In Soul Society, I Only Want to Coast into Retirement Chapter 39

I Only Want to Make Money Now

Seeing how certain Shūtara Senjumaru sounded, Yamabuki Chidori was overjoyed.

"Pay the deposit first. Once it arrives, I'll get started right away," Shūtara Senjumaru said without looking back from the design sketches.

The smile on Yamabuki Chidori's face instantly froze.

A deposit?

Where was he supposed to get a deposit?

All his money had been scammed away by those card-playing bastards!

"Ahem, well, I left in a hurry and didn't bring any money. I'll go back and get it right away." Only then did Yamabuki Chidori remember that he was completely broke. Miserable did not begin to describe it.

Damn it! He'd worked for a month and still owed half a month's wages!

I knew gambling and drugs were taboo. From now on, anyone who touches either is a grandson.

"Who can I borrow some money from?" Yamabuki Chidori racked his brains. Hachisato and Chōjirō Sasakibe were both ordinary squad members, and their monthly pay was not much to begin with. Borrowing from them was unrealistic.

"Maybe I should try the Captain Commander?" The moment that thought arose, Yamabuki Chidori dismissed it. That old man was stingy as hell. There was no way he would lend him money.

Besides, he needed capital to open a shop. This money had to come from someone wealthy.

There were only three rich people he knew.

One was Shunshun Shidō, one was Tsunayashiro Fūka, and the other was Katoru Hatsunoya.

Tsunayashiro Fūka was simply too unreliable. Who knew what dirty tricks he had up his sleeve? He could not be trusted.

What about Katoru Hatsunoya?

Borrowing money from a girl...

I'm the Chief Strategist of the Gotei 13. How could I possibly do something like that?

That left only one person: Shunshun Shidō.

Yamabuki Chidori hurried over to the Shihōin Clan estate.

"Borrow money? No problem. But shouldn't you pay back what you already owe me first?" Shunshun Shidō asked with a smile.

"..."

If he had not brought it up, Yamabuki Chidori would have forgotten that he still owed him half a month's wages!

Aaaaaah!

Why was this world always targeting him?!

"Well... I can write an IOU..."

He was so practiced at the process that it was heartbreaking.

Shunshun Shidō suddenly turned solemn and pressed a finger to his lips. "Don't talk. I can hear the Captain Commander summoning me. Oh no, it must be something extremely urgent. I need to see the Captain Commander immediately!"

With that, he used Flash Step and ran off!

Yamabuki Chidori: "Heh. Love is dead."

He had always heard people say that a single penny could stump a hero, but he never believed it. How could a hero be defeated by money?

I fucking believe it now!

Yamabuki Chidori staggered through the Seireitei in despair when he saw a fair, tender hand extend from behind him, holding a bulging money pouch.

"Hm?" Yamabuki Chidori turned around and saw Katoru Hatsunoya.

"I heard from Shihōin that you urgently needed money? Take this for now. If it isn't enough, you can come to the Katori Family and find me," Katoru Hatsunoya said gently.

A lifeline in the snow! Tell me, what else could this be but a lifeline in the snow?!

Yamabuki Chidori was so grateful that tears streamed down his face. He reached out, intending to give Katoru Hatsunoya a big hug.

I really just wanted to thank her. I didn't have any other thoughts! Really! Really!!

But before he could embrace the beauty, a slip of paper smacked him in the face.

"What's this?" Yamabuki Chidori asked blankly.

"An IOU. Please leave your fingerprint on it," Katoru Hatsunoya said, her thirty-seven-degree lips speaking ice-cold words.

"There's... there's an IOU too?"

"Yes. What if you lose it all playing cards again?" Katoru Hatsunoya gently twisted the knife.

Yamabuki Chidori signed the IOU helplessly. What sin had he committed in a previous life? Why had he reincarnated into the world of Soul Reapers? Why did he owe more and more money? Life was so hard! Wasn't the two-dimensional world supposed to be beautiful?

After leaving both his fingerprint and signature on the IOU, he finally obtained his startup funds. Then he happily went to the Rukon District, found Shūtara Senjumaru, paid the deposit, and was told to return in three days to collect the goods.

This is too hard!

His only hope now rested on Shūtara Senjumaru.

Three days later.

When he went to see Shūtara Senjumaru again, she had already completed the Maid Outfit and Stockings he had requested.

When those two items appeared before him, Yamabuki Chidori felt that his money had not been wasted.

The Maid Outfit was black and white, leaning toward a cute style.

The Stockings were pure white, with excellent elasticity and feel.

"Really nice!" Yamabuki Chidori could not put down the White Stockings. Then he smiled at Shūtara Senjumaru. "How about you put them on and try them first?"

Shūtara Senjumaru rolled her eyes. Little brat, don't think I don't know what you're thinking.

People in Soul Society generally lived very long lives. Though Shūtara Senjumaru looked to be only twenty, she was actually over two hundred years old. Before her, Yamabuki Chidori, whose mental age was truly only eighteen, was the real little brat.

"If you're satisfied, settle the remaining payment," Shūtara Senjumaru said flatly.

Instead of reaching for his money, Yamabuki Chidori made a move. He reached out and held both of Shūtara Senjumaru's hands.

"What are you doing? I'm going to scream!" Shūtara Senjumaru tried to pull her hands free, but Yamabuki Chidori held on tightly.

"Listen to me first! Do you want to live out your life in obscurity in the Rukon District, or do you want to become a woman who changes Soul Society?" Yamabuki Chidori began sweet-talking her. Tenjirō Kirinji and Gen'en Kinra had both been talked into joining him this way.

"Let go of me first... If you don't let go, I'm calling for help!"

"You can scream your throat raw and it won't help. Listen, I want to hire you as a technical consultant and mass-produce these two products. How much do you make in a month now? I'll pay you ten times that. What do you say?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

"Ten times... Are you kidding? Do I look like the kind of woman who can be bought with money?" Shūtara Senjumaru said haughtily. "Go over the details carefully first."

Yamabuki Chidori spun an extravagant tale.

He directly tied making clothes to the balance of the Three Realms.

In short, he sold her a dream with everything he had!

"Mm... do you have money?" Shūtara Senjumaru asked.

"I will in the future."

"Then do you have a shop?" Shūtara Senjumaru asked again.

"Trust me, I will in the future."

Shūtara Senjumaru's face darkened. "Then do you have any employees?"

"Of course I do." Yamabuki Chidori looked proud as he pointed at Shūtara Senjumaru, then himself. "The two of us can each take on a hundred!"

Shūtara Senjumaru covered her face. He was broke and had nothing, yet he dared to go out and start a business. He really was just a little brat! Still, she liked things that were challenging.

"Let's go! I want to see what you can make of yourself," Shūtara Senjumaru said.

Who Wouldn't Like White-Stocking Maids?

Wonderful!

He had finally talked his first employee into joining.

Then came step two.

It was not finding ways to borrow money, nor was it recruiting people. It was seeking investment.

He had already chosen his target. Katoru Hatsunoya, it was you.

No girl disliked beauty. The odds of a girl not loving beauty were like the odds of a man not loving power: they existed, but they were very low.

As long as he demonstrated the superiority of his products and relied on his silver tongue, Yamabuki Chidori believed Katoru Hatsunoya would take the bait.

Thus, Yamabuki Chidori left the Rukon District with Shūtara Senjumaru and made his way to Katoru Hatsunoya's home.

No matter what, they were colleagues, so Katoru Hatsunoya still received him warmly.

"Did you run out of money again?" Katoru Hatsunoya's very first sentence stabbed him straight in the heart.

"Nonsense. I'm a very thrifty and responsible person." Yamabuki Chidori coughed lightly. "I came to see you this time because I want to do business with you. The Katori Family has its own businesses too, right?"

"Ah, yes. We're involved in food, clothing, and daily goods to some extent. We don't earn that much, but it's enough to cover the family's expenses," Katoru Hatsunoya said.

"Do you want to earn more? I guarantee this is a sure-profit business..."

Katoru Hatsunoya crossed her hands. "I'm not going robbing with you! Even if I like cutting people down, I can't do something that disgraces my ancestors!"

I never said I was taking you robbing!

Which eye of yours thinks I look like a bandit?

Have I really become this poor?

"It's not that kind of no-capital business. What I'm doing is legitimate." Yamabuki Chidori said, "Generally speaking, girls like pretty, cute clothes, right? Flashy kimono are nice too, but compared to this outfit of mine, heh heh!"

Yamabuki Chidori unfolded the black-and-white Maid Outfit. Its hem had adorable lace trim, along with delicate pure-white Stockings.

"Well? Want to put them on and try them?" Yamabuki Chidori tempted her.

Indeed, few girls could resist cute things, and Katoru Hatsunoya was no exception.

"But... why does this outfit feel so embarrassing?" Katoru Hatsunoya asked.

"It's fine if you don't want to wear it. We can let Senbu wear it and take a look." Yamabuki Chidori sold Senbu out without hesitation.

Katoru Hatsunoya nodded as well. Wasn't a younger sister meant to test the waters?

Soon, Senbu was called over.

"Instructor! Long time no see. I heard you were injured when you went to Hueco Mundo before? How are your injuries now?" Senbu asked.

Yamabuki Chidori was deeply moved. Since recovering, this was the first time anyone had shown concern for his health. I didn't spoil you for nothing.

"This is a gift I brought for you. It's the latest style of clothing. Come on, try it on!" Yamabuki Chidori wore a mysterious smile.

This was a textbook case of repaying kindness with ingratitude!

"What a cute outfit! Is it for me? I'll go change into it right away!" Senbu completely failed to notice that this was a trap.

Yamabuki Chidori and Katoru Hatsunoya waited outside.

More than ten minutes later, Senbu came bouncing back out.

Both Yamabuki Chidori and Katoru Hatsunoya's eyes lit up.

Senbu had already been very cute to begin with, and paired with the Maid Outfit and pure-white Stockings, she became even more charming.

Furthermore, when designing the Maid Outfit, Yamabuki Chidori had deliberately shortened the skirt by two inches, creating an absolute territory between the Stockings and the skirt.

Yamabuki Chidori patted his chest and guaranteed that no man in this world could resist the charm of an absolute territory.

Katoru Hatsunoya's eyes lit up as well. "I'll invest in this project. How do we split the profits?"

"We're colleagues, after all. Whether we profit or lose money, we split it fifty-fifty. How about it?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

"No problem. We'll provide the capital and manpower. You'll handle the technical side," Katoru Hatsunoya said without hesitation.

A smug smile appeared on Yamabuki Chidori's face. Though he had not worked in fashion before, he knew plenty about clothing styles and combinations from a thousand years later. As long as he put in a little thought and leveraged his deep connections, making money would naturally be easy.

He had already asked Shūtara Senjumaru. Making Stockings was not particularly advanced technology, and assembly-line production was possible. Recruiting a batch of workers in the Rukon District would be easy enough.

After all, the standard of living in the Rukon District was right there!

Not only did people eat poorly and sleep poorly, they could also be cut down at any moment.

Now, give them a job with food and lodging included, along with guaranteed personal safety, and those benefits would be more tempting than social insurance and housing funds a thousand years later.