Touka Kirishima had already imagined the worst possible outcome in her heart. However, reality gave her an ocean of rainbows.

As she chewed, her eyes slowly widened.

The hearts of the three watching her were in their throats.

"Gulp!"

After several chews, Touka Kirishima murmured, "It's… delicious…"

She hadn't eaten human food in days.

"!!!"

It's true! Touka actually ate normal food!

After a brief moment of excitement, Yoshimura Kuzen and the other three reacted almost simultaneously, kneeling on one knee.

"We shall pledge our loyalty to you."

"Eh? I… me too!" Touka, emerging from her enjoyment of the donut, immediately mimicked their actions.

"Pledging loyalty to me isn't just a simple statement," Ren smiled slightly, and the starlight of the Dominator's Eye flashed.

The four looked up in surprise.

"Master!"

A unified address. An irresistible thought. A strange method.

Ren said, "Get up. Your body's genes have already been modified by me."

The four stood up, their gazes complex. They never imagined the cost of loyalty would be so great—to completely obey his commands, unable to defy, unable to resist.

Just like slaves.

Ren glanced at them, walked back to his seat, picked up the stunned Miki again, and said over his shoulder, "Continue with your work."

"The task I've given you is simple: if Ghouls come to you, determine if they've eaten humans. If they have, kill them. If you're undecided, contact me. I've already transmitted my contact information to your brains."

"Yes!"

After receiving their orders, the four exchanged glances and returned to their workstations.

Miki also fully came to her senses at this moment, realizing she was being held in Ren's arms. He merely met her gaze before moving to an inner seat and setting her down. He clearly had spatial abilities but preferred this primitive method.

Ren's intentions were clear, yet no one in the shop had their minds on that. Some were excitedly eating dessert, while Miki and Kasumigaoka were equally bewildered.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart was pounding.

The Anteiku I always visit has four man-eating Ghouls! The manager, the staff—they're all Ghouls.

Her gaze shifted to Miki, the waitress she was quite familiar with. Her voice held a hint of probing. "Miki-nee, you're not a Ghoul too, are you?"

"Eh?" Miki's chaotic thoughts dissipated, and she frantically waved her hands. "I'm not some strange monster!"

But as soon as she said this, Miki realized her mistake and quickly stood up to bow and apologize. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you monsters, it's just..." She clutched the corner of her clothes, not knowing how to explain.

At this moment, it was the gentle Ren who explained for her, "She's just a bit flustered and doesn't know how to express herself. Don't mind her."

Then he said to Touka, "Touka, get this young lady a cup of coffee."

"Yes... Ma... Master," Touka said the word with difficulty.

Ren replied, "You don't have to force it. I've already lifted that restriction. Just call me by my name."

"Okay, Ren." After successfully saying his name, Touka's flushed face relaxed. Calling someone 'Master' in front of others was indeed too embarrassing.

Miki and Kasumigaoka Utaha also breathed a sigh of relief.

With Ren's intervention, everyone in the shop just nodded lightly at Miki. Letting out a long breath, she slowly sat back down, her hands intertwined.

Kasumigaoka, on the other hand, felt relieved that her acquaintance was not a Ghoul. Otherwise, she would truly suspect if she had some strange fate with them.

However, the atmosphere remained somewhat awkward.

Ren quietly sipped his coffee, looking at the manuscript Utaha had given him. It had to be said, as a reader, the second part of The Metronome in Love had no issues with its linguistic logic. In fact, it was quite excellent, almost too good for a light novel.

But in Ren's opinion, its biggest flaw was a common one: unnecessary melodrama. Characters would get stuck on strange things, or the author would set up emotional hurdles in odd, irrelevant places.

He personally didn't like these things very much.

Moreover, the emotional exchanges between the male and female leads felt very awkward. It was fine in the first part, where their initial contact was slightly immature. But in this second part, as their feelings deepened, Utaha's weakness became apparent; her descriptions of emotional communication were extremely stiff.

It was like the works of a struggling author friend he knew. Reading it truly made one's scalp tingle.

Paradoxically, Utaha's excellent writing style made these romantic scenes even more literary and awkward, feeling less substantial than a simple, direct approach.

They probably all suffer from intermittent literary pretentiousness.

"Utaha-san."

"Here!" As soon as Ren called her, she immediately responded, sitting up straight.

She thought he was going to continue talking about the Ghouls. Miki thought the same.

To their surprise, Ren pointed at the manuscript and began his critique of her pretentious literary style.

"???"

Kasumigaoka Utaha was stunned. Discussing this now seemed inappropriate. After all, a head had just fallen off, Ghouls had transformed, and one had even died. Was it really okay to talk about this?

Even Miki had the same thought.

But gradually, Utaha was stimulated by Ren's critical language and began to analyze the work from her own perspective, explaining her choices to him. This was similar to their online exchanges before, though the tone was certainly more intense online.

"Leisurely?" As for Miki, she fell into a state of self-questioning.

How did these two just start chatting like this? Are they going to ignore what just happened? Aren't they going to call the police? Someone died!

Oh... the killer was Ren, who was beside me. And it seems he killed a monster... so it's fine then.

Miki could only sit there rigidly, not daring to move.

[Inorin Note:

If you wish to support me so I can continue to survive and afford proper food, you can join my membership on Patreon [patreon.com/InorinTL]. Be sure to check out "The Founding Pillars"—a special, limited-time tier that offers all the benefits of "The Plot Uncoverer" at a discounted price! Slots are limited, so grab yours before they run out. Besides membership, you can also donate via Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/inorintl].

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