Luo Shu's Home,
Dining Room.
The pink-haired demon girl Kisara and the golden-haired Spirit Mukuro Hoshimiya sat side by side, expressionless.
Opposite them, Lacus, dressed in a white off-shoulder dress, watched them with an amused smile.
"You two seem quite displeased?"
Kisara pouted but said nothing.
Meanwhile, Mukuro Hoshimiya whimpered, "Big Sister..."
"Oh, so you still remember I'm your big sister?" Lacus huffed, half-exasperated, half-teasing. "From how clingy you were with Luo Shu earlier, I didn't see you treating me as your sister."
"That's because Big Sister and Big Brother are different," Mukuro retorted, puffing her cheeks defiantly.
"Ah, of course. One's just an honorary sister, the other's a beloved sweetheart—naturally, they're different."
Lacus teased, making Mukuro blush as her feelings were laid bare.
"I never saw you this attached to Luo Shu before. Could the Familia contract alter someone's heart?"
"So, I'm quite curious now, Mukuro. Care to explain why?"
Mukuro averted her gaze guiltily, avoiding Lacus's eyes.
Seeing this, Kisara couldn't help but raise a hand to cover her face, hiding her smirk."Ha! That shameless clingy pest finally got what she deserved!"
Just as Kisara was thinking this, Lacus suddenly turned her gaze towards her and said:
"You're laughing to death, aren't you, Kisara?"
Kisara paused at the words, then glanced at Lacus before retorting:
"Am I not allowed to smile?"
"Of course you are. It's just that your problem is more serious than Mukuro's!"
Lacus gazed at Kisara with an amused smile, speaking casually:
"After all, Mukuro hasn't done anything, whereas you... already have."
'What have I done?'
Before Kisara could voice the question, Lacus continued with a knowing smirk:
"You want to monopolise Luo Shu, don't you?"
The bluntness caught Kisara off guard.
But unlike Mukuro Hoshimiya, who treated Lacus as a big sister, Kisara had no such reservations and fired back:
"That's right. Got a problem with that?"
"It's not just me who has a problem. Many others do too."
Lacus smiled as she reached for the chopstick container beside her:
"First, there's Utaha-san, who knew Luo Shu from the beginning. Then there's Mira Tsubakihara-san, Kurumi Tokisaki-san, who pretends not to care, and Sharon-san, who follows Luo Shu."
"Oh yes, Yukino Yukinoshita also seems displeased with how often you disturb her and Luo Shu during work hours."
As she spoke, Lacus placed one chopstick on the table for each name mentioned.
"Considering newly joined Mukuro, Natsuki, whom Luo Shu favours, Dr. Tabane Shinonono, who sides with Luo Shu, and Ania, who's already agreed..."
"Given your current behaviour, conflict with them seems quite likely."
"And Meer and Kirika have always stood by me."
After speaking, Lacus looked down at the thirteen chopsticks now arranged on the table and feigned surprise:
"Already reached double digits?"
She then raised her head to observe Kisara's visibly darkened expression:
"That's more than half the current Familia, isn't it?"
"Doesn't it strike you as odd? You've done nothing wrong, yet everyone dislikes you. Quite peculiar, no?"
"So what?" Kisara stiffened her neck, fuming. "I only need Shu-kun. Why should I care about the others?"
"But Kisara, you can't stop Luo Shu from interacting with us, can you?"
Lacus countered calmly:
"It's inevitable for the Familia to gather under the radiance of their god."
"Even if Luo Shu is still a young deity."
"Perhaps precisely because he's young, he needs the Familia to provide him with nourishment."
"And this nourishment... is something you alone cannot provide."
"Of course," Lacus suddenly smiled - a cold, sharp smile. "You could always choose to imprison Luo Shu, keep him by your side forever."
"But... is such a thing really possible?"
The words instantly made Kisara's confidence waver.
Imprison Luo Shu?
The moment Luo Shu showed the slightest displeasure, she'd be consumed by doubts - wondering if she'd done wrong, if he'd started hating her.
Whether playing the obedient girl, learning hometown recipes, or tacitly accepting his other Familia members, everything Kisara did was ultimately to please Luo Shu.
His slightest response brought her greatest joy.
Could someone like her really resort to imprisonment?
"You can't do it, can you?" Lacus answered for Kisara: "Emotionally or practically, Kisara, you're incapable of such a thing."
"From the very beginning, you couldn't stop Luo Shu from interacting with his Familia."
"And when a Familia and their god are bound together for life, sharing their very existence, while also being young men and women in the prime of their youth—Kisara, can you truly guarantee no hint of intimacy would ever arise between them?"
Hearing this, Kisara felt her scalp tingle.
With Luo Shu's shared knowledge, she understood his personality all too well—and thus, the likelihood of this scenario.
After all, the mental link formed by the Familia contract constantly reinforced the connection between god and Familia.
Knowing they'd spend eternity with Luo Shu, what covetous gazes might those Familia members cast upon her beloved? Kisara dared not imagine further.
Unable to prevent it, and incapable of bending the rules, Kisara's realisation of her predicament left her nearly broken:
"So... what exactly are you trying to say?"
"Seems you've grasped the situation." Lacus's smile held playful amusement. "Then let me add one more thing—Kisara, how large do you think the Familia will eventually become?"
"Eh?" Kisara blinked, clearly having never considered this.
Lacus continued unprompted: "Currently, the Familia is approaching over thirty members. Based on my list, that number could easily double."
"Here's the problem—Luo Shu only has twenty-four hours in a day. With under fifty members, balance might be maintained. But what if it reaches hundreds? Or thousands?"
"Kisara, do you think a Familia member constantly trying to monopolise Luo Shu could possibly withstand opposition from hundreds of others?"
"Even if Luo Shu tries to treat everyone equally, if hundreds of Familia members reject one person... what choice do you think he'd make?"
Kisara's face drained of colour. Her lips parted soundlessly.
As Lacus calmly sipped from her water glass:
"That's why I said your current problem is greater. After all... you're already showing such tendencies."
With a muffled groan, Kisara slumped onto the table, face full of grievance:
"Why me?!"
She never intended to monopolise him completely—just to secure a wife's position by Luo Shu's side, enjoying a wife's privileges. How had this made her public enemy number one, facing collective rejection?
"No particular reason. Just the inevitable consequence of Familia expansion."
Lacus remained utterly composed, having foreseen this outcome long ago.
"From the start, there were only two options."
"Either Luo Shu maintains purely professional relationships with his Familia—no exceptions—or he makes all Familia members his women, becoming like the sun suspended in the heavens. No third possibility exists."
Smiling at the tearful Kisara, Lacus delivered her final blow with demonic glee:
"Initially, Luo Shu had a choice. Pity that one day... a certain greedy demon tempted him into error, forcing him to become that sun."
"And the one who committed that error... wasn't that you, Kisara?"
"This was the choice you made yourself that night!"