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"Phew, finally done."
Ishikawa Katori wiped the dust from his face and nodded in satisfaction, standing in front of the building.
"Ishikawa Katori, you did a beautiful job," the middle-aged woman beside him said, her face lighting up with joy as she looked at her newly renovated home. "No wonder my neighbors all come to you to fix their houses as soon as winter sets in. You can clearly feel the room temperature rising when you're inside."
[Miura's Affection +3, gained 3 experience points.]
"Now my child shouldn't be so picky," Miura said with a happy smile. "You don't know yet, but I have a son. He just died a while ago, and I instantly loved that child when I saw him."
Ishikawa Katori's eyelid twitched. What she said… sounded so awkward.
However, he understood that Miura meant she had recently adopted a child who had just arrived in Soul Society and was assigned to her home, becoming her son.
"Congratulations then," Ishikawa Katori said, a strange look flashing in his eyes.
To be honest…
Miura's affection increasing was truly unexpected for Ishikawa Katori. In the past, whenever he took on her requests, no matter how hard Ishikawa Katori worked, she would always find fault, then use various excuses to reduce the commission fee, and sometimes even default on payments.
Her reputation in West 7 District was notoriously difficult and stingy. Many residents of West 7 District who were on good terms with Ishikawa Katori advised him not to take on her requests.
And she was incredibly stingy. Even though her house was full of drafts, she never thought of hiring someone to repair it. Two years ago, in order to gain affection, Ishikawa Katori even told her that he could repair her house for free if needed, but what he got in return was Miura's extremely wary gaze!
Finally, Ishikawa Katori simply gave up on dealing with her any further.
He had originally thought that this year would be like previous years, and she wouldn't come to him to repair her house. However, after he finished all his house repair requests and winter was about to set in, Miura actually showed up at his door, and, for the first time ever, paid the commission fee upfront.
She really had completely changed.
Looking at Miura's gentle smile and her demeanor, which was completely different from what Ishikawa Katori remembered, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart at the greatness of the word 'mother.'
Simply adopting a child could cause such a significant change in a person.
"My Hatake is a very smart child. He's only 11, but he can already write many characters and even recite many ancient texts…" Miura droned on, like chanting, about her child.
Although Ishikawa Katori was somewhat impatient, he didn't show it at all on his face. Instead, he listened very carefully, interjecting occasionally.
To an outsider, their conversation… was like two middle-aged women chatting about household matters, with one constantly talking about how great her child was, and the other constantly nodding in agreement.
"The only downside is that he's too delicate," Miura said, then chuckled. "But that's my fault. I never really maintained the house, so it's normal for him to feel cold."
"He's just a child, it's normal for him to be a bit delicate."
"Yes," Miura nodded, then, as if thinking of something, sighed, "It's just that he always says things I don't understand. I ask him what he wants, and he says he wants to lie in a 'kotatsu' and watch 'TV,' and he also wants to play something called a 'handheld game console.'"
"Hmm?"
Ishikawa Katori, who had been somewhat impatient, immediately perked up.
Kotatsu?
TV?
Handheld game console?
Ishikawa Katori hadn't heard these modern terms in a long time. People who came to Soul Society rarely talked about their lives before death, and since Ishikawa Katori had never deliberately inquired, this was the first time he had heard news about the Human World.
A short sentence was enough for Ishikawa Katori to analyze a lot of useful information.
Television was still a product of the modern era, having been invented long ago, but handheld consoles were definitely modern products; even the earliest handheld consoles only became widespread near the late 1990s.
It seemed that the day of the great upheaval in Seireitei was not far off.
However…
It had nothing to do with him. Whatever happened in Seireitei, it shouldn't affect him here.
Moreover, Ishikawa Katori had already calculated the approximate era he was in a long time ago. When he was training at Shiba, Sister Kukaku had said that the current Captain of the Tenth Squad was Tōshirō Hitsugaya!
"By the way, you also died in recent years, so you should know what these things are, right?" Miura asked.
Ishikawa Katori smiled at her words: "A kotatsu is actually just a 'horigotatsu' that many people have in their homes, except that the horigotatsu in the Human World doesn't use charcoal or coal balls for heat, but an energy called 'electricity'; as for televisions and handheld consoles, they are products of the Human World, and in Soul Society, you can probably only find them in Seireitei."
"So it's a horigotatsu!" Miura said, enlightened, and exclaimed, "In these past hundred years, the Human World has really undergone a lot of changes."
"…" Ishikawa Katori.
To be honest, after nearly five years in Soul Society, his sense of time had become increasingly blurred.
People here casually talked about decades and centuries, making Ishikawa Katori, an older youth who was no more than 27 years old, including both his life before and after death, feel like an infant here.
The two chatted for a while longer, then Ishikawa Katori looked at the sky and said goodbye.
As the end of the year approached, the weather had turned cold, and pedestrians on the street were wearing thicker clothes. Ishikawa Katori, dressed in his usual black work uniform, looked somewhat out of place.
However, this outfit had also become Ishikawa Katori's trademark; he could be recognized from afar on the street.
"Ishikawa Katori boy, are you done for the day?"
"Ishikawa Katori, I just made these pancakes. Take them back and eat them with Uzuki."
"Ishikawa-nii, when will you come play with me again?"
"…"
Walking on the streets of West 7 District, every resident who saw Ishikawa Katori would call him over for a chat, and Ishikawa Katori couldn't refuse. As a result, by the time he walked out of West 7 District, it was already completely dark.
Because it was dinner time, he had several small cloth bags filled with food in his hands.
As he walked home, Ishikawa Katori tallied the experience points he had gained in the past month since resuming business.
"980 experience points, nearly a thousand in one month. I wish it could be like this every month."
Although he said that, Ishikawa Katori knew it was almost impossible. This month's gains could be said to be the last peak season before the new year. With winter and the New Year approaching, many people would repair their houses, which was why there were so many requests this month.
Most importantly…
The higher the affection, the harder it was to increase. Many of Ishikawa Katori's old customers had their affection stuck at a bottleneck. In this situation, Ishikawa Katori could only maintain relationships with old customers while trying to develop new ones, which made his Everything Store business grow larger and larger.
Recently, Ishikawa Katori even started providing home medical services. Although most of the time it was just prescribing herbs, he rarely used Kaido to heal customers unless absolutely necessary.
Of course, outside of work, Ishikawa Katori also didn't neglect his training. It could be said that he lived a very fulfilling life every day.
Progress, while not rapid, was steady.
Current Experience: 2800
In this month, Ishikawa Katori only used less than four hundred experience points, all for clarifying areas in his training that he didn't understand.
"When I have some free time in a few days, I'll visit Sister Kukaku again," Ishikawa Katori sighed. To gain a large amount of experience, he really had to focus on Sister Kukaku.
…
Returning to District 38, he heard a clamor from inside the shop even before he entered.
Ishikawa Katori's face showed no surprise; he was used to it. He pulled open the shop door, and a lively atmosphere immediately rushed out.
In the spacious hall of the shop, menacing-looking men sat in groups of three or five at tables and chairs throughout the hall, drinking and chatting.
To an unaware person, the scene before them might make them think this was some kind of tavern.
Although…
The Everything Store, without anyone realizing it, had indeed started offering tavern services.
More strictly speaking…
This place was more like a gathering spot for dangerous individuals.
These people were, of course, the villains. After a month, their numbers had not only not decreased but had somehow increased.
When they first arrived, Oyama and the others were very afraid of Ishikawa Katori, but as they spent more time together and discovered that Ishikawa Katori was surprisingly easy to get along with in normal circumstances, these carefree fellows gradually let go and became less restrained.
Although they still did whatever Ishikawa Katori told them to do, they usually gathered in the shop to drink during their free time.
Initially, the neighbors were somewhat afraid of Oyama and his group, but over time, they got used to these menacing-looking individuals who only acted fierce among themselves but always wore smiles to outsiders.
They just assumed these people were just fierce-looking individuals, unaware that this group were truly dangerous individuals who would run to the lower-numbered districts to fight every day. Recently, due to Uzuki, these guys, in addition to the pleasure of fighting, also had financial needs…
Ishikawa Katori did not interfere with this, as it was a rule that had been maintained for thousands of years in the lower-numbered districts, and aside from some exceptions, normal people would not choose to live in such a jungle-law area; dying there was their own fault.
As for why they had financial needs because of Uzuki, it was because…
Besides being a signboard girl, Uzuki had expanded into a new business. She bought a batch of the worst quality alcohol from Sake Lady and then sold it to these villains at five times the price.
Although the service was virtually non-existent and the staff's attitude was extremely poor, these guys didn't care at all. Instead, they often stayed for an entire day, as if they treated the place as a temporary relaxation spot. Many villains from outside District 79 even came after hearing about it.
Initially, some people caused trouble, but they were all dealt with by Ganju, who was always stationed at the shop, along with Oyama and his group. Of course, this also included Ishikawa Katori going to the lower-numbered districts and killing some people.
Under sufficient deterrence, after a month, this gathering place for villains was surprisingly thriving under Uzuki's management, and the money earned was almost half of what Ishikawa Katori made from his daily work.
While earning money was a good thing, the scene before him always made Ishikawa Katori feel like something wasn't quite right.
"Big Bro Ishikawa is back!!"
As soon as Ishikawa Katori entered, someone with sharp eyes spotted him, and the noisy sounds in the shop immediately quieted down.
"Big Bro Ishikawa, you've worked hard."
"I just collected some 'protection money' from the southern merchants, and it's all good quality liquor. Would you like to have some with us?"
"…"
Ishikawa Katori's reply to these flattering greetings was simple, just one word.
"Scram."
"Alright!!"
The group of people in the shop immediately left the Everything Store in a mighty rush. Once outside, they scattered, forming several factions and heading towards their respective areas. After all, many of these people had conflicts with each other, and walking together would inevitably make them want to kill each other.
However, anyone who caused trouble in the well-policed areas died, and they died in droves, so it was better to disperse.
Meeting Ishikawa Katori's cold gaze, Oyama, the culprit behind the current situation, chuckled and said, "Boss Ishikawa Katori, then we'll head back first." With that, he ran off with his men without looking back, as if fearing he'd be beaten to death if he ran too slowly.
Ishikawa Katori didn't deny that he had indeed just had the thought of simply beating Oyama to death.
"I've noticed you seem to like counting money more and more lately," Ishikawa Katori said, narrowing his eyes at Uzuki, who was counting money behind the bar. "I never noticed you liked doing business so much before."
"I never had such foolish customers before either," Uzuki replied without looking up. "And I'm not doing this just to earn more money for you to squander. If you check the ledger, the expenses for buying alcohol and snacks have clearly been increasing lately."
"…"
Ishikawa Katori opened his mouth, unable to retort.
Who would want to eat bland noodles every day when they could have meat and fish? Drinking alcohol and eating meat was certainly better than drinking alcohol and gnawing on wild fruits.
Hmm, I should restrain myself from now on.
"But won't this easily affect our customers?"
"It's fine."
Uzuki smiled and said, "I've called Ganju and Oyama and the others. Tomorrow, I plan to build a staircase outside and open a door on the second floor. From now on, the Everything Store's business will be moved to the second floor, and the first floor will be a tavern."
At these words, Ishikawa Katori subconsciously said, "You're not going to take on the stage name Otose, are you?"
"Huh?"
"Uh, never mind," Ishikawa Katori quickly said.
Goodness…
His Everything Store seemed to be getting closer and closer to the original version.
"What about my bedroom then?"
"The second floor is so spacious, and your bedroom only takes up a small corner, surrounded by iron bars like a prison cell. The rest of the large space hasn't been used at all." Uzuki paused, then continued, "Don't worry, the office area and your bedroom will be completely sealed off."
"The Everything Store can only be accessed from the outside staircase, and your bedroom can only be accessed from the staircase inside the tavern. Ganju and his subordinates have also done a lot of work with you these past few days, and they can handle such simple work, so you can just work as usual tomorrow."
Hearing this, Ishikawa Katori nodded.
If that was the case, he had no objections. And having an extra source of income was good, especially since the number of requests he could take would decrease significantly after winter set in.
"Oh, right, I got a well-paying request today."
Uzuki took out the request book from the bar and handed it to Ishikawa Katori, saying, "It's a joint request from several families in District 43. They need goods transported to Byakudo Gate, but because there are many roving bandits in District 43, they hope you can bring some people to help escort them."
Ishikawa Katori was somewhat speechless at this. Was he expanding his business again?
"They seem to have heard that our shop often has many fierce-looking individuals, which is why they came to make the request."
"…" Ishikawa Katori was silent for a moment, ignoring the humorous point in that sentence, and asked, confused, "It shouldn't be Seireitei's procurement season, should it?"
"I'm not very sure either," Uzuki shook her head. "It seems the Fourth Squad is holding a Vice-Captain replacement ceremony soon, so they're preparing to procure some supplies a few days in advance to hold a banquet after the ceremony ends."
"I see."
Ishikawa Katori nodded, a strange look flashing in his eyes and quickly disappearing.
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