“What brings you here in the middle of the night, Kuzen?”
“My apologies. I have circumstances I simply cannot ignore.”
Just as I was about to turn the page of a novel I’d been obsessed with lately, an unexpected visitor appeared.
He hadn’t come through the front door; he had entered through the window.
My studio apartment was five stories above ground. To anyone else, someone climbing through the window would be shocking, but I wasn’t particularly surprised.
If the man had been a normal human, I would have been startled. But if he was a Ghoul, it wasn't that big of a deal.
Ghouls.
Monsters that hide within human society, wearing human faces while devouring the very people they mimic.
By nature, they are the natural enemies of mankind.
And I happened to be friends with one of them. There was a bit of an age gap, but still...
“A-bu~”
“Hm?”
I had been so focused on the next line of my book that I barely noticed Kuzen entering, but then a babbling sound—entirely out of place for the mood—reached my ears.
I looked up to see Kuzen closing the window behind him.
His lips were pressed into a hard, thin line, and his sharp eyes reminded me of a silent predator. Fine wrinkles etched into his skin bore the marks of time. His black fedora, pulled low, and his black coat fluttered in the night breeze like the wings of a raven.
It was unmistakably the Kuzen I knew.
He was much gentler now, but when we first met, he had an aura that was far more intimidating.
After closing the window, Kuzen glanced outside, scanning the perimeter. There was a sense of urgency and crisis in his movements that I had never seen before.
Deciding the coast was clear, he turned around with a soft sigh. Only then did I notice what he was cradling in his arms.
“A baby?”
There was no mistaking it.
With pale skin, rosy cheeks, and an angelic face, the baby was sleeping peacefully with its eyes closed.
“This is the child of Ukina and me.”
“Oh! Really? Congratulations! I didn't know you and Ukina had a child... wait, Ukina!?”
I started to offer my genuine congratulations, but then the realization hit me, and my voice spiked.
“W-wait a second! Ukina is human, isn’t she!? Is it even possible for a human and a Ghoul to have a child!?”
“It was a miracle she brought about.”
Kuzen was smiling as he looked down at the baby, but his eyes were brimming with sorrow.
Seeing that, a dark premonition crept into my mind.
Praying that I was wrong, I asked,
“Kuzen... where is Ukina right now?”
“......”
“Kuzen?”
“......”
Kuzen lowered his head, hiding his expression.
However, his fist was clenched so tightly that it trembled, looking as if blood might seep from his grip. That alone spoke more clearly than any words could about his current state of mind.
I closed my book and let out a heavy sigh. This was no time for reading.
“What do you need me to do?”
“......”
“You came here because you need my help, right? I can’t even begin to imagine how dangerous your world is... but if it’s something I can handle, I’ll help you.”
“Hoo...”
Kuzen exhaled, steadying his emotions, and finally looked up.
“Koma. Aside from Ukina, you are the only person who reached out to me even after learning I was a Ghoul. That is why I am asking this of you.”
Kuzen held the baby out toward me.
“Please take care of this child.”
“No way. That’s impossible.”
................................
I waved my hands in a frantic refusal.
Kuzen looked absolutely stunned, as if he hadn't expected me to shut him down so bluntly.
“Why!? Didn’t you just say you would help me!?”
“I specifically said ‘something I can handle’!! I’m a student living on my own who hasn’t even graduated high school yet! Why are you dumping a hardcore quest like childcare on me!!”
“You are the only one I can trust! The meeting point I had arranged with my former comrade, Noroi, has already been compromised by the organization, so I cannot leave the child with him!! To guarantee this child’s safety, you are the only option!!”
“Don’t give up yet!! There has to be someone more reliable than a shut-in like me, who spends every day off from school reading books or playing games!!”
“If such a person existed, I wouldn’t be standing here arguing with you!!”
“Damn it!! Is having no friends something to be proud of!?”
I suspect I am the only human in the entire world—powerless and not even a Ghoul Investigator—who would get into a shouting match with a Ghoul like this.
Perhaps because we were being too loud, the baby let out a small whimper.
“Hiiing...”
“Ugh...”
“......”
Kuzen and I immediately fell silent. Relieved by the quiet, the baby began to breathe softly and drifted back to sleep.
Once I was sure the baby was out, I whispered,
“...You’re an incredibly strong Ghoul, right? Isn’t there any way you can just keep the baby with you?”
“That is impossible... The power of the organization is not to be underestimated. Right now, I cannot even guarantee my own life.”
“Ugh, what a godforsaken world...”
Cursing under my breath to vent my frustration, I finally took the baby from Kuzen’s arms.
A human baby would have smelled of powdered milk, but a faint, metallic scent of blood pricked my nose, proving that this child was a Ghoul.
“Are you really sure it’s okay for me to do this?”
“Yes. From the organization’s perspective, there is no connection between you and me. As long as I stay hidden, no harm will ever come to you.”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
I sighed and continued.
“This child... they have to grow up without parents.”
The mother was gone, and the father was a fugitive with his life on the line.
Even if Kuzen managed to return safely, there was no telling if that would be in a few years or a decade. He might never come back at all.
“...Then you become the parent.”
“I’m human!”
“Does a normal human become friends with a Ghoul? Besides, this child is half-human.”
“Still, based on that smell of blood, they’re going to need ‘nutrition,’ right?”
“......I am sorry.”
“Forget it. Starting tomorrow, I’m searching the internet for the best suicide spots.”
Between early childhood education, figuring out what to do with a baby while I'm at school, and hiding the whole thing from my parents, the mountain of worries was already crushing my spirit.
“What’s the name?”
“Eto. I named her so that ‘countless affections may support this child.’”
“I’ll... try my best with that, too.”
Flap.
Looking relieved, Kuzen let his black coat billow as he prepared to exit through the window.
“Hey, Kuzen. You should at least say goodbye to your kid.”
“...What right do I have as a parent when I cannot even stay by her side?”
“Since when did parenthood require a qualification check?”
“......”
Kuzen hesitated for a moment, then looked back at the baby.
“I will definitely return alive... Eto.”
Whoosh!
He leapt from the window and vanished into the urban darkness.
After waving him off, I looked down at the baby, who had woken up and was staring at me with bright, alert eyes.
I gently stroked her cheek with my finger.
“I’m Takaki Koma. I’ll be taking care of you from now on, Eto.”
“Baaah~!”
Eto gave me a bright, beaming smile, and then—
Crunch!
...she bit my finger.
Then, she began to suck the blood seeping from the wound as if it were milk.
Yeah. I should probably start by teaching her restraint when it comes to eating people. Otherwise, I’m the one who’s going to get eaten first...
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