.
Lacus had anticipated this issue long before her arrival. But after meeting Luo Shu in person, she realized the situation was even more serious than she had imagined.
Though their contact had been brief, Lacus could clearly see that Luo Shu was someone who harbored many secrets and lacked a strong sense of security. In a dangerous world like this, those traits were undeniably an advantage for him personally—but not the kind suited to someone working on the front lines against the Abyss.
What frontline combat demanded were soldiers who strictly followed orders and completed missions to the best of their ability while ensuring their own safety. Given Luo Shu's nature, hiding his abilities and concealing his gains were practically inevitable. That kind of behavior would likely lead Kirika to misjudge his capabilities. And from what Lacus knew of Kirika, as a department head, she would definitely try to test Luo Shu in order to gauge his true limits—something that would only deepen the cracks of mistrust between them.
Fortunately, none of that had happened yet—or rather, Lacus had sensed the issue before things could spiral out of control.
"I suggest you break away from the SDS Tokyo branch and form your own team—a unit directly under my command."
"Of course, whether or not this unit answers to me will be entirely up to you."
"If you don't like the term 'unit,' you can call it a task force. Or even establish it as an independent agency, if you prefer."
"I'll provide you with some financial support and access to intelligence resources. As for Abyssal artifacts, I can offer a few as well, but due to the high demand across all branches, the ones I provide may not be exceptionally powerful."
"I'll handle discussions with Kirika. It just so happens that the demon we captured this time requires specialized containment, and since you possess the Demon's Heart, it can serve as a restraining force."
"In that case, forming a new division under your leadership to guard the demon shouldn't be something Kirika would oppose."
When Luo Shu heard her suggestion, he froze in place for a moment before giving her a strange look and muttering, "If I didn't know your character, I'd be seriously questioning your motives right now."
"No, actually, with everything going on, I should be wondering whether I accidentally used the Demon's Heart to hypnotize you."
"...Seriously? I always carry an artifact that resists mental manipulation."
Lacus lightly tapped her round robot companion, Haro, and with a soft click, it split open to reveal a small internal compartment. Inside, a pure white pearl the size of a marble spun quietly in place.
"See? This little thing. So, you don't need to worry about my safety."
Luo Shu stared at her with an utterly speechless expression. Do you think I'm worried about your safety?
This woman was way too good at playing dumb. He sighed, then looked up and said, "I understand your desire to protect peace, but this level of personal support—using your own assets to fund me? That's really hard for me to make sense of."
"Kindness without a reason is always the hardest to comprehend."
In response to Luo Shu's exasperation, Lacus simply closed up Haro and smiled. "I just hope there can be more allies who stand on the side of protecting humanity."
"Allies... huh?" Luo Sho suddenly paused, then looked straight at her. "Let me ask you something. Can I pursue you?"
"...Huh?" Lacus was completely stunned by the sudden question, her entire expression frozen.
But the moment she processed what Luo Sho had just said, her cheeks turned slightly red, and she looked a little flustered. "Why did you jump to that kind of topic all of a sudden?"
Seeing how rattled she was, Luo Shu was clearly amused. He pressed further, grinning, "Because I feel like if I miss this chance, I may never find another woman like you again—especially one this incredible on a global scale."
"I... I'm sorry, I don't have those kinds of thoughts at the moment. I mean—I'm not saying I'm rejecting you! I just think... um... Can I skip answering that question?"
Lacus looked at him with pleading eyes, like she was begging him not to push her any further. Luo Shu, seeing that, couldn't help but feel moved. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed, and redirected the conversation.
"Right, you said earlier that under the pretense of guarding the demon, I could start a new task force. Does that mean you're planning to have me look after Kisara?"
"Kisara?" Lacus tilted her head in confusion, then turned to glance at the pink-haired girl lying on the hospital bed. It suddenly clicked for her. "Ah, is that this child's name?"
This child... She's way older than you, young lady, Luo Sho mentally grumbled. Then he said, "It's a codename Chisato gave her. I mean, we couldn't just keep calling her 'the demon' forever."
Hearing that Chisato had given her the name, Lacus's eyes lit up in understanding. "So, it's a place name—the first two characters of 'Kisarazu'?"
"You really know Chisato well, huh..." Luo Sho twitched slightly at her reply, then asked, "Forget it. Back to the demon—are you really sure it's okay to leave her with me?"
"Outside of basic health checks and restrictions on violent behavior, I don't plan to do anything to her. Even if Kisara is a demon, that principle still stands."
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Lacus smiled warmly. "Because even if she's a demon, she hasn't committed any crimes yet, right?"
"Should we kill her simply because she's a demon with the potential to harm others? That kind of logic doesn't make sense. Would you be able to accept that, Luo Shu?"
"Of course not," Luo Sho leaned back in his chair. If I did, then I'd be in danger too.
He wasn't a demon, sure—but being a wild god came pretty close. From a human perspective, gods and demons weren't all that different.
If Kisara could be treated as guilty just because of her race, then Luo Shu could be treated the same way. Worse still, what about someone like Chisato? Just because she carried a gun and had the potential to kill, did that mean she should be executed on sight?
Only a fool would accept something like that.
"Looks like we're in agreement, then."
Lacus smiled and extended her hand toward him.
"We are." Luo Sho reached out as well, their hands clasping together.
"Then here's to a good partnership, my comrade."
"To a good partnership... Lacus."