Several people found their interest caught by what Silas had said.
Ganju stared at him in outright surprise.
He hadn’t expected Silas to speak up for him.
Silas thought for a moment before he spoke, keeping his voice low.
“A small number of eateries in the Rukongai take delivery orders, but between the limits on manpower and the transport speed, the delivery range is confined to a few nearby blocks. Which is why the service has never spread.”
Silas spoke at a steady, unhurried pace.
“I’m almost embarrassed to say it, but I happen to be the owner of Ichiraku Ramen. I run several Ichiraku shops in the Rukongai, and business is decent.”
“Ichiraku Ramen… you’re the one who opened it?”
The others’ eyes widened at the news.
“That’s amazing!”
Stars glittered in Kūkaku’s eyes as she leaned excitedly closer to him.
“I wasn’t trying to keep it from anyone. It just isn’t worth boasting about, so I never brought it up.”
Kaien sighed in admiration too.
“I see. I just never expected you’d know how to run a restaurant on top of everything else, senpai, and run it this well.”
Silas smiled and shook his head, picking up where he had left off.
“The thing is, I’ve had an idea recently. I want to get piping hot ramen out to customers in the more distant blocks, and get it there faster.”
“Old man Ichiraku and I have looked into it before. We’ve worked out roughly how to keep the soup separate from the noodles, and we’ve talked over a pre-ordering system for customers.”
“When the customer receives the order, they pour the hot soup over the noodles. It can’t match eating in the shop, but it holds the texture of the noodles as well as anything can.”
He looked at Ganju and smiled.
“Ordinary workers go on foot, so their speed is limited and their range is small. But with a special delivery man who knows every shortcut through the alleys, moves fast, and can be relied on, the reach and efficiency of a business like this would be something else entirely.”
Ganju’s eyes went wider and wider.
Thick-headed as he was, he was quick enough.
A vague but thrilling picture began unfolding in his mind.
Kaien and Kūkaku were stunned as well.
Kaien thought it over and was the first to respond.
“Vane-senpai, do you mean to bring Ganju in on building this delivery system?”
“Exactly. And that’s only the start. What matters is what comes after. If food can be delivered, then naturally other things can be delivered as well.”
“From what I’ve seen, there are plenty of peddlers and porters in the Rukongai making their living by physical labor. You see people helping to move things or haul goods, but none of it is organized.”
Having said that, Silas turned his gaze to Kaien, who was deep in thought.
“This isn’t a simple matter of employment. What Ganju brings is transport capability nobody else has, and a knowledge of the ground in the Rukongai. Those are advantages unique to him.”
“We could take a partnership approach and try it out for a while. He’d handle rapid delivery in assigned areas and take a commission set at a percentage of what this new business brings in.”
“The more he does, and the better he does it, the more he earns. That way he’s doing something he’s interested in and good at, and creating real value while he does it.”
“This is only a concept and a proposal on my part, naturally. The decision rests with you.”
Kaien caught the crux of it immediately.
This wasn’t simply running errands for a senior.
It turned Ganju’s particular skills into real capital in a business venture.
It gave Ganju something proper to do while granting him motivation and dignity enough, and it would quietly build his sense of responsibility along the way.
Ganju sat dazed, trying to picture it.
He would be out front on Bonnie, a crowd of younger brothers on boars behind him, weaving through the streets and alleys in good order at his command, carrying meals and goods into customers’ hands.
So cool.
Ganju looked eagerly at Kaien, who was still deliberating, then turned to look at Silas.
His mind felt like a tangle and his throat had gone remarkably dry.
He wanted to do this.
He could do this.
He ought to say something now, to prove he could do it.
Just as Silas and Kaien were drinking their tea, Ganju, silent for a long stretch, looked straight at Silas and spoke in a deep voice.
“Brother-in-law.”
Silas: ?
Kaien: ?
Kūkaku: ?!
Silas, mid-sip, coughed twice and nearly choked.
Kaien spat out a mouthful of tea, then gave Ganju a hard smack.
“What in the world are you shouting, you little brat!”
Kūkaku shot back with a red face, and as she said it her eyes drifted toward Silas without her meaning them to.
Silas felt as though he had walked straight into a pit.
To cover the awkwardness, all he could do was hold his cup and pretend to drink, using it to move his attention elsewhere.
A moment later the subject finally died out amid the chaos.
Kaien was quiet for a long while, looking at the spirit and the persistence in his brother’s eyes, things he hadn’t seen there in a long time.
He let out a soft breath, and the helplessness on his face finally melted into a relieved smile.
“Since you really do mean to try, and Vane-senpai is willing to guide you, I won’t object.”
Kaien bowed solemnly to Silas.
“Senpai, you’ve pointed Ganju toward a proper path and considered his dignity and his interests both. If the boy causes you trouble with his mischief or his recklessness, scold him or hit him as you see fit. Or simply tell me, and I’ll deal with him severely.”
“Kaien, there’s no need for this. It’s a cooperation that serves us both. If Ganju didn’t have the talent for it, I wouldn’t have raised it.”
Kaien turned to look at Ganju, his expression exceptionally serious.
“Ganju. Vane-senpai has laid out a clear path for you and done you a great honor. This touches the reputation of his business as well. Follow the rules strictly and make your deliveries reliable. Remember, you represent the Ichiraku Ramen name, and the face of the Shiba family besides.”
Faced with how solemn Kaien looked, the flush of excitement on Ganju’s face gradually settled.
“Don’t worry, brother.”
“I’ve been knocking around the Rukongai for years. Nobody knows better than I do which road is shortest or which alley you can get through. I’m the right man for this job.”
Seeing Ganju looking as though he had grown up a fair amount, a trace of satisfaction showed in Kaien’s eyes.
The meal ended in a warm atmosphere.
Watching Ganju eagerly planning for the future, and Kaien raising his cup in thanks with the tension gone out of him, Silas knew his proposal had been the right one.
Watching the Shiba siblings laughing and squabbling in front of him, Silas felt a sense of ease he hadn’t known in a long time.
The gloom Aizen had cast over him seemed largely swept away by this lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.
After the meal, Kinhiko and Ginbiko set about clearing the dishes.
Seeing that Ganju still wanted to pester Silas with questions, Kūkaku reached over and hauled him off to the side room, leaving Silas and Kaien a rare moment of quiet.
The two of them went out to the rear yard at ground level.
Kaien brewed a fresh pot of tea, and he and Silas fell to talking in the courtyard as the moon began to rise.
As they talked, the conversation turned naturally to training.
Something stirred in Silas.
“Kaien, it’s a rare chance. How about a spar?”