I am a female swordsman.

It's a little disappointing that we didn't see Amen breathe fire from his mouth!

"Pranks should stop now, Huang Quan..."

Amen complained briefly about his partner's prank, but quickly shook off his annoyance after Huang Quan brought out another curry fried chicken rice. Amen was a magnanimous man, and Huang Quan was his partner. Considering how Huang Quan had been so helpful and attentive during his hospitalization, even handling paperwork, Amen was quite happy to be teased once. Most importantly, Huang Quan's occasional displays of emotion made Amen feel that she wasn't so unapproachable.

More than once, Amon Kotaro had a strange feeling about Yomi.

It's like your partner is a kite with a broken string, who will disappear without a trace if you're not careful.

This feeling actually became more pronounced as his understanding of Huang Quan deepened and their partnership progressed. Huang Quan was probably the one who would disappear in the blink of an eye.

………………

Splash!

After a long day, nothing feels better for Huang Quan than a hot bath at night.

Wrapped in a bath towel, Huang Quan looked at the messy room and cried out for help.

"Tamos,...Tamos!"

Since having her own room, Huang Quan's bad habit of not tidying up has become apparent. She washes her clothes and then tosses them carelessly on the sofa, making it incredibly convenient to grab them when she needs them. Household appliances are also scattered around, giving the room a very lived-in feel.

Whenever Huang Quan can't find something, he uses his invincible substitute... no, he summons his invincible demon Tamos to help him.

"Could you find me a hairdryer?"

Before he could finish speaking, the hairdryer buried under the pile of documents was suddenly swept up by a red phantom and tossed to Huang Quan's side in a flash.

"Thank you." After a casual thank you, Huang Quan began to dry her hair. The light in the room suddenly dimmed, and the striking figure of the Demon King [Tamos] appeared behind Huang Quan. Seeing his contractor, who was only wearing a bath towel and sitting casually on the sofa, a flash of red light appeared in [Tamos]'s eyes!

"Ok?"

When Huang Quan regained consciousness, she found that there was a blanket on her body, covering her exposed fair skin.

"Always be vigilant!" Tamos's figure quickly became ethereal and transparent. He neither arrogantly refused nor obediently complied with Huang Quan's orders. Instead, he would mutter something casually each time. Huang Quan wondered if Tamos had developed a problem from not having anyone to talk to for so long.

As for why Tamos appeared when he was staying at the Underworld Residence...

This all started when Huang Quan had just moved here.

Huang Quan's current situation is rather strange. As the contractor of the demon sword [Puno], she has not gained the recognition of Puno, one of the demons. Originally, she did not have the energy to care about it, until one night when Tamos suddenly appeared, and Huang Quan realized that she had neglected the demon.

Chapter 73 Trustworthy? (Bonus Chapter)

Contrary to Huang Quan's understanding, the demons residing in the demon sword [Puno] are not the kind of obedient, inactive creatures. They also possess their own will, emotions, and are eager to breathe the air of freedom and drink the blood of even more powerful enemies!

However, Huang Quan, who has not yet fully gained the Demon's approval, does not have a deep understanding of this.

【Tamos】helped her suppress the violent and ferocious 【Puno】.

However, what truly made Huang Quan feel uneasy was actually...

system!

This female ghost swordsman system seemed to have vanished since her job change quest began, never uttering a single word from beginning to end. It appeared to have forgotten about Huang Quan, as no further quest prompts were issued.

Upon noticing the abnormality, all Huang Quan could do was try to become stronger to deal with the situation.

I'm organizing useful information from my recent work onto a piece of paper.

Huang Quan brushed aside a few strands of silver hair that had fallen into her vision and rubbed them against her lips with a ballpoint pen. She was trying to glean from the information she had gathered about the goals and patterns of action of the 11th District ghoul organization [Aogiri Tree], as well as the unseen depths of the CCG's upper echelons.

But it's a pity.

Compared to analyzing information, Huang Quan is better at organizing it. After listing the information one by one, he got stuck.

She wasn't the kind of person who was naturally gifted or quick-witted.

Looking at written words in black and white and trying to turn them into what you want is incredibly difficult. Moreover, due to his status and reputation, Huang Quan knows that what he sees in the CCG may not always be true.

"This is such a hassle..."

Unable to suppress a muttered complaint, Huang Quan reached for a can of black tea on the desk and took a large gulp. For some reason, the nearby vending machines were always out of coffee, only stocking black tea.

As she tilted her head back, listening to the sore and aching sounds of her cervical spine from bending, a figure suddenly popped into Huang Quan's mind! She remembered hearing from members of the Kendo Club at Shangjing University that this person had outstanding deductive reasoning abilities!

Moreover, she had met this person before; in fact, they were acquaintances.

May you always be close to Yingliang!

Huang Quan had almost forgotten about this person, but Kaneki Ken's appearance today reminded her of him. Although, in Huang Quan's eyes, as Kaneki Ken's best friend, Nagachika Hideyoshi seemed to be covered in flags, as if he could die at any moment due to an accident.

But if he really does have an extraordinary sensitivity to information, as the members of the kendo club have said, then perhaps I could really consider asking him for help.

The prerequisite is that this person can gain her trust.

I put down my pen, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

"Yongjin? Yongjin, Naga? That's a really strange pronunciation." Before falling asleep, Huang Quan suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The next morning, Huang Quan set off early and passed by [Antiques] on his way to the branch.

She stood at a distance and looked around, but didn't go in.

Although the coffee at [Antique] is indeed fragrant and delicious, and having a cup every morning is a very happy thing, Huang Quan thinks it's best to avoid [Antique] for a while. Both he and Xuan need some time to think about how to face each other after what happened.

CCG20 District Branch, Database.

Yomi, who was previously complaining about Mado Kureo being buried in piles of documents all day, found herself engrossed in them herself today.

The reason is that when Huang Quan searched for Hideyoshi Nagachika's file through the CCG network, the CCG's feedback was that Hideyoshi Nagachika was the orphan of a deceased investigator. After his biological father died unexpectedly, he lived in a care facility, was later adopted by his adoptive father, and changed his surname to Nagachika, completely erasing his former surname.

That's unreasonable!

If Hideyoshi Nagachika is indeed the orphan of an investigator, then according to CCG regulations, he should be directly adopted by the CCG and have the decision of his own future. The fact that his surname was erased only deepened Yomi's suspicions.

I initially thought he was just an ordinary guy.

"That's strange, there's no record of it at all. Could there be a reason why he wasn't properly adopted?"

He tried to find information in the paper archives about the attendance of the investigator who died more than twenty years ago, a man in his early thirties—who was also Hideyoshi Nagachika's biological father. However, Yomi failed again. The information about that investigator had also been erased; there was no record of him, not even where his body was buried. Such a vaguely remembered person was Kaneki's best friend; Yomi knew his expression must be quite something.

This is almost like something out of a spy drama.

You don't know who your enemies are, or who your friends are. You also don't know who wants your life and who wants to protect you. Is Hideyoshi Nagachika truly trustworthy?

Huang Quan consulted someone about this matter.

Ken Kaneki.

"...Heroic?" In today's training, Huang Quan no longer focused solely on defense, but occasionally launched counterattacks. From the slow, deliberate counterattacks of the wooden sword, Kaneki began to learn how to dodge, counterattack, and... take hits.

"Watch, hands, hands!"

With a casual flourish, Huang Quan brandished his wooden sword, the whistling blade creating a barely perceptible gust of wind with each movement. Holding the sword in one hand, he easily parried Jin Mu's clumsy attacks as he turned and spun around.

Kaneki struggled to continue his attack, feeling as if his training wooden sword was about to slip from his grasp at any moment. Even though Yomi wasn't actively attacking, and was only parrying and counterattacking, Kaneki felt an indescribable pressure. What he perceived as a tough battle might not even be considered a warm-up in Yomi's eyes.

She can even get distracted by asking questions and thinking!

For a moment, Kaneki lost focus and the wooden sword in his hand was easily blocked by Yomi and sent flying. Facing the wooden sword that was pressed against his forehead the next moment, Kaneki smiled bitterly and raised his hands to surrender.

The hand holding the sword is still not steady enough.

"When your mind is scattered and your focus disappears, your body easily loses coordination. Kaneki, your shortcomings are too obvious."

Having retrieved the wooden sword, Huang Quan calmly pointed out Jinmu's current weaknesses. If it weren't for his exceptional physical abilities, he probably would have even more flaws.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Huang Quan."

Kaneki had begun to adapt to Yomi's brutal and simple teaching methods. Repetition was the most effective method; constantly repeating training before getting it right would always overcome mistakes. Even a ghoul's body couldn't withstand being repeatedly struck in the same spot by Yomi's wooden sword.

"Yingliang... should be much better than me, in every way... if you have something to ask him, he'll definitely be happy to help!"

Chapter 74 Keen Insight (Bonus Chapter)

Could you tell me more about him?

Kaneki Ken is a gentle and shy person, something Yomi already knew. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe him as foolish and naive, but he's very kind. It's unlikely Yomi would hear anything bad about someone from Kaneki, so she asked directly.

"Senior Sister Huang Quan..."

"Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous." It was obvious at a glance that Kaneki was worried about his best friend. Yomi pouted slightly, but inwardly she was impressed by how good their relationship was.

Yomi's scarlet, clear eyes always made Kaneki feel like he couldn't hide his thoughts. No wonder she was the "Sword Demon" who terrified ghouls; the feeling of being completely exposed was truly unsettling. Kaneki, embarrassed by his thoughts being exposed, smiled awkwardly and told Yomi about his best friend, Hideyoshi Nagachika.

"Yingliang is very perceptive. No matter what, he can immediately detect even the slightest clue I might have."

This wasn't just a familiar relationship from childhood, but rather a talent that Hideyoshi Nagachika was born with!

That's right, that's talent!

Kaneki recalls the ghoul he encountered before, Nishiki Nishio, who was also a student at Kamii University. He also praised Hideyoshi Nagachika for his exceptionally keen perception of things.

"continue."

The wooden sword tapped the ground lightly, drawing Kaneki's attention back. His unnaturally pale face clearly showed that he was recalling something unpleasant.

"Okay, let me think about it..."

Through Kaneki's almost uninterrupted narration, Yomi gradually sketched out the outline of a perfect same-sex best friend in her mind. It can be said that Kaneki Ken's personality was largely influenced by Hideyoshi Nagachika. This influence was clearly biased towards the positive side, preventing Kaneki Ken, who lost both his parents at a young age, from becoming withdrawn and isolated.

No wonder the Kaneki Research Association has such high trust in Hideyoshi Nagachika.

Huang Quan sat beside Kaneki, listening intently. Her calm and indifferent expression held a hint of seriousness. She nodded occasionally, which undoubtedly greatly satisfied Kaneki's desire to confide in someone.

He'd been holding it in for quite a while!

Having become a half-human, half-ghoul monster, Kaneki lives in constant fear, unable to confide in his best friend about native ghouls, yet naturally wary of them. Caught between the human and ghoul worlds, Kaneki wavers between the two, feeling the tearing pain and the overwhelming loneliness that threatens to engulf him.

Thank you so much, Senior Huang Quan!

Not only did they give him courage, but they were also willing to listen to his nonsense.

only……

Occasionally, the image of Hinami Fueguchi's small, mournful figure would flash through his mind. From a human perspective, Kaneki even felt an indescribable admiration for Yomi, who remained calm and composed in the face of danger and resolved the crisis.

On the other hand, Kaneki inevitably felt a deep fear. As he took care of Hinami Fueguchi, he was able to deeply feel the grief and pain of losing his loved ones.

'Which world do I truly live in? Which world should I choose to live in?'

"Thank you, Kaneki."