Soon, it was evening.
The lingering glow of the setting sun spread across the land.
Inside the spacious and brightly lit hall,
As cheers echoed in all directions and the aroma of roasted meat filled the air, Shiba Isshin, holding a bowl of sake, slowly walked over and sat down beside Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
He gently swirled the sake bowl in his hand, and the clear liquid rippled within.
Looking at Yoriichi's unsmiling demeanour, Shiba Isshin couldn't help but ask, "Why... don't you like banquets?"
Even the lively and boisterous environment, the infectious atmosphere, and even the most popular Manzai performances in the Human World failed to elicit a smile from Yoriichi.
In his eyes, everything was as ordinary as wild grass.
A very strange Shinigami...
To date, Isshin had only seen something similar in the Kuchiki Clan...
"Speaking of which... You wouldn't happen to be related to those poker-faced individuals from the Kuchiki Clan, would you?"
Shiba Isshin took a sip of sake, testing the waters with his question.
After asking, he slowly picked up the sake flask and poured a cup for Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
He smiled nonchalantly:
"Haha, how could that be? Please forgive my impertinence."
"If you had the bloodline of the Kuchiki Clan, you wouldn't be serving as a Third Seat in my Tenth Division."
"What are your hobbies?"
"You know I'm your Captain. It's one of my duties to investigate the psychological state of my squad members, including their preferences, so that future work can proceed smoothly."
"Don't you agree?"
His tone was slightly relaxed, as if this would help bridge the gap between them.
Upon hearing this,
Tsugikuni Yoriichi's calm eyes slowly turned, and the sparkling sake that met his gaze was so dazzling.
Seeing Yoriichi look at his treasured sake, Shiba Isshin raised his palm, a proud smile on his face:
"Five-hundred-year-old refined sake, specially supplied to high-ranking nobles. How about it, want to try some?"
"This is pure reishi sake."
"Unlike those in the Human World, it helps to increase spiritual pressure, though the effect is negligible."
"Oh, right."
At this point, he suddenly remembered something and raised his hand to pause the banquet: "Hey, you, come here."
His gaze swept around, finally settling on a cold, noble-looking woman with golden-rimmed glasses and long, flowing black hair.
The woman was holding a cup of sake, quietly drinking by herself.
Hearing the voice, she slowly raised her eyes, meeting Shiba Isshin's gaze from afar, seemingly aware that the "you" he referred to was herself.
Her usually calm eyes couldn't help but twitch.
Slam!
She put down her sake cup.
She pushed up her glasses, her calm tone tinged with irritation:
"Please mind your words, Captain."
"I am Kyōraku Chiharu. Although you are the Captain, don't you think such rude words coming from your mouth are undignified and lacking in class?"
"Haha, don't mind it." Shiba Isshin waved his hand, "We're all old acquaintances, just a joke."
He said, looking at Tsugikuni Yoriichi, and introduced him in a teasing tone:
"This is our Vice-Captain, Lady Kyōraku Chiharu."
"Born into the high-ranking noble Kyoraku."
"The current Captain of the Eighth Division, Kyōraku Shunsui, is her cousin. You two should get acquainted."
At this point, Shiba Isshin slowly leaned closer to Tsugikuni Yoriichi, adding in an extremely low voice:
"She, like you, possesses third-grade spiritual power. Remember not to anger her, or if the Tenth Division is destroyed, I won't have the money to repair it."
"Your personalities are so similar in some ways—you both act rather than talk. Oh, right…"
He remembered something again, his eyes flickering with a light of helplessness,
"Inuno, Fourth Seat, who had a conflict with you today, has already been taught a lesson by her. He was beaten so badly that he probably won't be able to get out of bed for a while…"
"I don't understand how such a violent woman came from the usually gentle and elegant Kyoraku…"
"Tsk…"
He slightly curled his lips.
At this moment, Kyōraku Chiharu couldn't help but say, "Hey, Captain, are you speaking ill of me to him?"
"Don't force me to beat you when I'm happy. All consequences will be on you then."
"..."
"Got it, got it." Shiba Isshin immediately stopped the topic, made a zipping motion over his mouth with his hand, then lowered his hand, drank a large bowl of sake, and resumed,
"Sigh, being a Captain is uncomfortable for me."
"Outside the squad, I'm oppressed by those high-ranking nobles, and inside, I'm bullied by the Vice-Captain… I don't know when this hellish life will end."
He subconsciously put his arm around Tsugikuni Yoriichi's shoulder, as if he were drunk, and sighed,
"You guys have it good, free and unburdened, carefree, and no one even cares if you're poker-faced."
"Like the Kuchiki Clan."
"If an ordinary Shinigami were like you, they would have long been labelled as unsociable by their Captains, but geniuses are different."
"No matter how aloof a genius acts, in others' eyes, it's seen as being unique."
"I truly envy you."
"..."
"There's nothing to envy." Tsugikuni Yoriichi glanced at Shiba Isshin's slightly flushed face, and spoke, which was rare, "Captain, you're drunk."
"Nonsense! I'm not drunk!" Shiba Isshin took a deep breath and sat up straight, though his slightly tipsy state made his body sway constantly,
"I'm just tired."
"Continue… continue drinking!"
As his command was given, the banquet continued.
Kyōraku Chiharu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the situation, but she said nothing, because she clearly understood the current difficulties of the Shiba Family.
Although they were one of the Four Great Noble Clans, they were being jointly suppressed by the other high-ranking nobles due to a decline in talent.
In terms of their situation,
They couldn't even compare to the Kyoraku, which was a step lower in status.
And Shiba Isshin, as the head of a branch family, had dozens of people under him to support.
Every day he woke up, he had to face the ugly faces of those nobles, and one misstep could result in the loss of family assets… The pressure was immense.
Let him continue drinking.
It's a way to relieve stress.
Thinking of this, Kyōraku Chiharu slowly closed her eyes.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock.
"Moshi moshi?"
A dishevelled young man with slightly upturned light yellow short hair and a bit of stubble on his chin quietly pushed open the door of the Tenth Division, his half-closed military-green eyes peeking in.
"Um… Is Captain Shiba here?"
"He invited me to drink…"
"...Hmm?" Chiharu's gaze swept over, and she immediately recognised this guy as Kisuke Urahara, a favoured retainer of the Shihouin and the Third Seat of the Second Division.
This Shiba Isshin fellow…
A banquet for the Tenth Division.
Why invite a Shinigami from the Second Division?
However, she ultimately did not show any signs of refusal.
As Kisuke Urahara became the centre of the banquet, advancing under everyone's seemingly scrutinising gazes,
His eyes suddenly caught sight of Tsugikuni Yoriichi beside Shiba Isshin.
A glimmer of light suddenly burst forth from his tired, somewhat socially anxious eyes.
Found him!