Chapter 20: Reprimand
Shortly after Suoh withdrew from the private room.
Waitresses dressed in light green leaf-patterned clothing entered in single file carrying exquisite lacquerware food boxes, quickly spreading out a beautiful summer feast on the table.
Not only were there common Japanese dishes like sushi and sashimi, but also creatively plated dishes in small portions—an endless variety.
"Please enjoy your meal."
Once the waitresses departed, Shiba Kaien's group's attention was immediately drawn to the dishes on the table.
The crystalline sea bream sushi on the plates had been shaped into perfect arcs, snow-white fish flesh showing pale pink patterns like cherry blossoms in first bloom. Each piece was garnished with freshly grated wasabi.
Bonito sashimi cut to perfection, arranged in a spreading-wings formation on celadon plates, accompanied by tender green perilla sprouts.
Most eye-catching were two creative dishes incorporating Chinese ingenuity.
One dish of plum sweet-and-sour abalone slices used quality fresh abalone cut into thin pieces, stir-fried quickly in sauce made from preserved plums, rock sugar, and aged vinegar to achieve perfect sweet-sour balance, finally sprinkled with toasted pine nuts.
This dish preserved the abalone's springy tenderness while incorporating Chinese sweet-and-sour's unique flavor, especially appetizing in blazing summer.
Another dish of emerald shrimp and tofu featured fresh shrimp steamed together with crushed edamame paste, served atop cold tofu bathed in broth.
The shrimp's faint pink, the edamame paste's emerald green, and the tofu's pure white formed striking contrast. The taste was refreshing and delicate, carrying faint bean fragrance and fresh shrimp's clean flavor.
"This is truly... surprising!"
Shiba Kaien looked at the fragrant, colorful dishes before him, his eyes brightening.
Beside him, Kotetsu Kiyone had already picked up a piece of sea bream sushi. The sea bream flesh showed cherry color, the vinegared rice distinct grain by grain and glistening.
Unable to wait, she stuffed it into her mouth in one go. After brief chewing and swallowing, she let out an excited exclamation.
"Mm, this sushi is absolutely delicious."
"Girls shouldn't eat so crudely."
Seeing Kotetsu Kiyone lick her lips in satisfaction after finishing, Kotsubaki Sentaro criticized her.
"Mm."
While his mouth spoke, his hand movements weren't slow either. His chopsticks turned to grab a piece of fat-marbled bonito sashimi with surface lightly charred by charcoal fire and stuffed it in his mouth.
The flavor instantly conquered his taste buds. The words he wanted to say all stuck in his throat.
Among the three seated officers, Mitaka Hiko was most clever and low-key. While the other two still had time to talk, the food before him began silently disappearing one piece after another.
The private room fell into peculiar silence. The four wielded their chopsticks faster and faster, leaving only eating sounds.
"So... Kaien-dono."
"Can we come to this place again after the next training session ends?"
Kotetsu Kiyone licked the soy sauce stain from her fingertips and suddenly looked up hopefully.
Originally she'd felt slightly resistant to outdoor training camps. Now she began looking forward to the next training session's arrival.
"We'll see, we'll see."
Looking at the small mountain of empty plates piled on the table, Shiba Kaien's expression stiffened slightly.
The fingers resting on his sake cup trembled faintly. A lieutenant's salary was just average—how could it withstand frequently bringing these three to eat a meal like today's?
Though he himself had eaten quite a bit, the other three could really eat. They'd added another round later before finishing.
Really, next time would be bringing his wife Shiba Miyako—just the two of them together.
Imagining dining with his beloved wife at Terada-ya, then in the private room's quiet atmosphere having her look up and praise his good eye for picking restaurants—that adorable appearance.
A trace of gentle smile unconsciously floated to his lips.
"Eh..."
"Kaien-dono is smiling so strangely... oh, what's he... thinking about in his heart?"
Kotetsu Kiyone, having finished her tea, keenly noticed Shiba Kaien's upturned lips and caught him red-handed.
The young woman propped her chin, set down her teacup, lifted her finger and deliberately drew out her tone.
"Idiot, what nonsense are you saying?"
Coughing lightly, Shiba Kaien—being a battle-hardened lieutenant—quickly stabilized the situation.
He composed himself, sat up straight, and spoke sternly, though the slight redness at the base of his ears betrayed him.
"Eh, look, Kaien-dono's ears are red."
"Completely red!"
The other two opportunely joined the fray. Kotsubaki Sentaro pointed out his ear's abnormality and laughed loudly.
"You three...!"
Looking at his subordinates holding back wicked smiles before him, his defenses were thoroughly breached. He couldn't help raising his voice.
The loud laughter inside the private room mixed with the lively noise from the main hall around the corner. Terada-ya overflowed with summer's relaxed, cheerful atmosphere.
After the teasing ended, the private room returned to its previous quiet.
"Kaien-dono... why did you suddenly invite that head chef just now?"
"I... we didn't sense any spiritual pressure fluctuations from him at all."
Her gaze sweeping left and right toward the two beside her, Kotetsu Kiyone asked the question all three shared.
"Indeed. Even carefully recalling now, that Suoh-san felt completely like an ordinary soul, nothing more."
Kotsubaki Sentaro also nodded in agreement, showing a trace of shame on his face.
"Yes."
The silent Mitaka Hiko beside them also nodded slightly in agreement.
The three hadn't raised the question on the spot purely out of trust in their lieutenant's judgment.
Shiba Kaien looked at the three subordinates before him full of confusion, a knowing smile floating to his lips.
He lifted his teacup, took a light sip, and spoke.
"Because his heart is very calm, so his spiritual pressure fluctuations are extremely subtle."
"Suoh-san has undoubtedly poured considerable effort into the culinary arts. It's precisely this focus on cooking that lets his heart settle, allowing his spiritual pressure to be restrained so perfectly."
"And years of accumulated work has made him, through fortuitous coincidence, enter a state similar to a heart like still water."
"I see."
His explanation quickly gained the three's approval. After all, that incredibly delicious meal just now was extremely persuasive.
Suddenly Shiba Kaien's tone shifted. His gaze swept across the three, his tone also becoming serious.
"Usually I tell you to properly cultivate your spirits, but you always find meditation too boring and can't settle your hearts."
"Now you can't even detect the spiritual pressure of someone who hasn't formally begun Shinigami training."
"This is exactly why you always fail when attempting jinzen training."
Jinzen was spiritual training for Shinigami to enter their inner world and converse with their zanpakuto.
Besides requiring spiritual pressure strength, spiritual cultivation was even more crucial.
Without maintaining a highly focused state, if one's emotions became chaotic, spiritual pressure fluctuations would also become chaotic, and jinzen couldn't continue.
This was also an unavoidable difficult barrier on many Shinigami's training paths.
At this moment, Shiba Kaien seized this rare opportunity to severely admonish these three subordinates beside him who sat in slovenly postures after eating and drinking their fill.
"Yes."
Having eaten someone's food and taken their hospitality, the delicious meal's taste still lingered on their lips.
They exchanged helpless glances, which ultimately transformed into silent obedience.
All three straightened their backs, corrected their postures, and obediently nodded in acknowledgment of their error.
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