North of Kimen in Osaka, one enters a mountainous forest region.
However, despite being a mountainous forest region, it wasn't remote. Instead, it possessed a kind of artistic beauty.
At five in the morning, a thin mist still lingered among the mountain forests.
A path in the forest of the Kimen mountain region.
Luo Shu walked along the path between the trees, treading on a road paved with pebbles.
Beside him, Lacus held a transparent umbrella, walking close to Luo Shu.
The umbrella was bought from a 24-hour convenience store at the foot of the mountain because it had just rained lightly. However, they had only taken one umbrella. As for the reason, in Luo Shu's opinion, it was probably for the romantic appeal of sharing one.
"Although the setting is a bit off, this should count as a date, right?" Luo Shu bantered half-jokingly as he walked along the path.
Hearing this, Lacus turned her head to glance at Luo Shu. After a moment's thought, she simply reached out, linked her arm with his, and rested her head on his arm.
The sensation from where she rested on his shoulder made Luo Shu pause for a second.
Then, he silently slowed his pace, matching Lacus's steps as they moved forward together.
Because it had just rained and the morning mist was just beginning to dissipate, the light in the forest was poor, giving it a haunted-house atmosphere.
'If something made a noise right now, would something good happen?'
Unfortunately, because he knew they were coming to the mountains, Luo Shu had released his Spiritual Power to drive away the surrounding animals as soon as they entered the forest.
So, forget wild animals; even insects that couldn't run far were trembling in their nests, so they naturally wouldn't come out to disturb them.
After walking along the path for some distance, the two of them arrived before a series of sprawling buildings that looked somewhat like the entrance to a park.
If he ignored the words "Osaka Kimen Spirit Field" carved on the pillar, Luo Shu would probably have suspected it was some park.
But clearly, things were not as he had imagined.
"Suddenly, I feel like it's a bit of a mood killer..."
Staring at the words "Spirit Field", Luo Shu couldn't help but grumble.
"Just a moment ago, it was a very pleasant dating atmosphere, so why is the destination a cemetery?"
And just as Luo Shu was grumbling, Lacus withdrew her arm and teased with a light laugh, "Are you very surprised?"
Luo Shu turned his head and, with one look at Lacus's smiling face, instantly understood what this little woman was thinking.
"So you knew all along that Echidna's library was in a place like this?"
Lacus smiled at his words, teasing him.
"Is a place like a library strange? You have to remember, Miss Echidna is a witch. In some rituals and potions, ashes and spirit bodies are important materials, aren't they?"
"Regardless of the purpose, controlling a cemetery should be a very reasonable act for a witch, right?"
"After all, it's a professional requirement, isn't it?"
"Yes, reasonable, very reasonable!" Seeing this woman who kept talking about what was reasonable, Luo Shu immediately raised his hands in surrender. "So, can we talk about something other than work?"
"Eh? Luo Shu, you're not talking about work today?" Lacus showed a very surprised expression, as if it were strange that Luo Shu would refuse to discuss work matters.
Faced with this side of Lacus, Luo Shu's mouth twitched. He then sighed and surrendered, "Alright, it's my fault for always talking about work..."
"No, it should be our fault," Lacus interrupted before Luo Shu could finish. "After all, besides work, it seems you don't know what else to talk to me about, do you?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu fell silent.
But before he could remain silent for long, Lacus said with a beaming smile:
"You don't have to make that face. It's not your fault it's like this; I'm also responsible."
"Mm, I should tell you more about myself, like my interests, hobbies, and things like that."
Before Luo Shu could say anything, Lacus said with a smile, "But rather than listening to you talk, Luo Shu, I prefer to discover things for myself."
Hearing this, Luo Shu's face immediately fell. 'You've said both the positive and negative sides of it, so what am I supposed to say now?'
"Besides, didn't I say I would talk about my things?"
Lacus teased Luo Shu with a smile, her eyes full of mischief.
"So, Luo Shu can't speak. It has to be me."
As Lacus spoke, she took Luo Shu's hand, interlaced their fingers, and looked at the cemetery before them.
"First of all, I really dislike playing with the remains of the dead, regardless of whether they were enemies."
Hearing this, Luo Shu thought for a moment and said tentatively, "So, I should make sure my enemies are completely obliterated? To avoid having any ideas about their remains?"
Hearing this, Lacus first froze, then covered her mouth and started laughing.
"I'm sure of it now. Luo Shu, you really don't know how to talk to girls."
After saying that, Lacus added with another smile, "But, perhaps this is also your style."
She couldn't help but laugh again, turning her head away to stifle a chuckle before turning back to Luo Shu.
"~Sorry, I suddenly said something very silly."
"However, although I don't know if you're serious, Luo Shu, sometimes it's best not to destroy the bodies of some enemies you've killed. Please hand them over to the logistics personnel for processing. After all, those are precious research materials."
Hearing this, Luo Shu looked utterly baffled. "But didn't you just say not to play with the dead?"
At this, Lacus simply smiled and said, "It seems I need to explain this to you, Luo Shu."
"A corpse with no research value is called 'remains'. One with value is 'research material'."
Hearing this, Luo Shu was instantly silent. 'Good grief, so you're the one who gets to define what a corpse is?'
But that did make sense. The Lacus in Luo Shu's memory was not a pedantic person; she naturally understood the value of certain corpses.
'But then again, in a private setting between the two of us, why are you talking about playing with corpses...'
'Get a grip, we're on a date here...'
'Ah, it seems this isn't actually a date, but we're here to help Echidna with her library?'
'So, the question is, where is Echidna?'
Realising this, Luo Shu slightly expanded the range of his perception.
Soon, Luo Shu saw Echidna on the third floor of the building inside the cemetery.
And Echidna's gaze happened to be fixed on them at the gate.
Considering what Lacus had just said... Luo Shu suddenly understood something.
'That Echidna, she wouldn't be using the corpses in the cemetery for some messed-up project, and Lacus found out, would she?'
'So, what she just said wasn't actually for me, but a warning to Echidna?'
Then came the question.
When it was said that Echidna had asked Lacus for help organising the library, was it really a request?
Luo Shu harboured strong suspicions about this...