Chapter 119
After Kazuma Hatori left.
The cell phone on the coffee table did not hang up immediately.
Sonoda Shigeru and Kong Shiyu remained seated on the sofa, making no move.
"how?"
Until that phone rang again, with those processed, indistinguishable words.
Sonoda Shigeru crossed his hands and pressed them on his thighs, leaning his entire upper body forward to get closer to the voice of the Pope.
"I think that kid was really disrespectful to you."
A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone, and even the response was understated.
Isn't this quite obvious?
He dared to bring a long list of high-ranking figures in the sorcery world to ask me to stand up for him, so how could he possibly have even the slightest bit of respect for him?
The intelligence received over the past six months has also fueled suspicions—has Kazuma Hagoromo already defected to the High School?
His obvious feelings for Gojo Satoru, in particular, were the biggest obstacle to his plan.
"Moreover... his expression is always like that, and I can't tell if he's dissatisfied with you..."
Sonoda Shigeru frowned in thought, annoyed by Hatake Kazuma's composure, which seemed unmoved no matter what he heard.
He had to admit that in terms of concealing his emotions, Kazuma Hatake was far more adept than one would expect for his age.
"Kong Shiyu?"
The processed voice on the phone directly called out to Kong Shiyu, who had remained silent.
Kong Shiyu, leaning against the back of the sofa, seemed to have just snapped out of his daze of staring at the ceiling—and even received a disapproving glance from Sonoda Shigeru.
"Well, this is the first time, no, the second time I've seen this child."
Kong Shiyu scratched his hair, seemingly equally troubled.
"The only assessment I can make is that it's extremely difficult to read his emotions."
Pope: "Besides?"
Kong Shiyu shrugged: "His aura is quite astonishing. No wonder he is the [Holy Son] you have chosen."
Judging from Sonoda Shigeru and Kong Shiyu's answers, it seems that this test can only end here.
"Hmm... it seems there haven't been any more discoveries."
Hearing the patriarch's thoughtful concluding remark, Kong Shiyu proactively asked, "So, what about next year's plan...?"
"Of course. Even if he has already set [boundaries], guaranteeing that he will carry out the plan and not reveal his identity and mission to others, it doesn't mean he has no choice but to comply—as long as he is willing to pay the [price],"
"Besides, my probing just now must have stirred up his displeasure, right?"
At the other end of the call, the [Pope] leaning against the wooden couch raised his eyes, a smile playing on his lips—the woman's face with a horizontal line across her forehead was none other than [Kaori Itadori], whose name Hato Kazuma wanted to confirm through the [Social] interface.
"That's fine too. The more chaotic the situation becomes, the more advantageous it will be for our goals."
[Kaori Itadori] continued with a smile, her tone and wording indistinguishable from a woman's.
"Kong Shiyu and Sonoda Shigeru. I'll leave them to you when the time comes."
"--yes."
…………
As Kazuma Hatori stepped out of the palace gate, Ayako Sakami, who was waiting outside against the wall, immediately came over to him.
She originally wanted to ask him, "What task did the patriarch assign you?" but just before she could speak, she was startled by his cold, dark eyes staring at her.
Even Ayako Sakami, who had only met Kazuma Hatori a few times, could sense that Kazuma Hatori was extremely unhappy.
"What happened... Did the Pope reprimand you?"
After all, it was she who had been in contact with the 16-year-old boy for so long, so Ayako Sakami subconsciously comforted Kazuma Hatori.
"Don't take it to heart, the Patriarch is very kind, he won't really blame you..."
"I'm fine."
Kazuma Hatake's dark eyes blinked slowly, and when he looked up again, he had regained his usual demeanor—even his tone was still calm and composed, revealing a maturity far beyond his years.
“I can tell you the answer now,” he said. “The cult leader himself is neither male nor female, and can become either gender as he pleases.”
For example, [male] in the first cycle, [female] in this cycle.
These words shocked Ayako Sakura so much that she forgot to offer any words of comfort and blurted out, "Huh!?"
Immediately afterwards, she looked around frantically, afraid that a second person might overhear her outrageous words.
Fortunately, she and Kazuma had been chatting as they walked, and now they had left the hall of the "House of the Star Child," and there was no one else on the long staircase.
"How could you slander the Patriarch like that..."
Ayako Sakami lowered her voice to warn Kazuma Hatori, but was interrupted by the latter in a nonchalant manner.
“Who says I’m slandering him?” Kazuma Hatake said calmly. “I saw it with my own eyes.”
Although it's unclear how the cult leader was able to switch between different bodies—in any case, even in the previous timeline, he had been both a woman and a man.
Otherwise, how could [Natsuyu Jie] from last week's game have used Katsuragi Kaori's technique?
"It's possible to change gender at will..."
Ayako Sakami gasped on the spot, feeling as if a door to her own world had been opened!
Seeing that she believed his story, Kazuma Hatori then dropped a bombshell.
“Just now, the patriarch was already questioning our loyalty to the Panxing Sect.”
This news was more important than whether the cult leader was male or female; Ayako Sakami was immediately furious.
"What???!!"
Compared to the terrified Ayako Sakami, Kazuma Hatori remained calm, and his unhurried speech was highly convincing.
"Although I was just tested by the Pope, I have also received a very important mission."
"And this is a task that His Holiness doesn't even want you to know—otherwise, you should have been in the room just now."
Ayako Sakura paused for a moment, then said, "That's because..."
Kazuma Hatake: "Is it because the patriarch's gender is a secret? That's completely irrelevant. I'll tell you when I get out."
While Ayako Sakami's brain was reeling from the shock and she was struggling to maintain her rational thinking, Kazuma Hatori continued to gently guide her.
“Look, the [Preventing the Assimilation of Tengen] plan that I received before was also the core of the core, right? You were there and heard it at the time, and Sonoda Shigeru didn’t hide it from you.”
"But this time, they won't even let you in to listen in, and they're assigning the task to me alone—even though I've only been working with you, right? So, should I tell you the result of this task? I'm so conflicted."
Without blinking, Kazuma Hatori spouted nonsense at Ayako Sakami.
But apart from the statement that "[the Pope is already doubting her loyalty]" being false, everything he said was true.
Ayako Sakami had no way to refute it.
Not only was she unable to refute him, but she even started biting her nails and began to panic visibly.
"How could that be? My loyalty to His Holiness has never wavered, not even after all these years... No, I have to go and talk to His Holiness..."
“What can I say?” Kazuma Hatake said calmly. “Isn’t the more you emphasize something like this, the more it makes you seem like you have something to hide?”
Ayako Sakami paused, completely choked up.
"But why? I haven't disobeyed the Patriarch's orders at all... I shouldn't have..."
Even after they arrived at the parking lot, Ayako Sakami, still looking agitated, got into the driver's seat and had to try twice to insert the key.
It seems that the fact that Ayako Sakura is not favored by the cult leader is indeed the point that these believers care about most.
Kazuma Hatori sat in the passenger seat, reached up to pull over the seatbelt and fastened it, his expression remaining unchanged.
"You'll probably be gradually transferred away from the core of power within the Panxing Cult, then your status will decline, and you'll become an outsider... or, to prevent you from revealing the secrets you already know, they might simply..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Ayako Sakami's scream, unwilling to face such a miserable or tragic future—even if it was just an imagination.
"Then... what should we do?"
Ayako Sakami's emotionality is very obvious, just like when she was so angry at Kazuma Hatori's words that she impulsively hung up the phone.
At this moment, she also clung to Kazuma Hatori as a lifeline, because subconsciously, she had already regarded Kazuma Hatori as a "comrade-in-arms" in the same tragic situation as the cult leader.
"Just act the same as before, and don't suddenly do anything strange or say anything strange."
Kazuma Hatake pretended to think seriously for a moment, "Then, you find a way to help me complete this mission, so that I can claim credit with the patriarch and recommend you to replace Shigeru Sonoda as the new president and representative director of the [House of Stars]."
What do you think?
That last sentence was so captivating that Ayako Sakami's eyes lit up instantly.
By replacing Sonoda Shigeru as president, she can become the person with the most influence in the "House of Stars"!
"How could I possibly replace Lord Sonoda? That's incredibly disrespectful..."
On the surface, Ayako Sakami politely declined; but in reality, she was already excited enough and even began to look forward to it.
What is your mission this time?
She asked impatiently.
"It's related to [preventing the assimilation of the Heavenly Origin], but I can't say the specifics."
Kazuma Hagoromo shook his head slightly, "But I hope that from now on you can keep an eye on Shigeru Sonoda's actions for me... It would be even better if you could hear anything related to the name [Kong Shiyu]."
"Kong Shiyu? That middleman?"
Remembering that she had indeed seen Kong Shiyu's figure inside the door, Ayako Sakura felt even more strongly that she was being suspected. She gripped the steering wheel, struggled for a long time, and then gritted her teeth.
"I promise you."
She worked so hard to climb up to this position, how can she be replaced by someone else? If anyone should be replaced, it should be her taking over the president's position...!
Having successfully secured an informant from the Panxing Sect, Yuqu Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief, nodding with a blank expression.
"make a deal."
Based on his understanding of [Xia Youjie] from the first playthrough, the other party certainly wouldn't assume he could achieve his goal after only one or two schemes—that guy was very cautious, yet extremely cunning.
Ayako Sakami could help him find out if Shigeru Sonoda and Shiyu Kong would make any further moves.
The cult leader probably didn't expect him to actually kill Gojo Satoru, but [killing Gojo Satoru] was definitely the goal the other side wanted to achieve.
The conversation was so short that it was still Friday night when Kazuma Hatori left the "Hoshinoko House".
Ayako Sakami is taking him back to the vocational high school; there are no other arrangements.
There was no further sound from inside the car. Kazuma Hatake's phone vibrated slightly; he had received an email.
How did you know I caught a fish?
Along with that message came a lively emoticon and a photo.
It's a selfie of a smug little Wu holding a fish high in the air.
His expression was incredibly happy. His pure white fur, which liked to stick up in all directions, shone with an exceptionally brilliant and vivid radiance under the neon lights, like a clear gemstone reflected in the bright sunlight, so warm that it could be held in the palm of your hand.
Upon seeing this email, Kazuma Hatori's cold and aloof aura completely crumbled, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.
He pursed his lips slightly and typed a reply quickly on his phone.
[What a big fish! Are you alone?]
[Shoko and Jay are both there; they're still trying to catch a fish.]
Gojo Satoru replied to the email very quickly, almost as if he was waiting for Hato Kazuma's reply with his phone on.
A few minutes later, a second email arrived.
[But without you, it always feels a bit boring.]
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