"Of course, the maid cafe is legitimate."
Facing Luo Shu's question, Maria Naruse responded with a fox-like smile.
The maid cafe might be legitimate, but whether the Succubi inside were was another matter entirely.
Maria knew this was sophistry, but it was the only answer she could give at this moment.
After all, as a thief, she couldn't very well tell the truth to Luo Shu, the law enforcer, could she?
Luo Shu merely smiled at this response:
"Then a legitimate establishment engaging in legitimate business should be achievable, correct?"
He now looked directly into Maria's eyes, his gaze calm yet his tone brimming with amusement as he said:
"Please don't do anything that would put me in a difficult position, alright, Miss Maria Naruse?"
"You..." Maria detected the threat in Luo Shu's words and gritted her teeth in frustration.
But then, she suddenly calmed down, scoffed, and snorted disdainfully:
"To actually maintain eye contact with a High-Rank Succubus... I can't tell whether you're confident or just foolish."
Maria's pale purple eyes shimmered with an alluring glow.
Seeing Luo Shu's frozen posture, she casually untied her white robe, revealing the black leather outfit beneath.
Standing up, she turned to the stunned Utaha Kasumigaoka and said:
"My innocent fellow Succubus, this is your little lover, isn't it?"
"No, that's..." Utaha wanted to explain, but Maria waved her hand, giving her no chance.
"No need to pretend. For Succubi, the scent you've been emitting since seeing this guy answers my question well enough."
"But to fall for an SDS member? Heh, you certainly know how to have fun~"
"By the way, he's now under my mind control. Should I leave you two some... private entertainment space?"
Hearing this, Utaha's face turned as red as an apple.
Yet she managed to suppress her embarrassment enough to ask Maria:
"Why resort to direct action so quickly?"
She seemed to be explaining on someone's behalf.
In response, Maria shrugged nonchalantly:
"What choice did I have? This guy barges into the VIP Room as soon as he arrives, asking all these strange questions—well, not exactly strange, more like the kind you'd use to train a dog."
"It's obvious he came here to recruit me, expecting me to surrender just because of his official status."
"Honestly, did he think being government personnel would stop me from fighting back?"
"Actually..." Utaha appeared ready to say something, but Maria crossed her arms and casually interrupted:
"Ah, don't worry, I won't harm your little lover. At most, I'll just implant some memories favourable to us. Hmm, not preying on other Succubi's lovers is a rule we must follow after all."
"But since they've come bullying to our doorstep, isn't it reasonable for me to retaliate?"
Maria Naruse smiled sweetly as she lifted her foot, placing that slender, straight jade-like limb directly on the table right in front of Luo Shu:
"Now then, lick my toes."
"After licking them, obediently shield us before your superiors and become the protective umbrella for our shady organisation. As reward, you can tease little Utaha as much as you like~"
Maria wiggled her toes, her face wearing a thoroughly mischievous smile.
"Wait!" Utaha Kasumigaoka raised her hand to stop her.
At this, Maria said with a beaming smile:
"Relax, I won't do anything too extreme. I just want to humiliate this arrogant fellow who came swaggering in. You wouldn't begrudge me even this much, would you?"
"No, what I mean is..." Seeing Luo Shu's amused expression, Utaha covered her face: "Never mind, just don't go overboard."
Thinking this was directed at her, Maria waved her hand:
"Got it, I've no intention of poaching another's man either."
Meanwhile, Luo Shu, who was sitting on the tatam,i studied the delicate foot before him, then raised his right hand after some thought:
"Pity Utaha's present, so I shouldn't go too far either."
"Then licking a finger will do, instead."
"What?"
Maria blinked in confusion, but before she could react, she found herself kneeling on the low table of her own accord, taking Luo Shu's finger into her mouth to taste it.
"What the hell?" After completing the commanded action, Maria's expression changed dramatically as she struggled to rise, only to find all four limbs unresponsive.
Only able to move her permitted head, Maria looked up at Luo Shu in shock:
"But I definitely hypnotised you already."
"Oh? That's what I'd like to ask you."
Luo Shu gazed calmly down at the Succubus girl kneeling before him:
"When exactly did you develop the illusion that I was hypnotised?"
"What?"
Maria froze at these words. Recalling the moment their eyes met earlier, she gasped:
"Impossible! I clearly took advantage of our eye contact to invade your mental consciousness and implant suggestions. That part absolutely happened."
Hearing this, Luo Shu asked with a smile:
"Why don't you check more carefully exactly whose consciousness received those implanted suggestions?"
Maria's pupils contracted. She rapidly examined her own mental consciousness, instantly locating the foreign presence sharing the same origin as her own psychic energy.
"I hypnotised myself? How could..."
Maria was utterly dumbfounded.
How had the backdoor she implanted into Luo Shu's consciousness ended up inside herself instead?
"Seems you've finally realised."
Luo Shu wiped his saliva-dampened index finger on Maria's cheek before withdrawing his hand:
"As you said, my coming here this time was indeed like recruiting guard dogs."
Here, Luo Shu's face broke into a kindly smile:
"So would you like to apply for the position?"
"You're delusional! Let me tell you, making me submit is absolutely impossible..."
Maria Naruse clenched her teeth, raised her head, and glared at Luo Shu before finally shouting angrily:
"Woof!!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka turned her head away, both amused and pitying.
"Woof~ Woof! Woof!"
Hearing this series of barks, Luo Shu leaned against the low table and chuckled:
"It seems we've reached an agreement."