There were many guests who had come bearing gifts. Carrying precious presents, they followed closely behind Byakuya Kuchiki and offered their sincerity to Asano Kiyoshi and Nel.
Asano Kiyoshi looked at those who had come to give gifts, a polite yet dignified smile on his face. He knew the identity of everyone present, their family standing, the standard of their gifts, and whether those gifts should be accepted...
Which ones were close to the Captain-Commander's faction, which belonged to the wavering middle, and which usually followed the Tsunayashiro Clan... Under Head Captain Yamamoto's instruction, Asano Kiyoshi had long since committed every piece of information to memory.
And the glance Captain-Commander had given him just now was likely meant to see whether he could sort through the gifts and win people over according to their respective statuses and degrees of closeness.
Such things were an indispensable part of becoming someone in power. If he could not even handle these most basic social relationships properly, then Shunsui would drag him off for some brutal training in what socializing and being ruthless truly meant!
Naturally, Captain-Commander did not show any of this on his face. He merely watched Asano Kiyoshi with a genial smile as he and Nel received others' blessings and gifts.
There were many gift-givers. Each time Asano Kiyoshi accepted a present, he silently made a note of it in his heart:
"Sanjin House. Gift: one residential plot in Runlin An District, not very large, only a little over fifty square meters, worth around three hundred thousand kan. They have always been close to the Captain-Commander's faction. For their family, this counts as a generous gift. One of the targets worth winning over."
The instant he accepted the gift, Asano Kiyoshi immediately took the Sanjin family head's hand and said with