It was 8 o'clock in the morning.
Having confirmed the training direction for the Harbinger of Calamity, Luo Shu pushed open the door of the Astronomy Club and stepped into the living room, preparing to head for the washroom to wash his face. For Luo Shu, increasing strength was important, but life still had to go on. Having just agreed to go independent and form a department directly under Lacus, Luo Shu already anticipated the busy days ahead.
Just as he was walking toward the washroom, a female voice he hadn't yet fully gotten used to rang out.
"Is your work already done?"
Luo Shu turned at the sound and immediately saw Kisara bustling in the kitchen, wearing a blue apron. Inside the kitchen, Kisara was washing utensils while speaking in that sweet voice tinged with slight hoarseness, "Because the fridge doesn't have many ingredients, breakfast is egg and ham sandwiches with milk. You can eat it at the table after washing your face."
Luo Shu was momentarily stunned by how familiar her movements were, then quietly turned and entered the washroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Afterward, he sat at the dining table and glanced at the single breakfast set laid out.
At that moment, Kisara, having just finished tidying up the kitchen, sat down opposite Luo Shu and looked at him while resting her cheeks in her hands.
"Didn't you make your own portion?" Luo Shu asked as he picked up a sandwich.
"I already ate," Kisara replied sweetly, with a hint of slyness on her face, "I ate with Miss Mira."
Hearing that, Luo Shu twitched the corner of his mouth. Now he seriously suspected that while he was researching the Knowledge Authority shard, Mira and Kisara might have been fighting over who got to make breakfast for him in the kitchen. Surely not… Luo Shu thought.
Then Kisara cupped her cheeks and asked, "Shu, do you have work today?"
At hearing Kisara drop his family name and call him by his given name so casually, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow and said, "I already arranged a meeting with Chief Kirika. Today I'll meet with her to discuss department formation work."
Just as he was about to say he could bring her along, Kisara said, "Ah, did Miss Kirika invite you? That's perfect, because Miss Mira invited me to go shopping this afternoon, so Shu, can you go alone today?"
Miss Mira? Luo Shu felt like he had missed several episodes. Since when were Kisara and Mira on such good terms?
While Luo Shu was wondering, Kisara started counting on her fingers, "I need to check the nearby environment, go to the supermarket for toiletries, necessities, ingredients for the next few days, also buy spring and summer clothes, underwear, and makeup…"
Looking at Kisara counting off the list, Luo Shu quietly took out his wallet, opened it, and placed a credit card on the table. "I'll transfer one million yen to this card later—that should be enough, right?"
There was a subtle tone in Luo Shu's voice. Excluding the Chiba prefecture mission bonus that had yet to be paid, his cash on hand was roughly 1.2 million yen. That was definitely enough for daily living expenses, but Luo Shu didn't think this expense would be charged to himself.
"Make sure to save the receipts. I'll submit them to the department for reimbursement."
The idea of money just being on a card and spent at will was absolutely not something Luo Shu would say. He was particularly careful with money—probably scarred from poverty in his previous life.
Speaking of which, although Mira Tsubakihara was indeed beautiful and gentle and unabashedly expressed her liking for Luo Shu, Luo Shu still felt Mira's most attractive moment was when she placed the property deed before him.
That's how base he was.
"Can living expenses be reimbursed too?" Kisara blinked when she heard Luo Shu's words.
"Yes, they can." After all, taking care of you counts as work… Luo Shu mentally added the latter half of this sentence.
For Luo Shu, looking after Kisara had SDS work components, so the related expenses naturally could be reimbursed by higher-ups.
He just didn't know if Lacus would approve this reimbursement.
Thinking that, Luo Shu suddenly clicked his tongue. "Tch, I'm starting to feel trapped."
If his supervisor were still Kirika, he'd definitely add 50% to the budget and claim it. But now, since he reported directly to Lacus, he felt a bit embarrassed to fake anything with the expenses.
After all, men usually have to keep some dignity in strange places.
He seriously felt like he was losing a lot of money…
Luo Shu watched Kisara hear the reimbursement was possible and immediately accept the credit card as if it were a matter of course, his eyelids twitching involuntarily.
The natural ease with which she accepted the credit card after hearing about the reimbursement made Luo Shu question whether he had unconsciously taught her way too much unnecessary knowledge. Had he even passed along his money-loving tendencies?
Shaking his head, Luo Shu finished the sandwich in a few bites, downed the milk, then stood up and said, "Alright, since you have plans with Mira today, I'll be off first."
"Ah, wait."
Kisara quickly took out a woman's wallet. Luo Shu could only remember it was from some big brand judging by the logo style. Where did she get that?
But then Kisara pulled out 500-yen coins and three ten-thousand-yen bills from the wallet and placed them on the table, smiling brightly at Luo Shu, "Shu, this is your travel fare to and from Chiyoda, plus lunch money for today."
Hearing this, Luo Shu lowered his head, stared at the bills and coins on the table, freezing for a moment, and then suspiciously asked, "This kind of behavior definitely wasn't in the common sense I gave you, right?"
He hesitated slightly before cautiously asking, "Kisara, have you recovered your memories?"
Kisara shook her head and said somewhat confusedly, "Not yet, but every morning I must give my husband his 'going-out' money—this knowledge was told to me by Miss Mira. The wallet was also given by Miss Mira."
"Did I do something wrong?"
Kisara sounded hesitant. Could it be Mira deliberately manipulated her knowledge points to cause a rift between her and Luo Shu? It couldn't be that sinister, right?
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but complain, "The knowledge is correct, but it's knowledge of Japanese housewives. I'm from the Chinese empire, so it's a bit culture-shocked…"
"Forget it, I'll teach you modern Chinese women's knowledge after returning… uh, maybe not. Teaching that stuff might be better left to Mira."
Luo Shu grumbled and was about to leave, but then caught sight of Kisara's expectant eyes.
He stopped, hesitated, gave her a sharp look, took away the bills and coins from the table, and said, "Is this enough?"
"Yeah."
Kisara nodded hard, then stood up, ran over, and on tiptoes kissed Luo Shu's cheek.
"Have a safe trip~~"
Watching her wave her hand at him, Luo Shu opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped himself, then headed into the foyer, changed his shoes, and walked out of the apartment.
After Luo Shu left, Kisara's waving hand instantly stopped, and she turned to look at the living room, musing aloud, "Before going shopping with Miss Mira this afternoon, I might as well clean up the house a bit first~"
While Kisara busied herself with chores, Luo Shu, just having exited the apartment's first floor, spotted a blue Lexus parked at the roadside.
"Yo!"
Kirika poked her head out of the open window, holding a cigarette with a smirk, "You're pretty quick."
"Ditto," Luo Shu said.
Seeing that, Luo Shu circled the car, opened the front passenger door, and slid right in.
No sooner had he settled in than Kirika tossed over a thin file folder. "Your department is officially confirmed."
"The Secret Management Department."
"Specializing in managing hazardous materials and harmful organisms, and when necessary, undertaking precision elimination of Special targets and hazardous material retrieval missions."
"That's pretty efficient!" Luo Shu flipped through the folder a little and then tucked it aside, turning to ask, "So, what are we doing next? Visiting the department's campus or office?"
"Almost; besides familiarizing yourself with your new post, it's also to show you the department's benefits."
"But before that…"
Kirika casually reached into the car's armrest box and pulled out two tissue papers, tossing them to Luo Shu with mockery, "...But first, wipe off the kiss mark on your face."
"Young people these days~ aren't you ashamed to go out with that on your face?"
Hearing Kirika's teasing, Luo Shu's expression stiffened. He hurriedly raised his hand to his cheek, looked down. Seeing the faint lipstick stain, his mouth twitched.
"You have to admit, that's demon-like…"
Deliberately kissing him to leave a mark so he'd have to face social embarrassment out there?
That pink-haired Kisara is definitely a black-hearted devil!