They arrived at the agreed meeting place.
Not long after, Mado Kasuka also arrived on time.
As soon as Mado Kasuka reached the location, she saw that beside Ihei Byakuya there was also a cute girl wearing a high school uniform.
This girl was obviously not the little girl from last time.
"Third-Class Ihei, why did you bring a girl along as well?"
Mado Kasuka asked Ihei Byakuya with some confusion.
She felt that Third-Class Ihei should not have made such a low-level mistake.
They were here to discuss work matters. How could he casually bring a female classmate from school along?
Even if she were a girlfriend, that would still not be acceptable.
Uruka Minami bowed slightly and somewhat nervously toward Mado Kasuka. "I am Ihei-kun's classmate. My name is Uruka Minami."
"Hello, I am Byakuya's older sister."
Mado Kasuka immediately said with a smile.
"?"
"?"
Ihei Byakuya and Uruka Minami were both confused at the same time.
Byakuya had no idea when Associate Special-Class Mado had become his older sister.
Uruka Minami was also puzzled. Hadn't Ihei said that the person in front of them was his superior in CCG?
Or was it that Ihei and his superior were in a siblings-style romantic relationship?!!
"Sorry, I have something very important to discuss privately with Byakuya. Please wait here for a moment or you can go back first."
After saying that, Mado Kasuka pulled Ihei Byakuya upstairs.
Only Uruka Minami was left standing at the entrance of the teahouse.
"..."
Uruka Minami did not feel it was appropriate to follow them up, but she was also unwilling to just leave by herself.
Because the matter between Ihei and that superior older sister made her extremely concerned.
"Associate Special-Class Mado, just now that was..."
When he was pulled upstairs by Mado Kasuka, Ihei Byakuya could not help but ask.
Although he had already guessed some of it.
"Third-Class Ihei, have you forgotten that you are an investigator infiltrating Seishin High-school? If your investigator identity is exposed, the mission would practically be declared a failure in advance. Once [Pumpkin Head] learns the news, she will most likely flee immediately."
Mado Kasuka said seriously to Ihei Byakuya. "So I pretended to be your older sister in front of that girl just now, to prevent her from discovering that you work for CCG. That way, it will not affect the follow-up operations."
"..."
Ihei Byakuya was momentarily speechless.
As expected, it was almost exactly what he had guessed. Because Associate Special-Class Mado had no idea that Uruka Minami was [Pumpkin Head], she thought he had casually brought a schoolgirl along, so she deliberately acted out that scene just now.
"You must be more careful in the future. You cannot be as careless as you were today."
Mado Kasuka began to instruct Byakuya.
Diligently guiding subordinates was also something she should do as a superior.
"I understand."
Ihei Byakuya nodded.
He thought about it briefly and decided that for now, he would not tell Associate Special-Class Mado about Uruka Minami's true identity.
Because if CCG learned right now that he had already discovered or could even be said to have captured [Pumpkin Head], there might be unforeseen variables.
After he used Uruka Minami's help to deal with more ghouls, it would not be too late to let CCG know of Uruka Minami's existence.
"Alright, enough of the digression."
Mado Kasuka then began to talk about serious matters. "I contacted you specifically this time because there are two matters."
"The first is about [Barber]. [Barber] has long been listed as an A-rated ghoul, yet you were able to exterminate him alone. This is completely not strength that an ordinary Third-Class investigator should have."
Mado Kasuka said in amazement.
Exterminating an A-rated ghoul was, under normal circumstances, a task meant for First-Class investigators.
Yet Ihei Byakuya was only a newly hired Third-Class investigator, and he had accomplished something that even First-Class investigators might not be able to do.
Although Mado Kasuka knew that Byakuya possessed a Quinque that ordinary Third-Class investigators did not have, Second-Class and First-Class investigators also had their own Quinque. People capable of performing like Byakuya were extremely rare.
"Associate Special-Class Mado is too generous with her praise."
Ihei Byakuya said modestly with an expressionless face.
"That is not excessive praise at all. Calling you a genius would not be an exaggeration. Since that is the case, I should all the more train you to become a future Special-Class investigator."
Mado Kasuka said.
She had even set the goal for Ihei Byakuya.
"I will do my best..."
At this time, Ihei Byakuya did not say insincere words like "you think too highly of me."
Although there were only a handful of active Special-Class investigators in CCG, representing its highest combat power, it was truly not that difficult for him.
It was just that he had not fully developed yet.
"You definitely can."
Mado Kasuka said.
"But setting that aside, you did make a fairly serious mistake this time by engaging a ghoul on your own. Fortunately, your strength was sufficient and no irreversible consequences occurred. But do not be so reckless again in the future. Even if you encounter another A-rated ghoul next time, you must contact me first."
Ihei Byakuya nodded slightly.
"The second matter is still our mission target [Pumpkin Head]. After [Barber] was exterminated by you, [Pumpkin Head] will likely become more alert, so you must be even more careful while infiltrating."
Mado Kasuka reminded him.
"Although [Pumpkin Head] is also an A-rated ghoul, various pieces of intelligence show that [Pumpkin Head] is far more troublesome than [Barber]. So if you sense anything wrong, you must contact me immediately. Unless absolutely necessary, it is best not to face [Pumpkin Head] alone."
"I understand."
From Ihei Byakuya's perspective, he could completely ignore Mado Kasuka's words, but Associate Special-Class Mado was genuinely worried about him, so he did not refute anything.
"Alright, that is everything I wanted to tell you. That girl from earlier is your girlfriend, right? Hurry down and do not keep her waiting too long."
Mado Kasuka said with a smile.
"No, she is just my classmate."
Ihei Byakuya replied bluntly.
"Is that so?"
Mado Kasuka did not think so. "But the feeling she gave me did not seem like she was just your classmate. However, I am not very knowledgeable about this kind of thing myself. It might just be my misconception."
The intuition of the Mado family was famously accurate. There was no need to mention Mado Kureo and Mado Akira. As Mado Akira's mother, Mado Kasuka was likely no exception.
That girl named Uruka Minami had even, at one moment, made Mado Kasuka sense hostility.
Of course, it was a different kind of "hostility."