Walking through the lively streets, Kisuke immediately noticed one thing. While the Deities roaming around were a bit fewer than those in Orario, everyone, except for very young children, seemed to have received a Falna, regardless of their profession, 'Is it because the surroundings are too dangerous for normal people?'
After more than half an hour of walking, the three reached a wide, three-story building, teeming with people of all races. With its large entrance, the traffic of people was non-stop. Different from the Guild, however, the atmosphere inside was a bit heavier.
The moment they entered the establishment, half of the people inside looked towards them, more specifically, at Yoruichi and Kuroka. Some of them glanced at Kisuke curiously but soon returned their sights to the girls.
Ignoring these stares, Kisuke and co proceeded towards the receptionist desk. Behind it was an aged muscular man. He has brown hair with white stripes running along it and a thick mustache and beard of the same color. However, his most prominent feature is an eyepatched left eye with a long scar running along it from his forehead to his cheek.
With the combination of this and his strict expression, he gave off a terrifying pressure and anyone who was weak-minded wouldn't even look at his right eye, much less approach him, "Good day~ I'd like to register."
Obviously, his appearance didn't matter to Kisuke who approached him with a big smile while passing the blank card that the guard gave him at the gates.
Instead of replying, however, the man on the reception first looked around. He saw that there were other free receptionists and some of them were even beautiful girls. With an expression that said he couldn't care less, the man replied while resting his chin on his hand and yawning, "Go away. I'm busy."
Too bad for him, he met an annoying and stubborn person who feared almost nothing. Sitting in front of the man, Kisuke continued as if he didn't hear the man's words, "Nice to meet you. I'm Kisuke Urahara. I need to fill out a form, right? Bring it here."
The man stayed silent for a moment and stared at Kisuke who was smiling at him. Clicking his tongue, he gave up and took out the form needed to register. He concluded that it'll be faster to finish his registration rather than bicker with him, "The only required information is your name and your affiliation."
"Hmm? What about my Level?" asked Kisuke.
"Huh? Did those two not tell you anything?" The man was referring to the girls that entered with him.
Kisuke shook his head and said, "Nope~ But since you're already entertaining me, please explain to me this whole Mercenary business. It's my first time around this area."
The man glared at Kisuke for a few seconds, but after noting that his smile couldn't be broken, the man scratched his head in frustration and annoyance, "So you already knew that I don't want to be disturbed. Just why did you have to come to my spot and interfere with my resting time?"
"Don't mind it. I just thought that you're the most experienced one around here. And besides, I trust you more than those who are already making a stiff smile from doing a fake one all the time."
Everyone around them heard his words and some of the receptionists glared at him for his words but Kisuke just waved at them with a smile in response, "By the way, what's your name?"
The man sighed and answered, "Varka. Just Varka. It may seem strange for an outsider like you but it's common for people around here to not have a surname for obvious reasons."
"Due to the harshness of this place, isn't it? Looks like I'm already reaping the benefits of talking to you," replied Kisuke as he filled up his name and Familia on the form.
Varka snorted at him but continued speaking, "There aren't really any special reasons why Level isn't required to be disclosed. First of all, there are cases where some people are too strong for their Level while some are too weak. Another one is that hiding your strength or aces is generally a good practice, making it some sort of deterrence against your enemies, which is effective around these parts as many people don't get along very well."
Kisuke finished his form with just his name and Familia before passing it to Varka to let him have a look, "Heh... That means there are also tons of people out there pretending to be a sheep or a tiger."
"If they are weak and pretend to be strong, then they'll just be welcoming their death. If it's the opposite, it won't really be long until they revealed themselves," Varka received Kisuke's papers and commented, "Hestia Familia, huh. The same as those two I see. Since we don't have any information regarding this Deity Hestia, we could only consider you a Vagrant Mercenary."
"How is that different from normal Mercenaries?"
"Nothing much. You just don't have preferential treatment as long as your Deity doesn't show their face in the Guild and register in the Coalition of Gods."
"I see. That's one way to force people with strong blessings and is just wandering to join one of the factions."
The face of the two receptionists beside Varka stiffened when they heard Kisuke's words. Varka himself, however, just shrugged his shoulders as he filed Kisuke's paper, "You're not wrong. Even those from the other three factions have better preferential treatment compared to outsiders like you."
Inscribing the blank card that Kisuke got from the guard with the Mercenary Guild's insignia and the owner's name, Varka passed it back to Kisuke, "Here. You will need it to leave and enter the city. If you lose it, you should report it immediately to get a new one, but for a certain price. To the side are missions you can take. Whether you die or succeed with those will depend on your judgment. If you want further information, ask your companions. They've been here for quite some time. And finally, we're done here, so get lost."
Kisuke received the card back and said, "Thank you. I'll come again~" before turning his back to him, returning to Yoruichi and Kuroka who were waiting outside.
"...Please don't," Kisuke heard Varka's voice from behind and it was the most sincere thing he'd ever heard from him. But Kisuke just ignored him.
The moment Kisuke and co left the premises, a blonde Half-Elf came to Varka's side, "Fufufu, never thought you'd work that hard. That guy's pretty interesting, managing to force you to do actual work."
Varka didn't look back but replied, "Shut it up, Camilla. My head is already aching from the fact that that guy will most certainly bother me again. With that said, I'd like to take a leave of absence... Indefinitely if possible."
Camilla chuckled, "Please don't say that. You already promised to work for at least 10 years. And you're also allowed to treat others however you like as long as you don't hurt them. It's just your bad luck to finally meet a guy who doesn't seem to get bothered by your tough stance."
"Hmmph."
Camilla then faced the entrance of the Guild and continued, "In any case. That guy seems to be acting tough. It's very obvious."
Varka stayed silent for a moment before replying, "Yeah. He's too good at acting tough... Too good that I actually think that he's acting tough to look weak."
Camilla creased her brows slightly and said, "I see... So you're suggesting that he's at the same Level as those with him?"
Varka didn't answer her anymore so Camilla took that silence as an affirmation, "With three individuals with that kind of power without any affiliation appearing all of a sudden, it's not hard to guess that it's going to get very noisy soon."
As Camilla left him, Varka took a glance at her back while thinking, 'The same Level? In the first place, you people are understating those women big time, and one of them is probably beyond Level 6... But that guy, Kisuke Urahara... He makes me dread him... Way more than Captain of the Poseidon Familia who's known as the strongest.'
Varka then turned his face forward and proceeded to glare at people trying to approach him once again, 'It's going to get noisy, alright? But I'm pretty sure they won't be the 'victims'.'