"Eh... okay."
Uruka Minami nodded and accepted Byakuya's invitation.
However, this gave her a bit of a headache. She could not eat normal human food, so during lunch breaks she usually just left the classroom to do other things, as long as her classmates did not see that she was not eating lunch.
But today at noon she was proactively invited by Byakuya, and it would not be good for her to refuse...
Because even if she made up a reason to refuse, the other party would probably continue inviting her tomorrow, the day after, and even later.
"But I accidentally forgot to bring my bento today."
At this moment, Uruka Minami added.
This was to smooth over the fact that she did not eat lunch at all.
"It is fine. My bento portion is quite large anyway, I can share some with Minami."
Ihei Byakuya said.
"No no, that would be too embarrassing. I will just go buy something to eat at the cafeteria."
Uruka Minami immediately said.
"That works too."
Ihei Byakuya did not say anything more.
If he acted too deliberately, it would instead backfire.
While accompanying Uruka Minami to the cafeteria, a system notification sound once again rang out in Ihei Byakuya's mind.
[Ding! Host has triggered a hidden side quest. Investigate and search for evidence that can prove Uruka Minami is [Pumpkin Head]. Each new progress will grant system points!]
Another hidden side quest...
Ihei Byakuya's gaze slightly sharpened.
He had previously triggered Yoshimura Eto's hidden side quest as well.
Now Byakuya had gradually figured out the system's pattern. Important protagonists or supporting characters from the original work would probably trigger hidden side quests at certain moments after some contact.
This hidden side quest once again matched Byakuya's original plan.
Or rather, it was precisely his actions that triggered the system's hidden side quest, so it was bound to match.
This time, Ihei Byakuya's original idea was to follow the action plan he had formulated after discussing with Associate Special-Class investigator Mado, to interact with the suspect target as much as possible and collect evidence without exposing his investigator identity.
According to CCG rules, as a newcomer, Ihei Byakuya was not allowed to fight alone.
This meant that the task of investigating [Pumpkin Head] was mainly assigned to him, while the task of fighting [Pumpkin Head] was mainly assigned to his partner and superior, Associate Special-Class officer Mado Vi.
Of course, in the original work, the one who carried out this task was originally Arima Kishou. At that time, Arima Kishou was also a Third-Class investigator.
With absolute confidence in his own strength, Arima violated this rule and fought a ghoul privately, and was only verbally reprimanded by his superior at the time, Marude Itsuki.
That is to say, as long as he was confident enough, Ihei Byakuya could also directly take down Uruka Minami on the spot.
But to be on the safe side, he did not do so.
The reason was simple. He had only taken over this mission for one day. If he immediately captured [Pumpkin Head], it would be too fake. When writing the mission report afterward, things like evidence would also have to be fabricated by himself.
It was not that he could not be high-profile, but being overly high-profile would bring more harm than benefit.
As a half-human from the Sunlit Garden, he lived under the surveillance of the Washuu Clan, and abnormal behavior could easily attract the attention of the Washuu Clan.
Furthermore, his half-human identity could not be exposed in front of humans, including investigators, so the Washuu Clan would also not want him to be overly conspicuous during his newcomer period.
Besides that, not rushing to take action against [Pumpkin Head] also had another benefit. This guy could help him draw out more ghouls...
This was like the difference between being full once and being full every meal. Of course, this referred to system points.
...
When they arrived at the cafeteria, by coincidence they ran into Fura Taishi again.
However, this time the other two members of the delinquent trio, Ryou and Sasada Aki, were not by his side.
Seeing Minami and that newly transferred student arrive at the cafeteria together, Fura Taishi immediately felt awful.
Uruka Minami also saw Fura Taishi and asked, "Fura... are you going to bully Ihei again?"
"Of course not! I'm just waiting for someone here."
Afraid of being misunderstood by Minami, Fura Taishi immediately explained.
"That is good. You must not bully classmates again in the future."
Uruka Minami showed a smile.
"I definitely will not..."
Fura Taishi's face slightly reddened, and his gaze did not know where to settle.
Seeing this, Ihei Byakuya slightly shook his head and sighed inwardly.
This guy really was secretly in love with Uruka Minami, just like in the original work.
Little did he know that Uruka Minami's true face was that of a ghoul, and not only that, she was also the most dangerous [Pumpkin Head] in the entire 13th Ward.
So Fura Taishi and Uruka Minami were destined to have no good ending. In the original work, it was even Fura Taishi himself who killed Uruka Minami. He delivered the final blow at the end.
But Ihei Byakuya could not persuade Fura Taishi right now. He could not directly tell Fura Taishi that Uruka Minami was a ghoul. If he did not say that, it would only seem like provocation, so it was best not to meddle and just let Fura Taishi fend for himself...
After that, Uruka Minami also bought a bag of bread in the cafeteria.
They came together, and when they left, they also went together to the rooftop to eat lunch.
Fura Taishi, who was still waiting for someone in the cafeteria, watched as Minami and that newly transferred student left together again, and his mood immediately sank.
He could not understand why that kid, who had just arrived less than two days ago, had such a good relationship with Minami...
Although Minami and that kid probably were not dating yet, letting this continue was still not good...
...
On the rooftop of the school building, there were two figures.
Naturally, they were Ihei Byakuya and Uruka Minami.
The two sat together.
Ihei Byakuya placed the bento on his legs.
Uruka Minami ate the bread she had just bought in the cafeteria.
"Ihei's bento smells so good. Did your parents prepare it for you?"
Uruka Minami chatted with Byakuya in a seemingly casual manner.
In reality, it did not smell good at all. To her sense of smell, both Byakuya's bento and the bread in her own hands gave off a rotten and disgusting stench, but she could not show it...
"No, I made it myself."
Ihei Byakuya answered honestly.
"Oh? Ihei is also good at cooking?"
Uruka Minami's tone carried a bit of surprise.
"It is just okay. And given my family situation, I would not be able to get by if I could not cook."
A slightly helpless smile appeared on Ihei Byakuya's face.
In fact, what he meant by this was that there was a little ancestor at home, but judging from the subtle change in Uruka Minami's expression, she seemed to have understood it as his family members having already...