A wide grin appeared on Suzuya Juuzou's face.
He crouched behind a nearby champagne tower, silently observing everything through the gaps.
Uesugi Ryu pulled his left hand out of his trouser pocket, but when he opened it, the pocket was completely empty.
Mado Akira gritted her teeth and looked up at the innocent expression on Uesugi Ryu's face. Her eyes instantly turned into lifeless dead-fish eyes, and her voice carried a bone-chilling coldness as she cursed softly.
"You hentai investigator!"
Shinohara Yukinori happened to notice Suzuya Juuzou sneaking around behind a table, as if secretly observing something. Curious, he slowly walked up behind him and followed his line of sight.
At that moment, Uesugi Ryu and Mado Akira were standing very close together, appearing quite intimate.
Shinohara Yukinori stroked his chin and sighed in admiration.
"They really are affectionate. Still, in a setting like this, they should pay a bit more attention to their image."
Just then, Suzuya Juuzou, who had been focused on peeking, suddenly turned his head and locked eyes with Shinohara Yukinori.
A mysterious smile appeared on Suzuya Juuzou's lips, and then, like a startled rabbit, he turned and ran off.
"Huh... what's wrong, Juuzou?"
Shinohara Yukinori was momentarily stunned.
When he had made that comment earlier, he had not even tried to lower his voice. After all, it was just a young couple showing affection, nothing taboo.
What greeted him next was the murderous cold gaze of Mado Akira.
"Shimatta! (This is bad!)"
Sensing that something was wrong, he silently cursed his misfortune. With an awkward smile, he avoided Mado Akira's gaze and hurriedly fled the scene.
Mado Akira lifted her head and looked at Uesugi Ryu, her expression icy.
"Was it fun?"
Uesugi Ryu dropped his playful demeanor, and the faint smile on his face vanished instantly. He gently avoided Mado Akira's gaze.
"Not fun." (Reluctant version)
Mado Akira suddenly thought of something. The way Uesugi Ryu had performed the theft was far too practiced to seem normal.
She grabbed the lapel of his suit and said through gritted teeth,
"You'd better have used that ability for the first time..."
Uesugi Ryu met her gaze. This truly was his first time using it, and he replied with complete confidence.
"You are the first, and also the only one."
Mado Akira rolled her eyes at him, though her intuition told her that he was not lying this time.
Most of the surrounding investigators had noticed the situation as well, but none of them dared to stare for long. They merely cast quick, seemingly casual glances before immediately looking away.
Suddenly faced with such an incident, even the usually calm and composed Mado Akira felt somewhat flustered in this lively setting.
She looked at Uesugi Ryu with a resentful expression. Fortunately, she was wearing a long dress along with thick black stockings, so there was no need to worry about accidental exposure.
Still, the situation was quite stimulating.
........
In the spacious living room of the Mado residence, a long wooden dining table was placed at the center.
At this moment, four men with distinctly different temperaments were seated around the table.
They were Mado Kureo, Marude Itsuki, Shinohara Yukinori, and Kuroiwa Iwao.
Marude Itsuki tilted his head slightly, resting one hand casually against his chin, a hint of surprise on his face. With a half-smile, he looked at Mado Kureo across from him and teased,
"Kureo, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event. You're actually the one hosting dinner. Could it be that you have something to ask of us?"
He finished speaking with a slight raise of his eyebrow.
Beside him, Kuroiwa Iwao crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze also filled with curiosity as he looked toward Mado Kureo seated at the head of the table.
"That's true. If I remember correctly, the last time we came here was ten years ago. The furnishings in this house are still exactly the same as they were back then."
As he spoke, his eyes swept around the room.
The four men present were extremely familiar with one another. Since their youth, when they had first become investigators, they had been teammates. Together, they had driven away countless powerful ghouls and survived numerous life-and-death situations, forming bonds of absolute trust.
However, as time passed and their positions were promoted, they gradually dispersed into different posts. Later, Mado Kureo became wholly consumed by his pursuit of revenge, drifting further and further away from the others.
Although gatherings were occasionally organized, Mado Kureo had never attended any of them.
Therefore, this sudden dinner invitation truly surprised the other three.
Faced with their teasing, Mado Kureo merely chuckled softly and slowly folded his hands on the table. His gaze swept across everyone present before finally settling straight ahead.
"Since that's the case, I'll get straight to the point."
"The Washuu Clan are ghouls. Those who come from that place, the Sunlit Garden, are all hybrids of ghouls and humans, which is why they possess such formidable strength."
As soon as his words fell, a flash of astonishment crossed Marude Itsuki's face. He frowned slightly and sank into deep thought.
The image of Arima Kishou surfaced in his mind. Uesugi Ryu was just as powerful and just as young as Arima.
Meanwhile, Shinohara Yukinori appeared extremely serious. With tightly furrowed brows, he said solemnly,
"These are not accusations that can be made lightly. If it's based solely on intuition, it won't be enough to convince others."
Kuroiwa Iwao nodded in agreement. Although he trusted Mado Kureo's instincts, matters concerning the Washuu were no trivial issue. Without concrete evidence, such conclusions could not be drawn easily.
Mado Kureo was well aware that mere words would not persuade everyone. Just as he was about to present the relevant documents, Marude Itsuki curled his lips into a smile and suddenly asked,
"Was it your good son-in-law who told you?"
Before Mado Kureo could respond, he continued speaking on his own.
"I had my suspicions long ago. How could humans possibly be that strong? No matter how talented they are, it still doesn't quite make sense. A hybrid of a ghoul and a human... what would that be called? A half-ghoul or a half-human?"
Marude Itsuki looked at Mado Kureo with a serious expression, subconsciously assuming that Uesugi Ryu belonged to such a category.
Mado Kureo nodded.
"Yes, Ryu told me. However, he is neither a half-human nor a half-ghoul. As for what he truly is, even I am not sure."
A chilling smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he added in a slightly playful tone,
"But there is one thing I can confirm with absolute certainty. At the very least, he does not eat humans, and that is enough, isn't it?"
With that, Mado Kureo stood up and placed a large stack of documents on the table.
They contained various pieces of information related to the Washuu, tracing events back to the steel beam incident and following the clues downward.
Kanou Akihiro, Yasuhisa Nanao, the Sphinx Company, and the underground laboratory all pointed toward the Washuu.
Another crucial piece of evidence was the documentation concerning the RC cell detection gates.
The sound of pages turning filled the room as Shinohara Yukinori and Kuroiwa Iwao carefully examined the materials.
Marude Itsuki, however, did not pay much attention to the documents. Leaning back in his chair, he turned to look at Mado Kureo.
"Where is the person in question? Since you've come forward to reveal the truth, we should at least verify whether he eats humans or not."
As he spoke, his expression grew somewhat troubled.
Washuu Yoshitoki shared a close relationship with Marude Itsuki, and it was difficult for him to accept that his longtime friend might be a ghoul.
In a heavy tone, he said, "I will personally verify the RC cell detection gates and the Washuu's identity as ghouls. Although it is hard to believe, if Yoshitoki-san truly is a ghoul, I will personally exterminate him."
Mado Kureo took out a voice recorder that had just been handed to him by Uesugi Ryu.
He had been specifically instructed not to play it in advance, and thus Mado Kureo himself did not know its contents.
"This was just delivered by Ryu. I'm not sure what's inside."
All eyes focused on the small recorder. The information contained within would likely enrage every investigator present.