"What's the matter, coming here in the middle of the night, Mister Kuzen?"
"My apologies. I have circumstances on my side that I can't simply ignore."
Just as I was about to turn the page of the novel I'd been obsessed with lately, an unexpected visitor appeared.
He hadn't come through the front door. He'd come through the window.
The one-room apartment I lived in was five floors above ground. Someone entering through the window would have been shocking to anyone else, but I wasn't all that surprised.
If the man who came in had been a real human, I would have been startled. But if it was a Ghoul, it wasn't such a big deal.
Ghoul.
A monster that hides in human society wearing a human face, and devours humans.
By nature, an enemy that had no choice but to stand opposed to humans.
And I happened to be friends with one of those natural enemies. There was a bit of an age gap, though...
"A-bu~"
"Hm?"
Just as I was trying to catch the next part of the book while half-watching Mister Kuzen come in, a babbling sound that didn't fit the atmosphere reached my ears.
When I looked up, I saw Mister Kuzen inside the room, closing the window.
His lips were pressed into a hard line, his sharp eyes reminded me of a quiet predator, and the fine wrinkles etched into his face carried the marks of time. His black fedora, worn low, and his black coat fluttered in the night wind like raven wings.
It was unmistakably the Kuzen I knew.
He was much gentler now, but when we first met, he'd had a far more difficult presence to approach.
Kuzen closed the window and glanced outside as if checking something. There was a sense of crisis in that movement that I didn't usually see in him.
Then, perhaps deciding there was no problem, he turned around with a light sigh. Only then did I notice what he was holding in his arms.
"A baby?"
There was no mistaking it.
It was a baby with pale skin, rosy cheeks, and an angelic face, sleeping sweetly with its eyes closed.
"It's a child of mine and Ukina's."
"Oh! Really? Congratulations! So you and Ms. Ukina had a child too... wait, Ms. Ukina and you!?"
At first I was genuinely about to congratulate him on having a child, but then I realized something was very wrong and raised my voice.
"J-just a second! Ms. Ukina is human, isn't she!? Is it even possible for a human and a Ghoul to have a child!?"
"It was a miracle she brought about."
Kuzen was smiling as he looked down at the baby, but his eyes were full of sorrow.
Seeing that, a bad feeling crept into my head.
Praying I was wrong, I opened my mouth.
"Mister Kuzen... where is Ms. Ukina right now?"
"..."
"Mister Kuzen?"
"..."
Kuzen lowered his head, hiding his expression.
But the hand clenched so tightly that blood seemed ready to seep out, trembling faintly, spoke more clearly than anything else about how he felt.
I closed the book I'd been holding and let out a deep sigh. This was no time to be reading.
"What do you need me to do?"
"..."
"You came here because you needed my help with something, didn't you? I can't even imagine how dangerous the world around you is, Mister Kuzen... but if it's something I can do, I'll help."
"Hoo..."
Kuzen exhaled, steadying his emotions, then lifted his head.
"Koma. You are the only person, aside from Ukina, who approached me even after learning I was a Ghoul. That is why I want to ask you."
Kuzen held out the baby in his arms toward me and continued.
"Please take care of this child."
"No, that's impossible."
.................
I waved my hands and refused.
Apparently he hadn't expected me to turn him down so bluntly, because Mister Kuzen was making an incredible face.
"What's your reason! Didn't you just say you'd help me!?"
"I clearly added, 'something I can do,' didn't I!? Childcare for a lone high school student who hasn't even graduated yet? What kind of hardcore quest are you trying to dump on me!!"
"You're the only one! The place where I was supposed to meet Noroi, my former comrade, has already been discovered by the organization, so I can't leave this child with him anymore!! If I want to guarantee this child's safety, you're the only one who can take them!!"
"Don't give up!! There has to be someone more reliable to leave a baby with than some loser who only sits in a corner reading books or playing games on days he doesn't have school!!"
"If there were such a person, I wouldn't be arguing with you here!!"
"Damn it!! Is having no friends something to brag about!?"
There was probably no other human in the entire world who would argue with a Ghoul like this while being nothing more than a powerless ordinary person and not even a Ghoul Investigator.
Then, perhaps because our shouting had gotten too loud, the baby let out a whimper and cut in.
"Hiiing..."
"Ugh..."
"..."
Kuzen and I hurriedly shut our mouths. Perhaps relieved that it had gone quiet, the baby soon returned to soft, even breathing and fell asleep again.
After confirming that, I lowered my voice so I wouldn't wake the baby.
"...Mister, you're an incredibly strong Ghoul, right? Isn't there some way you could keep the baby with you?"
"That's impossible... The power of the 'organization' is not something to take lightly. I can't even guarantee my own life right now."
"Ugh, this damn world..."
After cursing under my breath and venting my frustration, I took the baby from Kuzen's arms.
If this had been a human baby, it would have smelled like powdered milk. But the strange fishy scent that pricked at my nose proved this baby was a Ghoul.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to take care of them?"
"Yes. From the organization's perspective, you and I have no contact whatsoever. If I hide well, there will never be any trouble that reaches you."
"No, that's not what I mean..."
I sighed and went on.
"This child... they're going to have to grow up without parents."
The mother was dead, and the father was in a position where he had to flee while his life was under threat.
Even if Mister Kuzen managed to return safely, there was no telling whether that would be in a few years or not. If things went badly, he might never come back at all.
"...You become the parent."
"I'm human, you know?"
"Would an ordinary human become friends with a Ghoul? Besides, this child is half human."
"Still, if I can smell blood, that means they need 'nutrition,' right?"
"...I'm sorry."
"Forget it. Starting tomorrow, I guess I'll have to search the internet for suicide spots."
Even beyond that, there were mountains of worries already threatening to crush me: childcare, what to do with the baby while I was at school, how to hide them from my parents, and so on.
"What's the name?"
"Eto. I named her with the meaning, 'May countless affections support this child.'"
"I'll do my best with that too."
Flap.
With a relieved expression after hearing my answer, Mister Kuzen made his black coat billow and started to head back out through the window.
"Hey, Mister. You should at least say goodbye to your child."
"...What kind of parent am I if I can't even stay by her side?"
"You're the type who needs to check whether parenthood comes with qualifications?"
"..."
At that, Kuzen hesitated for a moment, then looked back at the baby and said, "I will definitely come back alive... Eto."
Whoosh!
Then he leapt out the window and vanished into the darkness of the city.
Waving him off, I turned to face the baby, who had already woken up and was staring at me with bright, alert eyes.
I stroked her cheek with a finger and said, "I'm Takaki Koma. Nice to meet you from now on, Eto."
"Baaah~!"
Eto smiled brightly in answer to my words, and then...
Crunch!
...bit my finger.
Then she sucked at the blood seeping from the wound like it was milk.
'Yeah. I should probably start by teaching her restraint when it comes to cannibalism. Otherwise, I feel like I'm going to get eaten first...'