"You don't look like you've rested at all."
In the café's private booth, Lacus held a cup of hot black tea, observing the exhausted young boy before her.
Hearing her teasing remark, Luo Shu glanced up at Lacus, finding her smile particularly exasperating at the moment:
"It's just an act."
As he spoke, Luo Shu placed a hand over his chest, instantly absorbing all his fatigue and perking up immediately:
"If I don't pretend to be weak, they won't go easy on me and let me leave."
Lacus stifled a laugh, barely containing her amusement: "So you've started playing the weak card now?"
"What else can I do? With the craziest ones all gathered together, if I don't act pitiful, how am I supposed to get by?" Luo Shu nearly rolled his eyes. "I've come to realise that in this Familia, I, the Chief God, am actually the vulnerable one, aren't I?"
They say one woman equals five hundred ducks, and right now, his Familia must have over ten thousand ducks.
Managing all these girls' emotions made Luo Shu suspect even a host's workload paled in comparison. Though Lacus found this hilarious, she understood Luo Shu's plight:
"Perhaps this is the price of greed."
Since the Familia consisted of lovely young women—girls Luo Shu was quite fond of—any slight interest from them easily escalated into romantic entanglements.
And with more such relationships came greater constraints on Luo Shu.
It wasn't that these constraints were troublesome; in fact, most Familia members' requests were simple. But the sheer numbers were overwhelming.
If one person asked for an apple, twenty people meant twenty apples. The sheer volume alone was enough to make Luo Shu's scalp tingle.
And the root cause? Luo Shu's own greed.
Wanting everything meant bearing all the responsibilities. As the founder of an organisation, Lacus knew all too well what such burdens felt like.
Still, deciding Luo Shu's schedule without his consent was a bit too much.
"Should I give them a warning?"
Luo Shu pondered this before shaking his head:
"Never mind. Let me suffer the consequences of my own actions."
Hearing this, Lacus couldn't help but turn to gaze out the window. There was no helping a man so enamoured with women—she couldn't save him, nor would it work.
Noticing Lacus averting her eyes, Luo Shu sensed her mild disdain and smoothly changed the subject:
"The transfer of the Calamity Jade Seal will take about seven days. It's been confirmed that distance won't affect the process."
"Considering the safety of the ascension, I'll likely need to ingest both the Calamity Jade Seal and Nature Spirit Essence Blood simultaneously."
At this, Lacus turned back, her expression tinged with hesitation:
"So, you need to obtain Nature Spirit Essence Blood within seven days?"
"Are you planning to use the Thunder Spirit's blood?"
The Patch Tribe's Five Great Spirits were the highest-tier spirits, extensions of the Great Will, their nature far surpassing that of nature spirits.
Thus, in a way, the Thunder Spirit's blood could likely substitute for Nature Spirit Essence Blood.
Currently, the Thunder Spirit, one of the Five Great Spirits brought by Joan of Arc from the Patch Tribe, has been entrusted to Luo Shu. Although still sealed, the technique for releasing it was known to Joan of Arc.
Thus, if Luo Shu required it, unleashing the Thunder Spirit remained a possibility.
While the present world couldn't withstand the descent of power at the Angel Rank, partial control over the Thunder Spirit's abilities—similar to how Hao Asakura manipulated the Fire Spirit—was feasible.
Consequently, upon learning that Luo Shu needed Nature Spirit Essence Blood within seven days, Lacus immediately thought of the Thunder Spirit.
Yet this idea was outright rejected by Luo Shu:
"The Thunder Spirit's blood isn't suitable."
"Why?" Lacus asked, puzzled.
Hearing this, Luo Shu replied calmly, "The Thunder Spirit's authority is too high. It would disrupt the balance."
Lacus slightly parted her lips before closing them wordlessly.
That did make sense.
Luo Shu's promotion only required Nature Spirit Essence Blood at the Demigod level, which aligned with the authority of the Calamity Jade Seal.
Using blood at the Angel Rank would undoubtedly create a mismatch with the Seal's power.
With so many new members joining the Familia—especially Kotoko Iwanaga, who possessed an inheritance—knowledge about Classes had expanded significantly.
Thus, Lacus understood that in promotions, the balance of materials was a crucial factor in determining success.
Considering this, she grasped the dilemma Luo Shu now faced:
"So... we need to intensify the extraction from Eriri?"
Luo Shu paused before responding, "Kotoko has already pulled Aya and the others into developing a technique to heal soul damage."
The implication was clear: increase the extraction from Eriri to refine the materials needed to summon a nature spirit.
Though Lacus pitied Eriri somewhat, she tacitly accepted this for the sake of the Familia and Luo Shu's interests:
"Understood. I'll arrange for specialised nutritional supplements for her later."
Here, Lacus hesitated before adding, "Perhaps... besides Eriri, there are other sources for the summoning ritual's materials."
Luo Shu seemed surprised. "You've found suitable targets?"
Lacus nodded slightly and explained, "One of them you might have met—the Kannagi Family, who hold a contract with the Spirit King of Fire..."
"The SDS is currently negotiating with them to obtain their family's sacred relics."
"Ayano Kannagi?"
Luo Shu recalled the particularly lively girl. Come to think of it, he'd even gone on a mission with her once.
"Aside from her, Kirika has already discussed with Kazuma Yagami. He's willing to negotiate with the Huang Family in Hong Kong to provide us with some of their sacred relics."
The Huang Family? Luo Shu remembered they were a lineage contracted with the Spirit King of Wind, and Kazuma Yagami was supposedly the current contract holder.
According to intel, Kazuma was also a live-in son-in-law of the Huang Family.
Having the current contract holder—a member of the Huang Family—persuade them did seem promising.
Curious, Luo Shu asked, "What are their conditions?"
Hearing this, Lacus replied in a playful tone, "Both the Huang and Kannagi families want one of their direct descendants to join the Hidden Management Department."
Here, Lacus smirked as she added, "Meer deliberately leaked some information; you might currently be quite the coveted figure among certain families on the mystic side."
Hearing this, Luo Shu was momentarily stunned:
"No way? They actually want marriage alliances?"
Lacus gave Luo Shu a reproachful look:
"What are you thinking? For now, they just want to form alliances."
"Besides, it's also an opportunity for their family's heiresses to get to know you. Of course, if things progress to marriage, they naturally wouldn't object either."
Understanding dawned on Luo Shu as he leaned back in his chair. "Well, that's hopeless then. After all, how could some young girls possibly compete with you?"
Lacus's expression faltered slightly, her ears turning a faint shade of red.
How was this any different from directly declaring that the position of legal wife would be hers alone?
Taking a deep breath, Lacus glanced at Luo Shu and asked:
"Should we accept their terms?"
After some thought, Luo Shu smiled and said, "Accept them. It'll be a good chance to meet old friends too."
'Old friends? Ayano Kannagi?'
Lacus had certainly reviewed the intelligence on Ayano Kannagi. With that kind of personality, it hardly seemed likely she'd consider Luo Shu an old friend.
But never mind. If Luo Shu needed this, she'd arrange for them to be brought over.
After all, the most pressing matter now was facilitating Luo Shu's promotion. If taking in those two girls would aid his advancement, then so be it. It would also serve as a goodwill gesture to the outside world.
At this thought, Lacus couldn't help but recall Eriri.
To extract enough ritual materials from that child...
She had a feeling that the girl would cry, wouldn't she? She'll absolutely cry.