"Senior Arata, I brought them, just like I promised!"
In the evening, Arata was just about to close the door of the Kendo Club when he ran into Abarai Renji, who was running toward him with a nervous and excited look on his face.
"Renji, calm down." Arata placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The boy almost hit him in the face.
"Ah, sorry, I just got a little too excited." Realizing his behavior was a bit over the top, Renji gave a sheepish smile and quickly apologized.
Then he pushed forward a few companions who had followed behind him—Rukia, Kira Izuru, and Hinamori Momo.
Arata was a bit surprised. Although he had asked Renji to bring people, he didn't expect him to actually bring all three of his peers.
Now, the Kendo Club could finally boast the gathered "Four Little Ones."
Rukia and the others bowed to Arata in unison, making Arata feel a bit awkward.
"Senior Arata!" x3
"Hey, hey, hey, don't be like that, get up quickly." Arata immediately asked them to lift their heads.
He had been traveling this world for quite a while, but he still hadn't gotten used to this overly formal spirit of daily life. They were all students of the same academy, the age and rank difference wasn't that big. A simple greeting would do.
"Did Renji force you to come?" Arata was in a good mood today, so he joked with them a little.
"How could that be? Senior Arata is underestimating me! I swear on my character that I convinced them all to join the Kendo Club using completely honest methods!" Abarai Renji pounded his chest and declared passionately.
Rukia, who stood beside him, also shook her head and explained, "Senior Arata, we're just joking. We really came with sincere intentions to join the Kendo Club."
Kira also nodded in agreement. Though quiet, he was more thoughtful than many girls. Today he heard gossip from an upperclassman, two vice-captains from Gotei 13 had personally come to visit the Kendo Club.
This news immediately solidified his decision to join the Kendo Club.
"Yeah, Teacher Fujiwara's kendo class is just too low-level. We couldn't take it anymore after only a few lessons." The simple-minded Hinamori Momo complained bitterly.
"Teacher Fujiwara... you don't mean Teacher Fujiwara Takuki from the kendo class, do you?" Arata rubbed his chin. Hinamori's words seemed to awaken some unpleasant memories in him, and his expression darkened slightly.
"Yes, yes, yes! Senior Arata, you know Teacher Fujiwara too?" Hinamori Momo nodded energetically, as if she had found a kindred spirit.
Arata bared his teeth in a sour smile: "Of course I know him. It's better to say our whole class knew his name. His kendo knowledge is pretty questionable..."
"Your class was really unlucky to be assigned to Teacher Fujiwara."
Arata remembered clearly that when he first became a kendo student a few years ago, he studied under Fujiwara Takuki. That experience was so painful he had learned almost nothing the entire time.
Theory was barely taught at all.
Practical classes were total chaos. He would stand on the field, swing his sword a few times, then leave the students to fend for themselves while he went off to nap.
Because of that, Arata didn't have a good opinion of the man.
Later he heard that Fujiwara was actually more skilled in Shunpō, especially in the "downhill" Shunpō technique, which involves moving from higher to lower ground.
Why he was eventually transferred to the kendo department as an instructor, Arata had no idea.
Arata shook his head and pushed aside those old memories.
"You've just finished classes, haven't you? Don't worry about the Kendo Club right now. Let's go have dinner first. It's my treat."
---
Amid the stunned expressions of the four little ones, Arata took them into Rukongai and entered the large restaurant operated by the Omaeda family. It was the same place where he had previously taken Shuhei and the others for dinner.
"Se... Senior Arata, can we even afford to eat here?" Renji's lips trembled slightly.
Everywhere they looked, everything was lavishly decorated and gilded. The people passing by wore luxurious noble attire, and even the waitresses serving food were beautiful girls in seductively tailored outfits that drew attention.
Compared to them, their Spiritual Arts Academy uniforms looked pitiful, like rags worn by poor students.
Not just Renji, even Rukia and the others felt dizzy from the sight.
Was this really a place they could enter? Did Senior Arata go to the wrong restaurant?
"Don't worry, I said it's my treat, of course I can pay."
Arata confidently walked up to the counter, and a plump middle-aged man with a large belly respectfully approached him: "Welcome, Lord Arata. We've already prepared Room Number Four for you."
What?!
The four exchanged stunned glances. No one could understand what was happening.
After that, the middle-aged man led them to the second floor, into a quiet and refined private room, and carefully closed the door before leaving.
Arata naturally picked up the jug of warm water, washed all five sets of tableware by hand, and handed them to the four.
"Come on, sit down. Don't be nervous. It's just dinner."
The four quietly accepted the utensils.
In the end, it was Kira who gathered the courage to speak: "Um… Senior Arata, are you a noble?"
"Yes, I really am a noble." Arata confirmed their suspicions with a smile, then added in a different tone: "But my family has long been in decline. In this generation, it's just me and a bit of savings."
"So there's no need to treat me like a noble anymore. Just consider me an ordinary person, like you."
Only then did the four begin to understand. It seemed Senior Arata had such a past as well.
"Senior Arata, you're really a good person. If only every noble in Soul Society were like you." Rukia's eyes sparkled. Arata's sincerity completely overturned her previous bad impression of nobles.
She and Renji had grown up in Rukongai and had seen all kinds of human ugliness, most of it caused by the arrogance and cruelty of nobles. That's why she later felt repulsion at even hearing the word "noble."
But only today did Rukia realize that not all nobles were arrogant bullies who trampled ordinary people. There were also people like Senior Arata, who were sincere and willing to help.
While Rukia openly awarded him the "nice guy" title, Arata simply smiled and said nothing.
He wondered if she would remember those words on the day she was adopted into the Kuchiki family as a noble daughter.
"Alright, let's not talk about the past anymore. Let's order food first. Order whatever you want."
"Even though the food here is a bit expensive, it really is the best in Soul Society."
Since Senior Arata said so, Renji and the others relaxed and each ordered what they liked. After all, anything they didn't finish they could pack up and eat later at the Spiritual Arts Academy.
Soon after, several beautiful waitresses began bringing out dishes, one after another.
"Please, enjoy your meal~"
The alluring, seductive voice and stunning figure, combined with the enchantingly fragrant food on the table, made Arata sigh inwardly.
This was truly extravagant and indulgent!
One day, when he enters the Spirit King's palace and becomes the new king sitting on high…
He must reserve this restaurant and hire a hundred beautiful waitresses so he can see a different face every day!