Although Erina Nakiri had taken the seat beside him, Luo Shu merely glanced at her before shifting his attention to Daichi Fujiwara.
"Daichi-kun, isn't it rather hasty to act on what you promised me just yesterday?"
Luo Shu's tone carried a teasing lilt, as if gently mocking Daichi Fujiwara.
This wasn't something Luo Shu could say while Senzaemon Nakiri was present, since Daichi's urgency involved facilitating Luo Shu's connection with the old man. But now that the elder had left, Luo Shu felt no reservations.
"Repaying debts of gratitude is a Fujiwara family tradition," Daichi declared with utmost seriousness—words Toyomi wouldn't believe for a second.
True to form, Toyomi immediately undercut him:
"Didn't you say you were rushing because Grandfather was pestering you endlessly?"
Of course, Toyomi understood the real reason for her grandfather's urgency—concern that Daichi might adopt the Cabinet's habit of procrastination.
As the old Fujiwara patriarch often said, matters concerning the mystic side should be resolved swiftly. Delays risked disasters, and ministers always bore the blame when things went wrong.
Yet knowing this didn't stop Toyomi from using it to tease her father.
Faced with his daughter's sabotage, Daichi sighed in exasperation:
"Toyomi, must you undermine me in front of Shu-kun? Can't you spare your father some dignity?"
"Wasn't it because of that incident that you wanted to thank Shu-kun properly, hence asking old man Nakiri for a favour?"
Toyomi tilted her head with saccharine sweetness, her eyes gleaming with barely concealed mischief.
The women of the Fujiwara family seemed to delight in tormenting others—at the very least, Toyomi's deliberate mention of "that incident" was clearly meant to needle Daichi.
"Really, Toyomi..." Daichi's expression turned helpless.
They had outsiders present—Erina and Alice Nakiri. Without knowing Senzaemon's stance, Daichi had no intention of educating others about the mystic side. After all, the Alliance strictly prohibited disclosing mystic-side information to oblivious common people.
Meanwhile, Toyomi gleaned something from Daichi's reaction and smiled at Alice beside her.
'The Nakiri sisters aren't already in the know?'
Toyomi mused, finding the mystic side's secrecy puzzling. Their simultaneous indifference to leaks yet meticulous concealment struck her as contradictory.
On the other side, Luo Shu caught Toyomi's reference and inquired:
"Toyomi, did Chika say something after returning home yesterday?"
"Ah, it seems Chika said many words of gratitude towards you, Shu-kun." Toyomi Fujiwara smiled as if her words were completely genuine.
Yet, in reality, what Chika Fujiwara had revealed was likely something only she herself knew.
Hearing this, Luo Shu was somewhat surprised but didn't comment. After all, he hadn't specifically instructed Chika to keep secrets yesterday, so Toyomi becoming privy to certain matters was only natural.
Though confidentiality regulations existed, both Daichi Fujiwara and Luo Shu possessed legitimate means to bypass them, hence they didn't dwell on it too much. From Luo Shu's perspective, Toyomi's involvement with their affairs was inevitable sooner or later.
"Would Chika really express gratitude towards me?"
A faint smile played on Luo Shu's lips. It wasn't that he doubted Chika's capacity for gratitude, but rather that she was the type to express thanks directly rather than behind someone's back.
Thus, Luo Shu concluded Toyomi was fabricating. Or rather, she was using Chika's name to voice her own sentiments. The one wishing to thank him was actually Toyomi herself.
Realising this, Luo Shu couldn't help but glance at Toyomi. Their eyes met briefly in a silent understanding before they looked away.
This unspoken exchange didn't distress Daichi the most, but rather Erina and Alice Nakiri.
Though the Nakiri family members weren't truly required to perform hostess duties like pouring drinks, their mere presence here symbolised the Nakiri household's hospitality. Yet being sidelined while the others conversed privately left the two sisters rather bewildered.
What's going on? You're acting like family, while we've become outsiders.
Alice, usually the centre of attention, found this situation rather amusing, and even the more socially inexperienced Erina sensed something amiss. She felt the trio before them was subtly excluding her and Alice.
Their earlier conversation clearly contained unfinished thoughts deliberately left unsaid due to the sisters' presence. While changing the subject would be most appropriate now, this situation was not her forte.
'Alice could probably handle it, though?'
Erina wasn't adept at conversation, even when accompanying Senzaemon Nakiri to banquets where smaller families sought the Nakiri's favour. With petitioners naturally being deferential and Erina consciously controlling her temper, no incidents had occurred before.
But now, hosting her grandfather's old friend—the former Prime Minister Fujiwara's second son and his daughter, and the young director of a special department that could expand Nakiri's connections—left Erina rather out of her depth.
She neither possessed silver-tongued diplomacy nor ease around men. Receiving Luo Shu genuinely troubled her.
Recognising this, Erina immediately turned her gaze towards Alice.
'This cheerful girl excelled at enlivening atmospheres - perhaps she should...'
But when Erina Nakiri looked, she was surprised to find the other party already whispering intimately into Toyomi Fujiwara's ear.
'This guy, how is she so fast?'
Just as Erina Nakiri was left speechless, Luo Shu, beside her, took the initiative to speak first:
"Miss Erina is Mana-san's daughter, correct?"