Within just a short week, Kaneki Ken had fallen from heaven straight down into hell.
He'd thought he'd finally found a girl who could understand him—but she'd turned out to be a Ghoul. The nightmare worsened when he himself became a Ghoul...
His previously peaceful life felt as though someone had smashed it apart with a heavy hammer. Seeing the men and women around him dressed in butler uniforms made him feel like he was trapped in a surreal dream.
In the past, just the existence of Ghouls had terrified him. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine becoming one himself. And even scarier—this quiet little café he often visited was actually filled with Ghouls. Just thinking about it made him shudder.
Still, there was one thing he was grateful for: at least he had been taken in temporarily. And the manager even promised to teach him how to survive as a Ghoul…
Ding~!
At that moment, the café door swung open, the clear chime of the bell alerting him that a customer had arrived.
"Welcome—"
Kaneki, who had just barely regained his composure, froze on the spot. Standing before him was none other than a "CCG Investigator."
The manager had explicitly warned him yesterday to be careful around CCG Investigators. Why was one here now? Had he somehow caused the café to be discovered? When he noticed the tall Investigator staring curiously at him, a cold sweat ran down his back.
"Lancer-san, will you be having your usual today?"
"Yes, the usual is fine."
A female voice suddenly spoke up behind him, startling him. Only when he saw Kirishima Touka did he breathe a shaky sigh of relief, opening his mouth but unable to find words.
"Hehe~ Is this a new employee? Reminds me of our first meeting. Investigators must be really scary, huh?"
Are they scary? He wasn't sure. But Ghouls certainly were.
In the end, Lancer didn't say much more, merely settling into his usual seat by the café window, silently sipping his coffee.
Meanwhile, Touka dragged Kaneki into the kitchen and gave him a sharp flick on the head.
"Even if he's a Dove, without an RC Scan Gate, there's no way he'd discover we're Ghouls! Acting so nervous will only make him suspicious!"
Right now, Touka's confident demeanor gave no hint that she herself had once been harshly lectured by her seniors. Although Kaneki was older than her, he could only lower his head submissively, like a meek little junior accepting her scolding.
But his mind drifted elsewhere.
The CCG is so mysterious—maybe they could help me return to being human?
Though he'd learned about his condition thanks to the manager, and had begun working here, he still couldn't fully accept his identity as a Ghoul. Even now, he yearned deeply to return to humanity.
Touka stood before him with her arms crossed, silently watching Kaneki lost in thought.
Of course, she couldn't read minds. But having spent her whole life "acting," Touka could easily outmatch this introverted young man in reading people. Seeing Kaneki occasionally steal nervous glances toward Lancer, she could guess what he was thinking.
"If you're thinking about asking that Dove for help, I'd advise you to forget it. He's personally killed more than fifty Ghouls in just these last two months, and I've asked him myself how he sees Ghouls. If your identity were exposed, he'd kill you without hesitation. If you still remember the debt you owe the manager for saving you, don't die in this café."
Though she was still underage, Touka had long experienced the harsh realities of life. She knew that for someone as confused as Kaneki, brutal honesty would be far more convincing than gentle explanations.
Kaneki's face turned pale at once, his eyes filling with wary dread as he glanced toward Lancer.
Meanwhile, Lancer sat quietly by the window, contemplating his next move to earn more "points." Completely unaware, of course, that he'd been imagined as a terrifying figure laughing madly atop a mountain of corpses. Even if he'd known, he probably wouldn't care much—after all, his time in this world was already more than halfway gone.
Had the CCG done anything major in the last two months? An operation against "Anteiku"? Given Lancer's position, he couldn't warn them openly, but he knew he needed the main characters alive to resolve this world's problems. He had no intention of harming them directly, anyway—his only targets were the Ghouls who actively preyed upon humans.
He would never allow those monstrous beings who had completely abandoned their humanity to exist!
But those simply unfortunate enough to be born into this cruel fate… Ignoring them was already Lancer's limit.
Come to think of it…
In the battle against Jason—aside from Jason himself—weren't there many other Ghouls around him?
Wait! Didn't the Tsukiyama family also have plenty of Ghouls?
That was going to be troublesome. If the Tsukiyama family could behave so brazenly, they must have some powerful political backing.
"Damn politicians..."
Although Lancer had only watched part of the anime and didn't know the full story, he could easily piece together this predictable conclusion.
Using the normal procedure—reporting officially and requesting permission to act—was impossible. But tackling this alone… Not just dangerous—it would absolutely get him killed.
He had no choice but to resort to unconventional methods!
As soon as he thought of unconventional methods, the image of his "guide" appeared clearly in his mind.
Over these past months, aside from learning that Mado Kureo was obsessively intense, Lancer's greatest impression of him was his wide-reaching network.
Despite only being a First-Class Investigator, many insisted Mado's strength was at least equal to most Associate Special-Class Investigators. And given his seniority, he could be considered a mentor to nearly everyone in the CCG. If Mado could serve as his entry point, perhaps Lancer could directly bypass certain troublesome obstacles.
The more he thought, the more feasible it seemed.
Sitting by the window, Lancer didn't even taste the bitter coffee. Instead, a strange smile curled at the corner of his lips—a smile chilling enough to send shivers down anyone's spine.
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T/N: okay due to concerns of RACISM I decided to make Ghouls Capitalized too... fucking bullshit