"Anyway, that absolutely wasn't a confession just now!!"
Yukino Yukinoshita studied the red-faced Kei Shirogane, who was pulling at her sleeve and earnestly explaining, for a long moment before asking curiously:
"Even if it wasn't, why go out of your way to explain?"
Kei immediately fixed Yukinoshita with a gaze steeped in resentment.
"Yukino-nee."
"What is it?" Yukinoshita asked, puzzled.
"You're bullying me..."
The corners of Yukinoshita's mouth twitched upwards before she forcibly pressed them down, smiling as she said:
"Don't you have training this morning? You'd better hurry."
Watching Kei Shirogane stomp off in a huff, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but smile.
"Is it really alright to tease Kei like that?" Luo Shu, who had witnessed the entire exchange, asked curiously.
Hearing this, Yukino glanced sideways at Luo Shu before sighing slightly:
"So even the person in the Familia who enjoys teasing girls the most knows it's wrong to bully them?"
"Now you're targeting me?" Luo Shu chuckled, unable to suppress his amusement. "For the record, I've never set dogs on you."
"Did Haruno tell you about that, too?" Yukino's face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
As a child, she encountered a puppy on her way to kindergarten and played with it briefly, only for her sister, Haruno Yukinoshita, to witness it.
The very next day, Haruno bought eight puppies and set them loose to chase Yukino, resulting in several bites on her feet.
Because of this experience, Yukino still harbours some fear of dogs to this day.
While this was just a minor incident among the many pranks her sister had subjected her to during childhood, Luo Shu treated it as a significant matter.
"Just how many stories from my childhood has that devil of a woman told you?!"
Luo Shu considered Haruno's usual antics before replying:
"Probably at the level where she'd send an hour's worth of harassing messages whenever she had free time in the evenings."
Yukino: "..."
"If possible, please block her on all social platforms and messaging systems."
Yukino sighed, glancing at the documents Kei had brought to Luo Shu before lifting the files she'd been holding and handing them over:
"Director, these are the visitation requests from the Underworld."
Luo Shu took them without hesitation, scanning the contents before letting out a soft laugh:
"So Sirzechs is sending his sister as his representative?"
"It seems he's truly unavailable... I wonder if he's found any traces of Ophis yet."
The Infinite Dragon God Ophis - in Luo Shu's estimation, this being was at least Apostle-class.
Moreover, if nothing unexpected occurred, Ophis likely qualified as a Familia member.
The benefits of an Apostle-class Familia joining the Divine Pantheon could already be seen from Tohka Yatogami's example.
A direct gain of 100 units of Spiritual Essence could shorten Luo Shu's path to Apostle by a full third.
With such substantial benefits at stake, Luo Shu naturally coveted Ophis's allegiance.
However, he currently lacked coordinates to the Underworld, and deploying personnel across worlds for searches would incur incalculable costs. This was precisely why he wanted to leverage the Four Great Satans of the Underworld as convenient allies.
But judging by Sirzechs's current reclusive behaviour, his situation in the Underworld must be rather precarious.
"Is Ophis the Infinite Dragon God you mentioned before - the one who's at least Apostle rank?"
Hearing Luo Shu mention Ophis, Yukino recalled the information he had previously uploaded to the Divine Pantheon.
The three most powerful beings in the DxD world:
Great Red, the God of the Bible, and the Infinite Dragon God Ophis.
These three existed outside conventional Classes, yet all possessed power rivalling at least Apostle-level sorcerers - truly monstrous entities.
Among these circumstances, the God of the Bible was suspected to have fallen, dead yet not completely gone. The True Red Dragon God Emperor roamed the periphery of the DxD world, sniping at outsiders, while the Infinite Dragon God Ophis wandered through the three realms of the DxD world.
Thinking of this intelligence, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but frown slightly:
"Targeting that Dragon God seems like an extremely troublesome matter."
"Due to the True Red Dragon God Emperor, it's practically impossible for us to dispatch personnel to that world. Moreover, the Infinite Dragon God herself is an exceptionally formidable opponent."
"For now, it's just an idea."
Luo Shu interjected at the right moment, cutting off Yukinoshita's admonishment:
"Besides, searching for Ophis and recruiting her into our Familia is only just beginning."
"After all, we haven't even finalised the alliance with the Underworld yet."
Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita understood Luo Shu's meaning and frowned slightly:
"Director, are you planning to use the Underworld's local forces to track Ophis?"
"But will those Satans truly exert their full effort?"
"That's not up to them."
Luo Shu curled his lips into a meaningful smile:
"Though it's a bit of misinformation, when I last contacted Ajuka, I told him that Ophis had teamed up with Lilin, the great enemy of the Four Great Satans."
"With this news, Ajuka and Sirzechs must be frantically searching for traces of Ophis and Lilin these days!"
Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita immediately realised that her Director had deliberately withheld some information to trick the Underworld's Satans.
At once, Miss Yukinoshita found herself torn between laughter and exasperation:
"Lying to our allies right at the start of the alliance... isn't that rather inappropriate?"
For Miss Yukinoshita, who disliked lies, even tolerating deception among allies was already a result of being influenced by Luo Shu.
Even so, scheming against allies so soon after forming the alliance crossed her moral boundaries.
Were it not for the fear of being lectured—or worse, 'educated'—by Luo Shu in return, she would have advised him to be a little more honest and not push allies into becoming enemies.
Faced with Miss Yukinoshita's displeasure, Luo Shu shook his head:
"It's not a lie, just difficult to explain."
"From what I understand, Ophis sought out Lilin because she needed to unite strong allies to deal with the True Red Dragon God Emperor."
"So, if Sirzechs and Ajuka are willing to assist Ophis, she would most likely allow them to join forces and eliminate Lilin."
"However, while I'm well aware of Ophis's intentions and personality, explaining this to Sirzechs and the others would be problematic."
"After all, an otherworlder like me knowing more about Ophis than they do would inevitably raise suspicions."
Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita paused, then said apologetically:
"So that's how it is?"
"I thought you were hiding half the truth to deliberately send those Satans to their deaths... My apologies, I misunderstood."
Seeing Yukinoshita's earnest apology, Luo Shu turned to look at her:
"Apology accepted. How about I set some dogs on you later as punishment?"
Yukinoshita's face twitched. "Can I take back my apology?"
"No," Luo Shu flatly refused.
Yukino Yukinoshita stared directly at Luo Shu with her icy eyes:
"Small dogs are still within my tolerance range."
"Tch, that's hardly any sincerity at all." Luo Shu curled his lip disdainfully.
Yukino Yukinoshita clenched her fists, strongly tempted to punch Luo Shu.
But considering the gap between their abilities, and recalling the absurd things this man might do if unsatisfied, she sighed and said:
"How about I wear cat ears? Senior Kisara mentioned you make her wear them every day?"
"Deal. You're not allowed to take them off for three days."
Luo Shu swiftly agreed to the terms, leaving Yukino no chance to object.
Then, he quickly changed the subject:
"Notify Utaha to teleport back from the Hidden Management Zone."
"And have Aya prepare."
"Cross-world demon summoning should pique her interest considerably!"
Receiving the orders, Yukino couldn't help but scrutinise Luo Shu before sighing:
"Understood... I'll inform them immediately."