"I suddenly think we should take smaller steps."
After hearing Luo Shu's proposal, Utaha Kasumigaoka chickened out, just as he had expected.
She was, after all, a girl raised with conventional values. Resistance was practically a given if she was actually asked to do something illegal.
Luo Shu had only made that proposal because he had correctly judged that Utaha Kasumigaoka lacked the nerve.
The excitement this woman had shown after encountering the "supernatural" had struck Luo Shu as a little off, so he had quickly thought of a way to dampen her curiosity.
If Utaha Kasumigaoka had excitedly followed his suggestion and continued down that line of thought, he certainly wouldn't have minded quietly letting her discover the tragedies suffered by "those people" poisoned by religion.
Anyone with the aptitude to go from an ordinary person to a perpetrator without a guilty conscience belonged in prison, not on a school campus.
And from what he could see so far, Utaha Kasumigaoka clearly wasn't someone with that sort of "aptitude."
In short, Luo Shu had plenty of ways to make Utaha Kasumigaoka back off.
So, once he saw her retreat and lose her earlier "assertiveness," Luo Shu abruptly changed his tune:
"Personally, I hate that approach too. After all, I'm just a down-and-out god who doesn't even have any believers anymore~~"
Hearing Luo Shu mock himself like that, Utaha Kasumigaoka couldn't help letting out a laugh. A moment later, however, she felt it was wrong to laugh at him, and said somewhat awkwardly:
"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you."
Luo Shu teased her. "Would you believe me if I told you my next line was, 'So you did it on purpose, then?'"
Pfft! Utaha Kasumigaoka covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking a few times. She quickly caught her breath and asked:
"So, what exactly do you have in mind?"
With that question, she handed control of the conversation squarely to Luo Shu.
Faced with Utaha Kasumigaoka's question, Luo Shu pondered for a moment before saying:
"Your initial suggestion wasn't entirely without merit."
"My initial suggestion?" Utaha Kasumigaoka froze for a moment, then remembered her earlier idea of making influential people their familiars. "But don't most influential people lack the aptitude?"
"That doesn't matter." Luo Shu wagged his index finger and reminded her, "A small minority is enough. Besides, even without that minority, we could still influence them indirectly by approaching the people around them."
"Isn't that how political parties, hometown networks, and even groups of classmates, peers, or people with shared interests gradually come together?"
Hearing that, Utaha Kasumigaoka instinctively thought of the ability she had just acquired, the one called "mind reading."
At that thought, understanding dawned on her. Use mind reading to approach the people around those influential figures, then influence the figures themselves?
And given her age, the people she could approach would mostly be their children. As it happened, Toyogasaki Academy had quite a few children from such families.
"Did you base this on the mind-reading ability I acquired..."
Before Utaha Kasumigaoka could finish, Luo Shu prompted her:
"A famous female author or an outstanding psychotherapist-which identity do you think would suit you better?"
He's already worked out my identity and role... Utaha Kasumigaoka muttered inwardly, then followed her own inclinations and said, "I think the first one. A famous female author... yes, I rather like that."
The moment she finished speaking, Utaha Kasumigaoka began to feel guilty.
Only then did she remember that she hadn't told Luo Shu she was actually just a struggling light novel author.
Yet she'd spoken so confidently earlier, going on about book signings and how he ought to address her as an author.
If I admit that I actually write light novels, which mainstream society doesn't accept, and that I can't even sell twenty thousand copies of a volume, won't I completely embarrass myself?
But wouldn't it be even more embarrassing if she went along with Luo Shu's plan and was exposed later?
For a moment, Utaha Kasumigaoka found herself caught between a rock and a hard place.
"A famous female author, huh?"
Luo Shu gave Utaha Kasumigaoka a knowing look. Seeing her eyes wander, how could he possibly miss her guilty conscience?
"That's certainly an option. After all, a psychologist needs professional credentials to back them up, and you obviously couldn't obtain those in a short time."
"And as luck would have it, you already write, and you're a famous author who's even held a book signing. That makes things much easier."
Hearing this, Utaha Kasumigaoka felt as though her heart gave a little leap with every sentence Luo Shu spoke, pounding away without pause.
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!!
No, I can't keep this up. Never mind how I'm supposed to keep deceiving someone who might very well be a god-I can't even accept this praise with a clear conscience...
Just as the guilt-ridden Utaha Kasumigaoka was about to confess, Luo Shu suddenly said:
"But considering how young you still are, we can put this off for a while. There's no harm in waiting until you're more famous."
"After all, something called Love Metronome doesn't exactly sound like a serious book, does it?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka was dumbstruck.
She stared blankly at Luo Shu, her eyes utterly unfocused. Only after a long while did she gradually come to her senses, looking at the smile
on Luo Shu's face. She couldn't help clenching her teeth as she said:
"You knew my work and pen name from the start?"
"What else did you expect?" Luo Shu looked at Utaha Kasumigaoka oddly. "Have you forgotten where I work part-time?"
Where does he work? A bookstore, I think... the one I go to all the time, at that... uh... At that thought, Utaha Kasumigaoka wanted to curl her toes against the floor hard enough to carve out a three-bedroom apartment.
So he knew everything all along!!
This is mortifying!!
Meanwhile, as though he hadn't noticed Utaha Kasumigaoka's bright red ears as she lowered her head, Luo Shu calmly continued:
"As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. An organization that needs to stay discreet and keep us safe definitely can't start out too large, or word might get out. Considering we're both students right now... a school club seems like a better fit."
Utaha Kasumigaoka fought down her embarrassment. Afraid that Luo Shu would notice something was wrong, she kept her head lowered and replied quietly:
"What kind of club are you planning to establish?"
With her head lowered, Utaha Kasumigaoka clearly missed the peculiar smile on Luo Shu's face:
"A club that secretly studies the occult. As for the name..."
"Let's call it the Astronomy Club."
"Of course, since this is a school, if they won't let us call it a society and insist on calling it a club instead, how about changing the name to the Service Club?"
Before you continue