First, with the help of his colleagues, he bought all the basic large furniture. After that, it was time to go to the mall to buy some daily necessities.
"Is there anything you want to buy?"
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya asked Yoshimura Eto.
The decision he had made earlier was to take the initiative to let Eto see more of the outside world.
Because Eto herself, in order not to be suspected by him, would certainly restrain herself deliberately.
Although Ihei Byakuya's impression of Yoshimura Eto was that she was brutal, extreme, and willing to do anything to achieve her goals,
But just as Kaneki Ken's famous line goes: The one who is wrong is not me, it is this world.
Yoshimura Eto became who she was entirely because of her past experiences and the environment she grew up in.
When she was still an infant, her biological mother was killed. Her biological father, forced by enemies, entrusted her to the man who later became her adoptive father.
Growing up in the darkest and most chaotic 24th Ward, facing dangers and killings that could appear at any moment, and now even her adoptive father, the only one who stayed by her side, was hunted down and killed.
For a child still forming her worldview, this would inevitably cause extremely severe consequences.
Although Byakuya did not know whether the twelve-year-old Yoshimura Eto already had the same extreme personality she would later develop, he never expected himself to be able to change her.
His motivation was probably more out of sympathy...
In the Tokyo Ghoul world, there were several characters that Byakuya could never feel at ease about, and the two who affected him the most were the father and daughter, Yoshimura Kuzen and Yoshimura Eto.
"..."
Yoshimura Eto shook her head slightly.
She was probably deliberately acting restrained.
Byakuya did not say much about it, only waited until they reached the mall...
...
Arriving at the mall, the place was bustling with people.
This was the second time after riding the subway that Yoshimura Eto had stepped into such a crowded place.
Because she was a half-ghoul, although she could eat normal food, the scent of humans was equally delicious to her.
It was like the surroundings were filled with walking delicacies, especially since Yoshimura Eto had rarely eaten her fill.
She had endured it once on the subway, and now she had to endure again in the mall, this time for even longer...
But who was Yoshimura Eto?
Such a small matter was still something she could tolerate.
However, just as she decided to endure it properly, her stomach betrayed her first.
"Gurururu-"
Yoshimura Eto's small stomach made a faint sound.
This sudden development was something she had not expected, and such a biological reaction was something she could not control.
Yoshimura Eto suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of shame.
Not to the point of blushing, but enough to make her glance up at Ihei Byakuya self-consciously.
And she discovered that Byakuya happened to be looking at her as well, with a faint, meaningful smile on his face.
Realizing what had happened, Yoshimura Eto quickly looked away.
Damn it, that embarrassing moment was noticed by this half-human brat!
Yoshimura Eto felt a bit depressed. She was supposed to flawlessly manipulate this half-human brat in the palm of her hand.
Not only was she failing, she did not even want such an embarrassing little moment to happen.
Of course, she still did not believe she would truly fail.
"Are you hungry? After being taken to the 24th Ward, you probably haven't eaten anything, right?"
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya spoke.
"Mm..."
Yoshimura Eto lowered her head and answered softly.
"Then let's not rush to buy anything else. I'll take you to eat something good first."
Ihei Byakuya said.
After saying that, although they had only walked a few steps into the mall, he turned and took Eto to buy something to eat at a street stall.
Ihei Byakuya figured Yoshimura Eto probably did not know what tasted good, and she might have never eaten human food before. So he bought based on his own guesses.
Kids generally do not refuse sweets.
Ihei Byakuya first bought Eto a taiyaki, a very traditional snack in Tokyo.
A crispy shell with soft, glutinous red bean filling inside.
"Have you had this before? If not, try it?"
Ihei Byakuya handed the taiyaki to Eto.
"Okay."
Yoshimura Eto was quite curious about this human food.
The smell was rather fragrant.
Although she had heard that ghouls could not eat normal human food, let alone consume it, even the smell was supposed to be unbearable, and eating it would make them nauseous to the point of vomiting.
Forcing it down would even weaken their bodies.
But she also knew she was very different from other ghouls.
Not only did she have only one kakugan, but before ghoul scent covered her body, she also smelled like a human. Now she even discovered her sense of smell was completely different from other ghouls, so what about taste...
Holding curiosity, and genuinely wanting to try, Yoshimura Eto took a small bite.
A taste she had never experienced before blossomed instantly in her mouth.
"...!"
Her pupils constricted sharply.
It wasn't that taiyaki was some unbelievably heavenly delicacy.
It was because this was the first time in her life Yoshimura Eto had eaten normal food.
From birth until now, Yoshimura Eto had always lived in the 24th Ward, a place full of ghouls where the only edible thing was other ghouls.
Her adoptive father, Noroi, was a pureblood ghoul. It was impossible for him to leave the 24th Ward just to find human food for her, not to mention he had to constantly avoid pursuit while taking her along.
So Yoshimura Eto could only engage in "cannibalism" from a young age. Occasionally she might eat human corpses, but she basically had no access to normal human food.
As for ghoul flesh... "cannibalism" generally meant eating another ghoul's kagune organ.
Neither ghoul flesh nor kagune tasted good to ghouls, and to the "Gourmet" Tsukiyama Shuu, they were so disgusting he could not even swallow them.
Under such circumstances, as long as it was something edible from human cuisine, Yoshimura Eto would find it delicious.
"Looks like you like it."
Seeing Eto's reaction, Ihei Byakuya gave a faint smile.
This way, Yoshimura Eto wouldn't attack humans out of hunger.
Also, seeing her enjoy something tasty put Byakuya in a good mood.
Although Eto's reaction was relatively calm, it was clear she was deliberately controlling herself.
Wait, no... this is bad...
Ihei Byakuya suddenly realized a problem.
Did he really start treating Eto like his daughter?
Why did he feel like he was acting very much like an old father...