"Not… human? O-Okay… we understand."
The two MPD officers clearly didn't understand what Hōjō Yoru meant.
After all, unlike the original Tokyo Ghoul storyline, this world—at least at the current stage—had multiple threats, but the only one widely known to the public was the kind that couldn't be hidden because it appeared out of thin air: devils.
There weren't even any laws specifically targeting ghouls.
Forget civilians—ordinary MPD officers didn't even know ghouls existed.
Outside the clubroom, Hiratsuka Shizuka paced back and forth, lightly biting her lower lip, worry written all over her face. Then she heard the door open.
She looked up and immediately asked the moment she saw Yoru step out first.
"That was fast. You didn't say anything you shouldn't have, right?"
"Nope."
Yoru gave her a reassuring smile, then pointed at the two MPD officers emerging behind him and said cheerfully:
"They're reasonable people. They didn't make things hard for me. Right?"
"Y-Yes… yes."
The two officers nodded so hard it was almost synchronized, then hurried away like they were fleeing the scene.
Shizuka frowned.
It was still April. Sure, they were wearing suits, but they'd only been sitting in that room for a short while—how could they be sweating that much?
"You little—"
She narrowed her eyes at Yoru suspiciously.
"What did you do to them? Why do they look like they're scared of you?"
Yoru put on a solemn face and declared slowly:
"I moved them with emotion… and convinced them with reason."
"Yeah, sure. What a load of crap."
Shizuka waved him off and didn't press further. She simply assumed his family background was powerful enough to scare them away.
"Alright. Back to class."
"Sure, Shizuka."
Back in the classroom at his seat, Yoru completely ignored the teacher droning on from the podium. He just stared out the window, eyes thoughtful.
Things were going exactly as he'd expected.
He'd known that once Matsuo Satoshi "disappeared," the MPD would likely come to question him. And that was exactly what Yoru wanted—to use this incident to send a message to the Ghoul Countermeasure Bureau:
He had the strength to easily erase ghouls.
The people in charge weren't idiots. They'd already realized that the emergence of devils—and devil contractors—would dramatically change how ghouls could be eliminated.
Even if the power systems came from totally different stories, the moment multiple supernatural frameworks were forced into one world, they were bound to start interfering with each other in unpredictable ways.
As for the Bureau's resources—like quinque weapons—that was a separate matter. Yoru knew that if he didn't join the Bureau and accept their command structure, they would never hand him anything truly classified.
What he wanted to confirm was something else:
Where exactly did he sit on the food chain?
He knew he was strong. Whether it was the Bat Devil or ghouls, none of them were hard for him—most fights were outright one-sided. Even by pure results, he was currently Tokyo's most outstanding devil hunter.
But more specifically?
Was he the strongest devil hunter—not just in Tokyo, but among all devil hunters?
Or at this stage, was he the strongest human alive?
And beyond that, his Ouroboros didn't only grow stronger by devouring devils—ghouls worked too. If he thought deeper, maybe it wouldn't even stop there. Ghosts, spirits… anything "supernatural," as long as Ouroboros could devour it, he could grow.
Ouroboros symbolized infinity—growth without an upper limit, an endless hunger.
If the Bureau could provide intelligence and he only had to handle the hunting, things would become far more efficient.
But there was a problem.
Yuuki Asuna's awakening could not be known by anyone else.
It wasn't that Yoru was being possessive or "protecting his food."
He simply didn't trust the Ghoul Countermeasure Bureau, and he didn't trust Public Safety's Anti-Demon Special Operations Division either.
In their original stories, neither organization was "absolute justice." Even if details had changed in this fused world, Yoru had no intention of trusting their upper management—he was already considering the possibility that both departments could become enemies someday.
So there were only two options.
"Yoru… Hōjō."
At that moment, the teacher finally announced the break. Asuna didn't hesitate at all—ignoring the curious stares in the classroom, she stood up and went straight to Yoru's desk, her voice tight with concern.
"Are you okay? Nothing happened, right?"
"I'm fine."
Yoru answered, then left the classroom with Asuna. Once they reached an empty corner, he explained what had just happened—along with his future plan—then asked her calmly:
"Two choices."
"Option one: you do what I did—claim you formed a contract with the Sword Devil and gained power that way. I already searched the Anti-Demon Special Operations Division's internal database. The Sword Devil has never appeared."
"Option two: we hide your existence completely."
"This is about you, so you decide."
Asuna didn't answer immediately. She frowned and thought hard.
Option two looked safer on the surface—but if she wanted to act with Yoru regularly, both the Bureau and Anti-Demon Special Ops would inevitably take notice. In that case, hiding her power might actually look more suspicious: why would someone go out of their way to conceal an ability?
Option one carried risks too. If the Sword Devil ever truly appeared—and looked nothing like her Throne of Swords, with zero connection at all—then she'd become a target of suspicion.
But at least until then, she could act alongside Yoru. And even if that day came, she could always claim the devil had deliberately disguised itself to deceive people.
"I'll pick the first."
Asuna spoke softly, then immediately started watching Yoru's expression like a student waiting to be graded, her voice cautious.
"Did I… choose right?"
Seeing her like that—like she'd been called on in class—Yoru smiled, unconcerned.
"What do you mean 'right' or 'wrong'?"
"What is this, a galgame? You think I'm clicking dialogue choices for you?"
"Yuuki Asuna, you're lacking confidence."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 30
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 30
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