"You cause this kind of uproar the moment you return—are you deliberately trying to provoke me?"
In the private office, the gothic lolita teacher Natsuki Minamiya sat on a raised sofa, sipping tea with clear dissatisfaction.
Opposite her, on the guest sofa not far away, Luo Shu sat with his legs crossed, leaning back as if he owned the place:
"You know I rarely come back—can't you think more positively?"
"Positively?"
Natsuki scoffed, her tone laced with disdain:
"Publicly two-timing in front of the entire student body at the school gates—what kind of positive influence do you think that is?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu raised his right palm and placed his left index finger beneath it in a stopping gesture:
"Wait, let me correct that—I wasn't two-timing."
"Oh, so it's more than two, then? Octopus man!"
Natsuki sneered, calmly taking a sip of tea while side-eyeing him.
"Pfft."
Utaha, sitting beside Luo Shu, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Luo Shu gave her an exasperated look before turning back to Natsuki:
"Regardless, 'octopus man' is a bit too harsh, isn't it?"
Natsuki Minamiya calmly raised an eyebrow, smirking faintly:
"I think it's quite fitting for Mr Luo Shu, who's juggling eight relationships at once."
"Or are you going to claim that that young lady Tsubakihara you're keeping at home, or that pink-haired demon, have nothing to do with you?"
"Or that your relationship with Meer is a purely platonic friendship?"
"Oh yes, I heard you captured the Hagoromo Group's leader and locked her in your house. First kill her son, then take possession of her - do you think that sounds better than 'octopus man'?"
"Speaking of which, Suzuka has complained about you several times. Though she didn't specify, with her personality, she wouldn't complain about just anyone. What exactly did you do to her?"
"..."
Luo Shu was momentarily speechless, the most embarrassing part being that he actually couldn't refute it.
Beside them, Utaha's smile gradually faded as she heard this.
She glanced at the silent Luo Shu, considered his personality and Familia situation, and couldn't help clicking her tongue.
Seeing Luo Shu remain silent, Natsuki Minamiya immediately looked bored as she said:
"Keep this up, kid, and you might just end up dead at a woman's hands one day."
Facing Natsuki's admonishment, Luo Shu sighed:
"There are unavoidable circumstances involved here."
Hearing this, Natsuki thought Luo Shu was trying to make excuses and sneered:
"Oh? Unavoidable circumstances? What kind of circumstances force you to constantly entangle with groups of women?"
Unfazed by Natsuki's attitude, Luo Shu smiled cheerfully:
"The details are hard to explain. Why don't you just join us, Natsuki-chan? Then we wouldn't need to keep things confidential anymore."
"You brat..." Natsuki was momentarily stunned. Was this punk not only misbehaving himself but also having designs on her?
This immediately put Natsuki on edge - how could a student have such thoughts about her?
"Don't you dare tell people outside that I taught you."
Luo Shu chuckled: "Don't worry, no one would believe it anyway."
"Tch!" Natsuki looked thoroughly displeased at this.
But she had to admit Luo Shu hadn't actually been her student for long.
Between his constant absences after she started teaching at Toyogasaki High School and only managing to teach him how to identify Abyssal influences before other matters interrupted, he'd received minimal instruction.
Compared to Luo Shu, Utaha and Eriri had progressed much further, already studying basic magecraft.
Considering this, Luo Shu did have grounds for such remarks - but precisely because it was true, Natsuki found it particularly irritating:
"Seems defeating Nue has really gone to your head!"
In response, Luo Shu retorted: "Staring at students' backsides isn't proper teacher behaviour."
If you claim to see my tail, I'll imply you're looking at my sensitive areas - Luo Shu's counterattack was straightforward and crude, leaving Natsuki speechless.
"Shu..." Utaha couldn't help calling out, remembering Luo Shu was supposed to be seeking Natsuki's help. How could they proceed if he angered her?
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at Utaha, giving her a reassuring look, before turning back to Natsuki Minamiya and saying:
"Alright, Natsuki-chan, I don't believe you can't tell that what just happened was an accident. If you really have any issues with me, just say it outright. No need to vent your frustrations here, okay?"
"You brat..."
Natsuki snorted at his words but didn't refute him. She admitted she was indeed picking on Luo Shu.
On one hand, from her interactions with Suzuka Dairenji, she had sensed that Luo Shu might have done something to her student. On the other hand, as her student, Luo Shu had been skipping classes and taking leave continuously, only notifying her through Utaha and Eriri, which made her feel neglected.
'The Supreme Chairwoman of the SDS invited me here to teach you mysticism, and you treat me like air? Isn't that just insulting? At least have the decency to call and ask for leave yourself, you brat!'
"Ah~" Natsuki sighed, then said, "Fine, if you say it was an accident, then it was an accident."
"Anyway, given your current situation, as long as you don't cause a public scandal, it shouldn't be a big deal."
At the mention of 'public scandal', Luo Shu froze for a moment, instinctively glancing at Utaha's stomach.
Noticing the gaze, Utaha's face flushed crimson as she lowered her voice in irritation:
"Don't look here at a time like this..."
Checking out her stomach right in front of Natsuki Minamiya? Are you trying to pick a fight? Do you want her teacher to clearly see what's been planted inside her?
"Ah, sorry about that." Luo Shu quickly averted his eyes and scratched his head sheepishly.
Watching this exchange, Natsuki Minamiya's lips twitched before she gritted her teeth:
"I take back what I said earlier. Both of you will hand in 300-word self-criticism essays later!!"
"Are you two actually trying to create a human life here?"
While Natsuki had seen pregnant high school students before, someone like Luo Shu was truly unprecedented.
Knocking up a classmate, making advances on a teacher, playing multiple fields - are you trying to check off every morally questionable act?
After giving Luo Shu a disdainful look, Natsuki patted her chest to calm down before continuing:
"So, shouldn't you tell me the actual reason you came to school to see me?"
Luo Shu blinked in surprise:
"You knew?"
Natsuki glanced at him sideways:
"Last week, I received a call from that Chairwoman Clyne who's keeping you. She requested my cooperation in investigating the anomaly above Tokyo. Though I never expected you'd delay until now to show up."
Luo Shu's face twitched as he shrugged:
"Can't be helped. There were higher-priority matters recently. The moment I finished, well, here I am."
"Hmph." Natsuki snorted dubiously. She did know Lacus, Luo Shu, Meer and Kirika Tachibana were scheming something related to Tokyo's Hagoromo Group, but the specifics remained unclear.
After all, while she had personal connections with the SDS higher-ups, neither Lacus nor Meer would leak actual classified information.
Finally, shooting Luo Shu an exasperated look, Natsuki asked:
"So what exactly is above Tokyo that has the SDS so concerned?"
After a thoughtful pause, Luo Shu replied:
"Though unconfirmed, what's above Tokyo should be... an unfamiliar Spirit!"