"Hiss!"
The black-haired, long-straight high school girl sitting on the white fabric sofa drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
She lifted her right foot, now bare of its black stockings, her jade-like toes curling unnaturally from the pain.
In front of her, Luo Shu was crouched on the floor, holding a cotton swab dipped in red antiseptic solution. He applied it to Kasumigaoka Shiwa's sole while saying:
"By the way... Letting a guy you've known for less than half an hour into your home, and then taking off your stockings—there's a limit to how reckless you can be, you know?"
"As much as that's true..." Kasumigaoka Shiwa furrowed her brows, her feet—scraped raw from the escape—curling instinctively. "The premise is that you're human!"
Hearing this, Luo Shu paused his application of the medicine, his expression turning odd as he said:
"Should I take that as you insulting me?"
"Don't be so sensitive about the wording, oh great divine being."
Kasumigaoka Shiwa's expression was one of utter helplessness, as if to say, 'Is there any point in keeping up the act?'
"Your divine servant has already told me everything I can be informed about."
She emphasized the words 'can be informed' with a pointed tone, as if underscoring something.
"Divine servant?" Luo Shu blinked in confusion at the term. "Hold on a second."
'System?'
[Your divine servant is always ready to welcome your arrival~~ Heart heart.jpg]
'You wait a minute? Since when did you become my divine servant?' Luo Shu was utterly baffled now, completely lost in the current situation.
This behind-the-scenes system that threw unsolvable problems at him from the start, forced him to find some protagonist, manipulated a monster to coerce the protagonist into agreeing, and now it was calling itself his divine servant?
What kind of servant is this?
[There are, dear.]
[As for what happened earlier, rest assured—even if you met an untimely end with a 99.99% safety rate, your loyal divine servant has prepared a Reincarnation System to ensure your return in eighteen years.]
[Regarding the first clan member Kasumigaoka Shiwa's understanding, it's actually not wrong.]
[Because this system's full name is the 'God Group Reconstruction System.' Its ultimate goal is to construct your mythological universe and build a 'mythos' centered around you as the God Group.]
[Kasumigaoka Shiwa's description aligns with this system's mission. Please take note.]
'You have intelligence?' Luo Shu's expression twitched as he processed these words.
[This system's intelligence is derived from your subconscious, so safety is guaranteed~ Heart heart.jpg]
Though still uneasy, Luo Shu realized he had no choice but to trust this chaotic system for now.
As Luo Shu pondered, a snow-white jade foot waved back and forth in front of his eyes.
The dangling foot prompted him to reach out and grab it, then roughly swipe the antiseptic-dipped cotton swab across it, leaving a thin red streak on the sole.
"Hiss!!"
Kasumigaoka Shiwa sharply inhaled, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. It took her a while to recover, and she glared at Luo Shu with reddened eyes:
"Can't you hold back even a little from bullying your 'clan member' right away? Unknown divine being, sir."
"Luo Shu. You can call me that."
Luo Shu sighed, picked up her other foot, swapped to a fresh cotton swab with some medicine, and applied it more gently this time:
"So, how much do you know now?"
"You mean about how an ancient god who just awakened discovers he has no faith left in the modern world, so he decides to rebuild his God Group—only to find his powers have nearly vanished without believers, forcing him to take a part-time job at a bookstore?"
Kasumigaoka Shiwa smiled slyly at Luo Shu, adding:
"Oh, and by the way, the bookstore where you work is one I frequent, and the owner is an acquaintance of mine. I've held two signing events there, after all. Maybe next time, you could even address me as Teacher Kasumi Shiko."
Luo Shu methodically applied the medicine, glanced up at the smirking Kasumigaoka Shiwa, and replied calmly:
"An address issue, huh... Well, here's a question for you, Kasumigaoka Shiwa from Class 2-B: how should a first-year greet a third-year senior?"
At this, Kasumigaoka Shiwa's face stiffened. She quickly took a serious look at Luo Shu and thought:
"Luo Shu... Luo... The Chinese transfer student from Class 3-A at Private Toyozaki Academy? That Luo-senpai? The violent transfer student who beat up a third-year senior right after enrolling?"
"Looks like you remember."
Having finished applying the medicine, Luo Shu tossed the cotton swab into the nearby trash can, capped the bottle, stood up from the floor, pulled over a chair, and sat down:
"Want to greet me properly?"
Seeing Luo Shu like this, Kasumigaoka Shiwa muttered under her breath, "This island nation's despicable senior culture..."
After mumbling, she bowed her head toward Luo Shu and said helplessly:
"Hello, senpai. You've had a hard day, senpai!"
"Oh, right, senpai—how does it feel to stroke a beautiful girl's toes?"
"It's nothing special." Luo Shu replied, looking at Kasumigaoka Shiwa with mild surprise. "Even though you've become my... whatever clan member, your attitude right now... Are we that close?"
Luo Shu's expression held clear doubt. Sure, the relationship between a god and a clan member was inherently close, but they both knew they'd only truly known each other for less than an hour.
In such a short time, for her to invite him home and let him apply medicine to her bare feet... Was that really okay?
Kasumigaoka Shiwa's expression froze at his words, then she looked at him with an oddly subtle gaze:
"Senpai, didn't your divine servant tell you? Clan members are meant to accompany their main god for life."
'There's such a thing?' Luo Shu was taken aback, instinctively querying the system and receiving an affirmative response. His expression turned equally subtle: "By the way, something like this—you accepted it that quickly?"
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Shiwa lifted her left foot, now starting to heal, and examined the skin that had become smoother and more delicate than even when powdered:
"If the contract includes extending lifespan to three hundred years, staying youthful indefinitely if desired, and even gaining special abilities... Well, even if the condition is 'becoming senpai's clan member,' the line of people willing to sign up would stretch from my house to the Pacific Ocean, don't you think?"
"Not to mention, once I help you ascend to godhood, even immortality becomes possible—something ancient emperors and nobles could only dream of."
"I can't be immune to that either, right? It's perfectly normal."
'*Though I never imagined I'd end up in a hero-saves-the-beauty scenario and become the heroine...*'
Kasumigaoka Shiwa grumbled inwardly, but she couldn't say that to Luo Shu. For one, she worried her lifelong main god might overthink it; for another, it was just a girl's pride.
'*Is this really Kasumigaoka Shiwa? She feels subtly different from how I imagined her in my past life...*'
Thinking this, Luo Shu leaned back in the chair, let out a long breath, and said:
"Fine, let's say that reasoning holds."
"So, now that the medicine's on and you seem fine, I should head back..."
Before Luo Shu could finish, Kasumigaoka Shiwa's eyes widened as she looked at him and said:
"So, shall we start discussing how to rebuild the God Group?"
Luo Shu's expression turned profoundly subtle: '*Why do I feel like you're more eager about this than I am?'*
Was this the so-called 'the emperor's not worried, but the eunuch is'? Eye-opening...