"Jokes should be kept within reason."
Byakuya had long since become desensitized to Eto, so even when she said something this outrageous, he showed no reaction.
"Fine, fine. I knew you wouldn't take the bait. This is no fun at all."
Having been seen through so easily, Eto could only smile helplessly and shake her head.
But that was only on the surface. In reality, the moment after she'd said those words, she'd regretted them.
If Byakuya had actually taken her seriously, the tables would have instantly turned.
Because she hadn't been mentally prepared for that at all—she'd just been running her mouth.
"By the way, my mother wants to invite you over to our place for dinner. When are you free?"
Eto suddenly asked.
"Ukina-san? She's only been back for a few days, hasn't she?"
Byakuya said.
After all, it had been less than three days since he activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Ukina's resurrection through the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique had only happened within the past two or three days.
"Mm... It wasn't until yesterday that we finally got to see her again."
Eto nodded.
...
The previous day.
Since Byakuya's Infinite Tsukuyomi had affected all the ghouls in the world, Yoshimura was no exception—he had become an ordinary human.
However, this hadn't affected the café's business, so Yoshimura still left early as usual to open the shop.
But something unexpected happened this morning. A hunched elderly woman appeared before Yoshimura.
This elderly woman was the landlady of the building.
"Oh... Yoshimura-san, please come take a look at this."
The old landlady called out to him.
"What happened?"
Yoshimura asked, puzzled.
"There's a woman claiming to be named Ukina, saying she's your wife. But no matter how I look at it, the age gap between you two doesn't seem like a married couple's?"
The landlady continued, "But she was very insistent, so I thought I'd better get you to come see."
"Ukina...?"
Yoshimura froze on the spot.
His habitually half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide.
Since Byakuya had told Eto about using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique but hadn't told Yoshimura, this woman claiming to be Yoshimura's wife named Ukina had given him an enormous shock.
Could the dead truly come back to life?!
Although Yoshimura couldn't believe such a thing, he also couldn't suppress the urge to go see for himself.
Even if there was a hundred percent chance it was a prank or misunderstanding, he had to see.
Led by the elderly landlady, Yoshimura came to the first floor where she lived.
Upon entering, he could see Ukina and Eto sitting on the sofa, mother and daughter pressed close together.
"Kuzen, you're finally here."
The moment Ukina saw Yoshimura enter, she smiled at him.
Even though the man before her had become an elderly figure with white hair and wrinkled face, she recognized her husband at a glance.
"This is her. She claims to be your wife, but looking at her, she could be your daughter. How strange."
The landlady pointed at Ukina.
"I'm sorry, Grandmother, but I'm his daughter. This is my mother."
Eto said with a smile.
"Uh... huh...?!"
Hearing this, the landlady looked at Eto, then at Ukina, then at Yoshimura. Her mind went completely blank.
Elderly people's minds already worked slower, and this instantly caused her brain to crash.