5 I Can't Ignore the Scent of Blood

The number of Ghouls in District 20 is much smaller than in other districts, which is why special recruitment efforts are made in other areas. Many who wish to lead a peaceful life arrive at the doors of the Crow's Third Eye organization.

Why is this organization called that?

It's quite simple; the crow is a creature of the night and can see everything at all times. If it exists, the Crow's Third Eye organization can discern the truth in no time. Additionally, rumors had it that the crows from this organization neutralize Ghouls before they even make their first move in District 20.

Their level of tranquility and the energy they spend to protect their existence from humans are a mockery to all Ghouls from other districts. Why shouldn't they hunt their victims and devour anyone who looks appetizing?

Many couldn't grasp the lifestyle sought in District 20. What is sought here is the integration of Ghouls into human life. Obviously, there are other Ghouls with much higher objectives than just living quietly. Some seek revenge, while others simply want to be part of the mysterious Crow's Third Eye organization.

How many Ghouls are in their ranks? Perhaps hundreds, even thousands. But those who have joined them know that there are not only fighting Ghouls but also those who lead a normal life.

Only those who are part of the Crow's Third Eye organization know the feeling of living without fear. They can all work to earn money, buy human flesh as if it were bread, and earn a proper salary for any kind of needs they have.

Kenzo focused on creating his own functional system with Ghouls. They would be his workers, and in return, they would receive food, money, and protection from him.

What does he get in return?

Their gratitude and loyalty. Everyone thinks District 20 is weak, but no organization has wanted to take this place. Even before Kenzo's organization existed, there was some level of tranquility in this area. However, with their presence, there were very few cases of disappearances and even fewer of mutilations.

Investigators had been sent, but none had returned. So the attention and resources that would have been spent on a weak region were instead focused on the stronger ones to increase their influence and power.

To survive, peace, tranquility, or drinking coffee every day are not needed. Kenzo knew that survival required an impenetrable security system, contingency plans, protocols, and a well-preserved food supply.

Making money is easy; the challenge is keeping hundreds of mouths fed without problems. But knowing the demand, Kenzo would soon expand his empire secretly into unexpected areas where it wouldn't affect the hunting of other Ghouls.

...

In the car, Kenzo thought about many things, but every topic ultimately led to his father.

His elderly father was broken on the inside, but even though he could sense that his activities were irregular, he kept his distance. Yet, Kenzo knew that at least with him, there would be no problem in sharing some things from his past.

He had matured enough to know how to let go of past wounds, but he did it only as the last respect he had left for his father.

"Hey, Viper, what would you be willing to do to protect your sister?" Kenzo's sudden question was simple but made Viper look up.

"I don't know... To be honest, I'm not capable of simulating such a great dose of emotions, and I haven't reached that limit to question it." Viper's response was straightforward, leaving Kenzo as he was before.

Kenzo gazed at Viper for a few seconds and said, "Forget it, you're too dull..."

After a few minutes, a black car stopped not far from Anteiku café, and Kenzo got out after a brief moment of arrival. Things had become a bit interesting, and one could say they were in his favor. There were many questions without a satisfying answer, and it was hard not to notice.

Back at the old café, it was already very late at night, and the café had closed. However, in the living room, Manager Yoshimura was still cleaning the cups at the counter and had not gone to sleep.

The biggest headache was seeing Touka, who was lying on a customer's table, holding a coffee cup in her hand, staring out the window with a face full of boredom.

"I'm back!"

At that moment, Kenzo pushed the door and entered.

"Hey, Kenzo, why did you come back so late again?"

Touka, who was lying on a customer's table, got up at that moment and walked in front of Kenzo with an obvious frown on her face.

"Uh... why haven't you gone to sleep yet?" Kenzo held the back of his neck while calmly looking at Touka, who seemed more concerned than she needed to be.

"Don't worry about that, you..." Touka huffed as she tried to grab his shirt.

"Why?" Kenzo lightly dodged her.

"Hey Kenzo, when did you learn to smoke?" Touka finally huffed when she noticed the smell of cigarettes, but when she realized what she had said, her voice became weaker.

The manager at the counter also raised his head and slightly furrowed his brow. At this moment, Kenzo was 21 years old, and he had been a high school student until recently.

"Haha, didn't expect to find another kind of smell on my body, did you?" Kenzo smiled a bit as he walked to the counter and pointed, "Ghouls and humans can smoke, what's wrong with that? It's better to smell like cigarettes than women, isn't that much better?"

"I..." Touka was stunned when she heard those words and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Go to sleep, Touka. I need to have a few words with Manager Yoshimura..." Kenzo looked at Touka deeply this time, and his voice was much colder, almost ordering her to leave.

"Alright, good night..." Touka slowly climbed the stairs but stopped halfway to check if Kenzo wasn't crossing a line with her father.

Kuzen Yoshimura, still expressionless, continued cleaning the cups, and in a moment, he served a coffee to his silent son. Then he said, "I haven't asked you for anything since you moved to this place. I thought I had no right after leaving you in another home."

Kenzo calmly sipped his coffee and said, "When you told me you were different, everyone here is different, you know what I thought?"

Kuzen fell silent; his gaze turned to Kenzo, and he couldn't decipher where Kenzo was going with this. Still, he said, "You've been very quiet since I brought you here. If that's changed in recent years, it doesn't mean you show much of what you feel in your actions."

"It was very amusing; your Ghoul scent was very strong, and in fact, I knew that after coming to this place. I suppose after observing you in these last years, I found out that you don't have any significant purpose in keeping me here, but I have plenty of reasons for staying in this place."

After saying that, Kenzo looked at his coffee, and the pupils of both his eyes began to slowly turn red, and the sclera black. The black lines around his eyes became deeply marked, and the hidden scent of his body was revealed very subtly. But it was enough for Kuzen to open his eyes and look into his son's. How was that possible? His son was human, he had confirmed it, he was entirely human when he was born.

Kuzen Yoshimura's puzzled expression became less evident, and after a few minutes, he finally gathered the courage to ask, "How did this happen?"

"I guess the behavior of the body is something we haven't extensively researched, but my sister is half-Ghoul and half-human. On the other hand, I was born completely as a normal human. However, at the age of ten, after a Ghoul attack, I fully awakened my hidden power. After ten years, I am becoming more Ghoul than human every day. I preferred to tell you before you figured it out, but I guess you've been speculating about something for a long time."

At this point, Kenzo lied subtly, changing many parts of the story, as he didn't suffer a Ghoul attack at the age of ten. On the contrary, he underwent a mutation in his body that turned him into a half-human, half-Ghoul. However, as time passed, his Ghoul side was becoming more dominant, and slowly, the scent of his body, even noticed by Viper, would become more evident.

Staying at Anteiku was only to gather any history about his family from his father's words, but he never told him anything, which annoyed him every time he thought about it. Over the years, he grew somewhat fond of this place, but his mission was much bigger than this simple life, and he knew it perfectly.

"It's not necessary to delve into my experience, but I joined the Cuervo de Tres Ojos organization. They took care of me and trained me when I thought I was just one of those monsters you hear about in the news." Kenzo drank his coffee and said, "You know what I want from you, Father. Tell me personally, why did you let them trample over you?"

Kuzen Yoshimura had accepted that his son hated him, after all, he had told him part of their story, omitting significant details. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his son and said, "I needed to keep them safe. Your mother knew it, and that's why I decided to do what was necessary to save them."

Although Kenzo didn't expect anything, he was still extremely angry. He looked at his father one last time and said, "You are very strong, Father. I'm sure you're strong enough to eliminate the entire V organization, but despite that, you lost brutally... Anyway, don't tell the others about what I told you. I will leave here before they realize I'm a Ghoul, so there won't be any need to waste energy on that."

Leaving Kuzen Yoshimura in silence, Kenzo went up the stairs to his room.

As he watched Kenzo's back as he climbed the stairs, Yoshimura sighed and couldn't say anything. In fact, he could sense what was happening with his son's body, but he really didn't expect that after being human for ten years, he would become a Ghoul shortly after. The stimulation he had suffered in that Ghoul attack must have awakened something inside him, granting him access to his dormant Ghoul side.

Right now, when Kenzo entered his room, Yoshimura stopped what he was doing and sighed, knowing that his son was trying to seek out his past. Every night he would go out to eliminate unaffiliated Ghouls, somehow following the orders of the Cuervo de Tres Ojos organization.

"I was careless..." Yoshimura murmured as he turned off the lights in the cafe.

He already knew that his son had a connection to the Cuervo de Tres Ojos organization, which is why he decided to trust them. He was not disappointed since, for ten years, they had done nothing more than live peacefully, just like Anteiku. All he wanted now was to heal Kenzo, and for him to do the same for his sister. Both of them had to live free of the vengeance that would eventually consume them. At least, they could.