Chapter 149
Hinami snuggled affectionately into the woman's arms and rubbed against her.
A heartwarming family animation about kinship was playing, and the mother and daughter sat on the sofa.
Plain, ordinary, warm...
However, heartwarming moments are always fleeting. This is especially true for Ghoul whose personal freedom is restricted and who are imprisoned.
Squeak~
The door was pushed open.
"Fueguchi Ryoko. This is today's 'food'."
Fueguchi Ryoko stood up and instinctively shielded her daughter behind her.
The newcomers were two CCG investigators.
Even though they had met many times, Fueguchi Ryoko still bowed politely and said, "Mr. Kusaba, Mr. Nakajima, thank you for your help again."
"It was just an order from Special Class Investigator Marude."
Glancing at Ryoko Fueguchi who was guarding the calf, the decadent middle-aged man wearing a badge named "Yasachi Nakajima" waved his hand, placed the new synthetic ingredients specially supplied by the CCG R&D department on the entrance cabinet, and turned around.
"Oh, right."
Before leaving, as if remembering something, Nakajima Yasutomo turned his head and said, "Vera Adelheid Russell Special Class Investigator have returned to Tokyo."
Upon hearing this, Fueguchi Ryoko instinctively tightened her grip on her daughter's hand.
Has he already been promoted to Special Investigator?
In other words, the experiments requiring her cooperation during her detention, such as the experiment on the edible high -Rc cell synthetic food, the experiment on the regenerative removal of the Kakuhou, Quinx Surgery, will come to an end.
The real test.
"Execute the One-Eyed King..."
She was talking to herself.
Fueguchi Ryoko will never forget what that terrifying black-armored white dove said to her, wielding a long thorny blade.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo's District 20.
To restore peace and tranquility to District 20.
The afternoon was already more than halfway over, and high school students had already finished school.
On the bustling streets, middle school students, high school girls, and boisterous teenagers walked together, laughing and chatting as they moved through the shops, radiating youthful passion and energy.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Here you are, Touka, your crepe, blueberry flavor."
On the street, a JK girl with an orange bob took two pre-packaged crepes from the shopkeeper and walked briskly to her companion waiting by the L-shaped billboard. With her eyes crinkling into crescents, she handed over the crepes with blue jam.
"... Yiko."
A girl with short, blue, shoulder-length hair and side-swept bangs covering her left eye, wearing the summer short-sleeved uniform of Kiyomi High School, sighed upon seeing this, her gaze complex, and said irritably, "Eating such a calorie bomb again..."
The girl named Touka Kirishima accepted her friend's offer of food, brought it to her lips, and took a small bite.
"... You're adding so much cream, be careful you don't gain weight again."
You've gained weight...
"Ugh—!"
These words immediately caused the girl called Yizi to let out a mournful cry like a small animal.
The pancake that was about to be eaten suddenly lost its aroma.
"Not everyone has a figure like Touka's, huh! You're always so cold to everyone at school, who are you trying to impress with that figure? Oh~"
With a drawn-out voice, beneath her bangs, Yi Ziben's teary brown eyes suddenly gleamed with gossip.
"Is it the one wearing the eye patch?"
Looking left and right, she lowered her voice and asked.
"Whispering sound!"
"Hey hey hey? Wait for me, Touka..."
Seeing Touka Kirishima scoff and walk away with a look of disgust, Yoriko immediately stopped asking questions and chased after her, shaking her hand and whining, "I was wrong, Touka, boohoo, I was wrong..."
"What are you talking about? I want to get into a better university, so I'm going back to study."
"Oh, that's it. I thought you were angry."
"I'll get angry if you ask me again."
The two girls walked side by side on the narrow yet lively path.
Listening to Yizi grumble about her daily school troubles, Touka looked down at the road and ate her crepes slowly and rhythmically, biting and swallowing them whole without chewing.
Unbeknownst to outsiders, her hand, gripping the shoulder strap of her crossbody bag, slowly tightened, trembling, with veins bulging on the back of her hand.
I feel so awful, a strong feeling of nausea, my stomach is churning...
Even if she followed the manager's instructions to only swallow without eating, swallowing for such a long time, while still exercising... felt like her stomach was churning with putrid sewage. Every step she took intensified the rise of stomach acid, forcing Touka Kirishima to be extremely careful, clench her throat, and try her best to maintain the normal state of human eating.
Watching Yoko eat like a cute little hamster, and hearing her strange comments about 'sweets going into another stomach,' Touka Kirishima really wanted to know.
What does human food actually taste like?
Touka Kirishima thought of Nishio Nishiki.
To be precise, she's that arrogant guy's human girlfriend. A top student in the medical department at Kamii University, a woman named Nishino Nimi. Despite discovering that Nishio Nishiki is Ghoul, she remains devoted to him.
After being involved in the Ghoul predation incident and being rescued, the other party mentioned that he wanted to go to GFG in Germany for further studies and hoped to become a disciple of Dr. Kano, the leading figure in modern Ghoul studies. He wanted to research Ghoul and find a way to develop a treatment method that could regulate the Ghoul so that they could also taste human food.
Touka Kirishima remembered those words deeply.
That's why she said she wanted to get into a better university and needed to go back to study. Kamii University —even that annoying, fussy idiot Kaneki went to that university.
It wasn't just an excuse to get rid of Yoko's shopping invitation.
The shop manager, Uncle Shifang, Kaneki, and the 'Anteiku' experts all supported her decision.
Knowledge can change destiny. If such a treatment really appears, or even if artificially synthesized food that Ghoul can consume is developed... Thinking of this, Touka Kirishima's determination to live well with Ayato and her parents was strengthened once again.
"Huh? A Special Investigator?! And from the USA... Vera Adelheid Russell, oh! Isn't that the great investigator from our District 20's large-scale Ghoul attack? She's back... Touka Touka, look, look."
As Touka Kirishima struggled to suppress her nausea and became even more determined to achieve her new goal of letting go of past pain, Yoriko suddenly stopped and looked at the news screen displayed outside a shop on the street, letting out a gasp.
The big hero from District 20 in the last incident? From the USA?
What is said without malice may be taken to heart by the listener.
Suddenly, Touka Kirishima's heart skipped a beat.
She looked in the direction of the sound.
CCG News Broadcast.
"Just now, Special Class Investigator Vera Special Class Investigator Russell, who returned to North America seven months ago after completing her duties at the Iwao Kuroiwa Tokyo Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau, has arrived in Tokyo again at the invitation of Special Class Investigator Marude Souta, Yukino Shinoara. Let us welcome her..."
All the ease and comfort in my heart vanished in an instant.
It's her, she's back!?
Touka Kirishima felt a surge of stomach acid.
"Vomit..."
She suddenly covered her mouth.
"What's wrong? Touka, are you feeling unwell?"
Yoriko Kosaka was startled and quickly stepped forward to gently pat Touka's back.
Forced to suppress the intense nausea, Touka Kirishima shook her head, her face pale.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about the tragedy that day, so many people died..."
She needs to get back to 'Anteiku' as soon as possible; she needs to inform everyone!
Almost simultaneously, in the shadowy corners of Tokyo Metropolis, in the deserted suburbs and underground cities, whispers were being passed around, some quiet, some surging undercurrents, and some observing coldly—the possibilities were endless.
Zone 1.
Imperial Hotel Tokyo.
As the eye of the storm, Vera, who has returned to Tokyo, is calmly having a meal.
Yes, a dinner party for pure relaxation, exchanging ideas with like-minded colleagues who have fought side by side.
Compared to the Arasaka power struggles and cunning maneuvering in Cyberpunk, the Militech development and manipulation of Resident Evil, the frenzied pursuit of power, and the collaboration with Atlas in Call of Duty XI, the manipulation of global instability, and even the opportunistic pursuit of personal gain...
In [Ghoul], putting aside personal desires and ambitions, Vera, as CCG Special Investigator, is undoubtedly a competent officer who truly upholds justice, eliminates violence, and protects the people on the front lines of fieldwork.
Here, her mindset is particularly healthy and uplifting.
The method is to swallow it whole instead of chewing it, and then spit it out before digestion, because eating human food is bad for Ghoul's body. Of course, this doesn't exclude some ruthless individuals.
~~~~~
149
Chapter 149 Dinner Party... Planning... Quinque (4.8K)
Zone 1, Tokyo Imperial Hotel.
The private room is decorated in an elegant and relaxing style.
Vera at the banquet.
"Is there anything you want to ask? Xiao, go ahead and ask. Relax. Today is just a heart-to-heart talk between colleagues. I'm listening."
"By the way, what was it like for Special Class Investigator Russell to carry out field missions in the North American Region?"
"In North America, they are more like federal agents or criminal investigators than CCG investigators. Screening, killing, and arresting Ghoul is just one of the most important responsibilities of the North American Ghoul Countermeasures Committee."
Vera, resting her chin on her hand and stirring the sugar in her glass with a spoon, said calmly, "If there's a shooting involving police officers in the vicinity while you're on duty, you need to respond quickly and provide support. Other tasks include robberies and murders, anti-gang and anti-drug operations, criminal investigations, and occasionally being seconded to special operations in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies... There are many and varied tasks."
"As for Ghoul in North America, they are very secretive and cunning. They often use the method of establishing or joining gangs to justify the bloodshed and casualties that happen around them."
"Gang warfare, huh..."
Mado Akira nodded thoughtfully, then asked with some curiosity, "Is it Ghoul organization like 'Aogiri Tree'?"
"How could that be?"
Vera shook her head and chuckled silently.
She gently moved the strong coffee, which was still dissolving in sugar, aside, picked up a spoon, and scooped a mouthful from the dish of blueberry jam, cookie crumbs, icing sugar, and fruit-flavored ice cream. After savoring the refreshing taste, she glanced at her colleagues at the table before slowly and deliberately speaking, "Although my area is considered a place of outstanding people and abundant resources, with no shortage of abstract matters and cases involving various deaths, but..."
Vera paused for a moment, and her smile became much more meaningful.
"An alien organization that deserves to live in the gutter has openly attacked federal law enforcement agencies, declared war, and killed hundreds or thousands of federal law enforcement personnel. It even dares to occupy a district of a first-tier city?"
"The Americas cannot tolerate such an arrogant illegal organization."
In 2015, signs of the decline of the USA's national power began to emerge again. Given the current national situation, the members of Congress on Capitol Hill had to take strong measures.
Given the horrific things 'Aogiri Tree' has done in Tokyo, let alone replicate them in Washington, even in overseas territories like Hawaii and Alaska, the current president and cabinet will face impeachment if they don't hurry up and eliminate them.
Upon hearing this, Marude Souta, who was sitting at the same table, slowly and almost imperceptibly opened his eyelids.
"What a disgrace!"
Iwao Kuroiwa crossed his arms, his breathing becoming heavy and slightly rapid, and a look of shame and humiliation appeared on his face.
Yukino Shinoara silently placed his hand on the shoulder of the androgynous white-haired boy beside him, who was eating in a very bold and open manner, then picked up his glass and drank the ice-cold beer that was steaming straight away in one gulp.
At the round table, the other CCG investigators who had been invited by Marude Souta and had worked with Vera last year looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Oh my gosh... the true colors are revealed!"