Intake House had gotten new arrivals again.
But the person in charge of Intake House wasn't happy at all.
Because the ones coming in were, once again, those outsiders who liked to "act up" and refuse to fall in line.
And in the eyes of the women running Intake House, "independent and difficult" outsiders had long since become synonymous with "money pits."
So the women from the modern, slice-of-life worlds ended up living miserably.
They did all the dirty work, all the exhausting work.
Even the local women inside Intake House looked down on them, forming cliques just to sneer and mock.
...
Inside Intake House.
Chabashira Sae quietly scrubbed the floor, her expression flat.
She hated this world.
It was too savage.
No one cared what kind of person she was.
No one gave her any room to use her skills.
Here, she only had one label:
An outsider with a decent face.
As a clear-headed adult, she understood perfectly well that complaining and resisting were pointless.
Because shinobi were all built like superhumans.
So instead, she made her own plan.
Kangetsu-sama…
That name came up constantly inside Intake House.
It came up so often because he was the only "sky" they had here.
Female outsiders, at least, could work and avoid getting beaten too badly.
On the other side of the city, at Hitomaru Market, the men were used like livestock.
So Sae waited.
Waited for what?
For an opportunity.
A chance to see daylight again.
She went to a supervisor—not because she expected anyone to "take pity."
Intake House was all women. "Pity" didn't exist here.
She asked to keep a set of the punishment gear: a collar and a length of chain.
If she could, she would've even wanted a more eye-catching outfit.
Unfortunately, clothing was considered property in Intake House too.
So she hid away a bucket of water.
With her face smeared in grime so no one could read her expression, she kept scrubbing the floor.
She assumed this kind of life might last a long time.
Intake House was huge.
There were a lot of people, and even more locals.
By the time it was her turn to "meet that man," the miso soup would be cold.
Until one day—
She heard commotion in the distance.
She watched with her own eyes as several supervisors, thrilled out of their minds, led a group of "fellow outsiders" out.
Opportunity.
Opportunity!
A sharp light flickered through her eyes and vanished.
She didn't rush to join the crowd.
Instead, she hurried to where she'd hidden the water.
In the dead of winter, she washed her body, her face, her hair, expressionless.
Even when she shook from the cold, she kept going.
Then she took the collar and chain and, without hesitation, fastened them around her neck—deliberately, visibly.
She forced her way through the packed crowd, carving a path with sheer stubbornness.
She had to be near the front.
Her mood rose and fell as batch after batch of "fellow outsiders" got swapped out.
It was obvious none of them had satisfied that man.
And she'd already heard his name—
Kangetsu-sama.
Finally, when a supervisor stared at her getup in surprise—then hurriedly dragged her forward for the selection—
Sae knew.
It was time.
She lined up with the others, standing out like a crane among sparrows.
Not only was she clean, she was "prepared."
Then a man in front—his clothes not especially fancy, but clearly marked by status—began choosing.
Cold sweat ran down the head supervisor's face.
Kangetsu-sama rarely came to inspect. If he left dissatisfied…
What would they do then?
His position wasn't ordinary anymore. He was a favorite among the upper ranks.
So the head supervisor wracked her brain, trying to use this group of outsiders to curry favor.
They were "losses" anyway—if Kangetsu-sama wanted to keep a few around for entertainment, so be it.
But she never expected Kangetsu-sama to be this picky.
How many rounds was this already?
And then, in that moment, something unexpected happened.
Kangetsu's gaze paused, intrigued, on one spot.
Chabashira Sae?
Her expression was calm. You could tell she'd been chilled to the bone, but she didn't look worried in the slightest.
Instead, when Kangetsu looked her way, she offered a sweet, composed smile—confident, practiced.
She lowered herself in a neat, controlled crouch.
The chain gave a soft clink.
With the collar at her throat, she looked like someone who'd already accepted the rules—and was choosing to step forward anyway.
"I… can follow instructions," she said softly.
In an instant, the head supervisor froze.
The other "fellow outsiders" stared, dumbfounded.
Wait.
We all came from the modern world—so why are you the only one performing like this?
The head supervisor's face lit up with relief, like she'd just dodged a blade.
Because she saw it—Kangetsu's expression, unmistakably amused, even pleasantly surprised.
As expected.
If these outsiders couldn't work and earn like the locals, then at least they could be "useful" in another way.
If Kangetsu-sama wanted it, Intake House becoming his private residence wouldn't be a problem at all.
The more she thought about it, the more it seemed feasible.
Outsiders might not match locals in practicality, but they did have strengths.
Like Sae—she really knew how to read a room.
Money mattered, but it didn't compare to leaving your name in front of a powerful person.
The head supervisor decided that starting today, Intake House would specifically keep an eye out for "interesting" outsiders.
She was certain this decision was the right one.
"It's her."
Kangetsu made his choice.
The moment his voice settled, it felt like a boulder finally dropped from Sae's chest.
Her hands trembled.
She nearly couldn't stand.
Kangetsu reached out and sent a thread of Shizen Chakura (Natural Chakra) into her—filtered through his own control.
That filtered Shizen Chakura (Natural Chakra) had many effects.
Nourishing the body was only one of them.
The head supervisor, quick on the uptake, brought over a set of clothes.
Then, carefully, she asked for instructions.
"Kangetsu-sama… from today on, Intake House will be your private property. If you wish, we can restructure everything accordingly."
Kangetsu didn't answer aloud, only smiled and gave a small nod.
The head supervisor practically shook with joy.
Good. Good, good, good.
As long as Kangetsu-sama agreed, it meant Intake House's mission had fundamentally changed.
Money?
What money?
Didn't everyone know his title?
God of Wealth.
Both sides left satisfied.
Kangetsu was satisfied, naturally.
Yukine and Haruno hadn't been here long before he took them home.
Now Sae had only just arrived, and he was taking her home too.
Anyone who knew what to do, Kangetsu had no intention of letting them suffer more than necessary.
Unless they were the stubborn type.
The reason he never refused this "money pit" assignment in the first place was because he planned to keep it as his own territory—somewhere to grind stubborn types down until they learned.
If they listened, fine.
If they didn't?
Then they could stay here for a while.
In the future, he'd even build a factory here.
A brutal assembly line. Three rotating shifts. All of it.
Let it earn money on its own, and let it tame the difficult ones.
Two birds, one stone…