"Ah, sorry, sorry! That was rude of me."
Kirishima Arata hurriedly apologized.
But looking at these two, their appearances really didn't resemble siblings.
There was no way they were husband and wife, and father-daughter was even more impossible.
So… perhaps they were a couple?
Either way, Arata now didn't dare to casually guess their relationship anymore.
Eto didn't bother explaining what kind of relationship she and Byakuya had.
As long as people didn't mistake them for siblings, she was fine with it.
After that, the Kirishima family was already planning to head home after shopping.
"Nii-san, Nee-san, goodbye!"
Touka and Ayato said in unison.
"Goodbye."
Byakuya responded.
"Bye-bye~"
Eto waved with a bright smile.
At that moment, she seemed unusually cheerful, but of course, it was all an act.
Then, Eto took the initiative to grab Byakuya's hand and followed behind the Kirishima family.
However, she acted naturally, always keeping a certain distance, making it seem not like stalking, but rather as though they were simply happening to be on the same route.
Because of this, Hikari Kirishima did notice them, but wasn't alarmed.
At that moment, Touka also noticed Byakuya and Eto not far behind.
She tugged on Hikari's sleeve, "Mom, that young man and woman are still here."
"Mm-hmm, let's go say hello to them."
Hikari then turned around, taking the initiative to greet Byakuya and Eto.
"We meet again, you two. Looks like we're headed the same way."
"Yeah, we just happen to be taking this route too."
Eto replied with a smile.
"Then why don't we walk together?"
Hikari suggested.
She felt that these two seemed very friendly, so she wasn't worried at all.
As for Arata, he was even less likely to be suspicious.
Byakuya could tell Eto's real intention, he knew very well that this route would only lead them further away from his home.
Her true goal was undoubtedly to confirm where the Kirishima family lived.
There was no doubt; she was helping him.
As they walked, Byakuya and Eto chatted and laughed with the Kirishima family.
"So, Nii-san and Nee-san, what's your relationship?"
Suddenly, Touka looked up at them, her innocent curiosity clear as day.
"Touka, that's not a polite question…"
Arata was about to remind her but Eto spoke up first, even before he could.
"What do you think, Touka-chan?"
"Hmmm… boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Even though Touka was still young, she had already read some romance manga, so she had some idea.
"Bingo! Touka-chan, you got it right~"
Eto immediately confirmed it.
Byakuya thought to himself, 'Is this "fake dating" act still not over?'
Arata finally understood why she had denied being Byakuya's sister so quickly earlier.
"That's so cool!"
Touka looked a little envious.
Eto laughed and teased, "But you're still too young, Touka-chan. You can't go around copying Nee-san yet~."
"Okay…"
Touka pouted a little but nodded obediently.
Kirishima Touka obediently nodded.
However, what she didn't know was that the beautiful, mature-looking "Nee-san" in front of her wasn't actually all that much older than her.
Finally, they arrived at the Kirishima household.
After a simple farewell, Arata and the others went inside.
"Well? The 'Kirishima family' you were looking for has now been found."
Eto looked a little pleased with herself, as if she was waiting for Byakuya to praise her.
"You did great."
As he spoke, Byakuya reached out and gently patted Eto's head.
No matter how big or small the help was, this kind of effort was something he had to acknowledge.
But almost immediately, Eto swatted his hand away.
"Don't touch my head."
Clearly, she didn't like people touching her head.
If it had been anyone else, it definitely wouldn't have ended with just a slap on the hand.
At best, they'd lose a hand, at worst, they'd be torn to pieces.
"So, what's so special about them? They just seemed like a normal ghoul family to me."
Eto asked, a bit curious.
"They're not particularly special. I just have a 'friend' who hopes they can live a peaceful life."
Byakuya explained, half-truthfully.
That "friend" was, of course, himself.
Besides, his system task required him to either bring the Kirishima family into "Anteiku" or "Aogiri Tree", either way; it would ensure their safety.
In the original timeline, if the Kirishima family had encountered Yoshimura Kuzen earlier, maybe their fate would have been different.
Not only was Hikari killed, but Arata was captured and used to create the Quinque armor "Arata".
Yoshimura Kuzen, even though he was no match for Arima, still managed to retreat safely, even Furuta once claimed that to eliminate Yoshimura Kuzen, he'd have to personally lead a team of Special-Class "V" operatives.
It was also Yoshimura Kuzen who rescued Renji Yomo from Arima's hands.
"I see…"
Eto felt something about this seemed off, but since it was Byakuya's business, she had no reason to object, unless it was something she truly couldn't accept.
"But there's still the 'Yomo family,' right? Is that also a request from your 'friend'?"
Eto suddenly remembered.
"The Yomo family is already within reach. That young woman earlier, Kirishima Hikari, her original name was actually Yomo Hikari. She only changed it after getting married."
Byakuya explained.
"Oh, right, that does happen. When women get married, they take their husband's surname…"
As she thought about this, Eto's mind suddenly, inexplicably, conjured up a certain name;
"Uchiha Eto."
The absurd thought instantly made her pupils shrink.
She immediately erased it from her mind, feeling a little ashamed.
She blamed that damn Bastard, his constant sweet-talking must have affected her subconscious.
Eto's expression didn't change at all, only her eyes flickered slightly.
So Byakuya naturally didn't notice what was going through her head.
However, he did sense something was off, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just thinking about how much of a bastard a certain lolicon is."
Eto replied, expressionless.
"…?"
Byakuya was completely confused.
How did this end up being about him again?