In a private room of a yakiniku restaurant, SDS members were feasting on the company dime.
"Wait, Mizuki-nee! Luo Shu isn't old enough to drink yet!!"
Seeing Mizuki Nakahara cornering Luo Shu in her drunken state, Chisato Nishikigi immediately reached over to hook an arm around Mizuki's neck:
"You're just causing trouble like this!"
"What's the big deal~" The drunken Mizuki waved her hand dismissively. "As long as we don't snitch, who's going to catch us?"
"Besides, men who can't hold their liquor get looked down upon in the workplace. I'm just helping Luo Shu-kun prepare for office life."
"It's precisely because of seniors like you that workplace discrimination exists!"
Chisato kept her arm around Mizuki's neck while deftly using chopsticks to stuff a grilled meatball into her mouth.
"Hot hot hot!!"
Ignoring Mizuki's yelps, Luo Shu turned to Mika, who was sipping sake beside him:
"You were spacing out pretty hard just now. Still thinking about what happened earlier at the office?"
Luo Shu offered an apologetic smile: "No, I was just thinking about Sharon."
'Thinking' was an understatement - his primary consciousness had actually been in the alternate space of the Astronomy Club, exchanging pleasantries and information with Sharon.
Incidentally, this ability to project consciousness into another space without physically appearing was something Luo Shu had recently mastered.
The medium was the Exchange Contract attached to him.
The basic principle involved the system creating an illusory puppet in the Astronomy Club's alternate space, then using Demon Incantation to exchange and transfer partial consciousness, enabling dual-line communication.
The downside was excessive mental strain and severe distraction.
Yet it was precisely this unconventional method that allowed Luo Shu to meet with Sharon during an SDS internal gathering.
Hearing Luo Shu mention Sharon, Mika's thoughts immediately derailed:
"That Sharon Holygrail?"
"It's truly remarkable how such a powerful monster was driven away by you, Luo Shu."
Mika had since heard about Sharon's exploits after he'd been ejected from the command room, with Chisato being his informant.
"Using an assault rifle to shoot down mortar shells mid-air and detonate them... such an outrageous technique makes one suspect Sharon must possess some firearm-enhancing ability."
Mika stroked his chin skeptically:
"While theoretically hitting the shell's detonator could achieve this, using firearms to strike a high-speed projectile, penetrate its metal casing and precisely hit the internal detonator... even enhanced firearm abilities can't fully explain that."
"According to the field investigator's report, the deformation of the remaining bullets is highly unusual, with strange wear patterns on the bullet heads."
At the seat next to Mika, Takina Inoue, who had somehow produced a laptop on her lap, reported very rationally.
Chisato Nishikigi was immediately shocked: "Wait? Takina, where did that laptop come from?"
Takina looked up at Chisato and answered honestly: "I brought it from the vehicle. The one the Chief drove away."
Chisato slapped her forehead, sandwiching her head between both palms:
"Ah!! That's not what I meant! I'm asking why you're using a work laptop while we're all eating grilled meat and skewers!!"
Takina replied earnestly: "Because I was concerned about how Sharon managed it, so I asked the field investigators to look into it while considering future countermeasures."
"Oh? What's this, let me see..."
Mizuki Nakahara left her seat and walked over to Takina, glancing at the surveillance playback on screen. Watching Sharon's nimble movements dodging bullets, she squinted drunkenly and said:
"In that case, what about using those special capture nets fired from guns? The ones that go 'biu' and shoot out a net—those anti-riot net guns the police use to catch dangerous suspects. Though the net would need reinforcing."
"Well, I can't think of any other way. Without using tools to restrict Sharon's movements, guns probably won't hit her. And if she's armed, we'd all be done for except Chisato."
Hearing this, Mika frowned and cautioned: "But those nets fire too slowly. At Sharon's speed, she could easily evade the capture range. To make it work, we'd need many personnel dedicated to firing nets, and if they fail, the casualties would be severe."
"Not just that," Takina added gravely. "This operation only forced Sharon into a gunfight because the Chief used classified means to disable her strongest Abyss Artefact."
"Given that Sharon Holygrail usually engages enemies in close combat, could we assume..."
Takina's expression darkened as she said:
"That Sharon considers her marksmanship a weakness?"
"You call that a weakness?" Mizuki, now 80% sober, pointed at the screen where Sharon was dodging bullets at point-blank range.
Meanwhile, Mika crossed his arms and sighed helplessly:
"If it's someone like her, even if we restrict her with capture nets, our current methods might not be able to harm her if she can still use Abyss Artefacts in close combat..."
Watching the three of them debate fervently, Luo Shu, holding a plate, turned to Chisato, who kept piling Kobe beef into his bowl:
"Isn't it too much to put all the beef in my bowl?"
At Luo Shu's timid question, Chisato maintained a smile that looked like she was angry:
"Don't worry about those three idiots. As long as you're full, Luo Shu."
"Oh, right, there are still 5 teriyaki chicken skewers coming later. Luo Shu, you can have three, and I'll take two, okay? As for the remaining beef and yakitori, let's split the meat between us and leave none for these three workaholics!"
Hearing Chisato Nishikigi's words, Luo Shu, who loved teriyaki chicken skewers, immediately brightened up:
"Teriyaki chicken skewers? Well, since you're offering, Chisato... alright then!"
After a while, Luo Shu and Chisato Nishikigi sat side by side, enjoying their teriyaki chicken skewers while watching Mika, Mizuki Nakahara, and Takina Inoue discuss how to deal with a formidable enemy like Sharon.
Considering that Sharon was actually Luo Shu himself at that time, he was particularly cheerful as he munched on his skewers.