The Saintess of the Patch Tribe?
At the title, Luo Shu immediately recalled the Joan of Arc reincarnation Hugh Carlisle had mentioned earlier.
That reincarnated Saint wanted to meet him?
For no particular reason, Luo Shu felt a twinge of wariness, suspecting that the Patch Tribe's Saintess might possess some extraordinary means to have learned certain things about him, hence her desire for a meeting.
Noticing Luo Shu's subtle change in expression, Lacus smiled and chimed in:
"Miss Joan wants to meet Luo Shu? It seems the letters I wrote have had some effect~"
Hearing this, Luo Shu realised there was indeed a reason behind the Saintess's request—Lacus had played a part in it.
Thanks to Lacus's involvement, though Luo Shu still had reservations about the reincarnated Saintess, he agreed to the meeting.
"I see. So, will Miss Joan be coming here, or should I go to her?"
Understanding that Luo Shu had accepted, Siegel glanced at Lacus with a smile before answering:
"If you agree, she can come immediately."
He then paused and added, "You seem to know something about the Saintess, Luo Shu? Did Lacus tell you?"
Luo Shu shook his head:
"No, it was Hugh Carlisle. I met that shameless old man earlier."
"Shameless old man?"
Luo Shu's blunt description took Siegel aback, but he couldn't help chuckling:
"Well... that gentleman does have a certain disregard for reputation..."
Siegel smiled wryly. Though good-natured and not one to use nicknames behind people's backs, his attitude towards Carlisle had always been poor—he even disdained associating with such a person.
However, compared to him, the Union's members leaned more towards Carlisle, as he had pledged allegiance and stood on their side.
Thus, while Siegel disliked Carlisle, he wouldn't speak ill of him, though his impression remained unfavourable.
"Still, if it was Sir Carlisle who told you, his views might be somewhat biased."
Kirika Tachibana scoffed, adding on Siegel's behalf:
"That old man probably said something nasty."
Hearing this, Meer eagerly raised her hand and interjected:
"I know, I know! Luo Shu just told me about it."
"That bad old man actually said he wants to support Luo Shu's rise and pull Lacus down from the chairman's position, making Luo Shu take over instead."
Hearing this, Lacus froze for a moment, while Siegel wore an expression of astonishment.
"Now that's... quite an amusing statement." After much deliberation, Lacus could only describe Hugh Carlisle's idea as 'amusing'.
Pulling her down and elevating Luo Shu?
If they disregarded the opinions of the SDS's middle and lower ranks during an actual chairman election vote...
The first to vote for Luo Shu would undoubtedly be Meer, but the second would likely be herself, the current chairman.
As for Luo Shu's character, even if he became chairman, he'd probably dump the workload back on her anyway.
Just like how he'd offloaded the Hidden Management Department's daily operations onto Yukino Yukinoshita.
Meanwhile, Siegel, after his brief astonishment, suppressed a chuckle:
"...I truly still can't comprehend Lord Carlisle."
'Deposing my daughter to install my son-in-law? How delightfully eccentric of the old gentleman.'
Though Siegel easily grasped Hugh Carlisle's scheme - exploiting Luo Shu's ambition to divide Lacus's subordinates and install a puppet - the execution was laughable to those who knew the truth.
"If Lord Carlisle requests my vote, I suppose I'd cast mine for Luo Shu too."
Hearing this, Luo Shu could only facepalm internally.
'Seriously, father-in-law? Have you listened to what you're saying in front of your own daughter?'
After the jesting, Siegel sighed:
"Though given Lord Carlisle's temperament, he'd never tolerate the concept of 'like-minded allies'."
Luo Shu adopted an attentive expression, but Lacus interjected warmly:
"Let me explain."
She smiled at Luo Shu as she continued:
"Remember when I told you the SDS was an organisation I founded with Kirika?"
"That's correct. Is there some hidden secret?" Luo Shu's curiosity was piqued.
Could it be...?
"There were some details omitted at the time." Lacus looked apologetic. "Actually, there was a third founder."
Realisation dawned on Luo Shu. "The Patch Tribe's Saintess?"
"Precisely."
Lacroix nodded before elaborating:
"In truth, the SDS was jointly established by me, Kirika and Joan of Arc."
"Due to Joan's... unique circumstances, we only publicly acknowledged Kirika and me."
"But organisationally, it was always the three of us together."
'What is this? Some Big Three trope straight out of anime?'
Luo Shu mentally complained, glancing between Lacus and Kirika Tachibana before asking:
"Why reveal this only now?"
"Because Joan hadn't consented before."
Kirika spread her hands helplessly, her expression troubled as she continued: "You might not know this, but that person is someone who strongly believes in intuition."
"No, I should say her intuition is practically a bug-tier ability on par with divine revelation."
"She instinctively felt concealing her identity was necessary, so she's kept it hidden all this time, even asking us to help maintain the secrecy."
"Actually, when I first found you, her intuition played a part too."
At this point, Kirika Tachibana's expression turned slightly nostalgic as she continued:
"When we went to Tokyo to establish the SDS Japan branch, Joan of Arc told me my return to Japan would recruit subordinates who could determine the SDS's future."
"And sure enough, within just a few years of returning to Japan, I caught you~"
Kirika couldn't help but chuckle playfully as she said this.
"Do you still have that Lucky Wallet with you?"
"I don't." Luo Shu replied with a dark expression.
In truth, the wallet was still on him, but he really didn't want to recall how he'd been recruited into the SDS after picking up Kirika Tachibana's wallet.
Seeing Luo Shu's expression, Kirika naturally understood and chose not to expose him, instead smiling as she said:
"That wallet was the spoils of war Joan of Arc and I obtained during an Abyss exploration."
"Because of this connection, when you picked it up, combined with Joan's prophecy to me, I thought you might be the person in the prophecy, so I forcibly recruited you."
"...So I should be thanking that Saintess then?" Luo Shu felt somewhat speechless upon hearing this.
So Joan of Arc had played a part in his joining the SDS, too?
Luo Shu began feeling slightly aggrieved.
Though the Saintess hadn't appeared personally, had she still managed to screw him over indirectly?
Well, this Mr Luo wasn't happy about that!
Noticing Luo Shu's displeased expression, Lacus covered her lips with her hand, chuckled lightly, then explained:
"Though I'm not certain what Lord Carlisle might have said, I imagine he portrayed the Patch Tribe and my positions as being in opposition?"
Luo Shu nodded, since Hugh Carlisle had indeed said as much.
But from what he knew now, that statement was somewhat mistaken.
While founder conflicts were common in some organisations, the SDS didn't seem to have such issues from its current appearance.
The so-called iron triangle?
Seeing Luo Shu's reaction, Lacus shook her head slightly:
"Lord Carlisle only joined the organisation after the SDS had taken initial shape, so he's actually unaware of Joan's existence."
"In fact, apart from the current Directors and my father, almost no one remembers that Joan was also one of the founders."
"And we've all independently maintained strict confidentiality towards later members, continuing this policy even now."
Hearing this, Luo Shu gave Lacus a somewhat sour look:
"So the reason you're not keeping secrets from me now is that Mr Siegel delivered a message that Joan wants to meet me?"
'What's our relationship, and you still keep Joan's existence from me?'
As if immediately understanding Luo Shu's unspoken question, Lacus quickly apologised:
"My apologies. Actually, long ago, during my first trip to Japan, I told Joan about you. But because communication is difficult from where Joan resides, we only just received her reply."
Lacus waved the magnetic card in her hand - the one Siegel had said contained Mia's identity details.
'So Joan's reply was hidden there?'
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, then asked curiously:
"Communication difficulties? What place has such poor communication? Another dimension?"
Lacus shook her head, then said:
"No, worse than another dimension."
At this point, Kirika sighed and explained:
"Joan is in the ancestral lands of the Patch Tribe, where the Great Will resides. To put it more plainly..."
"Joan is at Earth's heart, the origin of nature itself - the seat of Gaia's will!"