"Phew~ that felt good."
After cursing Yakuchi Kei countless times, Nimura Furuta's expression immediately returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.
He seamlessly transitioned into thinking about his plan, his focused expression akin to someone with a split personality.
Kamishiro Rize clearly knew that he was responsible for the last incident, so it would be much harder for him to succeed again.
Should he continue to target Kamishiro Rize, or find a different target?
Kamishiro Rize was undoubtedly the most suitable experimental subject, but the difficulty of succeeding again was too great; not only did he have to act when Kamishiro Rize was careless, but he also had to avoid detection by the Washuu Family.
If he changed targets, he could only choose someone with Washuu Family blood, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to achieve his ultimate goal of "dragonification."
There were many "progenitors" within the Washuu Family, all with relatively high bloodline purity; although not as pure as Kamishiro Rize's, they were at least usable.
Nimura Furuta was considering these things as he walked to class.
As for what had just happened between Yakuchi Kei and Kamishiro Rize, he had already put it out of his mind.
...
On the other side,
Yakuchi Kei knowingly asked Kamishiro Rize, "Was that Tenya Hakuyoru just now the one who attacked you last time, the one wearing the Clowns mask?"
"Yes, that's him. His name is Nimura Furuta. He's someone I've known for a long time," Kamishiro Rize nodded and replied.
"Then why did he attack you last time?" Yakuchi Kei continued to ask.
"Who knows?" Kamishiro Rize said casually.
She wasn't deliberately hiding anything from Yakuchi Kei; she genuinely didn't know.
If Nimura Furuta wanted to capture her and take her back to the Washuu Family, then others from the Washuu Family should have acted long ago.
But she hadn't seen anyone from the Washuu Family appear in the 20th Ward.
If Nimura Furuta was after something else, then she couldn't guess.
However, no matter what, Nimura Furuta had actually plotted against her last time, so it was impossible for her not to hold a grudge against him.
Kamishiro Rize had no idea that Nimura Furuta's true purpose was to make her an experimental subject; otherwise, she would have been even angrier.
"I remember you said before that you have many enemies. It seems your situation is indeed very dangerous," Yakuchi Kei said.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Kamishiro Rize smiled faintly. "If you want to back out now, it should still be in time."
"No, I'm not scared. I won't go back on my word," Yakuchi Kei said calmly.
Next, Yakuchi Kei and Kamishiro Rize went to the school library.
Kamishiro Rize got a library card there and borrowed some books, all in a rather "dark and twisted" style.
Now that she couldn't casually prey on humans, her only pleasure was reading.
With the books she needed in her bag, Kamishiro Rize and Yakuchi Kei strolled around the university again.
As they walked by a reservoir, Kamishiro Rize suddenly spoke, "'Ghouls' are clearly at the top of the food chain, yet for self-preservation, they've established all sorts of rules, like timid lions trapping themselves in cocoons. Kei, what do you think? Isn't it both pathetic and ridiculous?"
The "all sorts of rules" referred to the regulations set by the Ghoul organizations that governed each area of Tokyo, such as "Anteiku" in the 20th Ward.
Aside from "Anteiku" being somewhat unique, the Ghouls in other wards generally followed similar rules.
For example, they couldn't arbitrarily infringe upon other Ghouls' Eating Grounds, had to pay a certain "ward fee" each month, and could only prey on a maximum of one human per month without leaving suspicious traces at the scene.
"...While that's true, there's nothing wrong with trying to survive. Ghouls do that to avoid being hunted by CCG Investigators, and most Ghouls don't have your strength to begin with," Yakuchi Kei said. "And aren't you the same now? If I didn't restrict your predatory behavior, you'd eventually be hunted by a large number of Investigators, and besides that, you already have many enemies."
Kamishiro Rize didn't seem displeased by Yakuchi Kei's rebuttal; instead, she sighed, "That's why it's so ridiculous. I seem to have become like those weaklings now."
"What's so ridiculous about it? It's all for survival. Of course, if your strength were so great that you feared no enemy, then you naturally wouldn't need to restrain yourself," Yakuchi Kei said. "However, I am also human, so I cannot support you preying on humans indiscriminately, and I also hope you can be safer."
"Hmm… I just want to live a happier life, because I was born for 'that' from the very beginning," Kamishiro Rize smiled faintly. "Although I can't just prey on humans anymore, I suddenly found that reading my favorite books is quite enjoyable, and what I'm pursuing more now is you, Kei."
These words could easily be misunderstood, but Yakuchi Kei was very rational; he clearly knew what Kamishiro Rize was truly pursuing. "I think what you're pursuing isn't me, but the flesh on my body, right?"
"Well~ it's all the same meaning~" Kamishiro Rize said with a smile.
"If you can truly find other pleasures besides preying on humans, that would be best. At a time like this, don't create more enemies for yourself. You'll be in trouble when a bunch of Investigators target you," Yakuchi Kei said calmly.
He knew that preying on humans was certainly not Kamishiro Rize's only pleasure.
After all, Kamishiro Rize had lived in the 11th Ward before coming to the 20th Ward, and she left because she was tired of the 11th Ward and felt there was no fun there, even though there were still many humans to prey on.
This also showed that she was extremely self-indulgent, doing things only for enjoyment.
"Okay, okay, if you keep nagging, you'll be just like my old father, Tenten, who loves to lecture," Kamishiro Rize said with a somewhat perfunctory tone.
Her "old father" was naturally Kamishiro, also known as "Orca."
"I said I would protect you, so I naturally have to be responsible for you. It's normal to be a bit naggy, but I don't think what I just said counts as nagging," Yakuchi Kei responded calmly.
Kamishiro Rize smiled softly and suddenly asked curiously, "Why do you want to protect me? Do you really like me?"
Although Yakuchi Kei had given her an answer right after the steel beam incident, she hadn't taken it seriously at the time, thinking he was just saying it casually.
So she wanted to confirm it again now.