Ill Tidings  

These people who were forcibly coerced by Ailin to relocate were extremely afraid of him. After all, in this era where firearms had not yet developed, Ailin who could cause such great destruction with a casual wave of his hand was no different from a god or demon in the eyes of the simple villagers.

However, everyone was very respectful towards Haruko Kuchiki. On one hand, Haruko Kuchiki was the wife of Lord Ailin, and no one dared to disrespect her.

On the other hand, when they were working, Haruko Kuchiki would often prepare food and water for them, smiling and chatting with them about their daily lives, garnering everyone's support and admiration.

Moreover, they also discovered that in front of Madam Kuchiki, that "god-demon" was only an ordinary, doting husband. This also made everyone less afraid of Ailin.

Especially when Ailin frankly told everyone that after everyone had relocated nearby, he would open a dojo to teach swordsmanship, and all children under ten years old could come to the dojo to learn swordsmanship.

At that moment, everyone was no longer so resistant towards the relocation. In this chaotic world, while everyone feared such great power, they also yearned for it.

And this "power" could refer to the armies attacking everywhere outside, or Ailin's demonstrated "god-demon" means.

Now, while they didn't have the opportunity to pursue those "god-demon" means, their children now had that chance.

If their children obtained power as great as Lord Ailin's, who would still dare bully them?

***

"Legend says, in a beautiful village somewhere in this world called Sakura Garden Village..."

"It was filled with cherry blossom trees, transforming into an ocean of cherry blossoms every spring..."

"The people lived in peace and contentment, untouched by the ravages of war..."

"Everyone who visited this village was moved by the thick atmosphere of life here, wanting to reside here long term..."

"Some people wanted to bring their families back home and move them all to Sakura Garden Village, but sadly, after they left Sakura Garden Village and wanted to return, they could no longer find the way back no matter what..."

On a horse carriage filled with goods, an old man was smiling as he told stories to a few children. 

This was a merchant troupe. Although wars still raged all over the world now, the people of various major powers had also started noticing the shortage in resources. Thus, they kept raising the purchase prices for certain resources. Under such circumstances, to obtain more wealth, these "merchant troupes" emerged.

They traveled south and north, buying low and selling high, reaping tremendous profits. To a certain extent, the experiences of these merchant troupes were no less than those nobles and warlord armies.

Moreover, every place they arrived, there would be rulers who wanted to purchase news about other places from these merchant troupe members.

The legend this old man had just described was one that started circulating five years ago. Moreover, the more it was passed on, the more fantastical it became.

Like how a certain ruler coveted Sakura Garden Village's bountiful harvests initially and sent thousands of soldiers to demand tributes, yet in the end only dozens of soldiers escaped with their lives while the rest were all killed by the villagers.

And according to these surviving soldiers, those villagers were very powerful. Just sending out groups of children, each person could fight over ten enemies.

What was even more terrifying was that there was a devil there. With a casual wave of his hand, he could completely massacre groups of soldiers.

It was also after that battle that everyone started treating " Sakura Garden Village " as a legend.

Because after that, besides occasional news of people who claimed to have been to Sakura Garden Village, no one else could find the location of " Sakura Garden Village " anymore.

"Wow, Village Chief, do you know where this legendary Sakura Garden Village is?"

"Hahaha, of course I know!"

"Look..." The old man sitting in the carriage pointed towards a mountain in the distance: "According to the circulating information, Sakura Garden Village is inside those mountains." Back then, I was also someone who truly entered Sakura Garden Village..."

***

"How, how is this possible?"

In the direction the old man was pointing, Ailin who had just ended a day of teaching stared at the black butterfly perched on his finger, shocked beyond belief.

It had been six years since Ailin and Haruko Kuchiki came to the real world. To allow Haruko to continue living a life not inferior to what she had in Soul Society, Ailin established " Sakura Garden Village ".

During this time, because the news that Sakura Garden Village was developing well leaked out, it attracted some powers to attack them.

Whenever it was groups of just dozens or hundreds, Ailin would have the teenagers who had trained at his dojo for a period of time deal with them.

When there were thousands, Ailin personally took action to drive them away.

Later on when Ailin grew tired of these disturbances, he set up a barrier outside Sakura Garden Village that could make ordinary people unconsciously overlook the existence of the village, finally restoring peace.

"What's wrong? Ailin?"

Haruko Kuchiki walked into the yard and saw Ailin's abnormal expression, hurriedly going to his side and asked caringly. Over these six years, Haruko's soul had fully recovered and her body was no longer frail.

"I just received a message from Byakuya through a Hell Butterfly saying Father-in-Law is critically ill and probably can't last a few more days."

"How can that be?" Haruko Kuchiki's body shook as her eyes reddened, "Father was still hale and hearty when we left..."

"Mm, I also find it strange." In Ailin's estimates, Father-in-Law Ginrei Kuchiki should have been able to endure for about ten more years. Yet now after just six years he couldn't hold on, there must have been some matter Ailin was unaware of.

"Haruko, I'll leave a few swords here to protect you and head to Soul Society to take a look. Don't leave the dojo before I return. Even if you need to head out, bring along those weapons, understand?"

"Mm, go on, help me apologize to Father on my behalf too." Haruko Kuchiki wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and hugged Ailin.

Now that Haruko's soul and body were completely fused, even if her soul left her body, there would still be a Chain of Fate linking both. Unless she died, her soul could not enter Soul Society in spirit form.

After gently patting Haruko's back a few times, Ailin consoled, "Mm, I will."

Moreover, Ailin remembered that 200 years later, Kisuke Urahara had allowed human Orihime Inoue and normal souls Uryu Ishida and Sado Yasutora to enter Soul Society before.

After he arrived in Soul Society, he would ask Kisuke Urahara about it. If Kisuke Urahara could accomplish it now, Ailin would ask him to bring Haruko Kuchiki to Soul Society as well.

However, before confirming whether Kisuke Urahara could do it, Ailin didn't want to raise Haruko's expectations excessively. Otherwise if Kisuke Urahara's side couldn't do it, it would only make Haruko sadder.