The Ukaku Kagune shards couldn't hit Lancer; they were either blocked or dodged. The Kagune that resembled two arms on his shoulders possessed immense strength, but Lancer could always find their weak points and sever them. Decades of combat experience could not deceive Lancer, who was equally experienced. Powerful physical qualities could not provide an overwhelming advantage...
It was clearly Yoshimura Kuzen who was launching the main attack, and Lancer could only continuously dodge, with counterattacks being few and far between, but what was the point of more attacks if they couldn't hit the opponent? In contrast, no matter how few the attacks, if they hit the enemy, they were meaningful!
The battle between the two almost plowed the surrounding ground, but Yoshimura Kuzen suddenly unleashed a burst of power, temporarily forcing Lancer to retreat.
"That's enough."
In a normal battle, who would heed such a request? But Lancer chose to stop right then.
"Is that enough?"
Due to the Ghoul's regeneration ability, Yoshimura Kuzen looked virtually unchanged from before, except for being a little exhausted. In contrast, Lancer on the other side was sweating all over from the fight and was even slightly out of breath when he spoke, but the aura of the two was exactly the opposite. Without either side needing to speak, everyone could guess the outcome of the match.
Looking at Lancer spirited expression, Yoshimura Kuzen even had the illusion of 'feeling old,' as he knew better than anyone the importance of absolute strength, but also the importance of 'willpower' when the gap between the two sides was not large. The opponent's surging fighting spirit made him feel somewhat at a loss, as if the opponent was eager to continue the fight.
And he didn't know if it was his imagination, but he constantly felt that Lancer was using him to test something.
'In my youth, I was at least a notorious Ghoul, and even now, both the CCG and Ghouls become extremely cautious when they hear the name 'Owl,' but I never thought I would have a day when I was used as a 'whetstone'...'
Although the battle between the two could not be called a fight to the death, the fierce fighting also left their clothes tattered. To be honest, Lancer was very curious about how those people managed to protect their clothes during combat. If they could use the excuse of 'it's a vital area' for key positions, even so, the clothes should at least be ragged, right?
But complaints aside, Lancer, who had changed into the staff uniform of Anteiku, was sitting casually by the bed drinking tea, while Yoshimura Kuzen, the owner of the shop, stood solemnly in the lounge with his employees.
"Manager, Investigator Lancer is really like you..."
Touka Kirishima couldn't help but speak almost as soon as she returned to the shop, as she had wanted to speak out several times on the way back, but just then, Renji Yomo patted her on the shoulder.
"Calm down, Touka. Let the manager speak for himself."
Only at this moment did Touka Kirishima notice that the two long-time employees, 'Enji Koma' and 'Irimi Kaya,' were standing silently on the side, just like Renji Yomo.
"I cannot assess the exact strength of the Investigator called 'Lancer.' After all, neither he nor I used our trump cards in a true sense, so I cannot definitively say whether he is stronger or weaker than me, but based on the strength he displayed, I can be certain that ordinary SS-rank Ghouls pose virtually no threat to him."
Just one sentence made the expressions of everyone in the room considerably more serious. After all, Yoshimura Kuzen's words only pointed out Lancer 'lower limit.' As for his 'upper limit'? According to Yoshimura Kuzen's tone, he seemed unable to confirm it either.
"Manager, what are you planning to do?"
As Enji Koma spoke, Irimi Kaya, sitting on the side, also looked over. Although she didn't speak, her meaning was very clear: her thoughts were the same as Enji Koma's.
However, in the face of their trusting gazes, Yoshimura Kuzen felt inexpressibly bitter inside.
'Do they have a choice?'
He had never voiced this question, but the answer was self-evident: they had no choice.
Lancer held enough leverage, and his strength was enough to protect his leverage. They couldn't even muster the thought of overturning the table.
Furthermore, the shortcut to achieving his 'wish' was right in front of him. How many people could lightly give up?
One must know that even a person whose rationality is higher than emotion and who can weigh human lives on a scale will forget everything that happened before and become blindly impulsive when facing an opportunity that might fulfill their 'wish.'
"We..."
"Ah~!!"
Before Yoshimura Kuzen could finish his sentence, a somewhat shrill scream came from inside the shop, and everyone's expression immediately changed.
And Touka Kirishima was the first to rush out.
Then she saw bags scattered all over the floor, Hinami Fueguchi sitting on the ground at a loss, and Lancer with his back to them.
"Wait!!"
And Lancer, on the other side, turned around with a bitter smile when he heard the shout from behind him.
Wait? Wait for what? Save him from the blade?
Lancer truly didn't know what to complain about. After all, he hadn't done anything from the start but just sat there silently drinking coffee and going over his plan in his mind. He didn't even pay much attention when someone walked in through the door. After all, this was 'Anteiku's' business. It didn't matter as long as the person wasn't hostile towards him, but he hadn't expected the person to scream first, and then Touka Kirishima and the others rushed out of the lounge.
Although he didn't recognize the girl sitting on the floor at first, after looking closely and seeing the action of her shrinking back in fear, he remembered her identity.
"Hinami Fueguchi?"
Lancer just asked casually, but he saw the opponent quickly run and hide behind Touka Kirishima.
There was no doubt that Lancer had chosen not to kill the two of them due to Ryouko Fueguchi's actions, and later, during the transaction with 'Anteiku,' he released the two of them, and conveniently removed the collars from their necks, but this was only from Lancer perspective.
To Hinami Fueguchi, Lancer was a 'demon.'
The opponent had captured her mother and her, and it was her older sister Touka and the others who rescued the mother and daughter. Lancer had done nothing worth her gratitude during this time other than not abusing them. In fact, because they had been captured before, both she and her mother had been mocked by many Ghouls in private. Some even directly said that the mother and daughter were released because they served that Investigator well.
Touka Kirishima was initially furious about this, but her mother stopped her, knowing that such an explanation was meaningless, as even she herself didn't believe it at first.
And now, seeing Lancer, Hinami Fueguchi's first reaction was that Lancer had come to capture them...