Facing roughly a dozen ghouls, Hairu casually twirled the longsword in her hand.
This time her attitude was a bit more serious—she wanted to compete with Amaha-senpai and hoped to outperform him.
The ghouls attacked en masse. The one who'd been fleeing and screaming moments ago found his courage now that backup had arrived, turning to join the assault.
Kagune lashed toward them in a dizzying flurry. Byakuya remained calm and composed.
His rear foot drove down with tremendous force, cracking the ground beneath him. The explosive power launched his entire body forward, allowing him to weave through the incoming kagune in seemingly impossible positions.
He planted one foot on a kagune, using it as a pivot point while swinging 13's Jason.
The heavy sword-form Quinque moved as nimbly as a small dagger in his hands. He leaped through the air, passing between the ghouls, his blade delivering merciless strikes.
In the blink of an eye, ghouls were either having their throats cut or their kagune severed.
Byakuya stopped in front of the rearmost ghoul, driving his blade through the target's abdomen and destroying the kakuhou at his waist.
"Oh my... Amaha-senpai's so fast..."
Hairu had been ready to join in, only to find that more than half the ghouls had already been dealt with.
If she didn't act immediately, there wouldn't be anything left for her.
Ding! Host eliminated an "A-rated ghoul." Reward: 10 Fusion Points!
Ding! Host eliminated a "B-rated ghoul." Reward: 5 Fusion Points!
...
Byakuya and Hairu dispatched the ghouls with minimal effort.
These were all Grey Straw members, but they still hadn't located Grey Straw's actual base.
At least they'd significantly weakened the organization's numbers. Detailed intelligence would have to wait for word from Cochlea—tomorrow at the earliest, the day after at the latest.
"Is that all of them? Just this handful?"
Hairu seemed unsatisfied.
Blood from the battle had splattered across her face and clothes, making her smile even more unsettling.
"That's actually not a small number. Now we wait for Cochlea's intel."
Byakuya said.
"Then let's go get dinner, Amaha-senpai. I'm getting hungry."
Hairu seemed completely oblivious to the blood covering her.
"Before we eat, at least wipe the blood off your face. And maybe change your clothes."
Byakuya pointed out.
"Does it matter? I can just tell people we were fighting ghouls."
Hairu said.
"That's technically true, but wouldn't it be simpler to just wash up and change? Saves having to explain everywhere we go."
Byakuya reasoned.
If Hairu walked into a restaurant looking like this, someone would definitely call the police. Then things would get complicated.
"Fine~ But I'd have to go home first to change. I live in Ward 1, which is pretty far..."
Hairu pressed a finger to her chin, adopting an innocent thinking pose. "Amaha-senpai lives in Ward 20, right? That's close by. How about I just go to your place?"
"...That's not impossible."
Byakuya could only steel himself and agree. "Let me call home first."
"Okay."
Hairu nodded.
She assumed it was just Amaha-senpai's family, so she didn't think much of it.
Byakuya immediately called Rize Kamishiro.
When she picked up, he said just one sentence.
"A colleague is coming to the house."
Those few words contained enough information. Rize would understand.
She did understand, but she had another question.
"Male or female?"
"...Female."
Byakuya answered.
Rize said nothing more and simply hung up.
Byakuya felt a twinge of awkwardness, though he didn't let it show.
Good thing he'd planned ahead. The night Hairu mentioned wanting to visit, he'd briefed Rize and the others.
If he ever called to say a colleague was coming over, they should prepare some sweets—melon bread, chocolates, that sort of thing...
He hadn't expected to need that contingency so soon.
Hairu had been standing right there and heard his entire conversation with Rize. But it sounded perfectly ordinary, nothing unusual, so she had no particular reaction.
"Is my sudden visit causing trouble for you, Amaha-senpai?"
Hairu asked.
"Not at all."
Byakuya shook his head slightly. "Actually, you're very welcome."
"Good. If it was going to be a bother, I wouldn't go."
Hairu's tone relaxed somewhat.
...
From Ward 21 to Ward 20, even without taking the subway, walking didn't take very long.
Arriving at Byakuya's front door, Hairu gazed at the imposing structure before her. "It's huge."
They crossed the courtyard and entered.
"Excuse me~"
Hairu called out a greeting and removed her boots at the entryway.
She didn't ask if there were slippers for her, simply walking in with just her white socks.
The interior floors were actually quite clean. Everyone in the house normally wore dedicated indoor shoes, so Hairu's socks wouldn't get dirty.
Rize, Mayu, Kurona, and Nashiro were all seated on the living room sofa. Matsumae and Kanae were busy cleaning the house.
They'd all learned from Rize that a female investigator would be visiting tonight, so seeing the unfamiliar Hairu didn't surprise them.
However, Kurona and Nashiro were staring at Hairu with carefully blank expressions, though their eyes betrayed their concern.
Byakuya brought another girl home...
It hasn't even been that long and he's brought yet another new girl. At this rate, even a house this big won't have enough room...
Hairu immediately sensed the twins' gazes and looked back at them with innocent curiosity.
But she didn't address Kurona or Nashiro. Instead, her surprised tone was directed at the room in general. "So... Amaha-senpai has this many girls living with him...?"
...
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