Touka took a deep breath and was the first to break the silence, asking professionally, "Rize-san, would you like another cup of coffee?"
"Thank you." Rize nodded gracefully, her smile unchanged.
After a brief quiet, Touka ultimately could not suppress her curiosity. As she wiped a cup, she asked softly, as if casually, "You and Hiro-san... what exactly is your relationship?"
At that, Rize's lips curved into an exceptionally radiant smile. "Us? We're in a romantic relationship."
The answer clearly caught Touka off guard. Surprise was written all over her face. She had not expected Rize to say something like that.
She did not know whether it was true or not, but Rize really had changed compared to before. Was it because of Hiro-san?
After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked the other question that had lingered in her heart for a long time. "Then... Kaneki Ken..."
Before she could finish, Rize cut her off cleanly.
"Kaneki Ken isn't dead."
Rize tossed out that fact lightly, her tone as calm as if she were talking about the weather.
Then she gracefully lifted the refilled coffee cup, leaving all of Touka's unasked questions frozen in her stunned eyes.
...
The manager led Amano Hiro upstairs to a quiet room at the end of the corridor.
The room was simply furnished, with only two old sofas facing each other and a wooden coffee table between them. The light filtering in from the window cast a soft tone over the space.
"Please, have a seat, Hiro-kun," the manager said in his usual gentle voice.
Amano Hiro sat down casually on the sofa and looked at him calmly, waiting for him to speak.
The manager sat opposite him, his expression solemn. "Thank you for protecting Touka this time."
Amano Hiro waved his hand indifferently. "I wouldn't call it protecting. Even if I hadn't been there, she would have been fine."
"Even so, the thought is worth thanking."
The manager nodded slightly, then changed the subject. "Hiro-kun, I would like to formally invite you to join Anteiku."
Amano Hiro raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Oh? Why invite me?"
"You are surely aware of the current situation."
The manager's tone grew heavier. "Things are becoming more and more unstable. Even the 20th Ward is undercurrents waiting to surge at any moment."
After a brief pause, he continued sincerely, "You would not need to stay at the shop at all times. I only hope that at critical moments, you can lend a hand to protect these children. With Hiro-kun's strength, that should not be a difficult task."
Amano Hiro did not answer immediately. His slender fingers tapped lightly against the table as if weighing something.
Seeing this, the manager added another condition. "Three hundred thousand yen per month, as compensation. How about it?"
The tapping stopped abruptly.
Amano Hiro lifted his gaze and spoke decisively. "Fine. But it has to be more."
The manager was visibly taken aback for a moment. Then a kinder smile bloomed across his wrinkled face. "Very well. How about six hundred thousand yen?"
"Deal."
Amano Hiro agreed readily, the corner of his lips lifting into a meaningful curve. "Don't worry, Manager. You won't lose out on this deal."
With his hands in his pockets, Amano Hiro strolled down from the second floor. He glanced toward Rize and said briefly, "Let's go."
Rize elegantly drained the remaining coffee in her cup and rose to follow him.
By the time they stepped out of the café, night had fully fallen. The streetlights blurred into warm halos in the cool air.
"What did you and the manager talk about?" Rize leaned closer, curiosity in her voice.
"Closed a pretty good deal."
Amano Hiro was in a good mood, a smile at his lips. "Stable monthly income and not much work. Not bad at all."
However, the pleasant expression on his face suddenly stiffened, as if he had remembered something extremely vexing. His brows gradually furrowed.
"I've got money now... but there's so much good food in this world, and I can't taste any of it."
He muttered to himself, his expression darkening. "How is that any different from having no money?"
There were other ways to spend money for entertainment, but as the saying goes, food is the first necessity of the people. Eating comes first.
The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt. The satisfaction he had just gained dissipated instantly.
Rize noticed the sudden change in his mood and tilted her head. "What's wrong? You suddenly look troubled."
Amano Hiro sighed. "You wouldn't understand."
He fell into thought. Logically speaking, there was no essential difference between the physiological structures of ghouls and humans. Ghouls merely had a higher concentration of RC cells and an additional organ called a Kakuhou.
But when he examined himself internally, he could not sense the presence of any Kakuhou at all. It had probably been completely absorbed and assimilated when he fused with the "Carnage" symbiote.
If the symbiote could perfectly integrate with cells, then RC cells should also be integrated. If that were the case, he ought to be able to taste food normally.
"Could it be that 'Carnage' mutated during the fusion with RC cells and turned me into some kind of more special ghoul?"
He speculated inwardly. "Or... perhaps the fusion was never fully completed?"
Given his current state, he should already stand above ghouls as a species. Yet he was still troubled by the most basic desire for food.
"Perhaps 'Carnage' has not fully recovered yet. When it completely awakens, or even evolves again, I will truly be able to control every detail of this body..."
Or perhaps he already could fully control his body's cells, but this Carnage had no self-awareness and required him to actively perform certain fine manipulations.
...
11th Ward, deep within an abandoned building.
The lighting in the room was deliberately kept dim. Only an old wall lamp in the corner cast a faint yellow glow, barely outlining the two figures on the sofa.
The air was thick with dust and a certain oppressive atmosphere. Low conversation sounded especially clear in the silence.
It was Tatara and Eto.
The door was pushed open with a bang, and Ayato walked in, his face dark.
"You're back." Tatara turned his head. "Any news about Rize?"
"Yamori is dead," Ayato said in a restrained voice.
Tatara showed little reaction. "There's an investigator in the 20th Ward capable of killing Yamori?"
"Not an investigator," Ayato paused. "A ghoul killed him."
He then recounted everything that had happened that afternoon at the inconspicuous café, describing in full how that mysterious man had ended Yamori with overwhelming strength in a single exchange.
"Oh?" Eto, her entire body wrapped in bandages and wearing a red hooded cloak with rabbit ears, let out a surprised sound. "Killed Yamori in one move." She waved her bandaged arm. "That's pretty strong."
"That should be the 'Carnage' who appeared in the 12th Ward some time ago," Tatara said calmly.
Eto let out a light, cheerful laugh. "How interesting. Amano Hiro... I really want to meet him. Hehe."
Her laughter sounded somewhat eerie in the dim room.
"What about Rize?" Ayato asked in a low voice.
"We'll have to change targets," Tatara replied, his tone still flat.