Chapter 281: 281: Anteiku

“993… 996… 986…”

Jason seemed to be reliving his own past.

His mind was already on the verge of breaking.

“Are those tears supposed to make me pity you?”

If Jason had faced death calmly, like a strong man accepting the end, Ivan might have thought a little more highly of him.

But now?

The dark knight behind Jason seemed to understand exactly what Ivan wanted.

It yanked the long blade free, raised its arm, and drove the weapon straight through Jason’s skull. Squelch!

That was the end of his miserable life.

Ivan looked down at Jason’s corpse, his eyes still wide open in death, then took the two kakuhou handed over by the dark knight.

“The rest is yours, Rize.”

After finishing his little snack, Ivan reabsorbed three of his clones.

He left only one behind to continue hunting ghouls with Rize Kamishiro.

Come to think of it, he had not properly explored this world yet.

With that thought, Ivan slowly walked toward one of the black cars parked in front of the villa.

Vroom!

The engine roared to life.

The black sedan drove farther and farther away under Rize’s gaze.

“What ..a monster.”

Despite not being human herself, Rize still called Ivan a monster.

And that really was the most accurate description she could come up with at that moment.

“That monster has to be at least SSS-rated. And judging by what I saw, his clones are strong too.”

Rize glanced from the corner of her eye at the Ivan clone beside her.

Her mind raced.

How the hell am I supposed to escape from under this monster’s nose?

Fighting him head-on was impossible.

Jason was roughly on her level, yet he could not even beat one of Ivan’s clones.

Calling it a fight was generous.

He had been crushed.

That left only one option.

She had to contact the One-Eyed Owl and get it to kill this monster.

The person she was thinking of was the leader of Aogiri Tree, the one the CCG called the One-Eyed Owl.

Jason’s death would definitely infuriate Aogiri Tree’s upper ranks.

And once the entire nest mobilized against him, even this monster would die.

Probably.

Right?

“What are you thinking about? Be good and eat.”

Ivan patted Rize on the head and led her toward Jason’s corpse.

“You’re really too weak. You’re not even a half-kakuja. Your kakuhou barely have any nutrients in them.”

Rize lowered her gaze toward her neck.

The rope had been tied around it again.

She clenched her teeth so hard that her molars creaked.

You fucking bastard!

I’m going to kill you.

Then I’ll cut you into countless pieces, pack you into a freezer, and save you so I can enjoy you slowly later.

…

Meanwhile, Touka had rescued the badly injured Kaneki and his best friend, Hideyoshi Nagachika, from Nishiki Nishio.

After returning to Anteiku, Touka shook her head at Yoshimura.

“I didn’t find that guy. But I found Kaneki after Nishiki attacked him.”

“Could I get a coffee, please? Add a little milk.”

At that moment, a customer pushed open the café’s glass door, interrupting their conversation.

“Of course. Please wait a moment.”

Yoshimura smiled warmly at Ivan.

Touka, on the other hand, frowned almost imperceptibly when she saw the man in the black coat.

She had no idea why, but something about him felt extremely dangerous.

There was also a faint smell of blood clinging to him.

Fresh blood.

As if he had been covered in it not long ago.

Was he a ghoul too?

Touka kept her expression neutral as she wiped down Ivan’s table.

“First time here?”

Touka was not usually the type to make small talk with strangers, so even asking that much was unusual for her.

Ivan kept a faint smile on his face as he looked around the café.

“I’ve heard about this place for quite a while. But yes, this is my first visit.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

About three or four minutes later, Yoshimura placed a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of Ivan.

“It may be a little hot. Please enjoy it slowly.”

Ivan lowered his gaze to the steaming brown coffee in his cup and smiled.

Truthfully, he had wanted to taste the handiwork of the SSS-rated ghoul known as the Non-Killing Owl for a long time.

He lifted the cup and took a slow sip.

“Mm. Smooth going down, with a layered bitterness. That’s good coffee.”

Ivan set the cup down with satisfaction.

When he raised his head again, his face had already returned to its original appearance.

“It’s you!”

Touka’s eyes instantly transformed into kakugan as she glared at Ivan with open hostility.

“Touka, that’s no way to treat a customer.”

Yoshimura’s expression never changed. He looked at her with the same gentle smile as always.

Then he turned back to Ivan, narrowing his eyes pleasantly.

“Thank you for the compliment. I’m genuinely glad to hear it. Serving coffee that satisfies my customers is the reason I opened this café in the first place.”

“The coffee is excellent. The atmosphere here is nice too.”

Ivan remained seated at the counter, slowly enjoying his drink.

Yoshimura was known as the Non-Killing Owl because he refused to harm humans.

Even when fighting CCG investigators, he never went for the kill.

Over time, that earned him the name Non-Killing Owl within the CCG.

But who would have guessed that this kindly old man had once served as a cleaner for the ghoul organization V?

Back then, in pursuit of greater strength, he had slaughtered humans and devoured other ghouls on a massive scale, eventually evolving into a kakuja with kakuhou spread throughout his body.

“Non-Killing Owl…” Ivan said softly. “How do you keep yourself from losing control?”

“Manager.”

A trace of anxiety crossed Touka’s face.

Anyone capable of slaughtering large numbers of ghouls while also overpowering and restraining Rize Kamishiro had to be terrifyingly strong.

Yoshimura gave Touka a reassuring look.

“As long as you suppress the desire to kill, or avoid using too much power whenever possible, you can maintain control.”

He answered Ivan honestly.

Ivan nodded thoughtfully.

“You’re strong. Most people wouldn’t be able to manage that.”

“No. Any ghoul can.”

Yoshimura glanced toward the café employees.

“My staff are proof of that. It depends on whether you’ve truly let go of your desires.”

He noticed Ivan’s cup was empty.

“Would you like another?”

“Merci. Yes, please.”

Ivan slid the cup back toward Yoshimura.

“How about I trade you a piece of information for one of your kakuhou?”

If Ivan remembered correctly, Yoshimura possessed an ukaku.

Ivan currently only had a koukaku.

Even if he successfully evolved into a kakuja, the type of kakuhou inside his body would not change.

If he wanted other types, he would need to analyze and fuse them separately.

And naturally, if he was going to choose, he might as well start with the strongest.

As far as Ivan knew, the strongest ukaku ghoul currently available was the old man standing right in front of him.

Yoshimura.

“I’m sorry.”

Yoshimura politely declined.

“For now, I only want to run this café in peace.”