When Eto left the room, she immediately spotted Byakuya, Touka, and Hinami standing outside the door.
"Hinami-chan, eavesdropping on others' conversations isn't something a good girl does~"
Eto teased Hinami.
Her smile made it seem as if nothing unpleasant had just occurred.
"S-Sorry..."
Hinami immediately lowered her head in apology.
"Oh my~ Now you're making me feel bad."
Eto laughed: "Don't take it seriously. I was just joking."
"You're actually a bit tsundere, aren't you? At least in front of Yoshimura-san."
Byakuya suddenly remarked.
"...?"
Eto's gaze sharpened, seemingly displeased with the word "tsundere." "I don't know where you got that conclusion from, but let me correct you. If you hadn't interfered, that old man would have become an experimental subject for 'us' long ago. Just now was purely because I was in a decent mood."
"So you do know I drew that conclusion from what you just said."
Byakuya said calmly: "Well, that's what being tsundere is like. But don't get upset—I think tsundere is actually pretty cute."
"...Too bad I can't beat you. Otherwise I'd really like to punch you a couple of times."
Eto's smiling face now seemed to have an irritation mark hovering over it.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop joking. So you're planning to leave now?"
Byakuya smiled.
"Who said I'm leaving now? I just got here a few minutes ago. I just don't have anything more to discuss with that old man."
Eto said.
"Alright, let's head downstairs then."
Byakuya nodded.
"Eto-neechan, I'd like to discuss your works with you. Would that be okay?"
Hinami asked Eto.
"Of course! Let's go down together. I happen to be quite free today, so I can chat with you properly, Hinami-chan. It'll also give me some material for my writing."
Eto said warmly.
"..."
Touka didn't say anything.
She could already sense that the relationship between the manager and this Miss Eto was complicated. And she remembered that the manager was the "Non-Killing Owl," while the manager's child was Aogiri Tree's "One-Eyed Owl"...
Which meant... this Miss Eto was the leader of Aogiri Tree—someone she'd considered an enemy.
She never imagined this person would turn out to be the manager's daughter, and simultaneously a famous author. It was almost unbelievable.
But that wasn't even what concerned Touka the most...
She could also sense that this Miss Eto seemed to have an unusual relationship with Byakuya. The "that guy" Eto kept mentioning during her conversation with the manager—that was definitely Byakuya, right...?
Honestly... why were there always so many pretty girls around Byakuya? Now even the manager's daughter had appeared out of nowhere...
Thinking about this, Touka let out a small sigh.
"Little Touka, what are you spacing out about? Aren't you coming downstairs with us?"
Eto addressed Touka: "Though this guy probably needs to stay here a bit longer. Or would you rather hang out with him?"
She always liked to speak with hidden meanings. These words were clearly hinting at Touka's feelings for Byakuya.
Eto was quite perceptive in this regard—she could tell at a glance that Touka also liked Byakuya.
"Ah... no, I'll go down and help out. I think I've studied enough anyway."
Touka said, somewhat flustered.
Though she'd already confessed to Byakuya, facing someone like Miss Eto—a potential rival—still made her instinctively hold back.
After Eto and the others went downstairs, Byakuya entered the room.
He saw Yoshimura standing there holding the coffee cup Eto had just used. He was preparing to wash it clean, then pour another cup for Eto—he'd heard her say outside the door that she wasn't planning to leave so soon.
Hearing Byakuya enter, Yoshimura turned: "Amaha-kun, I must thank you again. With my cowardice, this wish might never have come true..."
"How could that be? If you were cowardly, Manager, then who was the 'Non-Killing Owl' who faced all those Special Class investigators that day?"
Byakuya shook his head slightly.
He didn't consider the manager "cowardly."
This was the perfect time to invoke the wise words that dear Teacher Yamori had helped Kaneki understand:
—The one who's wrong isn't me. It's this world.
"Blame society" and move on. No further explanation needed.
The situation Yoshimura had faced was nearly unsolvable. Few fathers could have handled Eto's situation any better. Although Yoshimura shouldn't have taken so long to face Eto directly, he had at least been willing to sacrifice everything for her.
Byakuya, as a transmigrator, had simply used "physical means" to forcibly intervene in the relationship between father and daughter. He didn't think he had any right to criticize Yoshimura's actions. This old father had been through enough—in the original story, he'd even died at his own daughter's hands...
Yoshimura smiled faintly: "Let's not dwell on this. I'll pour another cup of coffee for Eto. Would you mind taking it down to her? She probably doesn't want to see me."
"Actually, I don't think that's true."
Byakuya disagreed: "I think if you spent more time coaxing her, your relationship would improve quickly. That woman may have a sharp tongue, but she's actually quite sensitive inside."
"Coaxing her..."
Yoshimura fell into silence.
Byakuya hadn't expected this suggestion to put Yoshimura in a difficult position.
Because Yoshimura wasn't particularly skilled at—or rather, didn't quite understand—such things. Back when he and Ukina fell in love, it had happened very naturally, without any push and pull. Actually, Ukina had initially approached Yoshimura to investigate V Organization intelligence, and somehow they'd ended up falling in love.
And since he'd handed Eto over to Noroi shortly after her birth, he had virtually no experience raising a child.
Yoshimura could lecture juniors like Touka and Kaya with ease—he had no psychological burden facing them. But when it came to his own daughter, he became utterly lost...
...
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