My father's name was Takaki Harima. He was a veteran CCG Ghoul Investigator with sixteen years of experience under his belt.
It was incredibly rare for this man to visit me. If he dropped by more than once a month, you could consider it frequent. He faithfully sent my living expenses every month, but he always used his demanding work as an excuse to avoid seeing my face as much as possible. I knew his reluctance to see me wasn't just because he was busy, but I would put that aside for now...
Because right now, thanks to my father gracing my humble apartment with an exceptionally rare personal visit, I was experiencing the most suffocating, heart-stopping tension of my entire life.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: my father loathes Ghouls to a pathological degree.
If three hundred cockroaches and a single Ghoul were to suddenly appear in our house, he would completely ignore the inexplicable swarm of roaches and dedicate every ounce of his being to slaughtering the Ghoul. That was the depth of his absolute disgust.
And currently residing in my apartment was a Ghoul—the apex of my father's hatred, a creature he despised far more than any insect.
I had her safely hidden away for now, and as long as she was happily suckling on her baby bottle of blood, she should remain quiet... Eto, I am begging you, please stay still!
Feeling my back become drenched in a cold, clammy sweat, I brought my father a cup of tea. He took a slow sip, wetting his throat, before breaking the silence.
"How is school going?"
"It's, well, fine, I guess..."
Judging by his reaction, the incident where I brought Eto to school hadn't reached his ears. Oh, Dad. Never in my life have I been so profoundly grateful for your hermit-like lack of communication.
"Anyway, what brings you here so suddenly without even calling?"
"A Ghoul has been sighted in this area. I was dispatched to investigate, so I figured I would drop by."
So it's because of the incident on the news! That damn Ghoul—if I ever cross paths with that bastard, I'll shatter its jaw!
While I was mentally projecting my intense, homicidal hatred onto a Ghoul I had never even met, my father suddenly began scanning the room with a sharp, analytical gaze.
"Have you been cleaning more often lately? The place is tidier than before."
"S-Something like that, yeah..."
Because a sanitary environment is crucial for raising a baby. I've been obsessively cleaning and sterilizing the place every single day to prevent dust and germs from building up... As if I could actually say that.
"Have you decided on a university?"
"I'm thinking of trying for Kamii University since it's the closest, but..."
That was purely a 'thought'. When I couldn't even manage a part-time job, there was no way in hell I could afford the luxury of college.
"Do you have any plans for marriage? Or perhaps a girl you're currently seeing?"
"I'm still a high school student, why would I be thinking about marriage? And I don't have a girlfriend."
Forget a girlfriend, I somehow ended up with a daughter. If I said that, I'd probably get beaten to death, wouldn't I?
"I ask because I worry that a boy with your pathetic lack of romantic experience might end up dying a bachelor."
"Thanks for the concern."
Don't worry. I might not be married, but I'm definitely fulfilling my parenting duties. I was mentally retorting to my father's jab when it happened.
Rustle...
"...!!"
I thought my heart was going to freeze solid. My father, having clearly heard the sound, slowly turned his head.
"Hm? What was that noise?"
"A-A rat, probably? This building is pretty old, you know."
"A rat, you say..."
Muttering to himself, my father set down his teacup and stood up. Looking up at him from my seated position, his imposing, muscular frame—which entirely defied his mid-forties age—seemed even more terrifyingly pronounced. He was a man who could easily remain active as a frontline Ghoul Investigator for another ten years.
Standing tall, my father gripped his steel briefcase in one hand and... Wait!
"Dad!? What are you doing!"
That briefcase... that's the Quinque he uses to hunt Ghouls!!
"I told you there was a Ghoul-related murder in this area. There have been numerous cases of desperate Ghouls infiltrating civilian homes to hide."
Ah, of course! This was exactly why my father had marched into my apartment this early in the morning! He was worried that the Ghoul hiding in the neighborhood might have slinked into his own son's home!
And yes, there technically WAS a Ghoul hiding here! But my Ghoul and that Ghoul are completely different things!
But I couldn't exactly explain that to him. What do I do? If he kept this up, he would inevitably uncover not only Eto, but the mountain of baby supplies I had stashed away. I wouldn't be able to escape his interrogation.
Sure enough, the very first place my father marched toward was the closet where I had crammed all the baby gear.
A catastrophic crisis right out of the gate. I had to resolve this somehow. Work, my brain!
Grab!
My hand shot out, violently seizing my father's wrist just as he reached for the closet door.
"S-Stop, Dad."
My father merely turned his head, his piercing gaze silently demanding an explanation for my erratic behavior.
"If you open this door... I will be irreparably traumatized..."
"Why is that?"
Seeing my utterly grim expression, my father's demeanor grew equally serious. I hesitated tens of thousands of times in my head. Do I really have to say this? The collateral damage to my dignity is going to be astronomical.
The answer, of course, was yes. I had to. It was the only way to save Eto!
"B-Behind this door is..."
I took a deep, shuddering breath, and spat out the most devastating, soul-crushing excuse imaginable.
"BEHIND THIS DOOR IS MY VERY OWN CUSTOM 'REAL DOLL'!!!!!!!!"
A 'Real Doll'.
Simply put, a highly realistic, life-sized silicone... adult toy.
"......"
The silent stare my father leveled at me was so agonizingly sharp it felt like physical pain. Honestly, the ravenous gaze of a Ghoul licking its lips at me would have felt warmer in comparison.
After staring at me for what felt like an eternity, my father slowly removed his hand from the closet doorknob.
"Do not overindulge. It is bad for your health."
With those parting words of grim advice, he turned his back.
Thud!
I dropped to my knees like a boxer who had just taken a devastating uppercut to the jaw. T-The damage...! The psychological damage is too immense...!!
My desperate, self-destructive defense mechanism had forced my father to retreat from the closet, but I couldn't relax just yet. He hadn't called off his sweep of the apartment. If he kept this up and stumbled upon the place I had hidden Eto, it was all over.
"..."
Rustle, rustle.
My father meticulously checked every single location an intruder might use to slip in—pushing up the ceiling tiles, inspecting the bathroom window, leaving no stone unturned. Completely unaware of when he might zero in on Eto's actual hiding spot, I watched him with terror-stricken eyes. If he got too close, what other precious piece of my soul would I have to sacrifice to stop him?
Fortunately, finding no evidence of external intrusion, my father finally ceased his search. I felt like I had just been pardoned from hell.
"Thankfully, it seems clear. I need to get back to work, so I will take my leave. Apologies for disturbing you so early in the morning."
"Yeah. It's fine, come by again sometime."
A complete lie. Please never come back.
At least not until Eto is old enough to become completely independent... which is absolutely impossible, right? I desperately needed to formulate a countermeasure for the next time my father decided to ambush me.
I was seeing my father off at the entryway as he slipped on his dress shoes when it happened.
Rustle...! Rustle...!
"...!"
I thought I had escaped from hell, but I had slipped right at the finish line.
As I frantically tried to suppress my plummeting heart, my father furrowed his brow slightly at the faint noise.
"Make sure to inform your landlord about the rats. No matter how old the building is, hygiene must be maintained."
"I'll run and tell them first thing."
I survived! I grabbed the lifeline right as I was tumbling into the abyss!
My father finished tying his shoes and stepped out the front door. Listening to the heavy thud of his footsteps slowly fading down the hallway, I collapsed to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.
Rustle! Rustle!
"Daa?"
As if she had been waiting for the exact moment the coast was clear, the shoe cabinet door creaked open slightly, and Eto poked her little head out. She must have completely drained her bottle of blood. It had been an incredibly close call.
Seemingly disgusted by the cramped, smelly shoe cabinet, Eto crawled out on her hands and knees and made her way over to me.
Exhausted beyond belief, I barely managed to lift my heavy head and offer her a weak smile.
"Eto... Daddy fought really hard today..."
"Baa~!"
Pat! Pat!
Slapping my forehead with her tiny hands, Eto offered me her usual, spirited encouragement.