District 1 of West Rukongai · Runlin'an

West Rukongai's District 1, Runlin'an.

As an area adjacent to Seireitei, District 1 was far more prosperous than District 38. Its streets were clean and orderly, with all kinds of shops lining both sides.

"Thank you so much."

Uncle Watanabe rummaged around inside his robes, pulled out five banknotes, and handed them to Duan Mu with a smile. "What kind of work did you do when you were alive? You can cook in a tavern, help people farm, and even repair houses beautifully. Granny Shiraishi next door told me a few days ago that you're good at fighting, too. You beat up everyone who bullied her grandson."

"Hehehe. Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll tell you with great mercy!"

Duan Mu puffed out his chest and shouted toward Uncle Watanabe's tavern, "From housework to finding people, I'm skilled at everything! If you're in trouble, come find me! Whether it's one job or ten thousand jobs, as long as you have money, I'll do it. The famous 'Yorozuya Duan Mu' of District 38, at your service!"

"...I asked what you did when you were alive. I didn't ask you to advertise in my shop." Uncle Watanabe waved with a dark expression. "Get lost. Quite a few of my customers are Shinigami. If you provoke them, it won't matter how good you are at fighting."

"Don't be so stingy. At worst, give me a discount the next time you hire me."

Duan Mu chuckled and tucked the five-thousand-ring commission fee into his robes. "Then, boss, I'll be off."

Watching Duan Mu turn and leave, Uncle Watanabe couldn't help laughing. "That kid..."

"Boss, who was that?"

Just then, several people walked out of the shop. There were both men and women, and they differed greatly in age. The oldest appeared to be in his thirties, while the youngest looked only a teenager.

They all wore the same style of kimono, except that the men wore white on top and blue below, while the women wore white on top and red below. Each kimono had two shuriken-like emblems on the chest.

"You can always see him in the various districts of the western area lately."

"Yeah. I saw him once during my last vacation, too. He was helping the lady next door look after her child."

"When I saw him, he was picking tea leaves in a tea garden."

"..."

When Uncle Watanabe saw what they were wearing, a brilliant smile immediately spread across his old face. Having run a tavern in Runlin'an for more than a decade, he naturally knew whom he could offend and whom he couldn't.

The people one absolutely couldn't offend were Shinigami wearing Shinigami uniforms.

The people before him weren't Shinigami, but they likewise belonged to a group that couldn't be offended, because they were students of the Soul Reaper Academy.

Even though they had also come from Rukongai, and he even knew some of them, once they successfully graduated and joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, they would transform into lofty Shinigami-sama.

"That kid is Duan Mu. It's not a surname—he says that's his full name." Uncle Watanabe didn't hide anything and told them everything he knew. "He opened a 'Yorozuya' in District 38. A Yorozuya is a shop that accepts all kinds of commissioned work."

"I think Duan Mu must have been a super-talented person when he was alive. He does everything from housework, farming, weaving, and repairing houses to tailing people, finding lost objects, and delivering love letters. Even if he doesn't know how to do something, he can learn it in a short time. He's even very good at fighting."

"He enjoys helping people and charges low prices. On top of that, women get a discount. So, in just three years since opening, everyone in western Rukongai knows there's such a shop. Whenever someone needs to hire help, they go to him."

As he spoke, Uncle Watanabe pointed at his tavern. "Two Shinigami-sama got drunk a couple of days ago and smashed through my shop wall, so I hired him to repair it. Look how beautiful the repair is. And whenever business gets busy, I sometimes hire him as a temporary cook."

"Is he really that impressive?" A female student's eyes were full of curiosity.

The male student beside her, who appeared to be about the same age, said disdainfully, "Isn't he just good at doing odd jobs? How does that make him impressive?"

"Will he take jobs to kill people?"

"What about killing Hollows?"

"..."

Their questions made cold sweat break out on Uncle Watanabe's forehead. "Ah... those... I haven't heard of him taking any such jobs. But he probably wouldn't accept them. After all, he isn't a Shinigami."

"What if we paid him to beat up one of our academy teachers? Would he accept?"

Uncle Watanabe: "..."

Were these troublemakers really students of the Soul Reaper Academy?

Anyone who could teach at the Soul Reaper Academy was obviously not someone these Rukongai residents could beat, even if they thought about it with their asses. Even if Duan Mu could win, unless that kid had gone insane, there was no way he would accept such a commission.

"We're on break tomorrow. Do you want to go take a look?"

A student who looked like a young boy spoke excitedly. "It sounds a bit like the adventurer's guilds in RPGs. It seems pretty interesting."

"What's an RPG?"

"...When did you die?"

"The fifteenth year of Taishō."

"No wonder..."

After leaving District 1 of the West, Duan Mu didn't return to his shop in District 38. Instead, after leaving the residential area, he activated Shunpo and sped along for several hours before arriving at a relatively remote village.

This was District 54 of West Rukongai. From this area onward, most of the districts had extremely poor public order.

All kinds of garbage covered the streets. Many fierce-looking people with smoking pipes stood in the shadows of the houses, but when they saw Duan Mu, they couldn't help shrinking back into the darkness.

Duan Mu ignored them and went straight toward the depths of District 54. Finally, he stopped before a dilapidated building far from the village.

"Ah, it's big brother from the Yorozuya!"

As soon as he approached, the residents of the dilapidated building noticed Duan Mu and ran out of the houses one after another.

They were all children. The oldest looked fifteen or sixteen, while the youngest seemed only five or six. There were exactly thirty of them in total, and more than half were girls.

These children were all homeless.

Some had been unable to adapt to the families to which they had been forcibly assigned and had secretly run away. Others had nowhere to go after their family members transformed into spirit particles and dispersed.

"Big Brother Duan Mu."

Seeing the timid little girl before him, Duan Mu reached out and rubbed her little head. With a gentle expression, he said, "I got a job in Runlin'an today, so I bought some candy over there. They're all flavors you like."

Hearing that there was candy, the children's eyes lit up, and they surged toward Duan Mu.

"Don't push. There's enough for everyone. If anyone pushes, I won't give them any."

At this, the children obediently lined up.

Duan Mu nodded in satisfaction. He first took some clean drinking water from the sack, then distributed the packets of candy among the children present.

'Nayula' Affection +1, obtained 7 experience points.

'Karyo' Affection +1, obtained 4 experience points.

'Katagura Jyo' Affection +1, obtained 2 experience points.

...

The constant notifications in his mind made the smile on Duan Mu's face grow gentler.

The values were a little low, but there were a lot of them.

In just this short while, Duan Mu had gained more than a hundred experience points.

Current experience: 654.

Duan Mu had discovered this place two months ago. During those two months, whenever he went to work in one of the earlier-numbered districts, he would buy snacks for children and bring them to these kids.

Compared to adults, these pure-minded children were much easier to raise one's affection with.

After handing out the candy, Duan Mu chopped some wood and helped the children make a few beds, tables, and chairs. Only then did he leave under the watchful eyes of the children.

By the time Duan Mu returned to his shop in District 38, night was approaching.

Normally, the shop would have no customers at this hour, but today was different.

After returning to the shop and tidying up, Duan Mu picked up a bottle of liquor and was just about to head upstairs when his footsteps suddenly halted.

Boom!

Almost at the same time, the shop's sliding door was smashed to pieces. A figure rolled into the shop and only stopped after crashing into the sofa.

Duan Mu: "..."

The customer is God. The customer is God. The customer is God...

After silently reciting the shop's rules several times, Duan Mu suppressed his murderous intent toward the customer and forced a somewhat stiff smile onto his face. "Customer, before discussing the commission, please compensate me one thousand rings for the repairs... Hmm?" Duan Mu suddenly stopped speaking and stared blankly outside the shop.

His reaction was entirely because a very special customer had walked in from outside: a... pig with a bow tied around it, walking with elegant steps?

"Free drinking snacks delivered right to my door?"

"Aw, it hurts, it hurts... Ah, my little piggy threw me off again."

The figure that had crashed into the sofa climbed up from the floor. Duan Mu turned his head and, by the moonlight, saw the newcomer's appearance. A strange light flashed through his eyes.

How did he end up here?

"Are you the Yorozuya boss who's been rather famous lately?"

The newcomer looked Duan Mu up and down and said disdainfully, "I don't see anything impressive about you... Forget it. Do you accept moving commissions?"

With that, he pointed at himself without waiting for Duan Mu's answer.

"By the way, this great sir is Shiba Ganju, self-proclaimed..."

"That's enough."

Duan Mu waved his hand and interrupted him, speaking lazily. "I've heard of you. There's no need to introduce all those self-proclaimed titles one by one."

In fact, he hadn't heard of him at all. If he hadn't met him in person, Duan Mu would have forgotten that there was such a person in West Rukongai.

Shiba Ganju.

A member of the Shiba Clan, one of the five great noble clans of Soul Society. But that was a long time ago. The Shiba Clan had long since declined, and only four great noble clans remained in Soul Society now.

"I'll accept the moving commission. When do we start?"

Duan Mu had no particular interest in this man, but he was very interested in his older sister.

Of course...

Not that kind of interest. If he could find a way to befriend his sister, it would certainly bring him a large amount of experience.

"Huh?"

Ganju, whose self-introduction had been interrupted by Duan Mu, was clearly unable to process it. Several seconds passed before he said somewhat blankly, "Ah... right... We'll move first thing tomorrow morning."