Anime Multiverse: Building a Pantheon from Scratch

Without much thought, Luo Shu quickly drew four envelopes from the ten in Kirika Tachibana's hand. As soon as the four were chosen, Kirika, grinning unabashedly, handed the remaining six to Natsuki-sensei.

"Here you go, Inspector Natsuki," she said with exaggerated cheer. "Now you've got something to report back to your buddies at the Metropolitan Police Department."

Hearing that, Natsuki cast her a sharp look and immediately understood the implication hidden in her words.

"Actions like this will only make things more difficult for you at the MPD," Natsuki said bluntly. Though a warning, there was genuine concern behind her words. As a friend, she didn't want Kirika to completely burn her bridges with the upper ranks of the force.

But Kirika showed no intention of backing down. "And aligning myself with those parasites will somehow help us resist the Abyss?" she scoffed. "Peacekeeping doesn't mean grovelling, Natsuki."

"Grovelling, huh… maybe," Natsuki replied with an ambiguous tone. She said no more and simply accepted the six envelopes. Standing up, she gave Kirika a final glance and said, "Before you make your move, let me give you one last piece of advice—don't underestimate the hidden organizations. They may not take this loss quietly."

Kirika only smiled in response. "Well, we'll see how sharp their claws really are."

Natsuki left without another word, and the old wooden door gave a faint creak as it closed behind her.

Only once she was gone did Chisato Nishikigi exhale in relief, patting her chest. "Phew! I thought she was going to wipe us out right then and there."

"???" Luo Shu, who had still been puzzling over the look Natsuki gave him before leaving, was now full of question marks. "She's really that scary?"

Honestly, Luo Shu had always thought Natsuki-sensei was pretty mild—just a little sharp-tongued at worst.

"She's not that bad," Takina Inoue agreed with him, nodding. "Chisato's exaggerating. At most, she'd just hang you upside down with her chains."

Hang you... up? Luo Shu immediately re-evaluated his opinion. Okay, maybe she is kind of scary.

"Phew~~" Kirika, now relaxing on the sofa, stretched lazily with a relieved sigh. "Good thing Natsuki-chan wasn't angry, or this would've gone sideways fast."

"If you're scared, why do you still act like this?" Luo Shu couldn't help but ask.

Kirika smirked and waved the four envelopes in her hand like fans. "Letting go of meat that's already in your mouth? Not a chance. These things are at least level 2 Abyssal artifacts, possibly even a level 3 among them. I don't know why that demon warlock brought so much treasure to Japan, but since it ended up in my lap, there's no way I'm just letting it go."

She looked around at the group gathered and issued instructions smoothly. "Chisato, you and I are one team. Mika, you and Mizuki take a route. Luo Shu, you're paired with Takina. Takina, guide him through things. Let's clear these four locations in one sweep."

"Got it~~" Chisato had no objections to the arrangement. "So, Kirika, I guess Kurumi is on overwatch again?"

"She's already monitoring all the target locations," Kirika answered directly. "The MPD's intel can still be useful to us now and then, so we should know exactly what they've got."

Luo Shu rolled his eyes. "You really don't hold back, huh."

Screwing them over and still making use of their resources? Kirika really was doing all the villainous things imaginable.

"This is just efficient resource use," Takina said coolly, clearly on Kirika's side. "The higher-ups at the MPD are notoriously slow in disaster response."

Chisato chuckled and patted Takina's shoulder. "Hey, don't say it like that. The lower ranks still do their jobs well."

"But they don't have decision-making power," Mika interjected calmly while polishing a glass. "And it's the leadership who actually call the shots."

"Alright, enough chatter. Let's move!" Kirika clapped her hands and stood up, her voice now sharp with command. "Triple-check your uniforms and weapons. Make sure your micro-cameras are in place and stay in constant contact with Kurumi. If you run into something you can't handle, prioritize your own safety. I don't want to be visiting shrines every year to honor you all. Understood?"

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.

With that, they filed into the kitchen and toward the underground prep room—everyone except Luo Shu.

"Hey Mika, where's the key to the Ferrari?" Kirika called over her shoulder.

"Sixth drawer. And take the bulletproof one this time," he replied.

"Nope! I haven't even had a chance to drive that one yet!"

Kirika took out a cigarette, but paused when she noticed Luo Shu was still lingering behind. Remembering his student status, she stuffed the cigarette back and instead popped a fruit candy into her mouth. "Something else?"

Luo Shu pulled out a license and a wad of cash from his pocket—¥300,000 in all. "You forgot to take back what was in your wallet."

"Oh! Totally slipped my mind." Kirika took the license but pushed the cash back toward him. "That's your reward for taking out that hellhound. Don't worry—I'll get it reimbursed."

"Also, while you're at it, talk to Mika about the bounty forums. Have him set you up with a fake ID so you can sell intel on that hound's whereabouts. That alone should fetch you around a million yen."

Luo Shu was stunned. "Wait, the guy's dead. What 'whereabouts' am I supposed to report?"

"Just submit a death photo. Have Mika write: 'Target neutralized by law enforcement.' Too bad you didn't have ID on you at the time—you could've claimed the corpse. Dead bodies are worth a lot more on the dark web. But if you go that route, the demon hunters will probably mark you."

Luo Shu clutched his chest in agony. Just how much was that thing worth? Especially in USD!

From now on, he swore, he'd carry official ID at all times. No way he was missing out again.

After imparting her criminally helpful advice, Kirika pointed toward the back room. "Alright, go get ready. Takina's already dressed and waiting."

Sure enough, Takina had already changed into her uniform, looking stern and focused. Luo Shu smiled sheepishly at her and hurried into the back to suit up as well.