There's a punishment for losing

"Can I refuse?"

The moment Amahane Byakuya heard Rize Kamishiro's tone, he knew she was going to get up to no good.

"No. If you don't agree, I won't let go of you."

Rize Kamishiro tightened her arms around Amahane Byakuya's waist.

"Fine, do whatever you want."

Amahane Byakuya said it casually.

Only then did Rize Kamishiro let go of him.

As Amahane Byakuya started cooking, Rize Kamishiro got to work herself.

At first, Rize Kamishiro "attacked" Amahane Byakuya's earlobe, but this time he was prepared. He showed no obvious reaction, and his hands kept working without interruption.

Seeing this, Rize Kamishiro soon switched targets, setting her sights on the middle of his ear instead.

With a light touch of her tongue, Amahane Byakuya couldn't help reacting this time.

After all, the middle of the ear was even more sensitive than the earlobe.

Before long, Amahane Byakuya couldn't take it anymore. He turned to Rize Kamishiro and said, "Hey... doesn't that seem dirty to you?"

"Not at all."

Rize Kamishiro wore a slightly mischievous smile. "Besides, you lost this game."

"Okay, okay, I lost. Just stop interrupting my cooking for now."

Amahane Byakuya sounded a little exasperated.

"Since you lost, there has to be a punishment. But I haven't decided how to punish you yet. I'll tell you when I figure it out~"

Rize Kamishiro said it with a smile.

"As long as it's nothing too unreasonable. Anyway, we'll talk about it when the time comes."

Amahane Byakuya didn't dwell on it and focused on making his dinner instead.

Even if Rize Kamishiro made an unreasonable demand later, he could simply refuse. She wasn't strong enough to force him.

After that, Rize Kamishiro stayed in the kitchen, but she stopped bothering Amahane Byakuya and watched him cook from the side instead.

Amahane Byakuya used a tiny rice cooker to make enough rice for himself. As for the dishes, he kept things simple: stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, and braised beef with potatoes.

He carried the fragrant food over to the dining table one dish at a time, though to Rize Kamishiro, the smell was unpleasant rather than appetizing.

"It looks so good. Too bad I can't eat any of it."

Rize Kamishiro remarked with a calm expression.

"Well, ghouls can't eat most human food. There's nothing we can do about that."

Amahane Byakuya said, "But maybe someday they'll develop food that ghouls can eat too. Technology will only keep advancing."

He said "most" because there were exceptions.

Coffee, for example. There shouldn't have been anything particularly special about it, but ghouls could drink it, and it tasted the same to them as it did to humans.

There were also water and beer. Water went without saying, while the evidence for beer was a scene late in the original story where Renji Yomo got drunk, proving that ghouls could drink alcohol too.

But those were the only three. Other foods and all the various other drinks were out of the question.

"That's just wishful thinking."

Rize Kamishiro held out no hope for that.

"I think there's still hope."

Amahane Byakuya said.

The real reason no food suitable for ghouls had been developed to replace human flesh was that the Washuu Clan had been secretly obstructing such efforts all along.

The Washuu Clan didn't want the conflict between humans and ghouls to subside, because that would hurt their interests.

Despite being a clan of ghouls themselves, the Washuu Clan had founded the "CCG," or the "Commission of Counter Ghoul," specifically to target ghouls.

That was right. The CCG had been established by the Washuu Clan.

That achievement had also earned the Washuu Clan immense prestige in Japan. The status, reputation, and wealth they enjoyed today had all come from the CCG.

Think about it: if a substitute for human flesh were developed, ghouls would no longer need to risk being hunted down by CCG Ghoul Investigators to prey on humans. That would weaken the influence of both the CCG and the Washuu Clan.

So the Washuu Clan would never allow that to happen. What they needed was for humans and ghouls to remain evenly matched in an endless struggle.

On the human side, there was the CCG they had established. Besides human investigators, it also included a group of half-humans they had raised, such as Kishou Arima, Iba Irimi, and Hajime Iba.

There was also another group of half-humans, an organization called "V," which operated under the Washuu Clan as well. Similar to the "ANBU" in Naruto, V worked exclusively in the shadows, unlike the CCG.

V was specifically responsible for eliminating ghouls who would "upset the balance of power between humans and ghouls" or "threaten the Washuu Clan's rule." Of course, any human who met those criteria would receive the same treatment.

Kishou Arima was one of V's cleaners. Touka Kirishima's mother, Kirishima Kou, had grown strong enough to make the Washuu Clan feel threatened, which was why Kishou Arima had been ordered to eliminate her.

In short, if the Washuu Clan ever fell, food suitable for ghouls would probably be developed very quickly. The ending of the original story had proven that.

Amahane Byakuya had finished dinner, but Rize Kamishiro still showed no sign of leaving.

"It's getting late. Aren't you going home?"

Amahane Byakuya asked Rize Kamishiro as he cleared the dishes.

"That man wearing a Clown Mask you mentioned before-I actually know who he is."

Rize Kamishiro suddenly brought up the "steel beam incident" from that day. "Come to think of it, he even goes to the same university as you."

It wasn't until yesterday that she had suddenly recovered fragments of her memories from that time. The steel beam incident had injured her so badly that she had even lost a small portion of those memories.

After recovering those fragments, she remembered seeing the "clown" at the top of the construction site. From his build and the exact appearance of his mask, she could tell it was Furuta Nimura.

Although she didn't know why Furuta Nimura had done it, she knew she should treat him as an enemy.

"You're saying that guy goes to Kamii University too? So he's someone you know?"

Amahane Byakuya asked despite already knowing the answer. He had no choice: he couldn't expose his identity as a "transmigrator" or give anyone reason to suspect him.

"Yes, and I know him pretty well. But even if I told you who he was, you wouldn't know him."

Rize Kamishiro nodded slowly.

"So someone you know is trying to hurt you. What are you planning to do?"

Amahane Byakuya followed up.

"I'll leave things as they are for now. If I can't stay in Ward 20 anymore, I'll just run to another ward. I'm used to it by now anyway."

Rize Kamishiro spoke casually.

[Ding! The host has activated a mission. God-Tier Choice initiated!]

[Choice one: Remain indifferent to Rize Kamishiro's situation. Reward: 1 Fusion Point!]

[Choice two: State outright that you will protect Rize Kamishiro. Reward: 20 Fusion Points!]

[Choice three: Elope with Rize Kamishiro immediately and leave Ward 20. Reward: 30 Fusion Points!]