Touka was furious—too angry to notice certain details in Rize's words.
Even if she had noticed, she wouldn't have taken them seriously given how direct Rize had been.
Touka was now completely convinced that Rize was merely toying with the investigator's feelings.
By the time Rize went back downstairs, Touka was still seething from her mockery and provocation.
"Alright, alright. That's just how she is. Regardless, we got the answers we needed."
Irimi tried to soothe her.
Touka calmed down fairly quickly.
"You're right. That woman isn't worth my anger."
Originally, she'd harbored strong distaste for all ghoul investigators. But Rize's behavior had actually made her feel somewhat sympathetic toward Byakuya.
...
Back home.
When Byakuya returned, Rize told him about the day's amusing events.
"That's quite the dark sense of humor—knowing they'd misunderstand and playing along to mess with them..."
Byakuya was somewhat exasperated.
"You went for some promotion exam today, right? How did it go?"
Rize asked.
"Passed without issues. I'm a Rank 1 Investigator now, though it doesn't mean much—just sounds better when you say it."
"Not bad. It would actually be a good thing if you could make Special Class at the CCG."
Rize nodded.
Special Class was the highest rank below the CCG Chairman, which meant far greater authority than lower ranks like Rank 2 or Rank 1.
Moreover, the CCG's upper echelons were the Washuu Clan—infiltrating enemy headquarters, essentially.
"Easy for you to say."
"Would it really be that hard? Honestly, those Special Class Investigators don't seem like much. Except for Arima, you could completely replace any of them with your strength."
Rize said offhandedly.
In her eyes, those Special Class Investigators were hardly impressive. Only Arima posed any real threat.
"That requires opportunities to demonstrate it. The upcoming 'Aogiri Tree Raid' might be just such an opportunity."
"Aogiri Tree—they're a ghoul organization that's been eyeing me too. Perfect timing for your CCG to wipe them out."
Rize hadn't paid them much attention before, but after Yamori attacked her, she'd become somewhat wary of that ghoul group.
Byakuya shook his head slightly. "Aogiri Tree won't be that easy to eliminate. They have an SSS-rated 'One-Eyed Owl' among them, plus quite a few S and SS-rated ghouls."
"Speaking of which, I'm curious—could you beat that 'One-Eyed Owl'?"
The SSS rating didn't intimidate Rize. She smiled lightly as she asked.
"Who knows? I haven't faced that one directly yet." Byakuya said. "But I'm fairly confident in my own strength."
At his current level, he couldn't guarantee he could easily destroy the SSS-rated "One-Eyed Owl" or the Washuu Clan, but self-preservation was definitely within his capabilities.
The Mangekyo Sharingan's abilities were enough to keep him from losing, but since it wasn't yet the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, each use carried a significant cost.
Even with Hashirama Cells offsetting some of the side effects, he couldn't abuse it recklessly.
Take Obito, for example—he had relatively complete Hashirama Cells and only used single-eye Kamui. The side effects were far less severe than using both Mangekyo eyes, not to mention Byakuya's Hashirama Cells weren't complete.
"I believe in you. But do be careful when the time comes, otherwise... I'd lose such a perfect food source, wouldn't I?"
Rize directly compared Byakuya to "food."
But whether she was speaking truthfully or not, who could say?
"Sure, sure."
Byakuya responded with a light smile.
...
Despite having revealed his identity as a ghoul investigator, Byakuya continued visiting Anteiku as if nothing had happened.
It didn't stop him from enjoying coffee and reading there.
Touka had taken note of this.
By rights, investigators on duty always carried their "Quinque"—a briefcase. But she'd never seen Byakuya bring one. He really did seem to just come here for coffee and books.
But thinking about Rize, Touka figured Byakuya was probably so bewitched by that woman that he came here daily to "date" her.
She'd overlooked one thing though—Rize had said "my darling is waiting for me at home," clearly indicating they were living together. But in that heated moment, already convinced Rize was treating Byakuya as prey, Touka hadn't given those words much thought.
For now, Touka chose to assume Byakuya wasn't here investigating Anteiku.
Having arrived earlier than usual today, the shop had few customers, and Rize hadn't come with him.
He noticed Hinami sitting alone with a book, but she kept flipping pages back and forth, seemingly unable to understand the text.
Byakuya recalled that Hinami couldn't read.
Given their circumstances, few ghouls could attend school like humans. It was risky—one slip revealing their ghoul identity could get them captured.
He walked over and glanced at her book—one of Sen Takatsuki's works—then asked: "Would you like me to read the words for you?"
Hinami looked up at him in surprise, clearly not expecting him to offer such help.
After all, he was a ghoul investigator, and she was a ghoul...
But seeing his gentle smile, Hinami nodded. "Okay."
She pulled the chair beside her closer, setting it next to her own.
Byakuya sat down next to her and took the book. "First, the title: Dear Kafka. It's also Sen Takatsuki-sensei's debut novel..."
Starting from the first page, he read aloud for her, occasionally slowing down to teach her simpler characters.
[Ding! Host taught Hinami Fueguchi 1 character. Reward: 1 Fusion Point!]
Byakuya was pleasantly surprised to discover this also earned Fusion Points.