There was no doubt in Byakuya's mind—this person wasn't actually interested in him, but rather found him highly entertaining.
"No, he's not a staff member here, but he is a regular customer."
Touka said.
"Oh~ A regular customer is quite nice too."
Roma said with a smile.
"..."
Byakuya watched Roma expressionlessly.
Noticing that Roma had been eyeing Byakuya with a peculiar look since earlier, Touka immediately scolded her: "Don't harass customers here. As a newcomer to Anteiku, you'd better work properly or you'll get fired."
With that, she handed Roma the items in her hands. "Now go take those cups and plates the customers left behind to the kitchen."
Roma made a pouty expression but did as Touka instructed.
As she passed by Rize, Roma flashed her a smile.
Rize didn't pay it any mind, simply returning the smile.
"Now then, Amaha-kun..."
Yoshimura gestured for Byakuya to come upstairs for a chat.
Byakuya followed Yoshimura to the second floor.
"Amaha-kun... Are you actually one of the Washuu's people?"
Yoshimura opened with this question.
Byakuya shook his head. "I'm not with the Washuu. Manager, I assume you're wondering how I recognized you back then? Rize-san actually tipped me off."
"Rize-san tipped you off?"
Yoshimura was somewhat surprised.
"Yes. She told me that V, the Washuu's organization, once had a Cleaner named Yoshimura. He had a child who was a human-ghoul hybrid. Connecting the Yasuhisa sisters' situation with the One-Eyed Owl's single kakugan, and considering there was no technology to artificially create one-eyed ghouls ten years ago, then..."
Byakuya laid out his reasoning: "Additionally, I researched records about the Owl. It's not hard to notice that ten years ago, the Owl already showed inconsistent behavior patterns. The Owl that never killed a single person is you, Manager. So the other Owl should be your child, correct?"
"..."
Yoshimura couldn't deny these facts.
Having been seen through to this extent, playing dumb would be pointless.
"That's right. The true One-Eyed Owl is my child. She's a natural-born half-ghoul..."
Yoshimura not only confirmed this but also reminisced about the past, sharing his history with Byakuya.
His willingness to tell Byakuya these things showed he had come to trust him.
Moreover, Yoshimura knew his days were likely numbered. The Washuu were watching the One-Eyed Owl's whereabouts more and more closely. Sooner or later, they'd threaten him with death to force him to reveal the Owl's location.
"After Ukina and I fell in love, a human-ghoul hybrid was born. Her name is Eto. But such a hybrid needs not only human food but also human flesh for nutrition..."
Yoshimura spoke slowly: "Good times don't last. Ukina was a journalist who had initially approached me to investigate the Washuu family. She learned some of their secrets, and they noticed. V labeled me a traitor and began hunting us..."
"In the end, to prevent the Washuu from discovering our child, I... killed Ukina with my own hands... and entrusted the child to an old friend in Ward 24."
"Ten years ago, when a ghoul called the One-Eyed Owl attacked the CCG, I knew it was my child..."
Yoshimura's expression was heavy as he recounted everything.
Having killed Ukina with his own hands to protect Eto and himself—that was undoubtedly his greatest guilt and pain.
This was also why he could never bring himself to face Eto.
"..."
Though Byakuya already knew all this, hearing it again still felt deeply frustrating.
Eto hated her father for killing her mother with his own hands and for abandoning her. But given the circumstances, there had been no better choice.
Yoshimura couldn't defeat the entire V organization. If he hadn't killed Ukina, V would have discovered Eto soon after, and he would have lost both mother and daughter.
Perhaps the anime's change—having V kill Ukina instead—felt easier to accept. But what if Ukina herself had asked Yoshimura to kill her? It was obvious Yoshimura couldn't have acted without her consent.
Either way, this situation had no good solution.
In truth, if it were only these matters, Eto wouldn't have hated Yoshimura to an irredeemable degree. She certainly knew her father had charged into the Ward 2 CCG branch alone to protect her.
The critical turning point came years ago when Eto, having just become a moderately famous author, brought her debut work to Anteiku hoping to see her father.
But before she could even enter, she saw through the window her father laughing and chatting with the other staff—as if he'd been happy every day since abandoning her. Compared to her own painful, miserable past, this created extreme resentment in Eto's heart, and she gave up hope of relying on her father who merely scraped by at Anteiku.
In short, the whole thing was one massive, heartbreaking misunderstanding. Yoshimura couldn't bring himself to face his daughter because of killing his wife. Eto hadn't actually hated her father that much—until she happened to see him laughing with the staff...
"Manager, after telling me all this, aren't you worried I'll turn you over to the CCG?"
Byakuya said jokingly.
Yoshimura shook his head slightly. "I trust you won't do that. Besides, 'those people' already know about my child's existence."
Simply put, it wasn't Byakuya's place to report them. The anime's change where Eto reports Anteiku to the CCG was the same principle—it wasn't their role to do such things. The Washuu had long known about Anteiku; the moment Yoshimura refused to reveal Eto's whereabouts, suppression was inevitable.
"Our Anteiku has never really helped you, yet you've continuously looked after us. If the day truly comes, let me fall by your hand. It should help your promotion considerably."
Yoshimura knew it was actually Anteiku that owed Byakuya. He couldn't bring himself to ask Byakuya for anything, instead hoping to repay the favor this way.
[Ding! Host has activated a quest. Initiating Divine Selection!]
[Option 1: In the future "Anteiku Raid," defeat the Manager as he requests. Reward: 40 Fusion Points!]
[Option 2: Promise to protect everyone at Anteiku. Reward: 60 Fusion Points!]
[Option 3: Not only promise to protect everyone at Anteiku, but also pledge to save the Manager's daughter. Reward: 200 Fusion Points!]
...
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