Chapter 9: First Encounter, The House of Ōmaeda
One day, two days, three days...
Time flew by, and Gilgamesh's plan proceeded smoothly.
When those who had rushed from outside Heiwu Street truly received free water and took it back with them, it immediately caused a stir.
Those who had initially not believed had no choice but to accept the truth in the face of facts.
They couldn't care less about conspiracy theories and rushed towards Heiwu Street, jostling to be first, fearing that if they went too late, there would be no more free water to claim.
Of course, during this period, there were also some who had not witnessed Gilgamesh's methods and attempted to seize all the water.
Although they guessed that Gilgamesh's identity and background were not simple, driven by greed and desire, they could no longer care about such things.
As for the result, all these people were cut down by Gilgamesh.
The people present at the time, as well as Abarai Renji and Rukia, would never forget the scene from that day.
Gilgamesh—
No, it was the King, seated upon his golden throne, with hundreds of golden ripples appearing in the void behind him, each ripple revealing a weapon emitting a heart-palpitating aura.
These weapons, like the King's loyal guards, sensed the anger directed at the King and shot out from the ripples, directly blasting those disrespectful individuals into shattered fragments and dust.
It was also from that day onwards that the image of King Gilgamesh was completely etched into the hearts of the people.
Heiwu Street.
Gilgamesh sat upon his golden throne, with a person kneeling below, reporting.
"The work of registering and cataloging personnel information is progressing very smoothly."
"...The total registered population currently stands at 5356 people."
For a nation, population is always the most important thing.
So Gilgamesh had planned from the very beginning to conduct a census of Hōkō and create the initial household registration book, which would facilitate future management.
After the person finished reporting, Gilgamesh nodded slightly and responded, "Mm, I know. You may go."
Upon hearing this, the person respectfully rose and departed.
Within these three days, as more and more people arrived, Gilgamesh selected dozens more to join his ranks, and simultaneously, the number of water buckets increased to twenty.
This was also the reason why over 5,000 people's information could be registered in just three short days.
Now, the sky was gradually darkening, but people coming to collect water were still arriving in an endless stream.
And today was the third day since Gilgamesh's plan began.
Starting tomorrow, water would no longer be free, and Gilgamesh would begin the next phase of his plan.
However, before that, there were still some matters to attend to.
Gilgamesh slowly rose and walked towards a certain direction.
Gilgamesh's movements were quickly noticed, but no one dared to say much.
In everyone's minds, the image of King Gilgamesh had become fully formed.
Decisive in killing, both gracious and stern, unfathomable...
Abarai Renji and Rukia were too tired from these past few days, so they were now sound asleep in a temporary resting place not far away.
Gilgamesh did not wake them; he could resolve this matter by himself.
The night in Hōkō was incomparably dim; because of its extreme poverty and backwardness, virtually no one had oil lamps, candles, or similar lighting items in their homes.
These types of items were considered luxuries in Hōkō.
This also led to people generally not leaving their homes at night in Hōkō.
However, Hōkō had been different recently; because of Gilgamesh's free water distribution, water was no longer extremely scarce, which also led to a significant decrease in Hōkō's crime rate.
Therefore, even though it was night, many people dared to step out of their homes, relying on the faint moonlight and scattered starlight to see their way.
And most of them were going to collect water.
The changes in Hōkō were felt most keenly by those living at the lowest levels of Heiwu Street.
And because of this, they thanked Gilgamesh from the bottom of their hearts and acknowledged Gilgamesh.
In their hearts, if Gilgamesh could truly rule and manage Hōkō, then he would surely make Hōkō better and better.
Through the King's Way System, Gilgamesh knew that over 500 people had now acknowledged him, providing him with King's Way Points.
However, they only provided 1 King's Way Point each, incomparable to Abarai Renji and Rukia, who were important plot characters.
Ōmaeda Water Store.
The owner, Shui Zhong Yilang, sat at the counter with a worried expression, looking at the room full of water, overwhelmed with distress.
In the past, water was a best-selling item in Hōkō, and Shui Zhong Yilang never worried about not being able to sell water.
But ever since Gilgamesh started distributing free water, water became a slow-moving item, completely unsellable.
After all, with free water available, why would already poor people spend money to buy water?
This also led to what was once the most bustling place in Hōkō becoming the quietest place today.
At the same time, Shui Zhong Yilang's heart was uneasy.
When Gilgamesh executed those invaders, Shui Zhong Yilang was actually hidden among the crowd.
For Shui Zhong Yilang, Gilgamesh's actions were tantamount to cutting off his financial lifeline.
And cutting off someone's financial lifeline is like killing their parents.
It was impossible for Shui Zhong Yilang to have no thoughts about Gilgamesh in his heart.
However, Shui Zhong Yilang had always been very cautious.
Gilgamesh's origins were very mysterious, and coupled with his ability to possess so much water, this made Shui Zhong Yilang extremely wary of Gilgamesh's background.
So Shui Zhong Yilang did not directly confront Gilgamesh, but secretly instigated a group of people to cause trouble for Gilgamesh.
Of course, Shui Zhong Yilang did not believe that the people he instigated could truly deal with Gilgamesh; he merely wanted to test Gilgamesh's origins and strength.
It's just that Shui Zhong Yilang had not expected that he would witness such a shocking scene.
Even though two days had passed, whenever he recalled that scene, Shui Zhong Yilang's heart would tremble uncontrollably.
Shui Zhong Yilang wasn't sure if it was his illusion, but he always felt that after Gilgamesh executed those invaders, his deep, majestic wine-red eyes seemed to have intentionally or unintentionally glanced at him.
And it was this glance that made Shui Zhong Yilang feel uneasy now, constantly worrying that Gilgamesh would discover his despicable methods and come to settle accounts with him.
Shui Zhong Yilang knew very well that if Gilgamesh truly became enraged and used thunderous methods against him, then his fate would be the same as those invaders, turning into shattered fragments and dust.
Shui Zhong Yilang wanted to flee, but he did not.
Because he still had a trump card, and this trump card was the Da Maeda Family behind him.
The message had already been sent, and he believed that the Da Maeda Family had already sent people over.
Shui Zhong Yilang now only hoped that the Da Maeda Family could send a Shinigami.
Shui Zhong Yilang still had some knowledge, though not much.
In his opinion, Gilgamesh should also be a Shinigami, and those mysterious and unpredictable methods should be the abilities of Gilgamesh's Zanpakuto.
Therefore, only a Shinigami could deal with Gilgamesh.
Shui Zhong Yilang did not know that Gilgamesh, who made him uneasy, had already arrived at the shop entrance.
Just as Gilgamesh was about to enter the shop, he seemed to discover something and suddenly stopped.
Then, a frivolous and arrogant voice came from behind him, saying, "From your appearance, are you that 'King' you speak of?"
Turning his head, Gilgamesh saw a familiar figure wearing a spirit garment.
Ōmaeda Marechiyo!
End of Chapter