Before Byakuya and Yomo arrived, Roma had gone to have a little gathering with Uta and Itori.
Nico and Souta (Furuta) were also present.
These five were the current members of the Clowns. As for the third Clown King, "Priest," he was still locked up in Cochlea prison.
"—So how did it turn out in the end?"
Roma asked curiously.
"A complete mess. An absolute disaster, all thanks to a mysterious ghoul throwing everything into chaos."
Only Furuta among the five kept his "Souta" mask on throughout as he narrated the Owl Suppression Operation. "That mysterious ghoul is most likely Amaha—you know, the 'Amaha-sama' that Roma likes so much~"
"A ghoul? Amaha isn't a pure ghoul, is he? Another mixed-blood aberration?"
Uta licked the eyeball in his hand—whether real or a model, who knew—as he spoke casually.
He had smelled Byakuya's scent before and could confirm he wasn't a pureblooded ghoul.
"According to my information, the CCG's original objective was 'total annihilation.' Who would have thought Amaha-kun would make such a mess that most of them survived? Pretty impressive~"
Itori sipped her red wine.
"Well, he is the man I've got my eye on~"
Nico said with a smile.
"He likes beauties like Rize-san. He's not going to look at a drag queen like you."
Itori said bluntly.
"That doesn't stop me from quietly watching over him from behind the scenes~"
Nico said indifferently.
Only "Souta" remained silent on this topic.
"Too bad we didn't get to see anything interesting happen. Let's do something more entertaining, shall we?"
Uta said blandly.
Roma put on her clown mask. "If life is boring~"
Souta: "Living has no meaning."
Nico: "The beard has grown out."
Itori: "The ones who laugh last."
"Are us (the Clowns)."
The group continued their playful banter.
...
However, when the scene shifted to Byakuya and Yomo's arrival—
Byakuya seized the moment when no one was paying attention and pulled Roma into a room alone.
"Amaha-sama... you look really scary like this... You're not going to do something rough to me, are you...?"
Roma immediately shrank into the corner, her voice trembling delicately.
Byakuya's expression was ice-cold as he pressed forward, cornering Roma against the wall. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "You're one of the Clowns, right? You can seek your entertainment however you like, but if you dare cause trouble, don't blame me for not being sentimental..."
"Ahh~~~"
Apparently Roma's ears were a sensitive spot. Byakuya's whisper made her instantly go weak, collapsing into a "duck sit" position on the floor.
"..."
Byakuya was rendered speechless. This woman...
"I-I understand. Amaha-sama was so scary just now~"
Roma pressed her finger to her lower lip, speaking in a sweet, coy manner.
"...Cut the act. You're what, fifty years old?"
Byakuya couldn't help but say.
If he remembered correctly, Roma was around fifty years old. Though her appearance looked about twenty, her act of being a cute young thing still made one want to punch her.
"Eh? How mean! I'm clearly a beautiful young maiden."
Roma immediately protested.
"...Anyway, do you understand?"
Byakuya couldn't be bothered to keep bantering with Roma.
"Understood!"
Roma finally became somewhat serious, though her excited manner made it seem like something good had happened.
"Good."
Byakuya wasn't going to waste any more time on Roma.
"Where did you go just now, Byakuya-niichan?"
Seeing Byakuya disappear for a while and then reappear, Mayu asked curiously.
Roma, who had emerged alongside him, immediately chimed in. "Amaha-sama just did some naughty things to me~"
"Naughty things?"
The innocent Mayu looked confused, seemingly unable to understand what naughty things meant.
"Naughty things...?"
Hinami's reaction was different. The slight blush on her face clearly showed she understood more than Mayu did.
Washuu Chika imagined a scene of Byakuya doing a "kabedon" to Roma—and in fact, that much was actually what had happened...
"No, I just had a word with this idiot about something."
Byakuya explained with an indifferent expression.
"I'm not an idiot."
Roma immediately protested.
But joking aside, what Byakuya had just done was indeed effective. Roma wouldn't dare have any ill intentions toward the people around him now.
At the same time, he was warning the entire Clowns organization. Otherwise, those people would be hard to feel at ease about.
However, after Roma learned of Byakuya's performance during the Owl Suppression Operation, she hadn't dared to easily offend him anyway.
Completely ignoring Roma's protest, Byakuya addressed Hinami and the others. "The Manager and the others are now preparing to rebuild the coffee shop. It'll be renamed from 'Anteiku' to ':re.' Life will continue as before. For now, let's go meet up with the Manager and the others."
Under Byakuya and Yomo's guidance, everyone returned to reunite with the Manager. This included Roma as well.
Since all of Anteiku's members were safe, she had no thought of running away anymore. She planned to continue seeking entertainment at the new coffee shop. Breaking plates daily would naturally remain an essential activity...
Yoshimura used his own money to select a shop in another location in Ward 20 that was larger than the original Anteiku. He still had plenty left from the wages he had earned while working for the V Organization—more than enough to establish a new coffee shop.
With help from Irimi and Koma's subordinates, the coffee shop named ":re" was quickly completed and opened for business.
The CCG had no time to pay attention to a quietly opened coffee shop in Ward 20—they didn't even know about it. The events of the Owl Suppression Operation had left them with no leisure to monitor every corner of Ward 20.
As for the Washuu, they also showed no movement for now. After all, the greatest threat to the Washuu was no longer the One-Eyed Owl or the unknown One-Eyed King...
It was the mysterious ghoul named "Madara" who had appeared during the Owl Suppression...
...
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