"…I repelled a Ghoul? Me?"
"Yes! You were so, so cool~."
Miina's eyes were sparkling as she spoke, but I couldn't bring myself to believe a word of it. How could I have chased off a Ghoul? I had killed one before, yes, but Hitokawa told me that thing was barely a B-rate—trash that was a dime a dozen in the Ghoul world. Even then, I'd nearly died and only survived because of Eto's help.
And you're telling me that while I was passed out drunk, I just stood up and drove one away? There was either a massive misunderstanding, or Miina had been so drunk herself that she'd hallucinated the whole thing. It was far more likely that Hitokawa had managed to chase it off and she'd mistakenly credited me.
While I was processing this, Eto nodded in agreement for the first time, siding with Miina.
"Of course! My Daddy is the coolest person in the whole world!"
"...."
A declaration filled with the absolute purity of a child. Her voice held such unwavering conviction in that "truth" that I felt my face begin to simmer. I was literally turning beet-red from embarrassment. To hide my flushing face, I looked away and addressed Miina.
"What happened after that?"
"Just as Tomoru-kun intended, the CCG people who sensed the commotion came rushing in~. They investigated this and that, and I answered all their questions honestly~. They must have thought I was just a civilian caught up in a Ghoul's freakish whim, because they let me go pretty quickly. I guess they thought the same about you, since you were too drunk to even wake up. They didn't even bother to rouse you for questioning. Tomoru-kun, on the other hand, had to stay for a long time—partly because he'd faced the Ghoul and partly because of that car he smashed. He didn't get released until dawn, and that's when we came back to your place together~."
"Wait."
Something sounded wrong. If what she said was true, the ones who came back to the house weren't just Miina and me....
"Hitokawa came here with us?"
"Of course~! How could a weak, defenseless woman like me carry a grown man all by herself?~ He came along to help carry you and show me the way. I managed to catch some shut-eye while we waited, but Tomoru-kun was perfectly fine even though he hadn't slept a wink during the investigation. Ghoul Investigators really are incredible~."
"...."
"...Daddy?"
It wasn't until Eto peered up at me that I realized I'd gone silent. What was this? This sickening sensation in my gut....
"Did Hitokawa leave right away?"
"Hmm~? I'm not sure. I saw a comfortable-looking bed and immediately did a swan dive into sleep, so I didn't see~."
Who do you think you are, taking over someone else's bed before the owner? I pushed that thought aside for later.
"...."
An unnatural silence hung in the air. The unease grew until it felt like a physical obstruction in my throat. Let's look at the facts. Hitokawa, Miina, and I were attacked by a Ghoul last night. Right next to a CCG branch.
"...That Insect-Masked Ghoul. You said it was a new discovery?"
"Yep! I heard the CCG people talking; apparently, it is."
"...."
"Daddy? What's wrong?"
Eto tugged at my sleeve, noticing my expression hardening. I reached out to soothe her, but my hand stopped mid-air. Can't you feel it? The small 'ripple' spreading across our peaceful daily life.
A stone is cast into a mirror-still lake, creating a ripple that soon spreads to consume the entire surface. The ripple has already begun. The stone has been thrown, and it has already sunk. Without my knowledge. In a way I cannot counter. The lake is the life I live.
What is the stone?
"...When the investigators questioned you, what did they ask?"
"Eh? Just the usual, boring formalities~. My name, where I live, if I have any grudges with Ghouls, if anything weird has happened lately, my three sizes, things like that~."
"I see..."
"...Wait, are you just going to ignore my hilarious joke in the middle of all that?"
I ignored Miina's rambling. They had asked purely formal questions. Despite Miina's claim that I "repelled" the monster, they didn't even bother to wake me up. Hitokawa, however, was held for a long time. And then he brought both Miina and me home. This part bothered me most.
'We were released too easily.'
Even if we were just caught up in it, it was an attack near a CCG branch. Normally, it wouldn't end so simply. It's hard to believe a Ghoul would take such a massive risk to attack without a reason. They would usually investigate the victims thoroughly to find a connection. But they didn't. Which means....
I leaned into Eto's ear and whispered, making sure Miina couldn't hear.
"Eto, do you smell anything strange?"
"A smell? Hmm..."
Eto whispered back, sniffing the air. After a moment, her brow knit slightly and she looked toward the window.
"...Now that you mention it, I smell something weird coming from outside. It's a bit like the smell Mr. Hitokawa has...? That kind of scent."
"...."
Now I was certain. This was a 'bait' operation. Since the Ghoul had risked everything to attack us, the CCG decided there must be a 'purpose.' They concluded it might come for us again.
'They decided it was more efficient to use us as bait to draw the Ghoul out than to try and investigate an unverified connection.'
It was infuriating to be used like this without consent, but for now, I kept my mouth shut. This wasn't the stone that caused the ripple.
The ripple shaking my quiet life started from something smaller. Not from the 𝘘 𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 delivery. Not from the Ghoul attack.
It came from something more fundamental. The very root and vital point of my daily life. The one place I would risk my life to protect—that was where the stone had fallen.
"...?"
Eto looked up at me with worry. Looking at her, I realized it.
The stone that caused the ripple was that.
"Eto!! The house! Is there anywhere inside the house with that smell?!"
I sprang to my feet, no longer caring about Miina. Eto looked startled by my sudden intensity, but I was too desperate to care—even though I knew that if she said yes, it was already too late.
"Eh? No, I don't smell anything in the ho.... Wait?"
As Eto scanned the room, her gaze stopped at the ceiling.
"...Why do I smell Mr. Hitokawa in 'that place'?"
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱-𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱!
I bolted up the stairs to the second floor. My destination was my bedroom, the site of this morning's commotion. The place where 'it' had been exposed for just a fleeting second.
𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨!!
I wrenched the door open and scanned the room. The bookshelf filled with novels and magazines, the desk with my ledger and lamp, the carpet I'd replaced a week ago, and the unmade, messy bed. It looked exactly as it had after the morning's minor incident.
"𝘏𝘢𝘩… 𝘩𝘢𝘩…"
I panted, my head whipping around.
There stood a large wardrobe.
The darkness peeking through its slightly ajar door felt as ominous as staring down into a bottomless abyss from the edge of a cliff.
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱! 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱!
My heart refused to slow down. I took one step, then another, toward the wardrobe. With every footfall, the hammering in my chest intensified. Please, please, please... I repeated the word a hundred, a thousand times in my head as I reached for the handle.
Just as my fingers were about to close around it...
"...When we were kids, I always lost to you at hide-and-seek. You'd always say I hid in the most obvious places."
"...!!!"
I couldn't speak. I couldn't move a single finger. I felt as though my very breath had stopped.
"I guess my hiding skills haven't improved much. You realized I was in the house and came running straight here, didn't you?"
𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘬....
The door opened on its own, without me even touching the handle. I stumbled back a step as the figure emerged from the darkness of the wardrobe.
"Hitokawa..."
"When the CCG brought up the idea of using you guys as bait to catch the Insect Ghoul, I fought against it. I really did. But rank is everything in this job. In the end, I had to follow orders, but I told myself… I told myself I'd apologize to you properly later."
Hitokawa stepped onto the bedroom floor with a bitter smile. I wanted to say something, but my jaw was locked. A thousand thoughts swirled in my mind, a chaotic mess of possible excuses and explanations. But nothing came. I hadn't been this disoriented or confused since the day of my final blowout with my father.
"Since we were acquainted, I was assigned to guard you and the girl. I saw you both sleeping in the bed and decided this wardrobe would be a good spot. I might have dozed off for a second, but I stayed alert, I promise. Then morning came... and I saw something strange."
"Hitokawa..."
"At first, I thought I was seeing things. I rubbed my eyes over and over, wondering if something had gotten in them, but 'it' was definitely there. It vanished after a moment, but it's burned into my mind so clearly it won't go away... 'That eye'."
"Hitokawa."
"Hey, Koma.... We've known each other for over ten years, haven't we? I consider you a friend, and I never doubted for a second that you felt the same. So, please. Answer me truthfully."
"HITOKAWA!!"
I shouted his name, my voice thick with desperation, but he didn't stop. His gaze shifted past me. He looked toward the door, where Eto—who had chased after me out of worry—was now peeking into the room with a terrified expression.
His gaze was different now. The Hitokawa who treated her with kindness and familiarity despite her coldness was gone. In his place was a stranger with eyes and a voice so cold it felt foreign.
"Eto.... Is she a Ghoul?"
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥.
The stone cast into the lake shatters the silence of the day.