"Alright, I understand."
Ihei Byakuya had no room for choice. Any mission assigned by the CCG had to be carried out unconditionally.
Especially since his identity was that of a half-human from a branch family of the Washuu Clan, he was required to obey the Washuu Clan absolutely.
Of course, he could rebel, if he could withstand the Washuu Clan's pursuit.
But for Byakuya right now, there was no need to seek death like that.
It wasn't as if they were forcing him to carry out some excessively outrageous order.
"Then that's it. If you have any issues, contact me anytime."
After that, Washuu Yoshitoki hung up.
"What happened?"
Yoshimura Eto asked.
"The director assigned me a mission. He told me to infiltrate this school and investigate a ghoul called [Lantern], danger level A+, which is already very close to S."
Ihei Byakuya said.
However, danger levels were not determined solely by a ghoul's combat strength, but by the degree of threat it posed to human society.
For example, in the original work, Kirishima Touka was immediately rated as an S-level ghoul, [Rabbit], after killing the First-Class Investigator Mado Kureo.
Although the truth was that Touka and Hinami had fought together to defeat Mado Kureo, otherwise Touka alone would not have been his opponent, after all, Mado Kureo was no ordinary First-Class.
He was someone who long qualified for Associate Special-Class but stubbornly stayed at First-Class.
Uruka Minami's combat performance was in no way inferior to Kirishima Touka's, but because she always acted covertly and never caused incidents large enough to induce societal panic, her danger rating remained A+.
"Oh? So doesn't that mean you're going to walk straight in now?"
Yoshimura Eto asked.
At the same time, she suddenly became curious about one thing, according to the CCG's danger-rating standards, what level would she be...?
"I can go in right away, but there's no rush. Today, I'll just continue patrolling."
Ihei Byakuya didn't plan on reporting in immediately.
He wanted to wait for his Quinque to arrive first. As long as he had a Quinque, even the lowest B-rank, it would greatly improve his combat strength.
Because his development of the Gura Gura no Mi was still too low, and his physical strength wasn't high enough yet, fighting high-level ghouls barehanded was not easy.
And unless he was mistaken, the abilities of the Gura Gura no Mi should also be usable through a Quinque, so having one would definitely raise his capabilities.
After that, Ihei Byakuya continued patrolling this area.
He deliberately took off the badge on his chest, in case any ghouls hiding among the civilians spotted him, which would interfere with his later investigation.
Because ghouls in the same region often shared information. If even one ghoul on the street discovered a "Dove," the strongest one, [Lantern] (Pumpkin Head), would quickly receive the intel.
And that would make investigating [Lantern] much more difficult.
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya wore ordinary clothing and had removed his badge, and with a little girl like Yoshimura Eto at his side, no one would imagine that he was a ghoul investigator.
...
Around noon, their patrol stopped.
Ihei Byakuya and Yoshimura Eto went to have lunch.
They didn't go home to cook; instead, they picked a restaurant on the street.
This was also Yoshimura Eto's first time eating a proper meal in the true sense.
After eating their fill, they resumed patrolling in the afternoon...
They were originally supposed to patrol until the end of the workday, but partway through, another phone call came in.
The caller was Aura Kiyoko.
"Hello, Aura-san."
"Third-Class Ihei, your partner has been decided. It's Associate Special-Class Mado. And the items sent from Headquarters have already arrived at our branch. Come back and take a look when you can."
After hanging up, Ihei Byakuya couldn't help but mind something..
Associate Special-Class Mado?
It definitely could not be referring to Mado Kureo. At this point in the timeline, Mado Kureo had not even reached First-Class yet, and even later he always refused promotion to Associate Special-Class.
Then... could it be Mado Kureo's wife, Mado Kasuka? The mother of Mado Akira...
In the original timeline, Mado Kasuka had already died ten years prior, killed by the "One-Eyed Owl."
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya instinctively glanced at Yoshimura Eto beside him.
The "One-Eyed Owl" that Mado Kasuka encountered deep within the 24th Ward was Yoshimura Eto...
Because Mado Kasuka had been the strongest member of her squad, she resolutely stayed behind alone to cover the retreat of her team, protecting everyone else. But she was defeated by the "One-Eyed Owl" and killed.
Her face had even been gnawed beyond recognition, her death especially...
This was also the reason why Mado Kureo later became so deranged and extreme.
At this moment, Yoshimura Eto noticed Byakuya's gaze. She turned her head, met his eyes, and immediately asked, "Why are you suddenly staring at me?"
"Nothing."
Ihei Byakuya withdrew his gaze.
He had mainly been thinking how ruthless this little thing was. Ten years prior in the original timeline, meaning two years from now for him, a fourteen-year-old Yoshimura Eto...
Likely out of deliberate revenge, she not only killed Mado Kasuka but even gnawed her face as a postmortem insult, causing Mado Kureo to nearly lose his mind...
Because the CCG was a force under the Washuu Clan, and Yoshimura Eto harbored deep hatred toward the Washuu Clan, she extended the vengeance to the CCG as well, all in order to eventually draw out the Washuu Clan hiding behind the scenes.
"Really?"
Yoshimura Eto's eyes held suspicion.
She suspected that Byakuya had just been secretly bad-mouthing her in his heart, but she had no evidence, just intuition.
"Let's go. We should return to the branch. My partner has already been assigned."
Ihei Byakuya said directly.
When it came to work matters, Byakuya could almost always tell Eto everything without reservation.
After all... compared to the secrets Yoshimura Eto knew about the Washuu Clan, work-related matters were insignificant...
Afterward, Ihei Byakuya and Eto returned to the CCG branch.
As soon as they entered the lobby, they saw a tall woman with short, pale-golden hair standing there. Even from behind, her posture radiated a heroic air.
That must be... Mado Kasuka?
Although Ihei Byakuya had never seen Mado Kasuka before, when he saw her hair color identical to Mado Akira's, and her temperament somewhat similar as well, he immediately felt that she must be Mado Kasuka.
"Excuse me, are you Associate Special-Class Mado?"
Ihei Byakuya asked.
Mado Kasuka turned around instantly. "I am. You are Third-Class Ihei?"
At this point, Yoshimura Eto also realized that this woman was likely Byakuya's partner and superior.
Upon noticing Mado Kasuka's figure, her eyes instantly turned dead-fish-like, a trace of disdain appearing within them.
Another big beauty, huh.