Inside the Western-style villa on the slope.
The sound of polished shoes echoed as a golden-haired, bearded man carrying a briefcase approached the villa's entrance.
Waiting for him at the door was a sharp-eyed maid with a neat bob cut.
"Welcome home, sir," Kochiyo Rurukawa said with a bow.
"Ah, Kochiyo."
Leonard Spencer Robert smiled warmly at the maid.
"It seems you're adjusting well to your new environment."
He handed his briefcase to Kochiyo, then asked:
"Is Sayuri home?"
Kochiyo accepted the briefcase expressionlessly and stood aside.
"Madam just finished a meeting and is still in the living room."
"A meeting?"
Robert immediately recalled the young man he'd passed on the slope.
Very young... but with a dangerous air... and that face...
His brow furrowed briefly before smoothing again.
"Kochiyo, prepare some afternoon tea for me in the living room."
Adjusting his collar for comfort, Robert headed toward the living room with a gentle smile.
Kochiyo nodded and retreated into the villa.
Soon, the living room door was knocked upon once more.
"Come in," called Sayuri Sawamura's voice.
When the door opened to reveal the golden-haired, blue-eyed gentleman, Sayuri sprang up from the sofa in delight.
"Robert? You're back from England already?"
She hurried forward, her steps brimming with excitement.
Robert smiled, opening his arms for a brief embrace before parting.
"Just routine reporting. That it took half a month is thanks to those damned politicians."
As he removed his jacket, Robert didn't hesitate to vent to his wife about work:
"Just routine work reports, but due to the Cabinet reshuffle, I had to accompany the ambassador to several balls and perform before those old foxes. At the time, I really felt like a clown teasing lions in a circus."
Sayuri Sawamura deftly took Robert's coat as he removed it, then responded with a smile:
"I heard the new Prime Minister and our diplomat lady were alumni at Cambridge University? Good friends since their student days?"
"Yes. When the Prime Minister was young, he once threw a basketball at that lady. And she poured ice water over his head in the dining hall."
"According to the media, they're the closest comrades-in-arms who emerged from the same battlefield."
Robert muttered a small complaint, glancing at the afternoon tea set on the nearby study desk, where only one portion remained. Turning back, his eyes met Sayuri Sawamura's before he exclaimed in surprise:
"You look like you've been crying?"
"Ah? That... I was reading manga earlier." Sayuri rubbed her eyes, smiling as she pulled her phone from her sleeve and waved it.
"Must have been quite a storyline this time. You'll have to lend it to me next time."
Robert chuckled before changing the subject:
"Speaking of which, that item I sent back from England earlier..."
"The oil painting, right? I could tell from the packaging."
Sayuri walked to a nearby cabinet, retrieving an unopened parcel. Picking up a tool for unwrapping, she grinned mischievously:
"I deliberately saved the surprise for today~"
"Hahaha, you're exactly the same as when you were young."
Robert laughed, then stepped forward to take the tool. Without concern for his expensive suit, he sat directly on the floor and began unwrapping.
As he worked, Sayuri peered over curiously before remarking in surprise:
"You never struck me as an oil painting enthusiast. Why choose this as a gift suddenly? Could it be... a gift from your uncle, Earl Spencer?"
"No, I bought this myself... Well, not exactly bought. More like a friendly gift from the artist."
Robert kicked aside the packaging, revealing the back of the framed painting - the side he'd specifically chosen to unwrap first.
Then, holding the frame's edges, he turned to Sayuri with a smile:
"Watch this~"
With that, Robert flipped the painting around to display its contents.
Upon seeing the painted image, Sayuri couldn't help exclaiming:
"Is that... Dragon Ball's Son Goku??"
"Someone actually painted this in oils?"
Sayuri found herself torn between laughter and disbelief. Though her knowledge of oil paintings was limited, even she could tell from the visual quality that this was the work of a master artist.
The effect was like watching a master chef prepare boiled vegetables - oddly amusing in its juxtaposition.
"Guess who gave this to me," Robert said, brushing off packaging fragments as he grinned.
"Let me think... must be a famous painter... someone I'd know..."
At this point, Sayuri suddenly looked somewhat guilty as she ventured:
"Don't tell me... it was little Mashiro?"
"Eh? You knew?"
Robert was feeling a bit strained at that moment. Holding the painting frame, he glanced at his wife and suddenly realised something, his expression turning unnatural as he said:
"Speaking of which, when I mentioned how interesting the painting was before we left, Mashiro immediately gave it to me without hesitation. Was that your doing?"
Sayuri Sawamura instantly revealed a gentle, sweet smile and denied:
"How could that be~"
"So it really was you..." Robert had an epiphany, then twitched his face and said: "If Mr Lucian finds out you're the one who whisked away his genius granddaughter, that old gentleman would probably throw a white glove at me."
Throwing a white glove was the prerequisite for initiating a knight's duel, and the implication behind Robert's words was self-evident.
Sayuri Sawamura's expression turned slightly unnatural as an image of an innocent, doll-like little girl surfaced in her mind:
"It was just a long, long time ago... I lent her the manga I had with me..."
Robert, seemingly accustomed to this, remarked:
"Yes, yes. A long, long time ago, you also left the yuri doujinshi you'd read by Eriri's bedside."
Sayuri's face stiffened, her expression growing increasingly awkward as she said:
"That child isn't around me every day like Eriri, so it should be fine... right?"
Her eyes sparkled like stars as she gazed at Robert.
"Hmm..." Robert pondered for a long moment before sighing. "Hard to say!"
"That child seems to want to study abroad in Japan. Sir Lucian even asked me to look after her. I heard she'll likely be entrusted to the Shiina main family here."
Hearing this, Sayuri froze:
"Study abroad? That child? Could she be coming to learn about manga?"
"Probably not...?" Robert replied hesitantly.
After these words, the two fell into silence, exchanging uncertain glances.
...
Akihabara.
Luo Shu navigated through the crowd of eccentrically dressed people, casting a glance at the passersby crouching with cameras to shoot up the skirts of cosplaying girls before turning into an alley. In an instant, he arrived at an office building.
After scanning the modest structure, Luo Shu entered the lobby. His pupils and fingerprints verified, he passed through the glass doors and approached the elevator.
Beside the elevator doors stood Yukino Yukinoshita, dressed in Toyogasaki High School's uniform, her delicate yet intellectual aura accentuated by the schoolbag in her hand. She raised an eyebrow at him:
"Welcome back, Director."
"Are today's visitors all finished?"