500 attribute points.
This was the highest mission reward Byakuya had seen so far, clearly; this one was a major mission.
After all, just thinking about the difficulty level was enough to understand how challenging it would be.
If it were only about secretly helping Furuta and Rize escape from the Sunlit Garden, then it wouldn't actually be too hard.
Even if they successfully disappeared, the Washuu Clan wouldn't immediately know who was responsible but now, Byakuya had openly taken Furuta Nimura and Kamishiro Rize as his disciples.
If anything happened to them, he would be the first suspect and even if they didn't suspect him directly, he would still have to take full responsibility.
The final outcome?
He would definitely be hunted down by 'V'.
That was the true difficulty of this mission.
At this point, Byakuya had already set things in motion, there was no turning back.
However, there was no reason for him to even retreat.
With his current strength, he was absolutely untouchable in a one-on-one fight.
At the very least, if he wanted to protect himself, he had nothing to worry about.
So, all he needed to do was follow the natural course of events and complete the system's mission.
Besides, this was also something that he personally wanted to do.
Of course, he hoped Furuta and Rize could break free from the Washuu Clan's control.
As for whether Furuta could successfully pursue Rize in the future...
That would depend entirely on his own efforts.
At the moment, Rize hadn't yet been subjected to enough oppression by the Washuu Clan to develop her later sadistic, twisted personality.
For now, Furuta still had a good chance.
"Alright, let's go. I'll take you to see the outside world."
Byakuya said to them.
"Yes~!"
Nimura's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Rize, on the other hand, had never expected to experience this moment.
Her existence had been doomed to be imprisoned in this 'birdcage' for all her life.
Before leaving, servants helped Furuta and Rize change into different outfits—the kind ordinary human children would typically wear.
After all, the children of the Sunlit Garden normally wore all-white uniforms, making them look like a group of laboratory test subjects.
Walking outside in those clothes would immediately draw attention.
Once everything was ready, Byakuya took both their hands and walked out of the Sunlit Garden with them.
Only under his supervision were Furuta and Rize allowed to leave temporarily.
The members of 'V' guarding the Sunlit Garden did not stop them, after all; Byakuya had already received Kaiko's approval.
The Washuu Clan also hadn't expressed any objections, so long as they didn't actively oppose it, that was enough.
The Sunlit Garden was hidden deep within a forest, officially declared a military restricted zone to prevent civilians from approaching.
This ensured its complete isolation from the outside world.
So, after stepping out, Byakuya still had to lead them through a forested area.
Furuta looked around at the trees, plants, and occasional small animals; He felt a little disappointed.
This scenery wasn't much different from what they had inside the Sunlit Garden.
Even so, Furuta kept his expression neutral.
Rize, however, had no such restraint, her disappointment was written all over her face.
"So this is all there is outside? It's nothing like what I read in books."
She sounded completely unimpressed.
Although Rize had been confined to the Sunlit Garden since birth, the servants and caretakers had never told her anything about the outside world.
However, they didn't restrict her access to books, so she had read quite a lot.
"Don't be so impatient. We just left the Sunlit Garden, you'll see something different soon."
Byakuya felt a bit helpless.
These two kids sure were restless.
"Mm-hmm."
Furuta nodded, trying to calm himself down.
"Fine..."
Rize sighed, agreeing to wait a little longer.
After a while, Byakuya finally brought them into the residential district.
However, his first priority was to head to the CCG Headquarters, so he couldn't just wander around with them.
On the way to the CCG, Furuta and Rize finally saw the outside world they had longed for with their own eyes.
There were buildings of all kinds, bustling crowds, and so many things they had never seen before.
Compared to this, the Sunlit Garden was far too dull; the outside world was clearly so much better!
Furuta and Rize both looked around like curious children, their eyes darting everywhere.
"Byakuya-nii, can we go check that out?"
Furuta's attention was suddenly drawn to a man selling candied fruit skewers in the roadside.
He pointed toward the vendor with excitement.
"Sure."
Byakuya had no reason to refuse; Taking a little detour wouldn't hurt.
He led them over to buy some candied fruit.
At first, he planned to buy two skewers.
But then he suddenly remembered; Rize was a ghoul.
She couldn't eat something like this.
So in the end, he only bought one skewer and handed it to Furuta.
"Thanks, Byakuya-nii!"
Furuta's eyes sparkled as he eagerly prepared to take his first bite.
But just as he was about to eat, he noticed Rize's gaze.
She was staring at him with clear discontent.
She seemed annoyed by how unfair this was.
Unlike Furuta, who could eat normal food as he pleased, Rize could only ever consume human flesh.
And in the Sunlit Garden, she was fed nothing but stale, rotting corpses.
Even those in higher positions within the Washuu Clan, like Washuu Tsuneyoshi and Washuu Yoshitoki, were sustained by the corpses of dead CCG investigators.
In other words, the Washuu Clan often dug up the graves of fallen CCG investigators to feed themselves.
Seeing Rize's expression, Furuta looked at the candied fruit in his hand, hesitating.
After thinking for a moment, he made his decision.
"Byakuya-nii, you should have it instead."
He handed the skewer back to Byakuya before turning to Rize with a goofy smile.
Byakuya could easily see what was going on, Furuta's intentions were painfully obvious.
A while later...
Byakuya arrived at the CCG Headquarters in the 1st Ward, holding both Furuta and Rize by the hand.
The surrounding investigators immediately took notice.
"Huh? Who are those kids Uchiha Byakuya brought with him?"
"Maybe they're his younger siblings?"
A few moments later, Byakuya stopped in front of Washuu Yoshitoki's office.
"Furuta, Rize, wait here for a bit."
He had no intention of bringing them inside.
The relationship between Yoshitoki and Furuta was... complicated.
It wasn't the right time for them to meet.
Besides, the topic Byakuya was about to discuss wasn't something they should overhear.
But he wasn't worried about them running off, with so many people watching them at all times, that wasn't even an option.
"Alright."
Furuta and Rize both nodded obediently and waited outside.