Chapter 196

The Gojo mansion was indeed heavily guarded, with patrols day and night, and a protective barrier enveloping the entire mansion as a warning system.

However, the barrier was only meant to keep outsiders out; it couldn't stop Gojo Satoru from trying to climb over it to the outside.

He had never thought of sneaking out to play before, but Yizhen's words woke him up.

Yeah, since we don't let him play those things at home, then he can just go outside to play!

As for the bounty of over 100 million yen hanging over his head, Gojo Satoru didn't care at all.

"If those who want to kill me are all at a similar level to the [Level 1 Spellcaster] I witnessed today, then there's nothing to be afraid of."

Gojo Satoru pulled the fabric of his hoodie collar out of the hole covering his head, saying nonchalantly.

He took off his yukata and wooden clogs, which hindered his movement, and changed into a light and flexible hoodie, shorts, and sneakers.

Once Gojo Satoru was ready, he put his hands into the large pockets on the front of his hoodie, opened them, and gestured for Hatake Kazuma to shrink down and hide inside.

"Besides, there's you too."

He laughed, finally revealing a hint of childlike slyness.

"rest assured."

Kazuma Hatori patted Yogo's chubby little hand with his wing.

Don't be fooled by Wu's appearance; he's a beautiful phoenix that's exceptionally warm to hug in winter and can change size at will.

But if an enemy dares to touch him, he will make them understand on the spot what "sublimation" in physical reaction means.

Gojo Satoru patted the round, chubby little phoenix with his hand before opening the door, satisfied, ready to slip away.

When he was about to do something bad, his [six eyes] became especially useful—the magical power flowing through everyone, whether ordinary humans or sorcerers, was so clearly visible that it allowed him to easily bypass all the crowds and find a secluded, narrow path in the backyard where no one ever went.

As for the backyard wall, it was even easier for Gojo Satoru.

The activation principle of [Unlimited] Technique Rotation - [Azure] is easy to understand. It is actually about compressing the distance between two coordinates to negative infinity.

Therefore, as long as there are no obstacles blocking his way, he can use the technique to achieve short-distance spatial teleportation.

Even someone like Gojo Satoru, who had only awakened his technique six months prior, was 100% confident that he wouldn't make a mistake, such as teleporting himself onto a wall and then flipping over it.

But after gazing up at the tall stone wall for a moment, he moved his hands, which were tucked in his pockets, and touched Yizhen, who was sitting quietly inside, with his fingertips.

"I can't get over it."

Gojo Satoru was lying through his teeth with a straight face, saying, "We need to ask Kazuma for help."

When he said the second sentence, his expression revealed a mischievous smugness, like a kitten reaching out to be pampered and hugged with a clear conscience.

Since no one was passing by, Yizhen could spread out as much as possible—larger and more magnificent than any bird he had ever seen in books and picture books—his burning, dazzling wings flapped, the flames warmly enveloping him, and his sharp talons only needed to lightly grip his hoodie hood to lift him up smoothly and easily fly over the high wall.

Gojo Satoru squinted, looking exceptionally pleased.

He really enjoyed having someone accompany him to do something—especially doing "bad things" that the elders usually forbade, which made him even more excited.

When he regained his footing, his 25-minute sneak-out plan had been a complete success, and the ground beneath his feet had been replaced by five streets next to the mansion.

Kazuma Hatori folded his wings and stood on Gojo Satoru's shoulder, making him look like a young master taking his parrot out for a stroll—although ordinary people couldn't see the curse at all.

"Where to go next..."

They managed to get out, but Gojo Satoru only had the experience of taking a car out through the main gate, and he didn't know where to go for fun.

Even so, he was in a good mood, so he casually picked a direction to walk in. The bright sunlight shone on the ends of his hair, which bounced with each step, creating a soft, pure white halo that was almost transparent.

This feeling of being unrestrained is so light and carefree that even if Gojo Satoru suddenly decides to kick a small pebble on the roadside and watch it roll away with a thud, no one will immediately jump out and gently advise him that it is "unseemly".

As for the afternoon classes starting soon—this thought only lingered in Gojo Satoru's mind for a moment before he promptly dismissed it.

Anyway, it's just another pointless ideological education session, so it won't matter if I don't listen.

Meanwhile, the old man with a long white beard stood in the empty room, so incredulous that he shakily took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on, realizing that he really wasn't seeing things.

The heir to the next head of the family has learned to skip school!

But this mournful cry, which was enough to shake the elders, failed to reach Gojo Satoru's ears, and the happy little cat continued to stroll around the streets with the phoenix.

There are a lot of signs that you can see when you look up, and some of them are particularly unique in style, which are tricks that merchants have racked their brains to come up with in order to attract customers.

When Gojo Satoru first sneaked out of Gojo's house, he had no destination in mind, so he would stand there and look at whatever interesting things were displayed in the shop window for a long time.

The TV with the big butt is quite interesting; it's playing a music video with lots of special effects, supposedly a popular new single released by a certain singer this year.

Clothing stores use mannequins to showcase the season's trendiest styles, which are much more elaborate than the outfit he's wearing.

As I passed by the barbershop, I overheard a customer arguing with the manager because he was unhappy with his haircut.

Several children of similar age to him were crowded outside the bookstore that sells comics and magazines. They were carrying schoolbags and wearing their uniforms crookedly, and seemed to have already finished school. They were discussing the latest popular comics and the hottest idols.

The loudest sounds came from the pachinko parlor, where there were also a lot of people. The sounds of pounding the buttons to launch small steel balls, the music playing on a loop, and the occasional cheers and curses all mixed together, making the whole area very lively.

The people playing pachinko inside were a mixed bunch, ranging from teenagers to middle-aged people in their forties and fifties, from men to women. Each person had a large stack of plastic baskets filled with small steel balls next to them, and their eyes were focused on the small steel ball that kept bouncing.

Gojo Satoru only stood at the door for a moment before a shop assistant came out to remind him, "Little brother, you can't come in. Why are you alone? Where are the adults?"

"Right beside me."

Gojo Satoru said something that left the shop assistant completely baffled before walking away—he wasn't particularly interested in this pachinko game either.

The "GA Racing" that my peers are talking about is definitely not played on this kind of machine.

The street was bustling with people, most of whom stared at him curiously—or rather, at his eyes and hair—but none of their gazes fell on the man on his shoulder.

They were all ordinary people who couldn't see the curse, and therefore, they couldn't see the low-level curse spirits that he could occasionally glimpse with his [Six Eyes].

Since it's just a low-level cursed spirit, it shouldn't cause any major problems even if we leave it alone.

Standing at the entrance of the coffee shop, Gojo Satoru stared intently at the mosquito spirit inside, which was making a buzzing sound, and thought to himself.

Although it's called a coffee shop, it also sells some desserts to accompany the coffee. The desserts displayed in the transparent window are very exquisite and beautiful, and they blend with the unique aroma of coffee to give off a sweet taste.

Gojo Satoru was a little too weak to move his legs.

He had seen too much magical power along the way, and [Six Eyes] was operating beyond its capacity for the first time, consuming too much energy, to the point that his stomach was rumbling loudly.

But since it was also his first time going out, Gojo Satoru checked his pockets and realized he had forgotten to bring any money...

He had never had the concept of needing to spend his own money before. As long as it was within the scope of the elders' permission, a servant would immediately bring it over as soon as he asked.

Even though Gojo understood the common sense that you need money to buy things when you're out and about, because it was his first time sneaking out, he didn't even think about bringing any money with him.

Actually, he doesn't seem to have any cash... Maybe he should ask the elders for some next time before sneaking out again?

Tatsuo Gojo, far away at the Gojo family home, suddenly felt a sudden, inexplicable heart attack.

After staring blankly at the basketball-sized mosquito cursed spirit for a while, Gojo Satoru finally decided to step into the coffee shop.

—But it wasn't to ask the shopkeeper for a sweet treat on credit. Rather, the cursed spirit had been hovering in the air for a long time before finally landing on the shopkeeper's back, buzzing.

He wasn't very skilled at activating [Azure] yet. In situations where the cursed spirit was close to an ordinary person, he needed to maintain a certain distance to ensure accuracy so as not to harm the person.

"Little friend, can't you find your adult?"

The shop manager behind the counter seemed to be feeling unwell and was rubbing her shoulders—but when she saw Gojo Satoru walking towards her, she still kindly bent down and asked with a smile.

"Just came to take a look."

Gojo Satoru shook his head and made a hand gesture under the shopkeeper's puzzled gaze.

The technique is performed in a clockwise direction, [Azure].

Under the precise atomic control of [Six Eyes], an extremely small transparent vortex appeared behind her, instantly shrinking the weak mosquito curse spirit from the size of a basketball to the size of a ping-pong ball, before it disappeared with a scream.

"Huh?"

The shop manager blinked in confusion, completely baffled as to why the adorable white-haired, blue-eyed boy in front of her would suddenly reach out.

But she felt that her back, which had been slightly itchy, no longer felt uncomfortable.

Aside from the fact that her long hair was affected by the edge of [Azure], with a few strands floating and falling as if brushed by a gentle breeze, no one would know what Gojo Satoru was doing just now—curses and spells that ordinary people cannot see.

Having dealt with the cursed spirit, Gojo Satoru put his hands back in his pockets. "Now I'm done watching."

He turned to leave the coffee shop, but his stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

The elaborate activation of the technique also consumed a lot of energy, and Gojo Satoru was even hungrier now. He decided to end his runaway plan early and go back to eat something to replenish his strength.

"Wait a minute."

Although the shop manager didn't understand what Gojo Satoru was doing, she could tell he was very hungry.

Under the gaze of those bright, cat-like blue eyes, she bent down and took out a sliced ​​strawberry cream cake from the glass display case—then she pulled out a small fork, smiled, and handed it to Gojo Satoru.

"Here, let me treat you to some."

"—!"

Gojo Satoru's eyes widened as he stared at the strawberry cake that was emitting a sweet aroma. "But, I..."

"It's nothing, it's just a piece of cake."

The shopkeeper pushed it forward a little more, using her other hand to support herself on the counter to maintain her balance, with almost half of her body pressed against the counter; she didn't actually know that Gojo Satoru had just exorcised a cursed spirit that was clinging to her back and trying to suck her blood, it was purely out of kindness, not wanting him to go hungry.

"If you feel bad about it, you can come to my shop again next time."

She smiled at Gojo Satoru, her eyes crinkling, "But you can't drink coffee. You're too young, you're not old enough to drink that kind of thing."

"—Yes, thank you, sister."

Gojo Satoru took the cake with bright eyes, politely thanked the patrons, and then used his fork to scoop out a large piece and put it in his mouth.

The sweet and soft taste, along with the unique aroma of cream, filled his mouth, soothing his rumbling stomach and instantly energizing his nearly drowsy mind.

The shop manager, who was propping his head up on the counter, laughed, clearly pleased with his reaction.

"Is it tasty?"

"tasty!"

Although his family would serve desserts like yokan, wagashi, or cakes, he always ate them on a full stomach. He never expected that they would taste so delicious when he tasted them on an empty stomach.

It can also quickly replenish the energy needed when the brain is overworked.

As Gojo Satoru walked out of the store, he was still holding the unfinished strawberry cream cake. He even scooped out a piece with a fork and offered it to the beautiful phoenix perched on his shoulder, wanting to share it with it.

"You should try some too."

He actually has no sense of taste now, and doesn't need to eat.

"Mmm, it really tastes delicious."

With that thought in mind, Kazuma Hatori still politely swallowed the cake, making Satoru Gojo's expression even happier.

"The outside is really interesting, let's go out and explore more in the future."

The seemingly casual decision made in one sentence foreshadows that the number of times the five elders will collectively suffer a heart attack in the future will be quite high.

However, even though those people always instilled in him the idea that sorcerers were inherently superior to non-sorcerers, and that they were the greatest contributors to maintaining the normal operation of the exorcism order within the sorcery world, and that it was only right for them to enjoy more resources... Gojo Satoru didn't take it to heart at all.

He didn't care at all whether he was superior to others, nor did he care whether exorcising cursed spirits would bring him so-called "more resources" as a reward.

He just did it because he wanted to.

Moreover, the strawberry cream cake that the store manager gave him was really delicious.

"I'll still have to ask the elders for more money when I get back,"

Gojo Satoru carefully scraped off the last bit of cream from the bottom of the paper plate with his fork, then stuck out his little tongue and licked the small patch of white that had accidentally gotten on his finger.

Only when looking into Kazuma Hagoromo's eyes were they sparkling.

"I want to try the mango flavor next time."