"Are you okay, Minami?"
Ihei Byakuya asked with concern toward Uruka Minami in his arms.
"I'm fine, I'm okay..."
Uruka Minami forced a smile.
"Then wait here for me a moment."
Byakuya gently put Uruka Minami down, then walked toward the [Barber].
It could be seen that the [Barber] had already passed out, his entire body covered in wounds and blood. If not for the faint rise and fall at his chest, one might have thought he was already dead.
For Ihei Byakuya, defeating an A-rank ghoul did not only bring the benefit of gaining system points, but also meant he could obtain an A-rank quinque made from the [Barber]'s Kakuhou.
According to CCG rules, whoever defeats a ghoul gets ownership of the quinque made from that ghoul's Kakuhou.
So his earlier decision not to completely wipe out Uruka Minami had absolutely been meaningful.
An A-rank quinque was certainly far stronger than a B-rank quinque.
With a blank expression, Ihei Byakuya took out the quinque tachi [Nameless] and ended the [Barber] completely with a single slash.
However, Byakuya only triggered a reward when he defeated the [Barber]. When he killed the [Barber], there was no reward.
Returning to Uruka Minami, she was still sitting there in a duck-sitting posture.
"Do you need me to take you to the hospital to have a look? Minami, you seem to be feeling really bad today, right?"
Ihei Byakuya asked.
"No need, I'm really fine. I'll be okay after going back to rest."
Uruka Minami politely refused.
She definitely did not want to go to the hospital, because physical examinations could easily expose her Kakuhou.
Not to mention examinations, some hospitals even had Rc detection gates at the entrance. Just passing that would expose her identity.
"Really? Then alright."
As the words fell, Ihei Byakuya picked Uruka Minami up again. "Where is your home? I'll take you back."
"Actually, there's no need to go through so much trouble..."
Uruka Minami did not want to reveal her address, after all, Ihei was a ghoul investigator.
But halfway through her sentence, her voice gradually weakened, because being held by Byakuya put her far too close. The human scent on Byakuya flooded her brain, especially the exposed neck and collarbone, which were the most tempting...
Of course, tempting in terms of eating.
"..."
Uruka Minami lost focus for a moment, desperately wanting to take a bite out of Byakuya.
Just one bite would be enough...
"Minami?"
Ihei Byakuya's puzzled voice immediately snapped Uruka Minami back to her senses.
"!!"
Realizing that she had almost lost control just now, Uruka Minami was instantly filled with fear, and her heartbeat sharply accelerated.
Afterward, she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, digging her nails into her palms and using pain to keep herself conscious.
Ihei Byakuya seemed to understand nothing, but in reality, he understood everything.
However, he was not doing this on purpose to torment or tease Uruka Minami...
...
As time passed.
Uruka Minami devoted almost all of her energy to suppressing her appetite, and did not notice at all that Byakuya was not walking on the route back to her home.
Or rather, she had not even told Byakuya where her home was.
It was only when Ihei Byakuya carried Uruka Minami onto the subway that she belatedly realized something was wrong.
Although it was already quite late, Tokyo's subways usually did not stop operating until close to midnight.
"Ihei... where are we going?"
When Byakuya set her down on a subway seat, Uruka Minami could not help but ask.
"A place you need to go."
Ihei Byakuya replied calmly.
Hearing this, Uruka Minami's heart skipped a beat.
She thought that Ihei had already become suspicious of her and wanted to take her to a place like the CCG...
But in her current state, she could not resist anyway, so it seemed she could only resign herself to it...
"Alright..."
Uruka Minami simply gave up resisting.
Actually, ever since the day she fought Ihei, she had been worried about whether he had already started to suspect her.
Because she later discovered that she had left some of her belongings at the site of that night's battle, and he might have already discovered something through those items...
So even if Ihei had already begun to suspect her, she would not find it strange.
"Thank you for what happened earlier, Ihei."
Uruka Minami thanked him sincerely. "If it weren't for you, I would have definitely been eaten by that ghoul..."
"I am a ghoul investigator after all. This is what I should do. Besides, didn't you help me too on my first day after transferring schools, Minami?"
Ihei Byakuya said with a smile.
"You're really amazing, Ihei... You're still a student, yet you've already become a ghoul investigator."
Uruka Minami said with emotion.
"..."
Ihei Byakuya did not respond to this topic.
In a carriage that contained almost only the two of them, they fell into silence for a while.
"Ihei, can I lean on you a bit?"
With her weak and starving body, and having just experienced something like that, Uruka Minami suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired.
"Mm..."
Ihei Byakuya did not refuse.
Even though he knew Uruka Minami was enduring the torment of hunger, he was not worried that she would suddenly lash out and attack him.
Because in her current weakened state, the gap in strength between her and him was even greater.
Uruka Minami then gently leaned against Byakuya's shoulder, wanting to use sleep to ease the pain of hunger. Perhaps when she woke up, she would already be facing judgment at the CCG.
Although Ihei was a ghoul investigator, at this moment, he was the only one who made her feel at ease.
Since she had already been suspected by Ihei, she would probably soon be dealt with by the CCG anyway. Before that, during this brief time, there was no need to worry about anything.
Just like that, Uruka Minami fell asleep on Ihei Byakuya's shoulder.
"..."
Lowering his head slightly to look at Uruka Minami's sleeping face, it was unclear what Ihei Byakuya was thinking at that moment...
...
Tokyo, Ward 20.
Ihei Byakuya got off here.
As he disembarked, he carried Uruka Minami on his back.
Uruka Minami still had not woken up, and Byakuya's movements were very gentle, not waking her.
Byakuya continued walking as if he had a clear destination in mind.
Until he arrived in front of a coffee shop. This café was called "Anteiku," with the English name "Antique."
Literally translated, it meant "antique." If transliterated, it would be "Anteiku."
Therefore, it could be called the Antique Coffee Shop, or it could be called Anteiku.
That was right. The café before them was the café from the original work where Kaneki Ken, Kirishima Touka, and others were located, and the shop manager was Yoshimura Kuzen...