After Rize Kamishiro left, Amane Byakuya remained in the café, not in a hurry to leave.

  After all, there were still many key characters from the original story here—such as Manager Yoshimura Kuzen, Kirishima Touka, and Yomo Renji. Who knew? He might even accidentally trigger another system reward.

  However, Amane Byakuya wasn’t the type to deliberately disturb or strike up conversations with them.

  Since the café had bookshelves, he decided to pick out a book and read for a while—his own coffee wasn’t even finished yet.

  Browsing the shelves, he quickly noticed several works by Takatsuki Sen.

  It seemed that this timeline was a little earlier than the start of the original story—Takatsuki Sen was already a highly popur and well-known author.

  Since Amane Byakuya was genuinely interested in her works, he decided to give one a try.

  Of course, he was fully aware that this bestselling "cute girl" author was actually none other than the SSS-rated ghoul, "One-Eyed Owl"—Yoshimura Eto, a core figure of the Aogiri Tree organization.

  That was precisely why he was so curious about her writing.

  Amane Byakuya selected Takatsuki Sen’s debut novel, "Dear Kafka."

  The original work never described the contents of this book in detail, which meant that this was an entirely new experience for him.

  As he focused on reading Dear Kafka, ghouls in the café began quietly whispering about him.

  …

  【Ding! Host has read Dear Kafka. Reward: 1 Fusion Point!】

  Halfway through the book, the system notification suddenly appeared.

  Although it was only 1 Fusion Point, what truly caught Amane Byakuya’s attention was the breadth of the system's reward triggers—even reading a book could earn him points.

  It was clear that this happened because the book was written by Takatsuki Sen.

  Realizing this, Amane Byakuya made a mental note—whenever he had free time, he should probably read all of Takatsuki Sen’s works.

  His attention soon returned to Dear Kafka.

  Even though he was only halfway through, he could already sense Takatsuki Sen’s distinctive style.

  That signature oppressive atmosphere, the sense of despair, the pessimistic worldview, the deep distrust of others—these elements could only come from someone who had grown up in the merciless, hellish depths of the 24th Ward.

  And that person was Yoshimura Eto.

  Despite its bleak themes, the story itself was undeniably captivating.

  In fact, this strong, individualistic style wasn’t a fw—it was a strength. Compared to formuic, repetitive storytelling, a unique voice like this was far more compelling.

  Just then, Amane Byakuya felt a slight pang of hunger.

  Gncing at the wall clock, he realized that time had flown by—it was already evening.

  Time to grab some dinner.

  Marking his page with a bookmark, Amane Byakuya picked up Dear Kafka and walked to the counter.

  “Excuse me, may I borrow this book for the night? I’ll return it first thing in the morning.”

  He addressed the café’s staff member at the front desk.

  The person standing there was a girl with short, blue-violet hair, dressed in a café uniform.

  Her hairstyle was distinctive—her bangs almost completely covered her right eye.

  She had a quiet, reserved demeanor and delicate, pretty features.

  Without a doubt, this was Kirishima Touka.

  Amane Byakuya recognized her instantly.

  Kirishima Touka.

  However, at this moment, her expression was rather indifferent.

  “Sorry, we don’t offer book rentals here,” Touka replied coolly. “But if you really want to borrow it, you can leave a deposit. As long as you return it on time tomorrow, we’ll refund you.”

  After all, this kid could be eaten by Rize Kamishiro at any moment. If that happened, the book would never be returned, so at least collecting a deposit would minimize potential losses.

  "Sure."

  Amane Byakuya patted his pocket and, sure enough, he had money.

  At the same time, the system transmitted some information into his mind, expining his current circumstances.

  Apparently, his background had already been arranged—he had a house, a car, and was a student at Kamii University, with both parents deceased.

  Of course, this was all set up by the system.

  In other words, the system had altered parts of this world, much like how an author could effortlessly modify their own story’s settings.

  Kamii University...

  From what Amane Byakuya remembered, this was a prestigious Tokyo university in this world—equivalent to a top-tier national university back home, like a "985 school."

  Not just anyone could get in.

  The system was definitely giving him a prestige boost.

  But compared to things like "having a house and a car" or "being a top university student," his real trump card was the ability to merge with Uchiha Madara.

  All the other perks were just icing on the cake.

  Without hesitation, Amane Byakuya handed over the deposit to Kirishima Touka, then left the café with Dear Kafka in hand.

  As he walked out, Touka watched his departing figure for a moment.

  "Hey, Touka~ you seem a bit interested in that guy?"

  At that moment, another waitress, Irimi Kaya, teased her pyfully.

  "Not at all," Touka replied bluntly, her voice low. "I just find it annoying that a human like him is being treated as prey by Rize Kamishiro."

  "But there’s nothing we can do about that woman," Irimi Kaya said with a helpless tone. "She's practically a natural disaster. Every district she's stayed in before ended up in chaos, and she even got the leader of the 6th Ward captured by the CCG."

  "I know," Touka sighed. "That’s why I don’t pn to get involved."

  She shook off those unnecessary thoughts—there was no point worrying about Rize Kamishiro’s next victim.

  She and the other waitstaff never really understood why Manager Yoshimura Kuzen allowed Rize to act as she pleased.

  But from an omniscient perspective, it was easy to expin—Rize Kamishiro was actually a "breeder" of the Washuu Cn.

  And the Washuu Cn was Yoshimura Kuzen’s greatest enemy, as well as the true antagonistic force of the entire Tokyo Ghoul world.

  If Yoshimura took action against Rize, it would inevitably draw the attention of the Washuu Cn, ultimately leading to the destruction of the "safe haven" he had worked so hard to build.

  Thus, he could only turn a blind eye to Rize’s behavior.

  Of course, Kirishima Touka and Irimi Kaya were unaware of Yoshimura’s history with the Washuu Cn, which was why they couldn’t understand his attitude toward Rize Kamishiro.

  ---

  Meanwhile, Amane Byakuya was on his way home.

  He walked while continuing to read, occasionally dodging passersby when he saw movement in his peripheral vision.

  But suddenly—

  He caught sight of a familiar, petite figure.

  His instincts kicked in, and he raised his eyes for a clearer look.

  It was Yoshimura Eto, also known as Takatsuki Sen, the very author of the book he was holding—Dear Kafka.

  ...

  (To be continued...)