"Tsk, tsk."
Natsuki Minamiya clicked her tongue three times in irritation, glaring at Luo Shu with undisguised disgust.
When Luo Shu had been flustered earlier, she'd teased him, but now that he wasn't being pushy, Natsuki found herself on the receiving end.
Just as expected!
Even if this man ascended to become one of those lofty gods, he'd still be in the same league as Zeus or Indra—a certified lecherous god.
His personality was utterly hopeless!
As Natsuki was mentally griping, Tabane Shinonono swiftly injected a blue potion into Mukuro Hoshimiya's arm while assuring her it wouldn't hurt.
The moment the potion entered her system, Mukuro bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. Her arms tightened around Luo Shu's neck, her legs instinctively clamping together, toes curling uncontrollably.
Feeling Mukuro tremble in his arms, Luo Shu immediately placed a hand on her waist and activated his ability to absorb the pain.
The moment he did, his expression shifted drastically.
"This level of pain is abnormal, isn't it?"
The persistent agony he was absorbing now rivalled the torment of a kidney stone attack—enough to make someone writhe on the floor, howling in pain, convinced they were dying.
"What's going on?"
Luo Shu turned sharply to Tabane, brows furrowed in suspicion.
His first thought was that Tabane had tampered with the potion.
After all, while he'd never taken the Adjuster Drug himself, accounts from Utaha Kasumigaoka and others suggested the discomfort was only at the level of an IV drip, nothing like this excruciating pain.
At this, Tabane shrugged and retrieved a dark blue vial from the medical kit beside her.
"I did say this was the Sixth Generation Adjuster Potion Special Type I~"
Completely unfazed by Luo Shu's sceptical gaze, she cheerfully explained:
"Since it needs to take effect quickly and achieve complete transformation, it involves some destructive cellular enhancement at a certain intensity. So yes, the side effects—like pain—are a bit more pronounced."
"This was all communicated in advance."
Then she turned to Lacus with a puzzled look.
"Hey, Lacus, didn't you explain this to Luo Shu?"
Seeing Tabane's obvious confusion, Lacus immediately understood—the doctor suspected she might have stirred trouble between her and Luo Shu.
While Tabane didn't care about being misunderstood per se, she'd clearly be annoyed if proper explanations had been given, but miscommunication through intermediaries led to unnecessary suspicion.
At this, Lacus continued combing Mukuro's hair as she clarified:
"Wasn't the injection for Mukuro rather than Luo Shu?"
"Ohhh~" Tabane suddenly realised. "Right, that's true. In that case, there was no need to inform Luo Shu."
Since Mukuro was the one undergoing adjustment, her consent was the priority, which was why Lacus had spent most of her time explaining the procedure to Mukuro.
Where Lacus had miscalculated was not anticipating that Luo Shu could absorb the adjustment pain as a calamity. She'd assumed he was merely comforting Mukuro verbally.
After all, even Mukuro herself hadn't believed it possible—hence why she'd climbed onto Luo Shu's lap, clearly planning to use him as an outlet when the pain hit.
No one expected that Luo Shu's ability would be so absurd as to absorb the pain from physical enhancement as a calamity, making mistakes inevitable.
Having figured out the situation, Tabane Shinonono didn't mind such trivial matters and turned to Luo Shu:
"See? I told Mukuro beforehand that the pain would be quite intense. Though she was terrified, she still told me she was willing to endure it. After consideration, I agreed, so you can't blame me for this."
Hearing this, Luo Shu realised he'd misunderstood. Just as he was about to speak, a voice came from deep inside the room:
"You actually bothered to explain? How rare."
Ania, who emerged from the inner room, couldn't help but remark at the scene.
"Because Luo Shu-kun is very important!" Tabane puffed her cheeks in explanation, adding, "As important as you, Ania! No, perhaps even more important than you!"
At this, Ania paused momentarily before understanding dawned:
"I see. No wonder you're so concerned about Luo Shu - you want to use his power to assist your experiments."
After saying this, Ania considered how Luo Shu had just absorbed Mukuro Hoshimiya's pain while retaining the adjustment effects, immediately grasping the truth:
"So you're trying to add insurance for your cell modification experiments?"
"Hehehe~~"
Tabane giggled sheepishly, then glanced at Mukuro Hoshimiya before addressing Luo Shu:
"By my calculations, the pain should be fading about now?"
"...Seems so." Luo Shu focused and indeed found the pain had significantly diminished.
Nodding, Tabane continued:
"Then prepare for the second injection!"
"Six injections total - steel yourself!!"
At these words, Mukuro Hoshimiya immediately leaned back, her eyes locking onto Luo Shu's.
The distance between them narrowed to less than ten centimetres.
Seeing her nervous expression, Luo Shu couldn't help but laugh helplessly as he raised a hand to ruffle Mukuro's hair:
"Alright, alright. I'll absorb the pain for you."
"Eek?!"
Mukuro let out a small squeak, instinctively trying to dodge Luo Shu's hand. But after a moment's hesitation, she aborted the movement and leaned back in.
Watching this, Lacus smiled and offered Luo Shu some assistance:
"You know, Mukuro is very particular about her hair - even I, her sister, can't touch it casually."
Luo Shu gave Lacus a strange look.
Just then, Tabane announced:
"Second injection incoming! Pain levels rising again! After the third one, by the fourth injection, the pain will reach childbirth levels!"
"Hmph! This side-effect prepayment plan was carefully designed by yours truly!"
"How about it? Impressive, right?!"
"Impressive, impressive!" Luo Shu clapped half-heartedly.
In contrast, Mukuro Hoshimiya was utterly terrified. Apart from one hand placed beside her for Tabane Shinonono to administer the injection, her other limbs and body were practically shrinking into Luo Shu's embrace.
'So this is why Mukuro was so scared earlier...'
As the pain struck, Luo Shu couldn't help but complain internally.
Originally, Luo Shu had found it somewhat exaggerated that Mukuro was so afraid of injections that she had to cling to him, wondering why the girl was so pain-averse.
But if he'd known beforehand the pain would be comparable to childbirth, it would have made perfect sense.
Wait, pain equivalent to childbirth?
Luo Shu couldn't help but glance at Natsuki Minamiya, his lips quirking up.
Luo Shu knew full well that Natsuki Minamiya was next in line for injections!!
"...Do you really think I'm the type to cling desperately to someone just because of pain?"
Natsuki Minamiya looked at Luo Shu speechlessly, sighing as she added:
"Moreover, I don't have any urgent need to rapidly enhance my physical attributes, so I can perfectly well use the standard version of the adjustment, can't I?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but show a disappointed expression.
Seeing this, Natsuki Minamiya was both amused and exasperated.
Did this guy really want her to cling to him desperately? What was he thinking? Her personality wouldn't allow such behaviour.
Rolling her eyes, Natsuki Minamiya said to Luo Shu:
"Since this girl's adjustment is nearly complete, we should start preparing soon."
"Establishing a passage to the true Hidden Management Zone."
At this, Luo Shu's eyes flickered.
The so-called true Hidden Management Zone naturally referred to the Divine Kingdom within Luo Shu's body.
There were actually two methods to establish a passage to the Divine Kingdom.
The first was using points—generally, 1000 Points could establish a dual passage to the Divine Kingdom. The second method was to have a Familia member proficient in spatial magic, with Demigod-level strength, construct the channel with Luo Shu's permission.
The former method was somewhat costly. With SDS branches and bases worldwide exceeding one hundred, just the passage points would consume 100,000 Points—even Lacus would hesitate to spend such a huge sum at once.
The second method was precisely the main reason Luo Shu and Lacus had recruited Natsuki Minamiya.
Combining Natsuki Minamiya's spatial techniques with Kurumi Tokisaki's Mad Emperor's Spatial Abilities (though lacking fine control despite her Demigod-level power) and Ania's luck manipulation, they would attempt to meet the second requirement—constructing a space channel without consuming points.
If successful, it would save a massive amount of points, hence Luo Shu's keen interest.
"Are you confident about this, Natsuki?" Luo Shu asked seriously.
Natsuki Minamiya flicked open her folding fan in response:
"Isn't it better to try than to speculate endlessly?"
"I understand." Luo Shu took a deep breath. "Then let's try!"