Although Lancer's physical abilities had far surpassed normal humans through training, the glaring red notification "Fatigue: All attributes -3" clearly reflected his poor condition. After a sleepless night spent alternating between training and writing reports, anyone would be exhausted. All he'd wanted was a cup of coffee at Anteiku to refresh himself—but encountering the full Ghoul "Boss Squad" openly staring at him made him feel terribly uneasy.
Could it be that the weird rumors have already spread all the way here?
Lancer had visited the café countless times; he was certain no one here would show killing intent toward him simply because he was a CCG Investigator. Even if it had vanished in an instant, he was absolutely sure it hadn't been a hallucination. That left only one possible explanation: those strange rumors from headquarters had reached even this place.
No way! I can't die here! At the very least, I need to salvage this situation somehow!
What should we do? We leaked killing intent because of this Investigator's sudden arrival—how should we cover it up?
Just as Lancer desperately sought a way out, the Anteiku group also fell into a deeply awkward silence, searching for a believable excuse.
True, they were extremely annoyed at Lancer's identity as an Investigator, but to protect their cover, they couldn't exactly kill him here. How could they possibly gloss over that slip-up?
"Ahem… Sorry about that. The café's been having some financial trouble lately, and we were discussing possible solutions at our morning meeting…"
Yoshimura, as expected of a seasoned veteran who'd navigated decades of tricky situations, smoothly provided a believable excuse just as the rest stood frozen in embarrassment.
"Ah, I see. Ahem—I hope the café doesn't close because of this. I've become quite fond of your hand-ground coffee."
Seeing Lancer's face relax with a look of understanding, everyone present secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, we managed to fool him. Looks like he doesn't suspect we're Ghouls.
(He actually knew long ago.)
Thank goodness, seems they haven't found out about me capturing the Fueguchi mother and daughter.
(They actually knew long ago.)
When Lancer finally finished his coffee, heart still trembling with tension, he quickly excused himself with the explanation that he had to "move houses." What he didn't notice as he left was how everyone in Anteiku's eyes suddenly lit up.
Without question, Lancer's decision to move was a fantastic opportunity for them.
Attacking the CCG Investigator dormitory would likely cause massive trouble—but if it was just an ordinary residential building, then the risk would be significantly lower.
Lancer had originally intended to rent a small "detached house"—the so-called ikkodate he'd always been curious about in anime. Unfortunately, despite having finally come to Japan and earning enough to afford one, he reluctantly gave up on the idea.
It wasn't that a CCG Investigator couldn't afford it. On the contrary, renting a detached home was often cheaper than renting an apartment. The real issue was that there weren't any detached houses available near the 20th Ward branch office.
Lancer was certainly curious, but not curious enough to invite unnecessary trouble. No Ghoul with any sense of self-preservation would wander openly around a CCG branch office, anyway. Powerful Ghouls usually avoided the 20th Ward; those who stayed were either peacefully retired or too weak to leave.
Eventually, Lancer settled on an apartment on the twentieth floor of a high-rise building near the branch office.
The only real trouble was the stares he received when bringing Fueguchi Ryouko and Hinami with him. The neighbors naturally became curious about the relationship between the mother-daughter pair and this young man whose age seemed awkwardly positioned—neither quite husband nor son.
Lancer found himself genuinely grateful for modern urban life's increasingly superficial neighborly relations. Although many people were curious, no one actually voiced their questions.
"I have something I need to handle outside, so I'm leaving now. My personal advice: don't try leaving this place. The explosive collars around your necks can turn anything nearby into rubble. The GPS trackers inside your bodies will constantly display your location. The moment headquarters believes you've become a threat, they'll immediately detonate them."
"We understand."
Ignoring Hinami, who was glaring hatefully at his back, Lancer locked the door behind him and left.
As he'd told them, the Tsukiyama family was currently his highest priority. The only reason he'd gotten involved with the Fueguchi family at all was simply to prevent his benefactor from triggering a fatal flag.
As for the mother and daughter themselves—wasn't he afraid someone might rescue them?
The answer was: not at all. Or rather, he was secretly hoping someone actually would rescue them.
The reason Lancer had gotten tangled up in this mess was to protect Mado-san's life. He'd originally planned to kill them himself, but when faced with Fueguchi Ryouko's pleading eyes, he couldn't bring himself to swing his weapon—leading to this horribly awkward situation.
Unable to kill, but also impossible to release them, if someone genuinely did rescue the Fueguchi mother and daughter, Lancer felt he'd probably sigh in relief.
Throwing these messy thoughts out of his mind, he focused entirely on the task at hand.
The Tsukiyama family's Ghoul identity was technically only speculation—but practically speaking, it was nearly certain. After all, Tsukiyama Shuu himself was undeniably a Ghoul who openly hosted "banquets" at his family villa. The simplest solution was to track Tsukiyama, but after being discovered once by Kamishiro Rize, Lancer had learned the hard way not to rush in recklessly.
Last time he'd barely survived thanks to the system's assistance. If discovered again, he probably wouldn't survive—after all, even if there weren't SS-rated Ghouls in the Tsukiyama family, just facing dozens of regular Ghouls at once would leave him dead without question.
What a pain…
Just as Lancer circled the area near Kamii University, absent-mindedly pondering his options, his eyes suddenly lit up. He'd spotted someone unexpected yet entirely within reason—Kaneki Ken.
His appearance near the university had been guided purely by instinct. But thinking more clearly about why his body had led him here, it suddenly became clear: the one place where he clearly knew Tsukiyama Shuu would appear—without risking suspicion himself—was precisely here, at Kamii University.
As soon as he realized he'd found a "lead," Lancer unconsciously smiled warmly toward Kaneki. But what he didn't realize was that Kaneki, on the receiving end of his friendly greeting, had frozen in sheer terror, his whole body stiffening like a frog pinned beneath a snake's gaze. Eventually recalling Touka's recent "guidance," Kaneki awkwardly forced out a very unnatural smile in return, clutching his bag nervously as he walked hurriedly toward campus.
Please don't let him find out! Please don't let him find out! Please don't let him find out…
(He'd actually known all along.)