Seeing Luo Shu carrying the white metal case... Touka Kirishima and Kaya Irimi, inside the shop, held their breath for a moment.
Both women immediately thought of the profession representing the official organisation that hunted Ghouls in their world.
"...Box Carrier?" Touka Kirishima instinctively grew wary.
"Welcome!"
Yoshimura's greeting interrupted Touka's alertness:
"What would you like to drink, sir?"
Hearing the manager's words, Touka suddenly felt dazed.
'Right, there hadn't been any news about Box Carriers crossing over. Only Ghouls seemed to have come through, so why was I even worried?'
Luo Shu carried a white metal case to the counter, placed it by his leg, and sat on the barstool:
"Two lattes and one mango mousse."
Kisara followed closely behind Luo Shu, glancing at Touka's unnatural expression before sitting beside him.
"Certainly, two lattes and one mango mousse."
Yoshimura repeated the order, then looked at Touka before preparing the coffee:
"Touka."
"Yes~"
Touka hurried behind the counter, retrieving the mango mousse from the large transparent fridge nearby. She paired it with two sets of forks and hot hand towels before serving them to Luo Shu and Kisara:
"Your mango mousse, sir."
After speaking, she retreated several steps, unconsciously putting distance between herself and Luo Shu.
Noticing this, Kisara glanced at Touka again before addressing Luo Shu:
"Shu-kun?"
Luo Shu waved his hand, pointing at the mango mousse:
"Try it."
"Oh..."
Kisara picked up her fork, scooped a small piece into her mouth, and her eyes immediately brightened after chewing:
"So delicious~"
She turned to Touka and asked eagerly:
"How is this made? Is there some secret recipe?"
Touka looked slightly awkward at the question:
"You flatter me. It's just made the regular way."
Kisara seemed not to hear the answer at all, quickly scooping another piece of mousse and holding the fork out to Luo Shu:
"Here, Shu-kun, say ah~"
Luo Shu, somewhat accustomed to this, ate the offered mousse:
"Not bad."
Hearing this, Kisara's eyes sparkled as she smiled: "Then shall I make it for you later?"
'They're a couple...' Touka watched them expressionlessly: 'Asking about the recipe was just setting up to make it for him later, wasn't it? Hah...'
Touka now understood these two definitely weren't dangerous Box Carriers. Absolutely not.
Meanwhile, seeing Luo Shu and Kisara's interaction, Kaya Irimi also relaxed her guard and turned to attend to other customers.
At that moment, Yoshimura placed two saucers before Luo Shu and Kisara, expertly pouring one-third coffee and two-thirds steamed milk into each cup.
"Your lattes."
Yoshimura smiled as he set the lattes on their saucers, gesturing for them to drink.
Luo Shu glanced at Yoshimura, picked up his latte, blew on it, and took a small sip.
"How is it?" Yoshimura asked warmly, like any ordinary enthusiastic café manager.
"Very good." Luo Shu stated his opinion plainly: "The mango mousse is nice too."
Yoshimura was about to say thank you for the compliment when he heard Luo Shu's probing words.
"It must have been very difficult for you to achieve this level when you can't taste human food."
As the words fell, Yoshimura's narrowed eyes opened slightly. Kaya Irimi, who had already walked some distance away, stopped in her tracks. Touka Kirishima, who had been relaxed moments ago, froze in place.
The atmosphere had subtly changed.
Become unbearably heavy.
Luo Shu swirled his coffee cup, took another small sip, then calmly stated:
"SSS-Rated Ghoul Non-Killing Owl Yoshimura, SS-Rated Ghoul Black Dog Kaya Irimi, and that Miss Touka Kirishima is also an S-Rated Ghoul."
Hearing Luo Shu name both their Ghoul aliases and real names, Yoshimura fully understood now - this man had come specifically for Anteiku.
His only remaining question was which faction Luo Shu belonged to.
"Who are you?"
At Yoshimura's question, Luo Shu reached into his pocket with his left hand and placed an identification card on the counter.
Yoshimura looked down, and his brows immediately furrowed as he read the contents.
Department: Metropolitan Police Department, Special Crimes Division.
Name: Luo Shu.
Rank: Director.
'Director? Someone from this world's official organisation?'
Realising the gravity of the situation, Yoshimura tried his best to maintain a friendly tone to express his harmlessness:
"May I ask what business the Director has with this retired old man?"
Luo Shu smiled.
"Assessment."
'An assessment...' Yoshimura suddenly understood, then pressed further:
"And what might be the purpose of this assessment?"
Luo Shu gave Yoshimura a meaningful look before replying:
"To determine the specific threat level of the Ghoul species."
"The threat level of a species... is it?" Yoshimura's expression turned extremely serious: "And if they're deemed very dangerous, what would Director do?"
Luo Shu narrowed his eyes and uttered a single word:
"Extermination."
"You bastard!!" Touka Kirishima, who had been listening all along, couldn't hold back any longer and prepared to attack.
How could she sit idly by when the enemy had come with the intention of wiping out all Ghouls?
But the moment she took her stance, an indescribable chill rose from her tailbone all the way up to her brain.
The terrifying sensation of being preyed upon weighed heavily on Touka Kirishima's heart, forcing her to shift her gaze and lock eyes with Kisara.
At that moment, the cute pink-haired girl sitting beside Luo Shu stared at Touka Kirishima with her blood-red, gleaming eyes and smiled:
"Miss waitress, could you please not disturb Shu-kun?"
'I can't move... this creature... monster...!!'
Fear continued to spread through Touka Kirishima's heart.
This sudden change in Touka Kirishima made Kaya Irimi, who had been attempting to flank Luo Shu and his companion from behind, stop in her tracks, her eyes filled with wariness.
Just as the atmosphere between both sides stiffened again, Luo Shu suddenly tapped the counter lightly with his index finger and said:
"Kisara, don't scare the waitress."
"Hai~" The moment the words left his mouth, Kisara instantly became completely non-threatening.
Yoshimura watched Kisara with grave eyes, assessing her danger level internally before turning back to Luo Shu to ask:
"Might I inquire about Director's assessment methods?"Seeing Yoshimura being so accommodating, Luo Shu responded with a broad smile and said:
"21 billion yen."
Yoshimura: "?!!"
"Huh?" Touka Kirishima gaped.
Kaya Irimi was dumbfounded.
The atmosphere froze...