A private jet from America to Japan.
Since Joan of Arc wasn't a Familia member and to maintain secrecy about spatial transportation methods, Luo Shu boarded the small private jet of SDS headquarters, departing from California for Tokyo.
Ten minutes after takeoff.
In the window seat, Joan of Arc trembled as she turned to nudge Luo Shu sitting beside her:
"Um, Mr Luo Shu, is this... iron bird flying in the sky really safe?"
Luo Shu removed his steam eye mask from the wine-red sofa seat and gave her a puzzled look:
"Have you never flown before?"
Joan shook her head nervously:
"I know about them, but I've never actually been on one."
Nearby, Koko paused while eating grapes and looked over in surprise:
"Eh? An American who's never flown? These things are more common than guns over there!"
"How do you usually travel then?"
Joan hesitated: "Normally I ride on Bard's Over Soul... his Guardian Spirit is an ancient ghost ship that can fly through the skies..."
"If it's that, I'm actually fine with it..."
'A flying ghost ship is acceptable, but not a plane? What bizarre logic...'
Koko gave Joan a look but ultimately sighed:
"The SDS really has all kinds of people!"
As they spoke, Origami Tobiichi on the opposite sofa pointed at the window:
"Is that the ghost ship you mentioned?"
At her words, the group of seven turned to look.
"I don't see anything?" Koko said, confused, then noticed everyone's strange expressions.
What? Was she the only one who didn't see it?
Tifa reminded her: "Koko, don't use your eyes. Look with your Spiritual Perspective."
Following this, Koko clumsily activated her Spiritual Vision through suggestive gestures.
Instantly, an ancient brownish sailing ship emitting eerie blue light appeared in her view.
The vintage vessel floated amidst the clouds, silently keeping pace with the plane's flank as if sailing through a white sea.
Koko gaped:
"There really is a flying ghost ship!!"
Slap!
Joan facepalmed in exasperation:
"Bard and Obagiu followed us after all..."
"I specifically told them I'm on official orders to Japan for a mission and not to follow me!"
"I need to send them back... where's my phone? Wait, I should have it - Meer just gave me one yesterday."
"Your phone's with me. But do the Patch Tribe even have phone numbers?"
"Oh, right."
Joan of Arc was stunned. Neither Bard nor Obagiu had a mobile phone, let alone a phone number.
Wasn't this a dead end?
Luo Shu was equally speechless about this:
"Forget it, let them tag along."
"But come to think of it, weren't those two seeing us off at the airport earlier? They could've just boarded with us then."
"What's the point of going through all that effort to follow the plane?"
At this, Origami Tobiichi tilted her head slightly before nodding firmly and saying:
"Because they're good people."
Hearing this, Koko looked at Origami Tobiichi in confusion: "How is that being good people? What makes you say that?"
Origami Tobiichi replied expressionlessly:
"They gave me and Luo Shu space to be alone together, so they're good people."
Koko was dumbfounded and stammered:
"Hey, are you pretending we don't exist?! There are five people here, one man and four women, not one man and one woman!"
Origami Tobiichi calmly responded: "It makes no difference."
"It makes a huge difference," Koko said helplessly.
Normally, being part of the same batch could be considered being peers, right?
But among her peers, apart from Tifa, why did everyone else seem a bit... off?
There was an American blonde village girl who'd never been on a plane, and this strange-speaking, seemingly Chief God-obsessed, emotionless white-haired girl.
She had a feeling her days ahead would be quite difficult... hopefully it was just her imagination.
Though, come to think of it, controlling a ghost ship to chase after a plane and apparently planning to cross the Pacific from America to Japan...
This village girl's attendant... was quite strong.
Koko regarded Joan of Arc with some curiosity.
She hadn't seen her in the Familia, and there was no record of this person in the SDS, yet she had two extraordinarily powerful subordinates...
And when introducing herself earlier, she called herself the God's maid...
What a strange woman...
As Koko pondered this, Luo Shu pulled down his eye mask to cover his left eye, leaving his right eye exposed as he looked at the group:
"Wake me when it's lunchtime. I'm going to catch up on sleep."
Hearing this, Tifa asked with concern: "Did you not rest well last night?"
At that moment, Origami Tobiichi said expressionlessly:
"Which SDS department handles complaints?"
Koko gave her a surprised look: "The Central Secretariat accepts complaints. Who are you planning to complain about?"
Origami Tobiichi replied somewhat indignantly: "I want to complain about the Chairwoman. Last night she occupied Luo Shu's room and wouldn't let me in!"
Tifa: "..."
Koko: "..."
Well, now they knew why Luo Shu was tired.
And by the looks of it, it must have been quite intense to occupy the whole night...
When this thought occurred to her, Koko suddenly realised something was off:
"Wait, according to the Chairwoman's announcement in the Familia last night, wasn't she at the space station?"
"Familia?" Joan of Arc gave Koko a puzzled look but didn't pursue the matter.
Meanwhile, Tifa also caught on:
"If the Chairwoman was at the space station, then who did Origami see last night?"
'Who else could it be? Meer, of course...' Luo Shu thought to himself before suppressing the noise and saying:
"It was a doppelganger."
"For certain needs, Lacus and I had to display some intimacy at headquarters."
He didn't specify what those needs were or why it was necessary, especially not mentioning that Meer had sneaked over, avoiding everyone's notice, nor that although Origami Tobiichi hadn't entered the room during the first half of the night, she'd been brought in by Meer during the second half.
Thinking this, Luo Shu couldn't help glancing at Origami Tobiichi.
Deliberately mentioning being blocked only in the first half of the night, while omitting the second half - Origami was playing little tricks.
"I see, a doppelganger?"
Koko and Tifa looked enlightened. The idea that the Supreme Chairwoman of the SDS had several doppelgangers seemed perfectly normal to them.
So, for certain needs, Luo Shu had spent the night with the Chairwoman's doppelganger?
At this thought, both of them felt slightly embarrassed by their earlier dirty-minded assumptions.
After all, if Luo Shu had been with Lacus, something might have happened. But with Lacus's doppelganger? That was clearly just serious political contact.
Unaware of Meer's existence, the two couldn't help thinking this way.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu, who knew the truth, secretly chuckled at their misunderstanding.
Teasing girls occasionally seemed quite amusing.
"That was the Chairwoman," Origami Tobiichi said with absolute certainty. "She was the one who brought me into the organisation."
Now Koko could understand Origami's meaning:
"So that's how it is. When you met her, the Chairwoman was impersonated by a doppelganger. That means the Chairwoman is often actually a doppelganger, right?"
"To imitate her so perfectly... tsk tsk, I'm curious who this doppelganger might be."
"Shall I tell you?"
Luo Shu glanced at Koko and, seeing her eager expression, immediately said:
"The doppelganger is actually—"
"I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!!" Koko immediately covered her ears, glaring at Luo Shu in annoyance. "How awful of you to just blurt out the answer when I was about to solve the mystery!"
"Fine, I won't say it then."
Luo Shu calmly tagged Meer in the group chat, then tagged Koko, pulled down his eye mask, and started sleeping.
Receiving the message, Koko grabbed her head in frustration:
"You just told me everything, didn't you?"
Ignoring Koko's displeasure, Luo Shu settled into rest.
Meanwhile, the plane carved a white trail through the sea of clouds, rapidly approaching Tokyo.