"Alright."
Since Byakuya had said so, Amon didn't press further.
He certainly agreed that Mado-san was trustworthy.
Koori Ui, standing nearby, said nothing.
This was Byakuya's own decision. Even as Byakuya's current superior, he wouldn't micromanage to that extent.
Then Ui spoke to Byakuya: "Amaha-kun, we should pick up the pace. The meeting is about to start."
Afterward, they entered the "Ward 11 Special Strategy Meeting" room together.
"Hello everyone, we're here—"
Shinohara pushed open the meeting room door and greeted those already seated.
"Been waiting for you, Shinohara. Hehe..."
Marude stood with his hands in his pockets, looking rather pleased.
"...You seem happy, Maru. When I got your call, I thought something serious had happened."
Shinohara remarked.
"Of course I'm happy! This is the biggest subjugation operation I've ever commanded. Naturally worth celebrating."
Marude spoke excitedly. "If we pull this off nicely, I might even get another promotion!"
Amon watched Marude expressionlessly. As expected, the commander Shinohara-san mentioned was indeed Marude-san...
"Yo, Amon! Still as buff as ever."
Marude walked over and clapped Amon on the shoulder.
Amon was somewhat displeased by the man's grinning demeanor. He'd heard that the Ward 11 CCG had been completely wiped out by Aogiri Tree this time, with so many colleagues sacrificed. Yet Marude-san could still smile so happily, all because of a promotion.
By contrast, Amon's personality was rather upright and rigid. He certainly didn't mesh well with Marude.
"..."
But the other party was a Special Class investigator, so Amon wouldn't show disrespect to a superior.
After just patting Amon's shoulder, Marude moved toward Byakuya and Koori Ui. Notably, Mado was standing right beside Amon, but Marude seemed to have completely ignored him.
Noticing this, Amon's fist clenched involuntarily. Marude-san's behavior really irked him, but he couldn't say anything.
Mado didn't care at all. To him, worrying about such things was a waste of time better spent researching efficient Quinques for eliminating ghouls.
"Ui... and this must be the one they've been calling the 'Strongest Rookie'—Amaha, right?"
Seeing Byakuya walking alongside Ui, Marude could guess his identity even without knowing him.
"Yes. Hello, Marude-san."
Byakuya greeted politely.
"Not bad at all. You've eliminated quite a few ghouls in such a short time since joining."
Marude exchanged a few casual words with Byakuya and Ui.
Then he turned to look at Suzuya: "By the way... is that a girl?"
He scrutinized Suzuya, momentarily unable to determine the gender.
Shinohara whispered in Marude's ear: "That's the 'Suzuya' I mentioned before."
"Hello."
Suzuya said obediently, though his gaze drifted elsewhere.
"Ah, so you're that guy... the one Chairman Washuu recommended."
Marude immediately began commenting: "Completely different from how Arima looked back then. More similar to the Chairman's vibe, actually..."
"Maru, don't badmouth the Washuu family casually."
Shinohara immediately warned Marude.
"It's fine. As long as I don't say anything that damages his image in public."
Marude said offhandedly.
"Speaking of which, that part of his is really small. Can't even tell if he has 'balls' or not? Ahaha."
Then Marude made an outrageous comment.
"Wait—"
Shinohara was stunned.
Cold sweat broke out on his face as he immediately looked at Suzuya beside him, hoping Suzuya wouldn't talk back to Marude.
"?!"
Even Amon nearly lost control of his serious expression. Marude had actually said such a thing in this setting, right in front of Suzuya.
He'd once instructed Suzuya at the Academy, so he knew about Suzuya's past trauma—raised by a certain SS-rated ghoul who had done that to him...
"..."
Though Suzuya didn't talk back, his expression turned ice-cold for an instant before disappearing just as quickly.
Seeing that Suzuya hadn't argued with Marude, Shinohara breathed a sigh of relief.
Ui just smiled awkwardly. This guy Marude's personality was still as unlikeable as ever.
Byakuya, meanwhile, quietly placed a hand on Suzuya's shoulder, as if trying to comfort him.
Suzuya noticed and turned to smile at Byakuya. His unsettled expression improved considerably.
Marude, who'd made those comments, was already moving on to business.
"Now then! The most important matter. This is the biggest subjugation operation of my career. What I need are reliable elites who won't screw things up."
Marude said with a grin: "So all of you are members of the 'Ward 11 Special Countermeasures Unit.' This is an order from me as Commander-in-Chief. None of you have the right to refuse."
"..."
Shinohara rubbed his head.
He'd expected this, but Marude's personality really gave him a headache.
Even if Amaha and Suzuya wouldn't refuse, making such a bad first impression wasn't ideal.
His own relationship with Marude was actually quite good. Marude could be a bit much, but his heart was in the right place.
Byakuya said nothing, nor did Ui.
Amon had already followed Mado to take seats at the meeting table.
Notably, in the entire meeting room, only Mado had placed a Quinque briefcase directly on the table—quite conspicuous, though no one would say anything about it.
Then the special strategy meeting officially began.
Most of the content covered the battle plan for the operation day. All investigators were to follow the plan accordingly.
After the meeting ended, there was still one important task: writing "wills."
Before any major subjugation operation, every ghoul investigator had to write a will beforehand. That way, if they died in battle, at least they'd leave something for their family. After all, battles with ghouls often meant bodies couldn't even be recovered.
Even Kishou Arima was no exception. Though he always submitted blank paper, because he simply didn't know who to write to.
Byakuya had now returned home, preparing to write his will on the standardized paper the CCG had distributed.
He sat at his desk thinking for quite a while. He didn't have any family in this world either.
So the question was... who should he write his will to?
...
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