"Please, follow me." Manokil gestured with his hand, and the gaze behind the monocle briefly lingered on the two of them.
"Mr. Wolfgang is already waiting for you in the conference room."
The three of them passed through a long hallway covered with a red carpet. On the walls on both sides, every few steps, hung a crystal chandelier. The dim light stretched the shadows endlessly.
"Allow me to ask," Manokil suddenly said, his voice as smooth as aged red wine, "what is your impression of London?"
"A very unique city." Unohana Retsu smiled gently. "Especially the food here."
It seemed that Manokil understood the hidden meaning in her words and, smiling, explained:
"Captain Unohana must be referring to the famous delicacy 'Stargazy pie.' That specialty is indeed a traditional dish that the locals are proud of, but..."
He pushed up his gold-rimmed monocle, and a cunning gleam flashed in his eyes. "In truth, even the locals often avoid it."
The corner of Arata's lips twitched slightly, and he thought to himself how skilled this old man was at making excuses for his own inedible food.
After passing the hallway adorned with oil paintings on both sides, the three of them stopped before a door made of black walnut decorated with gilded ornaments.
Manokil knocked three times, and a deep voice like the sound of a cello responded from the other side.
"Enter."
The moment he pushed the door open, Arata's pupils slightly constricted, around an oval mahogany conference table were arranged eight high chairs, each bearing a different constellation pattern carved into the backrest.
Seated at the center was a well-dressed elderly man with silver hair. On his dark uniform was fastened a silver medal in the shape of a dragon. The eyes behind his burgundy sunglasses sliced through the two of them like a knife.
"My name is Wolfgang Sluchhout." The old man stood up, the tip of his cane clicking against the floor. "I am the current director of the Western Bureau and captain of the Department of Personnel and Divine Punishment. The last time we had contact with the Eastern Bureau was three hundred years ago, when Mr. Yamamoto himself came for a visit."
He extended a scarred hand and shook hands with Arata and Unohana in turn. "I didn't expect you to send such a young man this time."
"But... young people are a good thing!" Before Arata could say anything, Wolfgang suddenly laughed, his sunglasses slipping to the tip of his nose, revealing eyes blue as the ocean.
"Old fools always like to complicate simple things, Manokil, go make some tea!"
…
More than an hour had passed when they finished their conversation.
As the head of the bureau, Wolfgang presented to Arata the development and changes in the Western Bureau and Inner London over the past century.
Arata, in turn, introduced various customs and structures of Soul Society, such as the noble Central 46 Chamber, the Maou Spiritual Arts Academy for common people, and so on.
When the conversation turned to recent teaching reforms in the Spiritual Arts Academy, Wolfgang immediately showed interest and said that he too wanted to improve the cadet training system in the Western Bureau.
"Interesting." Wolfgang removed his sunglasses, revealing ocean-blue eyes. "Your ranked evaluation system at the Shinō Academy might solve the training congestion problem we have in our Western Division."
With his fingertip, he spun the silver dragon head atop his cane, then suddenly changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, you two are quite lucky. Today is training day for our two main combat units in the Western Bureau, the Circle Magic Team and the Sword Team."
"If you're free, why not come and watch with us?"
Arata and Unohana Retsu looked at each other and saw curiosity in each other's eyes.
"Then we'd rather accept your kind invitation than decline it." Unohana Retsu nodded slightly, her braid slipping over her shoulder. "We've always been curious about the Western Bureau's combat style."
Wolfgang laughed and stood up, his cane clicking clearly against the floor again. "Manokil, lead the way."
——
After passing through three bronze doors engraved with runes, their view suddenly opened up.
The domed training ground was as large as five football fields. Thousands of prisms were etched into the dome ceiling, refracting the external sunlight into colorful beams.
"To the left is the Circle Magic Team, to the right the Sword Team." Wolfgang gestured toward both sides. "Although both are combat units, their fighting styles are completely different."
Arata looked in the indicated direction and saw more than twenty members in dark blue uniforms standing in formation on the left side of the field. Each wore a copper badge with a number on their chest.
In their hands, they held weapons of various shapes: sprays, bagpipes, staves, daggers, and so on.
It looked like they were performing some kind of formation drill.
"Are those... numbers?" Arata's sharp eyes noticed the glowing digital patterns at the tips of their staves.
Wolfgang nodded approvingly. "Yes, each number corresponds to a specific magic. It should be quite similar to the hadō and bakudō techniques in your Eastern Bureau."
At that moment, a mechanical platform suddenly rose in the center of the field, and inside the iron cage was a completely black baby dragon.
When the cage door opened, the young dragon roared and spread its five-meter-wide wings, while a purple poisonous mist began to seep from the cracks between its scales.
That very young dragon was their training target.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
A blonde girl at the head of the Circle Magic Team raised a ruby-ornamented staff high, and the members behind her began reciting in unison.
"Distant starlit path, at the end of the night sky, pure white stars form the Milky Way—"
"Leeds' wreath, scattered in silver light, gaze upon the heavens and await the end—"
"Magic #68 – The Holy Prison !"
As the recitation ended, dozens of golden beams of light suddenly appeared in the air above the training ground. They fell on the young dragon like lightning, encircled it, and then slowly intertwined into a cage-shaped barrier.
"Uuuuooh!"
The trapped young dragon let out a painful roar, as if sensing its approaching demise.
It angrily lunged at the golden cage, its sharp horns clashing against the barrier, causing bright sparks to fly.
"Big sis! I did it!" In the Circle Magic Team's formation, a black-haired boy resembling Kensei Muguruma shouted excitedly, as if extremely proud of the numbered spell he had just summoned.
"Bruno, boy, you're being too loud!"
"Hehe, Uncle Merlin, you're just jealous of my talent!"
…
"Truly refined binding technique." Unohana Retsu, observing from a distance, quietly commented, her fingertips unconsciously tracing a similar pattern on the cuff of her sleeve. "It concentrates spiritual energy... or rather, magical energy... on the most vulnerable part of the being."
Wolfgang stroked his beard with satisfaction. "The Circle Magic Team specializes in seals and barriers. Every numbered spell has been refined for hundreds of years, so it's perfectly normal for them to have this effect."
He pointed his cane toward the right side. "But the Sword Team has a completely different style."
Arata turned his head and saw more than twenty fighters in black leather jackets moving with incredible speed across the training ground.
In their hands, they held exaggerated melee weapons, serrated swords, chained blades, meteor hammers... some even wielded enormous axes the size of barn doors.
"Those spells are too complicated!" roared a red-haired giant at the front, swinging a double-headed battle axe. "It's much more satisfying to just cut everything down!"
"Hans! Watch your stance!" The black-haired deputy furiously kicked him in the rear.
"Yes, sorry, Lieutenant Sullivan!" Before his superior, the red-haired giant immediately tucked his tail.
Before he could finish the sentence, an even larger bronze dragon was released from a cage.
As soon as it regained its freedom, the dragon breathed a cone of fire; the high temperature melted the steel plates on the floor, leaving behind glowing red trails.
"Spread out!" At Sullivan Squire's command, the Sword Team instantly split into three groups.
Shield-bearers stood in front and absorbed the dragon's flames, while long-weapon fighters moved to flank it; some even stepped on their comrades' shoulders and leapt into the air.
"Now!"
Twelve weapons struck the dragon's wing joints at the same time, and the bronze dragon collapsed to the ground with a cry.
The red-haired giant seized the opportunity and leapt onto its back. A flash of cold light from the battle axe, and in an instant, the dragon's head and body were separated.
"Nice!"