Chapter 197
When he sneaked out, Gojo Satoru climbed over the wall; when he returned, he walked in through the main gate openly and honestly.
Since he'd already skipped all his afternoon classes, the goatee-bearded teacher who discovered his runaway had most likely already reported the situation to the elders.
There's no point in him sneaking back over the wall; it's easier to just go through the main gate.
Seeing Gojo Satoru wandering back from outside, the gate guard was not surprised at all. After respectfully greeting him, he invited him to go to the tea room in the side hall first—Elder Tatsuo was waiting for him there.
Clearly, the Gojo residence has long since gone through the first stage of "chaos after discovering that Master Satoru is missing" and the second stage of "mobilizing everyone to search everywhere". Now it is the third stage of "waiting for him to return and then interrogating him".
Gojo Satoru remained calm; he could guess what these rambling old men were planning to say to him.
"Elder Chenxiong, it has been a long time since I last sent my greetings."
But Gojo Satoru still went. Even his series of movements, from bowing to sitting upright on the tatami mat, were quite standard and smooth. This made Gojo Tatsuo, who was about to reprimand him, swallow his words and forcefully reply with a polite remark.
"Ah, well, I'm still in good health, no need for you to worry."
Suddenly interrupted by Gojo Satoru, Gojo Tatsuo's anger, which had been brewing for a long time, was immediately extinguished by more than half. He added dryly, "Sit over here and have some tea with this old man."
Since they consider themselves upper-class people, they naturally have to do some refined things—admiring the expensive dry landscape garden in the courtyard while slowly sipping expensive and rare matcha is naturally very elegant and tasteful.
So, Gojo Tatsuo picked up his teacup, took a sip, and began to slowly lecture Gojo Satoru on how sneaking out of the house without a reason was really inappropriate, as it not only delayed his studies but also risked being attacked by the enemy.
Halfway through his speech, he began to reminisce about the past, describing how glorious the Gojo family had once been, easily standing up to the other two families on their own.
The speech was long and convoluted, and coupled with the occasional sighs and exclamations from Tatsuo Gojo, it was even more hypnotic than a bedtime story.
Gojo Satoru sat with his back to the dry landscape garden, his face expressionless, showing no interest in the cup of matcha placed in front of him.
He began to suspect that Gojo Tatsuo simply wanted someone to chat with, while Gojo Satoru had just been unfortunately conscripted.
Behind the seemingly attentive listening, the adorable young Wu, whose attention was already wandering far away, was recalling all the fun things he had seen on the streets that afternoon.
Kazuma Hatori had been hiding in Ryogo's shadow for a long time, and you could see his frustration at wanting to leave.
Moreover, kneeling for a long time is very uncomfortable. Satoru kept trying to find a more comfortable posture, but if he moved even slightly, Gojo Tatsuo would notice and then tell him that kneeling in this proper posture is the most in line with tea etiquette.
Gojo Satoru: “…”
There's already enough pent-up discontent and protest in my heart; adding even a little more would make me explode.
Kazuma Hatori was also very annoyed with the old man Tatsuo Gojo – “Satoru can do whatever he wants, why does he need you to teach him?”
Why do you want to control everything?
Although he can't teach the old man a lesson like in the second playthrough, now that he's become a Ju-on spirit, he has the methods that Ju-on spirits can use.
In a blind spot where Gojo Tatsuo couldn't see him, Hato Kazuma secretly peeked out, his eyes fixed on the pot of tea on the table.
When Tatsuo Gojo finally finished his long-winded explanation, refilled his porcelain cup with tea, and prepared to take another sip to soothe his throat—
"It's so hot!"
This pot of boiled tea has been sitting for a while, so why is it still so hot!
Gojo Tatsuo spat out a mouthful of scalding tea with a "pfft," panting heavily, feeling his tongue go numb from the heat, likely with several blisters already formed.
As for the tea that splashed towards Gojo Satoru sitting opposite him, it was all blocked by the [No Limits] technique he secretly activated, and not a drop of it touched him.
As early as when [Six Eyes] noticed Yi Zhen's little tricks, he had anticipated this moment and activated the spell in advance.
Therefore, Gojo Satoru, who was watching Gojo Tatsuo make a fool of himself, was secretly amused.
Haha, now it's his turn to be completely lacking in manners!
Tatsuo Gojo finally felt the heat in his mouth dissipate a bit. When he looked up, he saw that Satoru Gojo was still sitting upright, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if he hadn't seen anything at all.
"...Never mind, you can go back."
How could he not sense that the kid was gloating just now? If he hadn't been certain that the [No Limits] technique neither heated the tea nor could it conjure a pot of hot tea out of thin air, Gojo Tatsuo would have been 100% certain that it was Gojo Satoru who was being mischievous.
"I need some cash."
Gojo Satoru finally spoke slowly, making a request to him.
Gojo Tatsuo: "..."
Gojo Tatsuo narrowed his eyes: "You're not planning to sneak out again, are you?"
Although his tongue, still numb from the burn, made his words a little slurred, it didn't prevent him from conveying the message—you little brat, once is enough, but you want a second time?!
Gojo Satoru looked back calmly, his eyes saying, "What else?"
Gojo Tatsuo: "..."
He now understands why he had a heart attack for no apparent reason that afternoon.
This is a sad omen, meaning that Wu has been corrupted by someone and has learned to use running away from home to have fun and cause trouble for others!
But could he really refuse to pay? That didn't seem right either. This man in front of them was their carefully groomed heir, the next head of the prestigious Gojo family. What would it look like if he went out without money to buy food? If the other two families found out, they would laugh their heads off.
To give or not to give, that is a serious question that seems to have no other options at all.
“…”
Tatsuo Gojo waved his hand wearily, telling Satoru Gojo to stay away from him for the time being.
"Someone will be arranged for you."
In the end, Gojo Tatsuo really did give Gojo Satoru a sum of money, and it wasn't a small amount.
Even if I'm going to go astray, skip classes, or run away from home, I can't let others look down on me... No, what do you mean by running away from home? It's just about seeing the world!
Unable to convince Gojo Satoru not to sneak out to play, Gojo could only clutch his chest and force himself to believe it.
On the contrary, Gojo Satoru's life became rich and interesting - he knew very well what he needed, and whenever there was a class with little educational content, Gojo Satoru would decisively take Kazuma and run away.
He later went back to the coffee shop where the manager had given him a cake for the first time and tried all the desserts displayed in the window.
The shop manager couldn't help but smile as she looked at the adorable little boy who was seriously ordering, seemingly struggling to decide which cake was the best.
So, in addition to selling coffee, she later developed a menu of sweet and sour fruit teas and sodas, and invited Gojo Satoru, who always came alone, to be her first customer to try them.
Since it's a trial product, no payment is required.
Gojo Satoru walked down the street holding a full cup of iced melon soda, and realized that he might have developed a liking for sweets.
Well, sweets can quickly replenish energy, so they are indeed a great choice.
"Here, have a sip too."
Gojo Satoru handed the cup of melon soda in his hand to the beautiful phoenix perched on his shoulder, so that it could also taste it.
He would happily share anything good with Kazuma, just like how his peers at the Gojo Mansion would share the snacks they brought with them.
Kazuma Hato knew that Satoru didn't actually act like an heir at all; if the children came over and invited Satoru to play, he would happily join in.
Unfortunately, the corrupt system of the Gojo family had already created an invisible barrier between Satoru and the others; even if Satoru himself put on a friendly enough act, they could not actually invite him, because that would be considered "breaking the rules".
Therefore, it was in an ordinary commercial street where no one could recognize him that Gojo Satoru felt very comfortable.
He later wanted to go to the arcade to play games like Speed Racer and Final Fight, but he was too young and no adult was with him, so he was stopped as soon as he entered the store.
"This isn't a place for little kids. There's a mini children's playground on the left side of the intersection. The lady selling tickets at the entrance will definitely welcome you to play there."
After being treated like a completely ignorant little kid and given a good coaxing, and even given a lollipop, Gojo Satoru said: "...Thank you, I understand."
Damn it, he'll definitely get to play this someday.
Looking at Yugo's chubby, round profile—which smelled terrible but was also incredibly cute because of his baby fat—Hatori Kazuma was certain that if he weren't a cursed spirit who had lost his human form, he would have burst out laughing.
Gojo Satoru glanced at Ichima, who was secretly gloating, then turned his gaze back to the lollipop in his hand.
—Forget it, Ichijin can't play video games with him anyway, so there's no point in going in.
He slowly used his fingers to pry open the tightly wrapped plastic candy wrapper and put the apple-flavored lollipop into his mouth.
Hmm, the flavor of the candy unexpectedly suited his taste...
Gojo Satoru habitually put his hands into the kangaroo pockets of his hoodie and strolled leisurely along the bustling street for a while.
At a certain moment, he suddenly stopped and turned around. His extremely cold gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing straight through the crowd and the glass, almost instantly cutting the building next to him into a thousand holes—not aimed at ordinary people, but at the two curse masters hidden inside who were casting malice at him.
Being gazed upon by those heavenly eyes that reflect the boundless clear sky is like being glanced at by the supreme god of Takamagahara; not even the slightest thought of resistance can arise.
Even though this six-eyed brat with a bounty of over 100 million is much younger than them.
How dare someone like him covet him?
"What are you looking at, you nobodies?"
Displeased by being stared at, Gojo Satoru intimidated the two curse masters with just one glance, preventing them from making a move. He himself didn't seem to care much and continued walking forward.
But Kazuma Hagoromo was very concerned, "What happened just now?"
“There are two small fry who are probably eyeing my bounty.” Gojo Satoru shook his head. “It’s nothing. Even if ten more of those trash came, they wouldn’t be able to kill me.”
The word "kill" is very sensitive, instantly triggering the DNA of Yuqu, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Kazuma.
"No, I have to go and kill them."
Kazuma Hodori immediately took flight, vowing to go back and burn them to ashes.
“The enemy is safest when they are dead… No, some corpses are not even safe when they are dead. I have to go and help cremate them.”
Those old men who displeased Gojo Satoru cannot be killed, so why can't these two curse masters be killed either?
Anyway, now that he can sense spell power, distinguishing sorcerers from ordinary people has become an easy thing for him!
"--Hmm?"
In the blink of an eye, Gojo Satoru had vanished without a trace.
The urgency he displayed was as if he were in a life-threatening situation, and that a moment's delay would mean certain death.
After a moment of stunned silence, Gojo Satoru suddenly burst into laughter, his face clearly showing he was extremely happy.
Even after Kazuma Hatori burned those two curse masters, who were still muttering about "finding the reason why cursed spirits have become stronger" before they died, to ashes, he flew back with satisfaction, circled around, and landed back on Gojo Satoru's shoulder, waiting to be questioned—the latter simply tilted his head and affectionately rubbed his face against him.
"So this is what it feels like to be cared for," Gojo Satoru said happily.
“I’ve heard them talking about how mothers would touch their heads and sing lullabies after a high fever, but I can’t imagine what it would feel like in that situation.”
"I finally understand now."
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