"You make it sound like something else. We were just talking normally about work."
Ihei Byakuya denied what Yoshimura Eto said.
"Really? Because I felt like you were staring at her so hard your eyes went blank."
Yoshimura Eto's tone carried a hint of disdain.
"Nonsense. I was clearly talking about work properly."
Ihei Byakuya immediately corrected her.
"Hmph~"
Yoshimura Eto did not sound jealous at all, more like she was teasing Byakuya.
"..."
Ihei Byakuya was momentarily speechless.
This girl acts so mature, does she not worry about making people suspicious...?
Although Yoshimura Eto was already twelve, and girls usually mature earlier, at this age she certainly understood everything...
Next, Ihei Byakuya planned to send Yoshimura Eto home first, then go patrol the assigned area.
While walking, Yoshimura Eto gradually sensed something was wrong.
"Are we walking toward home?"
Yoshimura Eto asked.
"Yes, I'm taking you home first, then I'll go patrol."
Ihei Byakuya replied.
"No."
Yoshimura Eto instantly became unhappy.
"Being with me is very dangerous."
Ihei Byakuya emphasized.
Of course, he wasn't referring to the danger of Yoshimura Eto being attacked by ghouls.
He was referring to the danger he would be in with Yoshimura Eto tagging along...
"No means no."
Yoshimura Eto simply refused to listen to reason. No matter what he said, she would not go back.
"All right... do whatever you want."
Unable to do anything about this girl, Byakuya could only give in.
Yoshimura Eto's lips curled up slightly.
She thought to herself that as long as she threw a little tantrum, this half-human kid would always compromise. That was certainly a good thing...
Ihei Byakuya then changed direction, bringing Yoshimura Eto to the "Seishin High-school" Aura Kiyoko had mentioned.
It was a high school in the 13th Ward that looked ordinary on the surface but in truth hid dangerous undercurrents.
The most dangerous ghoul in the 13th Ward, [Pumpkin Head], hid among the students of that very school.
And of course, [Pumpkin Head] herself was a student there.
Since ghouls look no different from humans in daily life, ordinary people had no way of recognizing the ghouls hiding right beside them.
Because their intelligence and thinking ability were essentially the same as humans, many ghouls longed for ordinary human lives, so it was common for ghouls to attend school or work alongside humans...
On the condition that they had a legitimate identity. For example, Kamishiro Matasaka gave Rize the surname "Kamishiro," which was originally passed to him by his human mentor.
Similarly, Yoshimura Eto had successfully applied thanks to Byakuya's help. Without him, just writing the name "Eto" would not have gotten her through so smoothly.
And since Tokyo had not fully implemented "Rc Gate" construction, ordinary ghouls still had living space within human society.
"This is a school?"
Byakuya and Eto had already arrived at the gate of Seishin High-school, and Eto asked.
"Yes. Speaking of which... have you ever gone to school?"
Ihei Byakuya asked.
The way he asked was clearly meant to make things a little difficult for Yoshimura Eto.
After all, he obviously knew that Yoshimura Eto had never gone to school at all, purer than pure, with a kind of beauty untouched by knowledge.
"No. Before, even eating was a problem. How would I have had the chance to go to school."
Yoshimura Eto answered without hesitation.
"I see... but once you enter the investigator training academy, you'll be able to learn a lot of knowledge."
Ihei Byakuya comforted her.
"Mm..."
Yoshimura Eto actually had little interest in that kind of knowledge, only learning what must be learned.
Compared to that, she much preferred reading all sorts of books.
Just then, Ihei Byakuya's phone suddenly rang.
It was the flip phone issued uniformly by the CCG for communication.
The caller ID displayed Washuu Yoshitoki.
This was the director of the CCG, and also the young head of the Washuu Clan.
His father was Washuu Tsuneyoshi, the CCG Chairman and head of the Washuu Clan.
"Hello-"
"Byakuya, have you been adjusting well since arriving at the CCG? I heard you were in danger in the 24th Ward yesterday."
"Yes, but fortunately I was safe in the end."
"Your 'Quinque' has already been completed. I'll have someone deliver it to the 13th Ward branch today. Take it back and get used to it."
Washuu Yoshitoki continued, "Also, you probably don't know much about the 13th Ward yet, right?"
According to CCG regulations, only Rank 2 or higher investigators were supposed to receive a personal Quinque.
But half-humans from the Sunlit Garden were exceptions. For example, Arima Kishou already had three Quinques when he was only a Rank 3 Investigator.
The reason was simple: those half-humans had undergone years of training in the Sunlit Garden, and their physical abilities far surpassed normal humans, just like the trope of a "master descending the mountain."
Under such circumstances, they could not be made to wait slowly until reaching Rank 2 before being equipped with Quinque for high-difficulty missions, so the CCG secretly assigned them Quinques in advance, avoiding letting ordinary investigators know to prevent jealousy.
"Yes, I just started patrolling today."
Ihei Byakuya replied.
"Then I'll explain in detail. Do you know 'Seishin High-school'? There's a very dangerous ghoul in the 13th Ward who always wears a pumpkin head when attacking humans to hide its appearance. We call it [Lantern], danger level A+. There had never been clear intel before because it hid too well."
"Only in the past two days has intel finally made progress. We suspect [Lantern] is hiding in that school. And since you're working in the 13th Ward, and your age is just right, we plan to assign you to infiltrate the school. The transfer-student identity has already been arranged; you can report anytime."
"This is also your first mission since entering the CCG. Do your best. Out of this batch from the Sunlit Garden, the ones I favor most are you and Kishou."
After listening to the bureau director, Ihei Byakuya fell silent for a moment.
That really was quite a coincidence, he was standing right at that school's gate...