"Wrong—it was repelled, not defeated."
Byakuya corrected him matter-of-factly.
"Well, it's pretty much the same thing, hehe~"
Shio pointed at something on Byakuya's plate. "That looks really good. Can I try some, Byakuya-san?"
"Sure."
Byakuya picked up the piece of meat with his chopsticks and fed it to Shio.
"Mm~! It really is delicious."
Shio's face was full of satisfied happiness.
While Shio chatted with Byakuya, Amon glanced over and was immediately shocked—this young... boy? (Girl?)... was wearing both the White Single-Wing Badge and the Silver Osmanthus Badge!
This meant they had already eliminated an S-rated ghoul and killed over fifty ghouls in a single year!
Despite appearing so young, their achievements already surpassed his own!
No wonder they were with Arima-san?
"It would've been nice if Amaha had brought back a pair of the Owl's arms too."
Just then, Arima displayed his "natural" side again, as if equating ghoul extermination with hunting wild boar.
"Yes..."
Byakuya responded perfunctorily without elaborating.
Setting aside whether he could do it—he would never do such a thing anyway.
The Manager now wasn't what he'd been ten years ago. Back then, having two kagune arms taken by Arima was manageable. Now? Not necessarily.
Byakuya naturally wouldn't do anything to harm the Manager.
"Suzuya, your performance this time should qualify you for promotion to Rank 2. Though you'll need to work on the written exam and interview. I'll be cheering for you."
Arima addressed Suzuya.
"Mm, thank you, Arima-san."
Suzuya smiled.
"Also, there's something I need to tell Amaha. Per the Chairman's recommendation, once you're promoted to First Class, you'll be assigned to Squad Zero. How do you feel about that?" (Note: "Associate Special Class" in Chapter 119 has been changed to "First Class")
Arima's inquiry about his wishes was merely symbolic—arrangements from the Chairman left virtually no room for refusal.
Of course, Byakuya had no intention of refusing anyway.
He could guess that his performance this time had attracted the Washuu's attention, hence wanting to place him in Squad Zero for observation.
What he didn't realize was that Arima himself had suggested this to the Chairman.
The implications of these two scenarios were completely different, because Arima was the Washuu's "mole." If Byakuya knew the truth, he could deduce what Arima might be planning.
"No problem. It would be my honor."
Byakuya agreed without hesitation.
Amon also figured Byakuya wouldn't refuse. He felt envious—besides Mado-san, Special Class Arima was the investigator he respected most.
Arima was practically his idol. If he had the chance to join Squad Zero and work with Arima, he would absolutely seize it.
Unfortunately...
Amon could tell the two who'd come with Arima were probably Squad Zero members—which explained the child's remarkable achievements. By comparison, his own performance fell far short. He needed to work even harder!
"Looks like we'll be working together soon, hehe~"
Shio said happily.
Afterward, Arima and his group prepared to leave.
"Goodbye, Byakuya-san!"
"Goodbye, Shio."
Byakuya smiled in response.
"Suzuya, Rank 1 Amaha—it seems you both know Special Class Arima?"
Amon asked curiously.
"Yes. When Byakuya and I did our 'whack-a-mole' internship, we were working with Arima-san."
Suzuya said.
"I see..."
Suzuya's mention of "whack-a-mole" brought back memories for Amon.
His ex-girlfriend, Harima Takuko, had been a fellow Academy graduate from his year. She'd died during the Ward 24 "whack-a-mole" internship...
Unlike Amaha and Suzuya, who had both survived. Amon felt deeply moved.
To this day, he still used the "keepsake" Harima had left him—the Quinque "Doujima 1/2."
...
Ward 20, Anteiku.
"Strange. Touka is really late today. Usually she'd give us a heads up if something came up."
It was already Touka's shift, but there was no sign of her. Kaya Irimi wondered aloud.
"Eh...? Could she have been taken by some bad guy? After all, such a cute girl would easily attract creepy old men."
Roma's voice was full of worry.
"I hope Touka-neechan just lost track of time..."
Hinami was worried too.
"..."
Byakuya fell into brief contemplation.
Roma definitely knew something—starting her speculation with Touka being kidnapped. So then...
Byakuya immediately thought of Tsukiyama Shuu.
Most likely, Tsukiyama hadn't given up on him and had kidnapped Touka to use as leverage.
Touka at this point was no match for Tsukiyama—her prolonged abstinence from fresh human flesh had seriously weakened her.
If this was the case, then this situation had arisen because of him. He absolutely couldn't stand by.
"Rize, can you locate Tsukiyama?"
Byakuya asked Rize.
"Yes. As long as I know the general area, I can track him by scent."
Rize nodded.
Just as Nico had tracked her scent to quickly find Anteiku, ghouls with sufficiently developed senses of smell could do the same.
"So you're going to rescue that Kirishima girl? She could have been taken by Tsukiyama Shuu."
Rize sounded somewhat displeased—after all, Byakuya was going to rescue another girl again.
"I have to. She's in danger because of me. I can't just ignore her situation."
Byakuya said.
"Fine, I'll help you find that guy. If he really won't stay put, we might as well just kill him this time..."
Rize could imagine that Tsukiyama's reason for kidnapping Touka was his continued desire for Byakuya's body. She absolutely would not allow any ghoul besides herself to have such designs on Byakuya!
...
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