Unexpected Customers

District 1 of West Rukongai, Rinrinseki.

As an area adjacent to Seireitei, District 1 was much more prosperous than District 38. The streets were clean and tidy, lined with various shops.

"Thank you very much."

Uncle Watanabe rummaged in his arms, took out five bills, and handed them to Duan Mu, smiling. "What did you do before you died? You can cook in a tavern, help people farm, and even repair houses so beautifully. A few days ago, Granny Shiraishi next door said you're also very good at fighting and helped her deal with those who bullied her grandson."

"Hehehe, since you've sincerely asked, I will tell you with great mercy!"

Duan Mu raised his head and chest, shouting at Uncle Watanabe's tavern, "From housework to finding people, I'm proficient in everything. If you have any difficulties, come find me! Whether it's one thing or ten thousand things, as long as there's money, I'm willing to do it. I am Duan Mu, the Yorozuya famous throughout 'District 38'."

"...I asked what you did before you died, not for you to advertise in my shop." Uncle Watanabe waved his hand with a dark expression. "Get out quickly. Some of my customers are Soul Reapers. If you provoke them, it won't matter how good you are at fighting."

"Don't be so stingy. I'll give you a discount next time you hire me."

Duan Mu chuckled, tucking the five thousand-ring commission fee into his embrace. "Then, boss, I'll be going now."

Watching Duan Mu turn and leave, Uncle Watanabe couldn't help but smile. "This kid..."

"Boss, who is he?"

Just then, several people walked out of the shop, men and women of various ages. The oldest looked to be in his thirties, while the youngest seemed to be only in his teens.

They were all wearing kimonos of the same style, but the men wore white tops and blue bottoms, and the women wore white tops and red bottoms. Both had two shuriken-like emblems on the chest area of their kimonos.

"I've seen him around the western districts recently."

"Yeah, I saw him once during my last vacation. I saw him helping the aunt next door take care of her child."

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

"..."

Upon seeing their attire, Uncle Watanabe's old face broke into a bright smile. Having run a tavern in Rinrinseki for over a decade, he naturally knew who he could and couldn't afford to offend.

The people he absolutely could not afford to offend were, without a doubt, the Soul Reapers wearing their Soul Reaper uniforms.

Although the people in front of him were not Soul Reapers, they were equally people he couldn't afford to offend, as they were all students of the Soul Reaper Academy.

Even if they were from Rukongai, and he even recognized some of them, as long as these people successfully graduated and joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, they would transform into the high and mighty Soul Reapers.

"That kid is Duan Mu. It's not his surname; he said that's his full name." Uncle Watanabe didn't hide anything and told them what he knew. "He opened a 'Yorozuya' in District 38. A Yorozuya is a shop that takes on all kinds of commissioned jobs."

"I think Duan Mu must have been a super talent in his life. He does everything from housework, farming, weaving, and repairing houses to tracking, finding lost items, and delivering love letters. He can also learn things he doesn't know in a short time, and he's even very good at fighting."

"He's helpful, charges cheaply, and even offers discounts to women, so in just three years of opening his shop, everyone in western Rukongai knows about him. Anyone who needs to hire someone looks for him."

Speaking of which, Uncle Watanabe pointed to his tavern. "Two days ago, two Soul Reapers got drunk and broke my shop's wall, so I hired him to repair it. Look how beautifully he fixed it. Also, sometimes when the shop is busy, I hire him as a temporary cook."

"He's that amazing?" a female student asked, her eyes full of curiosity.

The male student next to her, of a similar age, said with some disdain, "He just does odd jobs. How is that amazing?"

"Does he take assassination jobs?"

"What about killing Hollows?"

"..."

The students' questions made cold sweat break out on Uncle Watanabe's forehead. "Ah... these... I haven't heard of him taking any, but he probably wouldn't. After all, he's not a Soul Reaper."

"Then if we pay him, can he help us beat up the academy teachers?"

Uncle Watanabe: "..."

Are these troublemakers really students of the Soul Reaper Academy?

Anyone who could be a teacher at the Soul Reaper Academy, even if they used their brains, couldn't possibly be someone these Rukongai residents could defeat. Even if they could, unless that kid Duan Mu was crazy, he would never accept such a commission.

"We have a day off tomorrow, should we go take a look?"

A young-looking student said excitedly, "It sounds a bit like the Adventurer's Guild in an RPG. It seems interesting."

"What's an RPG?"

"...When did you die?"

"Year 15 of Taisho."

"No wonder..."

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

This was District 54 of West Rukongai. From this area onwards, most of the districts were extremely poorly policed.

The streets were littered with all sorts of garbage, and in the shadows of the houses, there were many people holding smoking pipes with fierce expressions. However, when these people saw Duan Mu, they all involuntarily shrunk back into the shadows.

Duan Mu ignored them and headed straight for the depths of District 54, finally stopping in front of a dilapidated building far from the village.

"Ah, it's the Yorozuya brother!"

As soon as they approached, the residents in the dilapidated building spotted Duan Mu and rushed out of their houses.

They were all children, the oldest looking about fifteen or sixteen, and the youngest about five or six years old. There were thirty of them in total, with more than half being young girls.

These children were all homeless.

Some were children who couldn't get used to their assigned families and ran away secretly; others had their families dissipate into spirit particles and had nowhere to go.

"Brother Duan Mu."

Looking at the timid little girl before him, Duan Mu reached out and ruffled her hair, saying gently, "I took a job in Runlin'an today, and I bought some candy there. They're all your favorite flavors."

Upon hearing about candy, the children's eyes lit up, and they rushed towards Duan Mu.

"Don't push, everyone will get some. If anyone pushes, I won't give them any."

As soon as he said this, the children orderly formed a line.

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

['Nayula's Favorability +1, Gained 7 Experience Points.]

['Karyo's Favorability +1, Gained 4 Experience Points.]

['Katagura Jyo's Favorability +1, Gained 2 Experience Points.]

[...]

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

Although the numbers were small, they added up.

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

Current Experience Points: 654.

Duan Mu had discovered this place two months ago. For the past two months, whenever he worked in the areas with lower numbers, he would buy snacks for children and bring them to these kids.

Compared to adults, it was much easier to gain favorability from these pure-hearted children.

After distributing the candy, Duan Mu chopped some wood and made some beds, tables, and chairs for the children before leaving, watched by a group of them.

When Duan Mu returned to his shop in District 38, it was already close to night.

Normally, there would be no customers at this hour, but today was different.

After tidying up the shop and heading upstairs with a bottle of wine, Duan Mu suddenly stopped.

Boom!

Almost simultaneously, the shop's sliding door was smashed to pieces, and a figure tumbled into the shop, crashing into the sofa before stopping.

Duan Mu: "..."

Customers are God, Customers are God, Customers are God...

Muttering the shop's rules several times in his mind, Duan Mu suppressed the murderous intent he felt towards the customer and forced a stiff smile. "Customer, please compensate me 1000 rings for the repair costs before your commission... Huh?" Duan Mu's words caught in his throat, and he stared blankly outside the shop.

His reaction was entirely due to a 'very special' guest walking in from outside the shop, a pig with elegant steps and a bow tie?

"A side dish delivered to my doorstep?"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Ah, I've been thrown off by my little pig again."

The figure who had crashed into the sofa got up from the ground. Duan Mu turned to look and, by the moonlight, saw the person's face, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Why did he come here?

"Are you the owner of the recently famous Yorozuya?"

The person sized up Duan Mu and said dismissively, "You don't look like much... Whatever, I have a moving commission, will you take it?"

Without waiting for Duan Mu's reply, he pointed to himself.

"Oh right, I am Shiba Ganju, who calls himself..."

"That's enough."

Duan Mu waved his hand, interrupting the man. He said lazily, "I've heard of you. You don't need to introduce all your self-proclaimed titles."

In reality, he hadn't heard of him at all. If he hadn't met him in person, Duan Mu would have forgotten about this person from West Rukongai.

Shiba Ganju.

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

"I'll take the moving commission. When should we start?"

Duan Mu wasn't particularly interested in him, but he was very interested in his sister.

Of course...

It wasn't that kind of interest. He just thought that if he could find a way to befriend his sister, it would bring him a large amount of experience points.

"Huh?"

Ganju, who had been interrupted by Duan Mu's introduction, clearly hadn't reacted. After a few seconds, he said, somewhat dazed, "Ah... right... We'll move first thing tomorrow morning."