The Cursed Mage Group and Bounties
Second-grade teachers' office.
"I'm sorry, it was me who came to school with Riko." Tsurumi Ryu stood in front of the desk with his head drooping, looking like he was ready to be scolded or beaten.
Standing beside him, Riko Tenten glanced at him, a hint of amusement creeping onto her face as she recalled the commotion downstairs. Catching a glimpse of the homeroom teacher's stern face, she quickly composed herself, lowering her head to await the reprimand.
“I already know what happened today, but my suggestion is to take a leave of absence. Her grades are pretty good, and she's a sophomore now. Taking a year off and coming back to continue is no problem at all.”
Tsurumi Kawara looked up blankly and saw Riko's homeroom teacher earnestly advising her. Helplessly, he turned to look at Riko, his slightly pursed lips twitching, but in the end, he couldn't speak and could only listen to the advice silently with his head down.
Riko was stunned for a few seconds before she realized what was going on. She didn't know how Misato Kuroi had mentioned dropping out to the homeroom teacher, or what reason she had given as an excuse.
Seeing the homeroom teacher's sincere advice, Riko's mood immediately became heavy. Her expression was somewhat sad and reluctant, but she did not interrupt the teacher. She and Tsurumi Ryuu both slumped their heads and stared blankly at the tips of their shoes.
By the time the teacher let them leave the office together, the first class was already halfway through. Riko paused, turned to look at Tsurumi Kawaru, pursed her lips, and said, "Tsurumi Kawaru, you don't need to come to the classroom with me. Just wait downstairs."
Tsurumi Kawakami paused for a moment, blinked, and stared at Nen no Riko for a few seconds before nodding and saying, "Okay, then I'll wait for you downstairs."
The two parted ways, and Tsurumi Kawa went downstairs and sat down by the green area on the first floor. He took out his phone and sent a message to Xia Youjie, informing him of the situation.
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The school rooftop.
Sitting on the edge of the rooftop with his long legs propped up, Gojo Satoru idly fiddled with his phone. Hearing a noise coming from Natsumi Yuuki's side, he turned his head and looked over: "There's something going on over there with Ryu."
After reading the message, Xia Youjie hummed in agreement. He then sent a message to Tsurumi Kawaru, put away his phone, and told Gojo Satoru what had happened over there.
Gojo Satoru couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahaha, I can just imagine Ryu's expression back then."
Xia Youjie paused for a second, then a smile flickered in his eyes: "Wu, we've all forgotten this is an all-girls school."
Because they had forgotten about it, no one thought there was a problem when Tsurumi Nagaru suggested going with Tennori Riko. Even when he deliberately took off his high school uniform jacket, no one suspected anything.
They had only exchanged a few words when both of their phones suddenly rang. Xia Youjie and Wujiao Wu exchanged a glance, took out their phones, and saw that it was a message from Shoko in the chat room.
"...What do you mean by 'the information was leaked'?" Gojo Satoru frowned, looking at the screen with displeasure.
Xia Youjie's expression became much more serious. He put away his phone and went to the edge of the rooftop, where he could see a great distance.
Since it was during class time, there were no students or teachers walking around outside the school, and the iron gate at the school gate was closed. There were people on duty in the security room next door.
"Wu, isn't it too quiet?" Xia Youjie looked around the campus, then turned to Wujiao Wu with a furrowed brow.
At this moment, even the wind seemed to stand still.
Gojo Satoru adjusted his sunglasses, revealing his azure eyes behind them. He looked around carefully, then smiled smugly: "Jay, a mouse has come in."
Xia Youjie's expression hardened, he rubbed his wrist, and then said with a gentle smile, "Wu, how about we have a competition to see who catches more mice?"
Gojo Satoru immediately became interested. He stood up, nodded, and said eagerly, "Sure, if you lose, you have to buy me desserts for a month."
Xia Youjie said with a smile, "Okay, I won. Your latest game console is mine."
Before he finished speaking, Xia Youjie and Wutiao Wu jumped off the rooftop and ran off in two different directions from the school.
Meanwhile, Tsurumi Kawakami, who was waiting downstairs, also received the message. He immediately looked up at the classroom on the second floor, put away his phone, looked around, and then quickly walked to the stairwell and went up to the second floor.
Standing guard outside the classroom, Tsurumi Kawakami kept an eye on his surroundings, keeping watch on the situation inside the classroom as well as keeping a close eye on what was happening inside.
Inside the classroom, Riko Tennen also noticed Tsurumi Kawaru's figure. When she saw him appear outside the classroom, Riko Tennen immediately guessed that something had happened.
After class, Riko ran outside to find Tsurumi Kawaru, pulled her to the corner of the corridor, and looked around anxiously, asking in a low voice, "Did the curse master come? Is Misato alright?"
Riko paused for a moment and then suggested, "How about I go back?"
Upon hearing this, Tsurumi Kawa was taken aback. Seeing the anxious look on Tennori Riko's face, he quickly said, "Riko, it's alright. Jet and Satoru will defeat those curse masters and protect Kuroi."
After saying this, the black-haired, golden-eyed boy paused, his expression becoming hesitant. After a second of hesitation, he asked, "Riko, if it were possible, would you like to get rid of your identity as a Star Essence Body and just live a simple life as an ordinary person?"
Riko was stunned. The girl with a headscarf and braided hair remained silent for a long time. After a while, she looked at Tsurumi Kawakami nonchalantly without answering the question directly.
“I have known my mission since I was a child,” said Riko Tennen, raising her chin slightly and smiling with one hand on her hip.
Tsurumi Kawakami looked somewhat disappointed. He looked away and didn't ask any more questions, but he still meant what he had just said. This time, Riko didn't mention leaving school early again; she returned to the classroom to prepare for the next class.
The morning classes ended quickly, and Riko, carrying her schoolbag, walked out with Tsurumi. Time was a bit rushed today, and Misato Kuroi hadn't prepared a bento box, so they decided to eat out.
After they reunited, Tsurumi Kawaru walked over to Natsuyuu and Gojo Satoru and asked them about the curse master from that morning.
"Eh—it's actually a group of curse casters? Q is a bit strange. I thought it would be more straightforward," Tsurumi Kawa said with some surprise.
Upon hearing this, Xia Youjie thought seriously for a few seconds and frankly said, "They probably think it's more mysterious that way, even though they are all very weak. They are simply no match for us. Wu and I defeated them in just one morning. This organization should have disbanded by now."
Gojo Satoru chimed in, "Yeah, I thought it was some powerful curse mage organization, but it's obviously just a pawn that others pushed out to test them. It's not interesting at all."
Tsurumi Kawakami nodded, then asked with some confusion, "So how was Riko's information leaked?"
Upon hearing this question, everyone fell silent.
A few seconds later, Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue and said with displeasure, "It must have been leaked by the General Headquarters. Some people find the matter of the Tengen Assimilation Star Magma intolerance unbearable, believing it to be a defilement of Tengen."
Mentioning this Gojo Satoru reminded him of the ancient books he had seen in the Gojo family's library. He recalled for a moment and continued, "It seems there is an organization that has survived since it became famous in Tengen. They have great faith in and worship Tengen, so they have never been able to tolerate assimilation."
Xia Youjie frowned, unable to comprehend this existence.
Tsurumi Kawakami accepted it well, after all, he had encountered similar cults in his previous world.
"Hey, how much longer are you guys going to chat?" Riko Tennatsu shouted, hands on her hips.
When they came to their senses, they realized they were standing outside a ramen shop. Since they were all hungry, they went straight inside.
After finishing their noodles and leaving the shop, Gojo Satoru, still somewhat unsatisfied, looked around and spotted a dessert shop on the street corner. He then dragged Tsurumi Kawaru along and bought a lot of desserts.
The group returned to the apartment at 12:40.
"Miss, would you like to rest for a while?" Kuroi Misato put the desserts Gojo Satoru bought into the refrigerator, then brought out homemade lemon tea. She handed the lemon tea to Tennari Riko and asked in a low voice.
Riko shook her head. She was lying on the table writing down the contact information her classmates had given her. Since she had already withdrawn from school, all her classmates knew about it and gave her their contact information.
When Kuroi Misato saw what she was writing, a hint of heartache flashed in her eyes: "Miss, I stay by your side not only because you are a Starmash, but also because you are family to me."
Riko paused, put down her pen, reached out and hugged her, buried her head in her chest, sniffed, and hummed: "Me too, Misato is a very reliable family member."
On the other side of the living room, Tsurumi Kawakami and Gojo Satoru were sitting together, enjoying the desserts they had bought from the dessert shop.
"If you're going to eat it, why did you let Kuroi put the cake in the fridge?" Xia Youjie looked through his phone messages, and then looked up at Gojo Satoru with some confusion, thinking about what had just happened.
Gojo Satoshi solemnly declared, "That kind of cake tastes better chilled."
After he finished speaking, he nudged Tsurumi Nagare next to him with his elbow: "Right, Nagare?"
Tsurumi Kawakuri, whose name was called, raised his head blankly. He received a urging look from Gojo Satoru and blinked before giving a mumbled reply.
Xia Youjie paused for a second, then looked away and obediently scrolled through his phone. Suddenly, he saw the latest message from Xiaozi, and his expression immediately turned serious.
"Wu, someone has put a high bounty on Riko on the dark web." Xia Youjie clicked on the link sent by Xiaozi and saw that many curse masters had already accepted the bounty.
Wu Tiao Wu: "Ha, let me see the reward."
He reached out to Xia Youjie for his phone, and Tsurumi Kawaru, who was standing nearby, also looked over upon hearing this.
Xia Youjie handed him the phone, and Tsurumi Kawaru moved closer to Gojo Satoru, their heads touching as they looked at it together.
"Tsk, do you know who posted the bounty?" Gojo Satoru said coldly, his face turning grim.
Xia Youjie shook his head: "We can't find any information from Glass. Professor Nocturne has already reported to the Director's Office."
Gojo scoffed, tossed the phone to him, and said unhappily, "What's the use of those old oranges with wrinkles like orange peels and countless scheming minds?"
Tsurumi Kawaru looked at them and suggested, "Riko's information has been exposed, and she's now wanted with a bounty on her head. Should we take her away?"
“Those guys will swarm around like flies once they smell it. There are plenty of sorcerers and curse masters in Tokyo. If we’re going to leave, let’s choose a place that’s far away.”
"How about Okinawa? It would be perfect if I could take my little sister Riko there to play."
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