Chapter 165
Gojo Satoru was stunned.
Yizhen's ideal was actually to... marry him...
He held the phone in one hand, and reflexively covered his face with the other, as if trying to hide his burning cheeks. But then he belatedly realized that he didn't need to do that at all—the person he was talking to wasn't even in front of him, and he couldn't see whether their face was actually burning!
It wasn't that Gojo Satoru hadn't considered spending his life with Hatori Kazuma; it was just that for him, who had barely met his parents and had very few emotional ties, the word "marriage" was too rare. It was like some kind of sacred, forbidden desire, a lifelong vow that would be made to the gods if spoken, and his life would be forever bound to another person until death.
Like...like a spell written in a certain work, [an unbreakable vow].
Gojo Satoru never imagined he would get married—even before entering vocational high school, he always thought he would probably never feel attracted to any woman in his life.
Who could have predicted that he wasn't attracted to any other woman, but rather to one person?
But at this moment, Gojo Satoru felt as if the blood in his body was surging, and the rapid beating of his heart seemed to materialize into a rhythmic red thread, gently wrapping around his little finger, with the other end extending infinitely along the radio waves until it completely disappeared into the darker night sky.
He considered himself a mature 23-year-old—so mature that he wouldn't even flinch if faced with ten or eight curse masters—yet he couldn't handle the problem with ease.
Perhaps it will be easier to handle in another five years?
"You... tell me a more serious ideal."
Gojo Satoru still didn't lower the hand covering his face, causing his voice to sound muffled, with a hint of complaint mixed with coquetry.
Kazuma Hatori's response was exceptionally innocent and quite solemn.
"Isn't this ideal a bit unrealistic?"
If the system hadn't shown that the conditions for proposing marriage hadn't been met yet, he would have proposed to Wu long ago.
As for what is still not satisfied... he wasn't sure; it might be something that's not permitted by law.
But it doesn't matter, he's not marrying the system, as long as Wu agrees.
That said, adoption law stipulates that adults can be adopted, meaning that even if they cannot be considered a family through marriage, they might still be considered a family through household registration...
When the topic of marriage came up, Kazuma Hatori's thoughts quickly spread, to the point that he started to consider who would be registered under whose name at the time—should we decide by rock-paper-scissors?
There's no need to adopt children; he only likes to raise Wu, and doesn't like to raise children who have nothing to do with Wu.
As for Gojo Satoru, who was asked a question by Hato Kazuma... he had no way to refute it.
Why can't the ideal of marrying him be the ideal of a proper manager?
Gojo Satoru puffed out his cheeks for a long time, only to find that he could hardly convince even the sparrows who were singing the wedding march in his head.
He couldn't even suppress the smile on his own face, yet he dared to try to suppress the equally overjoyed sparrow.
"...I'm really defeated by you."
Gojo Satoru muttered to himself into his phone, his tone rising higher and higher, and even Sou's eyes narrowed, feeling a sense of warmth as he watched the swirling snowflakes.
The forest was exceptionally quiet, allowing Kazuma Hatake to hear the muttering clearly, and he unusually responded with a proud "humph."
That snickering tone—it's obvious he learned it from Gojo Satoru.
"Anyway... well, let's not talk about that for now..."
Gojo Satoru stammered for a moment, then decided to talk about something else first. "What are your plans for the future? Will you continue to stay in the Panxing Cult?"
Now it's his turn to say he's not mentally prepared for marriage yet...!
However, once Kazuma Hatori voiced his ideal, Satoru Gojo couldn't find a trace of his former gloom—he was still trying to suppress the sparrows jumping around in his head, shouting "Say yes!"
"Well, after all, they are a force to be reckoned with."
Kazuma Hatori didn't force Satoru to give an answer, but instead changed the subject, saying, "Perhaps I can help you from the outside."
Even if I can't really help, at least I won't be taken over by someone else, or become a hindrance to Wu.
Moreover, Lu Suo possesses not only the Panxing Sect, but also the Directorate General Department, which has been infiltrated for many years.
Judging from the terrified expression on the face of the chieftain when he died last week, the other party had most likely seen Lu Suo—or rather, seen Lu Suo's characteristics.
Kazuma Hatori raised his hand and touched the cut wound, lost in thought.
"I……"
The call was quiet for only a moment before Gojo Satoru spoke again in a low voice, drawing back Hatake Kazuma's attention—this time, Gojo Satoru's tone revealed a very obvious embarrassment, and he even made a tactical cough first.
"Yeah, well, although I think it's a bit early to talk about marriage... but... um..."
"I actually used my teacher's salary accumulated over the years to buy an apartment some time ago."
It's not very big, and it's quite far from the college, but it's well-decorated, has a great surrounding environment, and is guarded by administrators who won't let unimportant people in.
The key point is...
Kazuma Hatori instantly grasped the implied meaning of "I bought an apartment," and his dark eyes gradually brightened, almost flashing with a pikapika light.
Are you inviting me?
He found it very difficult to calm himself down, and even his voice trembled with excitement when he first spoke.
This is something we haven't done in a long time—living together!
If you're already living together, how far are you from getting married?
"—" Gojo Satoru mumbled something he could barely hear himself before replying with a smile, "Yes, I'm inviting you. Now that the mastermind has been eliminated, there's no need to worry about [her]... um, it's discovered our relationship. How about it, want to come? I'll give you a key."
Now, Hajime was so happy that pink flowers seemed to float around him—"Yes," he agreed decisively, pausing briefly before adding another sentence.
"I will handle the follow-up issues first."
The temptation of living with Satoru was so great that Kazuma felt like he was walking on soft clouds.
But he still wanted to bring this [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons] to a close.
Both Natsumi and Hato Kazuma escaped after being reported by Gojo Satoru, and almost none of the curse masters were left behind either.
However, the fact that several ordinary people, [Window], and assistant supervisors were still killed by the cursed spirits has raised the threat level of [Special Grade Curse Master] Xia Youjie to another level.
The more spirits he commands, the greater the danger he poses to sorcerers who are not at least level one.
Upon receiving the casualty report, Gojo Satoru regretted not having the heart to kill Natsumi Yuuki at the moment of their farewell. Now, however, he could not find any trace of him and could only stand in front of a row of newly erected tombstones in the cemetery, his eyes lowered, silently mourning.
I'm so sorry, I softened my heart back then.
Gojo Satoru sincerely apologized to the innocent victims.
Please rest assured, if Xia Youjie intends to do this again... he will not let him off the hook a second time.
………
Kazuma Hatori returned to the Panxing Cult with the bodies of Kaori Itadori and Toso—the former's body was properly buried, while the latter's brain was burned on the spot.
Once Yujin goes to high school, he'll be able to find him at [Sugisawa Third High School] in Sendai.
At that time, Kazuma Hatori will explain Kaori Itadori's experiences to him in detail and bring Hisahito here to pay respects to his mother.
—He promised last week that he would take good care of Hisahito.
As for Xia Youjie, who parted ways with them, Yuqu Yizhen asked Shujian Lingzi and found that he never returned to Panxing Sect.
They probably knew that Kazuma Hato would definitely side with Satoru Gojo, so there was no need to ask him.
Even assuming that Gojo Satoru gave the order, Hato Kazuma would definitely arrest his old colleague from the Panxing Sect on the spot—all three of them were well aware of this.
Therefore, Xia Youjie left very decisively. He not only did not take away the curse masters he recruited, but he also only went to the school to give Nanako and Mimiko a few words of advice and left without giving any further explanation.
"Lord Xiayou said that we should stay and follow you, and remember to study hard in the future."
Nanako spoke softly, but her voice gradually choked with emotion, "Has he abandoned us?"
Kazuma Hatori, who was forced to take over the sisters' care: "..."
They were absolutely certain he wouldn't take his anger out on the child.
Mikoshiba might find this development amusing, but he really has no interest in raising children.
"No, he's just on the run, and it's inconvenient for him to take you with him." Kazuma Hatori thought for a moment and then simply called Ayako Sakami over. "I'm leaving them to you. Take good care of them."
Nanako and Mimiko were so frightened that they swallowed back the tears that were about to fall: "…………"
Escape?! Escape?!
Ayako Sakura was speechless: "..."
Wasn't it enough that she already knew how difficult Kazuma Hatori was? Why did she have to throw two more brats at her?!
Previously, Xia Youjie had personally taken care of the two sisters. Now that Xia Youjie has left, they need to be provided with new accommodations and caregivers.
Besides, this was an order from the Holy Son—Ayako Sakami had no choice but to nod and lead the twin sisters away.
Oh well, she doesn't dislike children anyway.
“I am no longer the Holy Son.”
Kazuma Hatori stopped Ayako Sakami and emphasized this sentence to her.
Ayako Sakami paused, then turned to look at Kazuma Hatori, her expression clearly becoming excited: "You mean..."
“Yes,” Kazuma Hatake said, “I will be the new patriarch.”
He is not only the nominal and de facto founder of the Panxing Sect.
—It will also be the [patriarch] of the General Affairs Department.
After explaining the matters concerning the Panxing Sect, Yuqu Kazuma returned to his bedchamber alone. Standing in front of the mirror in the washroom, he scrutinized the indifferent-looking young man reflected in the mirror.
After a moment, he used his five fingers to brush the stray hairs from his forehead, revealing a smooth forehead.
The wound inflicted by Kaori Itadori has now healed as Kazuma Hatori's stamina has been fully restored.
However, at that moment, Kazuma Hatori took out [Karma Twins] from his inventory, drew out one of the short blades, and with a deft twist of his fingers, pointed the sharp tip at his forehead—
With unwavering resolve, he carved another deep and heavy bloodstain from left to right.
As the flesh was slashed open by the short blade, the gushing blood, drawn by gravity, rushed into the eyes, obstructing vision, only to be calmly wiped away by the other hand.
There was no sound at all, except that her fine eyelashes trembled slightly as they were pressed down by the crimson blood.
And don't forget to sew up this wound with needle and thread.
—When the blood was washed away by the water splashed on his face, the young man looked up at the mirror and saw a forcibly faked suture line on his forehead.
Having personally witnessed the current cycle's [Kaori Itadori] and the previous cycle's [Natsuyuki], Kazuma Hatori has deduced that the suture line on his forehead represents [being possessed by the Rokuro].
And those in the directorate who have been under his control for years, anyone who has heard of "that person" must have used this suture to identify him.
"You...no, you..."
Under the cover of night, Hato Kazuma arrived at the residence of the chief, staring expressionlessly at the astonished old man before him, confirming that his judgment was correct.
They would never have imagined that someone would be so insane as to deliberately cut a wound on their forehead to disguise it after killing Lu Suo.
"Very good, you can still recognize me."
Kazuma Hatori began to speak slowly, even mimicking the tone and phrasing of the tatami—based on his past experiences chatting with it.
"Before I came here, I was thinking that the seat of honor should not be given to an idiot."
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