CCG

Next, Amahane Byakuya shared another of Sen Takatsuki's works, "The Black Goat's Egg," with Rize Kamishiro.

He had finished it long ago. Rize Kamishiro had read it too, but only halfway.

The protagonists of this work were a cold-blooded female serial killer known as the "Black Goat" and her only son. At first, the son despised his mother's actions, but he gradually discovered that seeds of brutality were beginning to sprout within him too...

It seemed like a fictional story, but Sen Takatsuki had actually written it entirely based on herself and her father.

The female serial killer was Yoshimura Kuzen, and the only son was Eto, with their genders simply reversed.

Who knew how Yoshimura Kuzen would feel when he read this work?

"It's about time. I still have something to take care of. Goodbye, Miss Rize."

At that point, Amahane Byakuya stood up to leave.

"All right, goodbye."

Rize Kamishiro smiled as she spoke.

After Amahane Byakuya left, Rize Kamishiro stayed at the café until late, right up until closing time.

Since she couldn't hunt for the next two weeks, she felt bored and passed the time by reading, so she sat there enjoying Sen Takatsuki's works.

"Miss Kamishiro, we're about to close."

Touka Kirishima, who had already changed out of her work clothes and into her school uniform, reminded Rize Kamishiro.

"Sorry, sorry. I lost track of time."

Rize Kamishiro wore an apologetic smile.

"By the way..."

Although Touka Kirishima wasn't particularly keen on interacting with Rize Kamishiro, she couldn't help asking, "Have you turned over a new leaf lately?"

"Hmm?"

Rize Kamishiro made a puzzled sound, though she already had a pretty good idea of what Touka Kirishima meant.

"I mean, you actually sat here quietly reading today. And that boy is the prey you've set your sights on, right? Yet you didn't lay a hand on him last night."

Touka Kirishima explained more specifically.

"Couldn't it just be that I like him?"

Rize Kamishiro countered.

Touka Kirishima's eyes widened slightly, her expression startled. "You really like him?"

She found it unbelievable. Someone like Rize Kamishiro falling for a human was simply hard to imagine.

"Of course... not~"

Rize Kamishiro had pulled a fast one on Touka Kirishima. She had been deliberately teasing her from the start. "I can't tell you the details. Let's leave it at that, Miss Kirishima."

With that, Rize Kamishiro headed home, smiling cheerfully.

"..."

Touka Kirishima was immediately annoyed, but there was nothing she could do about Rize Kamishiro.

On her way home, Rize Kamishiro deliberately watched her surroundings to avoid being ambushed again as she had been the night before.

Meanwhile, her thoughts were occupied with Amahane Byakuya.

Although she didn't feel that supposed romantic affection for Amahane Byakuya, she was still utterly fascinated by his body.

She wished she could savor Amahane Byakuya's delicious flesh right then, but unfortunately, she had to wait another two weeks.

Still, she could use those two weeks to practice abstinence-specifically, abstaining from satisfying her appetite-which would make enjoying that delicacy all the more satisfying.

At the thought of being able to feast on Amahane Byakuya's body to her heart's content when the time came, Rize Kamishiro couldn't help humming a cheerful tune.

Back that afternoon.

After leaving the Antique Café, Amahane Byakuya headed straight to the CCG branch in Ward 20.

Tokyo had twenty-four wards in total. Apart from the 24th Ward, each of the other twenty-three wards had a CCG office, the "Commission of Counter Ghoul."

The CCG office in Ward 1 was its headquarters, also known as the "main office," while those in Wards 2 through 23 were all branches.

As for the 24th Ward, it wasn't a normal district at all, so no CCG branch had been established there. No humans even lived there. It was a ghoul stronghold, essentially an underground labyrinth.

When Amahane Byakuya arrived at the CCG branch in Ward 20, he entered the lobby and headed straight toward the RC scanning gate.

As its name suggested, the "RC scanning gate" checked the RC cell levels of anyone passing through it.

Apart from organs such as the kakugan, kagune, and kakuhou, the greatest difference between humans and ghouls was the level of RC cells in their bodies.

Human RC cell levels generally ranged from 200 to 500, while those of ghouls typically started at 1,000. Powerful ghouls could reach several thousand or even tens of thousands. This enormous difference allowed the RC scanning gate to determine whether a "person" was actually human or a ghoul.

However, few places in human society currently had RC scanning gates installed. Only government institutions such as the CCG had them. Otherwise, the space in which ghouls could survive within human society would rapidly shrink.

"Hey, you can't just walk in there. This is the Commission of Counter Ghoul, not a police station."

At that moment, a nearby staff member stopped Amahane Byakuya.

Outsiders generally weren't allowed inside. At most, they could ask questions in the lobby.

"I know this is the Commission of Counter Ghoul. I came here because I want to become an investigator."

Amahane Byakuya spoke plainly.

"What? You want to become an investigator? From the looks of you, you're still a student. I'd advise you to go back and focus on your studies instead of thinking about doing something this dangerous."

Although the staff member sounded rather impatient, his advice to Amahane Byakuya was well-intentioned.

He was only an ordinary staff member, not a full-fledged investigator, but he heard plenty of news about investigators dying in the line of duty. The casualty rate was simply too high. After all, investigators weren't dealing with ordinary criminals, but monsters like ghouls.

Anyone with a shred of conscience wouldn't advise others, especially students, to become investigators.

Besides, not just anyone could become an investigator. It was a civil service position with stringent entry requirements, and given its dangerous nature, those without sufficient ability wouldn't be selected.

"Thank you for your concern, but I've already made up my mind."

Amahane Byakuya spoke firmly.

"Well... fine. Go register over there, then. Whether you get selected in the end will depend on your own abilities."

Since he had gone that far, the staff member stopped interfering.

"All right."

Amahane Byakuya nodded slightly.

He then filled out a form, an enrollment application for either the "Ghoul Countermeasure Education Center" or the "Ghoul Investigator Training School."

[Ding! The host has activated a mission. God-tier choice initiated!]

[Option one: Join the "Ghoul Countermeasure Education Center" and complete its one-year course. Reward: 10 fusion points!]

[Option two: Join the "Ghoul Investigator Training School" and complete its two-year course. Reward: 20 fusion points!]

[Option three: Earn an outstanding record of eliminating ghouls and join the CCG directly, bypassing either training institution. Reward: 40 fusion points!]

P.S. Thanks to reader "6=I" for gifting a "Great Author Certification." Thank you so much!