Space Colony Copernicus.
Within the bustling spaceport.
Lacus stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing distantly and serenely at the warships departing one after another.
"I knew I'd find you here, Lacus."
A knowing voice sounded from behind.
Lacus tilted her head slightly to see Kirika Tachibana floating gracefully towards her - her golden hair elegantly coiled, dressed in a deep blue office skirt suit with black stockings, the very image of a professional businesswoman.
Yet despite the refined corporate attire, the lady's cigarette dangling from Kirika's lips drew far more attention, transforming her polished appearance into something more akin to a gangster boss's swagger.
Her words carried similar audacity:
"Not planning to go protect your little sweetheart?"
"After all, he's just caused quite the stir in the most important city of an entire nation this time!"
At this, Kirika chuckled wryly and couldn't help but mock herself:
"The first recorded Demigod battle within an urban area - that kid really outdid himself!"
Though intelligence suggested it was an accidental encounter between two Demigods, as both Director of SDS Operations and a Familia member, Kirika knew full well that Luo Shu had lit the fuse for this situation.
Calling him the prime culprit wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"And all this on his very first day back in Tokyo after returning from America."
"Thanks to this, the upper echelons of the Five Great Powers have likely turned their attention to Tokyo, focusing on that captured Demigod."
"The top brass are keeping their composure, but the underlings might not be so patient."
"After all, this is currently the only known case of a Demigod being captured alive."
"He won't choose to hand her over," Lacus said with a confident, elegant smile.
"I know."
Kirika Tachibana sighed and raised a hand to rub her temples:
"Kato sent a message earlier. Though the Witch of the Notaria hasn't been detained, her attitude suggests she'll obediently stay at the garrison."
"But both you and I know... compared to Aya Tokoyogi being detained like some VIP in the Hidden Management Department, the Union would prefer her preserved in formaldehyde for joint research between them and us."
"Rather than this current atmosphere of apparent harmony."
Lacus let out a light chuckle, seemingly amused by the phrase "apparent harmony."
To this, Kirika Tachibana remained composed:
"What do you think are the odds of Aya Tokoyogi joining us?"
"100%," Lacus stated nonchalantly.
In response, Kirika Tachibana blew a smoke ring and smiled:
"What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing."
As she spoke, she took another drag from her cigarette, exhaling smoke through her nose before continuing:
"Moreover, letting the Five Great Powers research Demigods doesn't serve our interests."
"Heh, though I'm not entirely sure how things turned out this way, it appears our SDS has surpassed the Five Great Powers in terms of individual combat capabilities."
Lacus glanced sideways at Kirika and softly reminded her:
"The Five Great Powers aren't completely without Demigods."
"So what?"
Kirika didn't deny this. Based on the intelligence Meer had gathered, there were indeed suspiciously powerful figures within the Five Great Powers, particularly in the Taoist Association, Buddhist Association and Catholic Association.
Considering their foundations, the possibility of Demigods existing there wasn't zero - in fact, it was quite likely.
"Even if they have Demigods, two or three would be the absolute maximum."
"And who knows what kind of Demigods they've produced?"
"Are they just brute-force enhanced lifeforms? Or wild Demigods created through ability stacking?"
"A Class with widespread applicability that can develop into Demigod status isn't something easily created."
"Even with Luo Shu's assistance, we haven't managed to develop such a thing, let alone them."
"Therefore, it's unlikely that those so-called Demigods within the Union are true, orthodox Demigods."
"At present, the secrets of the Class system shouldn't have leaked."
"The real trouble lies with Truth Astronomy."
Kirika narrowed her eyes, her expression turning serious. While the SDS would naturally suppress Class information to prevent the Union from manufacturing them and ensure their own safety, there was no guarantee Truth Astronomy wouldn't deliberately leak it.
According to compiled intelligence, Aya Tokoyogi's Witch Class appeared to be a Class that could be widely disseminated.
Current analysis suggested the Witch Class ritual might require sacrificing demons to complete.
This would explain why Truth Astronomy kept conducting demon summoning rituals to steal their power.
But that Class...
"The Witch Class?" Kirika's gaze turned profound. "Though it's a female-exclusive Class, it has indeed cultivated one Demigod in reality..."
Hearing this, Lacus pondered for a moment before tilting her head and asking innocently:
"Is there a possibility this Class isn't actually gender-restricted?"
Kirika froze mid-puff.
'Not gender-restricted? Meaning men choosing this Class could become women?'
'Hiss...'
Kirika was momentarily stunned by Lacus's wild theory.
Before she could recover, Lacus turned to watch the departing Thanatos-class battleship and remarked calmly:
"Though with Truth Astronomy's backing from those hellish demons, having a few stable Class inheritances isn't particularly surprising."
"So from a practical standpoint, it's safe to say that Truth Astronomy has several Classes that can be stably inherited within their organisation. It's just that the materials required for promotion are relatively scarce, which is why they're particularly secretive about internal personnel?"
Clearly, Lacus and Kirika Tachibana had arrived at the same conclusion – suspecting that the Classes within Truth Astronomy capable of reaching Demigod status all required consuming demons to advance successfully.
If this were the case, Truth Astronomy would indeed be unlikely to sell Class intelligence to the Union.
After all, compared to national-level entities like the Five Great Powers, Truth Astronomy was at a significant disadvantage when it came to investigating and summoning demons.
If their Classes truly operated this way, selling them to the Five Great Powers would essentially mean directly nurturing five resource-devouring monsters that would compete for their own supplies.
Thus, despite the numerous factions within Truth Astronomy being mutually hostile, none had leaked Class information to the Union.
As for True Hell, it went without saying – even if they sold Class information, they would only offer Classes that turned humans into demons, not those that used demons as stepping stones.
"So the likelihood of the Five Great Powers collaborating with Truth Astronomy isn't high. Instead, there's more chance they might be in league with True Hell..."
Kirika Tachibana let out a derisive snort:
"Though most likely, they haven't managed to contact True Hell either. Therefore, the only breakthrough for them to obtain the secret of Demigods would be through us."
"And this current incident presents a rather good opportunity."
At this point, Kirika turned her gaze towards the spaceport ahead, narrowing her eyes as she said:
"So that's why you deployed the completed Thanatos-class battleships?"
"With five space fleets on display, even if the Union wants to seize them, they'll have to consider our firepower first."
Considering this, Kirika's expression turned peculiar as she gave Lacus a teasing look:
"Though speaking of which, you didn't even consult Luo Shu before deploying the newly formed fleet as a deterrent..."
"Are you really that confident he wouldn't agree to hand over Aya Tokoyogi?"
Lacus deliberately ignored Kirika's look, calmly stating:
"This doesn't require much guesswork."
"Neither you nor I can, or should, interfere with his decisions. Given that, the only option is to prepare countermeasures in advance, isn't it?"
"You're spoiling him too much."
Kirika couldn't help rolling her eyes:
"That guy's been with us for less than two months, and is already at the centre of the storm."
"Frankly, I'm starting to suspect he might be some kind of protagonist from a novel."
"Too much trouble."
After delivering this assessment, Kirika waved her hand and turned away:
"You handle the remaining matters. Let me know if you need anything, though I hope you won't reach that point."
Hearing this, Lacus' lips curled slightly as she nodded gently: "I will."
After Kirika left, Lacus turned to gaze at the empty spaceport outside the window. Thinking about what various nations' satellites would soon be observing, she couldn't help but sigh:
"I hope everyone can remain calm about this."