After coming out from the coffee shop, Jotaro did not go straight home, but instead went to the hospital's mortuary.
A few days ago, the people who were killed by ghouls in Takada Building, after their corpses were examined by the forensic department, were sent here for follow-up handling.
The ghoul that committed the murder was extremely brutal, using kagune to completely shred the inside of the dead body's organs.
Blood and flesh, internal organs, excrement, all mixed together.
Even when stored in a low-temperature environment, it still emitted a strong stench.
The forensic doctor probably just took a quick glance and then concluded that the ghoul responsible must have been the gluttonous binge-eater.
There were no signs of any detailed examination on the corpse at all.
With a cold face, Jotaro pulled out the body. Star Platinum leaned near the corpse, carefully examining the wounds.
"Yare yare... This bastard was actually this cruel. Looks like he wasn't just hunting for food, he was also toying with his prey for fun."
A flash of light suddenly passed through the sharp eyes of Star Platinum. He pinched his fingers and pulled out a long strand from the bloody flesh mush.
"Clothing thread? No, it's hair."
Star Platinum placed the hair into a transparent evidence bag, then merged back into Jotaro's body. At the same time, the evidence bag appeared in Jotaro's hand.
Beneath the dark yellow sticky blood, a faint purple could still be seen.
"Not the color of the victim's hair, is it the ghoul's?"
With hands in his pockets, Jotaro said calmly, "Time stop flowing."
Unhurriedly walking out of the hospital, he returned straight home.
———
"Ah? Jotaro-san, you're really back early today."
Shinobu wore a simple outfit with a light blue apron around her. Her small figure stood in front of Jotaro, as if trying to hide something.
"More importantly…" Jotaro frowned as he looked at the kitchen, which was emitting black smoke. "What's going on there?"
Shinobu waved her hand awkwardly and said, "Ara, ara, don't mind those little details. It's inevitable to make some mistakes while experimenting with recipes."
She quickly changed the subject, "By the way, how's your investigation going?"
"Regarding this twisted society where ghouls and humans coexist, there are many things I can't quite understand."
Sitting at the dining table, Jotaro said truthfully, "After all, we're outsiders. Although we can see many flaws from a bystander's perspective…"
"But some things probably can only be understood by the species that survive in this society."
These past days, he had read many books about ghouls. Undoubtedly, these books were all written from a human perspective.
Standing from the human point of view, Jotaro couldn't see the possibility of peaceful coexistence.
Ghouls are a species that must be eliminated for humans to survive. To humans, they are the embodiment of evil.
All the books were promoting this concept. Good and evil is a topic that has always been debated and has never had a conclusion.
Because questions about good and evil are never objective, even endless debates will not bring a result.
People often lose themselves in such whirlpools. It was precisely because Jotaro understood this early on that he formed his own theory of good and evil.
From a human viewpoint, the concepts in the books were indeed not wrong.
But if two species are to live in peace, then you can't just look at the problem from one side.
Jotaro wanted to know the ghouls' view of humans, but unfortunately, there were no such books on the market.
"Some things can only be inquired directly from ghouls…"
Hearing Jotaro talk to himself, Shinobu smiled and said, "Ghouls are very good at disguising themselves. Jotaro-san, trying to find a ghoul again won't be easy."
"The ghoul we encountered that day, perhaps it would've been better to keep him? As they say here, he's like a newbie starter gift bag."
Jotaro said, "Even if he stayed, it'd be useless. With those injuries, he probably needs more than a month before he wakes up."
"Even if I want to ask him something, it has to wait until a month later." And he wasn't a person with patience.
Taking out the hair collected at the hospital, Jotaro tossed the evidence bag to Shinobu.
"This is?"
"As I deduced, it was left by that ghoul." Jotaro crossed his arms, leaned on the chair, closed his eyes and said, "That ghoul known as the binge-eater hunts very casually, leaving behind many clues."
Shinobu looked at the evidence bag and said, "Even with hair as evidence, if the suspect cannot be confirmed, it's still difficult to find the culprit."
"Otherwise, how could the CCG allow the binge-eater to be so arrogant?"
Jotaro threw over another evidence bag, "Compare the hair of these two people, I want to know if they are the same person."
Shinobu suddenly understood, "Jotaro-san, could it be you already have a suspect?"
A face flashed through Jotaro's mind. That woman looked harmless to humans and animals, but she definitely wasn't as simple as she seemed.
However, without 100% confirmation that she was a ghoul, he wouldn't take the initiative to act.
———
One evening later, Touka and her friend Yoriko Kosaka were walking on their way home.
Seeing Touka in a daze, Yoriko turned around and asked, "What's wrong, Touka-chan?"
"Hmm? Nothing." Touka replied flatly.
In her line of sight, Rize and Kaneki were chatting and laughing, walking toward a deserted place. 'That guy got tricked?'
"Let's go, Yoriko. We're heading back."
Whether those unrelated people lived or died, she didn't care at all.
"Um… Touka-chan," Yoriko suddenly lowered her head, blushing, not daring to look ahead.
Touka asked curiously, "What's wrong? Yoriko, you don't look well."
"Look at that guy…" Yoriko bashfully pointed forward.
Straight ahead of her, Jotaro walked toward them, standing tall, hands in his pants pockets.
"Ah? That guy." Touka was slightly surprised.
'Why is this guy here too? The direction he came from was the same place Rize had just left. That's way too suspicious. If he ran into Rize feeding…'
She shook her head. Seems like those two who were targeted by Rize today are doomed.
While she was lost in thought, Yoriko suddenly leaned closer, staring into Touka's eyes seriously and asked, "Touka-chan, from your tone, you seem to know this person?"
Yoriko's urgent expression startled Touka. She quickly waved her hands, "Know? We've just met a few times. He's a regular at my part-time job."
"Really?" Yoriko squinted, suspicious.
"Really! What are you imagining!" Pushing Yoriko's head away, Touka covered her face, a bit speechless.
Seeing Yoriko's eyes dodging, face shy, she asked uncertainly, "Don't tell me you like that guy?"
Yoriko whispered, "He's really handsome."
In terms of looks, Touka didn't deny it, but...
"This guy looks like a delinquent student. Yoriko, you'd better not get involved with people like him."
Yoriko pouted and said with dissatisfaction, "Touka-chan, how can you judge people by their appearance?"
Touka was speechless. Honestly, she didn't know why she disliked guys like Jotaro. Clearly born human, easily getting things ghouls like them could only dream of. But they didn't know how to cherish it.
She had gone through great effort to blend into human school life and enjoy this peace.
Yet someone like Jotaro, born with such advantages, didn't study properly and became a delinquent.
"Maybe it's just because of that…"
"Touka-chan, what are you saying?"
"Nothing."
Yoriko didn't pursue it, instead tugged Touka's hand, blushing and said, "Touka-chan, this request might be a bit bold, but... next time that person comes to the shop, can you help me ask about him, like whether he has a girlfriend or not…"
"Ah?" Touka's mouth opened wide. "Why should I do that?"
Looking at Yoriko's pleading eyes, she sighed and said, "Fine, but that guy has a pretty bad temper. I can't guarantee success."
Yoriko was already jumping around with joy.
Touka didn't know how she became friends with such a person. With a smile on her lips, Touka shook her head.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/XenosX
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰