Hearing this, the corner of Byakuya's mouth twitched slightly. "A couple's set... are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious. Unless you're saying you look down on an old lady like me?"
Eto immediately adopted a sorrowful expression.
"Not at all... Takatsuki-sensei really loves to joke. At first, I honestly wondered if you might only be eighteen."
Byakuya said.
"Such a sweet talker."
Eto smiled faintly.
Byakuya didn't say much more, but he'd actually meant what he said.
Without knowing Eto's true age, just looking at her appearance, even saying eighteen felt like an overestimate.
Especially since her height seemed to have stopped growing when she was very young—though her figure had developed. It was probably due to malnutrition from growing up in Ward 24.
Eto's genes were certainly no worse than Mayu's. Both had suffered from malnutrition, yet they'd turned out completely different as they grew up—which showed just how painful and miserable Eto's childhood in Ward 24 must have been...
"If Amaha-kun isn't in a hurry, why not stay and have a drink before leaving?"
Eto said.
"I'm certainly not in any hurry."
Byakuya had been about to stand up and leave, but now he sat back down.
Mainly because the couple's set had already been ordered and was about to arrive.
If he left now, it would look like he was trying to skip out on the bill.
Since it had already been ordered, might as well try it.
Soon, the waitress brought out their couple's set.
"Please enjoy, you two."
Two cappuccinos plus some desserts—not too expensive, with decent value for money.
"Just looking at it makes me think it'll be delicious."
Eto's eyes showed anticipation.
"Isn't Takatsuki-sensei a ghoul? Can you really conclude that human food is 'delicious'?"
Byakuya asked, already knowing the answer.
"Coffee is fine. As for those desserts, I can just 'pretend to eat.' As long as it looks like I'm enjoying myself to others, that's enough."
Eto deliberately concealed her half-ghoul identity.
Natural-born half-ghouls were different from artificial half-ghouls—they could normally consume human food.
They possessed a ghoul's powerful abilities while also being able to live a normal life like humans.
Byakuya wasn't in a rush to expose this. "But I've heard that Aogiri Tree's 'One-Eyed King' has only one kakugan. Could it be that single-eyed ghouls have some unique differences compared to regular ghouls?"
"Not at all. Ghouls are ghouls, humans are humans. No matter what, ghouls can never live like humans."
Eto calmly denied Byakuya's speculation.
"I suppose so..."
Byakuya said lightly. "But speaking of which, does Aogiri Tree have two 'One-Eyed' members? Or was the 'One-Eyed Owl' I faced actually you, Takatsuki-sensei?"
"...There's no need to test me on something you already know the answer to."
Eto's perception was naturally sharp—she'd long since noticed he was trying to get her to reveal information.
From this, she could suspect that he most likely already knew the true identity of the "One-Eyed Owl" who had appeared during the Aogiri Suppression Operation, and might even know about the relationship between "that person" and herself.
"As expected of Takatsuki-sensei—you saw right through me."
Byakuya's tone remained calm.
"Since you already know, there's no need to fish for information from me."
Eto made her stance clear.
This was essentially an admission, though she wouldn't directly answer any of Byakuya's questions.
Because she couldn't be entirely certain how much Byakuya actually knew. What he already knew was one thing, but if she accidentally revealed something he didn't know—that would be problematic.
"Then let me be sincere. We can exchange information."
Byakuya's expression became more serious. "Takatsuki-sensei's real name should be Yoshimura Eto. Am I correct?"
"..."
Hearing this, Eto's eyes immediately narrowed.
This single statement revealed a great deal. For him to know her name, it had almost certainly been disclosed by her father.
In that case...
"How much else did he tell you?"
Eto's expression became somewhat grave.
"Well... actually not that much. It was because I sensed it was him when facing that 'One-Eyed Owl' that I went to ask him about it afterward."
Byakuya said.
He was covering for Yoshimura somewhat, because he felt that if Eto knew her father had revealed so much information—including things about "half-ghouls"—her resentment toward him would only deepen.
Especially regarding the so-called "salvation."
Something a father wouldn't do himself, yet entrusted to an "outsider" like Byakuya—from Eto's perspective, that's roughly how it would appear.
Though objectively speaking, Yoshimura had no choice and trusted Byakuya enough. But complete understanding between people was always a luxury—otherwise, the relationship between this father and daughter wouldn't be so awkward.
"As for why I could sense that the 'One-Eyed Owl' at that time was him—you know why, Takatsuki-sensei. Rize-san is usually by my side."
Byakuya continued.
"It seems Rize-san told you quite a lot. Like the secret of the 'Washuu'...?"
Eto said mysteriously.
Byakuya nodded slightly.
"Then our positions are roughly aligned—unless you're also one of the Washuu's dogs."
Eto spoke frankly.
"If I were a Washuu dog, the CCG would have mobilized in full force to surround Takatsuki-sensei's fan meet-and-greet today."
Byakuya remarked casually.
"Indeed. Let's not talk about this anymore—let's first try the coffee."
Eto picked up the coffee on the table and began to drink.
After this exchange, her trust in Byakuya had increased considerably.
Largely because Byakuya knew the Washuu's secret. The Washuu would never let an ordinary human who knew those secrets live—just like her mother.
Otherwise, back then, Yoshimura could have completely submitted to the Washuu with his wife and daughter to preserve their lives, secretly handing the yet-undiscovered Eto to Noroi. But the Washuu gave no chance of survival to Ukina, the human journalist who had learned their secrets.
So Eto understood clearly that Byakuya had no way out—unless he was himself a Washuu half-human. But that was simple to verify—she could just confirm with Kishou Arima.
...
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