While Nanao was trying to figure out what to say, Serafall suddenly started chuckling, "Don't worry about it, Nanao-chan. While I do mind the amount of scouting, none of them crossed the line and I'm not really angry about it. After all, this is a basic prerequisite if you do not want to be taken advantage of at the negotiation table."
Nanao cleared her throat and took a sip of her tea once again to calm her nerves, "I apologize I reacted that way. I just didn't expect information to leak that easily... As if someone inside provided it to you."
"Well, that's actually how I got it. I'm very good friends with a certain Shinigami."
Nanao only said that to try and gauge Serafall's reaction, but she didn't expect that she'd be this honest and further halted her thought process, 'It's no use. I can't figure anything out.'
Nanao wanted to remove a bit of shroud surrounding this individual for them to prepare as much as possible and know what to expect, 'I'm sorry Captain, but it's obvious that she's quite adept in a situation like this. There's no way an amateur like me can crack her.'
Not wanting to become a free source of information, Nanao finally gave up her tiptoeing and said, "Do you have time today? If it's alright with you, we can go to the Soul Society now."
"Sure. Please lead the way."
After Serafall cleaned up, she followed Nanao outside with Hell's Butterflies already fluttering around her, "I'm ready, shall we go?"
Nanao was about to open the Senkaimon when she recalled something important and turned to Serafall, "I'm sorry but we'll need to leave your physical body behind. Although Soul Society is perfectly survivable with a physical body, nothing in it can nourish one and it's not exactly a comfortable experience. If Urahara Kisuke was still around, we could request the use of Reishi Henkan-Ki (Spirit Exchangers) to convert physical material into Reishi. But the device is currently in Captain Mayuri's possession and he's currently studying how it works."
"Don't worry about me~ I'm different from normal Humans and the power I possess is within my physical body. Even if I go without food for a month or two, I'll be just fine." Serafall's face almost twitched at the sudden mention of Kisuke's name, 'And I doubt something designed for a Human with a physical body that doesn't contain any power will work on me.'
Nanao stared at her for a moment before proceeding to open the Senkaimon, "Understood." This was a big piece of information, but Nanao didn't let anything show on her face.
"Will there be an official meeting?"
Nanao shook her head, "It'll just be a tour and your visit will be a secret except to those Gatekeepers, Lieutenants, and above. However, not all of them are aware that you're coming."
As the Japanese wooden door manifests itself and opens, Nanao is thinking that this won't be possible in Captain-Commander Yamamoto's era and Serafall might have even been treated as a foreign adversary that needs to be eliminated for the sake of balance and peace. This is how different the current Captain Commander is and she intended to support him all the way.
Unknown to her, it's also because a certain Shinigami knew that Captain-Commander Yamamoto's era is over that he's comfortable bringing Serafall and the other girls with him back into this world.
.
.
.
As light enveloped Nanao and Serafall, the latter's senses went haywire for a moment due to the Space-Time transition, and became dizzy for a moment. However, Serafall didn't care and kept her senses sharp in case something jumped at her from an unknown place or her own body was rejected by the place where only Souls could reside.
Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened and they successfully reached Soul Society, more specifically, the Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls).
Serafall opened her eyes and was greeted by a very wide platform and behind them is a giant door already closing. Beside the door are two men wearing long purple robes standing stoically.
"They are the Gatekeepers of this Senkaimon and members of the Kidou Corps," Nanao explained to Serafall before asking her to follow her.
Serafall took a deep breath and the only thing she could think of right now is how radically the air is different in this world. The next thing she noticed is the sudden increase of Nanao's aura, 'At least five times. I heard from Kisuke that those of a certain level have limiters on when they go to the Human world so they wouldn't affect it in a disastrous way. Is that also the case for those Shinigami yesterday?'
As they reach the edge of the platform where there's a set of stairs going down, Serafall finally realized that they were on top of a very large and tall tower.
As there's nothing like an elevator in this tower, they had to walk all the way down. But before they left the tower, Nanao took a different turn and led Serafall to one of the rooms that looks like a changing room, "Please wait here for a moment. I will go look for a suitable Shihakusho that will fit you to change into since we can't really have you going around in a Human world's clothes."
Serafall looked at herself and agreed. Sadly, she's also not a fan of the Shihakusho, '...I don't really have any choice, do I?'
Nanao soon returned and thanks to her astute eyes, she was able to get the right size the first time, "I'll help you change."
"Thank you."
It didn't take too long for Serafall to put on the Shihakusho as she has prior experience wearing something similar in the early years of Japan.
With Nanao in the lead again, they exited the tower and Serafall witnessed a long, solemn street, "This is the 1st Division's area, and most of what's in and happening here are official buildings and official events. We'll first go to the commerce district."
Serafall stretched her arms and took another deep breath of Seireitei's clean air and thought, 'Now then... These guys probably already thought that I'm here to gather information on them.'
As Serafall could just get all the information she needed from Kisuke himself, she didn't really need to risk herself like this for something like that. What she needed is to establish her presence and set another powerhouse that the Seireitei won't be able to ignore.
While there's merit in hiding her abilities, that'll only create a huge division between them and it's not like they are enemies that she needs to take out.
'Knowing Captain Mayuri, I'll probably meet this Captain Zaraki 'accidentally' in today's outing. If so, I'll be playing along~.'