It wasn't until evening that Byakuya and Rize finally left the library and the campus.

Their deep dive into university life had come to an end.

"That's what life as a college student is like. What did you think?"

Byakuya asked for Rize's thoughts.

"It was pretty nice. More interesting than staying cooped up at home every day."

Rize replied.

"Good. When the time is right, I'll get you enrolled at Kamii University directly—or another university if you prefer."

The method was actually quite simple: overthrow the Washuu Clan and claim their position.

Such a thing would be easy for him now—he just didn't want to do it yet.

In Byakuya's plan, he intended to first secure the system rewards for being promoted to Associate Special Class and Special Class, and establish enough prestige within the CCG. Only then would he make his move against the Washuu Clan.

That way, he'd have all the rewards he was entitled to, and the CCG would remain intact.

The Washuu Clan had to go, but humanity needed a force to oppose ghouls. Without it, there'd be no way to restrain those ghouls who were "evil" by nature.

With him at the helm, even if the Washuu Clan suddenly collapsed, the CCG wouldn't devolve into chaos.

"Nowhere else—just Kamii University. And you have to be there with me."

Rize immediately demanded.

"Alright... I was planning to go back and continue my studies anyway."

Byakuya said.

"Mm."

Rize nodded, satisfied.

[Ding! Through the Host's influence, Kamishiro Rize has developed an interest in attending school. Reward: 100 Fusion Points!]

Getting Rize to willingly attend school was no small feat. Byakuya also noticed the system was becoming increasingly generous with its Fusion Points—definitely a good thing.

...

Ward 20, ":re."

After several days, Eto Yoshimura visited the coffee shop again.

She didn't come daily, but given the relationship between her and Yoshimura, visiting every few days was already significant progress.

"Hinami-chan, Mayu-chan—it's been a few days! Did you miss me?"

The moment she walked in, Eto waved at the two girls with a smile.

"Ah! Eto-nee, you finally came again!"

Hinami's face lit up with delight.

"Eto-nee."

Mayu also wore a welcoming expression.

"How nice. I was worried no one would miss this old lady."

Eto said.

"How could that be? Both Byakuya-oniichan and I missed you so much!"

Hinami said immediately.

"That guy, huh... Speaking of which, where is he? Didn't come to the shop today?"

Eto glanced around but saw no sign of Byakuya.

"Oniichan didn't come today. He's working at the CCG now, so he's probably really busy?"

Hinami said.

"At the CCG, huh..."

Eto nodded slightly, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

She suddenly felt like visiting the CCG for a bit of fun. She was bored anyway.

Ever since Byakuya had derailed her plans, the burden of changing the world had essentially been taken over by him—though for someone like him, it probably wasn't much of a burden...

In any case, Eto had nothing to do now. Besides writing manuscripts and slacking off at Aogiri Tree, she was restless with boredom.

Since she had nothing better to do, she might as well go find some entertainment.

"Sorry, Hinami-chan, but I suddenly feel like going to the CCG to mess with that idiot brother of yours. I'll come back later to hang out with you two."

Eto said.

"That's fine, but can I come too?"

Hinami asked.

"I don't think so. The CCG has RC Detection Gates that can identify ghouls. If you went there, you'd basically be turning yourself in."

Eto explained.

"Oh, right..."

Hinami had momentarily forgotten about the RC Detection Gates.

But then she realized—wasn't Eto-nee also a ghoul?

Why did she seem so unconcerned about the gates?

Hinami didn't know yet that Yoshimura's wife had been human, and therefore didn't know Eto was a human-ghoul hybrid.

Even if she did know, she probably wouldn't understand the characteristics of such hybrids...

...

Eto left the coffee shop and headed straight for the CCG branch.

She remembered that Byakuya now worked at the Ward 20 CCG Branch and had recently been promoted to Branch Director—the highest-ranking leader in the ward.

His next step was simply waiting for the Promotion Ceremony to advance to Associate Special Class.

Meanwhile, Byakuya was indeed at the Ward 20 Branch.

[Ding! Host has become the Branch Director of the Ward 20 CCG Branch. Reward: 100 Fusion Points!]

Back when he was promoted to First Class Investigator, he'd received 40 Fusion Points. Now that he'd become the administrator of an entire ward, receiving this many points was perfectly reasonable.

After all, there were only 22 Branch Directors across all of Tokyo. Though there were 24 wards, Ward 1 housed the CCG Main Office and had no Branch Director—only the Bureau Director—while Ward 24 was an underground labyrinth with no CCG branch at all.

Having recently become Ward 20's Branch Director, Byakuya had more administrative duties to handle.

But compared to other wards, things were actually quite relaxed. Ward 20 had the "(New) Anteiku," and the Owl Suppression Operation had just concluded. There were practically no predation cases occurring.

The matters he had to deal with were the same old topics: the "Binge Eater," the "Gourmet," the "Non-Killing Owl," and "Madara," who was closely connected to these ghouls—in other words, himself...

So Byakuya didn't come to the office every day. Today he just happened to be processing some accumulated work.

As for Akira Mado, she was currently working alongside him in a private office—a small perk of his position as Branch Director.

"Branch Director Amaha."

Just then, a staff member entered Byakuya's office to report. "A young woman claiming to be the author 'Sen Takatsuki' has arrived at our branch. She specifically asked to interview you, Branch Director Amaha."

"Sen Takatsuki...?"

Hearing this report, Akira's instincts immediately stirred.

...

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