"Umm..."
Minami felt a little embarrassed but she still cooperated and answered, "Because Arima-kun is really cool and upright."
"He's like a knight-" As she spoke she recalled that mysterious one-eyed ghoul with the tiger-patterned mask.
"Someone who can protect me.. if it weren't for him, I'd probably be dead by now..."
"What do you mean by 'dead'?" Eto's sharp instincts immediately picked up on the tone behind the word.
"It was a while ago..." Minami began to recall, looking back on things. "I was suddenly attacked by a ghoul I'd never seen before and I was completely outmatched, if Arima-kun hadn't shown up in time to save me, I probably would've been died back then."
"Oh?" Eto's interest was piqued.
"From what I know, Minami-chan's threat level was already close to S-rank, right? So if a ghoul even stronger than Minami-chan appeared-I wonder what kind of monster that was~?"
For some reason, she instinctively suspected a certain lolicon bastard.
Minami shook her head. "I didn't recognize them, it's not unusual for ghouls to fight over feeding grounds but for such a powerful ghoul to suddenly appear in the 13th Ward, and for me to have never seen them before-it just felt strange."
"Then, Minami-chan, do you still remember what they looked like?" Eto wanted to confirm her suspicions.
"That I do remember." Minami nodded. She had a strong impression of that strange ghoul's mask.
"They wore an orange tiger-striped mask that only exposed their right eye and their kakugan looked a little... different."
Then, afterwards she added hesitantly: "As for their build...It was... about the same as Uchiha-kun's, I think?"
Even so, despite the similarity, Minami never once suspected Uchiha Byakuya. After all, she firmly believed that Uchiha Byakuya, like Arima Kishou, was definitely human.
Besides, the CCG had RC Gates. A ghoul couldn't possibly become a CCG investigator.
However, what she didn't know was that the RC Gates had a special program built in; as long as someone had Washuu blood or was at least a member of V, they could pass through them without triggering any alarms.
Yoshimura Kuzen had once been a "Cleaner" for V and even though he wasn't of Washuu descent; the Washuu had personally modified the RC Gates for him.
That modification naturally also extended to his daughter, Eto.
That was why even though her RC count was off the charts, she could still freely enter and exit the CCG under the identity of a human.
"Alright~ Alright~, that's enough; I've already got a clear image in my mind."
After hearing Minami's description, Eto confirmed her suspicion.
As expected, it was definitely that lolicon bastard.
Which meant when Arima Kishou arrived in time to save Minami-chan, that was probably a part of his plan as well.
Now, Eto was even more convinced that Byakuya had no actual interest in Uruka Minami.
Because if he did, he definitely wouldn't have gone out of his way to set things up for Arima and Minami like that.
"Mmh..." Minami's cheeks turned slightly red.
"Ever since then, I started to pay more attention to Arima-kun."
"Ah, youth is truly wonderful~" Eto sighed with emotion.
At this moment, she almost seemed like an older sister in front of Minami.
Minami never would have guessed that the intelligent, articulate, and cultured young female writer in front of her was actually almost two years younger than her.
Right now, Eto was enthusiastically jotting down sudden bursts of inspiration in her notebook.
Of course, her meeting with Minami wasn't just about probing for information. Gathering material was also one of her main objectives for the meeting.
Minami sat obediently and quietly, waiting for Eto to finish her writing.
Once Eto eventually put down her pen, Minami finally spoke up.
"So... Eto-sensei, can you share your experiences with Uchiha-kun?" She was really curious.
"No, no, it's not like that, I never dated that guy; It's just some... entanglement but if you're interested, I can tell you about it." Eto replied.
"Okay!" Minami sat up straight, listening intently.
Then, Eto started from the very beginning; from the first time she met Uchiha Byakuya.
Of course, she deliberately avoided mentioning her identity as a ghoul. And every now and then, she would throw in a jab at Byakuya.
A few minutes later- Watching Eto-sensei speak so animatedly, Minami felt that even if they weren't officially together yet, it was already pretty close, wasn't it?
Although Eto-sensei kept making sarcastic remarks about Uchiha-kun, Minami couldn't hear a single hint of dislike or disdain in her tone.
On the other side, Byakuya and Arima had originally planned to return to the living room but seeing how engaged Eto and Minami were in their conversation, they decided to stay outside instead.
"By the way, it's about time we expand the Zero Squad, do you have any recommendations, Kishou?" At this moment, Byakuya suddenly remembered this matter.
"None..." Arima shook his head slightly.
"Then let's keep an eye out when we return to the CCG in a few days."
"Mm."
Meanwhile, Eto had long since finished gathering material. Once she had chatted enough with Minami, she got up and prepared to leave.
"Bye, Minami-chan, I'll come visit you again when I have time." Eto smiled and waved.
"Mm! Bye, Eto-sensei!" After saying goodbye- Minami watched Eto's departing figure and suddenly felt a bit incredulous.
Eto-sensei was so cheerful and so accepting. Even though she knew her true identity as a ghoul, she still talked with her so naturally, as if they were just friends.
Aside from special exceptions like Arima-kun and Uchiha-kun, this was Minami's first time having a normal interaction with a human as a ghoul.
By now Byakuya and Eto had left together. Meanwhile, Arima Kishou remained at Minami's house because they had previously agreed to study together here.
Shortly after leaving Uruka Minami's residence, Eto let out a sigh.
"Minami-chan is really adorable, I gathered a lot of great material today."
"So you're planning to write about Arima and Uruka in your next work?" Uchiha Byakuya speculated.
"Mm-hmm~ and of course; I'm also including a certain lolicon bastard- the one who attacked Minami-chan that time~" Eto openly teased Byakuya.
Then, she added another line, "Besides gathering material for my new book, I also confirmed something even more important."
She grinned mischievously and declared- "A certain Special-Class Investigator; is undeniably a lolicon ♥︎~"