Kurona Yasuhisa, Nashiro Yasuhisa

The enrollment application in front of Amahane Byakuya offered two choices.

The first was to enter the Ghoul Countermeasure Education Center, and the second was to enter the Ghoul Investigator Training School. Both were institutions dedicated to training ghoul investigators.

The core difference between the two was that one provided standard training, while the other provided elite training.

The Ghoul Countermeasure Education Center offered a one-year program to train ordinary ghoul investigators, primarily teaching students to use pistols and rifles. Upon graduating, they could serve as Rank 3 Investigators in the CCG and would be assigned to a branch in any of Wards 2 through 23.

The Ghoul Investigator Training School, known simply as the Academy, offered a two-year program to train elite ghoul investigators, primarily teaching students to use Quinques and various firearms. Graduates would receive the title of CCG Rank 2 Investigator and be assigned to headquarters in Ward 1.

Both had their advantages and disadvantages. One took less time and was easier, but provided less thorough training and a lower starting rank. The other took twice as long and was harder, but taught the essentials and offered a higher starting rank.

Still, Amahane Byakuya did not need to worry about any of that, because he intended to skip the training process entirely.

How could he possibly wait through a one-year program, let alone a two-year one?

So Amahane Byakuya casually selected the Ghoul Investigator Training School. Of course, there was a reason for that choice: the Academy provided loaner Quinques for training.

As long as he had a Quinque to use, racking up an impressive record of eliminating ghouls would be much easier.

After filling out the application, Amahane Byakuya only needed to wait for a reply.

The CCG was quite efficient. Amahane Byakuya received a reply the next morning, delivered as a physical letter.

Opening the envelope, he saw that his application had been approved.

Getting an application approved was actually quite easy. All he had to do next was pay the fees, and he could enroll. The fees at a government institution like this were not expensive, though; they were more of a token charge.

What mattered was whether the students could graduate successfully. The CCG wanted enough new investigators joining its ranks every year.

Given the special circumstances, Amahane Byakuya could apply for a leave of absence from Kamii University until he graduated from the Ghoul Investigator Training School, without affecting his studies.

That same day, Amahane Byakuya transferred the tuition fees into the Ghoul Investigator Training School's bank account, then used the documentation provided by the Academy to arrange a leave of absence from Kamii University.

Once all the preparations were complete, he set off to report to the Academy in the 1st Ward.

Ward 20 seemed to be many wards away from the 1st Ward, but Tokyo itself was not all that large. The subway ride took less than half an hour.

By now, Amahane Byakuya could see the Academy before him. On the surface, it did not look very different from an ordinary university. Its most distinctive feature was its exceptionally high perimeter wall, which was even topped with an electrified fence and similar security measures.

Clearly, however, those measures were not meant to stop students from climbing over the wall. They were meant to prevent outsiders or people with ill intentions from sneaking in.

After all, this was a government institution. Its security measures were bound to differ from those of an ordinary school.

"Hello, I'm a new student here to report for enrollment."

Amahane Byakuya handed his documentation to the gatekeeper.

"Go on in. She'll show you around."

The gatekeeper let Amahane Byakuya through and pointed in a certain direction.

Looking where the gatekeeper pointed, Amahane Byakuya saw an attractive young woman wearing glasses and a business suit, holding a stack of documents as she waited for him. Apparently, she was there to meet him.

"You're Amahane Byakuya, correct? I'm Suzuki Jing, the director's secretary. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Though the young woman named Suzuki Jing spoke in a cool tone, she was still fairly polite.

"Yes, I'm Amahane Byakuya. It's a pleasure to meet you, too."

Amahane Byakuya nodded.

"Then follow me."

As Suzuki Jing led Amahane Byakuya into the institution, she began discussing the important details with him. "Since you're joining partway through the program, you'll have difficulty keeping up with the other students in your cohort. You'll have to make up the difference through your own efforts. After all, you were the one who thought it through and decided to come here..."

Suzuki Jing explained a great deal to Amahane Byakuya.

Only then did Amahane Byakuya learn that both the Ghoul Investigator Training School and the Ghoul Countermeasure Education Center were located on these grounds.

The students from the two institutions received different training, but their training grounds were not deliberately kept separate.

Next, Suzuki Jing showed Amahane Byakuya around the various areas of the school and explained them to him.

During the tour, Amahane Byakuya also spotted some familiar faces.

Kurona Yasuhisa, Nashiro Yasuhisa, Juuzou Suzuya, and Tooru Mutsuki...

Amahane Byakuya immediately remembered that, at this point in the timeline, these people were indeed still undergoing training. Their more formal title was "Ghoul Investigator Trainee," and they would become CCG investigators after graduating.

"That covers just about everything I needed to explain. If you have any more questions, you can come ask me at any time. For now, you can start attending classes with the other students in your cohort."

After giving Amahane Byakuya those final instructions, Suzuki Jing left him to proceed on his own.

After checking the timetable, Amahane Byakuya learned that a class would begin in a few minutes. Naturally, it was a theory class covering knowledge relevant to ghoul investigators.

He headed to his assigned classroom, where all the students belonged to his cohort.

The instructor had already arrived as well and took the opportunity to introduce the new student from the front of the room.

"We have another new classmate joining us today. I hope you'll all get along with him."

After saying that, the instructor motioned for Amahane Byakuya to come forward and introduce himself.

Amahane Byakuya wrote his name on the blackboard with practiced ease, then gave a brief introduction. "My name is Amahane Byakuya, and I'm from Ward 20. My hobby is reading, and I aspire to become a ghoul investigator. Thank you."

"Very good. There happens to be an empty seat over there. Amahane, you can sit there."

The instructor addressed Amahane Byakuya.

The arrangement here was unlike a university's, with fixed classrooms and assigned seats. After all, there were only a few hundred students in the same institution and cohort as Amahane Byakuya. They could simply be divided into a few classes, without needing to take turns using large lecture halls as university students did.

"All right."

Amahane Byakuya nodded slightly and walked toward the empty seat.

It was in the back row, beside the window-a particularly nice spot.

And, by a small coincidence, Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa were not only in his class, but also occupied the seats directly in front of him and to his right.

P.S. That's all three updates for today, but I was one chapter short yesterday and one chapter short the day before. I haven't forgotten. I'll post four updates tomorrow and four the day after, or simply post five tomorrow to make up for the two I owe.