"That's correct."
Byakuya answered honestly.
"...Honestly."
Hearing Byakuya admit it so readily, Rize felt somewhat deflated.
She stopped pressing him and asked directly, "So what did you two do after drinking? If it was just drinking, you wouldn't smell this strongly of her."
"..."
Byakuya truthfully recounted what had happened afterward.
As long as his conscience was clear, that was what mattered.
"So... you don't refuse anyone, do you?"
Rize glared at Byakuya. "Fine, that's just how you are—you never turn anyone away."
She had no choice but to get used to Byakuya's "accept all comers" approach.
Otherwise... this house wouldn't have so many people living in it...
...
The next morning.
Kiyoko woke and tried to recall the previous night's events.
Her memory cut off after asking Byakuya to help her change. She had no idea what happened after that.
But her expression remained calm. If something had happened, her body would have felt it.
Besides, she trusted Byakuya completely. She knew he wasn't the type to take advantage of the situation.
Even if he might have seen everything, she felt no embarrassment.
"I should invite Byakuya to drink with me from now on. That way I can drink to my heart's content without worry..."
Kiyoko murmured to herself.
...
Several days later.
The Quinx Squad returned from their mission.
But Kurona and Nashiro both looked mentally exhausted.
Something seemed off with Urie and Shirazu as well—apparently, something unpleasant had occurred.
Saiko and Mutsuki appeared to be the peacemakers.
"Did something happen?"
Seeing this, Akira immediately asked.
Byakuya and Kiyoko, however, weren't surprised.
They'd long known that conflict between Urie and Shirazu was inevitable given their personalities.
Before Kurona or Nashiro could speak, Shirazu beat them to it. "This Urie guy kept trying to act alone! We wasted so much time looking for him."
Clearly, he was quite upset with Urie.
"You didn't need to look for me."
Urie said expressionlessly.
"But we're all members of the Quinx Squad! We're supposed to work together."
Shirazu said with obvious frustration. "All you think about is hogging the credit for yourself."
"..."
Urie remained silent.
Because he couldn't deny it—he did want to monopolize the credit.
"Alright, alright, don't argue in front of Associate Special Class Amaha. First Class Mado and Special Class Aura are here too."
Saiko quickly tried to mediate.
Clearly, Kurona and Nashiro's exhaustion stemmed from having to resolve team conflicts while executing the mission.
"Since you've completed the mission, go rest first."
Byakuya interjected.
His authority was well-established. A single sentence sent both Urie and Shirazu back to their rooms.
Afterward, Byakuya went to Kurona and Nashiro's room.
"Kurona, Nashiro, how was leading the team this time? Was it exhausting?"
Byakuya asked with concern.
"Yeah. That Urie guy kept ignoring orders and going off on his own. Then Shirazu couldn't stand his behavior and kept arguing with him. It was such a pain..."
Kurona immediately complained.
"Almost half our time was spent worrying about their issues. Compared to that, investigating those B-rated ghouls was easy."
Nashiro also vented.
Back at the Academy, Kurona and Nashiro hadn't been good at handling interpersonal relationships—or rather, they simply didn't care. The sisters had always stuck together, just the two of them.
So dealing with situations like Urie and Shirazu frustrated them greatly, and they had no idea how to resolve it.
"It's fine. You'll become superiors eventually. Getting some early experience leading subordinates means you'll be prepared."
Byakuya consoled them.
"I don't want to become a superior. I just want to work together with Nashiro."
Kurona said.
"Same here."
Nashiro agreed. "As long as we can partner together, that's enough. Kurona and I can be each other's partner."
"...That works too, I suppose."
Byakuya smiled faintly.
Though by regulation, CCG required upper-three-rank investigators to partner with lower-three-rank investigators. There was no precedent of two Rank 2 investigators partnering with each other.
Eventually, Kurona and Nashiro would be promoted to First Class together, and theoretically, they'd each need to supervise a lower-ranked investigator.
But rules were rules, and people were people. The Washuu family controlling CCG would eventually be replaced by him anyway.
"Since you don't want to be superiors, do you still want to continue being squad leaders?"
Byakuya asked.
Kurona and Nashiro exchanged a glance, then simultaneously shook their heads while speaking in unison...
"No."
"No."
If they'd known the Quinx Squad would be this troublesome, they would have refused the squad leader position from the start.
Hearing this, Byakuya nodded slightly.
"Then I'll give the squad leader position to Urie. He wants credit and promotions, doesn't he? This can satisfy him while letting him experience what you've been through."
Byakuya proposed.
He understood Urie well enough to know that simply scolding him for his mistakes would be meaningless.
Only by truly experiencing certain things—even significant setbacks—would real change occur.
Just like Suzuya...
Hadn't Suzuya been a problem child at first too? But now he was completely different.
"Mm, that approach does seem viable."
"I agree. These kinds of things really need to be left to Byakuya-oniichan."
Both Kurona and Nashiro felt Byakuya's approach was excellent.
"Byakuya-oniichan..."
Nashiro suddenly leaned closer to Byakuya's face. "We worked so hard this time. Can you praise and comfort us a little?"
Though Kurona didn't speak, her eyes also shimmered with anticipation.
Nashiro was clearly bolder than Kurona. Kurona would have been too embarrassed to say something like that to Byakuya.
"What kind of comfort do you want?"
Byakuya asked.
"This..."
Nashiro gently pressed her finger just below Byakuya's lips.
...
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