"And also, I'll have to trouble you to look after Mayu-chan from now on, just like you did with Minami-san."
Uchiha Byakuya naturally hadn't forgotten about Mayu.
"Of course. Since she's the daughter you and Eto adopted, that makes her my granddaughter."
Yoshimura Kuzen agreed without hesitation.
He had always been someone who helped weaker ghouls whenever he could, let alone now; when the child in question was the daughter of Byakuya and Eto.
While Byakuya and Yoshimura were talking, Kirishima Touka, Uruka Minami, and the others gradually returned.
"Eto-sensei is actually the Manager's daughter?!"
The moment she heard the news, Minami was completely stunned.
She had known both Manager Yoshimura and Eto-sensei for quite some time, but she had never even considered the possibility that they were father and daughter.
Now that she thought about it, it actually made sense why the Manager had been acting strangely these past few days; ever since Eto first came to the café, something had felt off.
But she had never connected the dots before now.
"Daughter? Dad?"
Kirishima Touka mulled over the words for a moment before realization struck. "So Manager-ojisan is Nee-san's dad?"
"That's right. I just never mentioned it before. My full name is actually Yoshimura Eto."
Now that things had reached this point, Eto had no reason to keep her full name a secret from Minami and Touka anymore.
"Ohhh…."
But if that was the case…
Minami suddenly thought of something.
She had never met the Manager's wife before, but regardless of whether she was human or ghoul…
Wouldn't their child normally not be fully human?
But Eto had always seemed just like a normal human to her. She had even seen Eto eat human food multiple times with her own eyes.
Minami didn't know much about these things, so she had no idea that half-ghouls were such an extremely rare existence.
So she just assumed that the Manager's wife must have been human and mistakenly believed that a child born from a human and a ghoul could grow up just like a normal human.
This thought quickly led her to another idea; if she and Arima-kun had children in the future, would they be just like Eto-sensei?
The moment this thought crossed her mind, Minami's face immediately flushed red.
She patted her cheeks, embarrassed that she had even thought of something so improper.
"Minami-nee, your face looks a little red. Are you feeling sick?"
At that moment, Touka noticed Minami's flushed expression and asked her directly.
"No, it's nothing at all."
Minami smiled awkwardly.
No matter what, she couldn't let little Touka find out what she had just been thinking. Not only would it be embarrassing, but it might also set a bad example for the kid.
Eto immediately saw through her and knew she had just been thinking about Arima Kishou.
With a teasing grin, she quipped, "So, Minami-chan, when are you bringing your boyfriend over to Anteiku for a visit?"
"Boyfriend?"
Touka's big, bright eyes showed a hint of confusion.
Then, all of a sudden, she remembered seeing this word in a manga before, and she more or less understood what it meant.
"Minami-nee already has a boyfriend? That's amazing!"
Touka seemed to think this was a truly impressive feat.
On the other hand, Kirishima Ayato, who was even younger than Touka, had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
"Ehh? So Uruka-chan really has a boyfriend? Did you meet him at school? That means he's human, right?"
Hikari immediately perked up, clearly very interested.
"Next time, bring your boyfriend to the café. We can give him a free meal."
Irumi Kaya added with a smile.
"It's not like that! You're misunderstanding…"
Minami hurriedly tried to explain, "We're just classmates, and…."
She hesitated just before finishing her sentence.
She had been about to say, "And Arima-kun is a Ghoul Investigator."
Although the Manager already knew about Arima being an Investigator, she still felt it was better not to bring up that fact so openly.
"I get it, I get it. Just very close classmates, right?"
Hikari grinned. "But anyway, he really is human, huh? That could definitely come with a lot of challenges. But don't worry, Uruka-chan, we're all cheering for you."
"Ugh…."
Minami's face turned even redder.
Kirishima-nee had hit the nail on the head so perfectly that she couldn't even argue.
"Alright, Hikari, don't tease Uruka-chan too much."
Kirishima Arata gently reminded him.
Just then, Byakuya and Yoshimura Kuzen came downstairs together.
"It looks like things got pretty lively while Byakuya-kun and I were gone for just a little while."
Yoshimura Kuzen remarked.
Seeing Byakuya walking beside the Manager, Minami suddenly realized something; Uchiha-kun had already met Eto-sensei's family!
The pace of their relationship's progress made her feel both impressed and envious.
If only she could do the same. But forget about meeting the family; she and Arima-kun weren't even at that stage yet.
After that, Byakuya handed out the remaining gifts he had prepared to Touka, Ayato, Arata, and Minami.
He had prepared a gift for every member of Anteiku.
For Touka and Ayato, he had picked out toys.
For Minami, he got a variety of stationery (School Supplies); after all, she was an academic overachiever.
As for Arata, Byakuya wasn't too sure about his preferences, so he went with a watch; a safe, all-purpose gift.
"I didn't expect to get one too. That's really thoughtful; thanks a lot."
Arata said, somewhat surprised.
"Are you all settling in well at Anteiku?"
Byakuya asked Arata.
By "you all," he was, of course, referring to the entire Kirishima family.
Their move to Anteiku had actually been part of his plan from the beginning.
Back when he confronted Renji and Uta, he had already anticipated that, afterward, Renji would likely bring his sister and her family to Anteiku for safety.
Everything had gone according to plan, so naturally, he wanted to check in on their situation.
"Yeah, we're doing well here. Touka and Ayato are both really happy."
Arata replied.
Watching Byakuya chatting and laughing with his sister and brother-in-law, Renji's expression turned slightly strange again.
Byakuya noticed this and, in a calm tone, said,
"Although we've already met back in the 4th Ward, I want you to know; I'm not your enemy."