"The ghouls you mentioned - are they creatures that feed on corpses?"
Hearing Meer bring up ghouls, Luo Shu felt compelled to ask further.
Having consumed too much media, Luo Shu had plenty of ghoul-related settings in his head, though none of the races defined as ghouls were particularly benevolent.
"Correct~"
Meer pulled over her high-backed chair, then cheerfully propped her pinkish-white feet, clad in roller skates, onto Luo Shu's lap.
Luo Shu glanced down at her feet but made no comment about her behaviour.
Meanwhile, Meer continued with a smile:
"Currently, the ghouls in this world can be broadly categorised into three types."
"There's the Vampiric breed, primarily consisting of humans mutated after being fed on by pure-blooded Vampires. Then there's the Dead Apostle breed, recently discovered in Europe. Lastly, there's the new strain found in Tokyo - according to sporadic capture reports, they seem to call themselves Ghouls."
"Additionally, there have been ghoul reports from South America and Australia, but as they haven't formed significant populations, they remain unnamed."
Hearing terms like Vampiric breed, Dead Apostle breed and Ghouls, Luo Shu's expression showed faint bewilderment:
"...So there are actually this many types of ghouls?"
Leaving aside the Vampiric breed for now, were the Dead Apostles the Twenty-Seven Ancestors from his memory? And the Ghouls - were they the Ghouls from Tokyo Ghoul?
Was this world really not full of holes?
Noticing Luo Shu's confusion, Meer pressed her index finger to her lips and pondered:
"In the past - about 30 years ago - this world didn't have so many strange lifeforms. But with the continuous Abyss Descents, many species suddenly appeared in our world."
"Incidentally, these Ghouls are believed to be products of a large-scale Abyss Descent."
"Large-scale Abyss Descent?" Hearing this term, Luo Shu couldn't help but frown.
At this moment, Meer boldly retrieved two 100-yen coins from her cleavage, drawing Luo Shu's involuntary glance towards her treasure trove.
Seeing Luo Shu's direct gaze, Meer couldn't suppress a laugh:
"Let me use these two coins to explain."
"Suppose this 100-yen coin represents our world."
Meer placed one coin on the back of her right hand, then raised the left-hand coin:
"And this one represents another world connected by the Abyss."
She overlapped the two coins and explained:
"Because of the Abyss, the two coins overlap. Within this overlapping contact surface, many things - centred around one particular element - appeared en masse in our world."
"Such incidents are referred to as large-scale Abyss Descents."
"During these major descents, the arriving entities are usually quite bizarre. Sometimes it's an entire species, like the Ghouls discovered this time."
"Other times, it might be an entire city, or even a nation collectively descending."
At this point, Meer paused and said:
"Though officially covered up, there have actually been national-level Abyss Descents in Europe, Africa and the Americas within the past thirty years."
"Notable examples include the Vermillion Empire in Northern Europe, the Hazelrink Principality, and the Holy Britannian Empire in South America."
"Entire nations can descend..." Luo Shu's expression turned exasperated upon hearing this: "How on earth do you cover up phenomena of that scale?!"
Meer thought seriously for a moment before replying: "Apparently, the UN Security Council's permanent members used a Grade 5 Abyss Artefact under their control to alter common human perception."
"But I don't know the specifics of which artefact that was. It seems to be classified beyond top secret - even Chairwoman Lacus only remembers information about that artefact during specific periods."
"In short, large-scale Abyss Descent events keep occurring. But through each nation's efforts, these anomalies are modified into common knowledge to protect the world of regular humans."
As she spoke, Meer suddenly leaned in, her legs practically straddling Luo Shu's waist as she sat directly on his lap.
The sensation was quite firm and springy - at least that's how Luo Shu perceived it.
Moreover, a faint fragrance of shower gel drifted to his nose, remarkably similar to Lacus's scent. Come to think of it, did these two use the same brand?
"Hey!" Luo Shu was flustered by this sudden proximity. Only when he noticed Meer starting to slide down did he hurriedly reach out to steady her, preventing her from slipping right off his lap.
Meanwhile, Meer - who had initiated this bold move - whispered very, very softly into Luo Shu's ear:
"Rumour has it that maintaining the regular world is one of the activation conditions for an ultra-high-grade Abyss Artefact. That's why the UN strives so hard to preserve social order. Of course, this is just personal hearsay - consider it a free bonus~"
Having these secrets whispered directly into his ear, Luo Shu exhaled sharply and deliberately wrapped an arm around Meer's waist, both to prevent her slipping and to take advantage of the situation:
"So what exactly are you trying to say?"
Seeing this, Meer looped both arms around Luo Shu's neck and clung to him:
"The Hidden Management Department's duty is to recover Abyss Artefacts and determine whether beings from Abyss Descents require supervision. So technically, the Ghoul situation should be your responsibility."
"And then?"
Luo Shu showed no surprise at Meer's words, as these responsibilities had been established between him and Lacus:
"You deliberately mentioned all this - what point are you making?"
At this, Meer curled her lips and rubbed her cheek against Luo Shu's:
"This is a test."
"To assess the Ghouls' threat level and determine whether they should be contained or eliminated."
"Consider it my personal challenge for you, Luo Shu-kun."
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but frown and scoff:
"Do you really think I would accept such a ridiculous test?"
"Don't forget, in terms of departmental authority, I'm actually your equal, SDS's Rain Guardian and Intelligence Division Chief, Miss Meer."
Hearing Luo Shu say this, Meer playfully blinked and responded:
"I once discussed with Councillor Lacus that if she ever found someone she loved, I'd marry along with her as part of the dowry."
Hearing this, Luo Shu instinctively said, "There's such a good thing?"
Meer gave Luo Shu a reproachful look:
"As expected, Luo Shu-kun is also a fickle man~"
'You're clearly tempting me with yourself and Lacus, yet you blame me for being fickle?'
Luo Shu looked at Meer's face so close to his, both tempted and speechless, while inwardly cursing the minx more frequently.
Before Luo Shu could react, Meer cheerfully pecked his right cheek, then jumped out of his embrace like a little fox who'd succeeded in stealing chicken, slipping away with her hands behind her back:
"Since you'll be my future partner, I want you to show me your ability to protect me. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
Her roller skates left sleek marks on the ground as Meer leapt like a swallow to the window, grabbing the frame and pulling down her wide military cap with her back to Luo Shu:
"Whether to accept the test is up to you, Luo Shu-kun. Of course, completing it would earn you a special reward~"
"For example, introducing Luo Shu-kun to the adult world could be one such reward."
Meer winked at Luo Shu and blew him a kiss:
"Well then, that settles it."
She grabbed the window ledge, jumped onto it, glanced at the doorway, then smiled at Luo Shu:
"I won't delay your time comforting the little kitten any longer."
"See you next time~"
With those words, Meer leapt into the air, her roller skates erupting with azure Dying Will Flames.
Propelled by this force, the girl soared like a swallow towards distant high-rises.
"That woman..."
Luo Shu watched Meer's receding figure in the sky, touched his cheek still moist from her kiss, sighed, and turned towards the door.
At the doorway, Kisara stood with hollow eyes, her smile radiant as a flower.
"Shu, who was that woman stealing kisses just now?"
"Why isn't she in the common knowledge you gave me? Can you explain?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu slapped his cheek and sighed deeply in resignation:
"That minx... if she knew she'd cause me trouble, she shouldn't have kissed me!!"