"Can I refuse?"
Yakuchi Kei knew from Kamishiro Rize's tone that she was definitely going to cause trouble later.
"No, if you don't agree to me, I won't let go of you."
Kamishiro Rize's hands, wrapped around Yakuchi Kei's waist, tightened even more.
"Forget it, whatever you want."
Yakuchi Kei said casually.
Only then did Kamishiro Rize release Yakuchi Kei.
As Yakuchi Kei began to cook, Kamishiro Rize also started her own actions.
At first, Kamishiro Rize first "attacked" Yakuchi Kei's earlobe, but this time Yakuchi Kei was mentally prepared, so there was no obvious reaction, and it did not affect his movements.
Seeing this, Kamishiro Rize changed her target after a while, turning her attention to the middle of Yakuchi Kei's ear.
With a light touch of her tongue, Yakuchi Kei could not help but react.
After all, the middle of the ear is only more sensitive than the earlobe.
Not long after, Yakuchi Kei couldn't hold back, and immediately turned his head to Kamishiro Rize and said, "I say...aren't you disgusted?"
"No, not at all."
Kamishiro Rize's expression was slightly mischievous, "Also, you lost this game."
"Okay, okay, I lost, now stop bothering me while I cook."
Yakuchi Kei said with a somewhat helpless tone.
"Since you lost, there must be a punishment, but I haven't thought about how to punish you yet. I'll tell you when I've decided~"
Kamishiro Rize said with a smile.
"As long as it's not too excessive a request, we'll talk about it then."
Yakuchi Kei did not take this matter to heart, but focused on making his dinner.
Anyway, even if Kamishiro Rize made an excessive request later, he could directly refuse, and with Kamishiro Rize's strength, she couldn't force him.
Subsequently, although Kamishiro Rize did not leave the kitchen, she no longer bothered Yakuchi Kei, but watched him cook from the side.
...
Yakuchi Kei used a very small rice cooker to cook enough rice for himself, and the dishes were simple tomato scrambled eggs and beef with potatoes.
He successively brought the fragrant dishes to the dining table, but for Kamishiro Rize, it was not a fragrant smell but an unpleasant one.
"It looks really good, but it's a pity I can't eat it at all."
Kamishiro Rize said with a calm expression.
"After all, Ghouls can't eat most of the food humans eat, and there's nothing that can be done about that."
Yakuchi Kei said, "However, maybe one day food that Ghouls can also eat will be developed; future technology will only become more and more advanced."
The reason for saying "most" is because there are exceptions.
For example, "coffee." Logically speaking, there's nothing special about it, but Ghouls can drink it, and the taste is the same as when humans drink it.
There's also "water" and "beer." Water goes without saying. For beer, the basis is a scene in the later part of the original work where Yomo Renji gets drunk, indicating that it's fine for Ghouls to drink alcohol.
But there are only these three. Besides these, all other food and various beverages are not allowed.
"That kind of thing is just wishful thinking."
Kamishiro Rize had no hope for this.
"I think there's still hope."
Yakuchi Kei said.
The reason why food suitable for Ghouls that can replace human flesh has not been developed to this day is actually because the Washuu Family has been secretly obstructing it.
The Washuu Family does not want the conflict between humans and Ghouls to weaken, because this would harm their interests.
Despite being a Ghoul family, the Washuu Family established the "CCG," which is the "Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau," specifically targeting Ghouls.
That's right, the CCG was established by the Washuu Family.
This achievement also enabled the Washuu Family to gain extremely high prestige in Japan. Today, the Washuu Family lacks nothing in terms of status, reputation, and wealth, all of which were obtained through the CCG.
Think about it, if food that could replace human flesh were developed, Ghouls would not need to risk being hunted by CCG Investigators to prey on humans, thereby weakening the influence of the CCG and the Washuu Family.
Therefore, the Washuu Family cannot allow such a thing to happen. What they need is for humans and Ghouls to always be in a state of evenly matched confrontation.
On the human side, they have the CCG they established. In addition to human Investigators, there is also a group of half-humans they cultivated, such as Arima Kishou, Ihei Hairu, Ihei Shirazu, and others.
And there is another group of half-humans, an organization called "V," which is also a force under the Washuu Family, similar to the "Anbu" in Hokage. Unlike the CCG, "V" only operates in the dark.
The "V" organization is specifically responsible for eliminating Ghouls who "would break the balance of power between humans and Ghouls" and "would threaten the rule of the Washuu Family." Of course, if a human meets these conditions, the same applies.
Arima Kishou is a Cleaner for "V." Touka Kirishima's mother, Kirishima Hikari, was ordered to be driven out by Arima Kishou precisely because her strength grew to the point where the Washuu Family felt threatened.
In short, if the Washuu Family were to collapse one day, food suitable for Ghouls would likely be developed very quickly, and this was proven at the end of the original work.
...
Yakuchi Kei had already finished dinner, and Kamishiro Rize seemed to have no intention of leaving.
"It's so late, aren't you going back?"
At this moment, Yakuchi Kei asked Kamishiro Rize while clearing the table.
"That man you mentioned earlier, the one wearing the Clowns, I actually know who he is."
Kamishiro Rize suddenly brought up the "steel beam incident" from that day, "Speaking of which, he just happens to be at the same university as you."
She only suddenly recovered fragments of her memory from that time yesterday. The steel beam incident injured her too severely, including losing a small part of her memory from that time.
After recovering the memory fragments, she recalled seeing the "Clown" on top of the construction site. She recognized the figure and the specific appearance of the Clowns as Nimura Furuta.
Although she didn't know why Nimura Furuta did that, she only knew that she should treat Nimura Furuta as an enemy.
"You mean that person is also at Kamii University? So he's someone you know?"
Yakuchi Kei asked knowingly, but there was nothing he could do. He certainly couldn't expose his identity as a "transmigrator" and give others a chance to suspect him.
"Yes, and we're quite familiar. But even if I tell you who he is, you wouldn't know him."
Kamishiro Rize nodded slowly.
"So you're saying someone you know tried to harm you. What do you plan to do?"
Yakuchi Kei asked accordingly.
"Let's just leave it at that for now. If I can't stay in the 20th Ward, I'll just escape to another ward. I'm used to it anyway."
Kamishiro Rize said casually.
"Ding! Host has activated a mission, initiating God-level Choice!"
"Choice One: Be indifferent to Kamishiro Rize's affairs. Reward: 1 Fusion Point!"
"Choice Two: Directly state that you will protect Kamishiro Rize. Reward: 20 Fusion Points!"
"Choice Three: Directly elope with Kamishiro Rize and leave the 20th Ward. Reward: 30 Fusion Points!"