Chapter 43
With a sudden surge in physical abilities, Yuichiro's speed in his dash also far exceeded that of ordinary people, and he no longer distanced himself from the cherry-haired boy.
Even with his body strengthened by magical power, Fushiguro Megumi ran a couple of steps but still couldn't catch up, so he had to give up and stop in place, waiting for Kamo-sensei to return with the others.
Fortunately, the physical stats of his body were greatly improved by using , which prevented Hagoromo Kazuma from losing track of the cherry-haired boy. However, it was surprisingly difficult to close the distance any further.
With physical attributes like that, you could easily break world records at the Olympics... No wonder it's a game, the character's attribute panel is really daring to design.
Kazuma Hatori didn't intend to follow behind the other person at a distance until the finish line. Instead, he quickly shouted something.
"Hey pink-haired guy up there, you dropped your wallet!"
"What?!"
The word "money" is very sensitive, causing the other party to immediately stop and turn around in shock.
Losing money is no small matter!
However, the ground behind him was empty, with only a black-haired young man in a very formal kimono getting closer and closer, and seemingly throwing something at him.
In a moment of shock, he felt something like a rope binding his waist, tightly constricting it, but when he touched it, there was nothing there.
"Huh?"
"Hirohito Itadori? I've got you."
When the cherry-haired boy, Itadori Yuuji, looked up at the black-haired youth in confusion, the other man was able to pronounce his name accurately. His voice was low and his speech was neither hurried nor slow, which made him seem particularly indifferent. Perhaps it was also related to his temperament, which was filled with a very calm yet cold sense of detachment.
"W-what's wrong?"
Yuji Itadori suddenly felt a little nervous.
To be stopped by such a rare type of person, and to be restrained by an invisible rope, yet still manage to ask "What's wrong?", already demonstrates a remarkably strong mental fortitude.
"You are carrying contraband."
The photo was saved on Fushiguro Megumi's phone. Hatake Kazuma had never seen what the special-grade cursed artifact looked like, so he could only give a brief description.
“Come back with me, and my students will explain everything to you.”
Fortunately, the moment the cherry-haired boy replied, his name appeared in the [Social] interface, making him a target for to prevent him from disappearing again.
Let Fushiguro Megumi retrieve the top-grade cursed artifact first, then take the time to explain slowly.
"Hey, are you a teacher at our school?"
Yuji Itadori was confused, but he tried hard to recall, "Contraband... I didn't put anything in my bag."
"Not from this school."
Kazuma Hatori, too lazy to say anything more, simply tightened the blood rope and tried to pull Hisahito Itadori along with him towards the school.
"No, no, I have things to do!"
Yuji Itadori pushed off the ground with both feet, refusing to follow the other person back no matter what.
Kazuma Hatori pulled hard on the blood rope, but his opponent stood firmly in place, his upper body leaning back as he struggled with him, but his whole body remained completely still.
"…………"
Kazuma Hatori, who was still using the , was somewhat speechless.
Where did this gorilla come from?
"It won't take much time; it'll just be my student collecting the contraband you took."
Kazuma Hatori tried his best to pull people towards the school.
"I really don't have any contraband on me... By the way, what exactly did you use to tie me up?"
Yuji Itadori struggled to walk towards the hospital.
The situation remained deadlocked for a moment, and passersby cast puzzled glances at the scene, until Fushiguro Megumi couldn't wait any longer and followed the lingering scent of the cursed object—only to be stunned by what she saw.
"...What are you doing?"
...Tug-of-war?
"You've come at the perfect time."
Relieved, Kazuma Hatori was finally able to release the blood rope and let Megumi Fushiguro handle the situation.
His name is Hisahito Itadori.
"I was just about to ask you, how did you know my name..."
"Never mind the name for now. Do you possess this thing? It's dangerous, hand it over to me immediately."
Yuji Itadori stared blankly at the photo on his phone that Megumi Fushiguro had shoved in front of his face.
"Ah, this, I did find it..." He scratched his head. "Is it dangerous? Why?"
Ordinary people cannot see cursed spirits, nor do they understand the dangers of cursed objects. Fushiguro Megumi took a deep breath and explained this part to him as briefly as possible.
"That's right. If the leakage of a top-grade cursed artifact attracts a powerful curse, the best outcome would be if it resulted in only one or two deaths. So hand it over to me quickly."
"…………"
After listening to the explanation, Yuji Itadori's expression froze. He took out the empty wooden box from his pocket and showed it to them.
"Oh no, I gave it to Sasaki-senpai. Because it was wrapped in strips of cloth, it looked like a ghostly object..."
"…………"
Fushiguro Megumi, speechless at the man's audacity, remained silent for a moment, glanced at the time on her phone, and immediately asked Itadori Hisahito.
Is she still at school?
"Ah, it should still be there. It was watching me throw the shot put on the field just now," Hisahito Itadori said hesitantly.
"Then quickly take me to find someone."
Without saying a word, Fushiguro Megumi tried to pull Itadori Yuujin away—but couldn't budge him.
Looking back, Hisahito Itadori was still stubbornly and steadily standing in the same spot.
Fushiguro Megumi: "…………"
He now understood why Kamo-sensei had been playing tug-of-war with him earlier.
This guy's a gorilla!
“But I still need to visit Grandpa in the hospital.” Yuji Itadori frowned in distress, his expression almost twisted into a knot of worry. “He… is running out of time, I have to go and be by his side.”
"I won't stop you from visiting Grandpa."
Fukuro Megumi rubbed his forehead and pondered for a moment before coming up with a solution.
"Although the aura emanating from the cursed object is too strong... I can at least sense its approximate location. If you have a photo of my senior, you can send it to me, and I'll find her by following her aura."
"Great! Thank you so much!"
With such a perfect solution, Hisahito Itadori happily took out his phone and added him on LINE.
Then, Fushiguro Megumi handed the wooden box to Hatori Kazuma as well.
“The wooden box needs to stay with you. Its aura is too strong and will interfere with my perception of cursed power.” Fushiguro Megumi thought for a moment. “Also, it would be best if Kamo-sensei went to the hospital with Itadori Yuujin. He is currently carrying strong remnants of cursed objects, and I am worried that he may be attacked by cursed spirits.”
After a moment of contemplation, Hatori Kazuma asked with concern.
"You're okay leaving me alone?"
After all, he didn't really care whether the cursed object was lost or not; what was more important was to prevent Fushiguro Megumi, whom Satoru had entrusted to look after, from getting into trouble.
“It’s alright,” Fushiguro Megumi said. “If the seal on the cursed object hasn’t been broken yet, I just need to get it, and then I’ll come and meet you right away. Itadori, which hospital are you going to?”
Yuji Itadori was taken aback. "Ah, that, Sugisawa Hospital, room 301."
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible."
Without further ado, Fushiguro Megumi, having received Sasaki-senpai's photo, briefly explained the situation before parting ways with Hatori Kazuma and the others, and returning to school alone to search for the special-grade cursed artifact.
Meanwhile, Kazuma Hatori followed Hisahito Itadori, first buying two bouquets of flowers at a florist before heading to the hospital.
"Oh, you bought a bouquet too?" Itadori Yuuhito looked at the bouquet in Hato Kazuma's hand.
Kazuma Hatori nodded, "I'm going to visit your grandfather too, so how can I go empty-handed?"
He was only a little fierce towards those old men in the sorcery world who didn't get along with him; otherwise, he was quite polite.
"Oh, it's okay, he won't mind,"
Yuji Itadori laughed, his opinion of Kamo-sensei changing – he had thought Kamo-sensei was the kind of person who was indifferent to everything and extremely cold and aloof.
"I didn't buy it for him, I just gave it to the nurse who has been taking care of him."
During their conversation on the road, Kazuma Hato learned that Hisahito Itadori's parents had disappeared before he had any memories of them, and that he had lived with his grandfather, Yamasuke Itadori, since childhood, and that he had the deepest bond with his grandfather.
"Gone?"
Kazuma Hatori found it a bit strange that Hisahito Itadori used this adjective.
"It just disappeared. After all, I have no memory of it, and Grandpa didn't tell me in detail, so I don't know the specifics."
Yuji Itadori led Kazuma Hato through the hospital ward corridor, moving upstairs and turning corners with great familiarity, even finding the rooms accurately without needing to look at the room numbers.
"grandfather--"
Before entering, he knocked on the door frame with one hand holding a bouquet of flowers, so that Itadori Yasuke, who was lying on the bed, could hear the noise.
"I brought your teacher to see you. This is Mr. Kamo."
"Hello."
Kazuma Hagoromo nodded and placed the flowers in his hand on the bedside table. "I am Kamo-sensei."
"Kamo-sensei" is a new title he received after becoming a college teacher, which allows NPCs to avoid being forced to call him by his nickname in the game.
"Mr. Kamo?"
Itadori Yasuke muttered to himself, probably also puzzled as to why anyone would introduce themselves using only a title.
"Hello, my son Hisahito has always been well taken care of by you."
However, he still sincerely thanked Kazuma Hato, which earned him a slight shake of his head in return.
“I am not Hisahito Itadori’s teacher,” Kazuma Hatori said. “I am a teacher at the Tokyo Jujutsu High School.”
The extremely bland introduction caused Itadori Yabusuke's expression to instantly turn utterly astonished. He almost froze as he stared at Hatori Kazuma, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
"A spell...?"
Yuji Itadori, who had just been introduced to these unusual concepts, exclaimed "Ah!" and quickly tried to cover up for Kamo-sensei, who was making no attempt to conceal his true intentions.
"It's one of those ordinary schools whose names contain the word 'spell'..."
“Yujin, I know what magic is.”
Yasuke Itadori interrupted Hisahito Itadori's clumsy reason, his voice deep and serious beneath his stern face, conveying a sense of resolute determination.
"Perhaps the time has come... Just in time, I have a few more words I'd like to say to you at the end."
Yuuji Itadori was taken aback. "What?"
Just as Kazuma Hatori was about to leave to give the grandfather and grandson some privacy, he was stopped by Yabusuke Itadori.
"Mr. Kamo, please stay here as well."
"What I'm going to talk about is Hisahito's parents."
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