Silence lingered in the private room.
After learning the truth about the Sawamura Family, Luo Shu remained quiet for a long while before suddenly smiling wryly:
"For me, this counts as good news... right?"
As if oblivious to the jest, Nia Honjo replied with a carefree, cheerful grin:
"Indeed~ darling~"
"A lovely daughter and a mature madam—two beautiful blossoms you can reasonably pluck~"
"Truly wonderful news~"
Luo Shu wasn't angered by her words. He was well aware of his own vulgar thoughts, and there was no point denying them. Still, for appearances' sake, he feigned indignation:
"Don't paint me as so despicable."
"I'm the kind of person who'd mourn the tragedy befalling Eriri for a whole 30 seconds, you know."
"Are you sure it's only 30 seconds?" Nia Honjo looked genuinely surprised.
"Quite sure... Wait, which duration are you referring to?" Luo Shu started to agree before catching the implication in Nia Honjo's expression and hastily backtracked.
"Ah, you saw through me~"
Nia Honjo stuck out her tongue, finished her soda, and then said with a smile:
"But given the nature of the Concept of Calamity, even 30 seconds could stretch into eternity, couldn't it?"
Luo Shu stared wordlessly at the brazen woman before him. Such a pretty face, yet such vulgar words—what a waste.
"Let's get back to business."
"You approached me proactively and answered my questions—was it just to make me stop investigating you?"
At this, Nia Honjo giggled:
"Don't make it sound so transactional~"
"I'm a beauty, aren't I? Beauties don't care about profit or money, right~?"
She batted her eyelashes at Luo Shu coquettishly.
In response, Luo Shu merely scoffed coldly:
"Fine, let's not talk about you. Let's talk about others."
"SDS Intelligence has found no leads on the Spirits, even with the intel I provided. Care to explain, Miss Nia?"
Nia Honjo pretended to ponder, tilting her head skyward—only to realise Luo Shu was about to dismiss this illusory form. She quickly stopped him:
"Alright, alright, I admit I hid Miku's whereabouts. But I never concealed the others'! In fact, I even secretly passed Mukuro's intel to Kurumi. You can't accuse me of deliberately sabotaging you, can you?"
This surprised Luo Shu: "You've been in contact with Kurumi?"
Hearing this, Nia Honjo pouted and said somewhat disdainfully, "It's not like you have to meet in person to pass on information~"
"And I'm not stupid. Knowing in advance that Miss Tokisaki would betray me, how could I possibly meet with her?"
After saying this, Nia Honjo sighed and then explained:
"But to be honest, apart from Miku, I haven't gotten involved in the SDS investigation. In fact, if you hadn't sent people to track me down, I wouldn't have used the Raziel to discover your existence in return... Initially, it was your search, Luo Shu, that forced me to retaliate..."
"Well, let's not debate who's right or wrong for now... But according to the Raziel's search, the other Spirits currently don't exist in this world."
"Of course, Kotori Itsuka is the exception~"
"Kotori Itsuka is the exception?"
Luo Shu was stunned. Was this another piece of intel about a Spirit?
"Then where is she?"
Hearing this, Nia Honjo grinned slyly at Luo Shu, raised her right hand, and rubbed her fingers together in a money gesture.
Seeing this, Luo Shu could only sigh:
"Name your price."
"I don't want money~" Nia Honjo quickly got up and sidled up to Luo Shu, pressing against his arm. "I just want a tiny little promise~~"
Hearing the cutesy tone, Luo Shu shuddered.
At that moment, Nia Honjo pulled Luo Shu's hand into her embrace, rubbing against it as she said:
"As long as Big Brother promises not to eat me, I'll do anything you say~~"
"...Could you act normal for once?" Luo Shu finally couldn't take it anymore, swiftly pulling his hand back as he looked at Nia Honjo helplessly.
"Huh? You don't like this style~" Nia Honjo blinked in surprise, then tilted her head. "A Chinese who doesn't like cute accents? That's a bit unusual..."
'Why should I like that accent?' Luo Shu's lips twitched, his face a picture of exasperation.
Just then, Nia Honjo scooted slightly away from Luo Shu on the same sofa, then waved the Raziel in her hand and said:
"Actually, the real reason I'm scared of you is because of this book—my dear Angel~"
"Huh?" Luo Shu was taken aback.
At that moment, Nia Honjo had already opened the book, a pen automatically appearing in her hand as she began writing:
"See, if I write in the Raziel that 'If Nia Honjo agrees to become Luo Shu's Familia...'"
A soft hum filled the air.
Pale blue light shimmered around the Raziel, swirling around it like fireflies.
Clearly, the Raziel's omniscient search function had been activated by Nia Honjo!
"Here~"
Almost the instant the ability was activated, Nia Honjo showed Luo Shu the answer displayed in the Raziel.
In that instant.
The word "DANGER" in bloody red flooded the entire page, multiplying at a rate of hundreds per second.
Crimson text kept appearing, then shrinking rapidly on the limited space of the page.
Finally, the word "DANGER" contracted violently, rearranging itself into two larger characters: "YOU DIE."
Luo Shu's expression froze.
After revealing the Raziel's answer, Nia Honjo immediately handed the book to Luo Shu and spread her hands, saying:
"Just to clarify, I haven't tampered with the Raziel at all."
"Actually, I don't really mind becoming part of a Familia or anything~"
"While I do prefer girls, handsome boys aren't out of the question either."
"Oh, that reminds me~"
Nia Honjo suddenly seemed to recall something, pressing her index finger against her cheek with an eager expression:
"I'm actually quite interested in... those kinds of things between men and women."
As she spoke, Nia Honjo had already pressed close, wrapping her arms around Luo Shu's neck and breathing out a fragrant whisper:
"Besides, even if I don't become your Familia, that doesn't mean we can't have some fun?"
"By the way... today's a safe day~"
Staring into Nia Honjo's sparkling, doll-like eyes...
Luo Shu, who had been surprised by the Raziel's reaction and was still flipping through its dangerous warnings, fell completely silent.
At this moment, a question arose in Luo Shu's mind.
In today's situation, who was the real pervert between him and Nia Honjo?
It seemed like a question that was difficult to answer...