Looking at the coffee cup, Byakuya sighed inwardly.
Manager Yoshimura had been waiting all this ti for Eto to co to Anteiku—to personally make her a cup of coffee.
Unfortunately... years ago, the one ti Eto Yoshimura had co, she'd stopped at the shop's entrance and gone no further.
From that mont on, Eto's hatred for her father had deepened, and she'd completely given up on this world. There was no way she would ever co to et her father again.
"..."
Byakuya said nothing and accepted the coffee cup.
"Thank you..."
Handing this coffee cup to Byakuya also ant that Yoshimura was forcibly letting go of this attachnt in his heart.
He knew he was certain to die this ti, because he had no intention of continuing to live.
No matter what happened, Anteiku would cease to exist. This coffee shop that held all his mories of Ukina and Eto would be destroyed...
And his past self had committed too many sins. Perhaps death was his redemption.
The atmosphere grew heavy once more.
"When the ti cos, please be careful, Amaha-san. I'm quite the dangerous 'Devil Ape,' you know!"
Despite knowing that Byakuya would appear before them as an "enemy" when the ti ca, Koma could still joke like this.
"Mm, I'll be careful. Thank you for the warning, Koma-san."
Byakuya smiled and nodded.
"You should pray you don't run into the 'Black Dog.' The Black Dog is far more terrifying than the Devil Ape."
Irimi said with a smile.
"—! What did you say? The Devil Ape is clearly the strongest."
Koma imdiately objected.
This bit of playful banter lightened the atmosphere considerably.
"Amaha-kun needs to conserve his energy. You should head back and rest early."
Yoshimura said with concern.
"Mm, I will."
Byakuya nodded.
"Also, I hope Amaha-kun can go tell Touka-chan that Anteiku has closed."
Yoshimura made his final request.
Yomo already had too many people to look after. Having Amaha-kun deliver this news to Touka might be better.
He'd long since noticed... Touka's feelings for Amaha-kun...
Yoshimura then gave Byakuya Touka's address.
"No problem."
Byakuya said.
Before leaving, he finished the last sip of his coffee.
And then...
"The na 'Anteiku' may disappear, but everyone will definitely be safe."
Byakuya hadn't planned to reveal too much in advance, but right now, his emotions had been stirred by the Manager, Koma-san, and Irimi-san.
He spoke these words with a smile, his tone calm.
"Amaha-kun..."
Yoshimura didn't quite understand what Byakuya ant by saying this.
Was he simply trying to comfort them, or was he implying that on the battlefield, he would...
"Don't worry, Amaha-san. I am the 'Devil Ape' after all—I won't be taken down so easily. If you were to personally co after , I might feel so pressure, but please don't hold back on my account."
Koma said with a smile.
"That's right, please don't hold back. We at Anteiku already owe you too much. We don't want to cause you trouble at a ti like this."
Irimi was more direct.
They assud Byakuya was planning to deliberately go easy on them when the ti ca, which could raise suspicion among the other investigators present—that First Class Amaha was colluding with Anteiku's ghouls.
But what they absolutely couldn't imagine was that when the ti ca, Byakuya's actions would be far more significant than simply holding back...
"I won't hold back. But I have just one request—please do your best to survive."
Byakuya said.
"Of course. If I can help it, I don't want to die either."
Koma said.
"We'll do our best..."
That was all Irimi could say.
"..."
Only Yoshimura remained silent.
Byakuya didn't say anything more about this. He simply left with a "Goodbye" and departed from Anteiku.
...
anwhile, Touka Kirishima had just returned ho from school.
She was about to change out of her school uniform into her work clothes and head to Anteiku for her shift.
But just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Coming. Who is it?"
"Kirishima-san."
Byakuya's voice ca from outside the door.
...Byakuya?!
Touka froze for a mont before suddenly jolting.
It was Byakuya?
Wait—how did he even know where I live?
Touka was bewildered.
And this guy just shows up without any warning. She wasn't ntally prepared at all.
Seriously, this guy!
"Just a mont!"
Touka called out toward the door, then quickly walked to a certain table and checked her reflection in the mirror above it to make sure nothing was out of place.
Finding nothing wrong, she casually smoothed her bangs, then hurried to open the door for Byakuya.
Opening the door and seeing that Byakuya's expression was the sa as usual, Touka spoke. "Why did you suddenly co here? And how did you know where I live?"
"The Manager told ."
Byakuya replied. "And... Anteiku has closed. Stay ho for now and start packing your things. Yomo-san will probably co by later to pick you up. Go with him sowhere safe."
Touka was montarily stunned. "...Closed? What happened?..."
"If I need to explain everything, let's go inside first. Walls have ears..."
Byakuya's tone remained calm.
"Okay."
Without another word, Touka grabbed Byakuya's hand and pulled him inside.
At this mont, she couldn't care less about embarrassnt or shyness. She desperately wanted to know what had happened.
Anteiku suddenly closing, and being told to prepare to go sowhere safe—sothing major must have occurred.
[Ding! The host has completed "holding hands" with Touka Kirishima. Reward: 5 Fusion Points!]
This was Byakuya's first ti inside Touka Kirishima's ho, and Touka's first ti bringing a boy into her house.
Yet neither of them was in the mood to think about such things right now.
Touka closed the door behind her and locked it to prevent anyone from barging in—inadvertently creating a situation where a young man and woman were alone together in a room.
...
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