"So they really have become ghouls, huh."
The next day, once he'd settled in, Daniel headed straight to the Antique Coffee Shop. Almost immediately, he spotted the unmistakable figures: the black-haired Kaneki Ken—with an eye patch covering his right eye—and a woman with short purple hair who similarly concealed her right eye, none other than Touka.
Daniel barely gave Kaneki a cursory glance before his attention shifted entirely to Touka. He wasn't like that blond guy sitting at the neighboring table—silently watching Kaneki from afar. Even if Daniel didn't harbor any special feelings for Touka, admiring a beautiful woman was a pleasure in its own right; after all, beauty is a feast for the eyes.
Speaking of which, that blond fellow had done countless things behind the scenes for Kaneki. In the end, however, Kaneki and Touka ended up flying off together, leaving that good friend in the dust. That blond turned out to be Kaneki's buddy Nagayoshi, later nicknamed "the Straw Man."
For three consecutive days, Daniel made it a habit to spend his afternoons at the Antique Coffee Shop. Their coffee was brewed to a professional standard and the café was quite famous throughout the 20th Ward. With its elegant ambiance, it was undoubtedly one of the best date spots for couples in love.
It was also a favored locale for chance encounters. After all, it was in this very café that Kaneki Ken and Rize Kamishiro first met. In a normal world, that would have been a lovely, fated meeting—but given the peculiar circumstances of this one, sometimes a beautiful encounter can quickly spiral into something straight out of a horror movie. You never know whether the person you meet might be a ghoul. Rize, for instance, has long used her beauty to lure unsuspecting men—not for money, but for their lives.
And it wasn't only Rize who played those games. Many ghouls, male and female alike, employ similar methods. Take the famous gourmet Tsukiyama, for example—he leverages his striking looks and illustrious background to pull off similar exploits. Even if the staff at the Antique Coffee Shop knew about all this, they generally wouldn't interfere—much like when Rize first ensnared Kaneki.
Of course, over these three days, Daniel wasn't at the café merely to sip coffee. While he did take the opportunity to relax in this world, he also conducted some essential research. By investigating local hospitals and medical records, he discovered the key difference between ghouls and ordinary humans in this world: every human possesses a substance called RC cells, and both humans and ghouls have them—the sole difference is the quantity.
The critical threshold is 1,000. Anyone whose RC cell count exceeds 1,000 is, by and large, a ghoul—since that number allows the RC cells to aggregate into an organ known as the kagune.
During his research, Daniel found that hospitals mandated an RC cell test for every patient admitted for treatment. Under normal circumstances, ghouls couldn't even get treatment at regular hospitals. Granted, this rule isn't a total barrier for ghouls—they can go to smaller clinics—and even the RC test results can be faked (otherwise, the CCG higher-ups and the so-called Xiu Clan would have been exposed long ago).
Of course, there are exceptions. In some cases, an excessively high RC cell count doesn't necessarily mean one is a ghoul; it might indicate a different condition entirely—RC Cell Hyperplasia. In that disorder, the RC cells don't consolidate into an organ but instead spread uncontrollably across the body, with the kagune erupting from various parts. This condition is nearly always fatal, as current treatments can only slow its progression with prohibitively expensive RC inhibitors. Daniel recalled that a certain Yinshi's sister suffered from this very affliction—and it was only because of the exorbitant medical bills that Yinshi eventually accepted CCG modifications and became one of the Cookins.
This led Daniel to a startling conclusion: strictly speaking, being a ghoul in this world is akin to a disease—an excess of RC cells. If you can reduce the RC cell count below 1,000, a ghoul might very well be able to live off normal human food. Hospitals and the CCG do have RC cell inhibitors, but they merely suppress the levels; Daniel hadn't found any medication that could actually lower the RC cell count.
"Hey, you like Takatsuki Izumi-sensei's work too," someone remarked.
For three days in a row, Daniel had been visiting the café—always carrying copies of Takatsuki Izumi's works with him. Being a fan of Izumi, Kaneki eventually couldn't help but strike up a conversation. On this particular day, with the café nearly empty except for Daniel and the blond Nagayoshi, Kaneki—who was already a devoted fan—finally broke his silence. After all, if you're in this world, how could you not read Izumi's works? Daniel had bought a copy of every work by Takatsuki Izumi the day after he'd settled in.
Perhaps due to hardships in her youth, Izumi's writings are dark in tone and offer profound insights into human nature. To the uninitiated, her books are immensely powerful—but Daniel suspected that much of what she wrote was drawn from her own experiences.
"I like Takatsuki Izumi herself more than her books," Kaneki said unexpectedly.
"Uh…" Kaneki was taken aback—his pre-planned response evaporated in an instant.
"Haha, just kidding. Don't take it the wrong way. From what I gather, you like her books too. Have a seat," Daniel said with a warm smile.
When Kaneki looked uncertain, Daniel couldn't help but smile even wider. He was quite fond of Kaneki; one of his few favorite maxims was that every misfortune in the world is simply due to the inadequacy of those involved—a line that, incidentally, wasn't the first time Kaneki had heard it.
"Yeah—I love my favorite teacher's The Black Goat's Egg," Kaneki said enthusiastically.
At Daniel's nod, Kaneki sat down across from him and launched into a passionate discussion about The Black Goat's Egg. His excitement was so palpable that both Nagayoshi and Touka, who had been nearby, shook their heads in unison. After all, Kaneki had once been seduced by Izumi's writings when Rize lured him in—and even Tsukiyama had used literature to get close to him. It seemed he hadn't learned a single lesson from those encounters.
Normally a man of few words, Kaneki transformed when discussing something familiar; however, the more animated he became, the more Touka's expression soured.
"The Black Goat's Egg really is an excellent work," Kaneki continued.
Even though Daniel wasn't particularly fond of dark literature, he had to admit that Izumi-sensei was remarkably talented.
"Hey, you part-timer, get back to work," Touka interjected just as Kaneki was about to continue. Though Kaneki's enthusiasm waned and he looked a bit helpless, he eventually didn't dare to defy Touka's order and went off to work.
"Beautiful lady, one more cup of coffee, please," Touka said as she reluctantly went over to top up Daniel's cup.
"Beautiful lady, do you have some time later?" Daniel asked, his gaze lingering.
"Sorry, no time," she replied flatly before he could finish.
Touka's curt reply did little to hide her irritation. If she were any other ghoul, she might have already earmarked Daniel as potential prey—but when it came to handsome humans like Kaneki (and even more so compared to the so-called "Angel Kaneki" that would come later), Daniel stood out. Under normal circumstances, Daniel could easily pick up girls; yet for Touka, it was different—not only because of her temperament but also because Daniel was human.
When humans and ghouls get together, tragedy is almost inevitable. Under ordinary circumstances, humans and ghouls rarely produce offspring due to the very nature of ghouls. Yet miracles abound among humans—that's how half-human, half-ghoul hybrids come to be.
"—So, you're researching ghouls," Nagayoshi said as he nonchalantly sat down in the seat Kaneki had just vacated, eyeing the ghoul-related books on the table beside Daniel.
The very mention of "ghouls" caused every waiter in the café to freeze for a moment before pretending nothing had happened and resuming their tasks.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a way to completely eradicate ghouls," Daniel replied.
At his words, an invisible murderous aura seemed to spread throughout the café. Deep in the back, Kuga Maru and Irie Xuan exchanged a glance. The idea of wiping out the entire ghoul race—no matter how peaceable some ghouls might be—was utterly unacceptable to them.
Touka's face darkened even further. If it weren't for Irie Xuan's quick intervention, Touka might have exploded. Under other circumstances, she might have brushed off such talk, but after all, just a few days ago, Hinami's mother had nearly been killed by a CCG investigator.
For Touka, all she wanted was to live a normal life. Daniel's words, however, threatened to take that away.
"Completely eradicate ghouls—is that even possible?" Nagayoshi asked, clearly taken aback. After a moment, he glanced around furtively; perhaps Kaneki and Touka thought they'd hidden their secrets well, but Nagayoshi had known about the café's true nature all along.
"It's possible. I've already discovered a method—once my research is successful, it can be done," Daniel declared. At that moment, the murderous tension in the café grew even thicker. Even if the patrons normally refrained from violence, if the survival of the entire ghoul race were at stake, they wouldn't hesitate to act.
"That sounds interesting—can you explain exactly what the method is?" Nagayoshi asked with feigned curiosity and a smile.
"It's simple: turn all ghouls into humans," Daniel continued before anyone could protest. "I've studied the basic differences between ghouls and humans—it all comes down to the level of RC cells in the body. If you can lower that RC cell count, then ghouls would be able to subsist on human food. Of course, in doing so, they'd lose their powers and become just ordinary humans."
Daniel offered no further explanation, but Nagayoshi and the others quickly grasped his meaning: if ghouls could live off normal human food, they'd have no need to prey on their own kind. Of course, there are always exceptions—after all, among humans, there are all sorts of anomalies.
"This really can be done?" Nagayoshi asked, staring at Daniel in disbelief. He had been wondering what method Daniel would use to completely eliminate ghouls, and he hadn't expected it to be this simple.
Not only Nagayoshi, but the other patrons in the café were also visibly shocked. Touka even knocked over a teacup, though she didn't seem to mind too much; for her, if it were truly possible to live as a normal human, she wouldn't care about losing ghoul powers at all.
In that moment, the hostile atmosphere in the café vanished completely.
"Maybe for others this might be difficult—but not for me. I'm a genius. If I set my mind to it, I can absolutely make it happen," Daniel said confidently.
"So, what progress have you made so far?" Nagayoshi asked, his tone calm though his eyes betrayed his skepticism—he clearly regarded Daniel as nothing more than a narcissist.
Meanwhile, Touka's expression showed deep disappointment; her thoughts were likely very similar to Nagayoshi's.
"Right now, I'm only at the early stages. It'll take some time to achieve any results," Daniel admitted.
At his words, Kuga Maru and Irie Xuan relaxed, their expressions returning to normal, while Touka walked away toward the back of the café, clearly disheartened.
"I'm not lying—once I find a proper collaborator, the results will come quickly." As for who that collaborator might be, Daniel had already figured it out.
Three days later, on the day Takatsuki Izumi held a book-signing event, Daniel arrived holding his copy of The Black Goat's Egg and waited silently until the signing had ended. Once Izumi-sensei went to rest at a nearby café, Daniel immediately took his book and sat down directly across from her.
"The signing event is over. Next time, please come earlier. What shall I write?"Izumi-sensei asked coolly as she regarded the uninvited Daniel without a hint of surprise. Nevertheless, she took the book he'd brought and produced a pen from her pocket.
As an author, Takatsuki Izumi was known for her approachable manner—a trait not every writer would display during such events.
"Fangcun Ait, how does that sound?" Daniel began slowly.
At the sound of that name, the smiling Izumi-sensei's expression froze, and the pen in her hand snapped in two.
"Interesting. You know my identity—and you still dare to show your face before me," she said calmly, her face now wearing the same smile as before, though the chill in her eyes belied it.
"Why wouldn't I dare? I'm here to discuss a collaboration. I'd like you to help me find someone—and, of course, I'll pay handsomely," Daniel replied.
The collaborator Daniel had in mind was none other than Takatsuki Izumi herself. There was no possibility of working with the CCG, so only Izumi-sensei—from the Bronze Tree—remained as a viable option. Some tasks, though Daniel could handle them himself, would be far easier if managed by someone native to this world. For instance, when it comes to researching ghouls, Daniel could capture them himself, but if the Bronze Tree could supply them—say, that guy who's obsessed with "1000 minus 7"—everything would be much simpler.
(End of Chapter)
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