"Alright! I think our plan is perfect. With this, Maman will get his Happy End!" Saiko said joyfully. They were in the chateau's living room, attentively crafting their mischievous plan to win the bet.

However, Shirazu didn't really contribute to the plan – it was all Saiko's effort, using her experience from playing tons of dating game.

"Are you sure this will work?" His brows furrowed, apparently skeptical of her plan that seemed to work only in fiction, not in real life.

"Yes, it will. You have to trust me, Shiragin. Now I have to buy six amusement park tickets and make it look like I won a contest!" She gave him a thumb's up sign with a huge grin on her face, obviously satisfied with the plan.

"Hold on a second… Why six tickets?"

"Well… Maman, barista-chan, Uri, Mucchan, you, and me."

"Why are you buying for Urie-kun and Tooru? They'll sabotage our plan!" Shirazu really needed that money. Even though 20,000 yen wasn't that much, but any amount of money would help Haru, his sister, to be able to live longer. For that, he had to win this bet.

"I just want all of us to spend more fun times with each other…" Saiko pouted, and Shirazu just sighed looking at her.

"Fine. But there's one thing we need to confirm with the barista."

"And that is…?"

"What if – what if she has a boyfriend?"

Saiko's huge eyes widened as she gasped loudly, Shirazu's question definitely caught her off guard as she was agonizingly shocked. Speechless, even. If the pretty barista had a boyfriend, the bet would be meaningless. Her plan to see her Maman getting his Happy End would be meaningless as well.

"With that beautiful face, she should have one, right? What if – what if she's married to that old geezer in that shop?!" Shirazu's face crumpled in despair as he imagined the situation in his head. 'No, it can't be, right?'

There was a long silence stretched between them before Saiko realised that he was wrong.

"Calm down, Shiragin! She called him 'nii-san', so it's her brother. Besides, I don't think I've seen any ring on her finger."

"Oh. You're right." He let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding.

"But that doesn't eliminate the possibility of her having a boyfriend… We need to find it out ourselves."

"How?"

"Test her."

"…What?"

"Ask her out, Shiragin."

"HAH?!" He raised his voice at that. His mouth gaped, his face flushed with both surprise and anxiousness – probably with a tint of excitement that he was trying to hide from the NEET.

"If she turns you down, it's either your charming level is low or she already has a boyfriend. If she accepts, it means she's single."

"B- But this is for Sassan, not for me. Besides, what if she accepts? We're gonna lose the bet!"

Saiko's eyebrows wiggled playfully at him and a smirk was plastered on her lips that made him feel perturbed.

"Oi. What's with that expression?"

"If she accepts, it's your chance to date her, Shiragin! You should be happy because you have a crush on her." She winked.

Shirazu blushed even deeper, his whole face was red with embarrassment.

"Hey, I don't have a crush on her! I think she's pretty, that's all!"

"Well, think about it. Do you want your own happiness, or Maman's?" She stared at him intensely as he thought about her question.

"I… I want Sassan to be happy. He has sacrificed a lot for us. It's time for us to repay him."

For a brief moment, Saiko just stared at him – mouth gaped, then she grinned widely as she patted his shoulder.

"I'm so proud of you, Shiragin! Alright, let's stalk her then!"

Startled, he blinked his eyes three times, took some time to process her words then he blinked three times again. Did he hear that correctly?

"Wait, what? Stalk?!"

"We'll stalk her and see if she has a boyfriend."

While the idea sounded so ridiculous and so wrong in his mind, he didn't object it. He would do anything to win the money they were betting on, but it was for his mentor's happiness too, of course.

"Alright. Let's do it. For Sassan's happiness!"

"Yes!"


"Urie-kun." Mutsuki entered Urie's room later that afternoon, this whole bet thing made him agitated. He needed to ensure that his team would win.

Urie, on the other hand, didn't really care about it. He was working on something on his laptop when Mutsuki entered. He barely greeted him and continued typing on the keyboard.

"What do you want, Rank 3 Mutsuki?" 'Can't you see I'm busy? Leave me alone.'

"I- I'm just wondering if we have any plans in mind. Saiko-chan and Shirazu-kun are forming a plan between them to win the bet."

'What a bunch of idiots.' "There's no need for us to do anything. Just leave it be." His eyes were still fixated on the screen, not even bothered to look at Mutsuki in the eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Rank 1 Sasaki is a ghoul and a ghoul investigator. He's aware that he's a monster and has a risky job, he will not date anyone." 'No one wants to date a dumb guy like him anyways.'

While it was partially true, in Mutsuki's ears – Urie's words sounded harsh, lack of humanity and respect for the mentor he cared deeply for – deeper than he was supposed to.

"Sensei is a human, don't you dare to call him a monster, Urie-kun!" He clenched his fist, tight.

Urie stood up from his chair abruptly – he was staring down at Mutsuki and all of sudden he looked so much taller and intimidating.

"Are you threatening me, Rank 3 Mutsuki? Who do you think you are?" 'You're a useless team member with a pretty face, that's all there is about you.'

"I-"

"For the time being, concentrate on your kagune. You still can't control them properly, right?" 'Stop wasting your time planning this stupid bet. Be useful for once.'

He sat down again to continue working on his laptop, implicitly telling him to leave him alone.

"About that..." Mutsuki bit his lower lip. "Please, I need your help." He bowed towards the former squad leader, his eyes shut close. "Teach me how to control my kagune."


Their first spot to stalk the pretty barista was of course, at the :Re café itself.

But they didn't go in, instead, they hid behind the bush and used binoculars to observe her. Luck was on their side as it was her shift period, and someone they knew was there too.

"Look, Maman is here!"

"Huh? Where?"

"There, at the corner."

Shirazu followed the direction Saiko had pointed out and saw Sasaki was sitting at the corner of the shop, reading a book with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Oh? You're right. He's here."

"Look at him~" Saiko said with an excited, cheery voice.

"Yeah, I'm looking at him."

"Look properly, Shiragin. Look at his eyes and the book!" He adjusted the binoculars to zoom in further on the book, and his mouth gaped in shock.

"What the hell? The book is upside down! He's not even reading it!" A sound of giggling was heard beside him.

"I know, right? Now look at his eyes."

"He's... looking at the pretty barista?"

"Seems like it. Heh, Maman is so hopelessly in love. We need to help him."

"Yeah…" He couldn't help but crack a smile on his lips.

They observed every single interaction between the barista and each customer, but it seemed that none of them were special to her.

When Sasaki left, her eyes seemed sad and lingering at the spot she'd last seen him.

"I think she likes Maman too…"

"I agree…"

They continued to observe her, but there wasn't any other customer that could be considered as her boyfriend. But then again, it had only been an hour since they started to stalk her.

"Shiragin?"

"Hm?"

"I'm tired. This whole stalking thing makes me sleepy and hungry…"

"But it has only been an hour!"

Saiko moaned in disapproval, she wanted to give up and just sleep then play games all night.

"I don't care." She stood up from the bush they were hiding in. "I'm going to ask her if she's single." With that, she stormed off into the shop, leaving Shirazu behind.

"Wait, Saiko!"

"Welcome to :Re~" The pretty barista greeted Saiko who walked past all the empty tables to make her way towards the clueless barista. The barista started to back away, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sudden advance.

"Barista-chan, I want to ask a question."

"Y- Yes?"

"Are you single?"

The barista blinked her eyes. Whatever question she was expecting, she definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you single, barista-chan?" Saiko's face was serious, and demanding.

"I- I am."

"Great!" She squealed. "Then, do you like Maman?"

"…Maman?"

"Our mentor. The super nice guy with black and white hair. He was here half an hour ago."

"Ah, him. Yes, I like him. He's a nice customer."

The smile on Saiko's face fell, and it was replaced with a solemn expression instead.

"…Oh. I see. Let's get going, Shiragin."

"Huh? Why?" He asked. Even the barista seemed confused.

"You're not staying for the coffee?" She asked, but Saiko just shook her head.

"Perhaps next time." She turned on her heels and left the shop, Shirazu followed her from behind after bowing slightly to the barista.

"Why did you suddenly leave?"

"We need to take things slowly…"

"Said someone who just barged in and asked if she's single. I can't believe you, Saiko. Are you really an expert in this matter? You're going to get us banned from coming into the shop!"

He kept on complaining on and on but Saiko just remained quiet. She was in deep concentration, calculating countless possibilities inside her head.

"Oi NEET, say something."

"I was just thinking… Hey Shiragin, have you ever heard of the term friendzoned?"

He seemed confused, but answered anyway.

"It's when a guy confessed to a girl but the girl views him as a friend and not more than that?"

"Yeah… Maman's situation is even worse than being friendzoned… he just got customerzoned."