For Kamishiro Rize—
Whatever Hayashi made, she would eat it.
After all, once she got home, she'd just throw it all up anyway. So what difference did it make?
That said, Rize's acting skills were impeccable. In every past performance, she'd shown no discomfort at all—she'd even pretend to savor the taste while swallowing it down.
That was the self-discipline of a Tokyo Ghoul.
Inside the kitchen—
While defrosting the steak, Hayashi couldn't help but sigh.
Kamishiro Rize... a binge eater.
Her genes were ridiculously strong. That's why she'd been raised as a prime ghoul breeding subject since childhood.
She had even evolved into a "Dragon"-class ghoul later.
She was beautiful, sure—but her brain wasn't quite right.
And she was a total foodie.
The moment she tracked him down to the diner, Hayashi didn't even need to think—he knew she had taken an interest in him.
"This is going to be a headache."
Thinking it over, Hayashi opened up the system task list.
[Mission Complete. Reward: All-World Food Lottery x1]
"Alright, let's roll."
[Rolling... Congratulations! You have obtained: Blood of a Super Dangerous Species!]
"What kind of blood?"
Hayashi pulled the reward out from the system.
The next moment, he was holding a ceramic jar in both hands.
Inside was fresh, thick blood—and on the surface, a demonic face grinned back at him with a wicked smile.
"Oh... it's you."
Hayashi suddenly remembered.
This wasn't some ordinary duck blood or animal blood.
It was an Imperial Arm—specifically the Ice-type one called [Demon's Manifestation: Essence of the Fiend].
Though it was technically a weapon, it also functioned like a Devil Fruit—it was a power.
It granted total control over ice—attack, defense, and manipulation—all at high speed and potency.
It also came with two incredibly powerful hidden abilities:
Mahapadma (Mokapotomo): The ability to freeze time. Esdeath could only use it once per day, but the stronger your body, the shorter the cooldown.
Ice Storm Commander-in-Chief: A giant AOE skill that could store energy and unleash it all at once.
"Not bad at all."
Hayashi really liked this ability.
And in the next second—he didn't hesitate.
He lifted the jar and drank it all.
"Gulp gulp gulp~~~"
With the ability to devour and absorb any food as his own—
Demon's Manifestation: Essence of the Fiend counted as food to him.
Blood? That's just liquid food, right?
Wasn't everyone else outside treating people as food already?
A few seconds later—
"Ah~!"
Hayashi drained the entire jar.
"Damn, that hit the spot."
The next moment—
His heart gave a hard thump. His mind buzzed with a shockwave.
Inside his consciousness, a demonic will screeched and struggled—only to be instantly consumed by Hayashi's own awareness, leaving behind nothing but its power.
In reality—
A triangular demon-shaped mark appeared on his left shoulder.
He glanced down and nodded in satisfaction.
"Looks good. I'll just treat it like a tattoo."
After the perfect absorption—
Hayashi clenched his fist, feeling the surging strength in his muscles.
And he could get even stronger through training.
Just like developing a Devil Fruit.
As for testing the ability...
Hayashi looked at the half-thawed sirloin steak.
He reached out and pressed a finger onto it.
In the next second, the steak instantly froze solid—hard enough to repel bullets.
He lifted his finger and pressed again.
In a flash, the solid block of ice was gone, and the steak returned to a perfectly defrosted, room-temperature cut.
Super-Speed Defrosting.
Hayashi thought for a moment and turned to unplug the fridge.
Then he opened the fridge door and tapped the inner wall.
Fwoosh~
A thin layer of frost instantly formed inside—cold enough to store anything, and it wouldn't melt for a long time.
Even the internal temperature was perfect.
"Nice."
Hayashi was growing more and more fond of his abilities—and more proficient with them, too.
Staring at his hand, he suddenly had an idea.
Could he perhaps sneak a "little something" into the food, hiding his powers within it, and then—once someone ate it—freeze them from the inside out, at will?
Yes, from the inside out.
Looking at the steak prepared for Kamishiro Rize, Hayashi cleared his throat lightly.
"Well, let's give it a try. Ghouls aren't exactly easy to kill anyway."
Meanwhile...
The antique coffee shop flipped its sign—closing time.
Inside, the employees were tidying up—wiping tables, cleaning machines, washing cups, and wrapping up for the day.
Kirishima Touka was wiping a table, looking a bit downcast. Her eyes drifted occasionally toward the window, especially toward the alley.
"That woman still hasn't come out," she muttered.
She was talking about Kamishiro Rize.
Ding-ling~
The bell rang. Touka turned around, ready to tell the visitor the shop was closed—but it was the manager who returned.
Yoshimura, the silver-haired, always-smiling elderly manager.
"Manager!"
Everyone looked at him.
With just a glance at their expressions, Yoshimura immediately sensed something had happened. Still smiling, he asked, "What's going on today?"
Kirishima Touka and the others quickly explained.
They told him about how Hayashi had come by earlier with a gift and how Rize had followed him.
"She went in and hasn't come back!" Touka said urgently. "If she eats him tonight, the CCG will definitely come sniffing around here!"
Yoshimura nodded slightly. "Rize isn't usually that impatient."
Touka was about to argue when Yoshimura suddenly sniffed the air and turned his gaze to a gift bag on the bar.
Sensing his interest, Koma Enji immediately explained, "That's a gift from the young restaurant owner—it should be food. We haven't opened it yet. We thought Touka could give it to one of her human friends."
They, as ghouls, couldn't eat human food. Rather than waste it, giving it away was the most polite option.
But Yoshimura's expression changed slightly.
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed as he walked to the bag. Under everyone's watchful gaze, he opened the package and took out a box of sweets.
"...Sakura mochi?" they murmured.
Yoshimura sniffed again. His usually smiling eyes turned serious.
Everyone now realized—something was different.
As they watched closely, Yoshimura opened the lid, picked up a piece of sakura mochi, and—to everyone's shock—put it into his mouth and began to eat.
Koma Enji, Irimi, and Touka: "!!!"