Outside the Dreamland Maid Café.
"Please come again~~"
Amidst the cheerful farewells from the maids in various outfits, Luo Shu led a visibly uncomfortable Utaha out of the café.
As they walked along the road towards the subway station, the graceful Utaha, carrying her lady's satchel, could no longer hold back her question:
"Are we really just leaving like this?"
Luo Shu paused mid-step, slowing his pace slightly as he replied:
"You mean, why I'm letting Maria Naruse go so easily?"
"Or would you prefer I did something to her inside the maid café?"
'You should do something.'
Utaha opened her mouth but remained silent, though her eyes conveyed exactly that sentiment.
Unable to resist, she muttered: "Leaving a young girl anxious is really terrible behaviour."
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Luo Shu's tone carried a hint of amusement. "As long as the mental suggestion I implanted after countering Maria Naruse remains unresolved, she won't act impulsively."
"But what if she informs other Succubi?" Utaha seemed concerned about letting the tiger return to the mountains.
"Wouldn't that be even better?"
Utaha froze at these words, staring blankly at Luo Shu's profile.
With confident laughter, Luo Shu continued: "I'm actually quite looking forward to whether she'll play the 'Hulu Brothers Rescuing Grandpa' scenario."
"Hulu Brothers Rescuing Grandpa?" Utaha looked confused.
Seeing her puzzlement, Luo Shu paused, suddenly remembering he wasn't in China anymore and that people here often couldn't follow his train of thought:
"Simply put, my goal is to draw out whoever is behind Maria Naruse."
"So you could interpret my current leniency as setting a trap."
"I see." Utaha nodded in understanding. "No wonder you didn't do anything beyond making Maria report regularly on Dreamland's situation."
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but retort:
"Like I absolutely had to do something."
While a white-haired Succubus was certainly attractive, Luo Shu didn't consider himself that desperate.
And come to think of it, did Utaha view him as a desperate person?
After this internal monologue, Luo Shu glanced at the approaching subway station and added:
"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Adjusting her satchel, Utaha's lips curled slightly:
"You mean about how my powers resemble those of a Succubus?"
She brushed her hair aside and continued:
"Succubi excel at mental manipulation - Miss Naruse explained that to me before you arrived."
"And her claim about joining the Succubus race to learn their mental techniques is indeed quite appealing."
"Though I still don't understand why Miss Naruse mistook me for a stray Succubus, the Succubus race she mentioned would count as a Class, wouldn't it?"
"More precisely, a racial Class."
Luo Shu, who had researched this beforehand in the Mysticism Encyclopaedia, nodded:
"Racial Classes typically revolve around bloodlines, developing various complex abilities."
"Elves, Succubi, yokai—various races have developed unique techniques based on their inherent bloodline traits."
"Generally, each race has its own specialised field."
"For instance, Succubi excel in mental manipulation, enjoy constructing dreams, and feed on the life essence of other beings to strengthen themselves."
"Of course, compared to some normally inheritable Classes, racial flaws are quite evident."
"Feeding on life essence, huh?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka narrowed her eyes, glancing at Luo Shu as she remarked:
"It seems I can only attempt to learn the techniques Miss Naruse mentioned rather than awakening some so-called racial bloodline."
Luo Shu's lips twitched at her words: "Why are you looking at me while saying that?"
Utaha deliberately hypothesised:
"Would a certain someone really want his Familia member to go out and feed on other men's essence?"
"If that's the case, I might actually consider changing my race."
"Alright, enough. You win." Luo Shu sighed, then added, "I'll try to find a more suitable Class for you..."
If Luo Shu were willing to sacrifice himself as Utaha's 'food source,' she might genuinely consider becoming a Succubus.
But unfortunately, Luo Shu didn't consider transforming into a Succubus a good idea. Moreover, though Utaha never voiced it outright, her resistance to altering her bloodline ran deep.
After all, according to Maria Naruse, a Succubus feeding on essence was as natural as eating a meal.
And no ordinary woman would willingly consume that sort of thing every day.
Utaha's lips curled as she probed:
"Will you be searching as the Familia patriarch? Or from what position?"
Her words might as well have been a blatant hint that she wanted him to act from a boyfriend's standpoint.
"The Familia patriarch's position, fine?"
Luo Shu rolled his eyes, thoroughly exasperated by this woman who kept dropping hints.
After saying this, he pointed at a nearby commercial building:
"If you don't like that position, we can go over there and discuss it. Then, whatever position you want, I'll oblige."
Utaha followed his finger to the hotel with a pink neon sign, blinked rapidly, then instantly turned back, her face stiff.
"I think the patriarch's position is just fine."
"The subway's here—you can leave me here."
"...Anyway, see you tomorrow."
Watching Utaha frantically grab her bag and dash into the subway station, Luo Shu scoffed in disdain:
"All talk, but when it comes down to it, she chickens out."
He glanced at the love hotel beside him, shook his head, and turned into a deserted alley.
Once inside, he fiddled with the bracelet on his right wrist, using the Astronomy Club's space as a transit point to instantly return to the Hidden Management Department's underground base. From the vast subterranean space, he took the elevator straight to the third floor.
As the elevator dinged open, Luo Shu paused mid-step, his gaze locking onto a figure leaning against a corridor pillar.
Narrowing his eyes in surprise, he murmured:
"Seems we have an uninvited guest."