Touka Kirishima

After Rize left, Sasuke remained in the café and didn't rush to leave.

After all, this café still had many of the main characters from the original story, such as Manager Kuzen Yoshimura, Touka Kirishima, and Renji Yomo. There was even a chance he could unintentionally trigger the system's reward mechanism again.

However, Sasuke wouldn't go so far as to deliberately disturb or even approach them.

Since the café had bookshelves, he decided to pick a book and read at a leisurely pace—his coffee wasn't finished yet, after all.

On the bookshelf, he noticed several works by Sen Takatsuki.

This was probably because the current timeline was slightly earlier than the original story's starting point. By now, Sen Takatsuki was already a very famous author.

Sasuke was genuinely interested in Sen Takatsuki's works and decided to read one.

He knew very well that this bestselling young female author's true identity was actually the SSS-rated ghoul of the Aogiri Tree organization—the One-Eyed Owl, real name Eto Yoshimura.

That was precisely why he was so interested in her works.

Sasuke selected Sen Takatsuki's debut novel, Dear Kafka. Since the original story never detailed its contents, this was a completely new reading experience for him.

As he immersed himself in Dear Kafka, many ghouls around him continued to secretly discuss him.

…

[Ding! The host has read Dear Kafka. Reward received: 1 Fusion Point!]

Halfway through the book, the system's reward mechanism was suddenly triggered.

Although it was just 1 Fusion Point, what mattered was that the system's reward conditions were broad—even just reading a book could earn points. Clearly, this was because it was a Sen Takatsuki novel.

With that realization, Sasuke felt that if he had the time, he might as well read all of Sen Takatsuki's works.

His attention returned to Dear Kafka. Even though he had only read half of it, he could already sense Sen Takatsuki's distinctive style.

That heavy sense of oppression, despair, pessimism toward the world, and distrust of everyone—these elements were unique to her writing. Only someone who had grown up in a cruel and extreme environment like the 24th Ward, like Eto, could develop such a style.

Still, the overall plot was compelling. Her unique writing style wasn't a weakness; on the contrary, it became a strong selling point. A distinct personal style was always more attractive than the usual cliché storytelling.

At that moment, Sasuke suddenly felt a bit hungry. He glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that he had been reading for so long that it was already evening.

It was time for dinner.

Marking his page with a bookmark, he took the book and walked to the counter.

"Excuse me, may I borrow this book for one night? I'll return it first thing tomorrow morning."

He directed his question to the staff member at the counter.

The girl in front of him had short bluish-purple hair, wore a uniform, and had an unusual hairstyle, with her bangs almost covering her right eye. Her delicate features and quiet demeanor gave off a reserved impression.

There was no doubt—this was Touka Kirishima.

However, her expression was indifferent as she responded, "Sorry, we don't offer book rentals. But if you really want to borrow it, you'll need to leave a deposit. As long as you return it on time tomorrow, we'll refund you."

After all, this guy could get eaten by Rize at any moment. If that happened, the book wouldn't be coming back. At least by taking a deposit, they could minimize losses.

"Sure."

Sasuke reached into his pocket—he actually had money on him.

At the same time, the system transmitted some background information into his mind, explaining his current situation.

Essentially, it told him where he lived, that he was an orphan with a house and a car, and that he was a student at Kamii University.

Of course, all of this was a fabricated identity arranged by the system. In other words, the system had directly altered aspects of this world, just like how an author could rewrite the settings in their own novel.

Kamii University…

From what Sasuke remembered; this university was one of Tokyo's top institutions. It wasn't a place an average person could get into.

The system was really making him look good.

Still, compared to things like having a car, a house, and being a top university student, the Uchiha Madara fusion ability was far more impressive. The rest were just icing on the cake.

Casually handing over the deposit to Touka, Sasuke left the café with Dear Kafka in hand.

As he walked away, Touka watched his back for a moment.

"Hey, Touka, you seem a little interested in that guy?"

At that moment, another waitress, Irimi Kaya, teased Kirishima Touka.

"Nonsense. I'm just annoyed that a human is getting targeted by Rize." Touka replied bluntly in a low voice.

"But there's nothing we can do. We can't interfere with that woman. She's practically a walking disaster. They say every district she's been in ended up in chaos. Even the leader of the 6th Ward got captured by the CCG because of her." Irimi Kaya sighed helplessly.

"I know, which is why I'm not going to get involved." Touka shoved those distracting thoughts aside, choosing not to care about Rize's business.

She and the others couldn't understand why Manager Yoshimura tolerated Rize's recklessness.

But from an omniscient perspective, the reason was simple: Rize was actually a "breeder" of the Washuu Clan.

The Washuu Clan was Kuzen's most feared enemy, and they were essentially the main antagonistic force in the world of Tokyo Ghoul.

If Yoshimura acted against Rize, the peaceful safe zone he had spent years establishing would be destroyed. Therefore, he had no choice but to turn a blind eye to her actions.

Of course, Touka and Irimi Kaya didn't know about Yoshimura's history with the Washuu Clan, so they couldn't understand his attitude toward Rize.

At that moment, Sasuke was on his way home.

He continued reading as he walked, using his peripheral vision to avoid obstacles.

But suddenly, he caught sight of a familiar petite figure.

Instinctively raising his gaze, he saw that it was Eto—also known as Sen Takatsuki, the author of the book in his hands.

(T/N: If you are enjoying the story, please leave a review and donate power stones.😊)