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Everything Store Hall.
Sitting in the not-so-spacious hall, Kotetsu Isane was restless, her face full of embarrassment.
Especially the gentle gaze of the man opposite her made her feel incredibly ashamed, as she hadn't come here for a friendly exchange, but with a heart full of resentment.
The matter dated back to the Vice-Captain's meeting that morning, which was supposedly held to celebrate her becoming a Vice-Captain. However, at the meeting, Da 前田, the Vice-Captain who organized it, told her something.
A Seated Officer from the Fourth Division had been learning Kaido from someone in Rukongai these past few days.
A Seated Officer of the Gotei 13 learning Kaido from 'someone in Rukongai'?
No matter how one heard it, this statement felt like a dream, because in their view, if one needed guidance, they could perfectly well ask a Squad Seated Officer or Vice-Captain, instead of running off to Rukongai to find an ordinary person.
After all, once members graduated from the Shin'ō Academy, their guidance was the responsibility of the Vice-Captain.
Of course, the 'ordinary person' wasn't something Da 前田 said, but rather something everyone else imagined.
Da 前田 didn't elaborate on this matter; on one hand, many of the Onmitsukido's actions were inconvenient to disclose, and on the other hand, he held the meeting simply to take the opportunity to gather the Vice-Captains for some relaxation. He only mentioned it because of the Captain's instructions.
To return to the main point, a Seated Officer within the Squad didn't consult the Vice-Captain but instead sought guidance from an ordinary person in Rukongai. In everyone's eyes, there were only two possibilities: either the other party genuinely had ability, or they felt the Vice-Captain lacked ability and were subtly expressing it in this way...
And Kotetsu Isane had only been in office for a few days. Although the other Vice-Captains at the meeting didn't explicitly say anything, they inevitably had some thoughts.
Moreover, there was the most crucial point...
The Seated Officer who ran off to Rukongai to learn from an ordinary person happened to be the former Vice-Captain's younger brother. Combining these factors, the other party's actions, no matter how one looked at them, were a way of expressing dissatisfaction with the new Vice-Captain.
Kotetsu Isane's personality was already somewhat timid and introverted. She had actually been wondering these past few days if she was qualified to be a Vice-Captain. In her opinion, she became a Vice-Captain not because of her ability, but because the former one was transferred, and there was no suitable candidate, so she was lucky enough to get this position.
Her elder brother was transferred, and the other party was dissatisfied with her; Isane could actually understand that.
But understanding is one thing...
She still felt a wave of grievance. If there was resentment, he could have just said it directly. Why use such a method? And it was even brought up by Da 前田, the Vice-Captain, at the Vice-Captains' meeting. Even though everyone didn't say anything, the celebratory gathering still became incredibly awkward.
So, as soon as the meeting ended, she immediately came here, following the address Da 前田 had given her.
Her original plan was to talk to Hanatarō face-to-face and then teach Ishikawa Katori, the swindler, a lesson. However, as soon as she arrived, she was met with a closed door. She rang the bell and knocked on the door for a long time with no response, so finally, she simply opened the door and walked in.
Upon entering the shop, she didn't see anyone, but instead saw a blackboard full of knowledge about spiritual energy changes in Kaido.
She became completely absorbed in it.
The knowledge on the blackboard wasn't complicated; she generally understood it all. However, many of the spiritual energy change points within it were slightly different from what she knew. After verifying, she found that operating Kaido according to the change points on the blackboard actually yielded better results than what she had mastered.
Moreover, many of the explanations were absolutely brilliant.
This made Isane forget her purpose for coming here and immerse herself in the blackboard full of knowledge, only remembering her objective when Ishikawa Katori and Hanatarō arrived.
Awkward~~
Isane was so embarrassed now that she wished she could dig out the entire Seireitei with her toes.
She had originally thought the other party was a swindler and had rushed over furiously to teach him a lesson. Instead, she was attracted by the content he taught, forcibly entering someone else's home without permission and peeking at their hard-earned, unique insights.
A dignified Gotei 13 Vice-Captain, coming to secretly learn.
I want to die~~!!
...
Ishikawa Katori looked at Kotetsu Isane, who was flushed and flustered, and his gentle smile became somewhat stiff.
Are all of you in the Fourth Division like this, from top to bottom?
Ishikawa Katori glanced at Hanatarō, who was also sitting restlessly with his head down, and felt a wave of speechlessness.
Nao is like this, Hanatarō is like this, and now even a dignified Vice-Captain is so introverted. So, all the socially anxious people joined your Fourth Division, huh??
How am I, a semi-socially anxious person, supposed to feel about this?
Although Ishikawa Katori had been trying to communicate with people proactively for years to change, his original lack of eloquence... or more strictly, his indifferent personality that cared about nothing, had changed a lot.
But compared to pleasing others with words, he still preferred to communicate less, work diligently, and work hard to satisfy customers.
What should I say?
This was a very high-ranking Vice-Captain, and a woman at that. The thought of absolutely needing to befriend her made Ishikawa Katori feel signs of his social anxiety relapsing, unsure of what to say.
One person's gaze was gentle, two people's gazes flickered away...
In the small living room, three people sat in a triangular formation, presenting an eerie silence.
"Would you like some tea?"
Ishikawa Katori was the first to break the silence, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it, because there was no tea at all in the Everything Store. There were, however, two bottles of wine hidden in the completely isolated bedroom behind him.
"No... I'm not thirsty... Thank you." Isane looked up and replied, but after meeting Ishikawa Katori's gaze for a moment, she quickly lowered her head again, looking just like a thief caught by the homeowner while stealing.
"Oh, I see!"
Ishikawa Katori's eye twitched. He kept winking at Hanatarō beside him, hoping he could ease the awkward atmosphere, but the guy was as restless as 'a child who made a mistake and was discovered by an adult.'
Realizing neither of them could be relied upon, Ishikawa Katori gritted his teeth and went all out.
Even if he had to cling to her leg and be dragged away today, he had to find a way to make Kotetsu Isane stay. This was his first contact with the Gotei 13 leadership. As long as he befriended her, he could develop more female customers... and possibly even use Isane to get to know the two people's superiors present.
"Excuse me, Miss Isane, do you have a request for the Everything Store?"
Ishikawa Katori said, and without waiting for Isane's reply, he quickly added, "This store undertakes all kinds of business, from housework to finding people, proficient in everything! Whether it's one thing or ten thousand things, as long as there's money, I'm willing to do it! And there are great discounts for women, Vice-Captains even enjoy a 40% discount at our humble shop!!!"
"Ah?"
Kotetsu Isane was clearly a bit bewildered by Ishikawa Katori's advertisement.
"Our store also offers various paid communication services. Whether it's regarding Swordsmanship, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Kidō, or Kaido, we can discuss them without reservation, exchanging and verifying to help us both grow together!"
...
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