Death: Then stood in the sky.

He suddenly realized that this kind of life was pretty good.

If we could continue living peacefully like this, that would be even better.

soon.

Amidst the respectful greetings from the surrounding Shinigami soldiers, they arrived at the commercial district within Seireitei.

There are shops in Seireitei, but most of them are owned by nobles, with only a small portion owned by commoners.

Pushing open the curtain at the entrance, Kyoraku Shunsui walked in with practiced ease, and a girl with a bright smile on her face came out.

"Lord Death, you've come again. Are you the same as always?" she asked with a smile, looking quite pleased.

"Hey, the usual is fine. Bring him a serving of the newly arrived chrysanthemum wine." Kyoraku Shunsui pointed behind him.

Upon hearing this, Qing Si frowned, "Why chrysanthemum wine?"

He looked at Kyoraku Shunsui with a wary expression.

This old man is probably hinting at something to me.

If that's the case, I'll have to find a chance to secretly kill this old man.

"What's with that weird look? Why do I get a chill down my spine?" Kyoraku Shunsui shivered, then smiled and pushed a glass of wine towards him. "Want to try some?"

Aoshi took the glass with suspicion and glanced at it carefully.

A few chrysanthemums float on top, and some medicinal herbs are also deposited inside.

I took a small sip, and besides the subtle sweetness and richness, there was also a distinct aroma of rice.

Fragrant!

Rangiku would definitely love this!

"Is this the Adjuchas Arrancar that I mentioned before?"

Kyoraku Shunsui looked curiously at the girl huddled beside Seiji and murmured, "Why does it feel so..."

He looked conflicted, feeling that describing the girl as weak was not quite right, but he couldn't think of a suitable description for the moment.

Aoji briefly mentioned, "Nel was injured before, and her strength has not fully recovered."

"I see." Kyoraku Shunsui understood, and seeing Nilu drooling over the other guests, he smiled and said, "How could I let such a cute girl go hungry? Eat up, it's on me today, all you can eat."

“Really? You’re such a good person… a good Grim Reaper!” Nel’s eyes shone brightly.

Aoshi was also taken aback.

Pipe full?

Are you serious?

Kyoraku Shunsui clearly didn't think that much about it. He took the glass of wine the girl handed him, took a small sip, and then closed his eyes contentedly.

"This liquor store only recently opened. The owner spent most of his life savings to rent this place so that his daughter could study at the Shinigami Academy."

Seeing Kyoraku Shunsui introducing herself, the girl blushed slightly and hurriedly wiped her hands on her clothes. "Hello, Lord Shinigami, I am Lina, Miyamizu Lina."

Setting down his glass, Aoshi asked curiously, "You want to become a Grim Reaper?"

As he said this, the sound of plates being piled up continued to echo around him.

But at this moment, no one seemed to care about any of that.

The girl smoothed a stray strand of hair and said shyly, "It's because my father has always wanted me to become the Grim Reaper."

"How can I escape this kind of life without becoming the Grim Reaper?"

A deep, resonant voice rang out.

The door to the inner room opened, and a middle-aged man came out carrying a basket of medicinal herbs.

Qing Si observed him carefully and discovered that the man was missing an arm.

"This hand was bitten off by the Hollow."

Seeing the two looking over curiously, the man put down the bamboo basket with one hand, picked up the brewing tools, and said expressionlessly, "It was the Grim Reapers who arrived in Rukongai in time and saved my life."

"Fortunately, it seems to be a pretty good ending." Kyoraku Shunsui said with a smile, "Is it because of this that you wanted Lina to become a Grim Reaper?"

"Well, in a way, it's not a bad ending. At least my daughter and I survived that attack." The shop manager walked by.

Upon hearing this, Kyoraku Shunsui realized something, and his expression darkened slightly.

"Before the Grim Reaper arrived, my wife chose to sacrifice herself to protect me and my daughter, becoming food for that Hollow."

A pretty good ending?

Kyoraku Shunsui wished he could go back a few seconds and punch himself.

Arrived in time.

How ironic.

Kyoraku Shunsui picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp.

Aoshi remained silent.

Kyoraku Shunsui wanted to speak, but the shopkeeper didn't give him a chance. "There's no need to apologize to me for this. I know that the Grim Reaper had no ill intentions. In fact, if the Grim Reaper hadn't arrived at that time, not only my wife, but also me, and even... my daughter would have died there."

"Therefore, I must make her the Grim Reaper, only in this way can she have the power to protect herself."

"I really don't have any talent or ability. I can only try my best to get as close to Seireitei as possible, and then send her in to become a candidate Shinigami when the Shinigami Academy recruits students next time."

"So, Lord Death."

The shop manager finally stopped walking. Despite having little strength, he bravely looked at Kyoraku Shunsui with a scrutinizing gaze. "Regardless of your purpose, and regardless of whether you genuinely like my sake or are just pretending."

"We are just ordinary people, please don't come any closer to us."

The store manager continued, "Because even the slightest ripple around you is enough to crush us insignificant people a thousand times over, leaving us with no place to be buried."

At this moment, the middle-aged man's courage reached its limit.

For the sake of his daughter, even knowing that he couldn't afford to offend the Grim Reaper in front of him, he still dared to stand up and loudly tell him.

Don't hurt my daughter!

“Father.” Rina Miyamizu tugged at the middle-aged man’s sleeve, but the man remained unmoved, staring intently into Shunsui Kyoraku’s eyes.

After a long silence, Kyoraku Shunsui spoke.

“I didn’t mean any harm.” He said seriously, “Your wine really suits my taste, and I also like the atmosphere here, that’s all.”

"That's good." The store manager's furrowed brows relaxed.

At this moment, Aoshi, who had been silent, stood up and put his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"This is Lord Death, you are...?" The shopkeeper was clearly getting restless.

"The spiritual strength is quite good," Qing Si commented.

The store manager was stunned.

"Although we lack professional equipment, we can still see some things."

The Shinigami Academy admits students using specialized equipment for testing.

In other words.

The upper limit for most Grim Reapers was actually set from the very beginning.

Aoshi withdrew his hand and said seriously, "The strength of a spirit does not represent spiritual pressure. The strength of a Shinigami is essentially linked to spiritual pressure. However, a strong spirit means that she has good Shinigami abilities, and at least she will not just be cannon fodder."

"you......"

The middle-aged man finally lost his composure, and with tears welling up in his eyes, he lowered his head. "Thank you, unknown Grim Reaper, you are a good person."

“My name is Ukitake Seiji. You can remember my name because I will be a regular here,” Seiji said with a smile.

"Please rest assured, I will definitely give you the best wine. I have a jar of wine that has been brewed for over thirty years. I will take it out in advance when you come next time." The relaxed store manager patted his chest in a joking tone.

“Don’t underestimate this guy.” Kyoraku Shunsui leaned back in his chair and pointed at Seiji beside him. “He’s incredibly popular in Seireitei. He knows a lot of amazing Shinigami. You can call his name if you have any trouble.”

"?"

Aoji curled his lip. "Compared to someone as insignificant as me, you, the captain of the Gotei 13, are the real big shot, aren't you?"

The shopkeeper was startled. He only vaguely knew that Kyoraku Shunsui's identity was not simple, but he did not expect that the other party would be the captain of the Gotei 13, a big figure standing at the top of Soul Society!

"You're about to become the captain, so you don't really have the right to call yourself a nobody, do you?" Kyoraku Shunsui couldn't help but complain.

Aoshi immediately glared at him with a murderous look.

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Kyoraku Shunsui quickly waved his hands in admission of defeat.

The store manager was even more astonished, looking at the white-haired young man in front of him with a shocked expression. He never expected that this person would soon become the legendary Grim Reaper Captain.

"Father, could you please get me a bowl of sake?" Noticing that the bowl in front of Seiji was empty, Miyamizu Rina handed it to him.

Subconsciously, Kyoraku Shunsui raised his hand and took the bowl.

Qingji: "?"

Store manager: "?"

The atmosphere in the room instantly became deathly silent; everyone's faces were stiff and their expressions were solemn.

Kyoraku Shunsui felt extremely uncomfortable because the shop manager's scrutinizing and cold gaze felt as if he were being dissected a thousand times.

"If I say I didn't think that much about it, would you believe me?" Kyoraku Shunsui tried to defend himself.

But the store manager's eyes were full of distrust.

However, Aoshi believed this.

Although Kyoraku Shunsui enjoys drinking with courtesans, he doesn't act like a scoundrel; he simply enjoys the atmosphere and doesn't do anything excessive.

This old man still has some integrity.

To ease the awkwardness for everyone, Rina Miyamizu took the initiative to hold up her wine bowl and said, "I'll go refill Lord Death's wine now, please wait a moment."

As she spoke, she bowed slightly and walked into the inner room.

Aoshi looked at the store manager and said, "He didn't actually have any ill intentions; it was just a simple instinctive reaction."

Upon hearing this, Kyoraku Shunsui was immediately moved to tears.

It has to be you, Aoji.

You are such a good person.

To be particular.

The store manager expressed his doubts with a suspicious look, because Kyoraku Shunsui's weathered face and flamboyant appearance were indeed not very convincing.

His gaze shifted again.

Hmm, this face looks much better. At least it looks like a young person, not someone my age.

Kyoraku Shunsui, vaguely sensing the store manager's thoughts, looked displeased, and his blood pressure began to spike.

What's wrong with people these days?

Is appearance really that important?

She has a perfectly reliable appearance, so why aren't older men popular with her?

The store manager left quickly; he had to attend to other customers.

Beside me, the sound of plates being stacked was constant, like machines on an assembly line, without stopping for a moment.

Kyoraku Shunsui sensed something was wrong and wanted to turn back, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Come on, let's drink."

Kyoraku Shunsui readily agreed, laughing heartily as he raised his wine glass and downed it in one gulp.

Seeing all this, Rina Miyamizu's eyes were filled with a strange look.

Behind the two, the strange girl with a mask on her face was like a bottomless pit, swallowing the entire plate of food with her mouth in one gulp.

Then, the Shinigami named Seiji Ukitake shook his head at him.

Rina Miyamizu immediately understood what the other person meant. She covered her mouth and smiled, pretending that she knew nothing.

However...

Isn't that a bit too much to eat?