How Did He Get Here?

Many people were seated inside the tavern, but they all held their breath and stared nervously at the center of the hall.

"Boss Duan Mu..."

When Diao Ao saw Duan Mu, his eyes lit up as if he had seen his savior. He hurried over to greet him. "You finally woke up."

Diao Ao's words immediately drew everyone's attention to Duan Mu.

The man drinking at the center of the hall also set down his cup and slowly turned to look at Duan Mu.

Duan Mu looked up. The man's eyes were long and narrow, carrying a murderous aura that made anyone who saw it feel a chill.

The instant their gazes met, Duan Mu felt as though the entire world had been veiled in scarlet. It even affected his sense of smell, making him seem to catch the dense scent of blood in his daze.

What intense killing intent!

Duan Mu's expression did not change, but a hint of solemnity flashed deep in his eyes.

Unlike when he had been unconscious, the man now radiated an intimidating pressure that commanded awe without anger. It was not deliberate, but rather an aura revealed unconsciously.

That made Duan Mu understand why the villains in the tavern had suddenly become so quiet.

"Boss."

Habutae stood behind Nishijin-ori. Seeing the tense atmosphere between Duan Mu and Nishijin-ori, she hurriedly said, her opinion of Duan Mu extremely favorable, "This is Boss Duan Mu. He helped me yesterday."

"Mm."

Nishijin-ori nodded and slowly stood up.

Buzz!

Almost the instant he rose, the space trembled. Duan Mu felt the air around him grow incredibly viscous, making even the simplest movements extremely difficult.

The intense sense of danger made every hair on Duan Mu's body stand on end.

The surging spiritual pressure made Duan Mu's nerves snap taut, and he instinctively went on guard.

Spiritual pressure erupted around him with a boom. Duan Mu stared coldly at Nishijin-ori, and that eerie aura seemingly rising from the depths of his soul silently spread throughout the tavern.

The standoff between them formed a pressure that seemed almost tangible. It descended like dark clouds, making all the villains in the tavern hold their breath.

They weren't going to start fighting, were they?

Diao Ao swallowed and carefully edged toward the tavern entrance. How could he not be afraid? Both men in the hall were lunatics who killed without batting an eye—or even getting sore eyes. If they really started fighting... Putting victory or defeat aside, every troublesome person in the tavern would definitely be slaughtered!

"Slurp, slurp~~~"

Just then, a strange sound rang out, breaking the silence in the tavern.

Everyone, their nerves taut, turned toward the sound. What they saw was Uzuki, sitting behind the bar and drinking strawberry milk through a straw. The sound had come from the straw.

The sight made the corners of everyone's mouths twitch.

Even Duan Mu's cold gaze stiffened. He glared fiercely at Uzuki. That idiot really had no sense of tension at all. Her boss was about to fight someone, yet she was still sitting there drinking strawberry milk.

"Uh... sorry..."

Uzuki was startled by everyone's gazes and hurriedly spat out the straw. She could naturally see the tense atmosphere. However, because of the barrier, she could not sense the sword-rattling clash of spiritual pressure between the two at all, so she had not felt that there was any real danger.

"The wine is good."

Just then, Nishijin-ori suddenly spoke. As his voice sounded, the powerful fluctuations of spiritual pressure vanished, as though they had never appeared.

"I'll come again. I'll bring the payment for the wine and the commission next time." With that, he walked straight out of the tavern. Seeing this, the villains inside instantly and uniformly moved aside, the sight resembling an escort formation.

Duan Mu hesitated, but did not reach out to stop him. He simply let Nishijin-ori pass by.

For one thing, he felt that the Great Villain probably would not default on his debt. For another... the earlier clash of spiritual pressure had made Duan Mu realize that if Nishijin-ori truly wanted to leave, he could not stop him anyway.

"Don't worry."

Habutae had somehow arrived beside Duan Mu. She said quietly, "Other than liking to chop up any strong people he meets, my boss is pretty decent in every other regard. What he did just now was because he didn't have any money, and he thought..."

"Enough nonsense!"

Nishijin-ori's cold voice drifted over, making Habutae shiver. The broad-shouldered "girl" hurriedly scampered after him. "Boss, I was just helping you explain. Boss Duan Mu really is a pretty good person."

Watching the two of them disappear, a strange glint flashed through Duan Mu's eyes.

Lieutenant Captain level!

And even among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, he was an exceptionally powerful Lieutenant Captain.

Although Duan Mu had already anticipated this, he still felt faintly shaken when Nishijin-ori truly displayed Lieutenant Captain-level spiritual pressure.

"Phew~~"

After Nishijin-ori left, all the villains in the tavern let out deep breaths.

"Wow, no wonder he's the Great Villain. That pressure was terrifying."

"I'm going to the bathroom first..."

"Uh, me too."

"..."

The tavern instantly became noisy. Some people began discussing what had just happened, while others crowded around the bar.

"Hey, Big Sis Uzuki, Lord Nishijin-ori actually said the wine was good. Was he drinking something different from me?"

"Exactly, exactly. It's not like we're broke. If you have good wine, you should let us drink some too."

"Name your price."

"..."

Uzuki narrowed her eyes. "You're all drawing the wine yourselves from the barrels. Do you see that woman drawing wine from any of the other barrels?"

"Then why did Lord Nishijin-ori say the wine was good?"

"How should I know? Maybe he has unusual tastes." Uzuki looked impatient. "Drink it or don't. If you want good wine, go buy it in one of the higher-numbered areas."

The crowd exchanged glances, then stepped forward one after another to pay. They lined up in front of the barrel where Habutae was drawing wine and each took a cup.

These people...

Duan Mu stared at them as they sipped the cheap wine one tiny mouthful at a time, his expression growing increasingly bizarre.

He simply could not understand it. There were plenty of places in Rukongai where they could drink, so why had all these people come here to drink Uzuki's overpriced, inferior wine? Besides, they were not the sort to spend money on wine. Whenever they wanted a drink, did they not usually just steal it?

Could drinking in a tavern really be that comfortable?

Shaking his head, he stopped trying to understand the villains' thought processes and sat down at the bar. "When did he wake up?"

"I don't know. When I came to open the door, he was already sitting there."

Uzuki took a bowl of ramen from beneath the counter and handed it to Duan Mu. "He was like a mute. Other than asking me when you would wake up, he just sat there drinking the wine that the fierce woman drew for him. He drank six cups in total. I've put them all on his tab."

Fierce woman?

Duan Mu froze for a moment before realizing that the fierce woman Uzuki was referring to was Habutae.

"Right, how much was this commission worth?"

Duan Mu took a bite of ramen and casually replied, "A million rings."

"What? Then how could you let him leave?!"

"...It's not like I wanted to let him go." Duan Mu narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry. If he really wanted to default on the debt, he wouldn't have waited until I came downstairs before leaving."

Although Habutae had not finished what she was saying earlier, Duan Mu still understood her meaning.

Nishijin-ori's act of using his spiritual pressure to shake him had been meant to convey one thing:

I'm broke, so put it on my tab. I'm stronger than you, so don't stop me.

Understanding was one thing, but Duan Mu still felt extremely annoyed. What was a debtor doing acting so high and mighty? Showing off his spiritual pressure was one thing, but he had even used it to pressure and intimidate his creditor. Who was he trying to scare?

The more Duan Mu thought about it, the angrier he became. If he had known this would happen, he would have invited Big Sis Kūkaku over yesterday to back him up.

In truth, Duan Mu had misunderstood. Nishijin-ori had originally only intended to reveal a little of his spiritual pressure, but he had not expected Duan Mu to react so strongly.

If he withdrew his spiritual pressure then, it would instead make it seem as though he was afraid of Duan Mu. As a result, the two of them had ended up locked in a stalemate.

In the end, Uzuki had given him an escape route, allowing him to reluctantly say, "The wine is good." Only then had he been able to say what he had originally intended.

Jingle jingle—

Just then, the bell hanging above the bar suddenly rang.

"Huh? A commission."

Uzuki hurriedly stood up, but then remembered that Duan Mu was not going out to work today and sat back down. "Go up and receive them yourself."

"I feel like you're becoming more and more neglectful of your actual job."

Despite saying that, Duan Mu still carried his ramen out of the tavern and went upstairs along the side staircase.

"Hm?"

When Duan Mu reached the second floor and saw the figure pulling the bell cord, he froze slightly.

How did he get here?

"Um..."

When the visitor saw Duan Mu carrying ramen, his eyes lit up. Somewhat timidly, he said, "Boss, I... I want to... learn Kido from you."

"Oh, right. I'm Yamadatarō. We met yesterday."

My big brother's kid came over and kept hogging the computer. I only managed to get it back after he finally fell asleep, so today's update is a little late...