Konai

Although the supplies had been purchased by the Fourth Division, the Patrol Team was responsible for inspecting them, to prevent anyone from hiding among the cargo and sneaking into Seireitei.

Duan Mu's gaze swept over the Fourth Division personnel speaking with President Shinno. He sighed inwardly at the missed opportunity. If the visitors had been the Fourth Division's captain or vice-captain, he would have shamelessly gone over to strike up a conversation, no matter what.

Especially their captain. Even gaining a little favor from her would have been enough for Duan Mu to benefit from for a long time.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Duan Mu froze, his gaze stopping on a young girl from the Fourth Division.

The girl had been secretly sizing Duan Mu up, but when their eyes met, her face immediately flushed. She instinctively lowered her head to avoid his gaze, then seemed to feel that doing so was rude and hurriedly raised her head again.

After meeting Duan Mu's eyes, she lowered her head once more.

Her conflicted expression made Duan Mu chuckle despite himself. This girl really hadn't changed at all.

The girl's name was Konai. She had been among the first students to join Duan Mu's "Shinigami cram school." Nearly a year had passed, and she had clearly graduated successfully and joined the Fourth Division. Duan Mu wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Among the nearly one hundred students Duan Mu had taught, Konai was the only one who had studied Kido with him. He had taught her practically one-on-one. She also had the highest favorability toward him among all the students—an impressive 54 points!

If Duan Mu hadn't started avoiding being alone with her after her favorability reached 50, and deliberately shown her a distant attitude, that number might have risen even higher.

"L... Long time no see."

Suddenly, Konai, who had been struggling with herself, abruptly raised her head as if she had finally made up her mind.

Duan Mu froze when he saw this, then his expression changed drastically.

Sure enough, Konai bit down on her silver teeth, bowed deeply to Duan Mu, and said, "Teacher Duan Mu!"

"..." Duan Mu.

"???" The Fourth Division members.

"???" President Shinno.

"..."

Aside from the Patrol Team members inspecting the cargo, most of the people in front of the Byakudō Gate wore puzzled expressions.

As for the Patrol Team, they belonged to the Second Squad of Onmitsukidō and were no strangers to Duan Mu. After all, they had been monitoring him ever since he opened his Shinigami cram school.

Some had even infiltrated Duan Mu's side and studied under him for a while.

Teacher Duan Mu?

To everyone else, however, this form of address left them dumbfounded.

A Shinigami wearing a Shinigami uniform was actually calling a Rukongai resident his teacher. The scene was so bizarre that nobody knew where to begin asking questions.

Duan Mu nodded rather stiffly at Konai in response, but inwardly, he was filled with endless regret.

Konai had always wanted to overcome her inability to communicate with others, so apart from studying, she would also ask Duan Mu for advice on how to interact with people.

"If you want to talk to someone but don't know how to start, then don't worry about it. Just boldly greet them. As the saying goes, no one strikes a smiling face. Once you greet them, no matter how bad their temper is, they'll definitely respond somehow."

That was the experience Duan Mu, a "semi-socially anxious" person, had passed on to Konai.

But now...

Duan Mu wished he could slap to death the version of himself who had said those words.

"Are you a Shinigami?"

Jidanbō was the first to recover. Normally, someone whom a Shinigami called their teacher could only be another Shinigami.

"Of course not."

Duan Mu shook his head while organizing his explanation in his mind. Facing the puzzled gazes around him, he said, "Konai is a customer of my Yorozuya. Before she graduated from the Soul Reaper Academy, she studied with me for a while, so she habitually calls me her teacher."

Strictly speaking, what he said wasn't a lie. He had merely omitted what exactly he had taught her. Many of the people present knew Duan Mu's background. Compared with telling an awkward lie that would arouse suspicion, it was better to give a vague answer and let them speculate for themselves.

Besides, he had never hidden the fact that he ran a "Shinigami cram school." Even if it was exposed, it wouldn't matter. The only problem was that the timing of this reveal was rather unfortunate.

"I see."

President Shinno and the others nodded. Duan Mu was so versatile that it didn't seem particularly surprising for a former student of the Soul Reaper Academy to have studied something from him.

"Yorozuya!?"

However, what caught Duan Mu off guard was that the Fourth Division members reacted even more strongly upon hearing the words "Yorozuya."

A girl about the same age as Konai asked softly, "So he's the Yorozuya owner you mentioned... the one who's skilled at both medicine preparation and Kido?"

"So it's him."

"He looks so young. I thought he'd be an old man with white hair."

"Maybe his actual age really is that of an old man with white hair."

"..."

The Fourth Division's reaction left Duan Mu stunned.

What was going on now?

What Duan Mu didn't know was that when Konai took the entrance assessment, her outstanding results had gotten her assigned to the "14th Advanced Medical Unit" as soon as she joined the Fourth Division. Unlike the others who entered with her, she hadn't had to slowly rise through the "Junior Medical Unit."

To be honest, Konai's achievement wasn't entirely due to Duan Mu's instruction. More importantly, she herself possessed extraordinary talent in Kido. Even without Duan Mu, her performance would still have been outstanding.

All Duan Mu had done was systematically teach Konai the anatomy of the human body contained within Hakuda, Kido, herb identification, medicine preparation, and other knowledge. How much she understood had depended entirely on Konai's own efforts and talent.

They were all basic subjects, and Duan Mu had considered it unnecessary to pick and choose what to teach. However, he had overlooked one thing: the comprehensiveness of the knowledge granted by the system!

Although learning Kido was the most basic requirement for Fourth Division members, their areas of specialization varied greatly. Some were skilled at treating fractures, some at preparing medicine, and others at new techniques such as surgery. Their specialties differed in all kinds of ways.

Therefore, the Fourth Division's entrance assessment was primarily a screening process. In simple terms, they determined a new member's strengths based on the exam and then assigned them to a suitable medical unit.

Konai had studied with Duan Mu for a long time and had often interacted with him in private. The characteristic she displayed was comprehensiveness. Besides being as proficient in Kido as a veteran member, she possessed an extremely broad range of knowledge related to treatment.

That was why she had stood out among her peers and joined the Advanced Medical Unit directly.

Of course, it had only caused a minor stir among those who had entered with her.

Konai hadn't concealed anything when her peers asked about it. Most of the people around her already knew of Duan Mu's existence.