"What what? A phoenix feather? Really?"
Chisato Nishikigi, overhearing Luo Shu and Kurumi's conversation, came running over in her waitress kimono, eyeing the feather on the table with curiosity:
"Wow! It looks so pretty~ The legendary phoenix must be a gorgeous bird, right?"
"Chisato, the point isn't whether the feather is pretty or not."
Takina Inoue, now wearing a blue waitress kimono with twin tails, walked over with one hand on her hip:
"The real issue is that a mere bishop possessed something like this. That's the big problem."
"Was it personal property? Or has the Phenex Society become so wealthy that they distribute phoenix feathers down to bishop level? There's clearly something major going on here."
"It's an issued artefact."
La Folia emerged from the shop wearing a black military-style uniform and approached Luo Shu with a smile:
"According to that bishop's memories, this phoenix feather was distributed by the regional bishop as a tool for preaching, used to heal believers' illnesses."
"Eh?!" Chisato looked shocked. "They even provide medical treatment for joining? Are they that generous?"
"There must be significant side effects, right?" Takina speculated.
"No, there aren't any major side effects. Apart from requiring regular blood irrigation and being unable to cure cancer - only treating basic illnesses - this phoenix feather has no other drawbacks."
"Of course, animal blood can be used for the irrigation, making it an Abyss Artefact with minimal side effects."
As she spoke, La Folia glanced at Luo Shu, who was browsing through computer files:
"Incidentally, this feather seems to be among the better Common Rank materials, perfectly suitable as primary material for certain Classes."
Chisato looked incredulous:
"Something this good being issued to the grassroots level... Could the Phenex Society's higher-ups actually be decent people?"
Takina's expression turned grave: "Distributing such treasures... This confirms how dangerous the Phenex Society truly is."
"Such generosity can't come without a price. Their willingness to distribute juvenile phoenix feathers means the Phenex Society's leaders are after something much bigger."
"Just like how their believers carried out terror attacks at the cost of their lives this time."
"So behind these small favours lies designs on their lives?"
Chisato suddenly understood: "A religion that demonstrates supernatural abilities to lure people to their deaths... Yikes, that does sound extremely dangerous."
Turning to Luo Shu, who was still reviewing files, Chisato placed a hand on his shoulder and asked curiously:
"Hey, Luo Shu, did that bishop's memories contain any special intel?"
"No, mostly just ordinary stuff."
Luo Shu rested his right elbow on the table, supporting his chin with his thumb and index finger in a curved gesture as he pondered:
"Preaching once every seven days, curing minor ailments of believers, volunteering at a charity company every three days without pay, while also working part-time as a courier and hotel service staff..."
"Without considering his background as a Phenex Society bishop, he could completely qualify as an excellent priest."
"Given that the Phenex Society's doctrine advocates healthy bodies and scorns capitalism's distortion of human nature, from the perspective of grassroots bishops—no, grassroots priests—it seems like a decent sect..."
"Speaking of which, how did you identify these grassroots members?"
Hearing this, Takina Inoue thought for a moment before explaining:
"After making contact with Her Highness La Folia, we temporarily focused on all remaining hotel staff. After brief investigations revealed nothing unusual, Chisato suggested checking former employees. We found him among hotel staff who had resigned within the last three months."
"I see."
Luo Shu nodded, then said:
"Working at the hotel—was it to earn money while providing intelligence to the sect's upper echelons?"
"Though this bishop's memories contain nothing about helping build an intelligence network. Seems like an incidental arrangement by higher-ups?"
"But considering someone replaced his position after resignation to become this operation's mole... could they have placed personnel in multiple major hotels?"
At that moment, La Folia approached Luo Shu from the side, resting a hand on his shoulder:
"The bishop's memories don't seem to contain relevant information. Moreover, his contact with regional bishops occurred only once every three months—each time waiting at home for a postal worker to deliver address-recorded letters. Completely one-way communication."
"Could this mean there are many similar personnel like this bishop, lurking in Tokyo's shadows like a spiderweb?"
"One-way communication... spiderweb..."
Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, his expression thoughtful.
Seeing this look, La Folia smirked playfully:
"Indeed. Just grasp the spiderweb's centre, and controlling the entire web becomes easy."
Hearing this, Luo Shu immediately understood La Folia had guessed his thoughts.
An intelligence network spanning all of Tokyo, with its grassroots already established—this was truly something valuable.
And crucially, it could be acquired without cost.
Definitely worth some scheming.
But...
Luo Shu glanced at La Folia before saying:
"Now isn't the time to act. At least not until the spider dies—it wouldn't be convenient to make a move yet."
Hearing this, Takina Inoue looked between Luo Shu and La Folia before asking directly:
"According to this bishop's memories, the lower ranks of the Phenex Society—those at least at bishop level—all possess a feather from a juvenile phoenix?"
"Does that mean the higher-ups in the Phenex Society control one, or even more, at least juvenile-stage phoenix?"
Chisato Nishikigi, lazily kicking her legs in the air with her hands behind her head, chimed in:
"A cult collecting phoenix feathers? I don't get their real goal... Unless we catch their higher-ups, but with this kind of single-line contact, that'd be tough, right?"
At Chisato's words, La Folia looked at Luo Shu and said:
"The imitation Raziel I created can detect some feather holders by searching for the feathers' presence, but to identify everyone in Tokyo who has them, we might need Honjo-san to step in..."
"By the way, can the Raziel in Luo Shu's hands directly retrieve the identities of the Phenex Society's higher-ups?"
Luo Shu thought for a moment before explaining:
"As long as the target isn't beyond Demigod Rank and there's no Demigod-level interference, it can find them. The cost might be much higher, though. A large-scale search across all of Tokyo would be too much even for me."
Raziel's omniscient search had categories.
Searching for individuals had costs determined by the target's strength.
But searching an entire region for a certain type of person? That cost depended on the number of people needing detection.
Tokyo, a metropolis of over ten million, would be impossible to search all at once—even with the original Raziel, let alone the copy Luo Shu held, which consumed double the Spiritual Power.
"We'll have to search district by district. Considering the cost, we might only manage one or two districts a day."
Hearing this, Chisato clicked her tongue:
"Tokyo has 23 wards. At the fastest, 12 days for a full sweep? What even is this Raziel thing? Its abilities are that insane?"
Luo Shu didn't explain, and La Folia just smiled beside him, saying Chisato would understand soon enough.
Then, La Folia looked at Luo Shu with a bright smile:
"So, is it worth spending this much effort to track down the Phenex Society's higher-ups?"
"No need for such trouble."
Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, smiling as he said:
"Find one higher-up, and Raziel can trace their colleagues through them. Use that person as the root, and we can pull them all out like uprooting peanuts—one leading to another!"
"That's true in theory..." Takina frowned. "But how do we dig out that first person—the main root?"
In response, Luo Shu calmly pulled a specialised phone from his pocket:
"That's when we consult the professionals!"
Hearing this, images of Sharon and Enigma flashed through La Folia's mind as she smiled:
"That does seem to be the case."
"After all, no one understands their way of life better than those who've lived in the shadows!"