Thud.
The petite girl with wide bangs slipped from Shizuka Hiou's hand and fell onto the pale green tatami.
Seeing this, Eto Yoshimura, who was wrapped up tightly from head to toe, merely said:
"Miza, you can leave."
"Yes." The petite girl on the floor clutched her neck and struggled to her feet, an intoxicating rouge-red flush on her face.
Only after her subordinate passed her and left did Eto Yoshimura turn to Shizuka Hiou and ask with a smile:
"How did a beautiful young Ghoul's blood taste? Was it to your liking?"
"Boring."
Shizuka Hiou's cool eyes shifted away from Eto Yoshimura and toward the moonlight outside the window.
"You went to verify it, didn't you? The so-called species danger rating."
"Ah, I really can't hide anything from you."
Eto Yoshimura covered her mouth, removed her mask, then opened her scarlet right Ghoul eye and gazed at Shizuka Hiou.
"I heard a few things that caught my attention from that Inspector."
"Oh?" Shizuka Hiou raised an eyebrow at this and gave Eto Yoshimura a slightly surprised look. "You didn't actually buy information from Migratory Bird and kidnap an Inspector, did you?"
"Take a guess." Eto Yoshimura smiled at Shizuka Hiou. "If you get it right, I'll provide you with some more delicious 'food' tomorrow. Three times the portion."
"...You got taught a lesson, didn't you?" After a moment's consideration, Shizuka Hiou spoke softly.
Eto Yoshimura: "..."
"Was I that obvious?"
Eto Yoshimura scratched her hair in some distress, making her already messy green hair look even stranger, practically a bird's nest.
"I should count as a pretty peace-loving Ghoul, shouldn't I?"
"Heh, does someone who tried to eat me on our first meeting have any right to say that?"
Shizuka Hiou gave a faintly mocking smile, then said calmly: