Kūkaku's sudden reply made Arata feel rather caught off guard for a moment.
What he actually wanted to ask was whether she liked the birthday gift he had prepared for her.
But the quick reply from the other side sounded somewhat ambiguous.
Fortunately, it was just the two of them in that corner, and their earlier conversation hadn't drawn anyone's attention.
"I'm glad that sister Kūkaku likes this gift. I was worried I hadn't prepared well enough." Arata immediately changed the subject.
"You're just too modest. This is probably my favorite birthday gift I've received in all these years." Kūkaku's face was full of smiles, and she happily slipped the bracelet onto her right wrist.
Then she raised her right hand.
"Is it beautiful?"
"Yes, very beautiful."
Arata was watching the woman in the moonlight. Her fiery red kimono swayed gently in the night breeze, and the bracelet on her wrist shimmered faintly.
The blush from drinking hadn't completely faded, and she radiated enchanting beauty.
"Hey, are you staring?" Kūkaku suddenly leaned in very close, and her alcoholic breath burst onto his face. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, no…" Arata instinctively took half a step back but accidentally bumped into the pillar behind him.
Kūkaku laughed heartily. "The genius among graduates in the last hundred years, and he gets flustered by a little girl like me?"
Arata was just about to explain when Kaien's voice suddenly rang out from the other side of the courtyard.
"Arata! Will you be sleeping over tonight? Our guest room is really big!"
Arata turned and saw Kaien standing in the doorway with a mischievous smile on his face.
It was obvious that the head of the Shiba family had been secretly watching the two of them for some time.
"Thank you for your kindness, Lieutenant Kaien." Arata straightened his slightly rumpled shirt seriously and said, "But I have to report to the 1st Division early tomorrow morning. It's a task personally assigned by the captain, and I absolutely must not be late."
He wasn't just saying that. After the graduation ceremony that afternoon, Sasakibe Chōjirō had personally come to find him and mentioned several things to be mindful of after entering service.
The first matter was reporting to the 1st Division.
Although he now held the title of "special operative member of the Gotei 13" and enjoyed the privilege of freely entering and exiting various divisions,
According to what Sasakibe explained, Arata was essentially a special staff member directly under the 1st Division.
All his work or mission status had to be reported to the 1st Division.
There's an old saying: power belongs only to the one who grants it.
All of Arata's power was granted by Captain Yamamoto, so everything he did must be accountable only to Captain Yamamoto.
If other divisions had objections, they could speak to the captain directly. It had nothing to do with him.
"Is that so? Then you really should head back early and rest. You must come again when you have the chance!" Kaien also showed understanding and personally escorted Arata to the castle gate.
But what confused Arata was that Kaien looked at him as if he were looking at a future brother-in-law.
After seeing Arata off, Kaien quickly returned to his sister.
"Things escalated so quickly on the first day you met, even I, as your brother, was a little surprised."
Kūkaku immediately got mad when she heard that and stammered back: "Brother, what are you talking about? We're just new friends!"
"I didn't say anything." Kaien spread his arms, feigning innocence. "I just asked Arata if he would stay the night. And you're already this old, little sis—"
"Hey, don't hit me in the face!"
"Hehe! I'm aiming right for the face!"
…
The night wind blew across his face, carrying away a bit of the heat from too much alcohol.
Arata took a deep breath and used his spiritual pressure to slowly expel the murky air from his body.
It was a derived Kaidō technique he had learned from Hanatarō while he was in the hospital.
At the time, he was very curious about how Hanatarō, who didn't seem to drink at all, had mastered such a technique.
After some deeper probing, he found out that Hanatarō had a brother who worked on Noble Street and dealt with various drunken nobles daily.
To avoid drunken incidents, his brother devised this response method, and Hanatarō learned it from him.
Although Hanatarō didn't speak in detail about his brother's identity, Arata knew.
Yamada Seinosuke, the eccentric who once served as the lieutenant of the 4th Division, harbored great admiration and respect for Unohana Retsu, and was later recruited by Mao Shitokuin as a general agent.
Rumor has it that his job was roughly, private doctor to noble lords.
"ding!"
[Shiba Kaien's fate has slightly changed due to your actions, you receive 222 destiny points.]
[Shiba Kūkaku's fate has slightly changed due to your actions, you receive 333 destiny points.]
Arata paused for a moment, feeling very satisfied.
Not bad, not bad. He spent 150 points on spinning the roulette, and in return got 555 destiny points.
It would be best to have as many of these kinds of jobs as possible.
[Host's Destiny Value: 3293/8339]
Almost there, just a little over a thousand destiny points short of reaching the ten-thousand threshold.
If nothing unexpected happens, the system will receive a new upgrade at that time.
The function of the roulette area is undeniable. In just two weeks, after only three rounds of draws, it had already brought him two surprises.
Arata had every reason to believe that the areas to be unlocked with the next system upgrade would be even more interesting.
Thinking about that, Arata suddenly realized he had neglected the system task area.
It had been quite a while since he returned, and he hadn't even found the opportunity to complete those side missions.
Although the rewards for side missions were only two to three hundred destiny points, their advantage was that they were stable enough and didn't need to be randomly activated like fate assessments.
He really needed to find some time to sort out the existing tasks and see which ones he could start right away.
…
The next morning, after washing up, Arata opened the door of the Kendo club.
With the graduation ceremony of the sixth-year students concluded, the Spiritual Arts Academy had entered its vacation period.
There were very few people in the academy. Aside from a handful of teachers who stayed year-round, there were hardly any students remaining.
He put on the Shinigami uniform that Unohana Retsu had prepared for him, and following his memory, made his way into Seireitei and arrived at the gate of the 1st Division barracks.
A familiar figure came into view.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Sasakibe."
"Please follow me, Saito-kun. The captain is already waiting for you."
At that moment, Lieutenant Sasakibe Chōjirō was standing at the entrance of the division's barracks, acting as a guide.
Arata nodded and politely followed him.
The 1st Division was different from the 4th Division where he had previously stayed.
Perhaps because of Captain Yamamoto, this place maintained absolute silence and strict seriousness.
Even the soldiers who passed by greeted only quietly, without any other noise.
In some ways, it was easier for Arata, as he was only here to report in and not to work here daily and clock in.
Otherwise, he estimated he would soon develop some kind of pressure syndrome.
"We've arrived."
As he was thinking that, the two of them had already reached the captain's office of the 1st Division. Sasakibe gently knocked on the door and respectfully said:
"Captain, member Saito Arata has been brought."
"Come in."
———
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