The Mado household.
"Damn it. It's been too long since I last cooked. I'm a bit flustered!"
Wearing an apron, Mado Kureo supported his forehead with one hand and looked somewhat helplessly at the fish fillets inside the oven that had almost been roasted into charcoal.
Waves of burnt smell spread out from inside and drifted throughout the entire kitchen.
A large light-blue fat cat lying nearby smelled the burnt odor and immediately showed a look of disgust. It walked with cat steps and quickly ran away.
"Leave it to me, Father. There weren't many ingredients in the refrigerator to begin with."
Mado Akira stirred the miso soup in the pot and spoke calmly. However, her expression was relaxed and a faint smile hung at the corner of her mouth.
This kind of warm family atmosphere had not appeared for many years.
Mado Kureo was usually immersed in work and generally did not eat at home.
After graduating from the academy, Mado Akira also rarely returned home, so the two did not meet frequently.
Mado Kureo had previously been quite skilled at housework.
However, after so many years had passed, the kitchen utensils at home had all been replaced with new ones, and their power levels were quite different from the ones from before.
"I understand."
After responding, Mado Kureo put on gloves and prepared to take the burnt fish fillets out.
Ding dong, ding dong. The crisp and brief sound of the doorbell rang twice in succession.
"That should be Ryu. My my, this is a bit embarrassing."
Mado Kureo removed his gloves, quickly walked to the door, and opened it.
Standing outside the door was indeed Uesugi Ryu. He wore a smile and held an exquisite gift bag in his hand.
"Mado-san, good evening!"
Uesugi Ryu greeted politely.
"Ah, please come in, please come in!"
Mado Kureo responded warmly and stepped aside to make space.
Uesugi Ryu stepped into the house. While outside he had already smelled the burnt odor drifting in the air.
Seeing Mado Kureo dressed like this, it must have been his masterpiece.
After handing the small gift to Mado Kureo, Uesugi Ryu looked inside with some curiosity.
"Ryu, go sit in the living room for a while. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Speaking of which, it has been a long time since I cooked. Tonight you can taste Akira's cooking."
The large fat cat that Mado Akira raised was lying near the entrance.
When it saw Uesugi Ryu arrive it seemed to be startled. It instantly entered spine-dragon form and hurriedly ran away.
Mado Akira, who was busy in the kitchen, leaned half of her body out and looked toward the kitten curled up in the corner.
"Marisuzero?"
Mado Akira wore an apron with a kitten design, and underneath she wore a black shirt.
Seeing this, Uesugi Ryu smiled faintly. It was probably the smell of blood on his body, or that faint dragon-like pressure, that frightened Marisuzero.
"What a fat cat. It seems its meals are very good."
Uesugi Ryu shrugged and joked somewhat unexpectedly.
That was not wrong. This little guy looked like a light-colored gas tank.
"Akira takes good care of it. But Marisuzero is also very lazy and does not like exercising much."
Mado Kureo smiled and explained to Uesugi Ryu, then led him into the living room.
After bringing Uesugi Ryu to the living room, Mado Kureo walked over to Marisuzero and stroked its head to comfort it slightly.
Dinner was ready very quickly.
It was a very classic Japanese dinner. Miso soup, tempura, grilled fish fillets and similar dishes. There were no particularly strange extremely spicy dishes.
Although the Mado father and daughter liked spicy food, when entertaining guests things still needed to be normal.
"Mado-san, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
After they were almost finished eating, Uesugi Ryu asked proactively.
Mado Kureo paused and said calmly.
"There is a coffee shop called Anteiku. Ryu should know about it."
Uesugi Ryu nodded. Mado Kureo tapped the dining table continuously with one hand and continued.
"I went there two days ago to take a look. My instincts tell me that the shop manager is The Non-Killing Owl."
"The matter of artificial ghouls and that college student named Kaneki Ken are enough to prove my guess."
Uesugi Ryu was not surprised. Following the clue of Anteiku made these things easy to investigate.
As for the matter of artificial ghouls, it was he who asked Mado Akira to reveal it to Mado Kureo.
At this point, Uesugi Ryu needed the truth to start spreading among investigators close to him as soon as possible.
Later, overthrowing the Washuu would not be something he could accomplish alone. The more assistance the better.
"Is that so. I went there once before. The coffee was very good."
"Since that incident I have not seen Kaneki Ken again. I did not expect something like this to happen."
"If that is the case, it seems preparations for the Owl Extermination Operation need to begin."
After answering Mado Kureo's question, Uesugi Ryu took a deep breath and then said seriously.
"Additionally, I want Mado-san to transfer to Countermeasures Division Two."
"With Mado-san's qualifications and ability, I believe the higher-ups will not reject this request."
Hearing this, a troubled expression appeared on Mado Kureo's face.
Countermeasures Division Two handled command duties for major operations. Special-Class Investigator Marude Itsuki was the leader of Countermeasures Division Two.
Most of the investigators there were experienced veteran investigators with strength and seniority. In short, it was a relatively safe position.
Although Mado Akira also hated the One-Eyed Owl, she still retained some rationality.
Moreover, with her current position and strength she was not qualified to directly face the One-Eyed Owl.
Mado Kureo was somewhat different. Personally he hated the One-Eyed Owl to the bone, and his position was high enough.
Uesugi Ryu worried that something might happen to Mado Kureo during this extermination operation. He did not have that much energy to protect so many people.
This time was different from the previous one. In Cochlea the CCG had an absolute home advantage.
But in the 20th Ward it was different. Anyone could participate in this chaotic battle.
Uesugi Ryu had quite a few enemies. He did not want the people around him to be dragged into danger.
This time it was not only about dealing with Anteiku. Aogiri Tree would likely enter the battlefield early, and whether the Clowns would participate was also unknown.
Mado Kureo sighed softly. His gaze became somewhat complicated, and he did not immediately agree to Uesugi Ryu's request.
Last time in Cochlea he could not see any hope of killing his enemy, so he had remained relatively rational.
But this time there was a high probability that the two Owls would appear simultaneously. He wanted to personally fight the One-Eyed Owl once, even if the final result was death.
Calling Uesugi Ryu here this time, besides discussing matters regarding the Owl, Mado Kureo also wanted to entrust his daughter to Uesugi Ryu.
In the end the One-Eyed Owl was his enemy, yet he had never even had the opportunity to fight it.
The first time he encountered the One-Eyed Owl, his wife died tragically. Before he could even take out his Quinque he was dragged away by his colleagues.
The second time he encountered The Non-Killing Owl, his superior Iba Fujishige lost his dominant hand to the opponent and had no choice but to retire.
Arima Kishou turned the tide and cut off both of the opponent's arms, while Mado Kureo once again accomplished nothing and could only hide behind and watch.
The third time was the same.
It was almost laughable. When it came to revenge, his progress had still remained at the level of words until now.
He had not caused even the slightest bit of damage to the One-Eyed Owl.
Even after ten years he was still standing in the same place, having become a complete bystander.
He opened his mouth, about to speak words of refusal.
However, at that moment a warm hand quietly grasped his right hand.
Mado Akira tightly held her father's hand, and a trace of earnest pleading flickered in her eyes.
She said softly, "Father, leave it to Ryu. I do not want to lose you as well."
Mado Kureo's heart suddenly trembled when he heard this.
When he met his daughter's hopeful gaze, it was as if he had been burned by fire and he quickly turned his head to the side.
Aside from the unique mismatched eyes inherited from him, Mado Akira had almost inherited all of her mother's facial features.
It was as if he had seen his wife again. Suddenly he felt somewhat lost. His messy white hair covered his eyes.
After a moment of silence, Mado Kureo raised his head and looked at Uesugi Ryu. A relieved smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"The new armor has been completed. Since I cannot personally kill the One-Eyed, let this armor replace me."