Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies Chapter 338 - 331: The Struggling Takatsuki Izumi

A high-paying contract was pushed across the table.

Editor Ami Furukawa looked at the young girl, Izumi, with a hint of hesitation in her gaze.

"This kid... shouldn't be the type to delay manuscripts, right?"

Haruto felt a bit offended.

Sure, he had indeed ghosted a little...

But saying that in front of a junior? Couldn't she leave him a shred of dignity?

After signing the contract, Takatsuki Izumi raised her head in a daze, her eyes clear and pure.

Seeing this, Editor Furukawa felt as if she had just taken a dose of a calming agent.

How could a child like this end up like Haruto, the king of procrastination, always coming up with excuses to delay updates?

She must be a good kid!

And so, the gears of fate quietly began to turn.

Editor Furukawa had no idea that she had once again fallen for the wrong person, unknowingly signing on a girl who would later beco a notorious queen of delay.

If she had the power to ti-travel...

The Furukawa of the future would definitely co back and curse her past self out.

"Don't you know what it ans to be influenced by the company you keep!?"

No matter how pure this child is, staying with Haruto, that supre procrastinator—what good could co of it?

Even if she's a blank sheet of paper, before long, it'll be filled with checkmarks of lateness.

Putting away the signed contract, Editor Ami Furukawa extended her hand.

"Then, I'll be in your care from now on, Takatsuki-sensei."

Izumi looked at the extended hand and Furukawa's eyes.

She reached out and shook it.

Another first-ti experience.

The act of shaking hands was, to her, a symbol of mutual respect—sothing that felt novel and strange.

As for Ami Furukawa, her curiosity at this mont was mostly centered on the identity of the girl.

The girl's real na was indeed Takatsuki Izumi.

Naturally, Furukawa believed that Haruto had long since beco the guardian of this girl. Moreover, the fact that he used her na as his pen na showed just how deep his affection ran.

If Haruto knew what she was thinking—

He'd probably be torn between laughter and tears.

After all, Haruto never imagined the real person would actually show up one day.

After discussing the publication matters, Haruto took Izumi and left Eijisha.

Soon, Eijisha would carry out a promotional campaign.

Haruto's identity wasn't a secret—in fact, he was already half a public figure.

So they could directly proceed with marketing.

It would be stated that under the pen na "Takatsuki Izumi," both a mangaka and a novelist would co-create the work.

Using Haruto's existing popularity to create buzz around Takatsuki Izumi.

At the sa ti, the image of a 13-year-old genius novelist was an eye-catching marketing asset.

This promotional campaign was bound to have excellent results.

And at this mont—

Grrrrr...

The sound echoed clearly on the quiet street.

Haruto stopped walking and looked at Izumi. Clearly, the child was extrely hungry. Hunger is one of the hardest pains to endure. But at this mont, there was no sign of suffering on Takatsuki Izumi's face.

If not for the physiological reaction, one could hardly tell that the girl was starving.

"Do you want to eat sothing?"

Haruto asked.

Izumi shook her head, and a flash of rejection flickered in her eyes.

It was as if she inherently repelled the act of eating itself. Just like The Black Goat's Egg in her novel.

Thirteen-year-old Izumi was still a girl trapped in a struggle. The first volu of The Black Goat's Egg had no ending.

Just like the current Izumi.

Seeing her reaction, Haruto understood the girl's condition.

This girl and Kamishiro Rize ca from the sa world. She was also a creature known as a ghoul.

However, Izumi was a half-human, half-ghoul. A miracle born from the union of a human and a ghoul.

Because of the high concentration of RC cells in her body—to survive, Izumi had to eat humans.

And having been abandoned from a young age due to her origins, she survived for years by feeding on the flesh of those who had impure intentions toward her.

That's why she was so sensitive to the emotions of others.

At this stage, Izumi's body was alarmingly thin.

The malice others directed at her had, ironically, beco one of the conditions for her survival. Only when soone showed her the darkest side of human nature could she have a proper al.

It sounded painfully ironic.

Thankfully, in this world, there were more bad people than good, and they were easier to predict.

That was how Izumi managed to survive.

Even now, with her hunger nearing its limit—Izumi still refused to "eat."

She hadn't yet crossed that line, nor did her gaze stretch far enough to contemplate the fate of her species or anything like that.

What she could see now was only the boy in front of her. The boy was kind—so she couldn't eat.

A strange logic, but that's just how it was.

Haruto reached out and gently rubbed her small head.

If at first it was just due to the "pen na" connection that he gave this girl a bit of special care—

Then now, Haruto truly felt a deep pity for this child.

"Why don't you want to eat even though you're hungry? Can you tell the reason?"

Haruto squatted down, eting her gaze, eye to eye.

Their eyes locked—and in that mont, they seed to glimpse the emotions in each other's hearts.

After a mont of silence, one of Izumi's eyes turned pitch black, and her pupil transford into a crimson red.

Though the appearance was terrifying, her gaze held panic.

Izumi didn't know how Haruto would react, but she'd been through this many tis before. So people who weren't originally hostile would beco overco by fear and hatred the mont they saw these eyes.

And then she would have to flee.

But this ti, from Haruto's eyes—

She saw no fear or malice.

Just as always...

No, it felt even more gentle.

"Ghouls... that's what they're called, right? That must be really hard."

Haruto spoke as he pulled Izumi into a hug.

God only knew what kind of emotions this child carried when she revealed her Kakugan to him.

God only knew what she had been through when she'd done this before.

God only knew what gave her the courage to keep reaching out to others despite it all.

As she felt the warmth of the embrace—

The usually emotionless Takatsuki Izumi couldn't hold back her tears as they flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

It was too strange.

Izumi had already prepared to run away again.

She was even prepared that if she ran this ti, she would have to change everything for good. She had no expectations—and yet, what she received was the miracle she once longed for.

"Anyway, let's go eat first."

Haruto said, lifting Izumi into his arms and heading toward the apartnt.

The issue of ghouls only being able to eat human flesh had already been solved by the Foundation long ago.

Ever since they managed to replicate and modify RC cells to create ghoul-compatible nutrient solutions—the Foundation had found a workaround.

By injecting a certain type of cellular modification serum to slightly alter the RC cells in the body, a ghoul's digestive function could be changed.

Human food would beco edible again.

Their sense of taste would also return to normal.

They'd just have to eat a bit more than usual.

Or, Haruto could simply use the Blacklight Virus to trigger an evolution. After one round of Blacklight evolution, such defects would disappear entirely.

However, Izumi didn't know any of this yet.

Instead, she felt anxious.

She didn't want Haruto to do anything unacceptable because of her. After all, Haruto was a human.

In Izumi's mind, human beings were a collective. If soone strayed from the collective, they'd be subjected to terrifying hostility.

Just like her mother.

Or like the ghouls themselves.

Whether it was a ntal or physical anomaly, once discovered by the collective, it would be t with overwhelming malice.

Having experienced that firsthand, Izumi didn't want Haruto to suffer the sa.

While she was still tangled in her thoughts—

The two arrived at the apartnt.

Haruto opened the door, and a warm light spilled out.