Chapter 216 Original Story Side Story (6): If Daigo raised a little wolfhound, Ichima, in the prison gates...

Because he didn't have enough money to spend on in-game purchases to unlock more scenes and events, Gojo Satoru couldn't see what Hatori Kazuma was experiencing outside the bedroom.

No matter how dissatisfied he was, his perspective was always completely confined to that small room, and all his information came from Kazuma Hatake's relay.

At the same time, this also means that when Kazuma Hatori wanted to hide something, Satoru Gojo had no other way to find out the truth.

From his perspective, Yizhen was still that cute and obedient black-haired chibi-style child who would nod in agreement to everything he said. His obsidian-like eyes appeared even bigger and brighter when they occasionally met his gaze, making him extremely beautiful.

If it weren't for the fact that it's currently impossible to spend money on in-game purchases, it would be hard for Gojo Satoru not to buy him a lot of things—room decorations, toys, food—not seeking the best value for money, but only the most expensive.

He means, who can resist the attack of a dog's teary eyes? Nobody can, right?

Unlike now, Gojo Satoru can only offer emotional value and some advice during communication, but cannot actually improve Kazuma Hatori's living situation.

Even the most obtuse person could deduce from the occasional glimpses of Yizhen's behavior and conversation that her life was actually very... difficult.

Gojo Satoru was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only treat Hagoromo Kazuma with even more tenderness and pity, and praising him and touching him became almost effortless.

Kazuma Hatori blinked his black eyes slowly, no longer as resistant as he had been at the beginning.

He liked this feeling.

I like the feeling of having all of Mr. Gojo's attention, being able to grant his every request, and having him as my sole favorite.

This gave Kazuma Hatori a sense of belonging.

But Mr. Gojo was always worried... Kazuma Hato didn't want to see him depressed, so he applied for a work permit from the school as soon as he entered high school.

After all, the money given by the adoptive parents was only enough to buy some sandwiches or bread, which was increasingly unable to meet the nutritional needs of this body. Having an extra source of income would be a good thing.

However, one thing always weighed on Kazuma Hatake's mind.

According to his original plan, he intended to move out of the cheap apartment completely after graduating from high school and have no further connection with his adoptive parents.

But Mr. Gojo's activities are limited to his bedroom. What if he moves and Mr. Gojo can't come with him?

Kazuma Hatori was constantly agonizing over this point, and even considered whether he could continue living there.

He doesn't have any requirements for his living environment; as long as he can be with Mr. Gojo, this kind of room is perfectly acceptable.

But Wu Tiao Wu is not even half a bit enlightened, nor can he accept it.

Look at the kind of life Yizhen lives! His life after school is extremely boring. He either sits at the table reading and doing homework or chatting with others.

When asked about extracurricular activities such as club activities, playing games, reading comics, and watching TV, Yizhen always shook his head – he didn't even have a cell phone!

This is probably one of the reasons why classmates say that Kazuma Hatake is mysterious and cold. In this modern age where mobile phones and social media are so common, it is amazing that someone can have no way to contact anyone and not even touch the internet.

Gojo Satoru didn't find Ichijin mysterious and cold.

He was heartbroken.

Is this the consequence of not spending money on in-game purchases? The one he raised can only live a boring and monotonous life every day, living in a dilapidated house, and having to work hard to earn money at a young age...!

Gojo Satoru stared intently at his phone, his face contorted with resentment. He wished he could transform into an equally adorable chibi character and step through the screen to help Kazuma in the game.

Of course, this game has a part-time job module. The notification pops up and tells him that he needs to spend money to unlock it.

Gojo Satoru immediately curled his lips at the familiar gray lock and let out a predictable, cold laugh.

It's really not surprising at all.

Even though he tried his best to raise Ichijin from age 13 to 17 in this game and raised his affection level to 80, he couldn't unlock anything—because everything cost money.

Even a brief special affinity voice unlock... costs money.

Gojo Satoru: “…”

This damn game development company might as well just move into a house made of money!

Gojo Satoru took a deep breath, just about to blurt out a sarcastic remark—

He seemed to have suddenly fallen into some kind of cold, dark vacuum.

The second hand, which had been stationary for a long time, finally moved one tick again.

The instant he sensed the restoration of his cursed power, Gojo Satoru reacted with lightning speed, already raising two fingers together.

The ensuing seawater seemed to boil over and surge slowly between the continental plates, emitting a silent yet fierce roar—as the seal of the Prison Gate was broken, this extremely terrifying pressure, along with the attack of the cursed spirit, surged forth, not intending to leave him even the slightest chance of escape!

This is the Japan Trench, located east of Honshu, with a maximum depth of 10,374 meters.

At a depth of approximately 1000 meters, the light available to illuminate the seawater was too faint to reach, and the fish disappeared from sight.

At an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters, the temperature approaches zero. The darkness, extreme cold, and pressure equivalent to 400 times that at the Earth's surface make it impossible for most organisms to survive there even for a moment.

When the depth exceeds 8,000 meters, the extreme darkness and high pressure can crush most of the matter on Earth in an instant, making it a forbidden zone that 99% of life forms cannot reach.

Even in the gaps where ocean and continental plates rub against each other, there are numerous volcanoes and hot springs, making the temperature at the deepest part of the trench extremely unstable, with some areas reaching 380 degrees Celsius—also known as the subduction zone of plate tectonics.

The prison gate used to seal Gojo Satoru was placed here by Rōsō—with two or three layers of seals added, and a cursed spirit placed there as a detector—all to ensure that when Gojo Satoru was unsealed by the High School, he could be killed by natural phenomena that are far beyond human resistance.

But he is Gojo Satoru.

It was none other than Gojo Satoru.

In the midst of a dull and silent collision of tectonic plates, a man-made earthquake shook almost the entire Japanese island.

On November 19, Gojo Satoru reappeared before Ryosaku. Apart from the large area of ​​damage to his coat, there were no other wounds on his body.

He originally intended to kill Ryosaku on the spot, but he failed due to interference from Fushiguro Megumi's two-faced Sukuna and Rime.

Conversely, Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna made a pact to fight to the death on December 24th.

Both sides will have a month to rest and regroup.

For Gojo Satoru, seeing Fushiguro Megumi being tortured by Ryoumen Sukuna was tantamount to an extremely serious accident occurring at the high school. He needed to return as soon as possible to confirm the situation and then deal with certain matters.

In any case, whether the fight starts now or a month later, Gojo Satoru has absolute confidence and pride.

He will win.

…………

When Kazuma Hatori finished his part-time job and returned to his bedroom under the cover of night, he paused for a moment as he put down his schoolbag.

Mr. Gojo... didn't pat him on the head or welcome him back as he usually did.

[Mr. Gojo?]

Rather than saying that nothing happened, it's more accurate to say that nothing at all.

Just as if he had suddenly appeared here, Mr. Gojo also suddenly left today without any warning.

Kazuma Hatake maintained a blank expression, but the five fingers gripping the backpack strap tightened, causing his knuckles to become pale and taut.

Even in the quiet air, faint sparks, like electric arcs, crackled and popped.

Stay calm.

You must remain calm.

Given Mr. Gojo's personality, there's absolutely no way he would leave without saying goodbye.

Could it be... that Mr. Gojo discovered what he was hiding?

Kazuma Hatori's emotions, which had just been calmed down, suddenly became extremely tense again, like a transparent string hanging precariously on the edge of a cliff, tied with a boulder weighing a thousand pounds.

Are you angry with him?

Perhaps he was just lost in thought and hadn't noticed that he was back?

Or is it...?

Countless chaotic thoughts swirled in his mind, too fast to grasp even a single character; yet most of the time, they were as numerous as a loose ball of yarn, densely crowding his brain, leaving no space whatsoever.

The heart that had finally found a sense of belonging was once again as empty as an endless abyss, with no end in sight.

"Ichima?"

In the chaotic vision where the whole world was upside down, a clear, cheerful male voice suddenly called his name, just as he had imagined from the thick stack of handwritten drafts, gentle and kind.

As the sparks shattered, Kazuma Hatake's heart suddenly leaped back into his chest.

"Mr. Gojo?"

He slowly opened his mouth, his lips trembling slightly, almost imperceptibly.

At this moment, Kazuma Hatori realized with profound understanding that he could not lose Satoru Gojo.

I long to completely and utterly possess the other person, including their gaze.

"It's me,"

Satoru Gojo finally managed to max out his spending bar, a smile spreading across his face. The gloom that had been filling him with bad news was finally able to escape the real world for the time being, and he was happy only for Kazuma Hatori's surprised reaction.

"I thought I finished my work quickly enough, but I didn't expect you to be back already. Honestly, I was going to surprise you..."

"What surprise..."

Kazuma Hatori, halfway through his question, suddenly realized something: "Mr. Gojo is out of trouble?"

Bingo!

Wu Tiao Wu lay in the teacher's dormitory arranged for him by the vocational college, lazily turned over, and sighed contentedly.

"It wasn't easy. I escaped from the depths of the Japan Trench. Oh dear—I thought I had to crash through an entire continental plate to reach the surface."

“…”

Kazuma Hatori opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.

He found it hard to imagine how Mr. Gojo managed to escape from a trench tens of thousands of meters deep... and what about the second half of that sentence? Was he saying that if Mr. Gojo wanted to, he could really break through an entire continental plate?

Will the enemy who imprisoned him try the same trick again? What if he encounters an even more deadly danger than this time?

After a moment of silence, Kazuma Hatori asked the question.

"No way, that guy couldn't do it. He was just using some underhanded tricks before."

Clearly hearing Kazuma let out a soft sigh of relief, Gojo Satoru propped his head up with one hand, his mood suddenly becoming high and cheerful.

He was being genuinely cared for.

If, upon returning, they were told things like, "You thought the teacher was someone who had fallen into demonic ways and disappeared along with the pillar of light released by Kurusu Hana," or "That's just how you are," then even if they protested, they would simply be seen as someone who didn't know how to reflect.

So this is what it truly feels like to be cared for.

Gojo Satoru smiled, and even after he had roughly told Kazuma about what had happened that day, he still added a comforting remark.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

In the prison gates where there was nothing to do except chat with Kazuma, Gojo Satoru had already told him, in fits and starts, about his situation—including the existence of curses, his identity as a teacher, his complicated work, the attitudes of others, and the life where he could only catch a moment's respite when he had a spare moment.

Most of the time, Kazuma Hatori simply listened quietly.

Aside from the occasional ellipsis bubbles, he didn't offer any further opinions, making it extremely difficult for Gojo Satoru to grasp his true thoughts.

Similarly, Gojo Satoru couldn't see that beneath Hagoromo Kazuma's always obedient and docile exterior, a gloomy emotion, like dark red magma, was slowly brewing and suppressed, like a thick, dark cloud.

"Hmm," Kazuma Hatake replied softly, "Only Mr. Gojo..."

He spoke the second half of his sentence very slowly, and then swallowed it back after only saying half of it.

"Huh? Only me what?"

Gojo Satoru pressed for more information, but Kazuma, sitting at the table on the screen, offered no further response.

Are you too embarrassed to finish? Oh dear, you're still the same cute little guy I met when I first entered the game.

Gojo Satoru patted his head and then happily went on a shopping spree in the game store.

I'm so glad he instinctively protected his phone the moment the prison gates were opened; otherwise, it would have been crushed to pieces by the pressure in the deep sea.

He had long since grown accustomed to chatting with Ichijin and no longer regarded him as a simple, program-written game character.

Even if he couldn't understand a word, having someone to confide in without reservation was an experience he had almost never had before.

Therefore, after returning to the vocational college, he met with Itadori Yujin and the others, got a general understanding of the situation, and dealt with a series of urgent matters. Then he went back to his dormitory, charged his phone, connected to the internet, and started playing games.

The first thing to do is spend money on in-game purchases.

Wherever there was a small gray lock, Gojo Satoru unlocked it without batting an eye!

It feels so great to be able to spend money! Yay!

Unlock a new map that allows you to follow Ichijin's movements in real time!

Unlock voice chat for easy communication and to enhance your relationship with Yizhen!

Unlock the space decoration function to improve your living environment!

Increase your intimacy and affection with Ichima through entertainment activities and unlock them!

The part-time job module... that's completely unnecessary. With his wallet in hand, why would Yizhen need to work? It would be considered stingy of him not to buy him a luxury villa to live in right now.

But after browsing the game store, I couldn't find a luxury villa for sale. Damn it.

Alright, there's also the special voice line when the favorability rating is 80 – unlocked!

Gojo Satoru, who had been eagerly anticipating this moment, was itching to hear what Kazuma's special voice lines would say.

After spending so much time together in the game, he discovered that Yizhen's personality was rather introverted.

No matter how well-behaved they usually are, they will always appear dull and silent at certain times, making it difficult to hear the other person's true feelings—or rather, their opinion of them.

I really want Mr. Gojo's eyes...

This time, Gojo Satoru didn't have to wait long. His low, indifferent voice, like the starry sky above an icy plain, quietly rang out in the dim and lonely space, from the phone Gojo Satoru was holding.

[Always keep your eyes on me.]

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It's a bit late (wiping sweat awkwardly), but I still wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year's Eve and a Happy New Year! Red envelopes will be randomly given away in the comments~ [Sprinkling flowers][Hearts][Hearts] Love you all!