Seeing Mira Tsubakihara produce the 'Demon Heart', Luo Shu's face flashed with astonishment.
Frowning, he mentally activated his system, preparing to flee while eyeing Miss Mira with deep suspicion:
"Miss Mira, do you understand what this thing is?"
"It calls itself the 'Demon Heart'."
Pausing thoughtfully, Mira Tsubakihara then bowed apologetically:
"Earlier, when your friend—that energetic white-haired young lady—asked me about its whereabouts, I lied."
"I told her I didn't know where the ring was, but in truth... I knew all along."
"It's always been in my pocket, inside this gift box. Though it made me forget about it after work, later... it made me remember again."
"..."
After a beat of silence, Luo Shu asked: "Then why expose it to me now?"
Recalling Kirika Tachibana's warnings about the Demon Heart's side effects, realisation dawned.
The ring could erase women's memories of its existence, but what could be erased could also be restored.
For some reason, after making Mira Tsubakihara forget, the Demon Heart had made her remember—leading to this situation.
On the other side, hearing Luo Shu's question, Mira Tsubakihara hesitated for a moment before pushing the box containing the ring towards him, speaking in a slightly troubled tone:
"Though you might not believe this, Luo Shu-kun, this ring seems to be... 'alive'."
"Alive?" Luo Shu lowered his gaze to the ring before him.
He didn't reach out to take it. In fact, if possible, he'd rather put some distance between himself and the ring.
Truth be told, when Mira mentioned that this ring had once made her forget her own existence, Luo Shu had already sensed something sinister about it.
Yet, whether it was his imagination or not, he couldn't shake the feeling that the eye within the ring seemed to regard him with an almost... 'fawning' expression.
Just as Luo Shu was pondering this, Mira spoke up again with uncertainty in her voice:
"Actually, when I returned to the apartment earlier, I'd already texted my bodyguards..."
Through Mira's explanation, Luo Shu gained insight into events from another perspective.
It turned out that when Mira returned to the apartment, she hadn't been oblivious to the risks. Rather, she believed this approach offered better security while avoiding collateral damage.
The reason? The tenants in rooms 201, 301 and 305 of the apartment building were all female bodyguards trained by Japan's official agencies - apparently 'the Prime Minister's standard' of protection.
Their routine duty involved taking shifts to protect Mira at close quarters.
This appeared to be one of the conditions Mira had negotiated with her grandfather when moving out to live independently.
Originally, Mira had planned to rush home, let the alerted bodyguards deal with the stalker following her, and then evacuate under their protection.
But when she reached the apartment entrance, the 'Demon Heart' suddenly influenced Mira's actions, prompting her to grab Luo Shu's arm and plead for help.
What followed was the series of events Luo Shu had experienced.
Luo Shu's unexpected intervention led Mira to be taken to the 4th floor, then up to the 5th floor - causing them to miss the bodyguards mobilising from the 3rd floor, much like the Hound pursuing them.
By the time Luo Shu reached the 3rd floor via the emergency balcony route from the 5th floor, the bodyguards had already located Mira upstairs and secured her in room 503.
Subsequently, Luo Shu's opened fire on the Hound took place on the 4th floor.
The shooting prompted the bodyguards to keep Mira sheltered in room 503 throughout the incident.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu, having discharged his firearm, was intercepted by patrolling officials. Under their warnings and surveillance, he couldn't return to the 5th floor; instead, he was escorted downstairs to the police station.
Having pieced everything together, Luo Shu pressed his fingers against his temples, massaging them briefly before remarking:
"So even if I hadn't acted, you would have been perfectly safe?"
"You're starting from the wrong premise, Luo Shu-kun."
Mira leaned forward, planting both hands on the table as she brought her face uncomfortably close to Luo Shu's. At this proximity, the young woman's intensity seemed magnified:
"Leaving aside whether my bodyguards and I could have handled such inhuman opponents without your assistance - which remains uncertain - the fact remains..."
"That by using your firearm to eliminate the Hound before it could escape, you unequivocally protected my life."
"Therefore, the undeniable truth is this: you saved me."
Hearing Mira Tsubakihara's forceful and assertive words, Luo Shu leaned back to create distance between them, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender as he said:
"Alright, I understand the situation now. Yes, yes, I'm your saviour, alright?"
"That's correct. I'm glad you think so." Mira Tsubakihara released her grip on the table and sat back down, a pleased smile appearing on her face.
Seeing her like this, Luo Shu felt somewhat peculiar inside.
'Who in their right mind would rush to owe a life debt? How bizarre... I really don't understand how these female leads' thought processes work.'
As this thought crossed his mind, Luo Shu glanced down at the eyes filled with ingratiation below and couldn't help but frown:
"So... according to Miss Tsubakihara's explanation..."
"Mira. Call me Mira, or Miss Mira will do."
Mira Tsubakihara extended a finger, placing it before Luo Shu's face.
Luo Shu looked up at her briefly before correcting himself: "So Miss Mira, you're saying this ring actively controlled you to approach me?"
"...That was the case at the time, but it's different now." Mira paused mysteriously before emphasising the latter half of her sentence.
Noticing this, Luo Shu gave her a look but didn't express much suspicion, merely frowning as he said:
"That's quite suspicious, rushing over to me like this... er..."
"Is something wrong?" Mira asked curiously when she noticed Luo Shu suddenly fall silent.
At that moment, Luo Shu, recalling the Lucky Wallet going missing twice, began sensing something amiss. After casually responding with 'it's nothing', he contacted the system that called itself 'God's Servant' and inquired:
'Were both the wallet and the ring drawn to me because they detected something special about me?'
[Ding—!]
[Answer: Under certain conditions, Abyss Artefacts possessing 'activity' will actively approach their host, seeking further evolution.]
'...I don't think I currently have the ability to evolve such artefacts.'
Though he said this, the confusion in Luo Shu's heart had been resolved.
So this fancy-sounding title of his - so-called 'Master of Divine Pantheon', 'Future God King' - actually came with some benefits after all!
But according to the system's explanation, weren't these active Abyss Artefacts essentially coming to cling to his coattails?
'Yet I feel like you guys are the bigger deal here...' Luo Shu internally complained before hesitating slightly and addressing the watching Mira Tsubakihara:
"Let me ask one more time - are you certain you want to give this ring to me?"
"Though it's a bit embarrassing to admit, even if you gifted me such an Abyss Artefact, the repayment I could offer likely wouldn't match its value."
While freebies were tempting, Luo Shu didn't think taking advantage of a female lead's possessions was wise. After all, he still had his eye on the points she carried, so it was best not to sour their relationship.
"No, I never expected any repayment. Besides, this ring wanted to go to you in the first place..."
Mira nodded, about to urge Luo Shu to take the ring, when she suddenly paused, giving the ring a suspicious look as if remembering something, prompting her to ask:
"If you really feel bad about it, you could simply give information about this ring as payment."
At this point, Mira Tsubakihara asked somewhat perplexedly: "What exactly are this ring's special abilities? Why do I always feel so unsettled when coming into contact with it?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu wanted to explain, but the words caught in his throat.
Apparently... this ring's ability was 'hypnotising women'...
—This was absolutely an unanswerable, fatal question!!!