[Ding! Host successfully recruited Nishiki Nishio to join ":re (New Anteiku)." Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]

Before Nishiki even said anything, the system notification chimed in Byakuya's head.

Meaning Nishiki had already decided to join Anteiku.

This didn't surprise Byakuya. With a girlfriend like Kimi, Nishiki's mindset was bound to change.

"Well then, Rize and I will keep wandering around campus."

Feeling they'd covered enough ground, Byakuya addressed Nishiki.

"Alright, see you around."

"See you."

Byakuya stood and left with Rize.

After they were gone, Nishiki couldn't help but marvel. "Unbelievable. A couple like that actually exists."

"Nishiki, I'm a bit confused. Are they really that unusual?"

Kimi spoke up.

"You've heard of Amaha Byakuya—he's been called the CCG's strongest investigator lately. He fought in the Owl Suppression Operation in Ward 20 and earned top honors."

Nishiki explained. "And his girlfriend isn't just any ghoul—she's extremely brutal. There might only be a handful of ghouls in this world more vicious than her."

"I see..."

Now Kimi understood why Nishiki had reacted so strongly.

...

"After lunch, sometimes there are afternoon classes, but usually if you have morning classes, the afternoon is free. Let's say today's a free afternoon—we can go wherever you want. How about the library?"

Byakuya suggested.

"Sure. Let's see if there are any books that interest me."

Rize agreed.

Kamii University's library was open to the public—anyone could enter. But borrowing books required proper credentials.

Rize followed Byakuya inside.

Though it was open to everyone, most people who actually came to read were students. A fair number treated it as a study hall.

Rize browsed the shelves, looking for something that caught her interest.

But books that suited her taste were rare. Her main criterion was that dark aesthetic like Sen Takatsuki's work—if it wasn't sufficiently dark and bloody, she wasn't interested.

Even though Japanese universities weren't strict about such content, books meeting her standards were scarce.

After a long search, Rize finally found two or three that seemed passable.

"Next time, maybe just ask Takatsuki Sen herself for recommendations. She probably knows plenty of books you'd like."

Byakuya offered.

"No need."

Rize declined.

"No need? She'd probably know lots of books up your alley."

Byakuya was puzzled. Rize rarely rejected his suggestions these days, since he never made random ones.

"I said no need, so no need. I'm not as interested in her as you are."

Rize turned away, looking like she didn't want to talk to him.

"..."

It dawned on Byakuya—Rize seemed a little jealous.

He wasn't entirely sure, but it felt that way.

"Rize... are you jealous?"

He asked directly.

"..."

At first, Rize seemed unwilling to admit it. But then she grabbed his collar.

"Yes, I'm jealous. So—can you help settle it? You know what to do, don't you?"

Facing her aggressive stance, Byakuya immediately understood what she wanted.

He said awkwardly, "There are students everywhere. This might not be the best place..."

They were in the study area, surrounded by other students. Doing that here would attract every eye in the room.

"What's wrong with that? You're powerful enough—do you really need to care what others think?"

Rize pressed on relentlessly.

"..."

Byakuya gave up resisting.

True, he didn't need to care about others' opinions.

He just didn't want to do this kind of thing in a library.

But Rize was being insistent, and he couldn't refuse.

He stopped overthinking and simply gave Rize what she wanted—a gentle kiss.

He'd planned to pull back after a brief touch, but Rize wrapped her arms around him and wouldn't let go...

If it had been just a quick peck, not many people would have noticed.

But now... every student in the vicinity was staring.

Quite a few of them were single, and their jaws dropped.

"Are those two kissing over there? In a library, no less..."

"So envious... wait, no, how shameless! Doing that here..."

"But the library doesn't have a rule against couples kissing, does it? We don't have to watch, though I'm too basic not to look."

"Same here. Let me watch first."

"..."

Only when Rize started running out of breath did she finally let go.

Who knows how long that had lasted.

A faint smile graced Rize's face as she greedily licked her lips, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"Great, now everyone's staring..."

Byakuya sighed.

While he didn't need to care about others' opinions, in the eyes of everyone who didn't know better, he'd just lost all sense of decorum. He did care about that, at least a little.

"Who cares? As long as we're happy."

Rize couldn't have cared less.

Propriety meant nothing to her.

Before meeting Byakuya, all these humans were nothing more than food she could slaughter at will. Would you care about the judgmental gaze of a pot of chicken? 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Alright, alright. Let's actually read now."

Byakuya said. "We won't bother checking these books out—just buy them elsewhere. The library lending process is more hassle than it's worth."

"Mm."

Rize didn't argue further.

She read while humming a cheerful little tune, her mood clearly lifted.

...

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