"You’re not planning to just blurt that out to her face, are you? She’s still a girl—at least spare her some dignity..."

Rize continued whispering her reminder to Byakuya.

One thing at a time—she bore no ill will toward Kanae and didn’t want Byakuya’s bluntness to mortify her.

"Mm..."

Byakuya nodded slightly, then addressed Kanae: "Kanae, when I said I could help you revive your family, I meant within the scope of what I can reasonably do. I wouldn’t put you in any... difficult positions."

He was being quite tactful. Surely Kanae could understand.

"..."

Kanae froze for a moment, seeming to comprehend: "Oh, I see..."

She realized she’d misunderstood her master’s meaning.

I got carried away with my own delusions again!

Kanae felt so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.

Fortunately, Byakuya had been diplomatic enough not to spell things out explicitly in front of Kurona and Nashiro. Otherwise, she might have died of shame.

From there, they returned to the main topic.

"In any case, I’m still preparing for the ’Infinite Tsukuyomi.’ The preparation time won’t be too long, but it’s not short either."

Byakuya said: "During this period, just live your normal lives. Don’t worry too much, and don’t worry about me. For me, it’s mainly just a matter of time."

Byakuya had explained things clearly enough to Rize and the others—he simply hadn’t mentioned the System or Fusion Points.

"With your current capabilities, there’s really nothing to worry about."

Rize said.

Anyone who’d witnessed Byakuya’s strength wouldn’t worry about his safety anymore. At this point, he was essentially invincible.

"We still haven’t even seen your full power. You’re always so secretive..."

Rize sighed.

She suddenly remembered how she’d once planned to seduce Byakuya and then eat him. Looking back, how foolish she’d been...

But she’d also inadvertently been saved because of that foolish idea. If not for that, she’d probably have been ambushed by Nimura Furuta sooner or later, ending up the same as Washuu Chika...

"Yeah, Byakuya was already this amazing even back when he was going through training with me and Nashiro as a rookie. He beat us so badly."

Kurona said with a hint of complaint in her voice.

"But we also got to be under Byakuya-oniichan’s care because of that."

Nashiro added.

She understood that without Byakuya, she and Kurona might have been deceived by Kanou and fallen completely into darkness...

"True, I can’t deny that..."

Kurona couldn’t argue with that.

Besides, she’d just been griping a little. Deep down, she’d always been grateful to Byakuya.

With that, Rize and the others now understood what they needed to do going forward...

Which was essentially nothing. Just live their lives properly. They’d only operate as Akatsuki members when needed.

Time returns to the present.

Today, Byakuya came to the Ward 20 CCG Branch again. This was the day Squad Zero would be leading the new recruits on their training exercise in Ward 24.

This batch of trainees would rendezvous with them at the Ward 20 Branch.

The Squad Zero members had already arrived early. Aside from Kishou Arima and Koori Ui, who weren’t participating, Hairu Ihei, Shio Ihei, Rikai Souzu, and Yusa Arima were all present.

And of course, Byakuya as acting captain.

"Byakuya-san, we finally get to work together!"

Shio seemed very happy, grinning as he spoke to Byakuya.

Since Byakuya had joined Squad Zero, this was his first group operation with them—hence Shio’s excitement.

"Shio’s the same as always—so happy whenever he hears he gets to work with Amaha-san."

Yusa remarked.

"I’m also happy to work with Amaha-san."

Rikai spoke up.

"Oh... is that so..."

Hearing Rikai say this caught Yusa somewhat off guard.

Something must have happened between Rikai and Amaha-san when he wasn’t around.

"Byakuya-senpai~"

Hairu was all smiles too: "Come to think of it, Byakuya-senpai was doing training exercises with us as a rookie not so long ago, and now he’s suddenly become captain."

"Acting captain."

Byakuya corrected casually.

"Same thing. Honestly, I still find ’Byakuya-senpai’ the most natural to say."

Hairu laughed.

"Call me whatever you want."

Byakuya said.

Never mind Hairu—even he found "Acting Captain Amaha" a bit awkward.

It was like how Takizawa Seidou had addressed Akira as "Squad Leader Aide Mado" on the battlefield. The Japanese were particular about honorifics—subordinates generally weren’t allowed to address superiors casually.

"Hairu-nee seems to be on really good terms with Byakuya-san already?"

Shio asked curiously.

He remembered that at first, Hairu barely spoke to Byakuya-san—at most she’d just stare at him frequently...

"Of course. He’s Byakuya-senpai, after all."

Hairu replied.

"..."

Yusa suddenly realized that apparently, aside from himself, everyone else in Squad Zero had already gotten close to Amaha-san.

Even Hairu, who was normally cold to outsiders, was now calling him "Byakuya-senpai" at every turn.

Meanwhile, he himself had barely exchanged words with Amaha-san...

Though Yusa tended to be quiet and reserved, he still felt he should at least build good rapport with his teammates—especially since Amaha-san was now acting captain.

Essentially, this meant that whenever Arima-san wasn’t around, Amaha-san would be managing all of Squad Zero.

"Amaha-san, based on the schedule, this batch of recruits should be arriving soon."

Yusa addressed Byakuya.

He didn’t know any clever ways to get closer, so he figured he’d just... talk to Amaha-san more.

"Good. Let’s wait here and rest while they arrive."

Byakuya nodded.

A short while later, just as Yusa had predicted, the new trainees arrived.

There were over a dozen of them, including Tooru Mutsuki, Saiko Yonebayashi, Ginshi Shirazu, and Kuki Urie.

...

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