The coffee shop fell into silence. Inside were Touka Kirishima, Yoshimura (the shop's manager), Nishiki Nishio, and others.
"Apologies, my employee has recently experienced some grief and her emotions are a bit unstable," said Yoshimura as he walked over and gestured politely.
"That guy is…" Touka muttered, her voice filled with unease as she stared at Su Xiao.
Touka Kirishima, one of the semi-main characters of the original story, is a ghoul. The ghouls of Anteiku are different from others. They don't hunt humans, only consuming the bodies of those who committed suicide.
With her short blue hair tied back, Touka hesitated for a moment but ultimately stepped forward to serve as a waitress.
At Anteiku, both the manager and the employees are all ghouls. This café is a gathering place for ghouls. Yoshimura, the manager, is a formidable character, an SSS-rated ghoul. In his youth, he committed many atrocities, but in his old age, he came to the 20th Ward and opened this café. His goal is to create a place where ghouls and humans can coexist peacefully without ghouls preying on humans—just to survive.
Su Xiao sat at the bar, with Juuzou Suzuya beside him, curiously looking around.
"What can I get for you?" Yoshimura, his neatly combed white hair adding to his refined appearance, asked gently, his face calm and composed like that of an old gentleman. Strangely, it seemed as though his eyes were always closed—perhaps they were just small.
"Since I'm here at a coffee shop, I'll have a cup of coffee. I've heard that the coffee here is... 'quite good,'" Su Xiao said, not intending to start a fight. He was here for information.
He hadn't seen Kaneki Ken in the café. This could mean two things: either Kaneki wasn't around, or perhaps he had been captured by Aogiri Tree. Su Xiao leaned toward the latter.
"Please wait a moment," Yoshimura said, recognizing Su Xiao and personally attending to this dangerous individual.
Touka brought a towel and placed it on the counter in front of Su Xiao, slightly bowing before quickly trying to leave.
"Wait."
The sudden call stopped Touka in her tracks, her body stiffening.
"Wh-what is it, sir?"
She lowered her head, pretending to be shy, not daring to look at Su Xiao.
"You must have a brother, right?"
When Su Xiao said this, a chill ran down Touka's spine, filling her mind with dread.
"No, I don't have a brother."
From the moment Su Xiao had entered the shop, Touka had been on edge, and now Su Xiao was just toying with her.
"Your coffee is ready, sir," Yoshimura said, placing the cup of coffee before Su Xiao and indicating that he should enjoy it.
"Go and prepare tomorrow's supplies," Yoshimura instructed Touka, who gratefully hurried into the back room.
The unique aroma of coffee filled the air. Su Xiao wasn't in the habit of drinking coffee, but the rich smell tempted him, and he couldn't help but take a sip. The moment the coffee touched his lips, his brow raised in surprise.
"Tastes good."
Yoshimura smiled.
"Thank you for the compliment."
The manager picked up a cup of coffee himself, walked out from behind the counter, and sat next to Su Xiao.
"You're not used to coffee, I can tell. Coffee needs to be savored slowly, or you miss the experience. Life is like that too—bitter at times, but in that bitterness, there are also other flavors to be found."
"I don't usually drink coffee," Su Xiao admitted, "but I have a 'friend' who works here, so I came to check in. Too bad he's not here today."
"Friend?"
Yoshimura looked puzzled.
"Yes, a 'friend.' His name is Kaneki Ken. I was wondering if you could get in touch with him for me. It's been a 'long time' since we've seen each other."
Su Xiao set the coffee cup down, gazing meaningfully at Yoshimura.
"Oh, Kaneki? He's been away on a trip recently. He took some time off and is out of town. What a shame."
Su Xiao was now almost certain that Kaneki had gotten into trouble.
"Is that so? Well, that's too bad."
Su Xiao finished his cup of coffee in one gulp.
"Juuzou, let's go."
Though he appeared relaxed, Su Xiao was keenly aware of his surroundings. Those discreet gazes directed at him revealed that these ghouls had recognized who he was.
Su Xiao made a move to take out some money.
"No need, this one's on the house," Yoshimura said, standing up with a gentle smile.
Despite the short time spent with the manager, Su Xiao noticed that Yoshimura was unlike most ghouls he had encountered. There was no madness or cruelty about him. Instead, he seemed more like an elderly sage, with his deeply wrinkled face occasionally revealing a hint of sadness toward the world.
"Well, thank you then."
Su Xiao and the manager stood face to face.
"If you have time, please come to Anteiku again for coffee. Even at night, it's fine—the surroundings are quite safe," Yoshimura said, his words carrying multiple layers of meaning.
It was both an invitation to Su Xiao, showing good intentions, and also a subtle message that the ghouls in the 20th Ward were peaceful and wouldn't harm humans. He was also indirectly requesting that Su Xiao refrain from purging the 20th Ward.
Yoshimura likely understood that Su Xiao had figured out much already. For ghouls, the prospect of having their district purged was terrifying.
The manager, too, feared Su Xiao's reputation as the "Black Reaper."
"Perhaps we'll meet again in the near future," Su Xiao said with a faint smile. His eyes gleamed red for a moment. Draping his jacket over his arm, he walked out of the café.
The manager returned to his seat with a sigh as Touka stepped out from the back room.
"That guy is the new 'Black Reaper'? He's definitely insane…"
Touka's face showed concern. She feared that Su Xiao might decide to cleanse the 20th Ward, forcing Anteiku to relocate.
"What a terrifying person," Nishiki muttered. As only an A-rated ghoul, he was far more frightened of Su Xiao—his legs were nearly trembling. Su Xiao had killed more A-rated ghouls than Nishiki had ever encountered.
"It turns out that even humans can become this strong. If I'm not mistaken, he's here for Kaneki…" the manager said, breaking the tense silence.
—
On the way back to the CCG branch, Juuzou seemed unusually cheerful.
"Ara ara, I had a weird feeling in that café just now."
Juuzou's instincts were sharp; apart from him and Su Xiao, everyone else in that café had been a ghoul.
"Who knows," Su Xiao replied, walking down the street at night as he lit a cigarette.
Juuzou ran to Su Xiao's left, then quickly shifted to his right for some reason.
"White Night, how can I become as strong as you?"
"Luck, hard training, and not fearing death."
Juuzou nodded, understanding some of it, though not fully.
Five minutes later, the two returned to the CCG branch.
After Su Xiao took a shower and lay down shirtless on his bed, a blood-red card appeared in his hand. He planned to open the Queen's 'Crimson Card' to see if he could obtain something useful.
Tomorrow, he might be heading to the 24th Ward, so any additional power or resources would be helpful.
[Do you wish to use the Crimson Card?]
Su Xiao chose to use it. The Crimson Card slowly dissolved, turning into a ball of pale red liquid that floated in the air. The liquid began spinning rapidly, forming a vortex in front of Su Xiao. The vortex's opening was just large enough for him to reach inside.
He reached in, feeling around for a bit, and touched something with a peculiar texture. Su Xiao smiled. It seemed like he had drawn some equipment—perhaps his luck wasn't too bad after all.
Pulling his hand out of the vortex, a notification from the Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
The moment Su Xiao read it, the smile vanished from his face, and he stood frozen in place. After a long pause, he let out an exasperated curse.
The notification read:
[You have randomly drawn 'Silk Bra.']
(End of Chapter)
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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.