Chapter 3: The Golden Rule
Abarai Renji felt like he might be sick.
First, he felt his heart stir for a boy.
Then, instead of immediately disbelieving the absurd words he spoke, he fell into a state of shock and doubt.
Abarai Renji knew very well that if anyone else had said such absurd things, he would never have believed them, and with his personality, he would probably have started scoffing long ago.
Rukia was the same as Abarai Renji.
She also felt her heart stir for Gilgamesh.
She also did not immediately disbelieve the absurd words Gilgamesh spoke, but instead fell into a state of shock and doubt.
Gilgamesh saw through Abarai Renji and Rukia's thoughts at a glance.
After merging with Child Gil's character template, Child Gil's permanently active Noble Phantasm—All-Knowing and Almighty Star—automatically activated.
All-Knowing and Almighty Star is an EX-ranked Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm that is a spiritual sublimation of King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, combining his Clairvoyance that can foresee the future, True Name Discernment, and his own wisdom.
And under the shining starlight of the All-Knowing and Almighty Star, Abarai Renji and Rukia's thoughts had nowhere to hide.
Gilgamesh knew that they had such thoughts not only because of his inherent skill as a Beautiful Youth, but also because of his inherent skill, Charisma (A+).
One must know that to rule a kingdom, a B-rank Charisma is sufficient, but Gilgamesh's Charisma reached A+ rank.
This level of attainment has transcended popularity or technique; it can truly be called a form of magic or a curse.
It was also for this reason that Gilgamesh's words, which seemed absurd to others, would unconsciously make people believe him.
At this moment, Abarai Renji gently shook his head, no longer thinking about the truthfulness of Gilgamesh's words, and instead asked, "You said you would give us a reward, but you just said you're new here. Do you have money?"
Rukia snapped back to reality upon hearing this, her mouth slightly agape, about to speak up for Gilgamesh.
Just then, a money bag suddenly fell from the sky, directly in front of Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh extended his right hand and caught the money bag.
The money bag opened upon contact with his palm, revealing the Rings inside.
Rings are the common currency of the Soul Society.
Gilgamesh showed no surprise at this, merely smiling faintly and saying, "See? The reward has arrived, hasn't it?"
Gilgamesh knew that this was his inherent skill, Golden Rule (A), taking effect.
A Golden Rule at A-rank is enough to ensure that Gilgamesh will never be troubled by money throughout his life, living the life of a great magnate.
Such incidents of sudden wealth appearing from the sky were nothing but common occurrences for Gilgamesh.
However, sudden wealth from the sky was clearly a first encounter for Abarai Renji and Rukia, and they were stunned on the spot.
After coming back to their senses, they looked around, wanting to see if someone had accidentally dropped the money bag.
But they looked around and did not see anyone else besides themselves.
Connecting this with Gilgamesh's recent words, Abarai Renji couldn't help but swallow and ask, "Did you already know that a money bag would fall?"
Before Gilgamesh could speak, Rukia directly denied it, saying, "Impossible. He just arrived in the Soul Society. How could he know in advance that a money bag would fall here?"
Gilgamesh directly threw the money bag to Rukia, stating the facts in a calm tone: "Perhaps it is Heaven's way of thanking me for my achievements, allowing me to be entangled with good fortune throughout my life."
"So I never care about money, nor have I ever worried about it."
Even though Gilgamesh was speaking the truth, his demeanor, words, and tone made Abarai Renji unconsciously clench his teeth and fists, feeling an urge to punch someone.
If Abarai Renji had been exposed to modern internet culture, he might have understood what Versailles was.
Before Abarai Renji could react, he heard Rukia's voice filled with surprise say, "100,000 Rings! There are actually a full 100,000 Rings inside!"
The purchasing power of currency in the Soul Society is considerably stronger than in the human world.
So 100,000 Rings is roughly equivalent to about 150,000 Japanese Yen in the human world.
Although this amount of money is not much, for Abarai Renji and Rukia, who were used to living in poverty, it was undoubtedly a huge sum.
Upon hearing that there was so much money, Abarai Renji no longer cared about feeling annoyed. He hastily stepped forward, took the money bag from Rukia's hand, and started counting, seemingly still unable to believe the fact.
After confirming that it was indeed 100,000 Rings, Abarai Renji turned his trembling gaze to Gilgamesh, asking with a slight tremor in his voice, "Hey, is what you said true? As long as we guide you, this money will be our reward?"
Under Abarai Renji's expectant gaze, Gilgamesh nodded gently and replied, "Of course it's true. As long as you agree, this money is yours."
After confirming this fact, Abarai Renji directly clutched the money bag and cheered excitedly to Rukia.
"Rukia, did you hear that? As long as we guide him, this money is ours."
"With this money, we can move to a better place to live, no longer having to live in fear every day, and no longer having to worry about where our next meal will come from."
Rukia looked serious upon hearing this and said, "Renji, we cannot take this money."
"Gilgamesh just arrived in the Soul Society; he needs this money more than we do."
Abarai Renji's mouth mumbled as if he wanted to say something.
However, Rukia didn't give him a chance to speak and continued, "You should know very well what Hōkō is like. Without money, Gilgamesh will find it very difficult to survive."
Abarai Renji fell silent. He actually wanted to ask, "Why are you being so good to someone you just met?"
But he couldn't bring himself to ask it.
Because deep down, he also didn't want to see Gilgamesh unable to survive because of this money.
Finally, Abarai Renji walked up to Gilgamesh, handed him the money bag, and resolutely said, "Here, take it back. Rukia is right, you need this money more than we do."
"As for guiding you, we'll do it for free."
Gilgamesh smiled at this.
As expected of an important plot character, to grow up in a place like Hōkō and still possess such virtue.
Although his inherent skill as a Beautiful Youth played some part in this, if their own virtue was not up to par, it would be useless.
After all, his Beautiful Youth skill only reached C-rank.
Without taking the money bag, Gilgamesh asked, "Are you willing to follow this King and become this King's subjects?"
"If you are willing, then you will be this King's first subjects in the Soul Society. This King will grant you a lifetime of glory and wealth, and will also provide you with protection, so you no longer have to live in fear."
End of Chapter