Before he knew it, the flow of people outside grew increasingly larger.
A tall, grey-haired man came down from the second floor. He glanced at Irimi Yuki and Koma Enji, slightly opening his squinted eyes.
"That guest seems to have forgotten the time."
"It won't do to not eat; send some sandwiches over."
"Yes."
Irimi Yuki prepared a few sandwiches and gently placed them in front of Akuto.
At this time, Akuto came back to his senses and raised his head.
"These are a gift from the shop to the guest. Please enjoy."
Akuto looked toward the bar and saw the squinty-eyed man, grinning.
The Non-killing Owl.
That man, who looked like a gentle old man, was one of the strongest in this world.
"A pitiful person as well."
Akuto shook his head, then looked at the sandwiches in front of him.
"Looks quite delicious."
"By the way, if the coffee runs out, please refill it for me."
After eating a bit, Akuto lowered his head to continue browsing the documents.
Cup after cup of coffee was refilled.
In the afternoon, Akuto tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He had looked for a whole day and only finished about a third, but Akuto had found a clue!
A flash of excitement passed through his bloodshot eyes!
Just then, with a "ding-ling," the coffee shop's door was opened.
A high school girl with blue hair covering one eye walked in slowly.
"Touka-chan! Did things go smoothly today?"
"It was okay."
Touka glanced at the shop; currently, Akuto was the only guest, so she took a few extra looks. "How is he? Isn't he handsome?"
"Do you want me to help you ask for his contact information?"
Irimi Yuki nudged Touka with a wink, and the latter rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"What are you talking about?"
Touka went upstairs and came down having already changed into a work uniform.
"That handsome guy's coffee is out. Touka-chan, go give him a refill."
Irimi Yuki gave Touka a playful push.
The latter sighed and walked helplessly to Akuto's side, gently picking up the coffee cup, refilling it, and setting it back down.
Akuto raised his head, and his eyes met Touka's.
Kirishima Touka.
Effectively the female lead of this anime.
But after just one look, Akuto lost interest.
To put it bluntly, Akuto liked S-curved women; he really couldn't muster any interest in this "airport."
(T/N: I would have believed it if he didn't do it with Miko.)
Even setting aside her figure, Akuto didn't plan on developing any feelings for a Ghoul.
Akuto had once seen some very interesting fan fiction where the protagonist came to the Ghoul world and fell in love with a Ghoul.
That was still acceptable.
The key was that the protagonist had super-regeneration, so he chose to cut off his own flesh to feed his girlfriend.
At that time, Akuto doubted the author's mental state.
Akuto's principle was: no matter who you are, if you dare to open your mouth, I'll smash your teeth, regardless of whether you're male or female, ugly or beautiful.
So, seeing the cute Touka, Akuto's first thought was: She's cute, I really want to pick her up and slam her to death.
Unfortunately, she was too weak.
While Akuto was lost in thought...
The coffee shop door opened again.
A gust of fragrance blew in, followed by a flash of purple, and then a woman with a graceful figure and glasses, of the intellectual type, walked in slowly.
The moment the girl entered, Kirishima Touka and the others immediately became serious.
There was even a hint of disgust in Touka's eyes.
"Ara, it's been a long time since I've been here."
The girl lightly covered her mouth, then looked around the shop; her eyes lit up the moment she saw Akuto!
At this moment, Touka glanced at Akuto, then walked up to the girl and said coldly, "Kamishiro Rize, this isn't your feeding ground."
"This is Anteiku. Restrain yourself!"
Kamishiro Rize covered her mouth and chuckled, every movement so graceful.
"Touka, you're being a bit too tense."
"If he likes me and wants to leave with me on his own, are you going to stop him?"
Touka opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing, letting out a cold snort as she turned away.
Kamishiro Rize walked slowly to Akuto, bowing slightly and revealing an exaggerated cleavage. "Handsome, may I sit here?"
Akuto slowly raised his head.
At this moment, Touka, Irimi Yuki, and the others were all looking at Akuto somewhat nervously.
"If you're a playboy, then consider it your bad luck if you die,"
Kirishima Touka thought secretly.
"Get lost."
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire coffee shop fell silent.
Everyone, including Kamishiro Rize, looked at Akuto in shock.
Relying on her beautiful face, Kamishiro Rize was always successful in striking up conversations; even a handsome guy of Akuto's level would usually be captivated.
Akuto actually... told her to get lost?
"Pfft!"
Kirishima Touka couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Veins popped on Kamishiro Rize's forehead; she wanted nothing more than to immediately lash out and kill the person in front of her.
No!
She wanted to swallow Akuto alive, bite by bite!
But this was Anteiku.
After a moment of silence, Kamishiro Rize restrained her charming expression, and her face regained its haughtiness.
"Sorry for the intrusion."
Kamishiro Rize sat on the other side and took out a book to read quietly.
"It's quite lively today, isn't it?"
Akuto realized he had come on the right day, because the protagonist of the story had also arrived!
"Welcome."
A boy with a black bowl-cut walked in and sat down somewhat awkwardly by the window, at the table next to Akuto's.
Seeing Akuto looking at him, Kaneki gave a constrained smile.
Kaneki Ken.
Akuto recalled the plot; this kid could be described as purely unlucky.
It could be said that from the moment he stepped into this coffee shop, he was destined not to have a good day for a long time.
But Akuto didn't feel like meddling.
As long as it didn't affect him, he wouldn't care even if Kaneki Ken was turned into a woman.
In the time Akuto spent looking at the documents, Kaneki Ken had already noticed Kamishiro Rize nearby.
He looked like he was reading a book, but his eyes would glance at Kamishiro Rize from time to time.
The latter seemed to have noticed this as well, smiling faintly and occasionally brushing her hair back to reveal her perfect collarbones.
Before long, Kamishiro Rize seemed to find Kaneki Ken too shy.
So she walked over herself.
"May I sit here?"
"Ah?" Kaneki Ken was stunned; he didn't expect his goddess to proactively strike up a conversation. He nodded hurriedly, "Yes... Yes! Of course!"
Kamishiro Rize shot Akuto a triumphant glance before sitting down.
"Do you also like reading this book?"
Kamishiro Rize's slender finger tapped on the book in front of Kaneki Ken.
"'The Black Goat's Egg'? What a coincidence, I didn't expect us both to like this book."
"My name is Kamishiro Rize, and yours?"
"Ka... Kaneki Ken."
"I only discovered this book recently, and it's really interesting."
"Interesting?" Just then, an unfamiliar voice came over. The two looked up and saw it was Akuto.
Akuto had turned around and was leaning over, looking at the two of them with a playful expression.
"What kind of book is so miraculous? 'The Black Goat's Eggs'? That title is quite comical."
Kamishiro Rize's face darkened.
Kaneki Ken was still explaining with a dry laugh. "It's 'The Black Goat's Egg,' a work by Takatsuki Sen-sensei. It's written with great depth, mainly depicting human nature."
"Human nature?" Akuto nodded solemnly. "No wonder this lady seems so human-like to me."
As soon as these words were spoken, the bustling coffee shop suddenly fell silent.
This was a direct provocation.
Blatant mockery!
Kirishima Touka quietly walked over to Irimi Yuki's side and whispered.
"Do you think he'd be scared to tears if he knew he was mocking an SS-rated Ghoul?"