"...Eh? Girlfriend?"
Uruka Minami's pretty face instantly turned bright red. "Um... I and Ihei..."
Before Uruka Minami could finish speaking, Ihei Byakuya also spoke. "Associate Special-Class Mado, I already said before that Minami and I are just classmates."
"..."
Hearing this, Uruka Minami's voice abruptly stopped.
Her Kakugan also returned to normal eyes at this moment, and a trace of disappointment flickered in her gaze.
Although she had been about to explain things to that big sister just now, when she heard Byakuya say those words himself, her emotions inevitably became low.
Facing Byakuya and Uruka directly, Mado Kasuka naturally noticed the girl's reaction. Just from the fact that the Kakugan suddenly disappeared, it was clear that what Byakuya had just said had hurt the girl.
"Third-Class Ihei, you..."
Mado Kasuka hesitated.
Some things were hard to decide whether they should be said or not.
One of the reasons was that Uruka Minami's true identity was [Pumpkin Head], a ghoul.
As a CCG Associate Special-Class investigator and also Byakuya's superior, it was simply inappropriate for her to stand up and support her subordinate having a romantic relationship with a ghoul.
So after hesitating for a moment, Mado Kasuka gave up and shifted the topic back to the main matter.
"In short, I understand the current situation now. But for the upcoming operation to capture [Centipede], I have one requirement. You must contact me before any official action."
"Understood."
Ihei Byakuya nodded.
"Then that's settled. If you can successfully capture [Centipede], afterward I will also report to my superiors and try my best to seek a lighter punishment."
Mado Kasuka said.
The CCG actually does not have particularly brutal handling methods for ghouls.
This can be seen from the Ghoul Countermeasures Act established by the CCG. For example, one of its clauses states that causing unnecessary harm to ghouls is prohibited.
As long as the target ghoul obediently surrenders, most investigators usually do not wipe them out completely.
Investigators like Mado Kureo, who were more extreme, were a minority.
Aside from cases like [The Corpse Picker], who had great utilitarian value and was therefore captured alive, Mado Kureo basically killed ghouls on sight.
Even kind ghouls who ran small clinics to treat humans were killed without mercy.
Even ghouls of the level of the SS-ranked [Priest] and the SSS-ranked [Dodgy Mother] Hoito Roma were not directly killed but instead imprisoned.
Therefore, [Cochlea Prison] holds a large number of ghouls. Once captured, ghouls basically have no chance of getting out, and the higher their danger rating, the more so.
But if it was someone like Uruka Minami, an A-rank ghoul whose crimes were not particularly severe, and who assisted the CCG in clearing out all the dangerous ghouls in the 13th Ward, that would count as a great merit.
Under normal circumstances, the CCG's punishment toward her would be much lighter.
After that, Mado Kasuka let Ihei Byakuya and Uruka Minami go back.
It was already very late, and this also conveniently gave Byakuya and that girl a chance to be alone.
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya checked the time and his expression changed immediately. "Crap, it's already past ten o'clock."
"It really is quite late. Are you worried about your younger sister at home?"
Uruka Minami asked.
"Yes."
Ihei Byakuya nodded. "I have to go back first. Minami, you should also go back early and rest."
"Okay, Ihei, see you tomorrow."
"See you."
Ihei Byakuya left immediately.
Because his mind was full of matters at home, Byakuya seemed not to notice that Uruka Minami's way of addressing him had changed.
Because him returning home this late was not just a simple matter of Eto worrying about him, but something that could cost lives.
It was already past ten o'clock now. Even rushing back at full speed might not be enough.
...
Ihei Byakuya went all out, sprinting through the nighttime streets at three to four times the speed of an ordinary person.
He had never been this serious even when fighting ghouls, rushing back home at the fastest possible speed.
"I'm back."
When Byakuya pushed open the door, he did not hear Eto's response from the living room, and he immediately realized that things had completely gone wrong.
When he walked into the living room, sure enough, he saw Eto asleep on the sofa chair.
Moreover, she was sleeping while sitting there hugging her knees, looking very much like she had been waiting for Byakuya to come back until she could not hold on any longer and accidentally fell asleep.
"It's over, it's over..."
Ihei Byakuya muttered to himself and immediately went over, preparing to carry Eto to the bed so she could sleep properly.
His movements were as gentle as possible. If he accidentally woke Eto, tonight would become even more disastrous.
After carrying Eto to the bed and tucking her in, Byakuya planned to go take a shower first.
Unexpectedly, Yoshimura Eto happened to wake up at this moment.
Eto slowly opened her eyes, drowsily seeing Byakuya beside her.
Because the light was still on, Yoshimura Eto immediately felt it was a bit glaring. With a sleepy expression, she asked, "Why haven't you turned off the light yet?"
"I'll go turn it off right away. You keep sleeping."
Realizing that Eto was probably still half asleep and not fully awake, Ihei Byakuya thought of quickly coaxing Eto back to sleep.
If she was fully awake, and this little ancestor found out that he had come back so late, she would probably explode.
"Mmm..."
Yoshimura Eto softly responded and then fell asleep again.
But just as Byakuya had entered the bathroom with a towel and closed his eyes for only a short while, Eto opened her eyes again.
This time, she looked much more awake than before and seemed to have remembered something.
Yoshimura Eto's little face immediately turned cold.
She did not check what time it was. She only knew that she had been so sleepy that she accidentally fell asleep, yet Byakuya had only just returned. This made her extremely dissatisfied.
They had clearly agreed before that he would definitely come back before she fell asleep.
Yoshimura Eto directly stopped sleeping, ran to the bathroom door, knocked on it, and questioned him. "Byakuya, did you forget everything I said before today?"
"I didn't forget. Wait a moment, I'm taking a shower. I'll explain to you after I finish."
At this time, Ihei Byakuya had already taken off half his clothes.
He originally thought that after Eto slept through the night and woke up in the morning, it would probably be fine, but he still could not escape.
"No. You come out right now."
Yoshimura Eto insisted that Byakuya come out of the bathroom immediately.
"..."
Having always been unable to do anything about Eto, Ihei Byakuya could only wrap a towel around a certain part of his body and then walk out of the bathroom.
"Byakuya, tonight I will punish you by making you my human mattress. Do you hear me?"
Yoshimura Eto said in a commanding tone as she pointed at Byakuya.