Resuming Business (Two Chapters Combined)

"Good morning."

Rubbing his aching head, Duan Mu slowly walked out of the bedroom.

Sitting behind the bar and drinking strawberry milk, Uzuki looked up and suddenly said with a tone of annoyance, "Ah, I really should quit drinking!"

Duan Mu's mouth twitched, and he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

"You complain every morning, why don't you go beat up the you from last night?" Uzuki slapped the ledger in her hand onto the bar counter and said with a dark expression, "I just made two hundred thousand, and you bastard spent almost thirty thousand Ring on alcohol and snacks yesterday!!"

"What? Are you planning to spend it all within a week? Are you not going to pay me the two months of salary you owe me?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Mu's face immediately showed a fawning smile, "How could I? Even if I quit drinking, I wouldn't owe Uzuki-sama any salary. Take whatever you need."

Duan Mu didn't want to lose his shop mascot, especially since he wouldn't trust anyone else to help him manage the shop.

"Right, did you get any jobs yesterday?"

Seeing Duan Mu change the subject, Uzuki rolled her eyes at him but still took out the work log. "You were gone for over a month, and quite a lot of requests piled up. As soon as they heard you were back, many people came to place orders yesterday. However, except for three urgent ones, the others aren't pressing. Most of them are for house repairs before winter."

Uzuki paused, "Speaking of which, shouldn't you raise your prices? Every year before winter, a large number of people come to you for house repairs, and the commission you earn is less than the cost of materials."

"What materials cost?"

Duan Mu shook his head, "I can cut trees on Mount Lifu for free."

"..." Uzuki.

Transportation, processing... all of that is free?

And normally, ordinary people would buy materials nearby for house repairs, not chop them from the mountain on the spot, right?

But thinking about it, with Duan Mu's strength, these things shouldn't be difficult for him.

With that in mind, Uzuki said helplessly, "If you keep this up for decades, the unemployment rate in Rukongai will definitely soar."

Duan Mu laughed heartily and said nothing.

He didn't care if the unemployment rate soared. He wasn't taking commissions in Rukongai solely for money; he mainly wanted to use this channel to meet more female customers and win their favor with low-priced, high-quality services.

If we're talking about profitable commissions...

It would be big clients like Diao Ao, or extorting the students from the Soul Reaper Academy.

It's just that big clients like Diao Ao aren't available every day, and the students at the Soul Reaper Academy only have one long break each academic year, with other short holidays of one or two days.

It seems he really needs to develop some major clients. If the Thirteen Court Guard Squads came to his shop for commissions, he wouldn't have to worry about money anymore.

Of course, Duan Mu was just thinking about it. Even if the Thirteen Court Guard Squads really commissioned his shop, Duan Mu would have to carefully consider whether he could complete the commission and if there were any hidden agendas... Putting aside the Thirteen Court Guard Squads for now, Duan Mu had always been very wary of the Central 46.

Bang!!

Suddenly, the shop door was violently kicked open, and a figure rolled to Duan Mu's feet.

"...Why is your entrance always so dramatic??"

Duan Mu glanced outside the shop. The door was completely ruined from the impact. He would have to repair his own door before starting work.

And outside the door, the wild boar named 'Boli' met Duan Mu's gaze, proudly snorted, and gave Duan Mu the urge to research cooking methods for wild boars.

The person who arrived was Shiba Ganju.

"Haha~~"

With a burst of arrogant laughter, Shiba Ganju stood up from the ground, pushed Duan Mu aside, and said to Uzuki, "Uzuki, it's been a month, do you miss me? Has this kid Duan Mu bullied you?"

"Esteemed customer, please compensate our shop for the repair costs first." Uzuki put on a professional smile, "No need for much, just a hundred thousand Ring will do."

"Your shop owner is my best brother. What's money between us? It'll hurt our feelings."

Duan Mu moved his chair aside and said with narrowed eyes, "Your brother was pushed aside after he entered."

"Brother Duan!"

Several more figures walked into the shop from outside. As soon as they entered, they all bowed uniformly towards Duan Mu. They were Shiba Ganju's four subordinates.

Hearing their address to him, Duan Mu felt a pang in his teeth, "...You guys can just call me Xiao Duan or Duan Mu."

"How can we do that? If you hadn't risked your life to save us, we might have died in West District 79 back then," said Hawk, the leader, while the other three nodded in agreement. "Besides, Brother Iwao also said that this is the most fitting title for you."

"That's right."

Shiba Ganju turned his head, patted Duan Mu on the shoulder, and said solemnly, "You are worthy of this title!!"

Duan Mu sighed. He was too lazy to argue with them about whether the title sounded good or not. Instead, he asked curiously, "Why did Elder Sister Kūkaku suddenly let you out?"

"What do you mean 'let me out'!!"

Shiba Ganju proudly tilted his head, "I turned all ten arenas into sand."

"So fast?"

Duan Mu was surprised. When he was released, Iwao was still struggling with the fifth arena. He didn't expect that in just two days, he had destroyed the remaining five arenas.

"Uzuki, have you been bullied by this kid Duan Mu these past few days I was gone?" Shiba Ganju rolled up his sleeves and showed off his muscles, "If he bullied you, just tell me. I've been training hard this past month, and I can definitely kill him with one punch!!"

"..."

Duan Mu looked at Iwao's vigilant glances at him from the corner of his eye and vaguely understood why this guy had suddenly exploded after he left...

"Give me those urgent commission orders."

Shaking his head, Duan Mu said to Uzuki behind the counter, "Today, I'll focus on finishing these urgent orders. Then, starting tomorrow, I'll work on repairing houses, aiming to get everything done before winter sets in... Wait, let's start the day after tomorrow. I'll visit Districts 43, 58, and 64 tomorrow."

Since winter was fast approaching, he might as well repair the houses in those orphan gathering spots. It would be a good opportunity to earn some goodwill from the children.

Uzuki nodded and handed Duan Mu copies of the urgent commission orders.

Duan Mu took them and glanced over them. One was to find a lost pet, another was to harvest rice fields, and the third was to deliver goods to West District 1. None of them seemed particularly difficult.

Tucking the orders into his pocket, Duan Mu said to the people in the shop, "You all stay here. I'm going to work."

"Go on! Go on!"

Iwao waved his hand dismissively, as if swatting away flies. If someone didn't know any better, they'd think it was his shop.

"Second Brother Duan, is there anything we can help with?"

Hawk and the other three eagerly crowded around him, their fawning expressions making Duan Mu feel uncomfortable. "Just stay as you were. You don't need to be so formal with me..."

Before Duan Mu could finish speaking, several more people entered the shop.

Seeing the newcomers, Hawk and the other three, who had been blocking the entrance, instinctively moved aside. But as soon as they recognized the people, their faces turned pale. Hawk asked with a panicked tone, "You... what are you doing here!?"

Iwao looked over at the sound of his voice. Upon seeing the newcomers, his expression also changed, but it wasn't fear; it was anger. "I didn't come looking for trouble, and you still dare to show up at my door!!"

Slap!

With a crisp sound, Uzuki behind the counter smacked Iwao on the back of the head and yelled, "What are you yelling about? Are you going to pay if you scare our customers away?"

Thinking Uzuki didn't recognize them, Iwao quickly said, "Uzuki, listen to me, they are..."

"They're customers!"

"No..."

"They're customers!!"

Iwao blinked, a faint realization dawning on him. He tentatively asked, "Did they come by while I was gone these past two days?"

Uzuki nodded.

Iwao was stunned, but before he could ask further, he heard the newcomers speak in unison, though not entirely in sync, as they bowed to Duan Mu: "Boss Duan Mu!!"

"..."

Iwao and Hawk and the other three exchanged glances, all of them looking utterly confused.

What had happened in the days they were away?

Why were these dangerous individuals suddenly so respectful to Duan Mu?

The newcomers were Da Ao and his group. After greeting Duan Mu, they turned and bowed to Iwao again: "Boss Iwao, we offended you a few days ago because of that scoundrel Daimaru. But considering Daimaru is dead, we hope you can forgive us."

Da Ao finished speaking and stood there somewhat nervously. If he had known that this little ancestor from the Shiba Clan was here, he wouldn't have come...

If this guy was still holding a grudge, given Boss Duan Mu's personality, he definitely wouldn't mind keeping them here.

"Huh?" Iwao looked at Duan Mu with a bewildered expression.

Duan Mu ignored him and nodded at Da Ao.

See, this is how you talk.

He really should have the four of them, Hawk and the others, learn from this. Calling him "Second Brother Duan" was nothing compared to this.

Seeing that Duan Mu was ignoring him, Iwao turned his gaze to Uzuki behind the counter. However, Uzuki also didn't answer him, merely looking at Duan Mu with a questioning gaze.

Although Duan Mu hadn't explicitly stated it, any commission that wasn't recorded was inconvenient to disclose to others, even acquaintances.

"There's nothing to hide," Duan Mu replied, then stopped paying attention to the two of them. He asked Da Ao, "Why are you here? Did Habutae bring people again?"

"No, no..."

Da Ao said with a fawning smile, "I just thought Boss Duan Mu helped us out so much, I wanted to see if there was anything you needed help with..."

Duan Mu didn't speak, merely dropping the smile from his face.

Seeing this, Da Ao's heart sank. He quickly said, "We're scared!!"

It wasn't that he wasn't afraid. Before they had clashed with the villains from West District 80, they still had the courage to fight those people in West District 79. But after realizing the gap between themselves and the people from West District 80, they couldn't even sleep soundly last night, fearing that the people from West District 80 would attack in the middle of the night.

After all, Boss Duan Mu hadn't killed Habutae, but he didn't dare tell Duan Mu that the commission wasn't completed...

Finally, after much deliberation, they decided to scatter and hide in the western districts. After some time, once they were sure that people from West District 80 wouldn't come, they would return.

Scattering was fine for others. As long as they didn't cause trouble and found a district to hide in, no one would know where they came from. After all, Habutae couldn't possibly recognize every resident of District 79.

But it was different for Da Ao, the leader. Habutae had directly targeted him yesterday.

So, after a period of internal struggle, Da Ao brought a few people here. Although Duan Mu was equally terrifying in his eyes, compared to the people from District 80, Duan Mu was clearly easier to communicate with.

Duan Mu was taken aback for a moment, then reacted with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Didn't you say you'd rather die in District 79 than leave?"

Da Ao chuckled, "The possibility of dying and the certainty of dying are two different things."

"There's nothing you need to help me with here... Hmm?" Duan Mu was about to dismiss them when he suddenly seemed to think of something. He turned to Uzuki behind the counter and said, "Uzuki, give me those house repair orders."

Uzuki, who was explaining to Iwao, unconsciously pulled out a copy of the commission: "Are we starting today?"

"Just doing some preparatory work."

Duan Mu took the order, read it carefully, then wrote numbers on it with a pen and handed it to Diao Ao. "Since you're going to help, go cut trees at Mount Kōfuku. I've written down approximately how many are needed. After you're done cutting... well, just leave them at the foot of the mountain."

His original thought was to have them cut the trees and deliver them directly to the client's home, but after glancing at the people Diao Ao had brought, he decisively abandoned that idea.

Every single one of these people had rough, meaty faces, and their exposed skin was covered in various scars. They looked like they had the words 'villain' practically carved onto their faces.

If he sent them to a client's house, the client would likely be so terrified they'd abandon their home.

After all...

Most of these commissions were from female customers.

"Huh?"

Diao Ao stared blankly at the order in his hand. Cutting trees?

While he really wanted to shout at Duan Mu, "I only know how to cut people, not trees!" he considered the consequences of shouting that and could only pat his chest and say, "Boss Duan Mu, don't worry, cutting trees is what we're best at!"

As long as they could get Duan Mu's protection, they didn't care if it was cutting people or cutting trees; it was all the same to them—it all involved swinging a blade!

Meanwhile, Iwao had also learned what happened from Uzuki. The hostility in his gaze towards the group lessened, replaced by more curiosity.

Because...

The way these people looked at Duan Mu wasn't the gratitude one felt after receiving help, but a mixture of fear and respect.

What had Duan Mu done yesterday to scare this group into looking like this just by helping them?

As for this, Hawk and the other three found it perfectly normal. After all, a month ago, they themselves had been so terrified by 'their own people' that they had nightmares for days.