On the deck.
As Lacus walked out of the cabin surrounded by Haro units, Kirika Tachibana quickly tossed her slim cigarette into the sea, pretending as if nothing had happened, and casually asked, "So? Did you finish your talk? Or should I ask—did you manage to use your charm and win over that kid, Luo Shu, again?"
"Using words like that, so flippant and suggestive—you only say them when you're trying to vent your dissatisfaction at me, Kirika," Lacus replied flatly. She was holding a Haro in her hands as she walked calmly over to Kirika and looked her in the eyes. "You may have forgotten but let me repeat it again. If, one day, you really can't tolerate my methods anymore, or if you become dissatisfied with how SDS operates, I'll give you permission to break away with your supporters and form your own division—even leave SDS altogether if you choose. Don't worry about backing. Even if you leave, I will still support you, just no longer as the Chairperson of SDS—but as Lacus Clyne, personally."
"...Hey hey, what the hell are you thinking?" Kirika couldn't help but curl her lips and sneer at that. "Without your support, you really think I can survive? The Onmyo Bureau people would gut me in minutes and turn me into a human puppet."
She clearly dismissed Lacus's supposed "personal support" and didn't believe she had any real "supporters" who'd follow her if she left. Even someone like Chisato—who always called her "Boss"—if forced to choose between her and Lacus, would definitely pick Lacus, who actually cared about the lower-tier agents, over someone like her who was cold-blooded to the core.
"...Sigh," Lacus let out a helpless breath as she saw Kirika once again sidestep the deeper conversation. "You've changed, Kirika. You're not as willing to open up to me anymore like you used to."
"...That…" Kirika's expression grew a bit complex upon hearing that.
After years of clashing with the bureaucrats at the Metropolitan Police and the power players in politics, it was indeed hard for her to face her old college classmate the same way she once had. These days, she saw Lacus more as a superior—a guiding light for SDS—than as an old friend.
Kirika sighed and silently pulled out her cigarette pack. She placed one between her lips but didn't light it, then asked, "So what do you plan to do with that kid Luo Shu?"
"Luo Shu will separate from the SDS Tokyo Branch and establish an independent office responsible for the custody and utilization of the demon. So, moving forward, it's unlikely he'll continue working under your command," Lacus explained, her tone soft but tinged with apology.
"I figured that'd happen," Kirika snorted, clearly unsurprised. "Him going solo is probably for the best. That brat demands compensation every time he lifts a finger. If this keeps up, he'll bleed my department dry. Might as well let him go now, save me the trouble, and let him learn how hard it is to come by funding."
Though she said that, a flicker of concern still crossed Kirika's face when she thought about the actual logistics. "Still, is he really going to be able to keep that demon under control all on his own? Don't want him ending up as the appetizer to the main course one day."
"I offered support, but Luo Shu seems to have his own ideas about how to handle it," Lacus admitted, recalling how he had declined her help. Though still uneasy about it, she chose to trust him.
"His own ideas, huh… That kid's clearly hiding something. But I suppose that's expected. With naturally strong mental resilience and wind-user abilities? Yeah, it'd be weird if he didn't have secrets."
Kirika eventually gave in and lit the cigarette. She took a drag and blew out a smoke ring. "So, in the end, the demon we worked so hard to capture becomes a trophy for another department, and you even lost a relic because of the demon's research. Another localized loss, but a net gain overall? Heh… guess I'm used to how you operate by now."
She took another puff, then snuffed the cigarette out with her fingers. For her, smoking was more about relieving stress than a habit—just one or two drags usually did it. Especially with others around; she knew better than to overdo it. The way the nearby field agents looked ready to shoot her just for making Lacus breathe second-hand smoke was all the proof she needed.
The title of SDS's Princess and Absolute Treasure wasn't a joke.
Just as Kirika was entertaining herself with these thoughts, Lacus tilted her head slightly, looking a little troubled.
"There's nothing else on the official side," she said. "But personally… there's something."
"Oh? Personal matter? Come on, spill—give me something juicy," Kirika's eyes lit up with gossip-ready energy.
Holding Haro in her arms, Lacus hesitated for a moment, then said with an awkward expression, "Luo Shu… said he wants to pursue me. I'm not sure if I should agree or not..."
Before Lacus could even finish her sentence, Kirika froze like a statue, her mouth hanging wide open as if someone had stuffed a whole egg into it.
And then—click! The sound of safety switches being disengaged echoed all around them, snapping Kirika out of her stupor. She looked around at the fully-armed field agents now staring with fire in their eyes, the only part of their faces exposed. Trying to diffuse the situation, she weakly offered, "Hey, let's not start a bloodbath, okay? The kid just said he wanted to pursue her—he even asked nicely. Uh, right… nobody's listening to me now, huh?"
She let out a helpless sigh and glanced at the pink-haired "living cinnamon roll" next to her who looked totally confused as to why everyone's mood suddenly shifted.
"Eh? Why is everyone acting so strange…?" Lacus asked, a bit bewildered.
"Try having even a bit of self-awareness about your own charm, Miss Enchantress," Kirika muttered with exasperation.
At this point, it was safe to say that Luo Shu was going to become very famous throughout SDS.
Yeah—famous like a toad that dared covet a swan.
Still, oddly enough, Kirika thought he might actually stand a chance.
That kid, with his entire being screaming "I'm full of anxiety," might just have met the only girl in the world capable of soothing that storm.
Well—if Lacus actually liked him back, and if she truly believed that failing to care for him would lead to his self-destruction...
As her thoughts wandered, Kirika suddenly recalled the machine-like cold Inoue Takina, and the overly hyper Chisato Nishikigi...
Seriously, why were all the people she brought into her team problem children?
Kirika really wanted another cigarette.
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, Luo Shu squinted slightly as he watched a nurse examine Kisara. At last, he found a quiet moment to dive back into the system interface—hoping to study the results of his recent harvest during this downtime.