Rin’s response was to do absolutely nothing.
Without the slightest hesitation, he simply left the ruined garden behind.
It was not until Ise Nanao realized that Rin had stopped asking her to sell his expensive medicinal cuisine, even after several students had inquired about it, that she sensed something was wrong.
Normally, whenever the two practiced Kidō together in private, Rin would occasionally mention his latest harvests or research.
Yet recently, he had never brought up the matter again, and she herself had gradually forgotten about it.
Several days later, after their Hohō class had ended and the other students had already left, Nanao deliberately stopped him.
Only then did she finally ask.
Rin merely smiled casually.
“Oh, that?
Forget about it.
You know I only developed those medicinal dishes to deepen my understanding of pharmacology.
Now that I’ve achieved what I wanted, it’s time to research different spiritual plants instead.”
Even if he truly intended to move on to another field of study, he should have told her beforehand.
After all, she had never cared about the money.
More importantly…
They were friends.
For a brief moment, disappointment quietly surfaced within her heart.
However, it did not take long before her sharp intuition sensed something was wrong.
This was not like Rin at all.
It was obvious that he had no intention of telling her the truth.
The conversation ended hurriedly.
Afterward, Nanao quietly began investigating on her own.
The future Lieutenant of the Eighth Division under Captain Kyōraku Shunsui had never relied solely on her noble background.
Her intelligence and ability to gather information were equally outstanding.
Within only two days, she had already uncovered the general truth.
It was nothing more than a common trick employed by certain noble families.
First suppress anyone possessing something valuable.
Then purchase it for next to nothing.
After learning everything, she immediately sought Rin out once more.
This time, they met inside a quiet teahouse within Shin’ō Academy.
Rin calmly brewed tea as though nothing had happened.
Although he had grown up in Rukongai, the elegance with which he prepared tea often surpassed that of many lesser nobles, something that had always puzzled Nanao.
“Why didn’t you tell me something like this happened?”
Although she still sounded angry, seeing his relaxed demeanor caused much of that anger to fade.
He truly did not seem particularly bothered by the incident.
Instead, she felt increasingly wronged on his behalf.
Without answering immediately, Rin gently pushed a freshly brewed cup toward her.
“Have some tea.”
“I cultivated these leaves myself.
They help relieve fatigue and calm the mind.”
Nanao silently accepted the cup.
Even while staring at him with obvious dissatisfaction, she still took a sip.
The instant the tea touched her tongue, a refreshing fragrance bloomed throughout her mouth.
Its rich aroma carried a faint bitterness that quickly transformed into an unexpectedly sweet aftertaste.
The temperature was perfect.
As the tea slowly flowed down her throat, wave after wave of cool sweetness spread through her body.
Compared to ordinary tea, its layers of flavor were remarkably profound.
Although Nanao was not particularly fond of tea, even she had to admit that she genuinely enjoyed drinking this one.
More importantly, after only a few sips, the anxiety and frustration on her face visibly faded.
Seeing that, Rin smiled sincerely.
“It’s nothing, Nanao.”
“You probably guessed from the beginning that this sort of thing isn’t unusual in Seireitei.”
“Besides, those medicinal dishes weren’t anything irreplaceable.”
“And with you around, nothing’s going to happen to me.”
Hearing him place such trust in her caused a faint blush to appear across Nanao’s face.
Rin continued speaking.
“Besides, I’m only an ordinary student from Rukongai attending Shin’ō Academy.
Even if I exposed everything, the most I’d gain is a reputation for being troublesome and overestimating myself.
That wouldn’t help me at all.”
“But…”
Nanao wanted to argue.
Yet after thinking carefully, she realized he was right.
If Rin had been one of Shin’ō Academy’s famous prodigies, those people would never have dared test him so casually.
What had happened was nothing more than the powerful bullying the weak.
What those people failed to realize, however, was that while Rin might not possess extraordinary Spiritual Pressure or overwhelming combat ability, his talent in certain fields far exceeded anyone’s imagination.
It wasn’t merely his ability to cultivate spiritual plants.
It was also Kaidō.
Thinking back, Nanao remembered their third year at Shin’ō Academy.
That had been the first time a seated officer from the Fourth Division visited the academy to teach the fundamentals of Kaidō.
Unlike ordinary Kidō, which only required sufficient Spiritual Pressure, proper incantations, and correct spiritual control for most students to cast successfully, Kaidō was fundamentally different.
Whether a Kidō spell was stable, powerful, or accurately controlled depended upon the individual caster’s skill.
Kaidō, however, relied on entirely different principles.
Strictly speaking, Kaidō possessed no standardized incantations.
Instead, it demanded extraordinarily precise control over Spiritual Pressure together with extensive knowledge of Reishi, anatomy, spiritual physiology, the Saketsu, the Hakusui, and countless other aspects of a soul’s body.
In other words, Kaidō and ordinary Kidō were fundamentally different disciplines.
That was precisely why true Kaidō experts were exceptionally rare within Soul Society.
It was during that very lesson that Nanao first truly noticed Chigusa Rin.
While the Fourth Division seated officer had only just completed the demonstration, Rin quietly stood near the back of the classroom and successfully reproduced the technique himself.
Although the emerald healing light in his hands remained extremely faint, it was enough to demonstrate astonishing talent.
Not even Nanao herself had managed to accomplish that during the same lesson.
Unfortunately, aside from the Fourth Division instructor, whose eyes had immediately lit up with surprise, almost no one else paid any attention.
In the eyes of most students, healing techniques simply weren’t worth admiring.
From that day onward, Nanao gradually began paying closer attention to Rin.
That was also how their friendship truly began.
Naturally, after returning to the Fourth Division headquarters, the seated officer also reported the matter to Captain Retsu Unohana.
“A genius in Kaidō?”
Unohana asked with her usual gentle smile.
“Yes, Captain.”
“As you know, someone capable of stabilizing a basic Kaidō technique immediately after seeing it demonstrated possesses extraordinary talent.”
“I see.”
“You may return.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Although Unohana became somewhat interested in the student, after contemplating for a moment, she summoned the Fourth Division Lieutenant.
“Seinosuke.”
“There is a student at Shin’ō Academy named Chigusa Rin.”
“I’ve heard his talent for Kaidō is rather remarkable.”
“Keep an eye on him.”
Yamada Seinosuke respectfully lowered his head.
“Understood, Captain.”
From that day onward, the person teaching Kaidō at Shin’ō Academy changed.
Instead of an ordinary seated officer, Fourth Division Lieutenant Yamada Seinosuke personally began instructing the classes.
After confirming Rin’s exceptional aptitude, Seinosuke, acting under Captain Unohana’s orders, quietly gave him considerable additional guidance.
Nanao knew all about it.
In her opinion, Captain Unohana had already decided long ago to recruit Rin into the Fourth Division.
Otherwise, why would the Fourth Division Lieutenant personally teach him Kaidō techniques far beyond what Shin’ō Academy normally covered?
If Rin had reported this recent incident to Lieutenant Seinosuke, resolving the matter would have been effortless.
After all, regardless of being the medical division of the Gotei Thirteen, the Fourth Division remained one of its thirteen military divisions.
“So you’re really planning to let this go?”
Nanao looked directly at him.
“That’s far too cowardly.”
Rin calmly shook his head.
“What’s the point of targeting those two students?”
“They were only carrying out someone else’s orders.”
“At worst, exposing them would ruin their futures.”
“But what price would Furunji, the person truly behind everything, actually pay?”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean?”
Nanao stared at him in surprise.
She suddenly realized…
Rin had never intended to let the matter end so simply.