Café LycoReco was situated midway down a narrow alley, only wide enough for single-file traffic.
Thus, the white Lexus blocking the entrance completely obstructed the path.
"Should we go around?" Miss Kisara, who had followed Luo Shu out, asked quietly.
"No need."
Luo Shu replied before casually kicking the car door.
Just then, the Lexus' window rolled down, revealing Kirika Tachibana in sunglasses leaning out:
"Hey now, is that any way to treat your former boss?"
"You said it yourself—former boss."
Luo Shu shrugged, opening the rear door for Kisara before circling to the passenger seat.
As Luo Shu settled in, Kirika Tachibana chuckled from the driver's seat:
"How was your first day as department head?"
Luo Shu rolled his eyes at the question:
"The department is understaffed, underfunded, and even the equipment hasn't arrived, yet we've already been assigned work. How do you think I feel?"
"Hahaha~~"
Kirika Tachibana stepped on the accelerator as she laughed heartily:
"I heard Meer dumped her workload on you?"
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, exasperated:
"I only mentioned needing your cooperation to retrieve Ghoul intel from the Metropolitan Police Department, didn't I?"
"But with that alone, of course, I'd guess Meer passed the buck to you!"
Kirika's face was all smiles, clearly amused:
"Danger assessment reports on new species have always been the Intelligence Department's responsibility. When you suddenly got involved, I immediately knew Meer had offloaded it onto you."
"Got teased quite a bit, didn't you?"
Luo Shu pretended not to hear, silently fastening his seatbelt.
Yet Kirika showed no intention of letting him off, continuing playfully:
"That Meer once said, 'Lacus's man is my man too'. Given her personality, if she dumped work on you, she must have baited you with something interesting."
Realisation dawned on Luo Shu, his expression turning peculiar:
"...So you were the one who led Meer to me last night."
While Luo Shu didn't mind a beautiful girl's advances, he had been somewhat puzzled by Meer's sudden visit and flirtatious behaviour yesterday.
But if Kirika, who knew both Meer and his situation with Lacus, had stirred things between them, Meer's uninvited appearance made perfect sense.
"I merely contributed the tiniest, most insignificant nudge."
Kirika raised her right hand, pinching her thumb and forefinger together to indicate just how small her involvement was.
The culprit had confessed!
"More like a massive shove," Luo Shu couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"Well, since you're pursuing the princess in Meer's heart, as her friend, I ought to give her a heads-up, no?"
At Kirika's words, Luo Shu rolled his eyes again:
"In that case, thank you so much!"
Kirika chuckled, about to say more when a sudden chill ran down her spine.
She rubbed her arms uncomfortably, instinctively checking the rearview mirror.
Good grief - Kisara's murderous stare from the backseat made Kirika's eyelids twitch violently.
The next moment, Kisara's sweet yet slightly husky voice drifted eerily through the car:
"So... Miss Tachibana was the one who brought that thieving cat here..."
'This girl... is the yandere type...' Kirika's eyelids spasmed as she quickly addressed Luo Shu instead:
"Your training skills are quite impressive."
In just a few days, this demon had become so possessive of Luo Shu? That had to be cheating.
"Should I say 'thanks for the compliment'?"
Luo Shu propped his chin on one hand, gazing at the passing scenery outside as he deliberately changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, how much do you know about Ghouls?"
"Not much."
Kirika played along with the topic shift, aware that continuing their previous conversation might provoke Kisara:
"Just that several hospitals and crematoriums in Beika have reported corpse thefts recently."
"One of the crematoriums involved ended up compensating clients quite a bit because of this incident, so they employed some... methods to set a trap for the thieves."
"Some methods?" Luo Shu keenly noticed the subtle tone in Kirika Tachibana's voice.
"Ah, some substantial methods."
Tachibana pulled a cigarette pack from her pocket with one hand, shaking out a cigarette:
"Most crematoriums in Tokyo have Chinese backgrounds, and some maintain rather close ties with the underworld, so they acquired some older model light machine guns."
"Light machine guns?" Luo Shu's expression took on a particularly odd appearance. "Why would a crematorium even think of getting those?"
"Zombie prevention~"
Tachibana's tone was utterly casual as crimson Dying Will Flames ignited from her fingertips to light her cigarette:
"Japan happens to be one of the strongholds for Pureblood Vampires. Because of them, there's quite a population of Vampiric breeds here."
"So some well-informed crematoriums always keep weapons on hand to prevent corpses bitten by Pureblood Vampires from turning. Those that can't secure weapons generally don't last long in this business."
"In a way, you could call it an industry entry barrier."
Tachibana blew a smoke ring at this point:
"It was only after deploying those machine guns that the crematorium staff managed to kill several corpse thieves. They then sold the bodies at high prices to the stationed military and the Metropolitan Police Department, which is how we discovered the existence of a new ghoul variant."
"The Metropolitan Police Department dispatched some of their direct martial artists to set a trap and captured a few alive. That's how the existence of Ghouls came to light."
"In a way, it was an accident no one anticipated."
Luo Shu frowned at this. "The sudden emergence of Ghouls wasn't due to a large-scale Abyss Descent? There weren't any warning signs at all?"
Tachibana rolled down the window to flick ash outside, clicking her tongue:
"If there'd been warning signs, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Anyway, all detailed intelligence on Ghouls is currently held by the Metropolitan Police Department. They don't see eye-to-eye with us, so expect some difficulties obtaining information. My high rank means they won't dare give me trouble, but you should brace yourself."
Here, Tachibana shot Luo Shu a glance:
"Of course, don't go overboard - but don't let them think we're pushovers either. If they truly refuse to cooperate, just teach them a lesson."
Luo Shu sighed. "As expected, it's a troublesome assignment."
"If you encounter difficulties, just tell me directly. After all, I'm your former superior - I ought to look out for you pri..."
Tachibana's words cut off as Luo Shu interjected with a question.
"So as long as I don't cross the line, I can give them as much trouble as I want, right?"
Tachibana's foot unconsciously eased off the accelerator. She stared blankly at Luo Shu before taking a drag from her cigarette:
"I almost forgot you're Chinese..."
After a pause, she added:
"Just don't take it too far."
"Don't worry, I was a model student." Luo Shu said with amicable cheer.