Chapter 12

After Kazuma Hatake received the stamped backing paper, a pop-up window even gave him a task.

[Current Task: The Rat Curse Spirit and an Unpleasant Day Off.]

[New Task: A Heart-Pounding Dessert Stamp Collection Event.]

[Stamp collection progress: 0/16]

This must be a side quest... I didn't expect this piece of paper to require so many stamps; I actually have to visit all sixteen shops on this street.

Since the first store to launch the event was a pastry shop, Kazuma Hatake and Satoru Gojo quickly picked out small cakes and had each of them stamped by the shop assistant.

Incidentally, Gojo Satoru chose to pay by card, while Hagoromo Kazuma paid in cash, using in-game currency.

Fortunately, the exchange rate of gold coins to Japanese yen was quite high, and since he was doing it to complete a mission, he wasn't particularly distressed.

Because the pastry shop was about to close, they could only sit side by side on a park bench in the sunset.

"I didn't expect you to be planning to collect these stamps too—are you a sweet tooth as well?"

Holding a small cake, Gojo Satoru turned slightly toward Hato Kazuma, revealing a teasing chuckle like a fellow enthusiast meeting up, and cut off a piece of cream cake with his fork and put it in his mouth.

"Ugh, you really can't expect too much from the pastry shops in a small town..."

"Is it not tasty?"

Kazuma Hatori looked down at his own portion.

He's not actually a sweet tooth; as long as something isn't so bad that it's outrageous, he can't really tell the difference between them.

Try a bite...it tastes like a regular cream cake.

"It tastes like a regular cream cake," Gojo Satoru mumbled, biting his fork.

"But you've probably never tried the particularly delicious desserts in Tokyo, have you? I'll take you there to try them next time, and you'll understand!"

"OK."

Kazuma Hatori readily agreed.

This is practically like the person you're trying to win over pointing to something and saying, "This is a gift to increase my affection level, give it to me now!" How could he possibly refuse?

After finishing the cake in a few bites, Gojo Satoru stood up, patted his clothes, and put his hands in the pockets of his uniform jacket.

As for the cake box and fork, he had already pinched them into small pieces with his [cang] and held them in his palm, intending to take them back to the hotel and throw them away.

"Come on, I'll take you to the hotel. You barely slept last night, so it's best for you to get some rest early today—you don't have any reversal techniques to heal brain damage, do you?"

"There is indeed no such skill."

Kazuma Hatake quickly finished his cake, closed the pop-up message "Your stamina has increased!", and got up to follow Satoru Gojo.

What is the Reversal Technique?

"Ah, that can achieve body regeneration, and even more amazing things. Simply put, it's about multiplying negative energy spell power and reversing it into positive energy..."

"…Can't understand."

The attack skills are all activated by the game, as Hatakeichi honestly stated.

"According to Shoko, it's like 'whoosh—' the curse power is released, then 'whoosh—' again..."

"...I understand even less."

"Is that so? Then I'll have to try my best to think of a third way to teach you..."

Gojo Satoru seemed to laugh out loud, the sound scattering in the gentle evening breeze that brushed past the two of them.

…………

As a "powerful" helper who was "invited," Kazuma Hatori was also invited to attend the second day's strategy meeting.

According to Ichiji Kyoko's data, they not only need to spend about five days driving away the countless [Rat Cursed Spirits] observed in the sewers to one place, but they also have to guard against whether other high-level cursed spirits will appear in the surrounding area at the same time.

The sheer number of [Rat Cursed Spirits] generated in the sewers suggests that this massive negative energy might also give rise to other cursed spirits—it's just that, based on the law of the jungle, those cursed spirits have scattered to nearby areas, requiring [Window] to conduct a thorough search first.

Therefore, Gojo Satoru had to stay in Yamagata Prefecture for the next few days and was temporarily unable to handle tasks in other places.

Thanks to this, before the [Rat Curse Spirit] merged, he was still able to find some time to participate in stamp collecting activities.

"Oh, the second one is a Japanese confectionery shop, that's great! I really like this kind of sweetness that's so different from cake—"

Gojo Satoru was looking at the shop window with great interest, and Hagoromo Kazuma, who also wanted to collect stamps, naturally walked around with him in front of these desserts.

"Dumplings, daifuku, dorayaki—they're all absolutely irresistible!"

It was rare to be able to talk about his interests with someone without being interrupted or criticized. Gojo Satoru turned his head and smiled as he introduced his interests to Hatori Kazuma, who listened attentively to his recommendations.

"But the yokan (sweet bean jelly) isn't very good; it's a bit too astringent and totally outside my comfort zone. So, which one do you prefer?"

"My words..."

Kazuma Hatori glanced at the dazzling array of desserts in the shop window, gave up shaking his head, and subtly complimented him.

"You're the professional, I'll just buy the same one as you."

"Hmph, of course!"

Gojo gave him a triumphant thumbs-up, then turned to the shop assistant to place his order.

"Excuse me, could you please give us each a strawberry daifuku, and then stamp these two backing papers?"

"Okay!"

Even if two tall men, both around 1.9 meters tall, come to buy desserts together, one wearing an eye mask and speaking in a lively tone, and the other expressionless and aloof, the shop assistant can always maintain a good professional service attitude and take the two liner papers with a smile without showing the slightest surprise.

"Ah, is it the [Heart-Pounding Dessert Stamp Collection Event]? Oh, excuse me... you need to purchase certain items to get the stamps."

Gojo Satoru was taken aback. "Huh? Strawberry daifuku isn't okay?"

"No, that won't work." The shop assistant shook her head with a smile.

"Ugh...it's okay, just cover it up a little, no one's going to be angry anyway—"

Kazuma Hatori's voice softened at the sound of Satoru Gojo's voice, his white hair swayed back and forth, and he started to act cute towards the shop assistant, trying to get away with using the strawberry daifuku mochi as a charm.

...Help, this level of cuteness has suddenly doubled to the point of being unfair.

If it were him, he would definitely stamp the whole thing up with seals in no time, completely defenseless.

Kazuma Hatori silently covered his mouth, his gaze deep and thoughtful. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed as if he was simply engaged in calm reflection.

"No, that won't work."

But the shop assistant resisted Gojo Satoru's pleading.

Gojo Satoru: "Eh..."

The shop assistant said, "By the way, the only item that can be stamped is yokan (sweet bean jelly)!"

"Gurgle..."

Gojo Satoru let out a deflated sound, his white hair drooping. "Well then, two yokan (sweet bean jelly), please..."

Thank you for your patronage!

Kazuma Hato didn't expect that the last thing he would pay for was the yokan (sweet bean jelly) that Gojo Satoru least wanted to eat, so he was visibly extremely disappointed.

"Sigh, it has to be yokan... I could have just gotten a stamp no matter which one I bought, right?"

Even after leaving the house, Gojo Satoru was still complaining to Hato Kazuma, "Besides, strawberry daifuku is clearly more expensive than yokan..."

"Then I'll buy two more strawberry daifuku."

Hato Kazuma turned to go back, but Gojo Satoru stopped him.

"If I buy too much, we won't be able to finish it and it will go to waste, right? Oh well, even things not going as planned can be fun!"

As Gojo Satoru said this, he patted Hatake Kazuma on the shoulder—although there was an invisible wall, the latter had no sense of being patted at all.

"Next up, the second one! Eh... a tea shop? Isn't it for collecting desserts? Hmm, that's fine too. Tea might go well with yokan (sweet bean jelly)..."

While comforting himself with this thought, Gojo Satoru took Hagoromo Kazuma to buy two cans of tea and got them stamped.

"And the next one is... a meat patty!?"

"The next one is Pineapple..."

"The next one is a bouquet..."

"The next one is a handheld electric fan..."

“…”

"...How is this supposed to be a dessert collecting event?!"

Walking down the street with Kazuma Hatori, carrying various shopping bags, Satoru Gojo sighed and complained loudly, "In the end, all we got to eat was dessert last night! It was like collecting all the desserts! And this super trendy tiger-print shirt, am I supposed to wear it? It doesn't match my handsome guy image at all!"

"...Event planning, that's how it is."

Kazuma Hatori offered words of comfort.

When he was playing games, he did all sorts of weird side quests, most of which were long and tedious map explorations, or a series of interconnected tasks involving finding, buying, and repairing items...

Therefore, he was already mentally prepared for this kind of stamp collecting activity that was not dessert stamp collecting at all.

[Current Task: A thrilling dessert stamp collecting event.]

[Stamp collection progress: 15/16]

Fortunately, it's almost finished, and this cake shop is the last one.

"But finally it's a normal cake shop... After all, it's a pastime, and you can get a secret dessert at the end, so I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Gojo Satoru, who was trying to regain his spirits, thought the same thing, but just as he was about to pull Hagoromo Kazuma inside, the phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from Kiyotaka Ijichi, asking Mr. Gojo to come to the sewers for help.

"…………Sigh, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Gojo Satoru stood silently for a while, looking completely listless.

"Shall I buy the last item for you?" Kazuma Hatake reached out to him for a tissue.

Anyway, he doesn't need to help in the sewers, so he has time to buy the goods and stamp the last one.

"Hmm—no,"

Gojo Satoru visibly struggled for a moment, then slumped his shoulders.

"Since it's a secret dessert, the anticipation is definitely higher when you get your hands on it in person! You'll have to entertain yourself for the rest of the time. Good luck!"

He waved to Kazuma Hatori, carrying his bags, hailed a taxi, and headed to the sewers where Kiyotaka Ijichi and Kento Nanami were.

He never complains at work and is always available whenever called upon...

Kazuma Hatori watched Gojo Satoru leave, then went to the last cake shop himself.

He wanted to see what the secret dessert was, and he also wanted to get the side quest reward.

"This stamp collecting event is a problem."

Kazuma Hatori handed the liner to the shopkeeper, saying, "I want to buy a limited-edition item."

"Huh... I didn't expect there were actually people collecting stamps,"

The shop owner was surprised to receive the 15 stamps. "Great! Thank you for your patronage! I also have the secret dessert redemption here. Please wait a moment."

[The heart-pounding dessert stamp collecting event, stamp collection progress: 16/16.]

[Reward: Cooking skill unlocked.]

Putting that skill aside for now, Kazuma Hatake was speechless at this so-called [secret dessert].

Spicy curry-flavored Mont Blanc?

Who could come up with such a bizarre combination of ingredients?

Throughout his journey collecting stamps, Gojo Satoru kept muttering that he wanted something sweet, and he was also very much looking forward to the secret dessert...

I wonder how disappointed I would be if I ended up tasting it and found out it actually tasted like curry.

Walking down the street, Kazuma Hatori pondered for a few seconds, then put the shopping bag and the Mont Blanc into his inventory and returned to the pastry shop where he had started.

"Excuse me, I need a blank backing paper for stamping."