All her questions were answered in that moment.
Hearing Eto's response, Akira's expression momentarily froze.
Though she had questioned Byakuya after Takatsuki Sen's visit to CCG—she had suspected something between Byakuya and Eto.
But having Eto declare it so directly to her face was still unexpected.
Akira had assumed Byakuya and Eto were at most in some vaguely ambiguous stage. She hadn't expected Eto to outright call herself a rival.
It felt almost like a declaration of war...
Akira's expression turned slightly cold. "Even knowing my relationship with him, you still consider me a rival?"
"That's right. If you haven't officially confirmed your relationship yet, then I still have a chance, don't I?"
Eto said evenly. "And if you have... well, too bad—I'm quite the NTR enthusiast~"
"NTR..."
Since the story was set in Japan, people in this world understood what "NTR" meant. Akira was no exception.
NTR was shorthand for the Japanese term "Netorare."
Akira immediately recognized this was a formidable opponent...
"Alright, that's enough. You're getting more outrageous by the second..."
Byakuya finally spoke up.
"Outrageous? But everything I've said is true."
Eto clearly had no intention of backing down.
"..."
Byakuya didn't believe her at all.
At the very least, he definitely didn't believe Eto's claim about being an NTR enthusiast.
Combined with what Eto had said before about using him being a "huge playboy" as a publicity angle—that was the biggest red flag.
Byakuya shot Eto a look, signaling her not to take things too far.
He figured Eto was just using him and Akira for entertainment, but there had to be limits.
Especially since Eto and Akira had the matter of Eto killing Akira's mother between them—it was just that Akira didn't know Eto's true identity as the One-Eyed Owl.
If she ever found out, things would probably turn hostile instantly.
Noticing Byakuya's look, Eto gave no reaction—any response might have alerted Akira.
"Anyway, thank you both for the material, Amaha-san and Akira-san."
Eto said with a smile. "My interest in gathering material is genuine, but so is my fondness for Amaha-san. Don't let your guard down, Akira-san."
She even offered Akira a friendly warning.
"Then I suppose I should thank you, Eto-san..."
Akira said with a calm expression.
"That wouldn't be inappropriate."
Eto replied.
"..."
Akira quietly sipped her coffee, saying nothing more.
"By the way, Amaha-san, Akira-san—I've always been curious about something. What does kissing feel like?"
Eto suddenly asked.
"...What does that have to do with your new book? Didn't you say it was about ghouls?"
Akira asked evenly.
"There's a tiny bit of relevance... But you see, I've never tried writing romance before. I might give it a shot someday."
Eto smiled naturally. "But I've never experienced romance myself, including kissing—never done it once. So I'm gathering material in advance."
"There's nothing special about it. You do it because you like someone. It's that simple."
Akira answered directly.
"And what about you, Amaha-san? Care to share your special feelings?"
When saying "special," Eto deliberately emphasized the word.
As if she knew Byakuya had probably kissed more than one girl.
With her keen intuition, Akira naturally noticed Eto's emphasized tone.
Her gaze immediately turned to Byakuya, curious to hear what he'd say.
Byakuya felt somewhat helpless—Eto was definitely doing this on purpose.
"I wouldn't call them special feelings, but kissing someone you like is still quite moving."
Byakuya said mildly.
"Mm-hmm. So would you like to try kissing me, Amaha-san?"
Eto pressed on. "I happen to like you, Amaha-san. I'd like to see if it feels the way you described."
As Eto spoke, Byakuya could feel Akira's sharp gaze fixed on him.
Eto wore a cheerful expression. She could clearly see Akira's current look—this was obviously a trap she'd set for Byakuya.
"...I don't believe I'm that charming. Takatsuki-san, perhaps enough with the jokes."
Byakuya said seriously.
"..."
Eto's expression grew slightly more serious as well.
She knew she couldn't push the teasing any further.
After all, he was her boss (the One-Eyed King).
She only dared joke around so much because she knew Byakuya's personality was easygoing. If it were someone as stern as Kishou Arima—even though she didn't fear Arima's strength—she wouldn't joke around with him like this.
"How heartbreaking. Though I admit most of what I said earlier was joking, hahaha—"
So she ended the topic there.
"So... Eto-san, you were just joking earlier?"
Akira was somewhat exasperated.
"Mostly joking, mostly."
Eto corrected. "Specifically, there's one thing I wasn't joking about—my fondness for Amaha-san is real."
"However..."
Eto added, "Whether that fondness is a little or a lot, I won't reveal. A girl has to maintain some mystery, you know."
"I didn't see any shyness from you..."
Byakuya was unimpressed.
Being teased and toyed with by Eto so often had desensitized him.
And aside from serious matters, he no longer took anything Eto said at face value.
"My fault, my fault. I'm the type who doesn't blush easily, but I'm actually quite shy inside."
Eto said with a laugh.
"..."
Akira fell silent for a moment.
She observed Eto quietly.
She could tentatively conclude that Eto-san was indeed a rival.
And one who liked making ambiguous jokes...
Women like this warranted extra vigilance—because who knew when she might suddenly get serious.
...
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