Golden Rule!

Renji Abarai felt like he might be sick.

First, he'd developed feelings for a boy.

Then, when the boy said something utterly absurd, Renji hadn't immediately disbelieved him. Instead, he'd been left stunned and uncertain.

Renji knew perfectly well that if anyone else had said something so ridiculous, he would never have believed them. Given his personality, he probably would've started mocking them by now.

Rukia felt the same way as Renji.

She, too, had developed feelings for Gilgamesh.

And when Gilgamesh said something utterly absurd, she hadn't immediately disbelieved him. Instead, she'd been left stunned and uncertain.

Gilgamesh saw straight through Renji and Rukia's thoughts at a glance.

After merging with Young Gil's character template, Young Gil's permanently active Noble Phantasm, Star of Omniscience, had automatically activated.

Star of Omniscience was an EX-rank Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, born from the spiritual ascension of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. It brought together the King of Heroes' Clairvoyance, which allowed him to foresee the future, his True Name Discernment, and his own wisdom.

Under the starlight shining from Star of Omniscience, there was nowhere for Renji and Rukia's thoughts to hide.

Gilgamesh knew that they felt this way not only because he possessed the Charisma of the Beautiful Boy skill, but also because he had the Charisma (A+) skill.

After all, Charisma at rank B was enough to rule a kingdom, while Gilgamesh's Charisma had reached rank A+.

At this rank, it surpassed popularity and skill, and could be called something akin to magic or a curse.

That was why Gilgamesh's absurd words seemed to make people believe him without their even realizing it.

Just then, Renji shook his head, setting aside his doubts about Gilgamesh's claims, and asked, "You said you'd give us a reward, but you also said you'd just arrived. Do you even have any money?"

Rukia came back to her senses. She opened her mouth, about to speak up for Gilgamesh.

At that moment, a money pouch suddenly fell from the sky, dropping right in front of Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh reached out with his right hand and caught it.

The pouch opened in his palm, revealing the rings inside.

Rings were the currency used throughout Soul Society.

Gilgamesh wasn't surprised in the slightest. He simply smiled. "See? The reward just arrived."

Gilgamesh knew his Golden Rule (A) skill had taken effect.

Golden Rule at rank A meant that Gilgamesh would never have to worry about money and could live like a tycoon for the rest of his life.

For Gilgamesh, unexpected windfalls were about as ordinary as could be.

But this was clearly a first for Renji and Rukia. They stood there, dumbfounded.

Once they recovered, they looked around, wondering if someone had accidentally dropped the pouch.

But when they looked around, there was no one else in sight.

Thinking back to what Gilgamesh had just said, Renji couldn't help swallowing. "Did you know a money pouch was going to fall?"

Before Gilgamesh could answer, Rukia immediately rejected the idea. "Impossible. He just arrived in Soul Society. How could he have known a pouch would fall here?"

Gilgamesh tossed the pouch to Rukia and calmly stated the facts. "Perhaps the heavens are grateful for my achievements and have decided to bless me with good fortune for the rest of my life."

"So I've never cared about money, and I've never had to worry about it."

Gilgamesh was telling the truth, but his expression, words, and tone made Renji grit his teeth and clench his fists. He couldn't help feeling the urge to punch him.

If Renji had been exposed to the modern internet, he might have known what a humblebrag was.

Before Renji could react, Rukia exclaimed in amazement, "One hundred thousand rings! There are a whole hundred thousand rings in here!"

The currency of Soul Society had considerably more purchasing power than money in the human world.

So one hundred thousand rings was roughly equivalent to 150,000 yen in the human world.

It wasn't an enormous sum, but for Renji and Rukia, who were used to living in poverty, it was a fortune.

When Renji heard how much money there was, he forgot all about being annoyed. He hurriedly snatched the pouch from Rukia and started counting, as if he still couldn't believe it.

Only after confirming that there really were one hundred thousand rings did Renji turn his trembling gaze to Gilgamesh and ask in a shaky voice, "Hey, are you serious? If we show you around, we can keep this money as our reward?"

As Renji looked at him expectantly, Gilgamesh nodded. "Of course. If you agree, the money is yours."

Once Renji had confirmed it, he gripped the pouch and turned to Rukia, cheering excitedly.

"Rukia, did you hear that? If we show him around, the money will be ours!"

"With this money, we can move somewhere better. We won't have to live in fear every day or worry about whether we'll have enough to eat."

Rukia looked serious. "Renji, we can't take this money."

"Gilgamesh has only just arrived in Soul Society. He needs it more than we do."

Renji's lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But Rukia didn't give him a chance to speak. "You know what kind of place Inuzuri is. Without money, Gilgamesh will have a hard time surviving there."

Renji fell silent. He'd wanted to ask, Why are you being so kind to someone you've only just met?

But he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Deep down, he didn't want to see Gilgamesh struggle to survive without the money, either.

In the end, Renji walked up to Gilgamesh and held out the pouch, resolute. "Take it back. Rukia's right. You need this money more than we do."

"As for showing you around, we'll do it for free."

Gilgamesh smiled at them.

As expected of important figures in the story. Even after growing up in a place like Inuzuri, they still had such good character.

His Charisma of the Beautiful Boy skill had helped a little, of course, but it wouldn't have mattered if they weren't good people themselves.

After all, his Charisma of the Beautiful Boy skill was only rank C.

Gilgamesh didn't take the pouch. Instead, he asked, "Would you be willing to follow me and become my subjects?"

"If you agree, you'll be my first subjects in Soul Society. I'll grant you a lifetime of wealth and honor, and I'll protect you so you'll never have to live in fear again."