"Then how much do you want?"
Yamamoto stared at Batsu'unsai in disbelief.
He'd already offered her half of his salary after retirement, and she still wasn't satisfied.
Half!
How much higher did she expect him to go?
Yamamoto suddenly felt miserable.
He'd worked himself to the bone for over a thousand years and was finally reaching the point where he could retire and enjoy a peaceful old age.
He'd been planning to live comfortably off everything he'd accumulated over the centuries.
But if Batsu'unsai took half of it, what was he supposed to live on afterward?
He might not even be able to afford his beloved sweet potatoes.
Was he supposed to survive by eating air?
"At least three-quarters."
Batsu'unsai held up four fingers with a completely straight face.
"Not one coin less. Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss."
"THREE-QUARTERS?!"
Yamamoto nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Why don't you just rob me?! What kind of ridiculous price is that?!"
His blood pressure shot through the roof.
This wasn't bargaining anymore.
This was daylight robbery.
Batsu'unsai remained completely unmoved by his outrage.
She folded her arms and looked at him with the calm confidence of someone who knew exactly how badly the other party wanted what she was selling.
"Impossible."
Yamamoto forced himself to calm down.
"Batsu'unsai, you have to show some consideration for an old man. We're all just trying to make a living here."
He stared directly at her.
"How about this? We both compromise. I'll give you two-thirds."
"That is my absolute limit. If that isn't enough, then forget the whole thing."
"Two-thirds…"
Batsu'unsai immediately began counting on her fingers.
To be honest, the offer was not unacceptable.
In fact, deep down, she'd already decided that two-thirds was probably enough.
The only problem was that the thing she was selling was her beloved husband.
Handing Kazuma over like some pig at a livestock market without even putting up a decent fight felt a little difficult to justify.
So before agreeing, she needed to find a reason.
A good one.
Preferably one that allowed her to sell her husband with a clear conscience.
"Well…"
Batsu'unsai began calculating aloud.
"Kazuma and I are doing fine financially right now, but once we have children, that'll change."
Yamamoto blinked.
"Children need milk powder, diapers, clothes, toys, and all kinds of other things."
She started ticking expenses off on her fingers one by one.
"And once they get older, there's school. Then tutoring. Maybe lessons. Swordsmanship classes. Calligraphy. Music. Whatever else they end up wanting…"
Reasonable expenses, unreasonable expenses — Batsu'unsai threw everything into the calculation without discrimination.
Then her eyes widened as though she'd just remembered something extremely important.
"Oh! And what if we have more than one child?"
She gasped dramatically.
"Our current savings definitely wouldn't be enough!"
Batsu'unsai nodded solemnly to herself.
"If Genryūsai generously gives us two-thirds of his salary, then maybe — maybe — we can just barely afford to raise them properly."
After a great deal of mental gymnastics, she'd finally found a perfectly acceptable reason to sell Kazuma.
For the children.
Yes.
Definitely for the children!
"Deal!"
Batsu'unsai agreed instantly.
As long as the price was right, what was selling one husband?
Practically normal household business.
"Really?"
Yamamoto stared at her in surprise.
He'd fully expected another round of bargaining.
Instead, she'd agreed without hesitation.
So this was the secret after all.
When dealing with Kazuma, going through his wife was simply more effective.
The brat himself could complain all he wanted later.
Batsu'unsai had already agreed on his behalf.
What was he going to do?
Rebel against his own wife?
"Quick! Sign it!"
Yamamoto immediately grabbed paper and brush and began drafting an agreement with frightening enthusiasm.
Or, more accurately—
Kazuma's deed of sale.
He was so excited that he nearly wrote several clauses incorrectly.
"Relax. I'm reading it."
Batsu'unsai spoke unhurriedly.
In reality, she barely read the document at all.
Her eyes skimmed straight past almost everything until they reached the section concerning money.
Two-thirds.
Correct.
She immediately signed her name.
"Hahahahaha!"
The moment Yamamoto saw her signature, an enormous weight seemed to fall from his shoulders.
He looked happier than he had in years.
Normally, the Captain-Commander cared almost exclusively about tea.
Yet today, after rummaging through some forgotten corner of the tea room, he somehow emerged carrying an old jar of fine sake that had apparently been hidden away for years.
It was something he normally treasured too much to share.
Tonight, however, he broke the seal without hesitation.
He and Batsu'unsai sat across from one another and began drinking in celebration.
"Genryūsai."
As the alcohol began loosening her tongue, Batsu'unsai finally asked the question that had been bothering her.
"I still don't understand why you're so determined to have Kazuma become Captain-Commander."
"The Gotei 13 has plenty of talented people. Why are you so fixated on him?"
Her mood had become exceptionally cheerful.
After all, once Kazuma returned, she'd suddenly be entitled to an enormous sum of money.
Just thinking about it made her grin so widely that her beautiful face was practically beginning to distort from excessive happiness.
"Because the brat is strong."
Yamamoto calmly took a sip of sake.
"Almost nobody can beat him."
"He's fiercely protective of his own people, and he has no fear of confronting the noble clans when they cross the line."
He set his cup down.
"No matter how you look at it, he is one of the best possible candidates to inherit the position of Captain-Commander."
Yamamoto continued listing Kazuma's qualities one after another.
Things that might have seemed perfectly ordinary to other people somehow became priceless virtues the moment Yamamoto described them.
Strength.
Decisiveness.
Loyalty.
Fearlessness toward the aristocracy.
The willingness to protect subordinates.
The ability to ignore political pressure.
By the time he finished, Kazuma sounded less like an irresponsible alcoholic and more like the greatest leadership candidate Soul Society had ever produced.
Batsu'unsai stared at him.
Then her smile slowly disappeared.
"Oh, damn it…"
She let out a long, miserable sigh.
"I should've asked for more."
Her heart sank.
Not because she'd suddenly realized how wonderful her husband was.
No.
She was furious with herself for failing to squeeze more money out of Genryūsai.
The moment Yamamoto had shown this much interest in Kazuma, she should have recognized the business opportunity.
Instead, she'd gone soft.
She'd raised the price only a little and then casually let the greatest deal of her life slip away.
If she could turn back time, she'd absolutely multiply the price several times over and make Genryūsai empty his pockets properly.
'I'm such an idiot.'
Batsu'unsai silently cursed herself.
'A perfect chance to get rich practically fell into my lap, and I wasted it.'
Unfortunately, the agreement had already been signed.
Regretting it now accomplished nothing.
All she could do was hope that someday, another opportunity to sell her husband for a fortune would fall from the sky.