The invited Mahiru Shiina stared at Luo Shu in stunned silence, seemingly at a loss.
But Luo Shu didn't give the girl time to react, instead offering a pointed reminder:
"If you don't join us and gain the power to protect yourself, witches like Echidna who attack you probably won't be rare."
Mahiru blinked at these words, then puffed her cheeks slightly in mild irritation:
"That was a threat, wasn't it?"
"Mr Luo Shu, I really can't accept what you just said."
But almost immediately, she deflated like a balloon and admitted:
"Though I'd love to say that... judging from what just happened, this seems to be the reality."
"So as long as I lack self-defence capabilities, encounters like today's are... unavoidable?"
Luo Shu considered this briefly before glancing at Mahiru:
"Avoidance is possible."
"Didn't Sharon give you that bracelet? Wear it, stay in the apartment as much as possible, and minimise going out. Not many would be foolish enough to target you then."
"But in that case, there's hardly any difference from joining my organisation."
"As I mentioned earlier, Sakura Apartments essentially serve as my department's dormitory."
"So, apart from some lunatics and low-level fools, no one would deliberately provoke the girls living there."
He paused before adding:
"If you choose this option, I'll have Mira raise your rent by a thousandfold immediately."
"Eh?" Mahiru's mind buzzed at this.
A thousandfold rent increase?
Are you even human?
"My living expenses wouldn't even cover the rent then... Wait, Mr Luo Shu—"
Suddenly realising something, Mahiru looked at Luo Shu with an expression barely holding back:
"You're determined to force me to join, aren't you?"
"That's right." Luo Shu shamelessly admitted, "I'm forcing you to join; otherwise, why would I go through all this trouble?"
"Not for your talent, not for you as a person, so what else could it be? Your looks?"
Hearing this, Mahiru Shiina's face immediately flushed red. Though his actions stemmed from good intentions, she'd never encountered a boy as cheeky as Luo Shu before.
He simply wasn't giving her any room to refuse.
Trying to think of a countermeasure, Mahiru couldn't help but ask:
"Why are you doing this?"
Luo Shu sighed at this point: "Because you have quite serious self-destructive tendencies."
Hearing this, Mahiru froze momentarily before suddenly laughing in realisation:
"So that's it..."
"Which means you and Miss Sharon were nearby from very early on?"
So they'd seen her readily agreeing to Echidna's conditions and worried she might kill herself?
Mr Luo Shu was unexpectedly kind, wasn't he...
Luo Shu didn't deny having been present for a long time, merely sighing softly:
"To be honest, your situation should have been Sharon's responsibility originally."
"But with Sharon being so busy lately, and you living directly in the dormitory, I didn't pay much attention."
"By the time I realised, you were already preparing to kill yourself."
"Honestly, you gave me quite a scare. According to Mira, you're supposed to be a good kid!"
Hearing this, Mahiru couldn't help retorting:
"Even good kids get tired sometimes!"
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding: "Because of those irresponsible parents?"
Mahiru opened her mouth but didn't refute it.
She'd already wanted to die once - wouldn't correcting Luo Shu now seem rather hypocritical?
So she simply nodded in confirmation.
Seeing her reaction, Luo Shu turned to look at the emergency room where resuscitation efforts were ongoing and chuckled:
"Mahiru, you know what?"
Mahiru turned to look at Luo Shu, her expression showing slight curiosity.
At this moment, Luo Shu said mischievously:
"Actually, my ability includes healing power. Injuries like your parents' could be cured by me in less than a second."
"Eh?" Mahiru immediately froze upon hearing this: "Then why did you call the police earlier and follow the ambulance to the hospital..."
"Exactly - I wanted them to suffer a bit."
Luo Shu nodded, then smilingly reached out to pat Mahiru's head:
"Who told them to bully you?"
Suddenly having her head patted, Mahiru's face flushed again as she instinctively lowered her head, murmuring softly:
"Mr Luo Shu, why must you do things this way?"
Luo Shu thought for a moment before grinning: "Probably because I'm lusting after you."
Instantly, Mahiru's face turned crimson as she protested: "Please don't make such inappropriate jokes."
Seizing the moment, Luo Shu continued:
"Mira knows I'm lusting after you, too."
"Eh?" Mahiru's mouth opened slightly in shock.
"Kisara knows as well." Luo Shu added another bombshell.
"WHAT?!" Mahiru was dumbfounded. That Miss Kisara, who clung to Luo Shu daily and seemed determined to chase away every girl around him, actually knew?
"Sharon even offered to help." Luo Shu revealed with a wicked smile.
"Even Sharon knows about this..." Mahiru Shiina found it hard to believe that the overwhelmingly strong nun was aware of this matter and even intended to help.
At that moment, Luo Shu said quietly:
"So you can't escape, little angel Mahiru."
Hearing that embarrassing description, Mahiru Shiina didn't know whether to laugh or cry:
"Is all this... really necessary?"
Mahiru now realised the problem.
So all these people she'd been getting along well with recently - Kisara, Sharon and Mira Tsubakihara, whom she'd known since childhood - were all scheming to push her together with Luo Shu?
Though she wasn't sure whether this "pushing together" meant joining that so-called organisation or romantic matchmaking, the thought of being herded along by so many people left Mahiru feeling utterly helpless.
Why did it feel like that unless Luo Shu achieved his goal, she wouldn't even be able to escape?
"Isn't this too much?"
"Is it?" Luo Shu stroked his chin suspiciously. "Compared to Echidna stealing your body, I should count as friendly, shouldn't I?"
Hearing this, Mahiru sighed helplessly: "Please don't deliberately pick the worst possible comparison."
Luo Shu thought again: "Then, how about this - I use a technique to steal your parents' identities. I'll play your father, Kisara can be your mother, and then you'll obey obediently?"
"That's even worse." Mahiru couldn't help retorting.
She imagined Luo Shu as her father and Kisara as her mother.
In that case, she probably wouldn't be troubled by 'not being loved by her parents', but rather by 'her parents being too lovey-dovey and neglecting her'.
After all, Kisara-san was the type of woman who would visit over 30 supermarkets in a day just to find the beef Luo Shu liked...
Remembering how her legs nearly gave out last time she went shopping with Kisara, Mahiru felt a phantom ache.
To this, Luo Shu remained unperturbed, even joking with a smile:
"So, Miss Mahiru, any last words before signing the contract?"
Mahiru could only sigh in resignation.
Truthfully, Mahiru understood that Luo Shu's lengthy explanations were meant to comfort her, to prevent her from having negative thoughts again.
But she really had no energy left to criticise this method of comfort.
That said, she was still grateful to Luo Shu and Sharon for stopping her from doing something foolish at that critical moment.
Even so, Mahiru had to tell Luo Shu one thing:
"If there's a next time, please try to use gentler methods of comfort."
With that, Mahiru glanced at the contract scroll beside her and smiled in acceptance:
"If only I hadn't agreed to move in with Mira-nee..."
As she spoke, Mahiru unrolled the contract and signed her name in the designated space.