Awkward

The Yorozuya's main hall.

Sitting in the not-so-spacious hall, Kotetsu Isane was restless, her face filled with embarrassment.

Especially the gentle gaze of the man opposite her made her feel incredibly ashamed. After all, she hadn't come here for a friendly chat, but with a heart full of resentment.

The matter dated back to the Lieutenant Captains' meeting that morning. The main purpose of this meeting was supposedly to celebrate her becoming a Lieutenant Captain, but during the gathering, the organizer, Lieutenant Captain Omaeda, told her something.

A Seated Officer from the Fourth Division had been learning Kido from someone in Rukongai for some time.

A Seated Officer of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads learning Kido from a 'person in Rukongai'?

No matter how you heard it, the statement felt like a dream. In their eyes, if they needed to consult someone, they could simply ask the Seated Officers and Lieutenant Captains within their own Division, rather than going to Rukongai to find an ordinary person.

After all, once members graduated from the Soul Reaper Academy, their guidance was the responsibility of the Lieutenant Captains.

Of course, this "ordinary person" was not something Omaeda had explicitly stated, but rather something everyone had imagined on their own.

Omaeda didn't go into detail about the matter. On one hand, many actions of the Punishment Force were inconvenient to disclose. On the other hand, he had organized the meeting simply to provide an opportunity for the Lieutenant Captains to relax. He only mentioned it because it was an instruction from the Captain.

Getting back to the point, for a Seated Officer within a Division to seek guidance from an ordinary person in Rukongai instead of their own Lieutenant Captain, everyone could only think of two possibilities: either the person truly possessed skill, or they felt the Lieutenant Captain lacked ability and were subtly expressing it in this manner...

And Kotetsu Isane had only been in her position for a few days. Although the other Lieutenant Captains at the meeting didn't say anything explicitly, they couldn't help but have their own thoughts.

Moreover, there was the most crucial point...

The Seated Officer who went to Rukongai to learn from an ordinary person happened to be the younger brother of the previous Lieutenant Captain. When combined, the person's actions could only be seen as expressing dissatisfaction with the new Lieutenant Captain in this way.

Kotetsu Isane's personality was already somewhat timid and introverted. She had actually been wondering herself these past few days if she was qualified to be a Lieutenant Captain. In her opinion, she had become a Lieutenant Captain not because of her abilities, but because the previous one had been transferred, and there was no suitable candidate, so she had luckily taken this position.

Her brother had been transferred, and the other party was dissatisfied with her. Isane could understand that.

But understanding was one thing...

She still felt a sense of injustice. If they had grievances, they could have just said them directly. Why resort to this method? And to have it brought up by Lieutenant Captain Omaeda at the Lieutenant Captains' meeting, even though no one said anything, the celebratory gathering had turned incredibly awkward.

Therefore, as soon as the meeting ended, she immediately came here, following the address Omaeda had given her.

Her original plan was to talk to Hanatarou in person and then teach Duan Mu, the scammer, a lesson. However, upon arriving, she was met with a closed door. She rang the bell and knocked for a long time with no response, so she eventually just opened the door and walked in.

After entering the shop, she didn't see anyone. Instead, she saw a whole blackboard filled with knowledge about the changes in Spiritual Power during Kido.

She became engrossed as she looked at it.

The knowledge on the blackboard wasn't complicated, and she generally understood it. However, many of the nodes for Spiritual Power changes were slightly different from what she was familiar with. After verifying, she discovered that by circulating Kido according to the node changes on the blackboard, the effect was even better than what she knew.

Moreover, many of the explanations were brilliant.

This made Isane forget her original purpose for coming, and she became immersed in the knowledge on the blackboard. It wasn't until Duan Mu and Hanatarou arrived that she remembered why she was here.

Awkward~~

Isane was so embarrassed now that she wished she could dig out the entire Seireitei with her toes.

She had initially thought the other party was a scammer and had rushed over angrily to teach him a lesson, only to be captivated by the content he had taught. She had barged into someone's home without permission and secretly read their hard-earned personal insights.

A dignified Lieutenant Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, sneaking in to learn.

She wanted to die~!!

Duan Mu looked at Kotetsu Isane, whose face was flushed red and who was flustered, his gentle smile becoming a little stiff.

Is everyone in the Fourth Division like this, from top to bottom?

Duan Mu glanced at Hanatarou, who was also sitting there restlessly with his head bowed, and felt speechless.

Konai was like this, Hanatarou was like this, and now even a dignified Lieutenant Captain was so introverted. It seemed like all the socially anxious people had joined the Fourth Division??

How could he, who was also somewhat socially anxious, handle this?

Although Duan Mu had been trying to communicate with people proactively to change over the years, his naturally poor communication skills—or rather, his indifferent personality that didn't care about anything—had changed a lot.

However, compared to pleasing others with words, he still preferred to satisfy customers by communicating less, working diligently, and doing his job seriously.

What should I say?

This was a Lieutenant Captain of extremely high status, and she was also a woman. The thought of wanting to befriend her made Duan Mu feel a symptom of his social anxiety returning, and he didn't know what to say.

One person's gaze was gentle, while the other two avoided eye contact...

In the small living room, the three sat in a triangular formation, creating an eerie silence.

"Would you like some tea?"

Duan Mu was the first to break the silence, but as soon as he spoke, he regretted it. The Yorozuya didn't have any tea at all. There were two bottles of alcohol hidden in the bedroom behind him, which was completely sealed off.

"N-no, I'm not thirsty... Thank you." Isane looked up and replied, but after a brief moment of eye contact with Duan Mu, she quickly lowered her head again, looking like a thief caught by the homeowner after stealing something.

"Oh, is that so!"

Duan Mu's eyes twitched. He kept signaling to Hanatarou beside him, hoping he could help ease the awkward atmosphere. However, this guy was sitting there restlessly, like a 'child who made a mistake and was caught by an adult.'

Seeing that he couldn't rely on either of them, Duan Mu gritted his teeth and decided to go all out.

Today, even if he had to cling to her and be dragged along, he had to find a way to keep Kotetsu Isane here. This was his first contact with the leadership of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. As long as he could befriend her, he could develop more female customers... and it was even possible to get acquainted with the superiors of the two people present through Isane.

"Excuse me, Miss Isane, did you come here with a request?"

Duan Mu finished speaking, and before Kotetsu Isane could reply, he quickly added, "This shop takes on all kinds of jobs, from housework to finding people, we're skilled at everything! Whether it's one task or ten thousand, as long as there's money, I'm willing to do it! And there are significant discounts for women. Lieutenant Captains get an additional forty percent off at my shop!!!"

"Ah?"

Kotetsu Isane was clearly a bit stunned by Duan Mu's sales pitch.

"My shop also offers various paid consultation services. Whether it's Zan, Kendo, Oni, or Hoho, or even Kido (Healing), we can discuss and verify everything without reservation, allowing both of us to grow together!"