Chapter 14. “I’m a Ghoul—Do You Mind, Hayashi-kun?”

Seeing Hayashi's slightly troubled expression—

Rize understood a lot.

She smiled gently. "So it seems the shop owner isn't an ordinary person, huh?"

"Mhm," Hayashi admitted. "More or less."

"A devil?"

"No."

"Really?" Rize looked puzzled. "Then… human?"

"Yes."

"…?"

Now that really threw her off.

She could tell Hayashi wasn't lying. He had no reason to.

But if he was a human and not a devil—how was this possible?

If he were a devil, it'd make sense.

Being able to make food that ghouls could eat—that sounded like a devil's power.

But if he was a normal human, how the hell was he doing this?

Seeing Rize's confused face, Hayashi sipped his coffee and said,

"I'm a regular human, yes. But not an ordinary one. That's how you can think of it."

Rize suddenly remembered her own childhood.

Maybe the shop owner had also gone through something… suffered some transformation to become who he was now.

But someone like this would surely draw more and more attention over time.

If he stayed here, wouldn't the risk just keep rising?

"?"

Hayashi noticed the way her expression lit up like she'd figured something out. He had a bad feeling.

She wasn't jumping to the wrong conclusion, was she?

Then again, Rize's mind wasn't exactly the most stable.

Well, at least she was halfway right.

Suddenly—

Rize looked at him, eyes soft and voice gentle.

"Hayashi-kun, will you keep running this place?"

Hayashi nodded. "I will."

Risk level: rising.

Rize bit her lip and asked again,

"What if bad people target your power? Like devils?"

"Then I'll resist," Hayashi said with a shrug. "Sitting around waiting to die won't help."

"What if they're really strong?"

"Then I'll run."

Run?

Rize panicked a little inside.

What if Hayashi picked up and left one day—without telling her?

Then what?

Go back to eating that meat?

Rize lowered her head, her expression darkening.

"…Hayashi-kun, what do you think of ghouls?"

"Ghouls, huh…" Hayashi looked at her with a complex expression.

Then sighed and spoke from the heart.

"To be honest, eating that kind of meat—it's not ideal."

Rize's body tensed.

But Hayashi continued, "Still, for some species, there's no other choice. You can't exactly starve yourself to death."

And finally, he added,

"You might not get to choose whether you eat meat. But you can choose what kind—those who took their own lives, criminals, those who died naturally, and so on."

Rize lowered her head, suddenly feeling guilty.

Just a few days ago, she wouldn't have cared.

Meat was meat. What difference did it make?

No matter what it used to be, once you ate it, it was the same—wasn't it?

But ever since eating Hayashi's cooking… it felt completely different.

The contrast was staggering.

The taste, the sensation—it was like night and day.

Not only was it unappetizing—it just felt meaningless now.

The thrill of pretending, tricking, performing, and then destroying everything in one go... Rize no longer felt anything from it.

Even just recalling it made her nauseous.

In that moment—

Rize realized with perfect clarity that the life she had before was something she could never return to. And absolutely shouldn't.

But this life in front of her... could she hold on to it?

Or maybe she needed to find a way to make it hers—completely.

If the risk was too high, then why not aim to monopolize it?

If it belonged solely to her, then she'd never have to eat any other kind of meat again. That would be a good thing for humans too, right?

With that thought, Rize's eyes gradually shifted to a deep black-red.

Clink.

At that moment, Hayashi put down his coffee cup, picked up the pot, and poured her a cup as well.

Her eyes immediately returned to normal.

She looked up, took a sip, and instantly calmed down.

No... not yet. It's not time. She wasn't ready.

At the very least, they'd need a place where the two of them could live together.

Otherwise, if she just dragged him back to her place...

That dump of hers couldn't possibly keep someone like him.

She needed a new place!

With a big basement!

But that was the end goal.

She had to take things step by step. First, she needed to get Hayashi to gradually accept her.

Start with her identity...

"Thinking of something exciting?" Hayashi asked, noticing the flicker in her eyes.

"A little bit," Rize said softly, her gaze suddenly gentle. "Hayashi-kun, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Hm?" Hayashi looked at her curiously.

Rize stared directly at him. Her pupils shifted—from normal to black-red in an instant.

"I'm actually a ghoul. Does that bother you, Hayashi-kun?"

As soon as she said those words—

Rize watched him closely. Her eyes showed no emotion, but in her heart, she was worried—worried that he'd be scared or try to run away.

Even if the odds were low, she feared it might happen.

But Hayashi simply lifted his coffee cup, took a sip, and replied calmly.

"I actually knew you were a ghoul from the beginning."

"!?" Rize was stunned.

"Not just you. I know about the folks from Anteiku as well."

"How?"

"What do you mean? Why didn't I say anything sooner? Or why didn't I report you to the CCG?"

"Mm…"

"Was there any need to?" Hayashi crossed one leg over the other, leaned back in his chair, and shook his head. "It'd just stir up chaos and a bunch of unnecessary trouble."

"But..." Rize's black-red eyes locked onto him. "We're ghouls."

"Ah... and just earlier, two devils came to the shop too," Hayashi said, shaking his head indifferently. "To me, you're all the same. You're customers. As long as you don't cause trouble here, it's none of my business."

He raised a finger and added, "Ghouls, devils, humans—it doesn't matter. There are plenty of good and bad people in all groups. I don't care to sort it out, and I'm not interested in playing the hero."

"Other people's problems are their own. I just want to live my life well, be happy every day, and make some good friends. That's enough for me. Got it?"

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