Dreamland Maid Café.
Second-floor corridor outside private rooms.
Maria Naruse tilted her head with an extremely uncomfortable expression, snapping at Luo Shu:
"Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
Luo Shu rubbed his chin, studied her, then nodded:
"Quite."
Before Maria could retort, he continued:
"Fundamentally, asking an SDS member to guarantee a demon's immigration - isn't the very idea problematic?"
This was like asking a cat to vouch for mice.
Maria exhaled deeply, then said helplessly:
"I understand what you mean."
"But consider what you've done today, will you?"
"After this, who would dare infiltrate Akihabara without your permission?"
Luo Shu was taken aback by these words, then stroked his chin while giving Maria Naruse a strange look:
"You're planning to have your sister enter the country illegally?"
Maria's face flushed red as she lowered her head and averted her gaze:
"There's a reason for this, you know."
"Oh?" Luo Shu drew out the syllable, waiting for her to continue.
Hearing his tone, Maria said with a conflicted expression:
"Fine, I'll be honest."
"Due to certain circumstances, my sister's situation back home isn't great, so I want her to come here and lay low for a while. Isn't that a reasonable reason?"
"Though vague, it does count as a reason."
Luo Shu nodded, reluctantly accepting Maria's explanation.
"So what's in it for me? Or rather, what do I get out of helping you?"
Maria's eyes widened as she stared at Luo Shu in disbelief.
Seeing this, Luo Shu calmly said:
"What? Is it strange for me to ask for something in return?"
"Surely you don't think our relationship is close enough to do favours without compensation?"
Hearing this, Maria's mouth twitched involuntarily:
"You just injured my clansmen, didn't you?"
Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, looking at her with amusement:
"Where's the medical report then? Do you need time to prepare one?"
"You..." Maria gaped at Luo Shu, completely dumbfounded.
Medical report?
Where would she get something like that?
Besides, didn't you heal all the injuries yourself? They're still lying naked in the next room.
Maria opened and closed her mouth before finally swallowing her words, saying with an extremely unnatural expression:
"Fine, what do you want then?"
"Just so you know, any condition involving me spending the night with you is absolutely out of the question."
Before she could finish, Luo Shu said flatly: "Sorry, I have plans tonight."
Maria: "..."
Taking a deep breath, Maria forced a smile and said to Luo Shu:
"Alright then, what's your condition?"
At this moment, the ring on Luo Shu's hand glowed with indigo Dying Will Flames, and in the faint mist, ID-card-sized documents materialised, stacking into a pile.
He handed these nameless, numbered cards to Maria.
"What's this?" Maria took the stack of cards in confusion before looking up at Luo Shu.
Luo Shu said calmly, "Passage permits. That'll be 100,000 yen."
"...What the hell?" Maria stared blankly at Luo Shu.
Seeing this, Luo Shu sighed and looked at her like she was an idiot:
"Still don't get it?"
"Your sister needs to enter the country, right?"
"And to enter, she needs to buy a passage permit. What's wrong with that?"
Then his tone shifted slightly as he added with amusement:
"Unless... you'd prefer your sister to end up like today - a pile of charcoal?"
"..."
Maria stared dumbly at Luo Shu, her face cycling through shades of pale and flushed like a magic trick:
"Are you insane?"
"Selling passage permits under the table, bypassing the Union? Aren't you afraid this gets reported and you're marked for elimination?"
"That's your problem to worry about," Luo Shu said expressionlessly.
"My problem to worry about?"
Maria Naruse froze for a moment before suddenly realising what was happening. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed:
"You want me to take the fall for this?"
"Don't phrase it so harshly."
Luo Shu sighed and raised his hand to ruffle Maria's smooth white hair, deliberately messing it up:
"How about a 70-30 split? Me 70, you 30. That's a good deal, isn't it?"
"'Good deal' my foot!"
Maria shook her head, trying to dislodge Luo Shu's hand as she fumed:
"30,000 yen to help you with a capital offence? Do you think I'm stupid?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu simply maintained his smile, rubbing his hand where Maria's hair had struck it:
"Is this pass the same as the officially issued ones?"
Maria's small face scrunched up as she looked down at the little card in her hand before replying:
"Not even close. This joint-issued thing is basically just a Federal Reserve bank card, though no one actually uses it for transactions."
Luo Shu's smile widened further:
"Then here's the question - do these passes have anything to do with the joint passes?"
"Couldn't they just be collectable postcards from Akihabara maid cafes?"
"And as for why smugglers call this card a communication pass, or why the Hidden Management Department can't track it down - what does that have to do with us?"
"Couldn't it just be that the smugglers are too well-hidden for the Hidden Management Department to find without special task force permissions?"
"You mean..."
Maria stared at Luo Shu with wide, confused eyes before looking down at the card again.
After examining it for a long moment, she couldn't help but blurt out:
"You're actually a genius!"
A money-grubbing genius!
Not only was he selling this obviously suspicious little card for 100,000 yen, but he'd actually come up with all these twisted justifications to legitimise it.
This was really...
Maria found herself completely at a loss for words to describe Luo Shu.
"I'm just filling in the gaps in the joint system. After all, people going through proper channels wouldn't need to buy passes, would they?"
Luo Shu smirked before patting Maria on the shoulder:
"So, Maria-san, want to get into the postcard business?"
At this point, Maria Naruse's resistance had lessened considerably. After all, Luo Shu had already provided her with a ready-made excuse, and selling postcards clearly fell within the scope of a maid café's business:
"With this thing out there, aren't you afraid people might misunderstand tonight's operation as Luo Shu's money-grabbing scheme?"
"Isn't that even better?" Luo Shu countered. "Or should I openly declare that Akihabara Town prohibits all illegal crossings?"
"That would offend far more than just one or two people."
"Ah... right..."
Maria Naruse finally caught on.
In a place like Akihabara Town, a hub for Abyss Artefact trading, there were bound to be many illegal crossings, some even backed by officials.
If Luo Shu were to ban these people outright, he'd make countless enemies. But if he sold postcards and openly profited from it, the situation would appear far less severe. At worst, it would just look like the SDS had dipped into the illegal crossing business for a slice of the pie.
The forest was vast, and the prey was plentiful.
Predators might resent it, but they'd only go all out against those who burned down the forest, not another formidable predator.
Realising this, Maria Naruse finally understood Luo Shu's reasoning and blurted out:
"You... had this planned from the start, didn't you?"
Luo Shu simply smiled at her:
"So, are you in on this business?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Maria Naruse immediately gathered the cards and grinned. "Money-making ventures aren't shameful."
"Our succubus clan members are already working as maids—do you think we'd turn down extra cash?"
Amused, Luo Shu patted Maria Naruse's shoulder:
"Then I'll leave this matter to you."
He then added, "Of course, your sister's pass won't be free."
'Even if she was a Familia Candidate's relative, even if she was likely to become a Familia Candidate herself... free was out of the question,' Luo Shu silently added.
Maria Naruse gave him a deadpan look and muttered, "Got it, you money-grubbing bastard."
Luo Shu didn't argue, merely smiling as he said:
"Kisara, let's go."
Hearing this, Kisara—who had been peeking from behind—jolted before awkwardly opening the door and stepping out.
Maria Naruse sighed. "So possessive, you."
Kisara stuck out her tongue and pulled a face at Maria Naruse.
Just then, Luo Shu's voice came from the end of the hallway:
"If you don't come now, I'm leaving."
"Coming right away!"
Kisara immediately forgot everything else and hurried after Luo Shu.
Maria Naruse watched them leave in silence before exhaling in relief.
"Finally gone... seriously..."
Shaking her head, she then entered a nearby room to check on her clansmates.
...
Meanwhile, after exiting the maid café, Luo Shu took out his buzzing phone and glanced at the screen.
[18th afternoon, care for another round of tea? —Sayuri Sawamura.]
After a brief look, Luo Shu replied with a single word:
[Sure.]