Chapter 88
Kazuma Hatori was also worried that Satoru Gojo might have encountered some trouble, but the other party refused to reveal it.
Fortunately, he recovered after that day and became lively and energetic again.
The price was skipping the afternoon's sparring session and sleeping for several hours in the shade of a tree until the sun began to set.
However, Gojo Satoru himself is very strong in physical skills, and his combat power is also top-tier beyond the norm, so even if he skips an afternoon, it won't have any impact.
When he went on missions later, he finally remembered to wear a hat—at least to cover up his overly conspicuous white hair.
Ieiri Shoko also suggested that Gojo Satoru wear a black wig, but that it would feel too stuffy after wearing it for a long time, so it was only adopted as an alternative plan.
The sunglasses, which were originally quite unique and recognizable, are now the least eye-catching one.
It has really become a super cool fashion item... Even if Gojo Satoru wore it on the street, people would just think he was following the trend.
Overall, the short-term surge in popularity did have some impact on Gojo Satoru and Hato Kazuma's missions, but once the hype stabilized, there was no longer such a large amount of attention.
Tsuji Tomoya even called them specifically to "strike while the iron is hot," but Gojo Satoru brushed it off with a laugh.
He's still a sorcerer, after all; how could he possibly actually debut as a professional sorcerer!
However, that forum was carefully preserved by Gojo Satoru.
2005 was an era when print media and television were dominant and the internet was still in its infancy. At that time, there were not many people who were keen on chatting online, and their ages were relatively concentrated. They were mainly active in places like forums and personal websites.
Since Gojo Satoru and Hato Kazuma don't run their own personal websites, fans mostly chat on fan forums and ship the Satoru/Gojo pairing.
Gojo Satoru would log on every few days to browse the site, enjoying the interesting new posts.
Essentially, Gojo Satoru is a cool guy who really enjoys exploring new things, especially current popular culture!
These days, Gojo Satoru has been sneaking around the forums for a long time and now he understands what "[嗑]" and "[cp]" mean. "[真悟]" is an abbreviation of his name after he started dating Hato Kazuma.
Hmm, I still don't quite understand. Why are there so many abbreviations like [真悟], [悟真], [悟言真语], [真诚悟道], etc. Is there some special significance to them?
And then there's [do], which shows a complete lack of understanding of auxiliary verb usage. I rarely see those either. Maybe they were written by foreigners who don't know much Japanese? Like [long time no see]?
However, since no one specifically explains this, Gojo Satoru always only half understands certain content, feeling that it is even more complicated than studying the professional terminology of academic papers. He can only temporarily memorize it and then skip it.
Besides, everyone on the forum seemed to be on the same page, and he was too embarrassed to register an account and post a question—what if he exposed himself?
Let's just assume that it's saying he and Yizhen have a really good relationship, and that those words are just embellishing how "good" their relationship really is.
That's always right.
When the temperature rises a bit more, summer vacation will be almost here.
Even at the most demanding spellcasting college, the theoretical classes aren't so numerous that they require continuous sessions every year; they still get holidays on time, just like regular schools.
At that time, even if there are tasks, students will only need to go directly to their destination, and there will be no longer daily basic subjects plus general education courses.
During a previous mission, Xia Youjie learned from Yuqu Kazuma that he was an orphan who was forced to live with others and whose relationship with his adoptive parents was not close. In short, his life was very tragic.
Therefore, he specifically asked Kazuma Hatori if he wanted to stay at his house just before the summer vacation started.
Perhaps they were worried that he would be lonely staying at school alone?
I heard from Shoko Ieiri that she wouldn't be staying at school during summer vacation either, so it seems that Kazuma Hatori is indeed all alone now.
Kazuma Hatake was quite surprised that Natsumi Yuuki had specifically come to ask him this question—if they were just ordinary classmates, they usually wouldn't think about this aspect of each other.
This may not only be due to the friendliness and thoughtfulness brought about by the high trust level of 71%, but may also be because Xia Youjie himself is psychologically delicate and sensitive, and easily empathizes with others.
Kazuma Hatake wasn't entirely sure, but he could roughly deduce that Natsumi Yuuki was the type of person who acted cautiously, always consulting a lot of relevant information before embarking on a mission or a trip.
This behavior subtly aligns with that of Xia Youjie (deceased) from the first playthrough, who was always scheming against him from behind the scenes until the very end.
However, the key reason why Kazuma Hatori was least willing to do missions with Natsuyuki was not this.
The main issue is that his and Xia Youjie's methods of improving their strength conflict.
One is a cursed spirit ball formed by devouring living cursed spirits, and the other is a cursed power crystal dropped by killing cursed spirits.
The fact that they didn't start fighting on the spot was already an extremely restrained outcome.
Xia Youjie mainly relies on his trust in Yuqu Kazuma, while Yuqu Kazuma feels that he doesn't even have a magic formula right now, so even if he activates the future BOSS, he still can't defeat it.
In short, they managed to split the curse spirits evenly in the first few times, but later they simply went to Teacher Moth to explain the situation and ask him not to put them on the same team.
They'll end up fighting each other sooner or later if they try to steal monsters.
This is why Gojo Satoru and Hato Kazuma always teamed up for missions afterward, and they would occasionally be spotted by fans – and on the forum, there would be a new post titled "[We ran into a couple strolling around again]".
As for Natsumi Yuuki's summer invitation, Kazuma Hatori naturally declined.
He's going to spend the summer vacation at Gojo's house in Kyoto with Satoru.
When Kazuma Hatori used "la" at the end of his sentence, you can imagine how happy he was.
Upon hearing this explanation, Xia Youjie showed a somewhat subtle and complex expression of understanding, and then said that he would go back on his own in a couple of days.
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru and Hato Kazuma packed their luggage and happily boarded the car back to the Gojo family home.
"You don't need to listen to those old guys. There's hardly anything they say that I like to hear."
As they approached the Gojo family residence, Gojo Satoru was still whispering to Hatori Kazuma, reminding him repeatedly to ignore what the clansmen were saying.
In this matter, Gojo Satoru was both happy that Hatori Kazuma agreed to come back with him for the summer vacation, and worried that Kazuma, as an orphan, would not understand this kind of old-fashioned and rigid family and would be frightened by those people's words.
Kazuma Hatori really wanted to tell Satoru Gojo not to worry, because he not only knew these old NPCs very well, but he had also killed several of them as sacrifices during his first playthrough...
Looking back at the battle records from last week's playthrough, there were a total of three starter families: Kamo, Gojo, and Zenin.
The Kamo family was the one he tormented the most; it's impossible to describe in just a few lines.
Because of his desire to marry Satoru, the Gojo family's residence was largely preserved, except that it was converted into a vegetable garden.
It seems that among the Zen family members, only that guy named Naoya got beaten the hardest by him. The rest were just there to make an example of him, and they only dared to cower on the sidelines and watch, afraid that they would also get punched by him.
Looking at it this way, it seems that the old NPCs from the Gojo family really did manage to escape unscathed.
"It's okay, I think I know, I'll be fine."
Upon receiving the "I'm worried about you" signal continuously from the pretty little Go, Kazuma Hatori nodded obediently.
In this cycle, he was just an ordinary, innocent sorcerer. He had neither treated these people to a lousy meal, nor robbed their mansions to turn them into vegetable gardens, nor given their chrysanthemums a sense of taste.
Their perception of him must be that of an unknown nobody, right?
Kazuma Hatori remained calm, of course.
Seeing how strong-willed Hagoromo Kazuma was, Gojo Satoru managed to relax a little.
He thought that if all else failed, he could just take the other person to live elsewhere, since the Gojo family owned multiple properties in both Kyoto and Tokyo.
—When the car stopped in front of the Gojo clan's residence, Gojo Satoru, carrying a bag, got out first, and then stood by the car door waiting for Hato Kazuma to get out as well, before following him towards the gate.
"Sir Satoru."
The guard at the gate bowed to Gojo Satoru and said, "Welcome back."
Even though Gojo Satoru is very willful this year and insists on going to a vocational high school, and even the elders in the family can't do anything about it, with [Six Eyes] and [No Limits] around, Gojo Satoru will definitely be the next head of the Gojo family no matter what, that's an indisputable fact.
His treatment at the Gojo family was undoubtedly top-notch.
"Ah, I'm back."
Gojou nods. "What about that old man who hates me the most?"
The highest elder of the Gojo family, currently the most powerful person besides the head of the family, is addressed as "old man" by Gojo Satoru without any respect.
They didn't use any honorifics whatsoever.
Since the other party always dislikes him and thinks he doesn't follow the rules, why should he treat him politely?
Kazuma Hatake also looked up and examined the place—whether it was ten years later or ten years ago, the mansion was almost exactly the same, even the curves of the path in the courtyard were almost identical to his memory.
Just like this mansion that seems to have frozen in time, the thinking of these elders in high positions is also stuck in the past. As long as the system can continue to operate, they will never change it in the slightest.
Not to mention, it is still completely controlled by that [mastermind].
"Lord Tatsuo," the guard replied respectfully, "is currently receiving Lord Chokichi and his entourage from the Kamo family."
"Ah-ah, so you're busy consolidating your position again?"
Gojo Satoru pursed his lips, clearly disgusted by this kind of behavior of securing a high position through means such as forming cliques, excluding others, and scheming.
But this is good too, because you don't have to greet the other person right away, which saves you the hassle.
As for the plan to use their appearances in fashion magazines to annoy the old folks, there's no rush. We can bring it up anytime and still annoy them.
"Okay, let's go back first..."
As Gojo Satoru was speaking to Hatori Kazuma, a group of people suddenly emerged from a side hall in the distance.
The elders of the Gojo family and the Kamo family were all smiling, as if they had reached some mutually beneficial agreement in private.
But Gojo understood that the three major families, which controlled the vast majority of high-level resources, could easily form a dozen or twenty small groups that were wary of each other and banded together. Even if there were times when the spoils were not distributed equally among them, how could there really be two forces that were completely allied and worked together?
This joyous and harmonious atmosphere is merely a facade.
Gojo Satoru pulled Hato Kazuma away, not wanting him to run into these people and then be pointed at and said unpleasant things.
Among the three founding families, there are always those who consider themselves of noble blood and look down on non-family sorcerers.
Not to mention that Kazuma Hatori was an orphan.
Although Gojo Satoru wanted to take Hatori Kazuma away, the elders of the Gojo and Kamo families had already seen him.
"Lord Wu, it would be rather impolite of you not to come and greet us upon seeing us."
Tatsuo Gojo spoke, his hands behind his back.
Since there were outsiders present, he at least outwardly showed considerable respect to the next head of the family, subtly reminding Gojo to come over and greet him, at least exchange a few polite words.
Because Gojo Satoru was standing sideways to them and was carrying a bag, he completely blocked Hatake Kazuma, so Gojo Tatsuo didn't notice that there was someone standing next to him.
Upon hearing his name called, Gojo Satoru let out an impatient sigh, but still pulled Hagoromo Kazuma along and quickly walked over—deliberately blocking the way between the Gojo family elders and the Kamo family elders.
Say goodbye as soon as possible and leave as soon as possible.
"Hi—isn't this Elder Chenxiong? Long time no see! How are you and your old companions doing? No osteoporosis, are you?"
Gojo Satoru emphasized slowly, his pronunciation was extremely perfunctory, giving the impression that he was in a hurry and might leave at any moment.
As usual, Gojo Tatsuo would definitely nag him a bit, whether he scolded him or not depended on his mood.
But at this moment, Gojo Satoru waited and waited, only to find that none of these people spoke.
...What's going on? This isn't the first time he's acted this way; there's no need to make a fuss about it.
When Gojo Satoru looked up, he noticed that the old men on Gojo's side showed a slight panic—even a hint of fear—for the first time, and they all took a step back.
This step back, rather than actively creating distance, seems more like a conditioned reflex of fleeing.
Their faces showed confusion, as if they didn't understand why they were reacting this way.
Gojo Satoru: "...Hmm?"
He turned around—and Kazuma Hagoromo followed suit—towards the old men of the Kamo family, only to find that their faces had suddenly turned pale with fear.
Even more terrified, because Kamo Chokichi not only retreated in unison with the main force, but also unconsciously shuddered.
The panic and fear that they were overwhelmed by was as if they themselves did not know what they were afraid of.
It was only then that Kazuma Hatake remembered one of the game's mechanics—the affection points from the previous playthrough would be carried over to the next playthrough.
This naturally includes negative favorability.
In other words, for these old guys—
The terrifying demon whose name cannot be spoken has returned!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
