Aoki Chiyoko

"No..."

Chiba Makoto weakly opened his mouth, just about to explain, but Aoki Risa seemed to have already formed a perfectly self-consistent logic for her guess. She even reached out and gently pinched Chiba Makoto's cheek, saying admiringly,

"Makoto, no wonder you look so delicate and pretty. Your disguise looks so perfect too—you really look like a beautiful boy..."

After a pause, Aoki Risa leaned a little closer to Chiba Makoto, seemingly having completely taken him for one of her own, and said,

"No wonder my heart seemed to beat a little faster when I saw you at the Mortuary. I clearly wasn't interested in men. When I realized that afterward, I was so startled myself. I never expected Makoto to actually be a woman. That makes much more sense."

As she spoke, Aoki Risa lightly patted her modestly developed chest with one hand while still gently pinching Chiba Makoto's cheek with the other, saying in admiration,

"Makoto, your skin is so smooth and tender. Do you use milk for skincare? Want to talk about it tonight?"

??

Chiba Makoto.

This... made sense?

Catching a faint whiff of lily fragrance drifting from Aoki Risa, Chiba Makoto felt that this was complete bullshit.

No wonder this girl had acted like such a social butterfly yesterday. No wonder her face had flushed just from him tugging her wrist earlier. So this girl really did have a problem.

She was so young—how was she already so good at driving such a big truck?

No... that wasn't right!

Wasn't the important part that he was being flirted with? He was a real man! His appearance was only a little delicate because he needed to maintain a harmless air.

And what did that last sentence mean?

Lilies... don't even think about blooming in my green pastures!!!

Just as Chiba Makoto, slightly exasperated, was about to slap Aoki Risa's hand away and sternly reprimand her with righteous indignation, a familiar and gentle voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Yet that gentleness, which normally made people feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze, abruptly sent Chiba Makoto back into the depths of winter.

"Makoto, I didn't expect that after I stepped away for only a moment, you would already be getting along so affectionately with your colleague. Hmm... then I needn't worry about you being excluded here in the Gynecology Department."

Unohana Retsu looked at Chiba Makoto and Aoki Risa, who were standing close together in an ambiguous posture. Her gentle smile did not change in the slightest. Instead, she added a reminder.

"However, this is the Gynecology Department after all. Makoto, you should pay a little attention to propriety. If you provoke any patients, they might even draw their swords. The doctor-patient relationship is something that must be taken seriously."

However, to Chiba Makoto, those earnest, gentle words sounded almost exactly like a naked threat.

When Unohana Retsu appeared, Aoki Risa froze for a moment before quickly reacting. She hurriedly pulled away from Chiba Makoto, then bowed in greeting with both embarrassment and respect.

Unohana Retsu gently nodded and asked with a warm smile, "You're Fifth Seat Aoki's daughter, aren't you? Your performance has been quite good. Please continue working hard in the future."

"Yes!"

At those words, Aoki Risa seemed as though she had been injected with stimulants. Her eyes nearly shone as she looked at Unohana Retsu, filled not only with pure admiration and reverence, but seemingly also with a faint glimmer of lily love she dared not hope for.

Only then did Chiba Makoto, after receiving Unohana Retsu's silent warning, notice the female Soul Reaper standing beside her, someone with the air of a mature married woman.

No, a more accurate description would be a mature older woman combining charm, maturity, and sternness. She wore the armband of the Fourth Division's Fifth Seat, and her features bore some resemblance to Aoki Risa's.

That Fifth Seat Aoki had also noticed Chiba Makoto, but her stern expression did not change in the slightest. Her gaze merely swept over him before she answered on Aoki Risa's behalf.

"Captain, you flatter her. Lisa still has many shortcomings. She has only just barely completed her stage of study at the Mortuary."

"Chiyoko, you mustn't be too harsh on children. Appropriate recognition gives them greater motivation to move forward. Besides, Lisa's performance has been commendable. Next, she can directly treat patients here in the department, correct?" Unohana Retsu asked.

"Yes, Captain."

Aoki Chiyoko answered meticulously.

Unohana Retsu nodded and said, "Then let Makoto and Lisa work as partners. At the same time, have Lisa join the Fifth Rescue Squad directly under the Gynecology Department. What do you think?"

Aoki Chiyoko's eyes revealed a trace of surprise. She then hurriedly said, "Captain, how could that be? Lisa's abilities have not yet reached the standard required to join a Medical Relief Squad."

"It's fine. Giving juniors more opportunities is the finest virtue of a senior. Besides, Makoto's emergency response abilities are quite outstanding. They can learn from each other."

By the end, Unohana Retsu's tone had grown slightly heavier, settling the matter with a final word and leaving Aoki Chiyoko no chance to object.

"Then... I'll thank the Captain on Lisa's behalf," Aoki Chiyoko said gratefully.

The Thirteen Divisions were not some loose and disorderly organization. On the contrary, their internal system was rigorous, with a clear hierarchy.

Aside from true monsters or geniuses who could easily master Bankai, it was not easy for ordinary Soul Reapers to rise to high positions within the Thirteen Divisions.

For ordinary Soul Reapers, becoming a seated officer was often the greatest dream they could hope to attain.

Within the Fourth Division, unlike the other divisions, seated officers were not appointed purely based on combat strength. Moreover, because Kaido and Medical Skills were difficult to assess comprehensively and accurately distinguish by level,

there was a convention that, besides receiving the captain's recognition and approval, the Fourth Division's seated officers were almost always selected from the members of the Medical Relief Squad directly managed by the corresponding seated officer. This demonstrated that the previous seated officer's Kaido and Medical Skills had been completely passed down to the next.

The department-like system was merely the Fourth Division's day-to-day management structure for maintaining Seireitei's medical duties. The true elite members of the Fourth Division were selected into the Medical Relief Squads corresponding to their departments, where they handled emergency medical assistance.

Therefore, Unohana Retsu's special permission for Aoki Risa to join the Fifth Rescue Squad was undoubtedly the greatest reward and encouragement for the Aoki Family.

Furthermore, it greatly eased the pressure borne by Aoki Chiyoko, whose family had maintained its status as an Intermediate Noble for generations by producing Fourth Division seated officers who led a Medical Relief Squad.

Since her husband's death several decades ago, this was undoubtedly the best news Aoki Chiyoko had heard. Once word spread that Captain Unohana had specially permitted Aoki Risa to join a Medical Relief Squad, the Aoki Family's previously precarious status as an Intermediate Noble would be completely stabilized.

Thinking of this, after seeing Unohana Retsu out of the department and returning, Aoki Chiyoko found Chiba Makoto's image surfacing in her mind, and she unconsciously felt a little more favorably toward him.