April 20th.
At 7 am, when dawn had just broken, Luo Shu had already arrived at the Sawamura residence.
Or rather, he'd actually slept there overnight.
With him were Utaha Kasumigaoka, Kisara, and the recently arrived Megumi Kato.
The early hour was because Luo Shu had been invited to attend that day's funeral.
"Come to think of it, this is my first time participating in something like this... any taboos I should know about?"
With time to spare and not being directly involved, Luo Shu was playing cards with Megumi and Kisara.
"Wearing hemp clothes, white cloth around the wrist? Then, watching monks or priests chant scriptures?"
Kisara played a pair of threes, brazenly sitting in Luo Shu's lap while openly showing her cards to him, the landlord.
"Those are Chinese customs, probably from my hometown. It's different here, right?"
As he spoke, Luo Shu added:
"Kisara, your funeral knowledge seems entirely based on what you think I know, doesn't it?"
"Seems that way..."
Kisara secretly slipped a black joker into Luo Shu's hand to match his red joker, then peeked at Megumi's calmly composed face opposite them:
"Does Megumi know anything about this?"
"Well..." Megumi, wearing a black quasi-mourning dress, tilted her head slightly before whispering: "I think what we're attending today is actually the wake before tomorrow's formal ceremony."
"Around 8 pm, the high monk will chant scriptures. Friends and relatives who can't attend tomorrow's formal ceremony will make their final farewells tonight."
"Generally, only very close friends and family participate in the wake."
"By tomorrow's formal funeral and farewell ceremony, it's basically only immediate family who attend..."
"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics myself."
Listening to Megumi Kato's soft voice, Luo Shu held his cards and stroked his chin thoughtfully:
"Isn't that already quite comprehensive?"
"So we only need to attend tonight's wake?" Kisara tilted her head in confusion, pondering: "Also, wouldn't it be problematic for me to attend the high monk's prayer ceremony?"
She was a demon, after all. A demon attending a prayer ceremony... seemed somewhat inappropriate.
"That part isn't clear."
Taking advantage of everyone's distraction from the card game, Megumi calmly played three mismatched pairs - fours, sixes and eights - then silently looked at her four aces before asking Luo Shu:
"Speaking of which, Director, you've been invited to tomorrow's formal funeral too, right?"
"I was invited." Luo Shu nodded, his expression somewhat complicated.
After all, at tomorrow's funeral attended only by family and close friends, whether Sayuri Sawamura would cause trouble was almost predictable.
"So most likely I'll be spending the whole night here tonight."
The wake itself didn't concern Luo Shu much. What concerned him was Enigma's possible appearance tonight, and most importantly, his meeting with La Folia.
These were the major issues needing attention.
As for tomorrow's formal funeral, that would be tomorrow's problem.
"That may be so..." Kisara reached out to play a pair of twos for Luo Shu, muttering: "But when there isn't even a real deceased, why must we waste so much time?"
More importantly, she felt uneasy about Luo Shu staying overnight at the Sawamura residence!
Eriri was one thing, but what about that woman, Sayuri Sawamura? The way she looked at Shu-kun seemed very suspicious...
Would Shu-kun develop feelings for a widow? Dealing with those stray cats was bad enough - would she have to guard against married women, too?
With these inexplicable worries, Kisara glanced at the remaining pair of twos in her hand and sighed:
"I'll pass. Your turn, Megumi."
"Four aces, game over. Commoners win." Megumi played her four cards, showing her empty hands as she spoke calmly.
"Eh? Wait, you only had four cards left? Strange, I thought you had many more?"
Kisare looked at her own cards, then Luo Shu's, then Megumi's empty hands, wondering if she'd misremembered the count.
"It really was just four left. Perhaps you miscounted, Kisara."
Megumi said evenly, tilting her head slightly:
"Speaking of which, shouldn't Senior Utaha have finished doing Eriri's makeup by now?"
At that moment, by the makeshift dressing table on the other side of the living room, Utaha Kasumigaoka was holding makeup tools with a troubled expression. Hearing the remark, she replied without looking up: "It's a bit troublesome. I can't seem to make Eriri's complexion look properly haggard..."
After saying this, Utaha couldn't help clicking her tongue:
"Even though it's your father's funeral, with that complexion and expression, Eriri, you look like you've won the lottery!"
Hearing this, Eriri, who'd already been irritated from being used as a mannequin while Utaha smeared makeup on her face, immediately flared up:
"Hey, you gloomy woman! How dare you slander me like that?!"
"I was extremely sad earlier, okay?!"
"But given what my father... no, my mother... actually, never mind. That woman's situation... I really can't cry about it now."
Upon hearing this, Utaha rolled her beautiful eyes: "That's exactly why I'm trying to make your complexion look paler!"
Growing impatient, Utaha added:
"If all else fails, you could just go to the bathroom and 'self-regulate' three or four times. That should simulate the weakened look well enough."
"Eh? EH?!"
Eriri stared dumbfounded at Utaha's outrageous suggestion, her brain practically short-circuiting.
Do you even realise what you just said?
Just then, Megumi Kato approached with her hands behind her back and asked curiously:
"Do you need help?"
"Fine, Megumi, try to make her look more haggard."
As she spoke, Utaha glanced at Eriri and warned:
"You should think of something, too, Sawamura. Otherwise, if you burst out laughing at your father's funeral tonight, it'll be a huge problem."
"Eh?" Eriri hurriedly touched her cheeks, confused. "Is my smile that obvious?"
Utaha turned to look at someone, then remarked:
"Ever since someone told you this morning that a suitable Class had been found and they were working on a solution, that grin hasn't left your face!"
Hearing this, Eriri guiltily glanced at Luo Shu. Noticing he happened to be looking at her too, she quickly averted her gaze:
"Fine, I get it. I'll try to control myself. Just give me some time to adjust."
At this point, Luo Shu addressed them both:
"If nothing works, Utaha, just hypnotise Eriri later. Try not to let her become a liability during the funeral."
"I understand." Utaha Kasumigaoka sighed and then began contemplating how to hypnotise Eriri into appearing heartbroken.
So, what kind of interesting suggestion should she plant in Sawamura?
Utaha Kasumigaoka thought with barely concealed excitement.
At the same time, Luo Shu patted Kisara. After she rose from his embrace with a puzzled look, he also stood up and said:
"While there's still time, I'll go check if Mrs. Sayuri is ready."
Hearing this, Kisara immediately displayed an indescribably complicated expression.
Right then, Luo Shu said calmly:
"Kisara, come with me."
Kisara's face instantly brightened, brimming with joy as she replied:
"Alright, Shu-kun~"
Led by Luo Shu, the two bid farewell to the others and headed towards Sayuri Sawamura's room.