"Oh, so you're already twenty-four. You really do look young, Eto-san."
Irimi remarked with admiration.
She recalled when she had first met the Manager ten years ago. Even at eighteen, she hadn't looked as young as Eto did now.
To put it another way, Eto looked incredibly youthful...
But having been malnourished since childhood made it unavoidable. Otherwise, with Yoshimura and Ukina's genes, she surely wouldn't have ended up at this height.
"It was nice meeting everyone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to attend to."
With that, Eto glanced at Byakuya, seemingly indicating that she had fulfilled her end of the bargain.
"Oh, right..."
Byakuya suddenly spoke up. "Didn't I mention before that I'd have you agree to one request? You remember, don't you?"
He naturally hadn't forgotten. In fact, he had been laying the groundwork for this moment back then. Why else would he have refrained from making his request at that time?
"Of course I remember. Have you decided what it is?"
Eto was somewhat surprised that he would bring it up now.
Especially since she now knew the extent of Byakuya's power. She couldn't imagine what request he could possibly need her to fulfill—unless it was something perverse or... indecent...
I don't want to do that sort of thing... but I obviously have no power to resist...
If that's really what he wants, I'll just have to accept my fate...
"Anteiku will be reopening, though it won't be called 'Anteiku' anymore. When you have time, come by and have a cup of coffee."
Byakuya spoke as casually as if chatting with a friend, without any commanding tone.
"..."
Eto was momentarily stunned. She clearly hadn't expected Byakuya's request to be something like this.
Yoshimura beside her also looked somewhat surprised.
"Sure, I'll remember that..."
With that, Eto departed.
As she walked away, she was still thinking about what had just happened. That bastard had actually made such a request...
In her view, this was about the simplest request possible. Though it was somewhat difficult for her personally, it offered Byakuya absolutely no practical benefit.
She couldn't quite understand. Did that bastard really care that much about the old man?
Or was it... that he cared about her?
But Eto immediately dismissed that ridiculous thought.
...
After Eto left, Byakuya spoke privately with Yoshimura again.
"Has the Manager's relationship with his daughter improved at all?"
Byakuya asked.
Since he genuinely hadn't been eavesdropping outside the door, he didn't know how things had gone between Yoshimura and Eto.
"No..."
Yoshimura sighed. "As a father, I'm still a complete failure."
"I suppose so..."
Byakuya wasn't surprised.
Given what had happened between Yoshimura and Eto in the past, it would have been strange if things had improved so quickly.
"Regardless, I'm eternally grateful to you. Not only did you save everyone from Anteiku, but you also gave me the chance to see Eto—even though I failed to make the most of this opportunity..."
Yoshimura expressed his gratitude.
"Don't worry about it. You'll have more chances to see each other. Next time Yoshimura-san comes to the coffee shop as a guest, that cup you've been treasuring will finally serve its purpose. I've been keeping it safe at my place."
Byakuya smiled.
"Indeed..."
A smile also appeared on Yoshimura's face. "Speaking of which, we should start preparing to rebuild the coffee shop. But we definitely can't use the name 'Anteiku' anymore. As for the new name, do you have any suggestions, Amaha-kun?"
The name "Anteiku" had already been exposed to the CCG and even to the public. Using it again would only invite more CCG attention.
They needed a new name to start fresh. Even if they could no longer help other ghouls, Yoshimura would continue running the coffee shop for the sake of Ukina and Eto.
"A new name... how about ':re'?"
Byakuya suggested.
"Re"—meaning "again" or "anew."
This was also the name Yomo and Touka had given the rebuilt Anteiku in the original story, specifically ":re."
So he figured they might as well use that name.
"Re... is it... That is indeed a good name."
Yoshimura nodded. "I'll discuss it with Kaya and the others later. I'm sure they'll like it too."
"Byakuya, Manager, are you both here?!"
Just then, Touka Kirishima's voice came from outside.
It seemed Touka had found her way here.
There were no outsiders or ghoul investigators nearby, so it didn't really matter even if Touka was shouting like this.
Yomo went out to meet her and brought her inside.
"Irimi-san, Koma-san, and Manager... you're all okay. I'm so glad..."
Seeing the three people she had been so worried about all safe and sound, Touka was moved to tears of joy.
She had been so terrified of losing the people around her again. Thankfully, everyone had made it through in the end...
"It's all thanks to Amaha-san that we could gather here together. Otherwise, I might have already been done in by that big-nostriled guy."
Koma said self-deprecatingly.
"Same here. Those four investigators and that old lady really gave me a hard time..."
Irimi also smiled wryly.
"I know... of course I know. This time, almost everything was Byakuya's doing alone."
Touka murmured.
Then she shifted her gaze to Byakuya. "Even now, it still feels unbelievable that you actually consider us your comrades..."
"So... how do you see me?"
Touka suddenly changed direction, her serious expression tinged with a faint blush.
Oh ho—!
Irimi and Koma's ears immediately perked up.
They could naturally tell what Touka's question implied.
Yomo remained as expressionless as ever. As a good uncle, he certainly wouldn't interfere in Touka's matters of the heart.
"..."
Yoshimura maintained his gentle smile throughout.
He was gradually noticing that there seemed to be quite a few girls who liked Byakuya around him...
"Kirishima-san..."
Byakuya was somewhat caught off guard by Touka's sudden question.
"Don't call me Kirishima-san!"
Touka immediately said with displeasure. "You're always 'Kirishima-san this,' 'Kirishima-san that,' but you call that Rize woman 'Rize-san.' Isn't that unfair?"
...
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