"You..."
Byakuya was utterly exasperated.
Teased by Eto once again, he simply chose not to respond.
Same as always—he didn't take anything Eto said seriously.
"By the way... you didn't really need such terrifyingly destructive abilities to deal with the Washuu Clan, did you?"
Eto suddenly asked.
As one of this world's top fighters herself, Eto had a fairly accurate sense of how much power was needed to overthrow the Washuu Clan.
By comparison, the power Byakuya had displayed was far beyond what was necessary.
Though Eto didn't know how many abilities Byakuya was still hiding, based on what she'd seen alone, the giant he'd summoned during the Owl Suppression would have been more than enough.
So Byakuya's display this time struck her as strange.
"True. You've noticed."
Byakuya nodded slightly.
"So you have some other purpose?"
Eto pondered for a moment. "But I can't figure it out. What exactly is your goal?"
"You'll find out when the time comes. Now isn't the right moment."
Byakuya said calmly.
"Tsk, keeping me in suspense."
Eto clicked her tongue.
But she didn't press further. She knew Byakuya would tell her when the time was right.
...
The truth about the Washuu Clan—that they were a ghoul family and had been exterminated—quickly spread throughout Tokyo.
But compared to that, something even more explosive was being discussed: Amaha Byakuya himself...
Though no cameras had captured the Super Almighty Push and Planetary Devastation, the devastation at the Washuu estate remained.
Hordes of media journalists rushed to photograph the ruins. Just from the images, people could see what catastrophic events had occurred there...
Especially the civilians who had been in Ward 1 at the time—nearly all of them had heard or even witnessed the earth-shaking phenomena caused by Almighty Push and Planetary Devastation.
Those abilities were divine powers completely beyond their comprehension.
Thus, compared to the Washuu Clan situation, people were discussing Byakuya's godlike powers even more intensely.
For now, the impact of Byakuya's actions at the Washuu estate hadn't spread too far, but given time, that could change...
...
Back at home.
"You're back."
"Yeah, I'm home."
Rize sat in the living room, welcoming Byakuya home as usual.
"Shouldn't you be resting in your room?"
Byakuya immediately showed concern for Rize.
"Really now... I've told you, I'm not as delicate as a human."
Rize said dismissively.
But feeling Byakuya's care made her undeniably happy inside.
"Alright, let me check on our daughter."
Byakuya placed his palm on Rize's belly.
Her stomach had begun to show slightly, though it wasn't very obvious from the outside yet.
Sensing that the baby was stable and healthy, Byakuya relaxed.
"Silly. You just checked yesterday."
Rize smiled.
"Can't help it. This is my first time being a father, after all. There's so much I don't know."
Byakuya smiled wryly.
"It's fine. I've already bought lots of books about pregnancy for the room. Just focus on your own matters."
Rize said.
"Alright."
Byakuya nodded.
Just moments ago, Rize had acted nonchalant, but she'd actually gone and bought those books privately.
Calm and composed on the surface, but secretly caring intensely about the baby...
After all, Rize had already become a wonderful mother.
"The Washuu Clan situation is resolved. Now I just need to stabilize the CCG's chaotic state."
Byakuya gave her a brief summary.
"Mm, I saw the news on TV."
A loving smile appeared on Rize's face. "This way, our daughter can grow up in a peaceful environment."
Though the Washuu Clan's destruction also meant she no longer had to worry about being recaptured, her first thought was for their daughter's future.
"Yes."
Byakuya promised. "Don't worry. No matter what, I'll make sure you're both absolutely safe."
"I believe you."
Rize smiled softly.
...
Around the time people got off work.
Kurona, Nashiro, Mayu, and the others gradually returned home.
Now only Rize stayed home every day, going to the café to read and drink coffee less and less.
Rize acted unconcerned on the surface but was actually being extremely careful—even worrying whether coffee might be bad for the baby.
On days when it wasn't their shift at the café, Matsumae would specifically stay home to look after Rize.
"Speaking of which, Rize-san has been going out less lately. Did something happen?"
Noticing this, Kurona asked Rize.
Since they'd been at the critical stage of dealing with the Washuu Clan, Rize hadn't wanted to distract Byakuya, so she'd kept her pregnancy secret.
Until now, only Byakuya and Matsumae knew.
But today, Byakuya had successfully overthrown the Washuu Clan, so Rize no longer needed to hold back.
"I'm pregnant, so it's inconvenient to move around much."
Rize explained with a light smile.
"Oh..."
Kurona didn't process it immediately. After acknowledging, she suddenly realized. "Huh? Wait! Rize-san is pregnant?!"
"If Rize-san is pregnant, it can only be Byakuya-oniichan's doing..."
Nashiro also stared intently at Byakuya.
She hadn't expected Rize to have already done that with Byakuya without anyone knowing, and to have been pregnant for some time now...
They'd sensed something was different about Rize before, but hadn't thought in the direction of "pregnancy."
Rize-san was truly formidable...
To have gotten such a head start...
"Pregnant...?"
The more innocent Mayu tilted her head. "Big brother and big sister are already having a baby?"
"That's right! It looks like Rize-san is definitely the First Lady now. So who will be the Second Lady? I'm so excited—!"
Nearby, Washuu Chika suddenly got worked up, probably from reading too many of those kinds of stories.
...
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