Inside a lavishly decorated building in the pleasure district.
Beautiful zither music echoed throughout the hall.
At the highest seat, a lovely woman dressed in white gauze was intently playing the melody.
A thin veil covered the lower half of her face beneath the bridge of her nose.
Through the faintly translucent fabric, blurry and gentle contours could vaguely be seen underneath.
Ever since Uesugi Ryu began taking over the pleasure district.
Many establishments had started taking the high-end route. Everything focused on one word, "elegance."
Tea drinking and listening to music. Ordinary tunes naturally held little appeal for the people of the Imperial Capital.
But this was no challenge for Uesugi Ryu. He could simply copy music directly from the Tokyo Ghoul world.
There were still quite a few cultured nobles in the Imperial Capital. Someone was bound to appreciate this sort of thing.
Many richly dressed patrons sat nearby listening to the performance.
Among the crowd, however, two people stood out especially.
The clown-like, overweight Champ sat bored on a sofa. He had no interest in women.
He had only come here because the Jaegers and Wild Hunt had been at each other's throats lately, making solo outings somewhat dangerous.
Enshin stared unblinkingly at the woman playing the zither.
He came from a pirate background, and his level of education was practically nonexistent.
Expecting an illiterate man to appreciate music was a bit difficult.
Enshin had never really listened to music before.
His gaze wandered all over the woman's body, clearly interested.
This half-hidden allure was truly maddening.
Enshin slowly stood up.
He walked directly toward the upper floor.
The surrounding customers immediately turned their attention toward Enshin. More or less, everyone there had similar thoughts.
But someone as completely undisguised as Enshin was extremely rare.
Some influential figures had already recognized Champ and Enshin.
Seeing the situation, they had already begun heading downstairs to leave.
There were also many preparing to watch the show.
The woman in white gauze noticed Enshin's movements, but her eyes showed no disturbance.
There had already been several people like Enshin before.
Without exception, all of them had been beaten up and thrown out.
Naturally, she was not overly panicked.
Several bodyguards in suits stepped forward to block him.
Enshin shouted unhappily.
"What the hell? It's not like I'm refusing to pay. I've got plenty of money!"
Unfortunately, nobody paid him any attention. The guards still firmly blocked his path.
Seeing this, Enshin sneered and attacked directly.
A fight instantly broke out.
But these guards were no match for an Imperial Arms user like Enshin. They were knocked to the ground after only a few exchanges.
Seeing this scene, the woman finally panicked and stood up to flee behind the stage.
The corners of Enshin's mouth curled upward into a vicious grin.
He rushed forward and grabbed the woman's wrist.
"Yamete!"
A scream rang out.
Before Enshin could go any further.
A heavy set of footsteps sounded.
A giant man nearly two meters tall strode inside.
As Uesugi Ryu's influence continued to rise, Gore had benefited as well.
Saying he had become a man of high status would be an exaggeration, but whether in temperament or strength, he had improved greatly compared to before.
Looking at Enshin, Gore smiled without warmth.
"The Emerald Pavilion's people sell performances, not their bodies. If Enshin-sama is looking for entertainment, please go elsewhere."
Champ stood up and looked at the newcomer somewhat unfriendly.
Enshin stuck out his tongue, his gaze sinister.
"Who the hell are you? You think you're qualified to negotiate with me?"
The smile on Gore's face gradually disappeared.
"This place belongs to Uesugi-sama. I'm the manager here."
Enshin froze slightly upon hearing that.
Subconsciously, he wanted to release the woman's wrist.
But he immediately remembered that he hadn't seen Uesugi Ryu these past few days.
His courage instantly grew.
Enshin thought to himself.
"Wait, so what if it's his business? It's just a woman."
"Does this big idiot in front of me really dare challenge me?"
As he thought this, Enshin turned to look at the woman, his eyes fierce.
"If you dare run, I'll kill you immediately!"
By this point, the woman in white gauze was already drenched in sweat. Her fair wrist had been squeezed purple and blue by Enshin.
Hearing the threat, she nodded repeatedly, then hurriedly covered her wrist and hid to the side.
Though Gore appeared calm on the surface, he was actually somewhat nervous inside.
The other side had two Imperial Arms users. Although the chances of them outright killing people were low.
A single Teigu user fighting two Imperial Arms users. No matter how he looked at it, he had no chance of winning.
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
Within these few short seconds was an intense psychological battle.
Both sides were waiting for the other to back down.
Enshin narrowed his eyes, then directly drew his Imperial Arms, the Air Blade Sword.
The sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard rang out.
Gore also wasted no words. He directly pressed the button on the briefcase.
White steam flashed by.
Matte-black full-body armor instantly enveloped Gore's entire body.
Gore himself was already huge.
Combined with this armor, he resembled an impenetrable fortress standing in front of the staircase.
The facial armor emitted a deep blood-red glow, and a muffled voice came from inside the armor.
"If you want to cause trouble, I'm ready anytime."
Looking at the massive armor before him, Enshin nearly bit his own tongue.
"Armor-type Imperial Arms? Impossible!"
Every armor-type Imperial Arms was known for its overwhelming power.
Besides tremendous defense, they also provided comprehensive enhancement to the user's physical abilities.
Enshin glanced out the window.
Tonight was a waxing crescent moon.
The Air Blade Sword's power changed according to the moon phase. During a waxing crescent, it could exert less than half its full power.
Besides, he had never intended to truly fight anyway. He only wanted to draw his sword to scare Gore into retreating.
Unfortunately, he was now stuck riding a tiger.
Enshin's expression shifted repeatedly, as if he had eaten a hallucinogenic mushroom.
Champ, however, had absolutely no intention of fighting.
Leaving aside that his Imperial Arms was unsuited for close combat.
If they really started fighting, the Jaegers would come running the moment they caught wind of it.
Did anyone even need to ask whose side they would take? If they returned after suffering losses, there would be no good outcome waiting for them.
Enshin naturally understood this logic as well.
With a deeply aggrieved expression, he sheathed his sword.
Then he and Champ left the building with ugly looks on their faces.
Gore secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He stepped aside from the staircase and watched the two walk downstairs.
Just as the pair were about to leave Gore's line of sight.
Gore suddenly said coldly.
"Take care, you two. Don't come to the wrong place next time."
"If you're looking for cheap entertainment, the roadside shops are more suitable for you!"
Thud!
The sound of a foot stepping onto the wooden stairs abruptly stopped.
Veins bulged violently across Enshin's neck.
Champ pulled Enshin along, practically dragging him away from the place.
Just after the two left, Wave and Seryu walked inside.
Seryu raised her head and asked.
"What happened here? Huh?"
Gore had not yet removed the armor, so Seryu did not recognize him immediately.
"It's me, Seryu."
Before the words had fully fallen.
Gore deactivated the armor.
The heavy armor once again transformed into a black briefcase in his hand.
"Uncle Gore? What's this?"
Seryu was not the only curious one. Wave was equally curious.
At present, only two armor-type Imperial Arms were clearly recorded in history.
Before Gore could explain.
A voice suddenly sounded.
"An armor-type Shingu. Well done, Gore."
Uesugi Ryu stood by the window, quietly looking at the three below.
"Uesugi-sama, you've returned!"
Gore instantly turned around and spoke respectfully.
Uesugi Ryu lightly nodded, then revealed a faint smile toward Seryu and Wave.
"Long time no see. No, that sounds a bit exaggerated. It hasn't even been ten days yet."
Seeing Uesugi Ryu suddenly appear, Seryu immediately ran upstairs excitedly.
She rushed in front of Uesugi Ryu in just a few steps, covering her cheeks as her eyes nearly sparkled with stars.
"Uesugi-san is amazing!"
Wave looked at the fanatical Seryu with some helplessness.
Her reaction really did seem a little too exaggerated.
Wave waved his hand and greeted Uesugi Ryu.
"Did Uesugi-san return alone first? Was the journey smooth?"
Uesugi Ryu replied.
"It went alright. The trip was long, so it took some time."
"The main group has already reached the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. I came back first to take a look."
Gore secretly felt fortunate.
Luckily, he had not mishandled the situation earlier.
Seeing Uesugi Ryu and the others chatting enthusiastically, he tactfully withdrew downstairs to clean up the mess.