King Grey Wolf…
Aizen's eyelid twitched violently at the title.
Did he really have to say it?
If he said it, the Hōgyoku would be completed much faster.
But saying it meant tossing his pride on the floor and letting someone stomp on it…
His arrogance and self-respect screamed against it.
After a brief struggle, Aizen drew a slow breath and said:
"King Grey Wolf… I have been waiting a long time. Waiting for you to grace this tavern and help me complete the Hōgyoku."
However—
Grey Wolf didn't answer.
Instead, he put on a pair of glasses with spirals for lenses.
He scanned the tavern…
and finally fixed his gaze on a seat by the window.
"That's the real you, isn't it?"
"These glasses are Intelligence Lenses. They maximize my intellect… and even let me see the future."
"The future I saw is that in a few minutes, you walk over from that seat and hand me the Hōgyoku."
"So—"
"Hurry over. Stand at attention. And shout my glorious title: King Grey Wolf!"
Silence fell over the tavern.
Yes.
Aizen had used Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize Grey Wolf, making him believe Aizen had already shouted the title.
He thought he'd escaped humiliation.
But who could have possibly predicted the wolf would pull out glasses that see the future?!
Everyone stared, stunned.
Predicting the future from increased intelligence was still barely believable.
But actual future sight?
That was cheating on a cosmic scale.
Liang Bing and Kaisha exchanged looks—calm on the surface, a tsunami underneath.
As the tech gods of the tavern, they knew the only way to "predict the future" was through massive data processing and extrapolation.
But Grey Wolf?
One pair of glasses.
Not even a super-civilization could pull this off.
At that moment—
The Aizen standing before Grey Wolf shimmered—
and vanished.
The real Aizen stood up from the window seat and walked forward, voice trembling:
"...King Grey Wolf."
"Too quiet. I can't hear it."
Aizen's mouth twitched.
Was this never going to end?
He wanted to stab this wolf.
Repeatedly.
But he held it in.
He inhaled sharply—
and roared:
"KING GREY WOLF!!!"
The shout shook the entire tavern.
Even Lucoa, sleeping in the back, frowned and rolled over in annoyance.
Grey Wolf nodded approvingly.
"Good. Let's begin."
"You—go roast me a sheep. You personally. And remember, don't throw away the sheep whip or sheep balls—raw!"
After taking the Hōgyoku from Aizen, Grey Wolf handed the glasses to Ron with a flattering smile:
"Boss~
You heard what they do. No need to explain, right?"
Ron accepted them and nodded.
"Alright. Get to work. And stop eating only mutton—I'll have Rem make you some fish too."
"You're the best!"
Grey Wolf rubbed his hands in excitement and sat down in a quiet corner, beginning the "manual repair" of the Hōgyoku.
Aizen, meanwhile, stood frozen.
His eyes were hollow.
A vein bulged on his forehead.
His face twitched nonstop.
This was humiliation beyond imagination.
Just wait until the Hōgyoku is complete…
I'll kill you. I'll kill ALL of you.
"Why are you standing there?" Grey Wolf barked. "GO!"
Aizen snapped back to reality and jogged to the kitchen.
Under Rem and Ram's coaching, he began roasting a whole sheep…
Yoruichi, still in her cat form, burst into laughter:
"Hahaha—!
A captain of the Gotei 13, cooking sheep for a wolf!"
"If this gets back to soul society, you'll go down in history!"
Aizen said nothing.
His knife moved silently—
Cutting out the sheep treasure.
In his eyes was pure murder.
Before the avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.
When the Hōgyoku is complete…
I'll kill every last one of you.
Just then—
Liang Bing asked softly:
"Can I take a look at those glasses?"
Born a scholar, she couldn't resist the lure of an impossible artifact.
Ron eyed her warily.
"You're not planning to run off with them, right?"
"How could I~?"
Liang Bing clicked her heels rapidly as she ran behind the bar, long nylon-covered legs swaying, clinging to Ron's arm.
Kaisha scoffed:
"As expected of a bitch. Your aura is suffocating."
Liang Bing smirked.
"Hypocritical bitch. I know you want to see them too."
The sisters were seconds from starting a street-level brawl when Ron sighed.
"Enough. Here. Don't break it."
He handed over the glasses.
Both Kaisha and Liang Bing immediately began analysis.
But—
Even with the Demon Wing Core Processor and the Angelic Knowledge Library at maximum output…
They discovered the glasses were composed of:
Iron.
Glass.
Plastic.
Nothing else.
"How is this possible?!" Liang Bing gasped.
"I'll try them on," Kaisha said.
The moment she wore them—
She felt… wrong.
Her head tingled.
As if…
As if her brain was trying to grow.
Liang Bing opened her mouth—
"You look so—"
Kaisha removed the glasses and said flatly:
"You're about to say: 'I look ugly in these glasses so I'm taking them off.'"
Liang Bing swallowed the words whole.
"…Assessment complete."
Ron retrieved the glasses, chuckling, and placed them into the system warehouse.
For once, the two cosmic sisters didn't try to buy them.
Instead, both stared at Grey Wolf.
The glasses were impressive.
But the wolf who made them…
was priceless.
If they obtained him, their civilizations would advance millennia overnight.
The sisters stood gracefully and approached Grey Wolf.
Liang Bing began her pitch first:
"Interested in joining me? I can provide the most cutting-edge tech. You'll be the greatest scientist in the known universe."
"Not interested," Grey Wolf replied dryly.
Kaisha sat elegantly.
"Come to Merlot Heaven. Any equipment or personnel you require will be provided. I can even grant you immortality."
Grey Wolf didn't look up.
"Still not interested."
"If I go to your world, what happens to my wife and kids?"
"Even if I bring them, what if they don't adapt?
Besides, the people here are nice, the talent is great, and I love it here."
"And everything you can give me—Ron can give me too."
The sisters' eyes twitched.
They were about to try again—
But a strong aroma drifted from the kitchen.
Everyone's appetite spiked instantly.
Aizen emerged, holding a perfectly roasted whole sheep.
He set it in front of Grey Wolf.
"The roast is done. Please try."
Rayleigh snorted with laughter.
"This pretty boy is surprisingly good at cooking. Looks good too. Perfect for… living off a woman."
The Holy Master had just returned from disciplining his son.
He said calmly:
"A man living off a woman must rely on something very hard."
He glanced at Aizen.
"Do you think he's hard?"
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