SDS Headquarters, Twin Towers, 11th Floor.
In the centre of a sixty-square-metre lounge.
On a beige sofa sat a woman with silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes, her slightly elongated face bearing Nordic features with somewhat masculine undertones. She lounged with legs crossed, arms splayed wide across the sofa back, complaining boredly:
"So, have we been stood up by that Hidden Management Department Director? By my count, he's over an hour late now."
A gentle female voice responded from the opposite sofa:
"But didn't the Supreme Chairwoman inform us that Director Luo was handling an emergency situation? Let's be patient a while longer, Koko."
Hearing this, the woman called Koko turned to observe the black-haired woman seated opposite.
She was the epitome of male fantasies – willow-leaf eyebrows, large eyes, thin lips, an oval face with youthful features exuding innocent charm. Her straight black hair and excellent figure even made Koko, as a fellow woman, feel pangs of jealousy.
Yet despite her envy, Koko maintained friendly relations. Though she belonged to the Commerce Department and the other woman worked in Intelligence, they'd collaborated before.
In their limited interactions, he had left a very good impression on her.
Of course, this good impression didn't mean Koko would agree with her current remarks:
"I say, Tifa Lockhart, weren't you also stood up?"
"Shouldn't you be joining me in complaining about the King of Tardiness right now?"
"If it were my subordinate arriving over an hour late, I could lecture them for hours!"
"Punctuality is the most basic requirement on the battlefield."
Hearing Koko say this, Tifa suppressed a laugh, knowing the other woman had a sharp tongue but a soft heart:
"But after this meeting, won't Director Luo Shu become our superior?"
"Shouldn't we tolerate it when a superior has to change plans due to unforeseen circumstances?"
"After all, they did send a message an hour ago about the emergency situation?"
"You say that lightly... but what if it's an obedience test?"
At this, Koko scoffed and muttered:
"Deliberately being late to secretly test our obedience while intimidating new subordinates - don't you think that's possible, Tifa?"
"Put that way, it certainly is possible..."
Tifa nodded, as this possibility did exist.
"But would someone recognised by the Chairwoman and appointed as Director of an independent department really resort to such petty tactics?"
"Who knows~"
Hearing Tifa mention the Chairwoman, Koko's expression softened slightly. She lifted her legs onto the sofa, rolled over, and lay down with her right leg raised:
"Whatever, only God knows how long we'll have to wait. I'm going to nap. Wake me when he arrives, Tifa."
"Understood, I'll wake you."
Tifa smiled helplessly, then picked up the novel she'd borrowed from the third-floor library and put on her glasses to read.
Just then, a swishing sound came from the doorway as the automatic doors sensed someone approaching and opened on their own.
When Luo Shu entered, he saw Tifa wearing glasses and holding a book, and Koko lying sprawled across the sofa with her legs crossed.
While the former was unremarkable, the latter's unrestrained posture gave Luo Shu pause.
For a moment, Luo Shu stared at Koko, Koko stared back wide-eyed, and Tifa looked at Luo Shu - all three falling into simultaneous silence as the room went quiet.
After about five or six seconds, Luo Shu glanced at both women, took a few steps back to check the room number outside in the corridor, then re-entered:
"You gave me a fright. I thought I'd walked into the wrong room and ended up in a different lounge."
As he spoke, Luo Shu quickly walked to the central armchair. Sitting down with his hands clasped before him, he smiled at them:
"Koko Hekmatyar and Tifa Lockhart, correct?"
"I'm Luo Shu from the Hidden Management Department. For the foreseeable future, I'll be your direct superior."
"Though I'm over an hour late, I look forward to working with you both."
Luo Shu smiled amiably at them both.
Although Luo Shu wasn't very familiar with Koko Hekmatyar, having only known that she was a Familia candidate verified by Kirika Tachibana, he was quite acquainted with Tifa Lockhart.
The 3D zone cannot lose Tifa, just as Europe cannot lose Jerusalem.
This meme was something even Luo Shu knew by heart.
Though he'd never paid attention to which work Tifa originated from, he'd certainly seen her... works!
Now that he saw her in person, he was rather curious.
After all, she was one of his... enlightenment figures.
Hearing Luo Shu's words, Koko propped herself up from the sofa with her arms, sat properly, then glanced at him:
"You're really late, boss-man."
At this, Luo Shu smiled shamelessly:
"My apologies, I got lost on the path of life."
"Oh? Not some sudden incident you can't explain to us, so you made up a random excuse?"
Hearing Koko's barbed question, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow slightly before replying with a smile:
"Well, a subordinate suddenly collapsing doesn't count as a random incident, does it?"
"Subordinate collapsed?"
Koko paused at this, looked at Luo Shu again, then settled back on the sofa:
"If you're not lying, then that's indeed a situation requiring immediate attention."
"Well, since there's a reason, I'll forgive you!"
As she said this, Koko ruffled her own hair, then introduced herself:
"Koko Hekmatyar here, a warmonger~. Looking forward to working with you, young Director~"
Meanwhile, Tifa, who was sitting nearby, also relaxed and smiled at Luo Shu:
"Tifa Lockhart, pleased to meet you!"
Luo Shu nodded in response. One reasonably sensible troublemaker and Jerusalem—no, the sweet-looking and gentle Miss Tifa?
Having two such subordinates didn't seem too bad...