Café LycoReco
"Welcome! Oh, it's Luo Shu~"
Mizuki Nakahara's customer-service smile immediately relaxed when she saw Luo Shu. She casually pointed towards the back:
"Your reserved spot is through the staff area past the kitchen—third door on the left."
With a teasing grin, she added:
"Honestly, you've got some nerve making three beauties wait this long. I'd recommend ordering some sundaes as an apology, or you're in for trouble."
"Couldn't be helped. There was an incident on the way, but it's sorted now."
As he spoke, Luo Shu closed the café door behind him. His eyes swept over the female customers still occupying half the seats before he nodded at Mizuki and headed towards the kitchen. Passing the busy Mika and Chisato Nishikigi, he called out:
"Chisato, four sundaes please!"
"Got it, leave it to me~"
Luo Shu lifted the curtain and entered the back area, passing the basement entrance until he reached the third door. He raised his hand and knocked.
Knock knock
"Come in."
Hearing the familiar voice, Luo Shu took a breath and pushed the door open.
"You're late."
In the Japanese-style room, Kirika Tachibana sat casually on the tatami, giving Luo Shu a sidelong glance:
"Procrastination doesn't suit you."
Natsuki Minamiya glanced at Kirika Tachibana at the sound but remained silent, while Lacus smiled without saying anything.
Faced with this scene, Luo Shu could only apologise and explain:
"Sorry, there was a slight incident before coming here."
Kirika raised an eyebrow at his words but unsurprisingly remarked:
"Oh? For you to call it an incident, you must have noticed the issue in Akihabara, right?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu was the one surprised: "You all knew about the maid cafe run by a Succubus in Akihabara?"
"Eh? Run by a Succubus? That part we didn't know."
Kirika blinked at Luo Shu's words, shaking her head:
"I only knew Akihabara had issues, but not the specifics. After all, digging too deep there would make things awkward for everyone involved."
This answer made Luo Shu's expression turn peculiar.
"By 'everyone', you mean..."
"Russia's KGB, China's NSB, America's FBI, England's MI6 – they likely all have operations there."
Natsuki Minamiya sipped her black tea, calmly stating:
"In short, it's equivalent to an international trade zone. That should help you understand?"
At this point, Luo Shu naturally grasped the situation, his expression turning odd:
"So the Abyss trade centre is in Akihabara?"
"To be precise, it's the internationally recognised, relatively safe portion. The unacknowledged part would be in Beika Town, next to Nerima Ward. Many interesting people live there."
Lacus held her matcha tea, smiling as she explained.
'So Beika Town's involved too? Is this the depth of Japan's Little Gotham? Truly worthy of being the Eastern crime capital,' Luo Shu couldn't help but muse internally.
"Superintendent Juzo Megure in Beika Town must have his hands full."
"Not exactly. The incidents caused by those people fall under Japan's Public Security Bureau. That chubby superintendent isn't really involved."
Kirika waved her hand dismissively before casually adding:
"Compared to the troublemakers in Beika Town who can be arrested at will, Akihabara's issues are more troublesome."
"Tch, letting a Succubus open a maid cafe in Akihabara? Natsuki-chan, your people have gotten lazy, haven't they?"
Natsuki rolled her eyes: "Don't add such nicknames after my name. At least use the honorific 'Senior'."
"Besides, I merely collaborate with the Onmyou Agency – I'm not their superior. Why call them 'my people'?"
"Because teasing you is fun." Kirika grinned mischievously.
As she teased Natsuki, Lacus patted the seat beside her, gesturing for Luo Shu to sit there.
Luo Shu obediently took the seat beside Lacus before asking:
"So Akihabara is a semi-regulated zone?"
"Pretty much. After all, you can't exactly stop overseas cosplay enthusiasts from making pilgrimages here to buy anime merchandise, can you?"
"Even if said anime merchandise is slightly dangerous or... unusually shaped, since it's anime-related, it's perfectly normal, right?"
Kirika's tone was full of amusement as she spoke.
"Speaking of which, why do the news media here love to portray otaku as suspects so much? It's partly making up for those shady characters who infiltrate their ranks!"
"If they don't stigmatise the entire group and warn ordinary people to stay away, managing special incidents would be difficult."
'Since those trading Abyss Artefacts often disguise themselves as otaku, Japan's authorities outright feed the public information that otaku are dangerous perverts... What a scummy move.'
Luo Shu silently mourned for the normal otaku in his heart for a few seconds.
Just as he was mourning, Lacus beside him asked curiously:
"By the way, Luo Shu-kun, were you just at a maid café?"
Before Luo Shu could respond, Kirika Tachibana teased:
"Wow, my little princess, that's quite the brutal question. How's a guy supposed to answer something like that?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu, who had been about to respond, suddenly realised the implication.
A girl you somewhat fancy, asking if you've been to a maid café? Wasn't this practically a death trap of a question?
"Eh?" Lacus blinked, then gave Kirika Tachibana a helpless look. "I just wanted to ask the name of the maid café."
"That's not really a place suitable for you," Natsuki Minamiya casually remarked before adding, "It would frighten the Succubi."
'The SDS Supreme Council Chairwoman dining at a Succubus-run maid café would indeed create quite the delicate misunderstanding...' Luo Shu nodded in silent agreement.
However, seeing Lacus actually concerned about Succubus matters made Luo Shu suddenly alert:
"Speaking of which, is the reason you called me here also related to Succubi?"