"..."
Amahane Byakuya felt a little helpless.
He wiped his earlobe with a tissue, cleaning off the saliva left on it.
"Then you need to behave yourself for the next two weeks. If I catch you breaking our agreement, the whole thing is off."
Amahane Byakuya said.
Ghouls only needed to feed once or twice a month to sustain themselves. Even if Rize Kamishiro stopped hunting humans altogether, she would hardly go hungry in Ward 20.
That was because Yoshimura Kuzen and the other ghouls at Anteiku all fed on dead humans, such as people who had committed suicide in various places. The ghouls at Anteiku collected those bodies at set intervals, then stored them as a long-term food supply.
As everyone knew, Japan had an exceptionally high suicide rate. And because of the Japanese tendency to "avoid troubling others," they often chose places where their deaths would be unlikely to affect anyone else.
Even the police and their families could not find people who killed themselves this way, so collecting those bodies rarely caused any trouble for Anteiku.
It was precisely these rules, established and enforced by Yoshimura Kuzen, that made Ward 20 remarkably peaceful compared to the rest of Tokyo. The CCG had considerably relaxed its surveillance and restrictions there, making Ward 20 the ideal refuge for ghouls who did not want to harm humans in the first place.
Only Rize Kamishiro's arrival had shattered Ward 20's peace.
Ever since settling in Ward 20, she had been a troublemaker. Although she also helped Anteiku collect human corpses, she repeatedly broke the ward's rules and hunted humans as she pleased. The frequent feeding incidents naturally attracted the CCG's attention, causing Ward 20's peace to gradually crumble.
[Ding! Host has completed choice three. Reward obtained: 50 fusion points!]
Having made his agreement with Rize Kamishiro, Amahane Byakuya received the corresponding fusion points.
Meanwhile, Ken Kaneki had also come to his senses. He found an empty table, pretending to be calm.
"Kaneki, what was that all about just now? And why did your face suddenly turn red?"
Hide Nagachika sat across from Ken Kaneki and noticed the unusual color in his face.
The blond boy with a pair of orange-red headphones around his neck was Ken Kaneki's best friend, Hide Nagachika.
"N-no... It was nothing..."
Only then did Ken Kaneki realize that he was still blushing. Of course, he was too embarrassed to tell Hide Nagachika what had happened.
"Really..."
Hide Nagachika seemed to let the matter drop and asked instead, "Oh, right, Kaneki. Who's that cute girl at the coffee shop you mentioned?"
As he asked, he looked around, apparently trying to find a cute girl who matched Ken Kaneki's description.
"Huh...?! Wait, you're being too loud!..."
Ken Kaneki hurriedly stopped Hide Nagachika in a panicked whisper. "And stop looking around!"
"Oh, is it that girl? Or that one?"
Hide Nagachika first pointed his thumb at Touka Kirishima, then at Rize Kamishiro.
Those two girls were the closest matches to Ken Kaneki's description in the coffee shop at the moment.
"..."
Ken Kaneki's cheeks reddened slightly, and he lowered his head, unwilling to answer.
"I see..."
Hide Nagachika seemed to have figured something out. Ken Kaneki's reaction told him it had to be one of those two girls.
He immediately came up with a good idea and raised his hand. "Excuse me! Could the waitress over there come here for a moment?"
Hearing a customer call, Touka Kirishima immediately turned and walked over. "Coming! How can I help you?"
"I'll have a cappuccino, and one for this guy too."
After ordering their coffee, Hide Nagachika took the opportunity to ask, "Also... may I ask your name?"
Although the question was rather sudden, Touka Kirishima still answered, "My name is Kiri..."
But barely had Touka Kirishima begun speaking when Ken Kaneki hurriedly interrupted Hide Nagachika. "Hide! You idiot! She's not the girl I was talking about. Don't start doing anything weird to her!"
Knowing Hide Nagachika, he was certain Hide would start doing something strange next. He might even end up harassing her.
He was afraid Hide Nagachika would do something that embarrassing.
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Hide Nagachika knew when to stop.
He smiled at Touka Kirishima. "That's all, that's all. Sorry for bothering you just now."
"...All right."
Touka Kirishima did not take it to heart and went back to her work.
Once Touka Kirishima had walked away, Hide Nagachika eagerly asked Ken Kaneki, "Since it's not this girl, it must be that one, right?"
By "that one," he naturally meant Rize Kamishiro.
"Y-yes..."
Completely cornered by Hide Nagachika's little trick, Ken Kaneki could only admit it with an embarrassed look.
"..."
After getting a definite answer, Hide Nagachika fell silent instead.
After a moment of silence, he put both hands on Ken Kaneki's shoulders and told him earnestly, "Kaneki!... I think you should give up!"
"One look at a beauty like that, and you know you don't stand a chance. Besides, she's the type who'd look absolutely stunning if she took off her glasses."
"And... most importantly, doesn't that girl already have a boyfriend? If I remember right, the position those two were in just now was pretty steamy."
Hide Nagachika tried to persuade Ken Kaneki with a serious expression.
At the same time, he instantly understood why Ken Kaneki had suddenly frozen when they came in.
"I know all that... I've pretty much given up already, actually. And her boyfriend is the fellow reader I told you about."
Ken Kaneki spoke quietly.
"Huh? So that's him. Still, if you can be friends with him, you've probably really let it go."
Hide Nagachika was a little surprised.
"Maybe. Anyway, let's just put this behind us."
Ken Kaneki ended the conversation outright.
"All right. It's about time I headed to my part-time job anyway, so I can't stay with you."
With that, Hide Nagachika left.
Ken Kaneki stayed to keep reading. Long before meeting Rize Kamishiro, he had made a habit of drinking coffee and reading here.
Meanwhile, Rize Kamishiro had naturally noticed what was going on with Ken Kaneki and Hide Nagachika long ago.
She seemed rather amused and told Amahane Byakuya, "If you hadn't stopped me, that boy over there would have been my next target. His flesh would probably taste pretty good, but it certainly wouldn't come anywhere close to yours."
P.S. I signed the contract today, so I can start asking for gifts now~
Before you continue