The brief commotion ended.
Byakuya finally began eating.
However, he could only share the couple's set with Eto—specifically, just the couple's cup.
The rest of the desserts in the set were what Eto wanted, and Byakuya had no intention of competing with her for them...
Just as Byakuya reached for the couple's cup—
Akira suddenly slid her coffee in front of him.
"I'll share mine with you."
Akira said expressionlessly.
Seeing this, Eto narrowed her eyes slightly. "Akira-san's single cup isn't enough for two people, is it? Besides, I ordered this couple's cup for Amaha-san."
"It's fine. I've had enough."
Akira said calmly.
"..."
Watching both women push their respective cups toward their own sides, Byakuya was speechless.
Seeing neither would back down, Byakuya simply drank both.
A while later...
"I've finished my desserts. Please leave some for me, Amaha-san."
Eto said.
She then accepted the remaining half-cup of coffee Byakuya had left, drinking it down without hesitation.
"Though I've never experienced a real kiss, at least I've now had an indirect one~"
With that, Eto stood. "Well, I should be going. Thank you both very much for helping me gather material today."
She thanked Byakuya and Akira sincerely, then departed first.
"Akira, let's go too."
Byakuya said.
"Mm..."
Akira nodded slightly.
...
As time passed, progress on Eto's new book continued steadily.
And during this period, the publicity campaign she'd planned was set to begin.
With Shoeisha's covert assistance, paparazzi captured images of Byakuya and Eto frequently visiting cafés and other venues together.
Photos of them sitting in cafés, chatting and laughing, even sharing a couple's set, were all captured by the paparazzi.
These images were promptly exposed in newspapers and various media outlets. Rumors of romance involving Takatsuki Sen spread rapidly among the public.
As a best-selling new-generation author, Takatsuki Sen's fame had already spread throughout Tokyo and even all of Japan. Her sweet, adorable appearance combined with her "genius young beauty author" persona kept her popularity consistently high.
When such a genius beauty author was rumored to be in a relationship, people were naturally curious about her partner.
The paparazzi immediately revealed the suspected identity of Takatsuki Sen's romantic interest.
It was CCG's Associate Special Class Investigator, Director of the Ward 20 Branch—Amaha Byakuya.
"The effect is quite good. Made the front page multiple times."
Sitting in Yoshimura's café, Eto looked at several newspapers with a satisfied expression.
She was careful to keep a low profile only when entering and leaving her father's café. The locations where the paparazzi had photographed her were places she'd planned in advance.
"The effect is good, but it's causing me some trouble within CCG."
Byakuya remarked.
"What kind of trouble? Your girlfriends constantly questioning you?"
Eto immediately teased.
From what she knew, at least three people within CCG were interested in Byakuya—Akira Mado, Kurona Yasuhisa, and Nashiro Yasuhisa.
Beyond that, there might be others she didn't know about.
"Not exactly..."
Byakuya instinctively wanted to deny it but immediately corrected himself. "Well, that's one aspect. The other issue is that CCG generally doesn't allow investigators to be this high-profile in public—they worry about ghoul retaliation."
"That makes sense. After all, they don't know your true strength and identity."
Eto understood what Byakuya meant.
If CCG knew the true identity of either her or Byakuya, they wouldn't worry about this at all.
"But it's just people nagging in my ear. Nothing major."
Byakuya said casually.
"Mm. We should avoid being seen together in public for a while. If things go smoothly, the buzz will keep building, and my new book should be ready soon."
Eto said.
"Alright."
Byakuya nodded.
Just then, Touka approached their table carrying coffee.
This was obviously what Byakuya and Eto had ordered.
As she set the coffee down, she took a seat beside Byakuya.
"Byakuya, and Eto-san... I heard you two have been dating recently. What's going on...?"
Touka's smile was somewhat stiff.
News of Takatsuki Sen and Amaha Byakuya's rumored relationship had already reached her ears.
"Huh? Didn't I tell you ages ago? I'm Touka-chan's rival."
Eto said with a mischievous grin.
Byakuya, on the other hand, properly explained Eto's general plan to Touka.
"...Publicity?"
Touka had roughly understood. "So it's to build hype for your upcoming book, and you're using this method to increase exposure..."
"Exactly."
Byakuya nodded.
"Honestly, I wanted to chat with Touka-chan about more interesting things."
Eto seemed somewhat annoyed at Byakuya.
"I see. But this method..."
Though she now understood the situation, Touka still couldn't help but feel concerned about it.
"Please don't misunderstand, Touka-chan. Byakuya and I are doing this because we're in love—not because we're forcing ourselves."
Eto said with a smile.
Touka immediately retorted, "I'm not misunderstanding anything. And are you trying to provoke me?"
"Not at all. I don't mean that."
Eto sipped her coffee. "Also... even though this is for publicity now, even after the book is released and we don't need to keep up the act, I'll still be Touka-chan's rival. Just giving you a heads-up."
"..."
Though Eto said she wasn't, Touka was now even more convinced that she was being provoked.
But... it made sense that a self-proclaimed rival like Eto would provoke her like this...
Right now, Touka wasn't angry—she was more concerned about Eto's situation.
Eto's attitude toward Byakuya...
Was she serious...
Or was she just teasing her with jokes?
According to Byakuya, this was all just publicity.
But judging by Eto's attitude and reactions just now, something felt off...
...
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