Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Making an Appearance

Downstairs, Eto got along harmoniously with the staff.

Even though people like Kaya Irimi, Enji Koma, and Renji Yomo all knew that Eto’s true identity was Aogiri Tree’s "One-Eyed Owl."

But everyone tacitly refrained from commenting on it.

After all, while Eto was indeed the One-Eyed Owl, she was also the manager’s daughter...

If the manager had no objections, they had nothing to say either.

Even when facing Roma Hoito, Eto could maintain a cheerful smile on the surface.

Roma, of course, was also just putting on an act, exchanging pleasantries.

Then Eto noticed Washuu Chika sitting and reading a book...

She’d seen Washuu Chika before at Dr. Kanou’s underground laboratory, so she remembered her.

Intrigued, Eto asked Kaya Irimi beside her: "Miss Irimi, that girl over there—she’s also one of our staff, right?"

"Yes, that’s Rize-san’s younger sister, Chika Kamishiro."

Kaya nodded.

"Chika Kamishiro..."

Eto smiled with amusement.

"Don’t stir up trouble..."

Byakuya spoke up from nearby.

"I won’t. I know better than that."

Eto smiled lightly.

But Byakuya still felt like she was up to no good...

"Miss Chika—I can call you that, right?"

Eto walked over to Chika and initiated a greeting.

"Huh...?"

Chika looked up at the unfamiliar green-haired girl before her.

"Hello. I’m one of Dr. Kanou’s collaborators. Dr. Kanou says he misses you very much, so he asked me to check on how you’re doing, Miss Chika."

Eto said with a smile.

But these words were anything but friendly.

"..."

Byakuya felt helpless. So she really was trying to stir up trouble.

The moment she heard "Dr. Kanou," Chika’s face went pale with terror.

She immediately hid behind Byakuya, terrified that Eto would take her away and subject her to that torture again.

"Alright, alright, stop teasing her. That’s too cruel—scaring someone with that kind of thing right off the bat."

Byakuya addressed Eto.

"It’s not that bad. I was just having a little fun with Miss Chika."

Eto said.

"Hm?..."

Only then did Chika realize the situation might not be as dire as she’d thought. She looked at Eto with confusion, wondering who this girl was.

"Let me give you a proper introduction. I’m the manager’s daughter, Eto Yoshimura."

At this point, Eto suddenly leaned close and whispered in Chika’s ear: "...And I’m also the ’One-Eyed Owl’ that your ’Washuu’ have been trying so hard to catch..."

Hearing this, Chika froze.

"But don’t misunderstand—I mean you no harm. After all, you’re not one of their accomplices anymore. I just wanted to get to know you."

Eto smiled.

Only then did Chika finally relax.

She mentally breathed a sigh of relief—she’d thought for sure Eto had come seeking revenge.

"You seem quite comfortable here in my father’s café."

Eto remarked.

"Yes, the manager is a very kind person. He takes good care of all of us..."

Chika replied.

But halfway through her sentence, Byakuya suddenly covered her mouth.

Because saying such things in front of Eto wasn’t wise...

"Is that so? How nice..."

Eto’s smile remained, but internally she was growing irritated.

Think about it—Manager Yoshimura taking such good care of everyone at Anteiku, while neglecting Eto, his own flesh and blood. At least, that’s how it looked from Eto’s perspective.

Of course, she knew that Yoshimura had been secretly protecting her for the past ten years. The "One-Eyed Owl" that had attacked CCG branches three times was obviously him—she could figure that out with her eyes closed. She’d even set aside her hatred once, wanting to meet Yoshimura, deliberately bringing her debut novel along, perhaps hoping for his praise and acknowledgment...

The result? Well, everyone knows what happened. (Note: Not going to rehash that again.)

"Look, why don’t you just join Anteiku... no wait, it’s ’:re’ now. Wouldn’t that solve everything?"

Byakuya skillfully changed the subject.

"...Dream on."

Eto rolled her eyes at Byakuya. "Seeing that old man every day would make me sick. I’ll only come visit when I’m in a good mood."

Mainly because joining ":re" would be meaningless for her. This was Yoshimura’s café—she could come and go as she pleased.

Her willingness to join Byakuya’s Akatsuki organization was because she needed his power to achieve her wish—to change this nonsensical world.

Afterward, Eto went to chat with Hinami about her works.

She was also gathering material from Hinami.

She was planning to write a new work featuring a ghoul as the protagonist. Her original plan was to use that new work to expose the Washuu Clan’s true nature, but now she felt she should wait and see what Byakuya did.

For instance, if Byakuya eliminated the Washuu Clan first, then whether she exposed them or not wouldn’t matter much.

"Speaking of which... I gave you plenty of face today, didn’t I? So shouldn’t you come make an appearance at Aogiri Tree?"

Eto said to Byakuya: "Of course, you can choose to reveal your true identity only in front of people you trust."

She herself didn’t reveal her true face to Aogiri Tree members either.

"’Gave me face’? You clearly wanted to come here yourself. I even gave you a way to save face."

Byakuya retorted.

If he hadn’t proposed that request and given Eto a face-saving excuse, she probably wouldn’t have come even if she’d wanted to—her pride and strained relationship with Yoshimura would have stopped her.

Eto shot Byakuya an exasperated glare: "Even if that’s true, you don’t have to say it out loud!..."

"Ahem..."

Byakuya said calmly: "Anyway, I’ll make another trip to your Aogiri Tree. After all, we’ll be merging soon. Also, you can actually reveal your identity to them then—not your true face, but your identity as the ’One-Eyed Owl’..."

...

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