"Of course not. How could I possibly hate you? If anything, I was just a little too excited because I like her so much."
Yoshimura explained with a warm smile.
"Really?"
Mayu's sadness instantly vanished, replaced by joy.
"Really."
Yoshimura nodded affirmatively.
"Hehe, I like you too, Grandpa!"
Mayu immediately hugged Yoshimura, though with the height difference, she could only wrap her arms around his leg.
Such an innocent and pure-hearted child—so easy to cheer up.
He gently patted her head.
After learning that this little girl had been adopted by Eto and Byakuya, he not only felt relieved but also genuinely happy.
This meant Eto was willing to reconnect with him; otherwise, she wouldn't have brought Mayu to see him.
"Eto, and Byakuya, come in and have a seat."
After addressing Byakuya and Eto, Yoshimura led Mayu to a chair and sat her down.
Just like last time, he personally prepared coffee for them.
Meanwhile, Hikari and the other staff had overheard the conversation between Yoshimura, Byakuya, and Mayu.
As Yoshimura brewed the coffee, Hikari spoke up in surprise, "Manager, so your daughter and son-in-law are them?"
What a coincidence.
Their family had already crossed paths with Byakuya and Eto before—they just hadn't known their names.
"...Yes."
Yoshimura thought for a moment but chose not to explain further.
He didn't want to reveal too much about Eto, especially with the V lurking in the shadows.
For now, it was easier to let outsiders assume Byakuya and Eto were married rather than go into complicated explanations.
Still, the fact that Eto had taken the initiative to visit him wasn't necessarily good news.
He was well aware that V had already begun suspecting that the true One-Eyed Owl wasn't him but his child. If they ever discovered he had a daughter, they would stop at nothing to hunt her down…
"What a small world" Hikari mused. "But the manager's daughter must be a ghoul too, right? That young man — according to Yomo — works for the CCG. A ghoul marrying a human, or even a ghoul investigator... I've never heard of such a thing."
She had never questioned Eto's age since her demeanor never matched her actual years.
Yomo, on the other hand, was utterly stunned.
That black-clad investigator… is the manager's son-in-law?!
No wonder the manager had been acting so strangely ever since those two last visited.
He might not understand the full picture, but at least now he knew why the manager had seemed off lately.
His mind was in complete turmoil. He clearly remembered how terrifyingly strong that investigator was and how ruthless he had been toward him and Uta. If not for that unknown ghoul rescuing them at the last moment, they would have died.
And yet, this same investigator was now the manager's son-in-law, willing to marry a ghoul.
Wait…
A realization suddenly struck Yomo.
Back then, it was that unknown ghoul who had brought him and Uta to the Anteiku. Could that ghoul have been connected to both the manager and that investigator?
If so, did that mean the investigator had been acting all along?
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Why would a ghoul investigator go to such lengths?
"Isn't this a good thing, though?" Koma chimed in. "Yomo, you said that young man is insanely strong, right? That means we just lost an enemy. If he's the manager's son-in-law, he probably won't make things hard for us."
"That's not guaranteed" Irimi countered. "You of all people should know the dirty work you've done in the past."
"Let's not dwell on the past, alright?" Koma laughed awkwardly. "I've been reflecting a lot. And you weren't exactly clean yourself back then."
Irimi just scoffed while Roma watched the discussion unfold, thoroughly entertained.
She still hadn't noticed anything particularly unusual about Byakuya or Eto. After all, she had never seen Yoshimura's kakuja form, so she had no reason to suspect anything about the true One-Eyed Owl.
At that moment, Yoshimura brought over three cups of coffee.
"This... Can I drink it?"
Mayu looked at the cup in front of her, then glanced up at Eto and whispered.
She didn't even know ghouls could drink coffee, nor was she familiar with what coffee was.
"Of course! Go ahead."
Eto reassured her.
"Okay!"
Mayu took a tentative sip.
To her surprise, it didn't taste awful like water or other drinks did.
It had a slightly strange flavor, but compared to human food—which made her feel sick—this was infinitely better.
She was amazed. Aside from human flesh, was there actually something else she could consume?
Something that even made her feel a little full?
"Mayu must be a ghoul too, right?" Yoshimura explained. "Coffee is actually the only normal food ghouls can consume."
He had even added extra sugar to her cup, knowing children often struggled with coffee's bitterness.
"Ohhh."
Mayu nodded.
Since he was "Grandpa," she had no reason to worry about him knowing she was a ghoul.
Just then, Byakuya handed Yoshimura a gift.
"This is a small token of my appreciation."
It was a watch and a hat.
The watch was a high-end brand with no particular significance.
As for the hat, it was because, in this era, Yoshimura still used the signature V disguise whenever he went out — a black hat and a long black coat. So, Byakuya had picked out a black hat specifically for him.
Yoshimura didn't unwrap the gift but accepted it nonetheless.
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Of course, it wasn't just Yoshimura — Byakuya had prepared gifts for the other staff members as well and handed them out one by one.
Hikari, Koma, and Irimi all looked delighted, though Yomo had an oddly stiff and conflicted expression. Still, he accepted the gift and muttered, "Thanks."
When it was Roma's turn, she seemed far less wary of Byakuya than before.
In fact, she even started a conversation with him.
"Hey, handsome, do you remember me?"