Tsunayoshi's gaze sharpened. He snatched up the tissue and headed straight for Ginjō's room. He believed that, with Ginjō's strength, an ordinary Hollow would be no match for him—but that did not mean much if the enemy could transform, disguise itself, or even launch a sneak attack.
He pushed open the door. Sure enough, just as Giriko Kutsuzawa had said, Ginjō was wearing wireless headphones, bobbing his head to the music inside his room, completely unaware that someone had entered.
Tsunayoshi sighed helplessly and had no choice but to forcibly stop the music.
Ginjō froze for a moment and was just about to lose his temper. But when he turned and saw Tsunayoshi, he took off his headphones and broke into a cheeky grin.
"You're interested in English songs too? I heard that Western girl idol group that's been super popular lately is coming to Japan. Once I get tickets, I'll give you one."
Whatever else could be said about Ginjō, as a friend, he was beyond reproach.
"Their concert tickets went on presale ages ago. If you're only thinking of buying them now, your only option is a scalper," Tsunayoshi said.
"What?!"
Ginjō paled in shock, looking utterly regretful, almost on the verge of tears.
"Then won't Yūko-chan be heartbroken when she finds out?!"
"Yūko? Is she the girlfriend you've been seeing lately?"
"She's not exactly my girlfriend yet. We've just gone out to eat together now and then."
This rough-looking grown man actually started acting bashful, which was a rare sight.
Tsunayoshi calmly took a photo and tossed Ginjō's ugly expression into the Xcution group chat. Then, before Ginjō could explode, he raised the tissue and asked, "This Yūko-chan you mentioned… she wouldn't happen to look like this, would she?"
Ginjō only glanced at it before showing a look of disgust.
"What the hell is that? Western-style wavy hair? I'm a traditional guy. I only like our Eastern beauties!"
"So you've never seen this person?"
"Nope. Lately, my life has been a straight line between Yūko-chan and the café. I've been extremely disciplined!" Ginjō said proudly.
"Fine. Recently, a Hollow that's good at disguising itself has been appearing near the café. Be careful."
Tsunayoshi turned to leave, then suddenly remembered the stack of tickets he had.
"I'll bring you two tickets tomorrow for Cecile Die Twice's concert. Take that Yūko-chan with you."
As a good brother, since Ginjō was on the verge of escaping singlehood, Tsunayoshi did not mind giving him a push.
"Cecile Die Twice? What's that?"
Ginjō's eyes were so clear and innocent that he did not look like he was pretending at all.
Tsunayoshi was rendered speechless. So Ginjō really knew nothing.
"That's the Western girl idol group you were talking about. When you were on your date, were you only staring at her face?"
"Hehe! Not just her face."
Too lazy to pay any more attention to the deranged Ginjō, Tsunayoshi returned to the sofa in the main hall and said to Ninny, "You mistook him for someone else. Ginjō has never seen this person."
"What?! That's impossible. How could I mistake that bitchy smell?!" Ninny said, utterly unconvinced.
Tsunayoshi asked in confusion, "This so-called bitchy smell of yours… could it just be that you're good at identifying bad girls? Maybe she just plays around a little. That doesn't necessarily mean she's a Hollow, does it?"
"Uh, well…"
Once Tsunayoshi asked that, Ninny became a little guilty. After all, the reason she had seen through the Disguiser Dragon's true form back then really had just been luck.
Just as Ninny was so embarrassed that she could only sip her coffee, Urahara walked out.
"Tsunayoshi, let me have that portrait. I'll strengthen patrols in the surrounding area."
"Oh, sorry for the trouble, Manager."
Tsunayoshi turned and introduced him to the two girls.
"This is Kisuke Urahara. He's a tech geek, and I guess you could call him my friend."
"What do you mean, 'I guess'…"
Kisuke Urahara glared at Tsunayoshi in annoyance. Then he opened his folding fan and revealed his trademark shady merchant's smile.
"I run a small general goods shop. If you two ever need anything, please feel free to stop by."
Kisuke Urahara somewhat awkwardly handed over two business cards. In the past, the people he had dealt with were generally connected to the Seireitei, so there had been no need to hand out business cards. This could count as his first time doing so.
"You sell anything?" Ninny asked, flipping the business card over.
"We offer extremely detailed custom services. From the creation of small tools to the capture of Hollows, we can handle it all."
From Tsunayoshi and Noel's explanations, Ninny already knew that Japan referred to dragons as Hollows. Urahara's latter statement immediately caught her attention, and she solemnly placed the business card into her pocket.
"Since we're now acquainted, may I ask the two of you to tell us how London manages dragons and humans?" Urahara revealed his purpose: to understand Reverse London's current management system.
"Before asking someone else questions, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Ninny said with her arms crossed.
Having made her way through the entertainment industry, she was not about to fall easily into Urahara's trap. If he wanted intelligence, he had to exchange intelligence for it.
"Of course. Soul Society… the Seireitei…"
Kisuke Urahara gave a very organized summary of Japan's situation. None of it was especially important intelligence, so saying it aloud was no issue.
"Niiha, this actually sounds pretty similar to our Reverse London," Ninny discussed with Noel.
"I only know about matters concerning our squad. I don't know much about anything else, Ninny-senpai," Noel said.
As a rookie, Noel's understanding of Reverse London was not particularly deep.
"Damn it! So you're only willing to admit I'm your senpai when you're pushing me out to explain things?!"
Ninny gnashed her teeth. She had always wanted Noel to call her senpai, but Noel had stubbornly kept calling her Nini-chan instead.
"Fine. In Reverse London, dragons are mainly managed by the Natural Dragon Management Agency, also known as Wing Bind. The highest decision-making body in Wing Bind is called the Top of Horns. Top of Horns is made up of eight different divisions, each with its own duties."
"That sounds a little like the Seireitei and the Gotei Thirteen," Kisuke Urahara said, quickly taking notes.
"Niiha and I belong to the Pipers. Aside from us, there are also the Inks, Anthems, Sacreds, Sabres, Billionaires, Patchworks, and Personnel's Divine Punishment."
"By the way, I'm a Second-Class Protection Officer, while Niiha is a First-Class Protection Officer. I'm Niiha's senpai!"
At this point, Ninny glared at Noel again, only for Noel to ignore her.
"So your strength is above Niihashi-san's?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"Of course. Niiha has only mastered spells up to Number 30, but I've almost mastered all the way up to Number 90. Unlike Niiha, who only cares about doing enough to meet her performance targets, I'm a warrior who plans to apply for a transfer to the Sabres!"
When it came to raising her own value, Ninny showed not a shred of embarrassment.
"The Sabres? A combat-only division? You're a pretty girl, yet you spend all day dreaming of joining a squad full of muscle-bound bros?" Tsunayoshi reasonably speculated based on his understanding of Squad Eleven.
"What the hell?!"
When it came to anyone speaking poorly of the Sabres, Ninny had very strong opinions.
"I'll have you know, the Sabres' leader is an incredibly dashing woman. She's the idol of every witch in Reverse London! With one swing of her saber, every wicked dragon is cut down!"
Ninny's eyes had already turned starry. In her mind, she pictured herself becoming just like the Sabres' leader, swiftly and cleanly taking down one world-destroying Dark Dragon after another.
"What is the Pipers' main job?" Ignoring Ninny, who had already fallen into her own world, Tsunayoshi asked Noel.
"The raising and protection of dragons, taking dragons to the ranch for harvesting, and…"
Before Noel could finish speaking, Ninny cut in.
"And all sorts of odd jobs, like supervising and protecting Dragonclad!"
From Ninny's tone, one could hear her intense dissatisfaction with the Pipers' miscellaneous work. However, Tsunayoshi could not empathize with her, because the "odd job" she spoke of was protecting the Sawada couple.
"Um, Niihashi-san, thank you for protecting my parents," Tsunayoshi said sincerely. "When I'm able to go to London, I'll be sure to thank you properly."
"It's fine. That's my job. I'm being paid for it."
Noel's emotions did not fluctuate much. Ninny, on the other hand, reacted.
"Why wait until you go to London? Oh, if you're a student, you can just go during vacation, right… Wait. You're Uncle and Auntie Sawada's son?"
Only then did Ninny finally react. From that, Tsunayoshi could also tell that Ninny had definitely put a lot of effort into protecting his father, so he expressed his sincere gratitude to her as well.
"Manager, it seems using Hirenkyaku as compensation isn't quite enough."
Hirenkyaku had been Tsunayoshi's payment to Noel for demonstrating magic. But if he wanted to separately thank them for protecting his parents, he would probably have to add another gift.
"How about giving them Seele Schneider? Niihashi-san doesn't seem to have displayed any close-combat abilities," Kisuke Urahara suggested.
"Seele Schneider, huh? That really isn't a bad idea." Tsunayoshi nodded in approval.
The gifts for Noel and Ninny had to be something they could actually use. Considering that their magic and the Quincy's abilities were somewhat similar, it made sense to choose something from the Quincy's arsenal.
Heilig Pfeil was meaningless to witches, who already had plenty of long-range methods. By contrast, Seele Schneider could make up for their lack of close-combat options, was easy to carry, and should be usable by them.
"I'll message Uryū right now and have him send over two Seele Schneider."
Tsunayoshi took out his phone and sent a message. There was no need to be polite with a brother like Uryū. In any case, Uryū sometimes used Seele Schneider as consumables, so taking two would not be a problem.
"What's Seele Schneider?" Ninny asked blankly.
She had not expected that, with just a few words, the boy she had met the day before would start preparing a gift for her.
"Don't you admire that Sabres leader who fights with a saber? Seele Schneider is basically a different kind of blade."
Tsunayoshi drew the Seele Schneider from behind his waist. As Reishi gathered, a long, slender straight sword appeared before everyone's eyes.
"I've seen the magic Niihashi-san uses. Unless something unexpected happens, the two of you should be able to use Seele Schneider as well."
Ninny's eyes lit up at once. She waved both hands frantically at Tsunayoshi.
"Let me try! Let me try!"
Tsunayoshi dispersed the Reishi from the Seele Schneider and handed it to Ninny. Ninny kept trying to use it the way she used magic, but she only managed to make the Seele Schneider glow. For now, she still could not condense it into a sword.
"If there's a reaction, that means you can use it. Later, Urahara and I will tailor a blade spell for you based on your magic so that you can use Seele Schneider properly," Tsunayoshi said.
"This is too valuable," Noel said.
Protecting his parents was work she had already been paid for by Wing Bind. It was part of her duty.
"This is my personal thanks. Please accept it," Tsunayoshi said.
"Can we really?" Ninny's eyes sparkled.
She did not care about Wing Bind's pay. To an idol like her, that tiny salary was pitifully low.
"Of course. And if possible, could Niihashi-san's senpai show us some other spells? Maybe that will help us identify their characteristics faster and help you use Seele Schneider."
After circling all the way around, Tsunayoshi finally revealed his true colors. Beneath his folding fan, Kisuke Urahara also wore a smug smile.
If he could observe a few more spells, then forget creating a spell to use Seele Schneider—even installing a Reishi battery into the Seele Schneider so Ninny and the others could use it normally without needing to drive Reishi themselves would be no problem for Kisuke Urahara.
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