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After leaving a love letter for the adorably sleeping Kukaku, Aozaki Reiji departed from the Shiba.
The Gotei 13 was quite far from West Rukongai.
However, thankfully, Aozaki Reiji was not in a hurry.
He leisurely found a restaurant on the street, ate breakfast, rested for a moment, and then walked towards the Twelfth Division under the bright sun.
These past two days, Hikifune Kirio had used Kido to order takeout from him again.
He was busy at the time, so he declined, citing lack of time, and then arranged to teach her cooking today.
By then, it was approaching noon, and there were quite a few people hurrying along the streets.
Aozaki Reiji guessed that these Shinigami on missions might want to take advantage of their relatively free time to get to their Squad Barracks cafeteria as quickly as possible.
He was like this in his previous life; his favorite class in high school was physical education.
He still remembered that PE class in high school was the last period of the morning.
If he was lucky enough to have a day when the PE teacher wasn't sick, he could run to the cafeteria earlier to eat, without having to compete in long-distance running with other classmates.
—Having come to such a perilous place, why does life feel so leisurely instead?
Aozaki Reiji chuckled to himself, just as he passed the Eighth Squad Barracks.
This place reminded Aozaki Reiji of an old acquaintance.
He and this acquaintance met on the day they enrolled in Shin'o Academy, and then became entangled due to a business practice that would definitely be illegal and disorderly in modern society.
Soon, the acquaintance holding a strange publication stood in front of the Eighth Squad Barracks, and the words "Moon in the Water" could vaguely be seen on the publication.
That was Aozaki Reiji's pen name, and the person holding the book was Lisa Yadomaru, the Vice-Captain of the Eighth Division.
Lisa Yadomaru looked up, gazing at him with hopeful eyes.
A small girl wearing glasses followed her.
The little girl followed her gaze, also looking at Aozaki Reiji, her large eyes showing curiosity.
Aozaki Reiji glanced at the little girl, then shook his head slightly at Lisa Yadomaru.
Lisa Yadomaru looked disappointed and turned to go back into the Eighth Division.
I seem to have seen that child somewhere… I'll ask Lisa Yadomaru next time.
Aozaki Reiji shook his head, temporarily setting aside the inexplicable curiosity that had welled up, and continued towards his destination.
After several days of rain, Seireitei finally welcomed a sunny, pleasant day.
Unbeknownst to him, the number of passersby had significantly decreased.
Aozaki Reiji walked with light steps, arriving at the gate of the Twelfth Division Squad Barracks, and announced himself to the Shinigami on guard.
The Shinigami on guard seemed to have known he was coming and opened the gate, letting him enter on his own.
Aozaki Reiji walked along the clean and tidy corridor towards the Captain's quarters.
His destination was there, or more precisely, Hikifune Kirio who lived there.
Arriving at a paper door, he reached out and gently knocked.
"Miss Kirio."
"Come in." A muffled voice came from inside the room.
Aozaki Reiji slid open the paper door.
Inside the room, Hikifune Kirio sat cross-legged on the floor, chewing something, with a book on her lap, and tea and snacks beside her.
As soon as Aozaki Reiji saw the cover, he knew that this woman was completely different from Lisa Yadomaru, whose mind was full of strange nonsense.
This was a true food enthusiast, one who could salivate just by looking at the black and white text and pictures in the book.
Noticing Aozaki Reiji's gaze, Hikifune Kirio smiled sweetly, a little embarrassed.
Food was scarce in Soul Society.
The Nobility District had the best life here.
But don't be fooled into thinking the Noble District's life was luxurious; their food was meticulously prepared, but that was all.
It wasn't that there were no delicious things, but after eating them repeatedly, they became boring.
She picked up the recipe-like book in her hand and handed it to Aozaki Reiji.
"Reiji, look, these dishes look pretty good, don't they? These are good things I dug up from the chefs in the Noble District."
"The dishes they make can only be enjoyed by nobles, you know." Hikifune Kirio suddenly clapped her hands. "Speaking of which, you are a noble now, so you must have eaten these dishes."
"Let me see." Aozaki Reiji took the book.
The book introduced only local Japanese cuisine, no different from the Human World.
At this era, Japan was just beginning to interact with the world, incomparable to the developed country it would become later; the variety of dishes was still scarce.
Most of the dishes introduced in the book emphasized the taste of the ingredients themselves, with light flavors.
But in reality, the people of Seireitei, like Aozaki Reiji, generally preferred stronger flavors.
The dishes in the book had complicated procedures and exquisite presentations, but whether they were truly delicious was debatable.
Perhaps to Hikifune Kirio, these foods were already quite good.
But for him, a transmigrator who never stinted on "eating" and had learned various cuisines, they were completely unsatisfactory.
"These dishes look good, but in terms of taste, they are too bland, I don't like them," Aozaki Reiji gave an objective assessment.
"If you want to eat these noble dishes, I can cook for you."
Despite saying so, Aozaki Reiji had no intention of actually cooking.
He knew that Hikifune Kirio, like himself, preferred strong-flavored foods.
"Then forget it." Hikifune Kirio waved her hand, instantly losing interest in the book.
Aozaki Reiji thought for a moment and said, "I'll teach you how to make fried dishes today. They are very simple to make and more to your taste."
Fried foods are high in calories and can lead to obesity.
Aozaki Reiji had a metabolism that made it hard for him to gain weight, but he knew Hikifune Kirio had the potential to gain weight.
However, thinking that she could lose weight by expending Reiatsu, he felt that gaining weight was no big deal.
He couldn't possibly stifle her craving for food just because she might gain weight.
Otherwise, Hikifune Kirio would probably break ties with him on the spot.
Moreover, if she could get thin whenever she wanted, then there was even less of a problem.
Aozaki Reiji began to move around the room on his own, opening another door.
Inside was a kitchen.
Due to Hikifune Kirio's love for food, she had converted part of the Captain's quarters into a kitchen.
Aozaki Reiji was not visiting for the first time; he skillfully opened cabinets and took out various ingredients.
Hikifune Kirio had completely lost her Captain's dignity, following him like a shadow.
Watching Aozaki Reiji's serious expression, she even took out a notebook and started taking notes.
Standing in front of the counter, Aozaki Reiji, even though he had seen it many times, couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The kitchen utensils were more complete than those at his home.
She had all sorts of kitchen utensils available in Soul Society at this time.
Under Hikifune Kirio's gaze, Aozaki Reiji skillfully began to cook.
Because Hikifune Kirio was watching him, Aozaki Reiji was full of motivation.
His purpose for being here was certainly not to cook; it was for the graceful older woman behind him.
How does that saying go… To capture someone's heart, you must first capture their stomach.
Aozaki Reiji didn't know if this saying worked for others.
But after many days of interaction, he knew that this saying was perfectly suited for Hikifune Kirio.
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