"Ahem, we just got here to read, didn't we?" Shirō said awkwardly.
"Books can be borrowed, you know. It's more comfortable and quiet elsewhere, don't you think that's better?" Lisa replied matter‑of‑factly.
"Ahem… to be honest," Shirō lowered his voice, "I think I might have a pretty severe case of post‑drinking syndrome."
"Post‑drinking syndrome?" Lisa gave him a strange look.
"That's right. I didn't realize it before, but later I found out that every time I get drunk, the next morning I feel awful, like I've been beaten up. Ever since then, I don't drink too much anymore. These days, I just sip a little to taste the flavor." Shirō sighed miserably.
Lisa suddenly straightened up, face serious. "That's an illness! You need treatment!"
"You can treat that?" Shirō blinked in disbelief.
"It's simple," Lisa said. "You just have to do the opposite!"
"The opposite?" Shirō raised a brow.
"Exactly. If getting drunk causes you problems, then you need to get drunk more often. The more you do it, the higher your tolerance becomes, and eventually, you'll build immunity to all the symptoms!"
"…Really?" Shirō clearly didn't buy it.
"Of course it's real. Want me to dig up some data for you?" Lisa squinted confidently.
"Well, maybe there's a theory like that," Shirō admitted, "but that feeling of being drunk… I really don't want to experience it again."
"It'll be fine," Lisa said seriously. "It's treatment, not torture. I'll get something from the Fourth Division to ease your symptoms. Once you're drunk, you won't feel a thing. Keep at it long enough, and your body will build antibodies. After that, you won't even need the medicine, you'll be able to drink freely!"
"...Does that actually work?" Shirō asked, visibly tempted. In his previous life, he'd loved drinking. The thought of regaining that old freedom stirred his soul. With his current tolerance, he couldn't even enjoy it properly!
If this "treatment" worked, he'd finally be able to drink again without fear.
Lisa leaned closer, shielding her mouth with one hand, and whispered, "It's Captain Kyōraku's personal method."
"…Alright! Let's do it. The sooner the better!" Shirō said decisively.
"Wait," Lisa cautioned, "I always leave late. If I go early today, people will get suspicious."
"Suspicious?" Shirō frowned.
"Ahem, you know how Captain Kyōraku has been giving you the cold shoulder ever since that incident, right? And besides… we're stealing his stash." Lisa pushed up her glasses.
"I get it. We'll wait until the usual time. That way, no one will suspect anything," Shirō nodded.
"And we can't leave together," Lisa added. "One before, one after."
Shirō's eyelid twitched. Why does this feel so much like an affair…?
He quickly changed the subject. "By the way, I didn't expect you to come here to read."
"Even though I'm already part of the Eighth Division, I'm still young and not that strong yet," Lisa replied seriously. "So of course I come here to recharge my knowledge."
"Oh. Didn't take you for the studious type," Shirō said sheepishly. Then he glanced at the cover of his own book, and hastily covered it with his hand. Compared to her, he really wasn't making much progress.
But sometimes, the harder you try to hide something, the more obvious it becomes.
Like now.
Lisa's eyes narrowed. "What book are you reading?"
"Uh, nothing. Just grabbed one at random. Not sure what it's about," Shirō lied smoothly.
"Let me see."
"A‑ahem, that's not necessary. You're still reading yours, don't let me distract you," he protested.
"My book's way too advanced for now," Lisa said casually. "I can't make sense of it without examples. Yours might help me relax. Tell you what, let's trade!"
"This…" Shirō froze. He'd already lied. If he refused now, it'd look even more suspicious.
"You can't say that," Lisa pressed. "You don't know my level, and I don't know yours. Maybe I'll understand yours perfectly! Come on, let's swap. If it's too hard, we can trade back later!" she said, and snatched the book from his hands before he could react.
Lisa glanced at the title, blinked… then exclaimed, "This, this is what you're reading?!"
Exactly as Shirō had feared.
"It's not what it looks like! I just picked it up randomly, I didn't even see the title!" he said hastily.
"Don't lie! The books here are all categorized. Even if you grabbed one randomly, it means you were in this section on purpose!" Lisa shot him a knowing look. Shirō's face flushed crimson. He bowed his head, mortified. Great. If she told anyone about this, he might as well hide for a hundred years.
"I didn't expect this… you actually like this kind of book?!" Lisa said with a spark of delight.
"'Also'?" Shirō blinked, then it hit him, of course. She was a total gossip. Always eavesdropping on captain meetings… of course this was her type of reading material.
The truth was, Shirō had just been browsing books about noble society. But noble histories were full of juicy scandals, and honestly, that's what made them fun. Hence his choice, "A Noblewoman's Quarrel That Shook the Entirety of Soul Society."
"Heh… what a coincidence," Shirō muttered awkwardly.
"Didn't expect us to have the same hobby," Lisa said brightly. "I haven't read this one before. Here, let's swap!"
Shirō reluctantly accepted her book. He was about to glance up proudly, then froze when he saw the title.
"On the Subject of Female Soul Reaper Childbirth."
…He was speechless.
Curiosity was one thing, but this? Shouldn't you start with "how they get pregnant"? How did she end up reading this?!
Lisa Yadōmaru was clearly ahead of her time. No wonder she'd said she didn't "have enough practical examples" to understand her book.
"Ahem. I don't think this kind of book is really… appropriate," Shirō said awkwardly. He suddenly realized he'd been completely misled earlier by her "still young and need to recharge" line.
Recharge?! What kind of current was she talking about, AC or DC?!
Lisa adjusted her glasses and asked with perfect seriousness, "What, you're not curious at all?"
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter