Chapter 22 Cultural Festival
"Kasumi Kōji Kogoro, this is the first event our Student Council has ever organized. You wouldn't want to see it turn out too shabby, right? After all, it concerns the reputation of our Student Council, and the Spiritual Arts Academy teachers are supporting us so much. If we do it well, it will definitely bring us great honor."
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro, the Vice President of the Student Council, stared expressionlessly at Tachikawa Shin, who was crying poverty to him.
"Since the Spiritual Arts Academy supports us, why don't they allocate more funds?"
"I tried hard to get more, but they kept saying the Spiritual Arts Academy's funds are tight. I'm just a regular student; I have no standing with them. What can I do?"
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro sat there, frowning in silence, seemingly lost in thought.
"What exactly is this Cultural Festival you're talking about?"
Tachikawa Shin explained again: "In short, it's a campus entertainment festival. Our Student Council will take the lead in organizing it. Not only will teachers and students from our Spiritual Arts Academy participate, but we can also invite Shinigami from Squad Thirteen and the Kido Corps to join. If it's well-organized, it can definitely become a recurring event! Kasumi Kōji Kogoro, you only need to sponsor a bit more, and you'll be the biggest contributor to this festival! You're bound to leave your name in the history of the Spiritual Arts Academy!"
These words made Kasumi Kōji Kogoro somewhat tempted. He mused, "How much more money is needed?"
Tachikawa Shin made a gesture to him: "Just this much."
"Five million?"
Hearing this, Tachikawa Shin's heart skipped a beat. This was an extra zero compared to what he had anticipated. He hadn't expected this noble lord to be so generous.
He didn't correct him and asked cautiously, "Is that okay?"
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro didn't agree immediately. Instead, he asked, "Do you have a detailed plan?"
"Yes!"
Tachikawa Shin immediately went to his desk, found a stack of documents, and respectfully handed them over: "It's been ready for a while. Please take a look."
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro took them and read them carefully, page by page. The details were very thorough, down to each process, showing it was thoughtfully prepared.
"The Spiritual Arts Academy leaders have also seen these, right?" he asked.
"Principal Chojiro Sasakibe expressed strong support, saying the Spiritual Arts Academy has never had such an event in its history, and it will help enrich the Spiritual Arts Academy's campus culture."
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro pondered over the stack of documents for a while before finally saying, "I'll send the money tomorrow."
Tachikawa Shin was overjoyed and couldn't help but reach out and hug him tightly.
"Thank you so much, Kasumi Kōji Kogoro! You're truly the lucky star of our Student Council!"
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro, however, pushed him away with clear distaste.
"I haven't seen you this diligent before, and our relationship isn't good enough for you to call me by my given name, Tachikawa student."
Tachikawa Shin chuckled, "You can call me whatever you like, Kasumi Kōji Kogoro? Lord Kasumi Kōji Kogoro? Master Kasumi Kōji Kogoro?"
"…"
Kasumi Kōji Kogoro felt a shiver of disgust, stood up, and said, "Just use normal address. I'm leaving now."
He still needed to inform his family about this matter, but five million was indeed not much for him. His family, the Kasumi Kōji, was a large and prosperous one. Although a female headed the family, men mostly assisted in managing affairs, and his position within the clan was not low.
Tachikawa Shin waved at him with a wide smile: "Take care."
He knew Kasumi Kōji Kogoro was wealthy, but he hadn't expected him to be so generous. The Spiritual Arts Academy had only allocated them five hundred thousand, which in terms of purchasing power was less than ten thousand of his previous life's currency. Kasumi Kōji Kogoro had directly given him ten times that amount.
Such a large sum of money couldn't actually be fully spent, as it was an event primarily led by students. But with so much money, many things could be done more freely, and the remaining funds would be kept by the Student Council for future expenses.
Who said these nobles were bad? These nobles were too good!
In fact, the reason Kasumi Kōji Kogoro agreed was not just because of the benefits Tachikawa Shin mentioned; an important reason was that he valued Tachikawa Shin as a person.
When his clan first told him about the Student Council matter, he hadn't expected it to come from the idea of an ordinary student.
Moreover, Tachikawa Shin's own talent was exceptional, and his future was bound to be limitless.
With Kasumi Kōji Kogoro's funding, Tachikawa Shin immediately called a meeting of all Student Council members that day and assigned detailed tasks to everyone.
Afterward, he greeted the teachers and class representatives of every grade and class in the Spiritual Arts Academy.
The next day, all students in the Spiritual Arts Academy learned about the upcoming Cultural Festival, scheduled for two weeks later, and large announcement boards were put up around the campus.
The daily life of students at the Spiritual Arts Academy was quite monotonous; besides classes, they spent their time cultivating, with hardly any leisure activities.
The appearance of the Cultural Festival made most people look forward to it eagerly.
Just as the students of the Spiritual Arts Academy began urgently preparing for the Cultural Festival, Vice Captain Shiba Kaien of the Thirteenth Division suddenly arrived.
In the Student Council headquarters office, Tachikawa Shin and Rukia had just entered when they saw Shiba Kaien sitting in his seat, looking through some documents on the desk.
"Vice Captain Shiba, what a rare guest."
Shiba Kaien said with a smile, "You're wrong. I'm the honorary chairman of the Student Council; how can I be a guest?"
He looked at Rukia behind Tachikawa Shin: "And who is this?"
"Rukia, my assistant. This is Vice Captain Shiba Kaien of the Thirteenth Division."
Tachikawa Shin introduced them to each other.
"Hello." Rukia quickly bowed, thinking to herself how the President usually interacted with such important figures!
Shiba Kaien teased, "You certainly live a leisurely life, with such a beautiful young lady as your assistant. Does your Student Council have many girls?"
These words made Rukia slightly shy. She didn't consider herself a beautiful young lady; Hinamori Momo was the one who counted, she thought.
"You, the honorary chairman, have never shown up, so of course you've become a guest. By the way, I was just about to go find you."
"What is it?"
Tachikawa Shin first countered, "Vice Captain Shiba, is there something you need, suddenly coming to the Student Council?"
"I came to teach a class for the first-year students. Also, I heard that your Student Council is organizing some event, so I came to take a look."
"A Cultural Festival," Tachikawa Shin said. "We'll also invite Shinigami from Squad Thirteen to participate. I hope Vice Captain Shiba can help promote it within Squad Thirteen. If we can get a few Captains to come, it will be even livelier."
"You really dare to ask for a lot." Shiba Kaien chuckled, "You even want Captains to attend? Do you have that much influence?"
Tachikawa Shin immediately flattered him: "Of course, I'm just a small fry, but Vice Captain Shiba, you have great influence! Who in Squad Thirteen doesn't know the name of Shiba Kaien? Although you're called Vice-Captain, you're already virtually a Captain in the Thirteenth Division!"
These words made Shiba Kaien feel very pleased, but he didn't agree immediately. Instead, he said, "Captains are usually very busy."
Tachikawa Shin then added, "I know. Principal Chojiro Sasakibe also said that Shinigami from Squad Thirteen are welcome to return to their alma mater. This is a festival organized by the Student Council, and as honorary chairman, you must be willing to do something for the Student Council, right?"
Shiba Kaien thought for a moment. This wasn't a difficult task. After all, it was a recreational event, and many people would likely be willing to show their support, such as his own Captain.
"I'll give it a try."
He agreed, then turned to Tachikawa Shin, a faint smile playing on his lips, "What's going on with your Zanpakuto?"
"I can't believe you've heard about it too." Tachikawa Shin looked surprised, "I was just lucky; my Zanpakuto suddenly awakened."
Shiba Kaien scoffed lightly, "Suddenly awakened, huh, kid? Have you forgotten what you promised me before?"
Tachikawa Shin looked utterly confused: "What?"
Shiba Kaien narrowed his eyes: "My uncle's side has already agreed to it, offering you a Third Seat position, and then you, kid, turn around and reveal a Healing Arts System Zanpakuto. You're making things very difficult for me."
Rukia, standing nearby, couldn't help but widen her beautiful eyes as she listened to their conversation.
A Seat… Third Seat?!
President?!
Tachikawa Shin said helplessly, "Vice Captain Shiba, I genuinely wanted to go to the Tenth Division, but something like a Zanpakuto awakening wasn't within my predictions."
Shiba Kaien stared intently at Tachikawa Shin: "Tell me honestly, is your Zanpakuto really a Healing Arts System type?"
"Can something like this be faked?" Tachikawa Shin looked perplexed.
"Intentionally hiding the true abilities of a Zanpakuto is not unheard of. There are many Shinigami in Squad Thirteen whose specific Zanpakuto abilities are unknown to outsiders."
Tachikawa Shin mused, "So that's how it is."
However, his Zanpakuto awakened at the Spiritual Arts Academy, which was a relatively rare occurrence, so the Spiritual Arts Academy specifically sought him out to inquire about and register his Zanpakuto's abilities.
If a Zanpakuto awakened after joining Squad Thirteen, the management of it was more lenient, and one could choose not to report it.
He drew the Asauchi he carried and said, "Then, Vice Captain Shiba, would you like to confirm?"
Shiba Kaien was speechless, looking at the utterly ordinary Asauchi in Tachikawa Shin's hand.
He suddenly said, "Never mind. Since it's a Healing Arts System Zanpakuto, I can only say you have no fate with the Tenth Division."
Tachikawa Shin sighed, "Thank you for your understanding, Vice Captain Shiba. I truly wanted to go to the Tenth Division."
If he could see Rangiku every day, what man wouldn't want that?
Shiba Kaien secretly curled his lips in disdain.
This kid is full of nonsense!