Returning to the apartment building, Luo Shu unlocked the door with his fingerprint, took the elevator to the third floor, and soon arrived at the entrance of Room 303.
As he pressed his finger to the lock to open the door, he pulled out his phone and glanced at the time.
"11:32... almost midnight already."
Recalling the hectic day, Luo Shu couldn't help but sigh.
"School during the day was one thing, but then I had to scheme to get Natsuki Minamiya to tutor me and Utaha. After that, I got involved in the operation against Sharon..."
Reflecting on his first SDS operation tonight, Luo Shu's lips twitched slightly.
Though he had indeed been the main force early on, facing Sharon alone in the narrow hallway of the villa, the latter half had turned into a joint pursuit between the SDS and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Of course, thanks to his efforts, Sharon Holygrail hadn't been captured—instead, she had counterattacked Ryōko Yakushiji and broken through the encirclement.
Luo Shu silently mocked himself internally. He didn't feel much regret over helping Sharon.
If Kirika Tachibana had still been in command, with Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue as the main operatives, he might not have intervened.
But precisely because Ryōko Yakushiji had interfered, the SDS's stance on capturing Sharon had shifted rapidly, subtly leaning toward letting her escape.
Taking advantage of this, Luo Shu had covertly assisted Sharon in breaking through the encirclement. Though his methods had been a bit excessive, there had been no fatalities—just a few gunshot wounds at most.
Come to think of it, the trace of Succubus Blood he'd forced Ryōko Yakushiji to ingest, while minimal, could still form a connection with the Demon Heart. But without reinforcement, it might only be usable once or twice.
Tch. One usage from the heir of a major conglomerate? Should he find an opportunity to deepen the corruption?
Luo Shu certainly wasn't going to go easy on Ryōko Yakushiji, who had left such a terrible first impression. If he could exploit her one more time, he would.
After all, Luo Shu considered himself a very petty person. He wouldn't kill someone over an arrogant remark or declare they'd "courted death," but he had no qualms about tripping them up.
Should he try manipulating Ryōko Yakushiji into investigating the sealed demon that Executive Yakushiji was after?
On second thought, better not. Sharon was already handling that investigation. Using Ryōko Yakushiji so eagerly right after contaminating her with Succubus Blood felt like a waste...
With these thoughts in mind, Luo Shu stepped into the apartment. As he took off his shoes at the entrance and was about to put on his indoor slippers, his gaze paused, fixing on a pair of neatly arranged purple high heels beside them.
"These shoes... could it be..."
A subtle possibility crossed Luo Shu's mind. He hastily slipped on his slippers and hurried into the living room with a series of rapid footsteps.
When he saw the woman lying on the sofa, her head resting on a cushion with glossy orange hair spilling across it, Luo Shu couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated.
"Seriously? Has she been here all day?"
Indeed, the woman sleeping soundly on the sofa was none other than Mira Tsubakihara, Luo Shu's next-door neighbour and landlady.
"While it's certainly a surprise to come home and find a beautiful woman sleeping in my house, this isn't exactly the kind of surprise I wanted..."
Luo Shu scratched his head at the thought.
It went without saying that Mira Tsubakihara's whereabouts would undoubtedly be monitored by her family. If nothing else, several of the young lady's bodyguards currently resided in this very apartment building.
Considering this, there was absolutely no way the secret of Mira sleeping here could be kept hidden.
"So in all likelihood, to certain zaibatsu bosses or members of the Tsubakihara family, I must already appear as some opportunist who latched onto this young lady by playing the hero?"
Faced with this possibility, Luo Shu found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
Happy? There wasn't much to be happy about. Unhappy? Well... having a beautiful woman feel so comfortable being close to him did stir a tiny bit of secret delight in Luo Shu's heart.
"You're really something else."
With a sigh, Luo Shu stepped forward and crouched by the sofa. Gently sliding one arm behind Miss Mira's back and the other beneath her knees, he lifted her up.
Prepared to exert some effort, Luo Shu was surprised to find he could lift her with ease, muttering in astonishment:
"Lighter than expected..."
Luo Shu strongly suspected the girl in his arms couldn't weigh more than fifty kilograms - yet despite such slight weight, her figure was...
His gaze drifted slightly towards Mira Tsubakihara's chest. Hmm, certainly enough to feed a football team.
Stealing another glance and taking a quick sniff - yes, the familiar scent of his usual brand of shower gel. Had this woman actually bathed in his bathroom?
Luo Shu shivered internally before hurriedly averting his eyes, silently cursing himself for having lustful thoughts but no courage as he carried Mira Tsubakihara towards the study...
"It's not that I don't dare, I just don't like taking advantage of people's vulnerable moments."
Muttering excuses to placate his own desires, Luo Shu slowly carried the lovely burden into the study.
His study was equipped with a single bed and necessary bedding; in the past, when exhausted from gaming on his computer, he'd often sleep there, too lazy to move further.
Since she was part of his Familia, Luo Shu naturally couldn't leave Miss Mira sleeping on the sofa. Doing so would have left him with a guilty conscience.
Using his foot to flip open the blanket, he lay her down. Considering Mira Tsubakihara was already wearing a casual home dress, Luo Shu saw no need to undress her, simply tucking her in before quietly retreating from the room.
With a soft click, the door closed.
At that moment, Mira Tsubakihara, now covered by light blue striped bedding, swiftly opened her eyes. After scanning the doorway, she began taking deep, quiet breaths, whispering:
"That scared me to death."
In truth, Mira had woken the moment Luo Shu lifted her, but the awkwardness of the position had compelled her to maintain the pretence of sleep.
On one hand, she hadn't known how to explain to Luo Shu - her god - why she'd spent the entire day in his home. On the other hand, she'd seen it as an opportunity to quickly assess Luo Shu's character...
For now, Luo Shu had passed this character test, albeit in a manner even Mira Tsubakihara found excessively naive.
Mira Tsubakihara's cheeks flushed slightly as she gripped the edge of the bedsheet, pulling it up to cover half her face.
"Doesn't want to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable position... huh?"
"Ahhhh!!"
A mortified shriek escaped from beneath the bedsheet.
...
Meanwhile, outside the study door.
Luo Shu leaned against the door, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead:
"She really was awake!"
"Damn, was that a test or just an accident?"
He privately suspected it might have been both. Still, he couldn't help feeling grateful for his recently heightened sensitivity, which had allowed him to detect Mira's feigned sleep.
Thank goodness he hadn't done anything reckless earlier—otherwise, he might have crossed a line he couldn't come back from.
At this thought, Luo Shu glanced back towards the study where Mira Tsubakihara was and sighed:
"Women..."
Shaking his head, he headed towards his bedroom.
"Time to brush my teeth, wash up, and sleep. I'm exhausted~"