NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51: Mission
[Quest 1: Meet and Befriend Furuta and Rize]
[Quest Reward: 10 Attribute Points]
Based on the name of this hidden quest, Byakuya already had a general idea of its content.
This was because Furuta and Rize were not only childhood friends but also pivotal figures in the tragedy of the Washuu Clan.
"My name is Uchiha Byakuya" Byakuya replied calmly.
"Brother Byakuya, you must be a Ghoul Investigator by now, right?" Furuta asked with a bright smile.
When he noticed the "White Dove" badge on Byakuya's chest, he had already confirmed it.
"That's right" Byakuya nodded.
At this point, Furuta was still a cheerful and refined child, not yet the psychologically twisted individual portrayed in the original story.
If he remembered correctly, Furuta was only about eleven years old at this time.
"Brother Byakuya? Furuta, that's a bit cringy..." Rize teased, clearly put off by Furuta's affectionate tone.
However, Furuta was unfazed by the comment. "This big brother is already an investigator. I want to become one too!"
Rize rolled her eyes and said dismissively, "An investigator? Sounds boring."
"If you're interested, Furuta, you can come to the CCG in the 2nd Ward to find me. I'm the branch chief there" Byakuya said.
In the Sunlit Garden, the half-human children could leave once they reached a certain age. Most of them joined the CCG as Ghoul Investigators, while some also worked covertly for the V.
Byakuya had already decided to recruit Furuta as a member of his future Squad 0. However, before that, he wanted to prevent Furuta from becoming the psychologically distorted person he would later become.
Among the children of the Sunlit Garden, Furuta's potential was second only to Arima's, and he was also a clever master manipulator.
Most importantly, Furuta shared a desire to change the world, though his later psychological distortions led to extremism.
To Byakuya, Furuta was a resource worth cultivating.
"The branch chief of the 2nd Ward? That's amazing!" Furuta exclaimed in awe.
Byakuya exchanged a few more words with Furuta and Rize before taking his leave. After all, the quest required them to become friends, which couldn't be achieved in a single conversation.
For now, he wasn't in a rush to deepen his contact with these two.
Shortly after, Byakuya departed from Sunlit Garden. He wasn't in a hurry to select the third member for the Squad 0.
...
2nd Ward, CCG Branch
Now serving as the branch chief, Byakuya had a lot to handle. However, he delegated most of the work to the former branch chief, Kimura, and his staff.
As for the two kagune arms of the Owl, they had already been sent to the CCG Experimental Building in the 1st Ward for the creation of the SSS rated quinque Owl. Upon completion, the ownership of the quinque would belong to him.
Returning to his role as an editor at Shoeisha, Byakuya resumed work on the publishing process of Dear Kafta, which had made new progress.
...
At night, as usual, he discussed the manuscript with Eto.
"Miss Takatsuki, the publishing process is going smoothly. At this stage, there shouldn't be any major issues going forward."
"That's great" Eto said happily.
When they had nearly finished refining the manuscript, Eto didn't leave immediately. Instead, she sprawled on Byakuya's bed to rest.
"By the way, didn't the 2nd Ward's CCG get attacked by a dangerous ghoul today?" Eto suddenly brought up the topic.
"Yes, it was an SSS rated ghoul known as the One-Eyed Owl" Byakuya replied.
"Huh? An SSS rated ghoul? That sounds terrifying..." Eto feigned fear, her expression exaggerated.
Byakuya watched her with an unchanged expression, finding her act surprisingly endearing.
However, this confirmed to him that Eto already knew the Owl who attacked the CCG today was her father.
"Indeed, its strength is formidable. We barely managed to protect the 2nd Ward branch" Byakuya said, playing along with her words.
"But... we've obtained some clues about the One-Eyed Owl's whereabouts. Once we confirm its location, we'll launch a capture operation."
This was a deliberate move on Byakuya's part to gauge Eto's reaction.
"That's good. It's better to get rid of such a dangerous ghoul as soon as possible" Eto said, clapping her hands in apparent approval.
However, deep inside, she couldn't help but worry.
Although her father's evasive and self-preserving attitude had disappointed her, he was still her father. A child's concern for their parent needed no justification.
This time, her father had disguised himself as her to divert attention from the CCG and V. This act softened and shook her previously intense resentment toward him.
Even though the CCG wasn't as strong as the V, its strength exceeded Eto's expectations, especially with powerful investigators like Byakuya in its ranks.
If her father were to be found by the CCG, it would mean taking responsibility for her own past actions.
Though Eto controlled her facial expressions well, a subtle shift in her eyes didn't escape Byakuya's notice.
As he suspected, Eto still cared about her father's safety.
This meant there was still a significant chance of reconciliation between them.
...
Just two days after becoming a Cleaner, Byakuya received his first mission from Kaiko.
"The organization led by the 'One-Eyed Owl,' which attacked the 2nd Ward's CCG branch twice and breached Cochlea in the 23rd Ward, has been located. You and Arima are to eliminate them" Kaiko ordered.
Kaiko was still investigating the One-Eyed Owl. The third attack on the CCG by Yoshimura had left Kaiko puzzled because it resulted in no casualties and was carried out alone.
Eventually, Kaiko uncovered the organization's hideout, conveniently located in the 2nd Ward, where Byakuya was stationed.
This made Kaiko suspect even more that the previous One-Eyed Owl wasn't Yoshimura, since the latter was known to run an inconspicuous coffee shop in the 20th Ward.
"Understood..." Byakuya responded calmly.
Internally, however, he couldn't help but sigh. This was his first mission as a Cleaner, and it was already proving to be challenging.
The organization Kaiko referred to was undoubtedly the Aogiri Tree.
In other words, he and Arima were tasked with taking down Eto and the Aogiri Tree!