"Of course not. How could I possibly hate you, Mayu-chan? Rather, I just got a bit too excited because of how much I like you."
Yoshimura Kuzen explained with a gentle smile.
"Really?"
Mayu's sadness instantly turned into joy.
"Really."
Yoshimura Kuzen nodded firmly.
"Hehe, I like Grandpa too!"
Mayu immediately hugged Yoshimura Kuzen.
However, the height difference was too great, so she could only wrap her arms around his thigh.
A simple and innocent child like Mayu was easy to cheer up.
Yoshimura Kuzen gently patted her head.
After learning that this little girl was the adopted daughter of Eto and Uchiha-kun, he not only felt relieved but also genuinely happy.
Because this meant Eto was willing to reach out to him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought Mayu here to see him.
"Eto, and Uchiha-kun, come in and have a seat."
After speaking to Byakuya and Eto, Yoshimura Kuzen led Mayu to a seat first.
Just like last time, he personally brewed coffee for them.
Meanwhile, Kirishima Hikari and several other staff members had, of course, overheard the conversation between Yoshimura Kuzen, Byakuya, and Mayu.
As Yoshimura Kuzen was making coffee, Hikari spoke to him in surprise, "Manager, so your daughter and son-in-law are actually them?"
She found it to be an incredible coincidence.
They had known Byakuya and Eto for a long time, just without knowing their names.
"...Yes."
After a moment of thought, Yoshimura Kuzen chose not to explain further.
In front of outsiders, he avoided revealing anything about Eto as much as possible; to guard against V.
So in front of others, he could only tacitly acknowledge the relationship between Byakuya and Eto, sparing himself from further explanation.
That being said, Eto reaching out to him was not entirely a good thing in his mind.
Because he knew that the "V" organization was already suspecting that the true "One-Eyed Owl" was not him, but rather his child.
If they found out he had a daughter, they would undoubtedly go after her with everything they had.
"What a coincidence."
Hikari remarked, "But the manager's daughter must be a ghoul too, right? And that young man, according to Yomo, is a CCG investigator. A ghoul marrying a human, let alone a ghoul investigator; I've never seen anything like it."
She never doubted Eto's age, as Eto had always carried herself in a way that completely contradicted her actual years.
Yomo Renji, on the other hand, was a little stunned. That black-clad investigator was the manager's son-in-law?!
No wonder the manager had been acting strangely ever since those two guests last visited the café.
He still didn't understand the full picture, but at least now he knew why the manager had been acting oddly lately.
Yomo Renji's mind was in turmoil. He vividly remembered how terrifyingly strong that black-clad investigator was and how ruthless he had been toward both him and Uta.
If they hadn't been saved by an unknown ghoul at the last moment, they would have surely died there.
But at the same time, he was the manager's son-in-law, someone willing to marry a ghoul.
Wait a minute!
A sudden realization struck Yomo Renji.
Back then, it was that unknown ghoul who had brought him and Uta to Anteiku. Could it be that this ghoul knew both the manager and that black-clad investigator?
If that were the case, then was that black-clad investigator just putting on an act back then too?
As this thought crossed Renji's mind, things only got more and more confusing for him. He couldn't understand why a ghoul investigator would do something like that.
"Well, isn't this a good thing? Yomo-san, didn't you say that young man is incredibly strong? That just means we have one less enemy. Since he's the manager's son-in-law, he probably won't make trouble for us, right?"
Koma Enji spoke casually as he wiped down a table with a damp cloth.
"That's not necessarily true. You don't think he'll come after you for all the dirty things you've done?"
Irimi Kaya shot back at Koma Enji, as was her habit.
"Let's not bring up the past, let's not bring up the past! I've been reflecting on my actions, really. Besides, you weren't any different back then."
Koma Enji replied with slight embarrassment.
Hoito Roma simply watched the exchange in amusement.
She still hadn't noticed anything unusual about Byakuya and Eto.
After all, Roma had no idea what Yoshimura Kuzen's kakuja form looked like, so she had no reason to suspect anything about the identity of the "One-Eyed Owl."
At that moment, Yoshimura Kuzen brought over three cups of coffee.
"Um… can I drink this?"
Staring at the cup in front of her, Mayu couldn't help but whisper the question to Yoshimura Eto.
She didn't know that ghouls could drink coffee; in fact, she didn't even recognize what coffee actually was.
"You can, don't worry. Go ahead and drink it."
Eto reassured her.
"Okay."
Mayu felt at ease now.
She took a small sip, surprised to find that it wasn't as awful as other liquids or drinks she had tried before.
The taste was a little strange, but compared to the food that usually made her feel nauseous, this was much, much better.
She was genuinely astonished; aside from human flesh, there was actually something else she could consume.
She could even feel a slight sense of fullness.
"Mayu is a ghoul too, right? Actually, coffee is the only normal food that ghouls can consume."
Yoshimura Kuzen explained.
He had even added extra sugar to Mayu's coffee, considering that children might not be used to the bitterness at first.
"Ohhh."
Mayu nodded.
Since he was "Grandpa," she wasn't worried at all about him knowing she was a ghoul.
At this moment, Byakuya finally handed over the gift he had brought along for Yoshimura Kuzen.
"This is a small token of my appreciation."
He had bought a wristwatch and a hat for Yoshimura Kuzen.
The watch was a luxury brand; nothing particularly symbolic about it.
As for the hat, it was because Yoshimura Kuzen still used V's signature look when going out during this time: a black hat and a long black coat.
So Uchiha Byakuya had deliberately chosen a black hat for him.
Yoshimura Kuzen didn't open the package to check what it was; he simply accepted it with a nod.
"Thank you very much."
Of course, it wasn't just Yoshimura Kuzen; Byakuya had also prepared gifts for the other café staff, which he handed out one by one.
Kirishima Hikari, Koma Enji, and Irimi Kaya all looked quite happy, while Yomo Renji's expression remained somewhat stiff and awkward.
Still, he accepted the gift and muttered a "thanks."
When it was Roma's turn, she seemed noticeably less wary of Byakuya. She even took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
"Hey, handsome boy, do you still remember me?"