The leader of [En], Koma Enji.
The leader of Black Doberman, Irimi Kaya.
The leaders of two groups that had long been at each other's throats had met in the same place.
They hadn't gathered to settle their grudge in a life-or-death duel to finally end their long feud; they were no longer in a position to do that.
It was a favor Kuzen had asked of them—a favor they owed him and desperately wanted to repay. They were eager to get it done, but of all people, the one making the request had ended up getting on their nerves.
When the two of them made no effort to hide their murderous intent and attempted to wreck the house, an angry Koma threw them out and locked the door. He told them that regardless of their circumstances, if they didn't sort things out between themselves before returning, he wouldn't even see them.
From Enji and Kaya's perspective, this was enough to drive them insane.
In the world of Ghouls, where killing and being killed was routine, the easiest way to resolve a conflict was for one party to die.
That way, the group that lost its leader would collapse, and the survivor could finally wash away years of stewing frustration by driving the other side out.
The problem was that Koma would never accept such a resolution.
Angry or not, the two of them were guests sent by Kuzen.
Now, imagine one of those guests returning after personally burying the other. What kind of host would welcome that with open arms?
In the end, the only option left to Enji and Kaya was to find a way to coexist without killing each other.
First, they decided to try talking.
"Get lost."
"You get lost."
Naturally, the conversation that followed was short and vicious.
After thinking it over, they realized the best solution was for one of them to swallow their pride and back down.
With no opponent left, there would be no conflict to settle, and the one who remained would only have to fulfill their promise to Kuzen.
Of course, the one who backed down would be in a truly miserable position. That was why they spent their time growling at each other, demanding the other retreat.
If it were up to them, they would have thrown everything away just to kill one another. But these were leaders—people who knew how to suppress their instincts for profit rather than being swept away by emotion.
If they stayed like this, nothing would be solved; they would simply continue running in parallel lines.
No one would die, and neither side could yield. There was only one way to resolve the situation.
"..."
"..."
Enji and Kaya both twisted their faces in disgust at the same time. They had come to the same conclusion.
It was a method they hated more than death, but for now, there was no more efficient solution.
**
A week after I'd thrown Enji and Kaya out, the two of them returned to the house.
"..."
"Haha..."
"Hoho..."
An awkward silence and strained laughter drifted through the room.
I wondered if this was a side effect of staying up late reading the novel Eto had recently become obsessed with writing.
Since childhood, Eto had always had a book in her hands, and perhaps some latent talent had blossomed in that direction. She'd become so absorbed in her writing that she lost all track of time, and my eyes were paying the price.
I pressed my palms against my eyes, then opened them again and looked straight ahead.
Sure enough, there were Enji and Kaya, smiling awkwardly. Their bodies were pressed close together, and they even had their arms draped around each other's shoulders.
So I hadn't been seeing things. The two people who had looked ready to start a war the last time I saw them had somehow become very close.
"...What are you two doing?"
My confusion came out in a polite tone.
"We took your advice and beat the hell out of each other until all the bottled-up feelings were gone."
"That's right. We sweated it out together, and as the evening glow settled in, we confirmed our friendship. We've made up now."
That was what they said, but I could see right through it.
The hand Enji had on Kaya's shoulder was trembling, the tendons standing out as if he were fighting the urge to crush her on the spot.
As for Kaya, goosebumps were rising along the nape of her neck where her skin pressed against Enji's, as if her body were expressing a deep, instinctive rejection.
These idiots weren't reconciled. They were pretending to be.
They hated each other so intensely that it was manifesting in their physical reactions, yet they remained glued together.
At first, I'd planned to throw them out again if they hadn't changed. But they'd gone this far just to get back into the house, so I decided to let them stay for now.
At the very least, if they were willing to endure that much, they wouldn't start tearing into each other inside the house like last time.
And besides, I had prepared something for their return.
"But that child doesn't seem to be here. Has she gone somewhere?"
I could tell the child Kaya meant was Eto.
After seating them at the table, I headed for the kitchen and called back, "Where do you think a kid who just entered middle school would be at this time on a weekday? She's at school studying."
"So you're the only one in this house?"
"And?"
At that, Enji spoke in a tone of disbelief.
"Aren't you afraid? Even if Mr. Kuzen sent us, we're Ghouls, and we're strangers. Is it really all right to let us into your house like this?"
"Oh, so that's what this is about."
Their concern was simple:
With no one but Eto around to protect me, was it really okay to let them in so easily just because of a mutual acquaintance?
To put it bluntly, wasn't it possible they might have other intentions and turn on me? For people who had lived in an environment where trusting others was a death sentence, I must have looked incredibly careless.
I stopped reaching for the glasses and rolled up my sleeve, holding out my right arm to them.
"See this scar?"
"Looks like a bite mark..."
"Right. I was bitten by a Ghoul once. They tore into my flesh and ate it."
I didn't bother mentioning that the Ghoul was Eto. Back then, she was still very young and couldn't control herself, so it had only been a small accident.
"The strange thing about the human body is that when it goes through a crisis, it starts rejecting anything connected to that experience to prevent it from happening again. Like an allergy. Maybe that memory was carved into my body so deeply that something odd happened. When I feel a Ghoul's gaze on me, the scar starts throbbing and hurting."
I waved my arm around as if to prove it.
No matter how I moved it, I felt no pain from the scar—even with two Ghouls staring intently at me.
"It doesn't hurt at all now. Why is that?"
"...Are you saying we're not Ghouls?"
"Of course not. I saw your [Kakugan] flare up last time, and I saw you use your [Kagune] with my own eyes. It's just that you two don't look at me the way ordinary Ghouls do."
"..."
"I mean the gaze that sees me as food. Human flesh is indispensable to a Ghoul's survival, and because that's treated as normal, every Ghoul I've met has had that 'predatory' look mixed into the way they saw me. But you two don't have that. Your bodies have no choice but to eat humans, yet you still acknowledge that humans are beings with minds like your own. Do I really need to fear and guard against people like that? Though, if I'd been hungry, I would've kicked you out or run away immediately."
A well-fed tiger doesn't hunt.
From my point of view, these two were well-fed tigers.
Unlike other beasts that kill and eat for their own amusement and pleasure, they possessed a value system that prevented them from taking more than they needed and acknowledged the sanctity of life to some extent.
To them, I was a rabbit, but at least I was a rabbit who knew that as long as I didn't pull a tiger's whiskers, I'd be safe. That was true both in theory and experience.
So why would I need to be afraid?
I'd felt that from the moment we met, and with Mr. Kuzen as a guarantee, there was no reason to be on guard.
"..."
"..."
Enji and Kaya stared at me blankly. The sharp edge they'd maintained until now was gone, replaced by looks of utter daze.
It was as if they'd encountered some bizarre creature. Perhaps it was the same expression a tiger would make after leaving its jungle for the first time and spotting an elephant—that strange, long-nosed beast.
"Why?"
"N-no..."
"Nothing..."
Enji and Kaya averted their eyes as if they'd agreed on it beforehand and started looking elsewhere.
I thought they were a dull pair, and just then, I began brewing coffee for them.
"Hm...?"
"...!"
I felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere.
When I turned my head, they were both rising to their feet in a tense, uncertain manner, completely unlike their previous demeanor.
Their eyes were fixed on the front door.
"What is it?"
I asked, tilting my head, and Enji answered.
"...Someone's coming."
"Really? It's probably Eto. It's about time she got home."
"It's not just one person."
"There are multiple footsteps."
At their words, I wondered if there was someone else who had planned to visit today. But nothing came to mind.
Then the only possibility left was....
"Don't tell me Eto brought a friend home!?"
I was horrified, but my eyes were shining.
Eto had made weird friends ever since she entered elementary school.
Of course, by weird, I didn't mean delinquents. I meant friends who collected strange, obscure knowledge.
How much trouble had I gone through every time Eto, having learned something bizarre from her friends, came at me with one question after another!
But Eto was in middle school now.
She'd parted ways with her elementary-school troublemakers and finally had the chance to spend her school days in a bright, proper way.
"That's right! You've finally made proper friends instead of those who taught you things like 'the basic skills of a new bride,' 'how to seduce men,' or 'how to squeeze extra New Year's money out of adults,' Eto!"
"What kind of kids are gathering at human schools, anyway?"
"I can feel my faint admiration for schools crumbling."
Leaving behind Enji and Kaya, who couldn't hide their disbelief, I ran to the front door.
I opened it wide without hesitation, and beyond it, as expected, I could see Eto's back.
But contrary to my hopes, the people with her weren't middle school friends.
"I'm telling you, you can't go inside right now!"
"What's with you all of a sudden? You didn't say anything when we ran into each other on the street earlier."
"That was then! But right now, inside the house... anyway, no! No entry!"
"What on earth is your problem? I've got something to tell Koma today, too!"
The person who had come with Eto was... someone I knew very well.
Hitokawa Tomoru. My childhood friend, and a Ghoul Investigator who had recently been promoted to First Rank.
Maybe he'd stopped by while on duty, because he was wearing a white coat and carrying a heavy metal case in one hand.
"Hey, Koma! Got a lover hidden away at home or something? Eto won't let me in at all."
"A-ah, Dad..."
Tomoru, who had been arguing with Eto, spotted me and raised a hand in greeting. Eto, looking flustered, turned her head carefully.
I hid my own sense of dread and glanced back as well.
There were two Ghouls trying to keep their composure in the face of Tomoru's visit, but their expressions were on the verge of collapsing.
Ghouls behind me, a Ghoul Investigator in front of me.
I looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.
"Déjà vu... I feel like I've been through this damn situation before."
Maybe because I was trying to escape reality, I suddenly imagined my father in heaven giving me a thumbs-up.
I really want to break that thumb off.