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Although the supplies were procured by the Fourth Division, the Patrol Corps was responsible for inspecting them, to prevent anyone from hiding within the goods and sneaking into Seireitei.
Ishikawa Katori's gaze swept over the Fourth Division members who were conversing with President Shinno, and he sighed inwardly with regret. If the visitors had been the Fourth Division's Captain and Vice-Captain, he would have shamelessly approached them to strike up a conversation.
Especially their Captain; even gaining a small amount of favorability from him would be enough for Ishikawa Katori to use for a long time.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ishikawa Katori froze, his gaze lingering on a young girl from the Fourth Division.
The girl had been secretly observing Ishikawa Katori, and when their eyes met, her face instantly flushed. She instinctively lowered her head to avoid his gaze, but then seemed to realize her behavior was impolite and quickly looked up again.
After meeting Ishikawa Katori's gaze, she lowered her head once more.
Her conflicted expression made Ishikawa Katori chuckle. This girl really hadn't changed at all.
This girl's name was Nao, and she was among the first batch of students when Ishikawa Katori opened his 'Shinigami Cram School.' Nearly a year had passed, and she had clearly graduated successfully and joined the Fourth Division. Ishikawa Katori wasn't surprised by this at all.
Because among the nearly one hundred students Ishikawa Katori taught, Nao was the only one who studied Kaido with him. Ishikawa Katori could say he taught her hand-in-hand, and she also had the highest favorability towards Ishikawa Katori among all his students, reaching 54 points!
If Ishikawa Katori hadn't started avoiding being alone with her and intentionally showing a distant attitude after her favorability reached 50, that number might have gone even higher.
"H-Hello... long time no see."
Suddenly, Nao, who had been conflicted, seemed to make up her mind and abruptly looked up.
Ishikawa Katori was startled at first, then his expression changed drastically.
As expected, Nao gritted her teeth, bowed to Ishikawa Katori, and said, "Instructor Ishikawa Katori!"
...Ishikawa Katori.
??? Fourth Division members.
??? President Shinno.
...
Most of the people in front of Byakudo Gate, except for the Patrol Corps who were inspecting the goods, looked bewildered.
As for the Patrol Corps, as the second squad of the Onmitsukidō, they were no strangers to Ishikawa Katori. After all, they had been monitoring Ishikawa Katori ever since he opened his Shinigami Cram School.
Some of them even infiltrated and studied with Ishikawa Katori for a period.
Instructor Ishikawa Katori?
But for everyone else, this title left them dumbfounded.
A Shinigami, dressed in a shinigami uniform, actually calling a Rukongai resident 'teacher'—this scene was simply too bizarre, so bizarre that everyone didn't know where to begin asking questions.
Ishikawa Katori nodded somewhat stiffly at Nao as a response, but his heart was filled with endless regret.
Nao had always wanted to overcome her shyness in communicating with people, so in addition to her studies, she would also ask Ishikawa Katori for tips on communication.
"If you encounter a situation where you want to communicate but don't know how to start, then don't hesitate. Greet the other person boldly. As the saying goes, 'a smiling face never gets hit.' After you greet them, even if the other person has a bad temper, they will definitely respond."
This was the experience that the 'semi-socially anxious' Ishikawa Katori taught Nao.
But now...
Ishikawa Katori wished he could slap himself for ever saying such a thing.
"Are you a Shinigami?"
Jidanbō was the first to react. Normally, the only existence a Shinigami would call 'teacher' could only be another Shinigami.
"Of course not."
Ishikawa Katori shook his head, organizing his words in his mind, and facing the surrounding confused gazes, he said, "Nao is a customer of my Everything Store. Before she graduated from Shin'ō Academy, she studied with me for a period, which is why she habitually calls me 'teacher.'"
Strictly speaking, his words weren't false; he just omitted the detail of 'what was taught.' Because many people present knew Ishikawa Katori's background, rather than a clumsy lie arousing suspicion, it was better to give a vague answer and let them guess.
Moreover, he had never hidden the fact that he ran a 'Shinigami Cram School.' Even if it was exposed, it wouldn't be a big deal; it was just the wrong occasion for the exposure.
"I see."
President Shinno and others nodded. Ishikawa Katori was so versatile; it didn't seem too surprising for former students of Shin'ō Academy to seek his tutelage.
"Everything Store!?"
However, to Ishikawa Katori's surprise, the Fourth Division members reacted even more strongly when they heard the words 'Everything Store.'
A young girl about Nao's age quietly asked, "Is he the one you talked about... the Everything Store owner who's skilled in both potion mixing and Kaido?"
"So it's him."
"He looks so young. I thought he'd be a white-haired old man."
"Perhaps his actual age is that of a white-haired old man."
...
The Fourth Division's reaction surprised Ishikawa Katori.
What was going on now?
Ishikawa Katori didn't know that when Nao took her entrance exam, due to her excellent results, she was immediately assigned to the '14th Upper Relief Squad' upon entering the Fourth Division, instead of slowly progressing from a 'Low Level Relief Squad' like her peers.
To be honest, Nao's ability to achieve this wasn't entirely due to Ishikawa Katori's teaching. More so, she herself had exceptional talent in Kaido. Even without Ishikawa Katori, her performance would still have been outstanding.
What Ishikawa Katori did back then was simply teach Nao step-by-step knowledge from Hakuda, such as human anatomy, Kaido, herb identification, and drug compounding. How much she grasped was entirely dependent on Nao's personal effort and talent.
These were all Low Level knowledge points, which Ishikawa Katori thought didn't need to be selectively taught. But he overlooked one point: the comprehensiveness of the knowledge bestowed by the system!
Although learning Kaido was the most basic requirement for Fourth Division members, their areas of specialization varied. Some excelled at treating fractures, some at compounding medicines, and others at new techniques like surgery... It could be said that they each specialized in different areas.
Therefore, the Fourth Division's entrance exam was more about screening. In short, it was to see what new recruits were good at through the exam content, and then assign them to appropriate treatment squads.
And Nao, who had studied with Ishikawa Katori for a long time and had frequent private contact with him, displayed a comprehensive skillset. In addition to her proficiency in Kaido, which was comparable to veteran members, her knowledge of various treatment-related subjects was extremely comprehensive.
That's why she stood out from her peers and was directly assigned to the Upper Relief Squad.
Of course, it only caused a stir among her peers.
Nao didn't hide anything from her peers' inquiries. Most of the people around her already knew of Ishikawa Katori's existence.
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