Night deepened.
By around eight in the evening, within the vast grounds of Sensō-ji Temple, only the eternal lamplights and the main hall conducting memorial services remained illuminated.
Beside the white lantern bearing the character for "memorial", Luo Shu, who had just returned to the temple, lifted his head to glance at the bright light within.
After the new century, these mourning lanterns no longer used ancient lighting fixtures like candles, but rather electric bulbs designed to resemble them. Even the wicks were meticulously crafted from plastic.
From a distance, it appeared as though candle flames flickered endlessly inside the lanterns.
"The lanterns are fake, and the dead are fake too. Quite fitting."
Muttering to himself, Luo Shu swept his gaze across the lantern before turning to climb the steps. He walked a short distance to the right, arriving once more at the evening ritual site.
By now, the remains previously taken away by Master Jingnian had been returned to the main hall. The coffin lid remained wide open, placed amidst a sea of plastic white flowers.
Compared to the fake corpse, Luo Shu was naturally more concerned about the living.
He hardly needed to search before spotting Sayuri Sawamura in the hall, with Eriri lying exhausted on her lap.
Seeing this, Luo Shu stepped forward, walking across the tatami-covered floor until he stood before Sayuri.
Hearing his footsteps, the kneeling Sayuri didn't turn around. Instead, she reached out to stroke the cheek of Eriri, who was resting on her knees, and asked softly:
"Have you already sent the Chairwoman back?"
"Yes, to the Hidden Management Department's garrison. She still has many matters to attend to."
As he spoke, Luo Shu glanced at Sayuri's left side.
The rolled-up brown contract document lying there made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.
Luo Shu recognised it as a Familia contract, which was precisely why he was taken aback:
"Why have you taken this out? Hadn't you not made a decision yet?"
Sayuri paused her movements, then turned her head to give Luo Shu a reproachful look:
"I'd actually decided to sign it this morning."
Hearing this, Luo Shu immediately caught on but pretended not to understand:
"I see. So it was because of the unexpected incident that you didn't get the chance?"
"Whether certain incidents were truly unexpected... someone knows very well."
Sayuri seemed to still hold a grudge about the morning's events, complaining in this setting where only the two of them were awake:
"After all, someone like me—just an auntie—would have no one to turn to even if bullied, right? If Luo Shu were to turn the tables and claim I seduced you, many would probably believe it, wouldn't they?"
Luo Shu felt somewhat cornered by this remark.
He stepped forward, circled around the sleeping Eriri, and sat beside Sayuri, asking quietly:
"If both parties consented, can it really be called bullying?"
Sayuri merely sighed faintly in response:
"Then why don't you ask Kisara-san whether you were bullying us this morning?"
"And 'both parties'... you're excluding yourself, aren't you?"
"Uh..." Luo Shu was left speechless.
There really was no way to explain this clearly.
Fortunately, Kisara had gone to prepare supper for the night watch; otherwise, there would likely be one more person condemning Luo Shu.
Resigned, Luo Shu could only plead: "So, what does Sayuri-san want to do to punish this villain?"
"Punish you..." Sayuri blinked. "How about doing what you did to me this morning all over again?"
Luo Shu's eyes widened in shock.
"I'm joking." Sayuri giggled, waving her hand. "No matter what, I wouldn't let you do anything here~"
'You should've said so earlier, I almost took it seriously...' Luo Shu wiped his sweat internally. Before he could recover, Sayuri's smile faded as she said:
"Speaking of which, if we calculate carefully, it should be about time now, shouldn't it?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at the woman who had abruptly changed the subject, then replied:
"If the flight details you sent me this morning were correct, then Emma should have arrived in Tokyo by now and be on her way from the international airport."
"Hoho, do you believe that?" Sayuri Sawamura chuckled with amusement, her expression even carrying a hint of mockery. "As far as I can tell, she's probably never left Tokyo at all."
"Wouldn't she act out the whole performance properly?"
Luo Shu spoke with uncertainty in his tone:
"After all, according to the intel, creating a doppelganger to fly all the way from England to Tokyo shouldn't be too difficult."
After saying this, Luo Shu glanced at Sayuri Sawamura's unnatural smile and promptly shut his mouth.
Women... one moment flirting with him, the next filled with hatred... truly impossible to understand their thoughts.
Shaking his head, Luo Shu looked at Sayuri Sawamura and then asked:
"Do you need me to restrain Emma?"
"Didn't you say it would be pointless? After all, it's just a doppelganger, isn't it?"
Sayuri picked up the pen from the floor with her left hand, signing her name on the contract while smiling:
"Rather than capturing and torturing her to inflict physical pain, I'd much prefer to crush her spirit—make her regret everything she's done..."
"So, during this time, Luo Shu-kun, I'll be ruthlessly using you as a tool!"
Luo Shu watched as Sayuri finished signing, then smiled wryly:
"You've already signed the Familia contract right in front of me. If I didn't cooperate, wouldn't that make me a rather heartless leader?"
No sooner had he spoken than Luo Shu realised signing the Familia contract would automatically pull her into the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System. He couldn't help but glance at Eriri, who was lying on Sayuri's lap, before saying with a strange expression:
"Sayuri, you... might want to wait a bit before signing?"
But it was already too late.
At that moment, Sayuri was mentally browsing the information within the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System.
Thanks to the knowledge Yukino Yukinoshita had input into the system's common sense, and thanks to Sharon designing the interface with reference to features from apps like LINE and QQ, Sayuri quickly grasped how the system worked.
Within seconds, she saw the messages in the Divine Pantheon's main group chat.
[Eriri: Oh god!! My mum is flirting with Luo Shu right in front of me!!]
[Eriri: Utaha, Yukinoshita, help! Save me! Should I wake up or keep pretending to sleep?!!]
[Utaha Kasumigaoka: If you can sleep, just sleep. Pretending is risky, and waking up would be awkward. So I suggest knocking yourself out—maybe punch your own neck?]
[Nia: Common sense says you should rip off your clothes and yell, "I want in too!"]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: I'm certain no country or culture in this world has that kind of "common sense."]
[Tabane Shinonono: Eriri, drop your coordinates! I'll check your situation with the Zeus System! Let me see the live action!]
[Mira Tsubakihara: Let me see!]
[Chisato Nishikigi: Let me see +1]
[Meer: Let me see +2]
[Sharon: Let me see +3]
[Sayuri Sawamura: ???]
The chat interface seemed to pause for a moment before a flurry of question marks and exclamation marks suddenly flooded the group.
[Eriri: ?!!!]
[Utaha Kasumigaoka: ?!!]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: My condolences.]
[Nia Honjo: Wuhu~ The show begins!!]