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In a dark room, Ishikawa Katori, who was lying sideways on the bed with a wine pot in one hand, slowly opened his eyes.
The moment his eyes, deeper than the darkness itself, opened, a cold glint seemed to flash through the pitch-black room. This sharp, chilling light was fleeting, and Ishikawa Katori returned to his harmless appearance.
"Hiss~~"
Rubbing his aching head, Ishikawa Katori muttered, "I really should quit drinking!"
After tidying up casually, Ishikawa Katori unlocked the iron door of his bedroom with a key, then pushed open the bedroom door and walked out. As soon as he left the windowless second-floor bedroom, the morning sun shone in, making Ishikawa Katori squint his eyes.
"Are you awake?"
Uzuki sat at the bar counter, looking at Ishikawa Katori as he came down from the second floor, and said with an annoyed expression, "Are your students not coming anymore?"
"Good morning."
Ishikawa Katori responded casually, then ducked into the bathroom to wash up while saying, "Shin'ō Academy has already started, so they won't be coming here for the next few months."
"I see." Uzuki nodded understandingly, then took out a notepad from the counter and said, "Then today's work should all be completed. Yesterday, there were two commissions: one was for repairing a house, commissioned by Ganju-nii from District 6, and the other was for harvesting tobacco leaves, commissioned by Granny Yuzu from District 3. These two commissions should be enough for you to finish in one day, right?"
Ever since he opened the 'Shinigami Cram School' half a year ago, Ishikawa Katori often took his students to the nearby mountains for training, which resulted in the shop often being unattended and missing many commissions from Rukongai. Left with no choice, Ishikawa Katori could only ask Uzuki for help, and it took a lot of effort to persuade her to work at the Everything Store.
This way, whether Ishikawa Katori went out to work or took his students to train, Uzuki could stay there and help him receive customers.
"Two commissions?"
Ishikawa Katori yawned, "Let's postpone Ganju-nii's commission for now. I'll go help Granny Yuzu harvest tobacco leaves later."
"Aren't your students not coming anymore?"
"Ganju-nii needs my help with something."
"It's that guy again." When Uzuki heard Ganju's name, her pretty face instantly darkened. "I really don't understand why you always hang out with that hooligan."
Although Ganju didn't have the bad habits of a noble, in Uzuki's eyes, he was an idle hooligan who spent his days with the ruffians and hooligans of West Rukongai, causing trouble. Some people even commissioned Ishikawa Katori to teach Shiba Ganju a lesson.
Ishikawa Katori never refused such commissions.
The method of completion was incredibly simple…
He just needed to truthfully record the commission details and send them to Shiba. The next day, Shiba Ganju would appear before the commissioner looking like his own sister wouldn't recognize him, offering a sincere apology.
Ishikawa Katori glanced at Uzuki, who was sitting behind the bar, a strange smile on his face.
Although Ganju often caused some trouble, the residents of Rukongai generally treated him like a mischievous child and bore him no ill will. The commissions were only meant to teach him a lesson and make him rein it in. The reason Uzuki reacted that way whenever she heard the name 'Ganju' was due to other reasons.
"Wahahaha, Ganju-nii is here!"
Speak of the devil, the shop door was yanked open, and Shiba Ganju's figure appeared at the doorway, laughing loudly with his hands on his hips, "Ishikawa Katori, come with me to District 79 today!"
"I have to work in District 3 this morning. I'll go with you in the afternoon."
"Eh? Doesn't that mean… cough, go on, I'll watch your shop for you."
Ganju's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. He plopped down in front of the bar and waved at Ishikawa Katori, "Then take your time. Anyway, those bastards can be taught a lesson anytime. Work is the most important thing." With that, he turned his head and flashed a toothy grin at Uzuki:
"Uzuki, just stay in the shop with peace of mind. With me here, even if a Shinigami Captain from Seireitei bothers you, I'll take him down!!"
"Could you please take yourself down first?" Uzuki said in an extremely cold tone.
"Eh? Why?"
"You sitting here is like having a pile of filth in the shop. It's already hindering the business, so could you please leave?"
"…"
Ishikawa Katori withdrew his gaze. He was already used to this scene. Ever since Ishikawa Katori invited Uzuki to work at the Everything Store, Ganju would come to the shop almost every day with strawberry milk, voluntarily helping Ishikawa Katori clean the shop and greet customers.
One might think he was Ishikawa Katori's newly hired employee…
Ishikawa Katori did not stop Ganju's 'dog-like' behavior. Although Ganju had the personality of a hooligan, he was the pure-hearted type and never made any inappropriate moves; as for Uzuki, even though she acted as if she regarded Ganju as a 'maggot,' she never asked Ishikawa Katori to drive Ganju away, nor did she avoid Ganju or simply quit her job.
If Uzuki truly detested Ganju, Ishikawa Katori would have driven Ganju away long ago, after all, Uzuki was the first friend Ishikawa Katori met after coming to Soul Society.
Although Uzuki's favorability towards Ishikawa Katori had always remained at full friendship, ever since Ishikawa Katori completely cut off her romantic thoughts, she had begun to view Ishikawa Katori as a younger brother, like family. Otherwise, with Uzuki's 'live one day at a time, with no aspirations' personality, she would never have come to work at the Everything Store.
It could be said that if the system had a family affection value, Uzuki's family affection value towards Ishikawa Katori would probably be almost full by now.
The morning's work was not complicated.
Generally speaking, tobacco leaves are harvested once a year, but the Reishi concentration in Soul Society is extremely high, and plants grow very quickly. So, the tobacco leaves Granny Yuzu planted basically matured every two to three months, allowing for 2-3 harvests a year depending on the situation. However, due to them maturing in batches, she often asked Ishikawa Katori for help in picking the tobacco leaves.
This work was the last batch for the year.
Picking tobacco leaves was simple work. The only thing that made Ishikawa Katori uncomfortable was the sticky tobacco juice that would get all over him, and the black liquid on his hands that was very difficult to wash off.
After finishing the work, Ishikawa Katori declined Granny Yuzu's invitation for a meal and went straight back to the shop with Ganju to embark on the journey to West Borough 79. District 79 was very far from District 38, and Ishikawa Katori did not want to spend the night outdoors.
…
"By the way…"
Ishikawa Katori's mouth twitched. "Do we really have to ride these things?"
Looking around, six tall, sturdy wild boars were galloping at an extremely fast speed, truly kicking up dust.
Shiba Ganju was leading the charge on one 'pig,' with Ishikawa Katori following closely behind. Trailing them were Shiba Ganju's four newly recruited subordinates. Though called 'newly recruited,' they were actually companions who had grown up with Ganju since childhood. Although Ishikawa Katori was the first to agree to be Ganju's subordinate, he was ranked last…
He was truly the subordinate among subordinates.
Ishikawa Katori didn't contend for the position of chief henchman. After all, the subordinate among subordinates and the chief henchman were both subordinates in the end. He wasn't so idle as to vie for power in this playful little organization… So, Ishikawa Katori had always been the least noticeable among the six.
According to Ganju's number one subordinate, Miyamoto Taichi, nicknamed 'Hawk,' Ishikawa Katori was just a filler in their gang.
Because Ishikawa Katori spent most of his time working, and the few times he did hang out with them, he just stood by and watched.
Although Ganju's four subordinates did not have the qualifications to become a Shinigami, having grown up playing with Ganju, they were better at fighting than most Rukongai residents.
Even if they couldn't win, Ganju was there, so Ishikawa Katori naturally didn't need to meddle. He just needed to stand by and cheer them on with '666.'
Speaking of which, it's a good time to introduce a few people.
Miyamoto Taichi, as mentioned above, is Ganju's number one subordinate. He is very good at cooking, and he is responsible for their meals when they travel;
Number two subordinate, Ishino Mitsuru, nicknamed 'Fever,' has no particular Features, but sings terribly;
Number three subordinate, Yamashita Kenji, nicknamed 'Top,' is the weakest fighter among the four;
Number four subordinate, Saionji Sadatomo, nicknamed 'Dunbar,' is naturally skilled at caring for animals, and the wild boars they ride were all trained by him.
And Ishikawa Katori…
Ganju also gave him a nickname, 'Yoda.' This nickname, reminiscent of a certain cosmic sword saint, was rejected by Ishikawa Katori's firm resistance…
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