When Kureo Mado took Lancer back to the office, the Investigators who had followed them naturally dispersed. Although Kureo Mado himself did not like to use his authority to pressure people, and he even provided preferential treatment to Investigators with excellent abilities, this was limited to daily life. When they saw that neither Koutarou Amon nor Akira Mado followed them, they knew that the two going to the office was official business.
"Coffee?"
"Uh... yes, please."
Although Kureo Mado did not appear excited like Koutarou Amon, nor did he lash out at him like Akira Mado, it was precisely because the opponent was so calm that Lancer felt somewhat awkward and even at a loss for what to do. This had nothing to do with strength; it was purely due to the relationship between the two of them.
Kureo Mado placed a coffee cup in front of Lancer, and Lancer was momentarily stunned because he realized that the cup was the one he used to use when he was at the CCG. However, he quickly picked up the cup and took a sip, trying to appear nonchalant.
"Mr. Mado, your skill is still as good as ever."
"That's because the branch's coffee machine was replaced with a new one. Alright, let's talk business. What happened during these two years?"
When he saw the opponent sitting across from him, clasping his hands tightly and leaning slightly forward, Lancer knew it was time to talk business. Kureo Mado always adopted this posture when discussing important matters, and that slight forward lean was enough to put considerable pressure on the person sitting opposite him.
"For these two years, I have been undergoing special training with my 'master'..."
Lancer naturally could not talk to Kureo Mado about things like 'crossing worlds,' 'other worlds,' or 'magic.' It wasn't that he thought the opponent was untrustworthy, but because it would be too troublesome to explain, and he actually didn't intend to lie completely.
Kureo Mado, on the other side, just silently watched Lancer, trying to analyze from Lancer expression whether he was telling a lie, but undoubtedly, he was disappointed in the end. It wasn't because he figured out that Lancer was lying to him, but because he couldn't analyze whether Lancer was telling the truth or a lie. Lancer expression was simply too calm.
"So, you were valued by your master two years ago and taken to Eastern Europe, where you participated in suppressing a rebellion in a small country, and finally returned to your home country to receive guidance from a senior. Now your training is considered to have achieved minor success, so you've returned. Is that right?"
"Uh... yes."
Lancer had spoken for more than ten minutes, but Kureo Mado summarized it in just a few sentences.
Of course, it wasn't that Lancer was incapable of summarizing; it was simply because he couldn't do that, as it would make his already slightly unreliable story sound even more unreliable. Of course, even now, it didn't sound very reliable.
But Kureo Mado just nodded and didn't say much.
"Since you've been gone for a long time, your dorm room has been reclaimed, but you can stay at my house tonight. Tomorrow, I'll have someone arrange a dorm room for you..."
Kureo Mado's calm demeanor was not unexpected, right? But Lancer couldn't help but feel relieved, except that—
"Since your matters are concluded, let's talk about what happened tonight. The person in that building earlier must have been a Ghoul, right? You already had the ability to suppress S-rank Ghouls two years ago. I assume that after two years, your strength won't decrease even if it hasn't increased, so the Ghoul you encountered tonight was at least S-rank. Do you have any information on the opponent?"
"Yes, I discovered the opponent during their 'autograph session'..."
"Autograph session? Are you saying their apparent identity is—an author?"
Kureo Mado's expression became subtle at this moment.
Although he knew that some Ghouls would hide their identities and blend into human society, generally speaking, they would choose inconspicuous identities to prevent their flaws from being discovered, as the more conspicuous they were, the easier they would be noticed.
"That's right, an author, and the opponent's name is 'Takatsuki Sen.' I wonder if you have heard of her?"
As expected, Kureo Mado shook his head, but this was not strange. After all, Kureo Mado's life had been distorted since the day his wife was killed. It could even be said that if his daughter hadn't been by his side to support him, Kureo Mado might have completely turned into a 'beast' who took pleasure in slaughtering Ghouls.
With all his focus on researching Quinques and hunting Ghouls, how could he have the leisure to pay attention to novels?
"Based on the opponent's strength when I engaged her, I suspect she is at least an SS-rank Ghoul, and I felt she wasn't using her full strength. I even suspect she might be an SSS-rank Ghoul. Suppressing the opponent will probably be quite troublesome..."
Lancer naturally knew that the opponent's identity was the SSS-rank Ghoul, the One-Eyed Owl, but the problem was that others didn't know. Furthermore, on the surface, the 'Owl' still had a certain degree of cooperation with the CCG. So Lancer simply concealed this matter for the time being, but in order to prevent unnecessary sacrifices, he didn't mind exaggerating the opponent's strength a bit.
"At least SS-rank Ghoul? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I've already suppressed an SS-rank enemy before."
Lancer words caused Kureo Mado to fall silent again. He hadn't expected the 'Takatsuki Sen' Lancer mentioned to be so difficult to deal with. What was even stranger was that there weren't many powerful female Ghouls, but he hadn't heard of anyone with characteristics similar to what Lancer described...
"Regarding this matter, I will report it to the Chairman when you and I go to the headquarters for a physical examination tomorrow. For today... you should go and rest first."
Saying that, Kureo Mado tossed the key to Lancer.
Lancer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he left the office.
In any case, the matter of his return was temporarily concluded, but what made him even happier was another thing.
Kureo Mado was still the same, seemingly difficult to get along with; Amon was as trustworthy as ever; Akira was still somewhat difficult to approach...
Although everyone had changed, no matter what changes had occurred, they were still alive... it was truly wonderful.
What Lancer had always feared the most was that when he returned, his friends would have already sacrificed themselves, but now they were all still alive.
"Lancer."
Just at this moment, Koutarou Amon, who was leaning against the wall taking a break, smiled and waved at Lancer.
"Amon."
The two walked side by side, just like two years ago.
"Where are you planning to go next?"
"First, take me to Mr. Mado's house. I'm a little tired from the previous fight."
"That makes sense..."
Koutarou Amon thought Lancer was talking about the Ghoul who had escaped earlier, but Lancer was actually talking about the fight with the 'unknown' Orc in Stormwind City. As for the fight with Takatsuki Sen?
The opponent didn't use her full strength, and Lancer didn't either, naturally.
It wasn't that Lancer hadn't considered taking the opponent out with a full-power strike, but Lancer didn't believe that an SSS-rank Ghoul's strength was only what he had seen. At least, he knew through the 'plot' that she could transform, and he didn't know her specific combat power or fighting style, so he chose the safer option of testing the waters. He hadn't expected the battle to end inconclusively due to the arrival of Amon and the others.
Thinking of this, he felt a little disappointed. If he could have taken out the opponent directly, it would have saved a lot of trouble. Perhaps because he was thinking about other things, Lancer didn't notice the somewhat strange expression of Koutarou Amon in the driver's seat...