Gently running his fingers through Utaha's smooth black hair, Luo Shu clumsily imitated the movements he'd seen hairdressers use when drying long hair for female clients.
When he was nearly done, Utaha – who had been examining herself in a small mirror while facing away from Luo Shu – finally muttered:
"You're really bad at this."
Luo Shu rolled his eyes: "Well of course I'm bad at it, I've got no experience. But speaking of which, why are you smiling so much if I'm doing such a poor job?"
"Because that's a good thing." Utaha nodded with exaggerated seriousness.
Being bad at it meant he hadn't dried many girls' hair before, which meant she was the first.
Utaha's logic was just that simple.
"Being bad is good?" Luo Shu turned off the hairdryer, completely confused.
Of course, since he couldn't understand Utaha's reasoning, he decided not to waste mental energy on it – after all, he still had important business to attend to.
"Speaking of which, you distracted me earlier and made me forget about the important matter."
Utaha picked up a comb from the glass table in front of her and was about to tidy her hair further when she heard this. She turned her head:
"Important matter?"
"Isn't the important matter going to school together to ask Teacher Natsuki to investigate the anomalous space above Tokyo?"
Luo Shu gave her a look as he put the hairdryer back in the cabinet below the TV, then stood up:
"That's one important matter, but not important enough for me to come here specifically."
Utaha froze, then suddenly seemed to realise something. Clutching the white towel around her, her face turned slightly red as she said in embarrassed annoyance:
"You've already tormented me half the night, and you're still not satisfied?"
"Fine, fine, I give up. Tonight, we'll do it tonight, alright? You can't expect me to help you again right now? Wait... don't tell me you want to do it at school?"
"...That kind of thing doesn't count as important business." Luo Shu's mouth twitched as he replied naturally.
Seriously, how can you say such shameless things out loud?
At school? You're really something else!
"Neither?" Hearing Luo Shu's response, Utaha realised she'd misunderstood.
Though she felt awkward, she wasn't overly concerned. After all, both parties were intimately familiar with each other's... measurements. Could any awkwardness compare to last night when she'd clung to Luo Shu, refusing to let go?
"You're not actually here to discuss serious matters, are you?"
Seeing Utaha's astonished expression, Luo Shu replied somewhat irritably: "What? Do I strike you as someone who never talks business?"
"Not exactly." Utaha shook her head. "It's just that in my experience, you're the type who blends... indecent matters into serious discussions."
"For instance, like earlier when you asked Natsuki-chan to help you... assemble a harem."
"What kind of nonsense is 'assembling a harem'?" Luo Shu retorted.
Utaha's eyes sparkled with amusement as she teased: "Shall we phrase it more delicately then? Recruiting Familia members, perhaps?"
"You're making insinuations now, aren't you? Absolutely are!" Luo Shu's composure was crumbling under the assault.
"My, my~ If you dare do these things, why fear me mentioning them?" Utaha continued her playful ribbing before smiling brightly. "But seriously, what is this important matter?"
After a pause, Luo Shu replied: "It's about power advancement."
"My promotion in Kyoto provided substantial information, including methods to rapidly elevate someone to peak Hero Rank using points."
"After consideration, you're the first person I approached."
"The first?" Utaha's eyes lit up, though she immediately grew suspicious. "You're absolutely certain I'm the first?"
Luo Shu shot her a glance, observing her barely contained glee, and sighed: "You're the first to hear about this, but stop grinning like an idiot. There are... significant reasons you weren't actually first."
Originally, Luo Shu had intended to approach Kisara first, with Utaha second. However, as a Pureblood demon, Kisara already possessed peak Hero Rank capabilities—she merely lacked practical experience. Thus, he'd automatically excluded her and approached Utaha instead.
"Significant reasons?"
Utaha blinked, glanced down at her abdomen, then flushed crimson. "I knew it! You always mix inappropriate elements into serious matters!"
"So this is your ranking criteria?"
"..."
Luo Shu was speechless. He seriously considered cracking open Utaha's skull to verify whether it contained exclusively pornographic material.
This woman's thought process was truly extraordinary!
Noticing his expression, Utaha huffed indignantly: "Don't look so judgmental! Can you honestly claim the reason for approaching me first isn't because we... exchanged first times?"
'You gave me your first time, not the other way around. The actual first exchange was with Kisara...' Luo Shu mentally corrected, though he saw no benefit in voicing this.
"Well? Are you interested or not?"
"Interested? Of course I'm interested."
Utaha would never pass up an opportunity to grow stronger. Unlike during the Kyoto incident, where she'd remained safely in Tokyo, she longed to stand beside Luo Shu as an equal partner in crime.
Yet, despite her eagerness for power advancement, Utaha restrained her excitement: "Only if it doesn't affect you!"
"Don't forget, the Hidden Management Department's main priority right now is still increasing your authority!"
"Points hold the highest value for you, don't they?"
Hearing Utaha say this, Luo Shu felt warmth in his heart before replying with a smile:
"Let's not. Setting aside how long it'll take me to master the Calamity Priest Class and meet the requirements for Demigod promotion, just consider the point expenditure."
Here, Luo Shu paused, looking at Utaha with an amused expression:
"Admittedly, rapid advancement from zero to top-tier Hero Rank would cost at least 160,000 points, but you don't think this can be achieved overnight, do you?"
"Ability advancement also requires mastery. Though simpler than mastering Class abilities, it still takes considerable effort."
"Each ability advancement needs time for proper assimilation. By the time you reach top-tier Hero standard, at least half a year would have passed."
"And in six months, I might well have become a Demigod already."
'You say "might"...' Utaha grumbled internally before speaking:
"Well, if you insist on spending your hard-earned points on me, I certainly won't object. After all, I'm the one benefiting."
She then paused, glancing sideways at Luo Shu:
"Consider it a low-interest loan!"
"Interest? Let's not bother with that." Luo Shu blinked before shaking his head.
Given their current relationship, recovering the principal would be the most he'd ask for. Charging interest would feel wrong to him.
Utaha adjusted the white towel around herself, cheeks slightly flushed as she asked meaningfully:
"Are you sure you don't want interest?"
'This...' Luo Shu hesitated momentarily before stating solemnly:
"It's not that I particularly want returns, but interest on loans is perfectly reasonable, legitimate and lawful."
Utaha didn't respond verbally, merely crooking her finger in invitation.
Seeing this, Luo Shu naturally provided an appropriate response.
Before picking up his school bag, they thoroughly explored matters of loan interest, including duration and amount, eventually reaching a mutually satisfactory conclusion.
Later, emerging from the shower again, Utaha studied Luo Shu drinking water on the sofa before nodding thoughtfully:
"Strange. Judging by earlier performance, that pink-haired demon Kisara didn't drain you much last night? How did she restrain herself?"
'When even I couldn't hold back... How did that possessive demon manage it?'
Luo Shu maintained his grip on the water glass, though his eyes betrayed slight guilt as he kept his back turned.
'Perhaps I should keep the Calamity Priest's ability to absorb excessive output as misfortune my deepest secret...' With this thought, Luo Shu quickly changed the subject:
"We've missed the Ikebukuro metro. Shall we use the Astronomy Club's spatial route from the Akihabara garrison instead?"
Utaha could never understand how Kisara managed to tolerate it. Seeing Luo Shu's reminder, she had no choice but to relent:
"Fine, let's leave it at that for now..."
With those words, the two tidied up, grabbed their school bags, and set off directly.