Kiyono Yui's cheeks flushed slightly. I must be really hungry, she thought, to be thinking about men while eating.

But then again, she wasn't getting any younger. She was 27, turning 28 soon, which was basically 29, which was practically 30… Her friends from school already had kids old enough to run errands, and she didn't even have a boyfriend. Thinking about it, a sense of urgency and frustration welled up inside her. She had the looks, she had the figure, and her personality was pretty good, so how did she end up as an "old maid"? Where did things go wrong? She just didn't understand.

Yui held the bowl, sipping the warm, delicious Tonjiru. The flavor was stunning. Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the handsome young chef who was expertly serving a long line of customers. In just a few minutes, his stall was swarmed. Just like last night.

Yui felt like she had discovered a super high-quality marriage partner. He was the sunny, handsome type she liked, tall, and—even though he was wearing a uniform—she could tell he had a great physique. He just seemed a little young.

I wonder if he likes older women? Would he mind if his girlfriend was older than him?

Yui felt like she should give it a try. After all, she was an "E-class" powerhouse! If she could land him, her future would be set. An endless supply of Glowing Cuisine every day, plus his income was clearly nothing to scoff at. That kind of future sounded amazing.

Just as Yui was carefully choosing her words to start a conversation, she heard her best friend, Hanane Shiori, speak up in a sweet, bewitching voice.

"Mister Chef, my stomach has already taken your shape~!"

What!? Yui thought, stunned. Shiori, you're making a move on him too?! What should she do? Should she compete with her? She was torn.

"Ahem."

Just as Ryohei was about to respond, he heard a soft cough from beside him. He glanced over instinctively.

Yurine Hanazono was gently touching her delicate, fair throat, her expression calm as she said, "My throat is a little scratchy."

"Oh."

For a second, Ryohei almost thought she was jealous, but he quickly dismissed it. Impossible. He hadn't sensed any romantic feelings from her. She had been very kind to him these past couple of days, but it was just that—kindness. Besides, he felt that Yurine wasn't the type to fall for someone easily.

Tsk! One of the three great delusions of life, 'she likes me'. I almost got carried away, he thought. That was a close one.

"Ehehehe~?" Jashin-chan, sensing something interesting, let her eyes curve into crescents and her mouth stretch into an exaggerated grin. She covered her mouth with her hand, but it couldn't hide her teasing smile. She slithered over to Yurine. "Something's not right. I smell the scent of a lie…"

"OOF—!"

Jashin-chan was met with a fist to her gut, sending her flying. Her blue eyes bulged, drool flew from her mouth, and her body lifted off the ground before crashing onto the pavement with a pained cry. The customers in line jumped, startled by the sudden violence.

This girl…! Ryohei thought, his mouth twitching as he watched Jashin-chan's crumpled form. As long as she breathes, she'll be courting death. Three beatings a day, nine in three days. He was utterly speechless.

Hanane Shiori, the office lady with the sexy teardrop mole, was shocked in more ways than one. She took a half-step back, staring at Yurine in disbelief. That little goth-loli girl… is she that strong? And she hits her own companion? Isn't that a bit too vicious?

Seeing the goth-loli's "warning" glare land on her, Shiori's brow twitched. She paused for a moment.

"What was I just saying?" she muttered to herself, as if trying to remember. "Ah!" She looked at Ryohei with a serious expression. "I meant that only my stomach has taken your shape."

"..." Ryohei's face was a mask of black lines. What else would have taken my shape? he thought, feeling like he was being teased. As expected of Japanese women, they really know how to drive fast! He just rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

Ultimately, she was her best friend. Kiyono Yui decided to help Shiori, who had basically taken a bullet for her. "Shiori, where should we go for our after-party?"

"Let's go to karaoke. I happen to have a coupon," Shiori said, gratefully taking the lifeline Yui had thrown her. Yui looked at the other two women.

"Karaoke sounds good," the woman with the bob cut said with a smile. "I haven't sung in a while. I'm going to sing my heart out tonight!"

"Sounds good, sounds good," Katori Chion nodded eagerly. The group of office ladies chatted as if no one else was around, and then quickly departed.

Meanwhile…

He really didn't come today.

Banjo Kazuichi, wearing a black hat as a disguise, had returned to the park from the night before. He scanned the area, didn't see the stall he was looking for, and left.

Back at the stall, business was still booming. Today, they had prepared about 150 specialty beef onigiri and a huge pot of Tonjiru. The onigiri sold out first.

A return customer who missed out was very disappointed. He ordered a bowl of the Tonjiru and pleaded with Ryohei, "Mister, please make more onigiri tomorrow! I love your onigiri so much!"

"I'm not selling onigiri tomorrow," Ryohei said with a smile, handing him the soup.

"Nani?!" The man's eyes went wide. He stepped aside to let the next person order. "Why not? Were they not selling well? That doesn't seem right! I couldn't even get one!"

This was the first time Jashin-chan and Yurine were hearing this, and they both looked at Ryohei in surprise.

"I like to change things up. We can't just eat the same thing all the time, right? My policy is: I sell what I feel like eating," Ryohei said as he bagged an order for a new customer.

"Whoa! A treasure-box stall owner!" a mustached return customer in a suit exclaimed, delighted. This was like opening a blind box every day! He gave Ryohei a big thumbs-up, already looking forward to tomorrow's surprise.

The new customer who had just received his order asked curiously, "Boss, what are you selling tomorrow?"

"I'll decide tomorrow. Haven't thought about it yet," Ryohei said, waving him away to let the next person in line step up. This new guy has no awareness!

Just then, another Ghoul passed by.

Furukawa Kota had been having a pretty good life recently. The 11th Ward had always been a relatively stable area, until the "Binge Eater" appeared. Her reckless and indiscriminate feeding had thrown the Ghoul hierarchy into chaos, and the ward's leaders had put a hit out on her. To everyone's shock, the Binge Eater had killed all of her pursuers. Now, she seemed to have moved on to another ward; no one had heard from her in a while. As a result, the 11th Ward was currently a lawless land without a leader. This meant that even weak Ghouls like him could carve out a small hunting territory.

Kota was currently patrolling his turf. He didn't dare get too arrogant, though, strictly adhering to the old rules and never hunting recklessly, for fear of attracting the attention of the CCG. If the Doves came knocking, he'd be finished. He was, after all, quite weak.

"Ahh… another beautiful day," he sighed contentedly, looking at the lively, neon-lit streets. Life is great right now! I hope it stays this way forever!

As he was thinking this, a rich, tempting, and very strange aroma drifted to his nose. Kota froze, subconsciously swallowing. He frowned. Is one of my kind hunting nearby?

He hesitated, but decided to go have a look. The smell was just too alluring. He wanted to eat it. Besides, the 11th Ward was only populated by a few stray cats now; there were no strong Ghouls left. Everyone was about on the same weak level. Even if he couldn't win a fight, he could definitely escape.

So, Furukawa Kota followed the scent, which led him to a food stall with a long line of people. He looked at the simple stall, and at the glowing food on top of it… and froze.

He was completely and utterly stunned.

"Huh?"

Kota was bewildered. He scratched his head, wondering if he was dreaming.

Where's my fellow Ghoul? Where's the corpse? What's going on?! And since when can human food glow?!

It was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.