Chapter 17
68.
Shiori Tadano suddenly opened her eyes, still tightly holding the bottle of invisible spray in her hand, the bottle slightly deformed by the squeezing.
"Why can I see it?!" She stared at her toes and didn't dare to look up at Gojo Satoru's expression.
Gojo Satoru replied casually, "Because my eyesight is better~"
Huh? Shiori looked up in surprise. Could it be like this?
"Shiori looks like she knows me," Gojo Satoru said, changing the subject. "Have you already enrolled in a technical high school?"
"Technical college? What's that?" Shiori frowned, her tone full of confusion. "We clearly met at the cinema yesterday."
"Eh—" Gojo Satoru dragged out the last syllable, the teasing in his tone almost overflowing, "So this is just the first time we met? Shiori is really bold to be so affectionate to someone you just met."
“Ahhhh, stop talking!” Shiori’s cheeks flushed red, and she covered her burning ears with her hands. “I thought I was dreaming!”
"Wu, what are you talking to yourself standing here?" Panda's honest voice came from a distance, accompanied by the footsteps of several people approaching.
Huh? Alone? Shiori was stunned. It turned out her invisibility spray was effective, except it didn't work on this white-haired man. But... why was there a panda?
Gojo Satoru waved at the newcomers and said, "Your morning run is over. I'm talking to Shiori."
"Senior Shiori?" Fushiguro Megumi was a little confused, and her eyes swept back and forth in the air.
Gojo Satoru stretched out his hand and patted the air beside him accurately: "Here, she's temporarily invisible."
He asked the students to go to the restaurant for breakfast first, while he took Shiori to change clothes.
Shiori then realized that the inn wasn't empty, but rather that they wouldn't show up unless summoned. No wonder she hadn't seen a soul along the way, believing she was in a dream.
After changing into a simple new yukata, Shiori followed Gojo Satoru to the restaurant. On the way, Gojo Satoru explained to her why she woke up in a different place and at a different time.
Shiori nodded repeatedly, then looked up and asked, "Can you give me my phone? I want to confirm something."
Gojo Satoru fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. Shiori turned on the screen and, sure enough, it was already 2018. She opened her photo album, which contained many photos and videos of her future self. One photo in particular stood out: she was leaning against Gojo Satoru's arms, his arm around her shoulders, with Kiyomizu-dera Temple in the background.
Her eyes involuntarily fell on Gojo Satoru's dazzling white hair, and she hesitated and said, "Are we...on good terms?"
Gojo Satoru paused, turned around and looked at her, a playful smile on his lips: "Hey - is it okay?"
Shiori hurriedly opened the chat history with Gojo Satoru. The dialog box was filled with dense text: complaints about staying up late to finish a report, links shared when seeing interesting videos, and sharp comments on desserts.
After looking through all the records, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was probably just a colleague slacking off. It was all good. She almost thought she'd become the heroine of a melodramatic eight o'clock drama.
When we walked into the restaurant, breakfast was already set. A low table was spread on the tatami mats, and miso soup, grilled fish, rice, and a few delicate side dishes were neatly placed on the table.
Shiori got to know everyone again and realized that she was the only one in the room when she woke up in the morning because her roommate, Zenin Maki, was called by Gojo Satoru to go for a morning run at Lake Kawaguchi.
Lake Kawaguchi! That must be 20 kilometers! So terrifying!
The atmosphere at breakfast was very quiet, and everyone ate in silence. Shiori ate in small bites while secretly observing the others.
After finishing breakfast, Gojo Satoru stood up and said, "Okay, we should leave."
"Where are you going?" Shiori asked, looking up.
"Fuji-Q Highland." Gojo Satoru smiled brightly. "It's a school trip after all."
69.
It was not very convenient to wear a yukata to the amusement park. It just so happened that Maki Zenin was the same height as Shiori Tadano, so Shiori changed into her casual clothes.
Standing at the entrance of Fuji-Q Highland, Shiori's calves trembled as she gazed at the nearly vertical drop of the roller coaster track. Beside her, Gojo Satoru was in high spirits. He grabbed her and rushed inside, his white hair curling in the wind. "Let's start with the high-flying car!"
"Wait, wait!" Shiori clung tightly to the lamppost next to her. "I remembered there's something important I haven't done yet!"
"What could be more important than a school trip?" Gojo Satoru tilted his head and smiled, his sunglasses sliding down to the tip of his nose, revealing his azure eyes. "Or is Shiori scared?"
"I'm not scared!" Shiori stiffened her neck and let go of her hands, but as soon as she took a step, she was frightened by the screams when the roller coaster dived.
While waiting in line, Fushiguro Megumi pulled out her phone to check the guide: "The maximum drop angle of the high-flying car is 121 degrees, the speed is 100 kilometers per hour, and it will go through seven rotations."
Shiori's face turned visibly pale. Zenin Maki patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, it's much easier to deal with than a cursed spirit."
"Can I wait for you guys downstairs with Panda?" Shiori was in tears as she was half-dragged and half-pulled into the roller coaster by Gojo Satoru.
As the safety lever dropped, Shiori closed her eyes in despair, while Gojo Satoru beside her waved excitedly to the staff.
As the roller coaster slowly climbed, Shiori secretly opened her eyes and saw Mount Fuji looming in the clouds in the distance, a breathtaking beauty. But the next second, the intense feeling of weightlessness instantly seized her heart, and she screamed uncontrollably, feeling as if her internal organs were about to be thrown out.
Suddenly, a warm hand gently patted her cold hand. Shiori opened her eyes and was met with Gojo Satoru's smiling face close to her.
"Don't be afraid." His voice came with the sound of the wind, carrying a strange soothing power.
When she got off the bus, Shiori's legs were so weak she couldn't stand, and she held onto the railing and retched for a long time. Gojo Satoru handed her a bottle of iced cola, and she took a big gulp. The bubbles burst in her throat, finally calming her churning stomach.
Next came the FUJIYAMA roller coaster. Shiori refused to get on it no matter what and stood at the exit holding Panda's arm.
When Gojo Satoru and the others finished playing, they all looked calm, as if they had just gone to a convenience store to buy a bottle of water.
"Shiori, don't you want to play?" Gojo Satoru deliberately shook the express pass in his hand. "Then let's go to the haunted house. I heard there are real people performing."
Shiori's curiosity instantly overwhelmed her fear: "A real NPC?"
"Yeah, it's very interesting, isn't it?" Gojo Satoru smiled like a wolf that kidnapped Little Red Riding Hood.
The haunted house was pitch black, its eerie background music punctuated by intermittent cries. Shiori, clinging tightly to the hem of the person in front of her, suddenly tripped and screamed, lunging forward. The expected ground didn't arrive, and she was firmly held by Gojo Satoru.
"Be careful." Gojo Satoru's voice sounded above his head with a smile.
Shiori was about to stand up and thank him when a female ghost with disheveled hair suddenly jumped out of the darkness. She screamed in fear and pounced on Panda.
"Hahaha, Shiori, you're too timid!" Panda's laughter came from the front, "That's the staff!"
When they walked out of the haunted house, the sun was so bright that it was blinding. They found a place to sit in the rest area, eating snacks and drinking drinks while taking a leisurely rest.
The parasol cast a cool shade. Shiori was lost in thought while biting the bamboo skewer of an octopus dumpling when her wrist was suddenly pulled hard. Gojo Satoru pulled her aside.
"An unregistered special-grade cursed spirit." He licked the ice cream stains from the corner of his mouth, and his smiling eyes turned cold. "How could it appear in a place like this?"
Before Shiori could react, a ball of flames exploded before her eyes. She turned in shock. The parasol, table, and chairs, which had been intact just a moment ago, were now reduced to charred ash. What on earth was going on?
"It seems that's all there is to it," a voice called from the front. After the ashes cleared, Shiori took a closer look, her eyes widening.
"Mount Fuji has become a spirit?!" she exclaimed in shock.
"Who are you calling just that?" Gojo Satoru said nonchalantly, "Disrupting a school trip is a serious crime."
"Why is it suddenly on fire?!"
"How scary! Run away!"
Suddenly, passersby screamed. They weren't the only ones in the park today; there were also many ordinary students on a school trip. The crowds were so dense, panic spread like a ripple.
Gojo Satoru immediately turned to Otsutsuki Yuuta: "Yuuta, go evacuate the people."
Shiori followed their steps, but before leaving, she couldn't help but look back: "Is it okay to leave him alone?"
Yuta Otsutsukota said firmly, "Trust Gojo-sensei."
As Gojo Satoru's struggle with Mount Fuji intensified, the ground began to shake violently, as if a giant beast were roaring beneath the surface. The once bustling amusement park seemed to have been silenced for a moment, and the next moment, even greater panic erupted like a tidal wave.
Shiori caught a glimpse of a girl next to her who was shaking with fear, her cries stuck in her throat. She immediately reached out and grabbed her tightly, leading her towards the exit.
Others had already rushed into the chaotic crowd, loudly guiding the panicked students: "Run this way! Don't look back! Hurry!" Their figures shuttled flexibly among the fleeing crowd.
70.
Shiori Tadano watched as Gojo Satoru stepped on the head of the cursed spirit of Mount Fuji and crushed it back and forth on the ground.
"What good would it do you to kill me?" Gojo Satoru chuckled softly. "Why don't you tell me who's behind this?"
The cursed spirit of Mount Fuji roared, "Don't try to get words out of me, you little brat!"
"You won't tell me?" Gojo Satoru leaned forward slightly, a cold glint in his eyes. "Then I'll have no choice but to exorcise you."
"You bastard!" Mount Fuji was so angry that its top was spewing out hot breath, but it could not break free from the foot that seemed to be stepping on it casually.
The next second, the foot that was stepping on the cursed spirit of Mount Fuji suddenly exerted force, and the cursed spirit that was just showing its fangs and claws disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.
She stood there in a daze until Inumaki Satoru came over and gently patted her shoulder. Then she came to her senses and looked at Gojo Satoru not far away.
He had stood up straight, brushed off the non-existent dust on his clothes, and put on that nonchalant smile again, as if the sorcerer with the cold eyes just now was just an illusion.
"Done." He waved to everyone and walked over briskly. "It seems that today's school trip is more exciting than expected."
Shiori listened to the people around her discussing the next itinerary, as if the thrilling battle just now was just a harmless little accident.
As we walked out of the park's gate, the setting sun was slowly sinking into the distant horizon, giving Mount Fuji a golden-red halo. The soft light diluted the tension left by the previous battle.
"Teacher Gojo..." Shiori hesitated for a moment, but still spoke softly.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Gojo Satoru turned his head, still with a relaxed expression on his face.
Shiori took a deep breath and then asked, "Will my future self become a sorcerer as strong as you?"
She was filled with uncertainty. Although people occasionally mentioned how powerful she would be in the future, right now, she was just an ordinary girl who had just arrived in Tokyo and was new to the world of sorcery.
Can she really do it?
Gojo Satoru answered with a firm tone, "Yes."
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