Undoubtedly, the biggest beneficiary of this unrest, which affected the entire CCG, was Nimura Furuta. Regardless of what Yukinori Shinohara thought, Lancer had at least confirmed that he was the mastermind. Lancer had even mentally fabricated a 'bastard son' background setting for the opponent. However, from a certain perspective, Lancer was not guessing wildly, after all, not many people knew that Nimura Furuta was Washuu Tsuneyoshi's son before this.
"Special Class Shinohara, I wonder if you can tell me the location of Nimura Furuta."
Although Lancer did not explicitly state what he wanted to do, it was, from a certain perspective, self-evident, but Yukinori Shinohara shook his head, and then he sighed again.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but because even I don't know what the opponent is doing now. After all, the only order everyone, including me, received before leaving was to guard our respective areas of responsibility. Other than that, we don't know anything about the opponent. Even if you ask others, they might not know… No, perhaps one person knows."
"Who?"
"Kishou Arima."
Yukinori Shinohara's words made Lancer freeze. After all, Kishou Arima was the one he had excluded from the 'informed parties' from the beginning.
Firstly, leaving aside the confrontation between the two before this, just considering the opponent's identity.
From the exchange the opponent gave before, it could be heard that Kishou Arima was the General Chairman's man, but now the General Chairman was killed, and Nimura Furuta was very likely the murderer. Would the opponent possibly let Kishou Arima know his situation?
But just as the opponent said, this might be the only option available now.
"Thank you, Special Class Shinohara."
After speaking, Lancer leaned against the window frame and leaped down. When Yukinori Shinohara walked to the window, he found that Lancer had disappeared.
Looking at the empty outside the window, he fell silent again.
If he was only worried about the future direction of the CCG before this, now he was struggling with his choice just now.
Indeed, Nimura Furuta was very likely the mastermind behind all of this, but there was also no direct evidence to prove Lancer innocence.
'I hope my choice was not wrong.'
"Click~"
And just at this moment, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and then a somewhat dejected Juuzou Suzuya walked in. He froze when he saw Yukinori Shinohara holding a Quinque in his hand.
"Mr. Shinohara, what's wrong?"
"No, nothing."
Yukinori Shinohara did not mention that he had met Lancer, instead just stroking Juuzou Suzuya's head.
The choice had been made, and the only thing left to do was to wait for the result.
— — — — — —
Lancer had been out for several hours and had some gains. Firstly, he confirmed Akira Mado's safety. Secondly, he placed Nimura Furuta on his kill list. At the same time, he also found a rough direction. However, just like Nimura Furuta, Kishou Arima was also not in a known location at this time. After circling the 1st Ward for almost half an hour, he chose to fly back to the 'Love Hotel'.
Lancer, being a gentleman, naturally couldn't just barge into the room without thinking. After all, he didn't want the relationship, which had just barely been repaired, to become awkward again. Of course, besides that, there was another important reason: he had a very profound understanding of his own 'luck'. He had almost never seen the so-called 'benefits'. If he really encountered a similar situation, the subsequent development would definitely not lead to a HAPPY END.
However, this time was somewhat different from what he had imagined. The lights in the room were mostly dimmed at this time, and Ryouko Fueguchi, lying on the bed, was looking gently at the sleeping Hinami Fueguchi.
Undoubtedly, the events of the day had completely exhausted Hinami Fueguchi.
Because of Lancer, Ryouko Fueguchi was not killed, and Hinami Fueguchi was no longer alone, but precisely because of this, she also did not push herself to the limit as before. At this time, she was just an ordinary girl. She first frantically ran with Lancer to Ryouko Fueguchi's location, and later desperately tried to shake off the possible CCG pursuit teams.
The physical exhaustion and mental fatigue made her fall asleep not long after Lancer left.
Ryouko Fueguchi, however, had been waiting for Lancer return. After all, unlike her daughter, Ryouko Fueguchi was more exhausted but also more worried.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Lancer land inside the room.
The genuine sense of security made her feel somewhat strange. After all, this feeling hadn't appeared for several years.
Getting up from the bed, she walked to the balcony and pulled the sliding door shut, and Lancer also stopped his original intention to walk in. In his opinion, Ryouko Fueguchi probably had something to discuss with him and chose to close the sliding door so as not to wake Hinami Fueguchi.
"Is something the matter, Ms. Fueguchi?"
"Mr. Lancer, do you have any alcohol that Ghouls can drink?"
Lancer originally thought Ryouko Fueguchi would ask him about the CCG situation or their wanted status, but he didn't expect her to say this. After contemplating for a while, he roughly guessed the opponent's thoughts.
'Perhaps she heard that humans can drown their sorrows with alcohol? But unfortunately, drinking only increases sorrow.'
However, he still took out a bottle of alcohol and handed it to the opponent, but Lancer wondered if it was his imagination, as he felt that the opponent's face was a bit red.
'Did she get drunk before even drinking?'
It was obvious that Lancer did not know that his 'I understand' expression at this time made Ryouko Fueguchi think her thoughts had been exposed, but seeing Lancer lack of reaction, she bit her lip.
"Mr. Lancer, would you like to have a drink with me?"
— — — — — —
Lancer himself was quite fond of alcohol, but he preferred to drink and chat with friends or disciples. Failing that, drinking with Jack and the others would suffice. At least it wouldn't be as awkward as drinking with Ryouko Fueguchi.
Perhaps because it was her first time drinking, Ryouko Fueguchi's face became flushed after only two glasses. Later, she even said she felt unwell and wanted to take a bath. Lancer naturally did not offer any opinion. The only thing he could do was sit on the sofa on the balcony, drinking wine and recalling the documents he had read during his time at the CCG, trying to find Nimura Furuta's location.
But just at this moment…
"Click~"
The sliding door was pulled open, and Lancer couldn't help but look over. Then, he saw Ryouko Fueguchi wearing a yukata.
Ryouko Fueguchi, wearing a purple yukata, looked a bit more charming than usual, perhaps because of the redness of her cheeks.
'What am I thinking wildly about? This is a sign of the opponent's trust in me.'
After gulping down a mouthful of wine, Lancer simply shifted his gaze away.
The two of them chatted for a while afterwards, but the atmosphere remained somewhat awkward for some reason, but just at this moment.
"Mr. Lancer, why don't you also go take a bath?"
Since the atmosphere on the balcony was a bit awkward, Lancer agreed without even thinking.
However, he failed to notice that Ryouko Fueguchi, sitting on the sofa, bit her lip as he walked towards the bathroom, and her originally somewhat charming expression also became determined.