"So, what exactly are you two playing at?"
On the living room sofa, Luo Shu sat wrapped in a white bathrobe, looking thoroughly unamused.
Before him, La Folia and Ravel knelt on the floor with bowed heads, their expressions resembling chastised schoolchildren.
Seeing their dramatic performance, Luo Shu sighed:
"One secretly leaves fingerprints in my door lock to enter without permission, the other barges in without knocking to scare people?"
"Luckily, I reacted quickly and wasn't startled, but if..."
What if he'd been scared soft?
Luo Shu paused mid-sentence, apparently realising the impropriety of continuing that thought, and changed tack: "In short, next time there's something urgent, contact Megumi first or message me directly in the internal group chat, understood?"
"Understood." X2
La Folia and Ravel answered in unison, desperately hoping Luo Shu would drop the matter.
After lightly reprimanding them, Luo Shu turned his gaze to Ravel:
"La Folia aside, why did you come here to join in the commotion, Ravel?"
'Huh? I thought this was over... Why am I still being scolded?'
Ravel's face fell: "I wasn't joining the commotion. I just wanted to ask about Serafall-sama's whereabouts since she suddenly went off the radar."
As she spoke, Ravel glanced towards the bathroom, observing the blurred silhouette through the frosted glass and listening to the cheerful humming inside. Her delicate face twisted with awkwardness:
"I just... never expected Serafall-sama to be... here with you, Luo Shu-san..."
Heavens knew she'd only been worried about Serafall's safety, hence braving Luo Shu's displeasure to inquire about her.
And while she had indeed found Serafall, she'd also stumbled upon... well, whatever this was between Serafall-sama and Luo Shu.
Not that it was scandalous, since both were unmarried... but she'd certainly interrupted something intimate.
In any case, Ravel's current mood was complicated, as if one's loyalty were repaid with betrayal.
"So you had a valid reason then?"
Luo Shu glanced at Ravel. He believed her—while the girl could be temperamental at times, she was fundamentally decent.
Mistakes made by good kids were forgivable.
Bad kids, however...
Luo Shu turned expressionlessly to La Folia:
"And what crucial role did you play in this incident, La Folia?"
He emphasised "crucial" with a bright smile.
Faced with that smile, La Folia guiltily lowered her head:
"I was just curious about who was sneaking in off-schedule for a snack~"
Luo Shu sighed in exasperation:
"Except the one who sneaks in the most is you, isn't it?"
"Lady La Folia, who deliberately arranged her bedroom next to mine."
"That's not true!" La Folia retorted, flushing. "I've only sneaked in twice recently—that hardly counts as 'most'! Kisara's the real repeat offender."
Luo Shu's mouth twitched. He couldn't exactly refute that, and with Ravel present, it wasn't appropriate to continue this line of discussion:
"Regardless, no more sneaking in uninvited—or luring others to do so!"
"And keep this matter strictly between us. Understood?"
The last thing Luo Shu needed was rumours spreading that while his Familia worked tirelessly during crises, their lord was... otherwise occupied.
How embarrassing!
Not that he could resist when Serafall was so proactive...
Fine, he admitted his weakness.
Just as Luo Shu was mentally chastising himself, Serafall's voice rang out from the bathroom:
"Luo Shu, Luo Shu! I've got no clothes to wear—bring me something to put on, quick!!"
Hearing this, Luo Shu shook his head helplessly, got up and walked into the bedroom. Stepping over the still-sleeping Nia Honjo, he took out a white bathrobe from the nearby wardrobe and promptly delivered it to Serafall.
By the time Luo Shu returned to sit back down on the sofa, Serafall—now clad in the bathrobe with her body still damp—emerged beaming:
"Ah, nothing like a bath to feel completely refreshed~"
Serafall stretched lazily before turning to Ravel with a curious tilt of her head:
"Speaking of which, Ravel-chan, what brings you here so suddenly?"
"Did I perhaps... forget to check in by accident?"
"Ah... y-yes." Ravel blinked, then gave Serafall a strange look.
'So you do realise you forgot to make contact?'
Thinking this, Ravel immediately switched to diplomatic pleasantries:
"We are overjoyed to see you return safely, my lady."
Serafall waved her hand dismissively: "No need for joy on your part—I've already had my fill."
'H-had her fill?!'
Ravel's face instantly burned crimson as her mind flooded with the scenes she'd witnessed earlier.
'Wouldn't that hurt, having one's hair pulled like that?'
Her gaze inadvertently drifted to Serafall's raven locks, and remembering how Luo Shu had gripped them, Ravel immediately straightened her posture and pressed her knees together.
Unaware of Ravel's fidgeting, Serafall glanced at La Folia with a smile before cheerfully plopping down beside Luo Shu and leaning against him:
"Speaking of which, Luo Shu, you haven't fulfilled your promise to me~"
Watching the small hand reaching over to draw circles on his chest, Luo Shu helplessly grabbed it and said:
"Haven't you already successfully awakened the Class of Magical Girl?"
Upon hearing this, Serafall pouted in mock anger:
"But I've only obtained the prerequisite to become a Magical Girl, not the real deal yet~"
"So I was hoping you could think of a solution?"
Luo Shu sighed at her words and opened the prompt that had appeared when Serafall signed the Familia contract earlier. Skimming past the points section, he focused on the Class-related information.
[Magical Girl (Demigod Rank)]
[Transforms love and belief into miraculous maidens, wielding wondrous magical power.]
In other words, maidens who wield the Miracle Concept and use magic.
Thanks to the inherent benefits of joining a Familia, Serafall had fulfilled all the preliminary requirements for advancing to Demigod status. Even the material needs for the Demigod ritual had been met by the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System.
The only thing lacking was the ritual to become a Magical Girl.
[Ritual Requirement: Perform a spectacle that can be called a miracle before an audience of at least 100,000 people!]
Staring at this ritual requirement, Luo Shu fell into deep thought.
Although there was only one case so far, it seemed that apart from Spirits like Kurumi Tokisaki, even powerful beings like Serafall, who could hold their own against Demigods, couldn't immediately advance to Demigod Rank after joining a Familia.
Did this mean that immediately awakening a Class and becoming a Demigod upon joining a Familia was unique to Spirits like Kurumi?
Luo Shu wasn't certain about this, but he did know that having Serafall become a Demigod would indeed benefit him. So he was seriously considering her request for help.
And coincidentally, he immediately thought of a potentially viable approach...
"If it's about completing your Demigod ritual, Serafall, there seems to be a perfect opportunity right now..."
"?!?"
Serafall looked startled, apparently not expecting her casual teasing to actually elicit a response from Luo Shu.
Seeing her surprise, Luo Shu smiled and said:
"What? Have you forgotten about the city you froze?"
"Shouldn't the stage for your advancement ritual be the one you prepared yourself? That would have the best effect, wouldn't it?"
At these words, Serafall froze.
It wasn't that she didn't understand Luo Shu's meaning - rather, she understood it perfectly, which was why she froze.
The city... she had frozen?