Click!
The door swung open as Kirika Tachibana strode briskly into the room, casually shutting it behind her before calling out:
"Takina, any updates?"
This was a room in a business hotel diagonally opposite Luo Shu's apartment building, with a clear view of his residence from the window.
By the window, beside a mounted sniper rifle, stood Takina Inoue—a high school student with straight black hair and slightly rounded cheeks—who replied without turning her head:
"No abnormalities detected, Chief."
"Nothing unusual? Then maintain surveillance for two more days. We'll withdraw once Luo Shu secures the item."
Kirika approached with one hand on her hip, her expression tinged with exasperation:
"Though I never imagined the second daughter of Nolan Defence would be living in a place like this. Honestly, if her maternal family catches wind of this situation, we could lose that rare demon-type Abyss Artefact."
Considering Nolan Defence's influence in the US, Kirika couldn't help feeling wary.
Such major arms dealers operated too recklessly. Without oversight, she couldn't risk letting Luo Shu engage with them freely.
If that young lady decided to recruit Luo Shu as a son-in-law, Kirika couldn't guarantee he wouldn't defect.
"Takina, you and Chisato will need to work closely with Luo Shu these next two days to secure the item. Well, since things have come to this, I, Kirika Tachibana, never return empty-handed."
"Speaking of which, where's Chisato? What's she up to now?"
Takina listened quietly before adding, "Chisato went to buy coffee, claiming it's for staying awake. Also, Chief..."
She glanced out the window. "That Luo Shu seems to be lingering at the entrance without going inside."
"What?" Kirika hurried to the window and immediately spotted Luo Shu standing at the doorway of the apartment.
Just as she looked over, he turned and met her gaze, smiling as he pointed at his phone.
Buzz!
Kirika picked up her silenced phone and answered the call.
Luo Shu's magnetic voice came through:
"Chief. The 'undercover protection' trope feels a bit outdated, don't you think?"
Kirika pressed a hand to her forehead, pushing back her bangs slightly as she stared at Luo Shu:
"If you knew all along I'd arrange covert protection, what's this performance about now?"
She sighed inwardly. She'd deliberately taken a detour through the hotel's underground parking to avoid exposing her surveillance on Mira Tsubakihara.
Keeping Luo Shu unaware was part of that strategy—having a rookie interact with the young heiress of arms giant Nolan Defence while knowing he's being watched could easily backfire.
If young Lady Tsubakihara made a scene, accusing SDS of surveillance, Luo Shu (her rescuer) would emerge unscathed, while Kirika (as SDS Chief) would bear the brunt.
Faced with angering either the woman's powerful backers or Japan's government, Kirika would choose the latter—at least Japan couldn't mobilise foreign troops.
Had Kirika been slower in retrieving Luo Shu from the police earlier, soldiers might have stormed in under the young lady's family orders to seize him by force.
Just as Kirika Tachibana was mentally complaining, Luo Shu's voice came through the phone:
"I just wanted to remind you that you've dropped your wallet again."
Kirika instinctively patted her pocket, found it empty, and immediately looked towards Luo Shu.
"When did you..."
At that moment, Luo Shu, standing at the apartment entrance, lightly tossed the wallet up and caught it twice before saying into the phone:
"Aren't you coming to get it?"
After a brief silence, Kirika sighed softly:
"...Keep it with you for now. Priority is dealing with the young lady in your apartment. If you can't handle it, return the wallet to me tomorrow. If you succeed, that thing can stay with you for the time being."
Though losing her lucky wallet pained her, Kirika knew this wasn't Luo Shu's fault.
It was that damned side effect of the Abyss Artefact.
The blasted wallet kept trying to reach Luo Shu—this was the second time, each attempt more ridiculous than the last. So she might as well let it go. What mattered was keeping it within their circle.
With that thought, Kirika promptly hung up, muttering irritably:
"Unbelievable. Is that boy the lovechild of Lady Luck? That damned wallet keeps ending up in his hands—it's downright shameless."
Logic aside, Kirika was genuinely exasperated.
She hadn't even opened the car door, let alone stepped out, yet the wallet had somehow fallen out and been picked up by Luo Shu. The sheer audacity of it, not even trying to hide its preference!
Losing this artefact was stomach-churning.
...
"Keep the wallet with me?"
After receiving the reply, Luo Shu glanced back at the apartment building, then chuckled and shook his head:
"Willing to take this kind of loss... Seems I've really rescued someone extraordinary."
With that remark, he pocketed the wallet, turned to unlock the door, entered the ground floor, and took the elevator straight to the third floor.
Exiting the stairwell into the corridor, Luo Shu stopped at Unit 302 and pressed the doorbell.
"Ding-dong!"
The chime rang for a while before the peephole seemed to open.
Whoever was inside took a quick look at Luo Shu and immediately swung the door open.
A bright-eyed beauty in a homely dress greeted him cheerfully:
"Please come in, Luo Shu-kun."
"Ah." Luo Shu blinked, slightly taken aback by the warmth, but quickly responded: "Then I'll intrude."
With that, he stepped past Mira Tsubakihara into the entryway.
Mira closed the door behind him, but not before flashing an 'okay' gesture towards a specific direction.
In the diagonally opposite hotel, Takina Inoue, who'd seen Mira's signal aimed her way, tensed instantly:
"Chief, we've been spotted?!"
"Not spotted. She's signalling the Thor Security Group that she's safe—so they don't snipe Luo Shu."
Beside her, Kirika lit a cigarette and remarked coolly:
"Underestimating women from major families will get you killed."
...
Meanwhile, in a higher-floor room of the same hotel.
A blond, eyepatch-wearing white man stated coldly:
"Signal received. All non-designated protection personnel evacuate per Plan B."
"YES, SIR!" came multiple replies.
"YES, SIR," echoed a fully armed soldier in Unit 301's entryway, gripping his rifle as he exchanged a glance with his teammate on the balcony, ready to provide close protection.
...
With a slightly awkward feeling of having eyes on his back, Luo Shu stiffly put on the rabbit-eared slippers.