When Luo Shu laid eyes on the girl clad in a black spider lily-patterned kimono, as still as a doll, his expression froze slightly.
After staring at Ai Enma's face for a moment, he couldn't help but remark:
"Honestly, I feel like we should have Kisara prepare some blood-nourishing medicinal cuisine for this child. Her complexion is so pale, it looks like I've been abusing her."
"Even if you say that, medicinal cuisine won't replenish the blood and energy of a vengeful spirit, will it?"
The speaker was a Shibuya-style blonde gal lounging on the nearby sofa.
Though she appeared as a gal, she was actually an Evil Spirit whose body had been seized by Enigma and turned into an avatar.
Admittedly, the idea of an Evil Spirit's Spirit Body being hijacked sounded bizarre, but Enigma had accomplished it through her Demigod Rank abilities. The exact mechanics remained unclear to Luo Shu for now.
"In that case, perhaps we could research ingredients that nourish Spirit Bodies? Like incense ash mixed with rice or fried dishes with yellow paper?"
Luo Shu didn't glance at the blonde bombshell beside him, keeping his gaze fixed on Ai Enma before him.
Due to Luo Shu's exceptionally high Spiritual Power – nearly the strongest tier below Demigod level – his Spiritual Perspective could see through most disguises to some degree.
And these disguises naturally included the appearance mimicry of vengeful spirits.
To ordinary eyes, a Shibuya-style gyaru sat on the sofa, but in Luo Shu's vision... it was a female corpse crawling with maggots.
Thanks to this, Luo Shu now dared not look toward the sofa, so he focused entirely on engaging with Ai Enma:
"Little one, what do you usually eat? Incense offerings or faith?"
Ai Enma gazed calmly at Luo Shu, her eyes rippling slightly yet showing no reaction.
"Is this child autistic or something?"
Luo Shu muttered while speaking:
"I thought you were joking on the phone about bringing a mute girl, but you actually did bring a textbook example."
Luo Shu didn't know what expression to make regarding this peculiar situation.
The mute archetype might sound appealing in fiction, but in reality, interacting with such people proved incredibly difficult.
Even Megumi Kato's subdued reactions were preferable – at least she actively responded, whereas the mute type offered virtually no feedback.
As Luo Shu silently grumbled to himself, Enigma glanced at Ai Enma and commanded:
"Ai, answer his question."
At this, Ai Enma's eyes seemed to shift slightly before she spoke to Luo Shu:
"...Unnecessary."
"Hmm?" Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, puzzling over what 'unnecessary' meant when she continued.
"Hell Girls requires no sustenance. Or rather, our nourishment comes from human resentment."
"So long as resentment exists, we shall never hunger."
Hearing that raspy explanation, Luo Shu focused on one particular phrase:
"Hell Girls?"
Enigma then elaborated from the side:
"Vengeful spirits controlled by the Three-Eyed Spider through contracts. Their job is to curse targets for resentful humans, with souls as payment."
"The cursed are immediately dragged to hell, while the cursers have their souls collected by Hell Girls after death."
"Of course, the so-called 'hell' and 'soul collection' just means being devoured by the Three-Eyed Spider."
"Hell certainly isn't lacking for incoming souls."
As Enigma explained, a lightbulb seemed to switch on in Luo Shu's head.
'Hell Girl, Three-Eyed Spider, curses and the cursed... plus a vengeful spirit girl who favoured kimonos with black hair and red eyes...'
"Wait, this girl's name wouldn't happen to be Ai Enma, would it?"
"You know her?" Enigma looked genuinely surprised.
"It really is Ai Enma!"
Luo Shu showed mild astonishment, unable to resist turning to examine the Hell Girl before him properly.
At the same time, Ai Enma turned her gaze to his face, seemingly observing Luo Shu as well.
"So, that Three-Eyed Spider is the same one I know?"
Though knowing this information now isn't particularly useful.
Luo Shu had a vague recollection of the Hell Girl anime, but only a faint impression. The specifics had long been forgotten, let alone minor details.
Still, actually meeting Ai Enma gave him a certain delight in encountering the real person.
With that in mind, Luo Shu smiled and said to Enigma:
"You've really brought back quite the impressive gift~"
Having said that, Luo Shu averted his eyes, afraid of seeing some horrific spectre of resentment.
Seeing Luo Shu finally express satisfaction with the gift, the Shibuya-style blonde gal played with her fingers tentatively:
"Actually..."
"When I brought this child here, I made every effort to avoid prying eyes, even dodging people within the garrison."
Luo Shu shifted his gaze to the blonde gal at these words, but only glanced briefly before looking away:
"...What are you trying to say?"
Enigma then smiled suggestively:
"What I mean is..."
"No one would know whatever... excessive things you might do to this child~"
Luo Shu's expression cleared as sudden understanding dawned.
Noticing this, Enigma maintained her suggestive smile while inwardly sneering.
'As expected, men do enjoy this sort of thing~'
Yet her smirk lasted only moments before Luo Shu's indifferent voice cut in:
"How tedious."
"I've no interest in abusing what's essentially a warm mannequin."
"Moreover, don't think I don't realise you're testing me."
"What, planning to immediately send me hordes of women to curry favour if I agreed? To gain my trust?"
"Who knew you had such talent for sycophancy, Ms Enigma?"
Hearing this sarcasm, Enigma paused briefly before responding:
"So... you don't like this child?"
"On the contrary, I like her very much!"
Luo Shu stated with complete candour:
"But liking her doesn't mean I'd do those self-gratifying things to a potential Familia member who hasn't appeared as an enemy."
"If I simply wanted release, any park in central Tokyo could provide suitable... apparatus—just a matter of spending money."
"What I want is more interesting interactions, something emotional."
"For instance right now, I'm rather looking forward to seeing more expressions from Ai Enma~ Whether shyness, anger—any emotional expression on that face would be fascinating to see."
Ai Enma tilted her head slightly at this, her face showing faint puzzlement.
She glanced at Luo Shu, then turned to direct her gaze at Enigma.
That look seemed to ask Enigma: Is this person an idiot?
To which Luo Shu smiled:
"Now there's some humanity—at least some expression. She's become somewhat cuter this way."
After speaking, he turned his head and gave Enigma a disdainful look:
"Of course, compared to this senior who dares to test people, even Ai's emotionless demeanour is cuter."
Enigma didn't respond, silently abandoning her wraith-like disguise to reveal her terrifying true form.
Luo Shu merely rolled his eyes at this and scoffed:
"I just find it disgusting, not frightening."
"And what's with that attitude? Do you need to be taught some manners?"
"Friendly reminder - just because I don't bully Ai Enma doesn't mean I won't bully you, Lady Greed of the Hell Sect~"
Bullying Ai Enma, a girl who already had a pitiable background, was something Luo Shu couldn't bring himself to do. But when it came to Enigma, he had no such reservations.
Sensing this subtle difference in attitude, Enigma immediately became docile. She had no desire for her main body to return from its hard work only to receive a whipping from Luo Shu:
"So, Director, are you planning to form a contract with this child now?"
"The Three-Eyed Spider isn't dead yet. Can you be certain it hasn't left any traps in the contract?"
Luo Shu shot Enigma a glance and sneered:
"If it were me, I'd definitely leave a backdoor."
"..."
Enigma had nothing to say to this.
Openly admitting to leaving traps in contracts to one's own Familia, one could either call Luo Shu brutally honest or utterly confident.
"After we deal with the Three-Eyed Spider, we'll have Ai become my Familia."
Luo Shu said this to Ai Enma while adding:
"Until then, let Kisara look after this child. Before long, the Hidden Management Department might become a battlefield..."
At this point, Luo Shu revealed an amused smile:
"Speaking of which, Enigma, you can send Nibecol from Raziel over now."
"I'm quite looking forward to the spider crawling into my web~"
Hearing this, Enigma stood up and bowed gracefully:
"As you command~"