Ghoul: Starting with Sharingan

"Then... doesn't that apply to you and Byakuya too?"

Minami attempted to counterattack.

But she seemed to have forgotten something very important—Eto was never the type to get embarrassed over something like this.

"That's right. We are on a date."

Eto admitted it casually.

"Ugh..."

Minami was left speechless.

She had been careless.

Just earlier, Eto had told her they weren't married or siblings, but now it was clear—they were definitely a couple.

"Alright, enough teasing. Let's focus on reading~"

Eto decided that was enough fun. Taking the joke too far wouldn't be good.

"Mm..."

Minami responded quietly and finally dared to sneak a glance at Arima.

Only to find that Arima remained completely indifferent, reading his book expressionlessly, as if nothing had happened.

Minami suddenly felt a complicated mix of emotions—relief? Disappointment?

Because even now, she still didn't know what Arima thought of her.

And she never had the courage to ask.

She was a ghoul, while Arima was already on track to becoming a Special-Class Investigator. The fact that he treated her normally was already a rare kindness.

If she asked, would he start to avoid her? Would he find her repulsive?

Minami kept these tangled emotions to herself and quietly opened the book she had just picked out.

....

Before leaving the library, Eto bought a few books she had wanted to read.

Mayu and Suzuya also picked out some children's books.

As they were about to part ways with Arima and Minami, Eto suddenly turned to Arima and said:

"Hey, youth~ pay a little more attention to the girl next to you~"

Minami instantly realized Eto was talking about her, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"..."

Arima didn't respond—but he did hear it.

In truth, he never thought much about relationships. As a half-human, his lifespan was only about one-third that of a normal human.

Even though he looked eighteen now, he really only had about a decade left to live.

....

[Ding! Host has completed the daily sign-in. Reward received: +1 Attribute Point!]

As time passed, Byakuya didn't forget to log in and collect his daily attribute points.

And today, there was good news—

The publishing process was finally complete.

The revised edition that he and Eto had worked on had been printed, and the first batch of physical books had officially hit bookstore shelves.

"Finally, the day has come. I'm already halfway through writing my next book."

Eto's face lit up with excitement. "Let's go to a bookstore! I want to see my own published book in person."

"Alright."

Byakuya nodded.

Only the two of them went out.

Mayu stayed home, playing with Suzuya, so there was nothing to worry about.

Tokyo was a massive city.

It didn't take long to find a bookstore.

But since Eto's Dear Kafka had just been published, only a limited number of copies had been printed, and not every bookstore had it in stock.

Byakuya and Eto searched two bookstores, finally spotting Dear Kafka in the second one.

It wasn't placed in a prominent location—

That was to be expected. Prime shelf space was always reserved for bestsellers or famous authors' new releases.

"In such a hidden spot, huh..."

Eto couldn't help but complain.

"Well, Miss Takatsuki isn't well-known yet. Once your reputation builds up, it'll be different,"

Byakuya explained.

"And it looks like not many copies have been sold yet. I guess the sales aren't looking great?"

Eto said calmly.

But she wasn't particularly disappointed. She was realistic—

For her, just getting the book published was already a huge success. She hadn't expected it to be a bestseller.

"It only just hit the shelves, and there hasn't been any promotion yet. We won't know how it performs for a while."

Byakuya analyzed.

He wasn't just trying to comfort her—he was being honest.

"Guess we'll wait and see, then."

Eto wasn't too optimistic. "But first, let's buy a copy for ourselves."

She had already planned to take a copy to the 20th Ward's Anteiku. That was the main reason they had come here.

But just as they were about to grab a copy—

Eto noticed a small boy stopping in front of the Dear Kafka display, seemingly drawn to the book.

She immediately halted and tugged on Byakuya's sleeve.

"That kid... he looks interested,"

she whispered.

"Of course, it's your work—of course it's eye-catching."

Byakuya replied as if it were obvious.

Especially when he got a good look at the boy's face—

Ah. So that's why.

The kid wasn't just anyone—

It was Kaneki.

A small, skinny boy with neatly combed black hair, wearing plain clothes and carrying a black school backpack.

Judging by his size, he was probably still in elementary school—around ten years old.

It made perfect sense.

In the original timeline, Kaneki had always been a fan of Sen Takatsuki's novels.

"...You're praising me, but it kind of sounds like you're just pitying me."

Eto wasn't convinced by Byakuya's confidence in her book. It felt like he was just trying to console her.

"Let's wait and see for a bit. I want to know what that kid will do next,"

she said.

Seeing someone show interest in her work and even consider buying it was a brand-new experience for her.

Kaneki hesitated.

He flipped through Dear Kafka for a moment, clearly interested. After some internal debate, he finally made up his mind to buy it.

Seeing this, Eto finally stepped forward and spoke to him:

"Hey there, kid. You really like that book, huh?"

"Eh?!"

Kaneki flinched, startled by the sudden interaction.

After a moment, he nervously nodded. "Mm... I do..."

"Not bad. You've got good taste, kid."

Eto smiled.

Sensing that she wasn't threatening and was actually quite friendly, Kaneki relaxed a little.

"Do... do you like this book too?"

It was rare for him to find someone to talk to about books, so he mustered the courage to ask.