"So... should I call you 'Hairu' too?"
Byakuya offered tentatively.
"Great~ Then I'll call you 'Byakuya-senpai'~"
Hairu immediately changed her form of address as well.
Meanwhile, Akira sat quietly sipping her tea, appearing unconcerned with what was happening before her.
"Ah... I have something to take care of, so I'll be going now. I'll come find you next time, Byakuya-senpai."
"Byakuya-senpai, Miss Mado—goodbye~"
With that, Hairu rose and departed.
...
Though there had been a small interruption, it didn't stop Akira from saying what she wanted to say.
She continued the topic Hairu had cut off: "About what happened last time—did it cause you any trouble, Investigator Amaha?"
"...What exactly?"
Byakuya could roughly guess what she meant, but since Akira hadn't specified, he wanted to confirm.
"..."
Akira fell silent for a moment. She took a deep breath internally, then addressed Byakuya with a calm expression: "I mean when I forcibly kissed you."
Though she spoke quietly—not wanting those around them to overhear—she still articulated every word clearly.
"Ahem... That incident didn't cause any trouble, actually."
Byakuya said.
"That's good... It was something I did on my own initiative. I developed feelings for you of my own accord—that's what I wanted to say... Well then, I should be going too."
Akira laid everything out plainly, her expression betraying no emotional fluctuation. But the moment she finished, she rose and left.
Her seemingly composed face actually concealed considerable inner turmoil.
She'd said her piece and immediately departed, clearly because she was reaching the limits of her composure...
Now only Byakuya remained sitting there alone.
What Akira had just said... that was essentially a confession, wasn't it?
Her feelings for him hadn't come as a surprise—even a fool would have understood after that kiss. But her directness in confessing was somewhat unexpected.
Now that he was alone, there was no point staying here.
Eto was supposed to visit ":re"—the renamed Anteiku—this afternoon anyway. He might as well head over to the café.
...
Ward 20, ":re."
The café was bustling with customers again today, almost entirely ghouls.
Before heading to the café, Byakuya had stopped home to retrieve the elegant, antique cup that Yoshimura had entrusted to him.
For today, that cup was something very important.
"Onii-chan, Teacher Takatsuki is coming today, isn't she?"
Spotting Byakuya, Hinami Fueguchi immediately came over to ask.
"Yes, she said sometime this afternoon. I don't know the exact time though."
Byakuya replied.
"That makes sense... After all, Teacher Takatsuki is a famous author and very busy person."
Hinami said.
"..."
Byakuya smiled without comment.
He knew Eto was actually quite free. As a traditional author who published physical books in single releases, she didn't need to spend hours each day rushing to meet deadlines.
From when she'd started in the industry until now—about ten or eleven years—she'd produced several medium-to-long works and dozens of short pieces.
A "medium-to-long work" was roughly a few hundred thousand characters per book. Adding all her works together probably amounted to several million characters total—averaging out to a few hundred thousand per year. She definitely wasn't writing every single day.
At Aogiri Tree, Eto was basically a slacking executive on paper, with Tatara handling the visible operations. Add in the occasional fan meetup or similar event, and that was essentially Eto's daily life.
"So Onii-chan, are you free today? If you are, would you keep reading this book with me?"
Hinami tugged at Byakuya to continue the book they hadn't finished last time.
"Of course I'm free."
Byakuya nodded.
"I knew Onii-chan was the best to me!"
Hinami exclaimed happily.
She then settled herself comfortably on Byakuya's lap, having long grown accustomed to this arrangement—plus it made reading together much easier.
"Little Hinami likes Amaha-san so much—Touka's going to get jealous~"
Kaya Irimi teased Hinami with a playful smile.
"Huh? Then I like Touka-neechan the most too!"
Hinami quickly amended her statement.
"...Alright, alright."
Kaya felt somewhat awkward.
That wasn't what she'd meant at all—in fact, it was the complete opposite. But since Hinami hadn't picked up on the implication, she decided not to say anything more.
Just then, Mayu approached Byakuya: "Onii-chan, could you help me put on lipstick? I can't do it well myself..."
With the monthly salary she received from the manager, she'd been spending on cosmetics and pretty clothes.
The only problem was that she'd just started experimenting with makeup and couldn't even apply lipstick properly yet—it always came out wrong.
"I don't really know how either..."
Byakuya answered honestly.
Seeing Mayu's expression immediately turn disappointed, Byakuya quickly added: "But I'll try my best to help you."
"Okay! Then I'm counting on you, Onii-chan."
Mayu nodded happily.
She handed him the lipstick, then leaned closer to make it easier for him to reach her lips.
Hinami was good friends with Mayu, so she didn't mind her reading time with Onii-chan being briefly interrupted.
At the same time, she was curious about the lipstick—she wanted to see what Mayu-neechan would look like wearing it.
Byakuya knew nothing about applying lipstick. He could only rely on his keen perception for precision and play it by ear. Whether it turned out well was anybody's guess—if it didn't, he could only say he'd tried.
Mayu's cheeks flushed slightly. She hadn't expected being watched so closely by Onii-chan while he focused on her lips to be so embarrassing.
But she certainly didn't dislike the feeling, so she didn't resist at all.
"Done... I think?"
Byakuya wasn't sure himself. It felt about right to him.
Fortunately, after checking in a mirror, Mayu seemed quite satisfied: "It looks so good! Much better than when I do it myself."
"Glad you're happy with it."
Byakuya said.
"Hello~! Amaha-kun, Hinami-chan, did you miss me?"
Just then, Eto suddenly appeared behind Byakuya and Hinami, waving at them with a grin.
She'd successfully startled Hinami, who spun around and exclaimed: "Takat—!"
But before she could finish, Eto covered her mouth. Eto maintained her smile while making a "shh" gesture with her finger.
...
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