"Huh?"
Faced with Rize's sudden confession, Hayashi froze, his whole body stiffening on the spot.
He… was confessed to?
A human, confessed to by a ghoul?
And not just any ghoul — but Rize, the notorious Binge Eater, who saw eating as pleasure and entertainment?
Sure, she probably only thought of him as some amusing, tasty-looking dish.
But regardless, he was still confessed to by a woman.
Maybe it was because he had never imagined such a scenario, but Hayashi found himself unable to react.
The absurdity of this situation was on par with the idea of Jason suddenly getting back up and doing a little dance while waving flowers around.
"My name is Kamishiro Rize. Tell me yours, little boy~"
Rize pressed tightly against Hayashi's back, her slender fingers brushing across his cheek.
"…Hayashi."
Listening to her soft, sultry voice at his ear, feeling that cold yet delicate touch, Hayashi slowly turned his head and answered with casual indifference.
"Hayashi?"
"I'll remember that. I didn't think among the humans of the CCG there'd be such an amusing little boy~"
Rize giggled, her arms gently circling his neck.
"We'll meet again, Hayashi~"
"And when that time comes, let's have a proper chat~"
Her voice rang in the air like silver chimes, sweet and alluring.
By the time Hayashi came back to his senses, Rize was already gone.
All that lingered was the faint fragrance in the air and the warmth still pressed into his back.
"She's already gone?"
Leaning against the wall, Hayashi rubbed his forehead.
He truly hadn't expected Rize to press herself so boldly against him just now.
That soft, warm, springy sensation, combined with that seductive and tempting voice — it was nearly impossible to resist.
No wonder Kaneki had been bewitched, utterly captivated by Rize.
She was the very embodiment of a succubus. Who could withstand that?
Thinking of this, Hayashi let out a small sigh.
That situation just now was like Big Head Son and Small Head Dad — he had almost lost control.
But at the same time, he had confirmed three very important things.
First, he was highly attractive to ghouls. Perhaps even more than to humans.
Second, Rize was… quite big. Bigger than she looked, and by the feel of it, maybe even bigger still.
Thinking this far, Hayashi couldn't help but nod to himself.
Both of those points were very crucial. He would have to be careful in the future.
But for now, since the battle was over, he needed to report back.
His gaze returned to reality. All around him lay corpses and blood. He walked straight over to where one of his fallen teammates lay.
"Got it!"
After a quick search, Hayashi retrieved a phone from his teammate's clothing.
"Time to report in, get backup dispatched, then I can clock out."
He opened the contacts list and dialed.
...
CCG Headquarters
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?!"
In the command room, Marude slammed his fist onto the desk.
The coffee cup on the table rattled off and shattered with a crisp sound.
"The Binge Eater, always active in the 11th Ward, suddenly showed up in the 20th?!"
"And eyewitnesses claim the Jason from the 13th Ward was there too!"
"Two S-rated ghouls appearing at once… in the small 20th Ward, of all places!"
Glaring at the display of investigators who had lost contact, Marude clenched his fist tight.
His instincts screamed at him—something big was about to happen.
"Send someone to check. Use helicopters, keep it at long range."
Marude waved his hand, issuing the order.
"Against two S-ranks, the investigators deployed are as good as dead anyway…"
He slumped into his chair, sighing wearily. Two S-ranks… there was no way they could handle that.
"Investigator Special Marude! The investigators dispatched just contacted headquarters!"
Just when he had abandoned all hope, a subordinate shouted in shock.
"What?!"
Marude blinked, stunned.
The next moment, he leapt out of his chair.
"Give me the phone!"
He snatched it and held it to his ear.
"This is Marude."
At once, the entire room went dead silent, everyone holding their breath.
"Headquarters, this is investigator rank 3 Hayashi"
After a pause, a lazy young voice came from the receiver.
"Investigator Hayashi?! You're alive? What about the others? Report immediately!"
Relief flashed in Marude's eyes. He hadn't expected there to be any survivors.
"The situation?"
On the line, Hayashi's voice paused briefly before continuing:
"All of my teammates have been killed. I'm the only one left alive."
Everyone else dead?
Only you survived?
Marude froze, then quickly reasoned it out.
Most likely, Hayashi had escaped while his teammates covered him.
Or maybe he slipped away during the chaos when Jason and the Binge Eater clashed.
Either way, as long as there was one survivor, they could at least get intel.
Marude let out a breath.
"And the Binge Eater? Jason? Are they still inside the building, or did they escape?"
Gripping the phone tightly, his eyes narrowed.
"Jason and the Binge Eater?"
"As for them, I drove both of them off. The Binge Eater ran, but Jason didn't — his head's already rolling."
Hayashi's flat, casual tone was like someone discussing the weather.
The entire control room fell into stunned silence.
A rank 3 investigator… cutting down two S-ranks?
One escaped, the other decapitated?
Was this even human speech?
"You mean to say, you single-handedly drove off two S-rated ghouls?"
Marude took a deep breath, rubbing his temples.
For a moment, he felt like Hayashi was mocking him.
After all, even novelists wouldn't dare write something so ridiculous.
"Mm."
Hayashi 's reply was as calm as ever.
"…Where are you now?"
Unbelievable as it sounded, Marude had no choice but to believe.
"I'm on the upper floors of the Akao Building. You can send people directly."
Hayashi 's voice carried the faintest trace of fatigue.
"Stay put. We'll dispatch reinforcements immediately."
"You've done well, Hayashi. Please hold on just a little longer."
Marude ended the call, then turned to his men with urgency.
"Send a unit right away! Lock down the scene at once!"
At his command, the subordinates snapped back to attention, moving with unified precision.
"Do you really think what Investigator Hayashi said is true?"
One of them whispered.
"I don't know. We'll only know once boots are on the ground."
Marude rubbed his temples, exhaustion in his voice.
"But one thing's for sure—if it is true… then the CCG has just birthed a genius."
"A genius who could rival Arima…"