Mira Tsubakihara

The moment someone linked arms with him, Luo Shu instinctively focused his gaze on the rectangular schoolbag in his right hand.

Inside were the suit uniform and SIG P226 Pistol he had received from Chisato Nishikigi earlier.

At the same time, Luo Shu focused on his ability, ready to manipulate the wind element at any moment, just in case.

But once he heard that familiar voice, he abandoned all preparations to resist.

"Miss Mira Tsubakihara?" Luo Shu asked tentatively, turning his head slightly to look at the woman holding his arm.

She wore subtle, light makeup, and her features were delicate and gentle, her blue eyes bright.

She was relatively tall, probably over 165 centimeters, and with her high heels on, she could easily rest her head on Luo Shu's shoulder.

And that was exactly what she was doing now, holding his arm with her head resting on his shoulder.

Her golden-orange hair fell over the shoulders of her khaki suit, and because she was pressed so close, quite a few strands spilled onto Luo Shu's arm.

Just breathing normally, Luo Shu could smell a faint fragrance that seemed to come from her shampoo.

-Mira Tsubakihara.

She lived next door to Luo Shu in apartment 302. From what he had heard from his parents, she was only twenty-six or twenty-seven and ran a jewelry store passed down through her family, making her quite the eligible bachelorette.

Well, put simply, she was a stunning beauty who would earn Luo Shu's father a snide remark from his mother if he looked at her a moment too long.

Since she lived next door, and because tenants in Japan brought gifts when introducing themselves to their neighbors, Luo Shu had met Miss Mira a few times.

They were not particularly close, but they were not strangers either.

[Notice: The host is in contact with a heroine.]

A heroine? In that instant, Luo Shu could barely contain his astonishment.

But he could not immediately recall which anime Miss Mira was the heroine of, and the situation clearly gave him no room to calmly search his memory.

Just then, Mira Tsubakihara, still holding his arm, lowered her voice. "Someone's following me. Please help."

Despite her words, Luo Shu was not particularly surprised that Mira Tsubakihara was being followed.

After all, in Japan, where any kind of plot could unfold, a stalker following a beautiful woman was fairly normal.

Besides, Luo Shu certainly had no intention of turning away a heroine who had delivered herself right to his doorstep.

Why would he turn down money-or points?

"Understood. Just act natural for now."

Luo Shu turned and smiled at Mira Tsubakihara, looking like a man who had just come home to a surprise ambush from his girlfriend. He even whispered into her ear as though teasing her.

Then Luo Shu put an arm around Mira Tsubakihara's shoulders and led her into the apartment building's ground-floor lobby as she stiffened awkwardly.

"There's no security in this building, right?"

Luo Shu lowered his voice as they walked toward the elevator.

"No, but there's a police box about a hundred meters away, with officers on duty around the clock."

Mira Tsubakihara kept her arm linked through his and spoke quietly, though there was a hint of helplessness in her voice.

"But with this kind of stalking, the officers can't do anything beyond giving him a warning."

Luo Shu understood. Unless the stalker admitted it himself, there was no way to secure a conviction. Unless he openly harassed her or secretly planted a tracking device or something similar, there was simply no way to resolve it.

In that case... we'll have to go outside the law... With that thought, Luo Shu lowered his voice.

"In that case... when we get into the elevator and turn around, tell me which person is following you. Let's make sure who it is."

"Okay." Still holding Luo Shu's arm, Mira Tsubakihara walked with him to the elevator and pressed the call button.

With a ding, the doors opened immediately; the elevator happened to be on the ground floor.

Luo Shu nodded, led Mira Tsubakihara inside, and turned around.

Just then, Mira Tsubakihara casually glanced through the ground-floor glass toward the space outside the lobby. Her eyes scanned quickly and soon locked onto a figure.

She immediately lowered her voice and warned him before he could press the elevator button.

"By the road outside the entrance. Carrying a briefcase, black suit, blue striped tie, black face mask."

As Luo Shu pressed the button for the fourth floor, he looked up and outside.

He immediately spotted an "office worker" with short, tousled hair carrying a briefcase, dressed in a black suit with a blue striped tie and a black face mask.

When Luo Shu looked at him, the man looked back, then naturally averted his gaze and continued walking past with his briefcase.

Then the elevator doors closed, and Luo Shu turned to Mira Tsubakihara, who had let out a relieved breath.

"Are you sure it was that man?"

"I watched him through my compact mirror while touching up my makeup on the train," Mira Tsubakihara explained, giving her reason for being certain he was the stalker. "He's been following me ever since I left the station."

The station is an eight-minute walk from here. That probably does make him a stalker... Luo Shu thought.

By then, Mira Tsubakihara had recovered a little, and she turned to Luo Shu with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Luo."

"It's no trouble." Luo Shu

shook his head, then frowned. "But there's something we still need to clear up."

"Huh?" Mira Tsubakihara froze for a moment, then heard Luo Shu continue.

"Miss Tsubakihara, you don't think he'll give up just because he saw me with you, do you?"

At those words, Mira Tsubakihara's face went deathly pale.

He had followed her all the way home from the station and now knew where she lived. There was a very good chance he would refuse to leave her alone.

Of course, part of this is down to her not knowing any better and leading him home... Luo Shu glanced at Mira Tsubakihara. Then a ding sounded as the elevator reached the fourth floor.

"Huh? Why are we on the fourth floor?"

Mira Tsubakihara pointed at the elevator's floor display in confusion. As neighbors, she and Luo Shu both lived on the third floor. This was clearly the wrong one.

Just then, Luo Shu took her hand and said:

"Come with me first."

He led Mira Tsubakihara out of the elevator and straight to the stairs, then lowered his head to look down through the gaps in the railing.

"What are you..." Mira Tsubakihara was still wondering why Luo Shu was doing this.

Luo Shu saw a shoulder clad in a black suit flash through a gap in the railing.

At that instant, Luo Shu said calmly:

"He's entered the building."

At his words, Mira Tsubakihara's face turned utterly pale.