Chapter 172 The Second Player

Sitting in the back, Ieru Nishiko looked left and right and felt deeply that her three peers were starting to get sick again.

Since the three of them would often have an attack of the disease, they would put on their headphones, close their eyes, and pretend that they saw and heard nothing.

Just ignore them when the three of them have an attack. Well, if no one pays attention to them, they will calm down again. If someone pays attention to them, they will only get more and more excited - don't ask her how she knows this.

Of course, the facts were just as she thought. As usual, Gojo Satoru and the other two quickly returned to their usual state of laughter and playfulness.

However...if Hanayamain Haruna were still here, this would have been the time for her and Haruna to complain about the three of them...Unfortunately, it was said that something urgent happened at Zenin's house, so she had to rush back early this morning. She left in such a hurry that she didn't even finish packing her things. She only had time to say goodbye to her in a hurry today, so she certainly couldn't even think about attending class.

Fortunately, she was nominally an "exchange student" of the Jujutsu High School in Kyoto, and was also a member of the Zenin family, so she didn't need to go through any messy procedures and could just leave.

So now, she can only stay here alone and watch three kindergarten DKs not knowing what is going on.

...Ah, I suddenly feel a little lonely and miss Haruna.

I don't know when Haruna will come back. She seemed to be in a hurry this time... I always feel that it's not just because of the Zenin family. It's only been one day, but why does it feel like Haruna has changed a little bit? Is it because the injury was too severe this time that she has psychological trauma? Is she suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?

Wait, that shouldn't be the case, right? ...But it's hard to say...Wait, she doesn't know anything about this...She only learned how to heal wounds on the divine body, not psychological therapy...School, no, there's no such thing in the entire world of magic, right? So how did she suddenly think of this?

——Ah, now I remember, it seems that she was led astray by that Yuki guy before.

Because that bastard often said some nonsense, such as he suffered mental damage after the mission, so he needed psychological treatment and mental damage compensation... Even though she didn't care much at first, she listened to it for a long time and unconsciously filled her head with these things...

Ieiri Naoko held her chin with one hand, her eyes deep.

"…Nitrous! Nitrous—what are you thinking about? Are you listening to what I just said?"

However, as if they were destined not to let her think quietly, Igarashi Yuki and the others suddenly jumped out and started to wander left and right in front of her restlessly, making so much noise that even her earphones could not block it out.

"…Thinking about mental damages?"

Before her brain could react, she heard Saikai Haruto's overly lively voice. She took off her headphones and subconsciously blurted out what had just come to her mind.

Xi Haiqingdou was confused: "Huh? Mental damage compensation? What's wrong, is your brain abnormal?"

"Your brain is not normal - no, it's Satoru whose brain is injured, right? He was the one who injured his brain yesterday."

After she finished speaking, she realized belatedly what she had said, and after hearing the stupid synchronous words, the corner of Ieiri Shoko's mouth twitched, and her mood suddenly became very bad. Even the tone of her voice became two points worse, and she fought back unhappily - so after all, it's all the fault of this guy Igarashi Yuki, right?

She thought that the "psychological trauma" and "mental damages" were because of him, and it was also him who suddenly jumped out to scare her and said that she had a problem with her brain.

"Glass, you're right."

Saikai Haruto blinked, nodded belatedly, and naturally looked at Gojo Satoru with some solemnity and worry in his eyes: "Satoru, is your brain okay? Are there really no sequelae from yesterday? The human brain is a very mysterious organ."

"Ah, speaking of those who have brain injuries, it seems that there should be another classmate named Riko... and her injury should be more serious than yours, but she didn't seem to be abnormal yesterday? But you didn't look normal yesterday, Satoru. Could it be that you really have a brain injury and have some problems that we haven't noticed?"

Saikai Haruto continued talking calmly, seemingly not noticing that Gojo Satoru's expression was becoming increasingly strange.

...his worry was actually serious and he really felt it, rather than just pretending to be a joke?

Even the "Six Eyes" could not detect any trace of mischief in his expression. Gojo Satoru simply couldn't believe it.

"Me? Something's wrong with my brain? Abnormal?"

Gojo Satoru was furious, and even his tone of voice changed: "You must be joking, I'm perfectly normal! What I did yesterday was clearly... Satoru! It was Satoru, okay!"

"Hey, hey, hey - I know your name is Satoru, but why did you suddenly call your own name twice - so Satoru, you are really becoming abnormal now, right?"

Xihai Qingdou nodded seriously.

Ieiri Naoko and Geto Suguru couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Although I understand that Wu is referring to the Buddhist concept of "sudden enlightenment", the homophone is really funny.

"I think Yuuki is right." Xia Yujie held back his laughter and said half seriously and half teasingly, "So, Satoru, you've suddenly realized something, is there really nothing wrong with your brain?"

Well... he had no selfish motives, he just wanted to know if Wu had any "sequelae". After all, Wu did look more "abnormal" than usual yesterday.

That's it.

“Huh? Jie, even you—?” Gojo Satoru’s voice was stuck for a moment.

He is obviously super normal, okay? At least he is much more normal than the two of them, okay? Where on earth did the two of them get the confidence to say that he is abnormal——

"Shouldn't Yuuki be the one who's abnormal?"

He said unhappily, "I have already healed the injuries I suffered using the 'Reversal Technique', but Yuuki's problem is with his soul. His problem is obviously much more serious than mine, right?"

——Soul problems?

Xia Yujie was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected these problems - he thought that it was just some "small" problems with the body as Xi Haiqing Dou told him yesterday?

——So, complete "Curse Spiritization" will not only cause his body to become weak and slow to react for a period of time, but will also cause some damage to his soul?

Yes, other people’s words cannot be seen, but Wu has the “six eyes”, so maybe he can really see the soul problems that others cannot see…

Xia Yujie's expression immediately changed, and his eyes narrowed: "You didn't tell me about this yesterday, Yuki?"

"Is there something wrong with your soul?" The unaware Ieiri Naoko looked confused and puzzled: "Yuuki, what on earth happened to you yesterday? Why is there a problem with your soul?"

——Yes, Ieiri Shoko still doesn't know that "Igarashi Yuuki has a special-grade cursed spirit hidden in his body", let alone the fact that he can "transform into a cursed spirit" and that his "soul is damaged".

Suddenly remembering that Xi Haiqing Dou's eyes had turned black yesterday, Ieiri Naoko's expression gradually became determined: "Are you hiding something from me?"

She said that it was not because it was too late and she was drunk that she saw it wrong yesterday. This guy Yuuki Igarashi, his eyes really turned black yesterday, right?

"Hey... that, Naoko, you must have heard it wrong! What soul? Did Wu just say that?"

Xi Haiqing Dougan laughed twice and rolled his eyes: "Of course I am fine, but Wu was not convinced that I said there was something wrong with his brain, so he said that there was something wrong with my mental state! He was slandering me! Right, Jie?"

He quickly gave a look to both Geto Suguru and Gojo Satoru, and then poked Gojo Satoru with his hand in revenge.

This guy...does he know that his lying is so-obvious?

He really is not good at lying. He can't fool anyone, right? No, has Yuuki ever fooled anyone? Even Wu has never been fooled by him.

Xia Yujie unconsciously revealed a horrible expression.

Of course, even though Saikai Haruto's "hiding the truth" is very poor, he still has to help keep it a secret from Naoko - otherwise there would be too much to explain, and this is a matter that the fewer people who know about it, the better. The less Naoko knows, the better for both her and Yuki.

Besides... they really didn't want Nozomi to be troubled by the same thing.

As for the fact that Yuuki had concealed the matter from him - he would come after him later.

"What Wu says is never reliable. Glass, have you not discovered this yet? I never thought you would trust Wu's words so much."

Kagome Jie had a smile on his face and a calm expression, and he didn't look like he was lying at all - in short, his performance was much better than that of Saikai Haruto, who had an extremely stiff expression and body parts. The difference was like heaven and earth.

"I'm not - ah, yes, yes, I'm kidding."

Just as he started to speak, he was stopped by Saikai Haruto and Geto Suguru. Gojo Satoru then remembered that if he wanted to talk about this, he would have to mention Saikai Haruto's "cursed spirit transformation", and then he would also have to mention the "greedy beast" in his body... So he pretended to be calm and changed the subject.

It's just that his expression looks a bit aggrieved.

"That's right!" Xihai Qingdou nodded vigorously, his expression as firm as it could be.

...Are the three of them treating her like a fool?

Ieiri Naoko couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"That -- Glass, you're overthinking it. You're the smartest, wisest, most talented, most beautiful, most discerning, and most thoughtful girl in our school. How could you be a fool?"

Saikai Haruto said seriously: "But I'm really fine. I also copied the 'Reversal Technique', so don't worry. Look, I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot something important...Nose, you even forgot to answer my previous question!"

Oh, it turns out that she accidentally said what was in her heart again... But this guy changed the topic too abruptly and obviously, didn't he?

Ieiri Naoko sighed and said resignedly, "What's the problem? I didn't hear it because I was wearing headphones."

Forget it... Since the three of them don't seem to want her to know, then the problem is probably really not suitable for her to know, and it shouldn't be a big deal.

Jiaru Glass chose not to pursue the matter further.

Even in her dreams a year or more than a decade later, when she inexplicably dreamed of this day, she couldn't help but feel regretful - why did she choose to give up at that time instead of continuing to investigate it? Why didn't she look more carefully and find out that something was wrong?

Even if she knew it all along later on - at that time, no matter how much she asked, the result would not be different... In the end, it would not change at all.

However... at this time, she had not yet thought about the seriousness of the matter hidden behind this problem.

"Didn't you hear me? Then I'll say it again."

Saikai Haruto ruffled his hair and said calmly, "I mean, when I came back from Aomori yesterday, I also brought back two children with magical powers from the countryside there... They should be at my house now, Glass, do you want to go with us to see them? Wu, Jie, and I are not very good at taking care of girls, so we might need your help."

"...You picked up two children in the countryside of Aomori?"

Ieiri Naoko blinked, suspecting she was hallucinating: "Wait, didn't you go on a mission to Aomori? Where did you pick up the child? How did you pick him up?"

"I just found it after I got lost after completing a mission... ah, maybe it would be more appropriate to describe it as 'snatching it back'?"

Ieiri Naoko almost gasped: "What? You stole someone else's child?!"

Xi Hai Qing Dou smiled shyly: "Hehe... don't worry, no one can beat me!"

Ieiri Naoko thought deeply: But the problem now is that she suddenly wants to call the police, what should I do?