"Do what you want. Just don't go too far."
Byakuya said.
The reason was simple—Tsukiyama was the Tsukiyama family's young master.
"Don't worry. I know my limits."
Rize replied calmly.
She didn't plan to outright kill Tsukiyama or anything like that—she wanted to humiliate him in a different way.
...
Next, Byakuya needed to visit CCG Headquarters in Ward 1. The "Ghoul Restaurant" incident had just occurred, after all.
Kurona stayed at his place to care for Nashiro, and Rize remained home as well.
He figured Rize probably wouldn't clash with the Yasuhisa sisters. Probably...
"Investigator Amaha, among the ghouls you captured, the most noteworthy is Madam A—or 'Lady A.' She's a member of that notorious 'Madam' organization. There's a good chance we can extract valuable intelligence from her."
The First Class Investigator speaking to Byakuya continued: "You single-handedly destroyed the 'Ghoul Restaurant' and captured a 'Madam' member. This is a major achievement. The Chairman wants to meet you."
"The Chairman?... Very well. I'll head there now."
Byakuya thought to himself: So I've attracted the Washuu Clan's attention after all.
Being alone at a place like the Ghoul Restaurant, facing a crowd of ghouls and capturing over a dozen—this wasn't something a newly promoted Rank 1 Investigator should be capable of.
Fortunately, he'd deliberately held back, only taking a dozen or so for his record.
The current CCG Chairman, Washuu Yoshitoki, was the Washuu Clan's heir apparent. Or rather, every CCG Chairman would only ever be a Washuu "member."
Byakuya proceeded to Chairman Yoshitoki's office.
"Chairman Washuu."
Byakuya greeted him respectfully.
The middle-aged man with stubble before him was CCG's current Chairman, Washuu Yoshitoki.
"Investigator Amaha, you look quite young. I've heard about your accomplishments at the 'Ghoul Restaurant.' Among this year's newcomers, your performance is in a league of its own."
Yoshitoki began by praising Byakuya.
"You're too kind, Chairman."
Byakuya responded politely.
Yoshitoki appeared completely normal, no different from an ordinary superior. Without his "omniscient perspective," Byakuya couldn't have told Yoshitoki was a ghoul.
"Barring any surprises, you should be promoted to First Class Investigator after the Aogiri Tree Raid in Ward 11. You can prepare for the written exam and interview in advance—though given your near-perfect score last time, it shouldn't be difficult."
Yoshitoki reminded him. "And during the raid, don't be reckless. Special Class Investigators Shinohara and Kuroiwa will be leading. Everyone else should act within their capabilities—you especially still have tremendous room to grow."
Yoshitoki spoke as if he genuinely valued talent—and he did.
Among the Washuus, Yoshitoki leaned more toward humanity's side. He genuinely worked for the CCG and hadn't done anything outrageous—unless you counted eating fallen CCG investigators' corpses.
The entire Washuu family's food source came from "grave digging"—specifically, exhuming dead investigators' bodies. With high casualty rates during operations, there was always ample supply, which helped conceal the Washuus' ghoul identity.
For now, Byakuya hadn't displayed anything excessive, so Yoshitoki simply treated him like any young prodigy such as Koori Ui—hoping he wouldn't die early in a major operation like the Aogiri Raid.
"Understood."
Byakuya nodded.
From Yoshitoki's demeanor, he could tell the Washuus hadn't targeted him yet.
After leaving Yoshitoki's office, he soon ran into Koori Ui, who'd clearly come looking for him.
"I didn't expect you to accomplish something big again during your break. That A-rated 'Hyena' investigation mission almost seems like a waste of your time now."
Koori sighed.
"That's an exaggeration. I'd still welcome another A-rated ghoul mission."
Byakuya spoke evenly.
"It's not an exaggeration at all. Speaking of which, the Chairman just summoned you—you'll probably be promoted to First Class soon. We've only been partners for less than a month, and this promotion speed is truly remarkable."
Koori said. "Once that happens, you'll be partnered with someone else—as their superior. It might even be someone from your own cohort."
"About that—I found Kurona and Nashiro Yasuhisa. They should be able to report for duty at CCG tomorrow. They said family matters delayed them."
Byakuya seized the opportunity. "Also, how will their partnership be arranged? I assume the sisters don't want to be separated."
"That's fine, as long as they're okay. I was worried something had happened to them."
Koori smiled. "As for their partnership, that's up to the Chairman. But you could apply—request that a single superior lead both of them."
"Come to think of it, Special Class Investigator Akira currently has no partner. She'd be perfect—with her abilities, handling two newcomers simultaneously is no problem."
Koori suddenly thought of Special Class Akira—Akira Mado.
Being one of the Special Class Investigators, and the first and only female to hold that rank, Byakuya was familiar with Akira.
If they partnered with a Special Class... Byakuya felt he should remind Kurona and Nashiro not to reveal their ghoul identities if possible.
Without exposure, their ghoul physical abilities combined with Quinque power would give them significant advantages within the CCG.
Staying hidden wasn't difficult anyway—just don't manifest kagune or kakugan. No need to be overly cautious or paranoid.
"You should also look at potential new partners for yourself. As a superior, you'll typically have some choice in the matter."
Koori brought the topic back to Byakuya.
"Mm, I'll consider it."
Byakuya nodded.
Truthfully, he didn't care much. The CCG could assign whoever they wanted.