Lancer had planned to take out his phone and invite Mado Kureo to discuss his plan, but his hand paused halfway.
With what identity would he talk to Mado? How could he explain where he got this information? If he couldn't convince Mado, how could Mado help him convince others?
Even though Mado Kureo's hatred for Ghouls had reached a distorted level, he was still an excellent and diligent Investigator. He wouldn't simply trust Lancer's words unconditionally.
It seems I'll have to wait until Kaneki is kidnapped for the first time to gather intel.
Lancer didn't know what would happen next. Although within the known storyline the "Gourmet" seemed likely to redeem himself later, just as with Kirishima Touka and the others, Lancer needed to witness the truth with his own eyes.
A person could not receive unlimited forgiveness merely because of their "future." Lancer wasn't a clever person who liked making comparisons. He was simply a fool who preferred looking only at what lay directly before him.
He had been attacked by Ghouls. He had been saved by Investigators. He had witnessed countless tragedies caused by Ghouls. Had he not known parts of the storyline, perhaps he would have become exactly like Mado, ruthlessly hunting down every Ghoul without hesitation.
Witnessing with his own eyes, judging with his own heart—that was his choice!
But just as Lancer sat drinking his coffee, the doorbell jingled suddenly, and his eyes widened immediately.
A little girl in a pale yellow dress timidly followed a woman with long hair into the café.
The two seemed startled to see him—a CCG Investigator—inside. The little girl directly hid behind her mother, who nodded politely toward Lancer.
Lancer recognized both of them immediately. The mother was Fueguchi Ryouko, who would eventually be killed personally by his benefactor, Mado Kureo, and the little girl was Fueguchi Hinami.
Although Lancer knew their identities, they couldn't possibly know his intentions. So, instead of approaching Touka or the manager, they merely ordered coffee and sat far away from him, behaving just like ordinary customers.
Seeing their occasional wary glances, he could roughly guess what had happened. Fueguchi Hinami's father had probably been attacked by "Jason." If that were true, then Mado Kureo would have already visited the scene. And after that…if nothing changed, Mado's own death was rapidly approaching.
Would Lancer allow something like that to happen?
"Kirishima, the bill."
Swallowing his dessert in one mouthful and gulping down the rest of his coffee, Lancer immediately approached the cash register. Kirishima Touka, who had been wiping the tables, gave him a confused look.
From her experience, Lancer usually sat for around half an hour—unless he got a call summoning him back—but today he'd barely spent ten minutes before leaving abruptly.
"Was today's coffee…not good?"
The abrupt question from Touka made Lancer pause as he took the change. Truthfully, he'd been so distracted that he hadn't paid attention to the coffee's flavor at all. And the last sip? Honestly…no matter how good coffee was, you wouldn't drink it down in one gulp, especially bitter black coffee without sugar. That last gulp had been unbearably bitter.
"Sorry, I was distracted thinking about something, so I didn't notice."
But Lancer wasn't the type who liked to lie, so he openly admitted the truth. After saying so, he got the vague impression that Touka looked slightly disappointed. Was it just his imagination?
"We look forward to seeing you again next time."
Watching Touka bow politely, Lancer found himself blurting out words that even surprised himself.
"If it's alright, next time could you let me properly taste today's coffee again?"
Touka stared blankly for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
It was the first time Lancer had seen Touka smile. For a moment, he stared blankly, then awkwardly rubbed his nose, quickly turning around and fleeing the café in embarrassment. Behind him, Touka's smile only grew brighter.
"I didn't think a Dove could have a side like that."
"Of course. Just as we Ghouls have lives, so do the Doves. We stand opposed, yet just as they don't understand us, we don't understand them either."
"Manager?"
Touka jumped at the voice suddenly appearing behind her. The manager's words sent a sharp pang through her heart.
Indeed, despite appearing somewhat strange—even more clueless than some of the boys at her school—Lancer's identity couldn't be changed. Their seemingly casual chat earlier had already reinforced his true identity.
Touka never believed she had done anything wrong. She hadn't become a Ghoul by choice, and neither had her father. They had never attacked humans, so why was her father captured in the end?
They weren't wrong—the world was!
This malicious, twisted world!
The brief satisfaction she'd felt, as a high school girl teasing an adult man, gradually disappeared under the weight of reality, replaced by endless melancholy.
Meanwhile, Yoshimura Kuzen, whose eyes had always remained gently closed, opened them slightly. In those usually calm and ancient eyes appeared a faint sorrow.
His feelings toward Touka could essentially be described as a mixture of sympathy and paternal care.
He knew about Touka's father, and he himself had deep conflicts with his own daughter. Perhaps he didn't want to admit it, but from a certain perspective, he saw Touka as something like his own daughter. It was precisely because of this that he'd chosen to say those words to her now.
As someone who had experienced much, Yoshimura clearly understood the gap separating humans and Ghouls—especially a CCG Investigator, and even more so one like Lancer, a young Investigator whom countless Ghouls and colleagues alike believed was destined to become Associate Special-Class, perhaps even challenge for Special-Class someday.
Even if no such feelings truly existed between them, Yoshimura had to cut off any possibility, however small, because he didn't want to regret it later.
Touka, possibly recalling something because of Yoshimura's words, seemed somewhat depressed. But undoubtedly, it wasn't because of Lancer. After all, the two could barely be considered acquaintances—at most, people who were familiar with each other's existence.
At that moment, seeing no one else around, Fueguchi Ryouko approached the counter holding little Hinami's hand.
"Manager…"
"I'm sorry, Fueguchi-san. Just now, because of the Dove..."
Seeing Fueguchi Ryouko's exhausted expression, Yoshimura hurriedly tried to explain, but she shook her head gently.
"My husband said 'someone' was looking for him. He told us to hide first."
"Investigators?"
Yoshimura's expression instantly darkened…