Do you know when the most troublesome moment is while raising a child?
When the child is going through a rebellious phase? No.
When the child hangs around friends armed to the teeth with bizarre knowledge? No.
"Dad."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"My chest has gotten bigger lately. Do I need to buy a bra?"
"Puh—!"
It's when they ask you, directly, about something you know absolutely nothing about.
On an early summer day, I was drinking iced coffee to beat the heat when that completely unexpected ambush sent it spraying out through my nose.
Puberty.
A crucial period when the mind matures and the body undergoes significant changes.
Sensing that the greatest crisis of my life had arrived—despite never even having had a proper relationship—I grabbed my phone to seek help.
For this kind of problem, I should probably consult a woman, but regrettably, I didn't know many.
The first person I tried calling was Hoshino, whom I'd met through Hitokawa.
"Eto's underwear!? Of course I'll help! Wait there, I'm coming right now and I'll pick out the cutest ones for her!!"
"Where do you think you're going while tracking a Ghoul suspect, idiot!?"
"Mr. Hitokawa! Can I take the afternoon off just this once!? I have to pick out underwear that suits Eto!"
"Denied! Keep chasing! And where the hell did that bastard Arima go!?"
"Huh? He was right next to me a moment ago...."
"That damn bastard is off acting on his own again, isn't heeeee!!"
Hoshino seemed pretty busy.
Come to think of it, I thought I heard her mention Arima just now. I must've misheard.
Either way, it was clear I couldn't ask her, so I called another woman.
Irimi Kaya.
A woman I'd recently gotten to know, and the leader of a certain Ghoul group.
"Sorry! I'm busy right now! One of the new recruits who joined us recently got stupidly tailed by a Ghoul Investigator! And the one who showed up to chase him was, of all people...."
KWA-GA-GA-GA-BOOOOM!!!
"Big sis!! That guy's here again!!"
"Hey, Arima Kishou!! Do you really have to storm in like this after I already let you off once!?"
"I did promise cooperation with those people, but I don't recall ever joining hands with you."
"Damn it! Abandon the hideout and evacuate everyone!! Nothing you say will get through to that monster!!"
Kaya seemed just as busy.
At this point, the only woman left among my acquaintances was the manager of the restaurant where I worked.
Since her back had been bothering her lately, she was resting at home, so I called her.
After I explained the situation, the manager said in a dry voice, "Why are you asking me something like that? Just take her to a lingerie store and buy something that suits her."
"I'm asking you because it's awkward to walk into a lingerie store with a kid."
"If you're going to be embarrassed over something that small, how did you raise a child this far? When I was young, I...."
"So the manager had a childhood too, huh."
"You're dead, punk."
Her murderous voice brushed past me for a moment, then she continued.
"Anyway, what I'm saying is that when I was young, my mother came with me when I went to places like that. Children aren't insensitive to change just because they're children. If anything, they get anxious because it feels awkward and unfamiliar. You don't know how reassuring it is to have a parent beside you then. You're Eto's guardian, aren't you? Then stop whining and get your ass over there."
"...."
It was so painfully correct that I couldn't say a word back.
In the end, the next day I took Eto to a lingerie store.
"Mm. This is still awkward."
Since it was a women-only store, there were naturally a lot of women inside.
The sight of a man who didn't belong there drew sidelong glances from them, each one pricking at my skin.
No. Calm down. It's only embarrassing because I'm embarrassed. Empty the mind, and it's just a gaze. Mind extinguished, mind extinguished....
"Dad, are you okay?"
Eto, noticing my tension, asked me that.
Right. What was I doing, worrying Eto over something like this? Compared to everything she'd been through, this was nothing.
"No problem!"
I gave her a thumbs-up and smiled so broadly my teeth showed.
I would regret later that such an exaggerated grin stood out even more in a place like this.
After the clerk helped measure Eto's size, we stood in front of the displayed underwear to leave the rest to Eto's preference.
Even for teenagers, the sets came in all kinds, from plain to flashy.
Looking at them, Eto fell into thought with a hand on her chin.
I figured she was deciding which one to get, but after more than ten minutes of that, I couldn't hold back and asked her, "What's wrong? Don't you like any of them?"
"No. It's not a matter of liking or not liking...."
Eto continued, still resting her hand on her chin as if in deep thought.
"I was wondering whether underwear is really necessary."
"What is this, a sudden declaration of exhibitionism, daughter?"
What was this?
Had she been reading too many books lately and gotten lost in philosophical questions?
I didn't know why she was asking whether underwear was necessary instead of whether humans had a sense of self.
"If you move around too much, it'll tear anyway. Wouldn't it be better to just wrap yourself in sturdy bandages?"
"Forget it. Bandages on a naked body? This father does not want you growing up into some maniacal little harlot."
"Is that so? I think it's efficient. Besides, once you unleash a Kagune, ordinary clothes just get torn apart. In the case of a Kakuja, wouldn't it be better to draw it directly from the skin where it's needed rather than from around the shoulders?"
"...."
About half a year ago, through an incident, Eto had gained the near-taboo power of a Ghoul called a Kakuja.
As for me, I wasn't thrilled about her using such an ominous power, but Eto seemed intent on making use of it somehow.
That said, after that incident, the Kakuja almost never appeared.
When Eto deliberately tried to use it, all that happened was that her arm and shoulder were covered in Kagune for about one or two seconds before it vanished.
After that, she showed no sign of trying to use the Kakuja again, so I thought she'd given up. But maybe she still hadn't let go of it.
"...Well, like I said before, if you really feel like you need it, I'll trust you. It's true that a weapon to protect yourself in an emergency is important."
Saying "however," I bent down to meet Eto at eye level.
Then I pressed both of her cheeks, which still hadn't quite lost their baby fat despite her growth.
"What we came to buy today isn't something needed by 'Ghoul Eto.' It's something needed by 'human girl Eto.' Do you understand?"
"Mmph... yes."
With her cheeks squashed flat, Eto answered.
When I released her face, Eto dutifully started choosing underwear, but her expression after touching the bras still didn't look very pleased.
"Mm... but bras still seem really uncomfortable."
"Then what do you want me to do? Don't tell me you're really planning to make do with bandages. I'll have my eyes turned inside out."
"Will you be excited?"
"Eto. Want to get a rare dose of fatherly discipline?"
I was considering whether to thump Eto on the head for making such a trivial yet dangerous joke in a dangerous place when—
"Excuse me."
Oh no. Had we been too loud?
We'd kept words like "Ghoul" and "Kakuja" low enough that only we could hear them, but I guessed the rest of our behavior had looked suspicious.
But this voice was different from the clerk's from earlier.
Thinking it was the clerk, I turned around and found not a store employee but a woman dressed like a refined career professional.
"I saw from a distance that you seemed to be having trouble choosing underwear. Would you like some help?"
"Huh? Ah, no, that's really not necessary...."
"No need to refuse. My own daughter is about the age where she should start wearing a bra, so I came out to buy one...."
As she said that, the woman's gaze slowly shifted from me to Eto.
"...!"
And for an instant, there was a strange dilation and contraction in the woman's eyes as she looked at Eto.
I didn't know what that meant.
Only....
Grip.
Eto?
Eto met the woman's eyes.
An expression with no emotion at all, just staring blankly, as if she were facing someone she'd just met today.
But her hand was different from her face.
At an angle the woman couldn't see, she was gripping my collar tightly.
As if startled by something.
Or as if holding back fear.
I didn't know what kind of connection Eto and this woman had.
But I had the feeling I couldn't just leave things as they were.
While I was thinking of something to say to shift the awkward atmosphere, a small figure slipped neatly between me, Eto, and the woman.
My gaze naturally moved there.
She looked about elementary school age.
Or maybe like she'd just graduated and entered middle school.
Short, bright hair.
Fair skin and a face that suggested she'd grow up to be beautiful.
The girl looked up at me, pointed a finger, and said, "Why is this old man in the women's underwear section? Are you a pervert?"
"...Cough!"
The sudden ambush sent a cough bursting out of me.
It was already bad enough being in a lingerie store, and this little brat had just landed a critical hit on top of that.
Then the woman from before seemed to panic and hurriedly stopped the girl.
"Akira, you can't say things like that."
"But Dad isn't coming in and is waiting outside, so it's unfair that only this old man gets to come in. Let Dad come in too."
I followed the direction the girl was pointing.
Outside the lingerie store stood a thin man with long hair and narrow eyes, looking awkward as he waited.
He didn't exactly give off a great impression, but the moment our eyes met, I felt an odd sense of kinship.
A subtle kinship felt by a father raising a daughter.
The other man gave an awkward bow, and I bowed back.
"I'm sorry. My daughter said something rude."
"Ah, no. It's just a child speaking, that's all...."
"Oh, right. Come to think of it, you were choosing underwear, weren't you?"
The girl's words had stabbed straight into me like a critical hit, but thanks to that, the awkward atmosphere from before disappeared.
The child's mother, the career woman, walked over to one of the underwear displays, picked something out, and held it out to us.
"Would this be okay? If the child finds bras unfamiliar or dislikes them, something like this might be better. It's a sports bra, so if this is her first time wearing underwear, this may be the better choice."
"Ohhh!"
So that existed? I was learning about it for the first time today.
Honestly, this might suit Eto....
As I was marveling at that, the girl slipped behind the woman and said, "Mom. That man is getting happy looking at a girl's underwear. He's definitely a pervert."
Cough!!
The child's bluntness stabbed mercilessly into my heart.
If this kept up, it felt like blood might come out instead of a cough.
In fact, several women already in the store were whispering while looking at me with far from friendly eyes.
Yeah. Fine. From now on, I'd never come within a hundred meters of this area when grocery shopping.
While I was trying to recover my wounded dignity with that thought, the woman turned toward Eto with the sports bra she'd chosen.
"Would you take it?"
The woman spoke gently.
Even the eyes that had widened in surprise when she first saw Eto were now softened with warmth, as if telling her she wasn't an enemy.
"...."
Eto met those eyes.
What conversation passed between those gazes?
Eto carefully reached out and accepted what the woman offered.
Then she held it to her chest and bowed her head to the woman.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you."
The woman bowed back to Eto.
Just choosing underwear and handing it over, yet the two of them were bowing to each other in thanks. It was a strange sight.
It felt bizarre, and yet somehow also like I was watching a sacred ritual.
Unable to understand why they were acting like that, I and even the little girl named Akira, who had just stabbed me in the chest a moment ago, tilted our heads and watched them.
"Then I hope you have a lovely time with your family."
After greeting me, the woman took her daughter's hand and left the lingerie store.
Watching them disappear, Eto finally let out a long breath of relief only after quite some time had passed.
"Haa...."
"What was that about? Do you know her?"
"No. I don't know her."
"No way. You didn't look like you were dealing with a stranger at all."
When I asked again, Eto looked straight at me and said, "I don't know her."
Firmness, spoken with serious eyes.
If Eto showed this kind of stubbornness, it wouldn't be easy to break.
I'd have to wait until she felt ready to tell me later.
"Then just tell me this much. There's no danger, right?"
I scratched my head and said it.
I at least needed to hear that much.
"The most dangerous moment was just now...."
"What, you little punk?"
The most dangerous moment was just now? What the hell did that mean?
But as expected, Eto had no intention of telling me. Instead, her expression relaxed as if relieved, and she said, "It'll be fine now."
Eto's gaze was directed toward where the woman had disappeared with her daughter.
And just as the woman had held her daughter's hand, this time Eto took my hand.
"Because we've confirmed once again, right in front of us, the thing neither of us wants to blow up."