In the blink of an eye, the day of the promised meeting with Hinami Fueguchi arrived. Early in the morning, Amano Hiro and Rize came to the café together.
The weather had clearly turned colder, and their breath condensed into white mist in the air.
It was time to buy some winter clothes. Although neither he nor Rize feared the cold with their physiques, dressing warmly in winter gave a proper sense of the season.
When they pushed open the door, the Fueguchi mother and daughter were already waiting inside. The moment Hinami saw Amano Hiro, she happily waved. "Good morning, Hiro-niisan."
Amano Hiro smiled in response. "Good morning. You came so early. Couldn't wait?"
"Mm!" Hinami nodded vigorously. "I was so excited last night I almost couldn't sleep."
Ryouko-san said apologetically, "Amano-san, sorry to trouble you."
Hiro indicated it was no problem and said, "Then let's head out."
A long line had already formed at the signing venue, clearly showing Takatsuki Sen's popularity.
The four of them moved forward slowly with the crowd, but the line did not move for quite some time. Only then did Hiro remember that, just like in the original story, she was late.
Speak of the devil. A green-haired woman in a long dress and red high heels hurried into the venue while muttering, "I'm late, I'm late."
Her hair was fluffy and slightly wavy, carrying a hint of unruly disarray. Takatsuki Sen had finally arrived.
After quickly apologizing to the staff, she sat down at the signing table. The event officially began, and the line finally started moving.
After quite a while, it was finally their turn. Hinami stepped forward first.
Takatsuki Sen's eyes lit up. "Oh my, what a cute little girl. What's your name?"
"Hinami."
"What would you like me to write for you, Hinami-chan?"
"Amano Hiro."
Takatsuki Sen's pen paused slightly. "Amano Hiro... Sorry, which characters?"
Hinami tilted her head as she thought. "Amano from the south and palace. Hiro like wide."
"That's a great way to remember it." Takatsuki Sen smiled and raised her pen. She suddenly looked up teasingly. "Is he your boyfriend?"
Hinami's face turned bright red instantly. "N-no! He's big brother..."
"So cute, I'm getting excited." Takatsuki Sen finished writing. "Thank you, Hinami-chan."
"Thank you."
Hinami took the signed book and happily ran back to her mother.
Takatsuki Sen watched her back and murmured softly, "Amano Hiro, hm..."
At that moment, a staff member called out, "Next."
Hiro gently stroked Hinami's hair. "We're going in." He then stepped forward with Rize.
When Takatsuki Sen saw the two approaching side by side, her smile grew even brighter. "Oh my, what a loving couple. What would you like me to write?"
Amano Hiro placed the book on the table and looked at her meaningfully. "Write... Yoshimura Eto."
Takatsuki Sen's smile froze for a split second before quickly returning. "Of course. Which characters would that be?"
Hiro watched her performance with interest. "The leader of Aogiri Tree. The One-Eyed Owl. How could you not know how to write your own name?"
Beside him, Rize could not hide her shock. This famous author was actually the legendary One-Eyed Owl?
Takatsuki Sen, or rather Yoshimura Eto, now confirmed that Amano Hiro knew her true identity.
She put away her smile and asked in a low voice, "How do you know?"
"You can guess," Hiro replied calmly.
Yoshimura Eto was silent for a moment, then smiled again. "Would you like to grab a cup of coffee later?"
Hiro raised an eyebrow. "Inviting a man in front of his companion isn't very appropriate."
She laughed softly. "Then may I invite both of you for coffee? Do you have time?"
Amano Hiro accepted Yoshimura Eto's invitation. Taking the signed book, he left the venue with Rize. The Fueguchi mother and daughter were still waiting outside.
"Hiro-niisan," Hinami happily ran up, "You got your signature too, right? Are we going back together?"
Hiro gently patted her head. "Hinami-chan, why don't you and your mom head back first? Rize-neesan and I still have something to take care of."
Hinami blinked her big eyes and suddenly showed a mischievous smile. "Hiro-niisan is going on a date with Rize-neesan, right?"
Hiro laughed at her innocence. "That's right. It's a date."
"Got it!" Hinami obediently took her mother's hand. "We won't disturb you then. Bye!"
Watching the mother and daughter walk away, Rize softly sighed. "I never imagined such a famous author would be a ghoul. No wonder her works always carry such unique depth. It must be inseparable from her personal experiences."
"To be precise, she's a half-ghoul," Amano Hiro added.
Rize could not hide her shock. "A half-ghoul? That means... one of her parents is human?"
"Correct. Her mother was human. And her father..." Hiro paused slightly, "is the manager of the café."
The news left Rize speechless for a moment. She had never imagined that the gentle shopkeeper and that unconventional author were connected so deeply.
"A half-ghoul could be said to be the perfect existence the Washuu Clan has always dreamed of," Amano Hiro continued. "They do not suffer from the short lifespan of half-humans, yet they possess the power of ghouls and can even consume human food normally."
Rize listened quietly and understood. This indeed aligned with the Washuu family's pursuit of the ultimate form.
However, the birth of a half-ghoul was extremely rare. Yoshimura Eto's existence could be called a miracle among miracles, a one-in-a-million exception formed by countless coincidences.
In the Washuu Clan's long and dark breeding experiments, aside from Washuu Yoshiki, no other half-ghouls had ever been successfully born.
Looking across history, the number of beings called "half-ghouls" could be counted on one hand.
Aside from the first One-Eyed King and Washuu Yoshiki, now only Yoshimura Eto remained, as well as the Kaneki Ichika who originally appeared later.
But now, due to Amano Hiro's appearance, the storyline had deviated, and Kaneki Ichika would not appear.
In the vast majority of cases, offspring born from a human and a ghoul would either be a full ghoul or a powerful but short-lived half-human.
A half-ghoul capable of inheriting the advantages of both sides while being free from their defects had a probability of birth more remote than a meteor falling into one's palm.
Listening to this explanation, Rize could not help but fall into thought.
She finally understood why the Washuu Clan was so obsessed with this nearly impossible goal. The existence of a half-ghoul itself was a miracle that defied common sense.
Perhaps a half-ghoul was no longer merely a so-called perfect lifeform.
They surpassed the limitations of humans and broke through the fate of ghouls.
They were more like a new human emerging on the long road of human evolution, a true existence that shattered boundaries and stepped toward unknown possibilities.