Brother Hana and Brother Former

Hanatarou's eyes were filled with fear. He had a feeling he had overheard things he shouldn't have.

Although he hadn't heard everything clearly, the "Kenpachi" these people kept mentioning seemed to be the captain of the 11th Division. It fit perfectly, whether in terms of background or strength.

Was this really something he was allowed to hear?

What exactly...

was Boss Duan Mu!?

"Sorry, but you should head back for today."

After pondering for a moment, Duan Mu said, "Hmm... Tomorrow, check whether the bell outside the Yorozuya upstairs is hanging outside. If it is, we'll continue our discussion tomorrow. If it isn't, come back in a few days."

Hearing this, Hanatarou's tense heart immediately relaxed. It seemed he wasn't going to be killed to silence him after all.

"Um..."

But then, as if remembering something, he hesitated before pointing toward the bar. "When you were talking earlier, the bell over there kept ringing."

"Huh? The bell was ringing?"

Uzuki, behind the bar, froze. She had been focusing all her attention on eavesdropping on Duan Mu and Habutae's conversation and genuinely hadn't noticed whether the bell had rung.

"Ah, right." Diao Ao seemed to remember something as well and chimed in. "That bell really did ring just now, and it rang for quite a while."

"I'll go upstairs right now."

At that, Uzuki hurriedly rose, but before she could leave the bar, Duan Mu said, "I'll go. We won't be accepting commissions for the next few days. I'll put up a notice upstairs so the customers who come here to request commissions don't get caught up in this."

"Also..."

Duan Mu turned to Uzuki and Nishijin-ori. "Your commission fee is five million rings. However, before we sign the commission form, I need to remind you that because the commission is too difficult, if I discover that it can't be completed, I may terminate it unilaterally. Can you accept that?"

"No problem!!"

Habutae agreed readily. After hearing the reason and still being willing to take the two of them in, Duan Mu had already moved her deeply.

The enemy was terrifying. If things reached a critical point, it would be perfectly normal for Duan Mu to abandon the commission unilaterally. Besides, she already somewhat regretted dragging this kind Boss Duan Mu into the matter. After all, this had nothing to do with him from beginning to end.

A mere few million rings weren't worth him risking his life for them.

However...

She didn't know that money wasn't the only thing Duan Mu valued. Although he was still far from wealthy, his current savings were enough for him to spend lavishly for several years. Compared with money, Duan Mu cared more about the experience points Habutae could provide him.

Moreover, aside from Uzuki, Habutae was the only woman whose favorability toward him had reached the maximum friendship value.

Maximum friendship wasn't just an empty phrase. Once Duan Mu reached a moment of crisis, she would come to his aid without hesitation after receiving the news, even knowing that she might die. That alone was enough for Duan Mu to stake everything on this.

"By the way, are you sure no one followed you when you escaped?"

Although anyone who had followed them should have appeared by now, Duan Mu still confirmed it with Habutae to be safe.

"No one did."

Nishijin-ori's tone was extremely certain. Habutae, beside her, added angrily, "When we ran away, that man's face was full of disdain. He didn't pursue or kill us, as though in his eyes, we weren't even qualified to be worth chasing."

"That's good."

Since no one had followed them, this place should still be safe for the time being. With that in mind, Duan Mu said to Uzuki behind the bar, "Uzuki, give them a commission form." With that, Duan Mu led Hanatarou out of the tavern.

"Um... Mr. Duan Mu..."

As soon as they left the tavern, Hanatarou asked timidly, "Can today's lesson continue?"

Duan Mu looked at Hanatarou in surprise. Hanatarou had listened in on the entire conversation in the tavern, so Duan Mu had assumed he would flee immediately. He hadn't expected him to still be in the mood to study Kido with him.

"If you want to, of course."

As he headed upstairs, Duan Mu continued, "Besides, you're a customer. You don't need to be so timid at all. You can decide how long we exchange... Hmm?"

As he spoke, Duan Mu had already led Hanatarou into the Yorozuya. The instant he stepped inside, his expression darkened.

Reiatsu!

And it was concealed extremely well—or rather, its owner's control over reiatsu was exceptionally powerful.

It was so well concealed that Duan Mu hadn't sensed the slightest trace of it from outside. Although he had never learned any specialized method for detecting reiatsu, at such a close distance, he should have felt the fluctuations long ago. Yet the person inside had not let the slightest trace of aura escape.

Achieving this required more than powerful reiatsu. It also required extraordinarily precise control.

Had the person Habutae mentioned followed them here?

A solemn look flashed through Duan Mu's eyes. He diverted part of his attention and opened the system interface in his mind. He had originally planned to wait until he finished dealing with the matters at hand before carefully considering how to use these experience points, but it seemed he no longer had time to think it through.

He motioned for Hanatarou to stay at the entrance, then crossed the narrow foyer. The first thing he saw was the empty reception room, but his gaze immediately shifted to the treatment room on its left. Its door was wide open, and a tall figure stood inside.

"Hmm?"

The instant he saw that figure clearly, Duan Mu froze.

A Shinigami uniform.

Although he could only see the person's back and not their appearance, that Shinigami uniform—which was rarely seen in Rukongai—was exceptionally conspicuous.

The newcomer seemed to notice something as well and suddenly turned around. She was a young woman who could be described in four words: brimming with heroic spirit.

She stood nearly one meter ninety tall, with an extremely slender figure and short light-purple hair styled with several thin braids. Paired with her somewhat androgynous appearance, she gave people a striking first impression.

Duan Mu's eyes did indeed light up, but not because of her appearance. It was because he recognized her identity!!

When the heroic-looking young woman saw Duan Mu, her face flushed, and she said somewhat frantically, "Ah~~ I'm sorry. I kept ringing the bell just now, but no one answered, so I thought I'd come in and take a look... I didn't mean to peek at what you were writing... I... I'm sor—"

"It's fine! It's fine!!"

Like a Sichuan opera face change, Duan Mu's gloomy expression from a moment earlier instantly transformed into his extraordinarily warm, trademark smile. "If anyone should apologize, it's me. I was delayed by something just now and made you, my customer, wait."

"Huh??"

Not knowing what had happened, Hanatarou cautiously poked his head out from the foyer. When he saw the heroic young woman in the treatment room, he froze and blurted out, "Lieutenant Captain Kotetsu Isane, what are you doing here?"

That's right. The newcomer was Kotetsu Isane, who had recently taken office as the lieutenant captain of the Fourth Division.

Duan Mu glanced at Hanatarou, who wore a bewildered expression behind him, and thought, Brother Hana! From now on, you're my Brother Hana!!

No Fourth Division members had come by during this period, so he had assumed Hanatarou hadn't promoted him at all. Otherwise, once even a seated officer came to study, at least a few Fourth Division members should have come as well, right?

Now it seemed he had misunderstood!

Brother Hana hadn't failed to promote him. He had been holding back a huge gift for him! The first person he brought was already someone important. And unlike Brother Hana, a male creature who was completely useless to him, she was a female Shinigami who possessed both strength and status and could provide him with a massive amount of experience points!

Duan Mu simply didn't know...

Kotetsu Isane had come here not only because of the Brother Hana he had mentioned. In the shadows, there was also another person—no, Brother Former—quietly working hard!