"What you had transplanted was a kakuhou. As for internal organs, did you really think you could use someone else's?"
Ken Kaneki stared in shock, his mouth hanging open as Tatara's words echoed through his mind.
The manager... he knew everything. He never told me...
"You're Akihiro Kano's test subject, something that old man made for his own amusement. Like a potted plant-when the branches grow too long, he cuts them off."
Tatara's words pierced Ken Kaneki's mind. Only now did he learn the truth. The manager had been deceiving him too.
"Such gentle eyes. Even after being deceived, you show no anger or hatred. It seems you were happy there."
At that, Tatara fell silent. His eyes held nothing but mockery, as though he were watching a circus clown.
Yoshimura Kuzen jumped down from his seat and said, "Tatara, we should leave. Otherwise, the CCG will notice. Besides, there are ghouls waiting for us over there."
"Yes. Everything will proceed according to plan. Noro will take charge here."
After the two left, Ken Kaneki returned to his room and sat down, Tatara's words still echoing through his mind.
His attending physician, Dr. Kanou, and the manager of Anteiku—all of it burrowed through Ken Kaneki's mind like insects.
Even though the manager kept things from me, he saved me... he gave me food, a place to stay, and guidance. Without him, I might already be dead...
Images flashed one after another through Ken Kaneki's jumbled mind, each set against the backdrop of Anteiku.
Just then, footsteps sounded in the hallway, heading toward the room where Ken Kaneki was staying.
"Banjo? Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Kaneki asked instinctively when he saw the man before him.
"I actually came to find you so we could escape the Aogiri Tree... and of