Looking at the ruby resting in Luo Shu's palm, with its scarlet slit pupil inside, Takina Inoue froze for a moment before recalling the information about the ring.
The Demon Heart, a demon-type Abyssal Artifact capable of hypnotizing women... Realizing this, Takina Inoue quickly raised her head, turning her gaze away from the ruby ring.
In contrast, Chisato Nishikigi, whose eyesight far surpassed Takina Inoue's, stared blankly at the ruby ring, exclaiming, "Huh! Huuuh?"
"You've got to be kidding..."
Chisato Nishikigi circled Luo Shu, pressing her index finger against her chin.
"It's the real thing?"
"No way..."
Chisato Nishikigi exclaimed again, then looked up and grabbed Luo Shu's shoulders.
"All in one night? Winning her over was impressive enough, but you even found the ring?"
Luo Shu gave her words some serious thought, then replied with a rather peculiar expression.
"Although your wording leaves room for misunderstanding, factually speaking, it doesn't seem all that far off."
Had he obtained the Demon Heart? Yes... Had he won her over? Getting her to join the Astronomy Club probably counted... Thinking of it that way, Luo Shu really had walked away with both the girl and the goods!
"Amazing! So this is what a super rookie can do!" Chisato Nishikigi applauded admiringly, looking both playful and serious.
Meanwhile, Takina Inoue, who had avoided looking directly at the ring, regarded Luo Shu with mixed feelings.
"In a certain sense, you really could call him a super rookie."
Finishing the mission in a single night was certainly efficient enough to show exceptional talent, even if that talent lay in dealing with women... Takina Inoue felt a little unnerved. Because of the Demon Heart's ability, she was now somewhat afraid to look directly at Luo Shu.
After Luo Shu had won over that young lady in a single night and safely brought out the Abyssal Artifact, Takina Inoue silently labeled him "suspected specialist against women."
Perhaps, where women were concerned, the man before her might be even more dangerous than the Demon Heart.
While Takina Inoue was making these wry observations to herself, Chisato Nishikigi noticed that she seemed reluctant to look directly at Luo Shu. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Takina Inoue.
"Come to think of it, Luo Shu, you haven't met her yet, have you?"
"This is Takina, Takina Inoue, our super ace at SDS!"
"Chisato!" Clearly unaccustomed to Chisato Nishikigi's lavish praise, Takina Inoue blushed faintly.
"Incidentally, she's 160 centimeters tall, sixteen years old, and her weight is..."
"You don't need to go into that much detail!" Takina Inoue quickly reached out and forcibly covered Chisato Nishikigi's mouth. Startled, Chisato hurriedly tried to wriggle free.
"Wait, I won't say anything else! Don't get so worked up, Takina! Calm down! Calm down!"
Watching the two of them tussle, Luo Shu could only close his hand around the ring again and look at them helplessly.
"You two really do get along well."
"Hey, hey, don't just stand there watching! Come help me!" Still struggling, Chisato Nishikigi cried out with a woeful expression.
At Luo Shu's remark, Takina Inoue flushed, glared at Chisato Nishikigi, then released her from the hold and warned her.
"Don't talk about things unrelated to work."
"I was just trying to help us get closer as teammates!" Chisato Nishikigi seemed to have her own brand of dubious reasoning.
She sighed, walked over to the nearby table, took a burger out of the KFC bag sitting there, and casually tossed it to Luo Shu.
"Catch!"
Luo Shu caught the burger with one hand, then gave Chisato Nishikigi a puzzled look.
"It's greasy and salty, but it'll do if you need something to tide you over." As she spoke, Chisato Nishikigi turned to look out the window. Finding no suspicious figures near the apartment, she shrugged.
"From the looks of it, nobody's watching the place. Besides, we've already got the Demon Heart, so there's no need to keep Miss Mira Tsubakihara under surveillance."
As she spoke, Chisato Nishikigi picked up the sniper rifle beside her and deftly dismantled it.
"Takina, pack up. Get ready to pull out."
"Understood." Takina Inoue immediately began gathering the "contraband" in the room.
The Swiss Army knife hidden beneath the pillow, the handgun attached beneath the bed, the thread wound around the door handle... Luo Shu watched them swiftly pack everything away into their "violin bags."
Watching all this, Luo Shu's mouth twitched. Holding the ring between his fingers, he asked Chisato Nishikigi a question.
"Don't I need to hand this over so someone can check it for side effects?"
"Oh, you can just stop by Lycoris after school for that."
Covering her mouth, Chisato Nishikigi gave Luo Shu a teasing look.
"Don't go using that Abyssal Artifact at school, okay?"
"I'd like to say I wouldn't do that, but... are you really sure you want me taking this to school?" Luo Shu waved the ring, looking baffled.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine."
Chisato Nishikigi zipped up her violin bag, then said with a grin.
"An expert in handling Abyssal Artifacts will be transferring to Toyogasaki Academy today. She'll find an opportunity to approach you on school
grounds. Of course, if she doesn't, she'll meet up with us at Lycoris at the latest."
"Incidentally, that expert will also be your teacher for all things occult!"
At that, Chisato Nishikigi wagged a finger, her smile exceptionally bright.
"Besides all that, having you go to school as usual will also help cover our tracks. After all, although our colleagues upstairs let us off the hook, we still need to keep up appearances. They need something to report, you know!"
Having said all this, Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue shouldered their violin bags, then took out a small stack of roughly twelve talismans and handed them to Luo Shu.
"Here!"
"These are restraints for Abyssal Artifacts. They're only the basic kind, but they should still seal it for a while. According to the person providing equipment support, they should hold for at least two days without any trouble."
Speechless, Luo Shu accepted the talismans, each marked with some sort of symbol in cinnabar. "This all feels awfully unreliable!"
"Cut us a little slack!"
Grinning, Chisato Nishikigi patted Luo Shu's shoulder, then took hold of the door handle. Before leaving, she turned to him.
"Remember to come to the café after school."
"Thanks for your hard work. Good luck!" Takina Inoue offered him a quiet word of encouragement as she passed, then hurried after Chisato Nishikigi.
Before long, Luo Shu was staring at the empty room. He let out a breath of relief and picked up the counterfeit he had exchanged for.
"I honestly don't know whether this means I passed or failed..."
"And they actually want me to go to school..."
"What a headache..."
Luo Shu, who had thought he wouldn't have to attend school that day, sighed deeply in resignation.
Before you continue