Toyogasaki High School.
Walking behind Natsuki Minamiya, Luo Shu once again felt the weight of 'envious and hateful' stares.
With his increasingly sharpened senses lately, he could clearly hear murmurs like:
"He's already got that Kasumigaoka junior, and now he's targeting the new Natsuki-sensei too?"
"Just a third-year delinquent transfer student... damn it, so jealous!"
"Why would Natsuki-sensei be with that third-year delinquent transfer student? He should just stay alone..."
"She only just started substitute teaching. Is this legal loli already being taken?"
Luo Shu turned his head, observing Natsuki's petite back. For a fleeting moment, he had the strange illusion of being led around by a younger sister.
Of course, he'd never had a sister - not in this life, nor his previous one.
"I heard when you first entered high school, you were isolated by classmates for being a transfer student. So you beat them up, then got friends from Chinatown to ambush them outside school?"
Natsuki, walking ahead, seemed to know all the details about Luo Shu's past:
"Speaking of which, those Chinatown friends - they're fellow countrymen who came to this nation and joined gangs, right?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu didn't deny it, merely replying calmly:
"When away from home, one relies on friends; when abroad, one relies on fellow countrymen. Perfectly normal. As long as they're not the kind to scam their own people."
Overseas, the people who scam Chinese the most are other Chinese - you never know which dynasty their ancestors emigrated in.
After all, there were plenty of Qing dynasty remnants abroad, as well as some Ming dynasty holdouts. Given this, Luo Shu actually avoided fellow countrymen unless absolutely necessary.
The reason he could find 'friends' willing to ambush people was because Luo Shu's late parents had been executives sent abroad from their hometown.
Companies that could arrange overseas postings were naturally Chinese-run, and in Luo Shu's Fujian hometown, business was all about forming factions. There were always loose connections between major corporations and powerful gangs.
This was how Luo Shu came to know a few 'connected individuals'.
Thanks to one small ambush orchestrated with these 'connected individuals' during his school enrollment, Luo Shu successfully became Toyogasaki High School's most dangerous figure - but also thereby avoided Japan's most repulsive form of school bullying.
To some extent, the Luo Shu before his memories awakened could also be considered someone who understood the principle of give and take.
"It must have been tough, being alone abroad."
Natsuki Minamiya, walking ahead, spoke without turning to face Luo Shu.
Hearing this, Luo Shu's smile remained unchanged as he deflected with double the force: "Are you talking about yourself, Natsuki-chan?"
Natsuki Minamiya, walking ahead, paused for a second or two before resuming her steps and calmly changing the subject:
"I heard you've collected an Abyss Artefact? Have you appraised its hazard level yet?"
"Appraised? Hazard level?"
Luo Shu now wore a puzzled expression—though it was half-feigned, as he genuinely didn't understand what Natsuki Minamiya meant by 'hazard level'.
Natsuki Minamiya, still with her back to him, seemed to sense his confusion and explained plainly:
"Simply put, it's a classification system for gauging the danger level of Abyss Artefacts, defined through collaboration by special departments across various countries."
As she continued walking, Natsuki Minamiya added in a quieter voice:
"Level 1 is safe for use—harmless. The abilities in this category vary wildly, often bizarre, but the artefacts themselves are secure with minimal side effects, making them suitable for regular use."
"Level 2 can be partially used but requires supervision, as they're capable of causing large-scale destruction."
"Level 3 is prohibited from use in principle and must be strictly guarded, posing a 'city-level' threat."
"Level 4 is banned outright—no use, no inspection. Only national leaders are informed of their existence, with only their serial numbers disclosed to the UN's five permanent members. This is currently the highest hazard rating."
After this explanation, Natsuki Minamiya's gaze shifted to the ruby ring on Luo Shu's right hand—something no one else had noticed:
"Based on the information deliberately leaked by that Seven-Star Demon Hunter who was repelled yesterday, the Demon Heart you're wearing should be a Level 2 Abyss Artefact."
'Deliberately leaked by a Seven-Star Demon Hunter? Then how do you know it was deliberate...'
Luo Shu frowned at this before glancing curiously at Natsuki Minamiya:
"Was it you who repelled that Seven-Star Demon Hunter yesterday, Natsuki-chan?"
"How many times must I tell you? Drop the '-chan'."
Natsuki Minamiya turned her head slightly, shooting Luo Shu a stern glare as she snapped:
"If you don't want me exposing that the thing on your hand is a fake, you'd better address me properly as 'Natsuki-sensei' from now on—or at the very least, 'Ms Natsuki'. Understood?"
Luo Shu, with a death wish, replied:
"Got it, Natsuki-chan. Understood, Natsuki-chan."
Natsuki Minamiya's eyes sharpened.
At this, Luo Shu quickly added: "We're off-campus now, Natsuki-chan."
Meaning he'd behave and call her 'sensei' while at school.
Hearing this, Natsuki Minamiya immediately grasped his implication and huffed:
"Off-campus doesn't count either. Uniformly address me as 'sensei', understood?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luo Shu hastily agreed before 'confusedly' eyeing his ring again. "But, Sensei, you said this is a fake? Is it really?"
Hearing Luo Shu's words, Natsuki Minamiya turned her head and gave him a serious look, as if verifying whether he was lying.
"I forgot to mention earlier that the blue flame representing the spirit will subtly waver when someone lies."
"Really?" Luo Shu, with the completely motionless blue flame above his head, put on an astonished expression.
Natsuki Minamiya glanced at the unchanging blue flame above Luo Shu's head, chuckled, and said with some delight:
"A genius, perhaps?"
"Alright, stop dawdling here. If you don't want an earful from your superior, you'd better follow me quickly."
Upon hearing this, Luo Shu promptly quickened his pace to catch up with Natsuki Minamiya, heading straight for Café LycoReco through the nearest alley.
...
Ding-ling—
The pushed-open door chimed crisply under the wind chime's effect.
"Sorry, we're closed today... Huh? Luo Shu?"
Chisato Nishikigi, clad in a deep red kimono and holding a broom, apologised towards the entrance before immediately recognising Luo Shu. She tilted her head and said:
"You got the news too?"
"What news?" Luo Shu, now inside the shop, gave Chisato a puzzled look, clearly confused.
At that moment, Natsuki Minamiya, who had followed Luo Shu in, calmly remarked:
"Chief Tachibana wouldn't dream of putting this guy to work just yet."
With that, Natsuki swept a glance over Chisato and added:
"You seem to be in good health, Chisato."
"Eh? Natsuki-chan!!" Chisato's face lit up with joy upon seeing Natsuki, and she immediately reached out to hug her: "Wow~~ So you're the teacher Big Sister found for Luo Shu!!"
"Indeed." Natsuki replied while attempting to extricate herself from Chisato's embrace: "Alright, don't cling so close. Standing on tiptoe is tiring."
Witnessing this, Luo Shu turned to Takina Inoue, who was holding a feather duster nearby, and asked curiously: "They know each other?"
Takina explained:
"When we first arrived here, the response team we encountered was led by Chief Tachibana and Natsuki-sensei."
"But after some incidents nearly caused Chief Tachibana to fall out with the Metropolitan Police Department, we rarely saw them."
Pausing to think, Takina added, "Counting the time, it's been nearly half a year now?"
Luo Shu's expression turned rather peculiar upon hearing this:
'Such a coincidence?'
Unnoticed by Luo Shu, Natsuki, after freeing herself from Chisato's embrace, called out towards the kitchen to a familiar face brewing coffee:
"So then, Kirika Tachibana, what's the actual situation now?"
"What situation are you referring to?" Kirika picked up a coffee cup, smiling as she responded.
Natsuki's gaze sharpened as she scrutinised Kirika carefully before stating:
"Where exactly was that document containing the Demon Incantation, sent off by the deceased Demon Warlock, delivered to?"