What Ihei Byakuya had just said and done did contain a certain degree of deliberateness.
He did indeed need to make use of Uruka Minami, so he simply chose to make things clear.
As for that part of sympathy he felt toward Uruka Minami, he did not intend to show it.
Because it would not benefit him in any way.
If this matter were to be discovered by the Washuu Clan, it would inevitably bring him trouble. Half-humans from the Sunlit Garden were not allowed to harbor such distracting thoughts while carrying out missions.
The simplest example was Arima Kishou. Even though he was already the strongest Special Class Investigator, he still could not openly go against the Washuu Clan.
Among the targets he had been ordered by the Washuu Clan to purge, ghouls such as Kirishima Touka's mother Kirishima Hikari, Yomo Renji, and Kamishiro Matasaka were eliminated by him without the slightest hesitation.
Therefore, for Ihei Byakuya to spare Uruka Minami's life, there had to be a sufficiently reasonable justification, and needing to make use of Uruka Minami was precisely the most suitable reason.
As for the only possible downside, it might be that Uruka Minami would end up hating him.
But Byakuya did not care about that. After all, just a few days ago he had violently beaten Uruka Minami, causing her to suffer greatly during those days. He never expected her to have any favorable impression of him anyway.
What surprised Ihei Byakuya, however, was Uruka Minami's current reaction.
Not only was there no anger or resentment, she instead accepted his request in quite a good mood. He had originally thought that Uruka Minami would at least glare at him angrily a couple of times.
"Did you make your own lunch again today?"
At this moment, Uruka Minami suddenly asked.
With the topic shifting so abruptly, Ihei Byakuya almost failed to react.
"Yes. As long as I have time, I make it myself."
Ihei Byakuya nodded.
Many people liked to buy ready-made boxed meals from convenience stores. Not everyone brought a bento from home.
"Mhm~~"
"What is it?"
Hearing Uruka Minami's light hum, Ihei Byakuya asked.
"Nothing. I just think you're really amazing."
Uruka Minami praised him.
"Not only are you the youngest investigator I've ever seen, you're also the strongest I've ever met, and you're even so good at cooking. You just said that I'm the 'manager' of Ward 13, but I'm completely no match for you."
"..."
Ihei Byakuya fell silent for a moment, then said modestly, "It's just good luck…"
Uruka Minami said, "Why be so humble?"
"Back to the main topic. Besides you, what other dangerous ghouls are there in Ward 13?"
Ihei Byakuya pulled the conversation back on track again.
He did not want to discuss topics related to his own strength, partly to conceal his Sunlit Garden background.
As for the Gura Gura no Mi and the system, those were even more untouchable topics.
"Actually, one was already taken out by you last night. Then aside from me and that [Barber], there's also a guy with the alias [Gecko]. Originally, my faction was only slightly stronger than theirs, so I couldn't really be considered the manager of Ward 13."
Uruka Minami replied.
She almost did not hesitate at all to sell out that [Gecko], because they had always been competitors and their relationship had long been rather poor.
Moreover, now that she had fallen into Ihei Byakuya's hands, she had even fewer choices.
"[Gecko], huh…"
Ihei Byakuya not only remembered this ghoul called [Gecko], he also had a very deep impression of him.
Because this guy would later become [Jason]. Yes, the very same Aogiri Tree executive who would later torture Kaneki Ken, often described as Kaneki Ken's "life mentor".
He successfully passed on his own "blackening" to Kaneki Ken, dragging Kaneki into darkness as well.
[Gecko]'s real name was Oomori Yamori. Originally, he was just an ordinary ghoul in Ward 13, and at this point in time he had not yet blackened.
It was only later, after being captured and imprisoned in Cochlea Prison, which specialized in detaining ghouls, and being tortured with cruel methods for an unknown length of time by a perverted investigator named Tokage Goumasa, that his hair turned white and his personality became extremely violent, developing a fondness for tormenting others.
After blackening, Oomori Yamori also changed his mask, favoring the mask of the character "Jason" from the Friday the 13th series. As a result, his alias also changed, and he came to be known by the CCG as [Jason].
Later, during the Aogiri Tree period, [Jason] was an S-rated "Half-Kakuja", but the current [Gecko] was only an A-rated ghoul.
"You know him too?"
Uruka Minami said.
"Yes. Although I haven't been in Ward 13 for long, I still know roughly who the dangerous figures in this area are."
Ihei Byakuya nodded.
"I have a way to lure that guy out. When the time comes, you can deal with him."
Uruka Minami had already thought through a rough plan and quietly described it by Byakuya's ear.
"That works. We'll proceed according to your plan."
Ihei Byakuya expressed his approval.
...
After that, while eating his meal, Ihei Byakuya also remembered that there was something he should say to Uruka Minami.
"As for the situation with Anteiku, you should already have a general understanding of it."
At this time, Byakuya said while eating, "If you feel the need to feed again in the future, go to Ward 20 and ask them for help. They should still help you."
The reason he could say this with such certainty was naturally because he knew [Anteiku] well enough.
Of course, Uruka Minami could not keep eating there for free every time. If she wanted to continue receiving help from Anteiku, she would have to help with work there, or at the very least maintain very good relationships with the staff.
"Okay."
Uruka Minami nodded. "Come to think of it, Anteiku really is a very different kind of organization. The staff, including the manager, are all exceptionally kind. With the way they are, won't they be bullied by other ghouls?"
Clearly, Uruka Minami, who did not know the truth, had mistaken the people of [Anteiku] for the old, weak, sick, and disabled.
There was really no helping it, because [Anteiku] truly looked like a place where the old and weak banded together for warmth.
Who could have imagined that the true face of that kindly old gentleman was actually…
"I'm not that clear on such specifics."
Ihei Byakuya did not intend to reveal too much to Uruka Minami.
He did not want to present himself as someone who knew everything.
Especially since the true situation of Anteiku was actually outrageous.
One had to know that this was twelve years before the original timeline.
At this stage, Yoshimura Kuzen should already have gone at least ten years without killing humans for food, yet his strength had not declined too severely.
Although he was no longer at his prime, he was still in a sub-peak state.
Single-handedly slaughtering through the current CCG would pose no problem at all. At this stage, Arima Kishou's physical capabilities had not yet reached their peak either.
As long as the Washuu Clan did not intervene, no one could really do anything to him.