Chapter 118
After school on Friday, Kazuma Hatori, having put [Kyousou] into his inventory, headed to the agreed-upon location empty-handed.
He naturally left his college uniform in the dormitory. He was wearing the clothes that Gojo Satoru had given him. The style was simple and loose, without any extra decorations, which made his aura more calm and composed. The indifferent expression between his eyebrows and eyes revealed a sense of aloofness that kept strangers at bay.
Some fans probably recognized him on the way, but since Kazuma Hato wasn't accompanied by the lively and friendly Satoru Gojo, no one dared to approach him.
When he saw Kazuma Hatori trying on the clothes, the proud Satoru proudly boasted that his taste was indeed good. So he took out his wallet and readily bought even more clothes for Kazuma Hatori, stuffing them until the dorm closet was completely full.
Kazuma Hatori subtly reminded them that they wore high school uniforms most of the time and couldn't actually wear so many outfits... but this was automatically ignored by Satoru Gojo, who was busy shopping.
Ignore everything about college uniforms and what I can't wear; I pretend I didn't hear a word.
This one fits perfectly, I'll buy it!
That one looks good too, I'll buy it!
In any case, we can't let Kazuma Hatori say "I don't have any clothes to wear except for the high school uniform" a second time!
In response, Natsuyu Suguru and Ieiri Shoko, who often see Gojo Satoru and Hato Kazuma entering and leaving the school gates in the same casual clothes on weekends, have changed their expressions from "Ew, these two are really unbearable to look at" to "Sigh, basic operation, what's so surprising about it."
Let's wait until they officially announce they're together before we're surprised they only started dating.
But in general, the large pile of clothes that Gojo Satoru bought for Hatori Kazuma does have one thing in common.
That's very expensive. Extremely expensive.
The expensive wine was so expensive that Ayako, who was already waiting there, glanced at Kazuma Hatori from head to toe and then became glued to the logo on his clothes.
The price of this one windbreaker is equivalent to all her clothes plus accessories, and you could still get several zeros back.
"…………"
She was quite certain that the allowance she gave Kazuma Hatake was only average, and even if she saved for another three months, she might not be able to afford this coat.
"Did you get these new clothes from selling records?"
Ayako Sakami couldn't help but ask curiously.
After thinking it over, this seems to be the only way to make big money... I've heard that endorsements and commercial performances are also lucrative, and some brands even give away clothes directly...
"Record revenue sharing doesn't happen that quickly."
As Kazuma Hatori opened the door and got into the car, he gave Ayako Sakami a strange look, as she suddenly seemed lost in thought.
"It was... a gift from a good friend."
For a moment, Kazuma Hato didn't know how to define his relationship with Satoru Gojo, so he hesitated for a moment before finally coming up with a somewhat appropriate adjective.
Ayako Sakami: "...The whole body?"
Kazuma Hagoromo: "Hmm."
Ayako Sakami exclaimed in disbelief, "...Which friend would give me such an expensive dress?"
That sounded a little sour.
She has worked hard for the Panxing Sect for so many years and earned a lot of money, but she would never be willing to buy such expensive clothes.
"What do you care which one it is? He's not going to give it to you anyway."
Kazuma Hatori was focused on fastening his seatbelt when he casually replied to her.
Although he was clearly arguing with Ayako Sakura, this invisible act of showing off was swift and precise, striking Ayako Sakura's heart.
Ayako Sakami suddenly felt a lump in her throat: "..."
That brat!
When this car accelerates from a standstill and reaches the speed limit in just two seconds, it's hard to say that the driver wasn't carrying a lingering resentment with nowhere to vent it.
…………
Panxing Sect, the home of children of stars.
After more than half a year of absence, two more rows of magnificent stone monuments, each over ten meters tall, have appeared on both sides of the plaza leading to the main building. The spacing and arrangement are extremely neat, and there are no decorations on them.
When ordinary people walk up the long steps and pass through here to reach the main venue of the "House of Stars", they will naturally feel a sense of "smallness" in the face of "greatness".
"What do you think? This is Lord Sonoda's idea."
Seeing that Kazuma Hatori was also looking up at the stone tablets on both sides, Ayako Sakami took the initiative to introduce them.
"The effect is very good. Some believers claim that they feel the gaze of God just by walking through here."
Having seen many magnificent buildings in games and movies, Kazuma Hatori withdrew his gaze, his expression calm.
"I think it's a bit ugly, like dominoes."
Doesn't it really give you the urge to knock it down and take a look?
Ayako Sakami: "...You'd better just say that here."
Having dealt with Kazuma Hatori many times, she found herself surprisingly calm and didn't expect him to say anything complimentary.
Rather, it's something that Kazuma Hatake never truly respected the patriarch, something she had understood all along.
Just thinking about this, Ayako Sakura gave the other person another piece of advice.
"When you see Lord Sonoda later, remember to behave yourself and don't talk back to him."
Kazuma Hatori nodded noncommittally, his face remaining expressionless.
He had no interest in the middle-aged man with a tumor on his forehead; his goal in returning to the "House of Star Children" was to meet the so-called patriarch.
As soon as they can see each other, the [Ye Shuang] hidden in their inventory will be drawn in the next second.
Ideally, we should beat this guy half to death and then interrogate him to find out what his secret plan is.
Anyway, he still had a lot of gold coins saved up in his first playthrough, so the Pope could eat as many meals worth 1 gold coin as he wanted.
Kazuma Hatori followed Ayako Sakami across the plaza and through the reception hall—as believers passed by, they immediately recognized him: "It's the Holy Son!"
"The Holy Son is back! Can I get his autograph?"
"It feels so cool! Seeing the real person is a completely different feeling from seeing photos and watching music videos..."
"I managed to snag ten copies of Saint Seiya's single CD! I'll support Saint Seiya forever!"
"What?! You actually managed to buy so many?!"
"I want one too! They're sold out again, ugh! I was just one free card away from completing the set..."
Kazuma Hatake ignored these comments, treating them as background noise that had no real purpose.
Instead, Ayako Sakura coldly rebuked them, telling them to disperse quickly and go back to what they were doing.
"What kind of talk is this, making such a racket here! Also, show some respect to His Holiness the Holy Son. He is on a secret missionary mission, not really singing! You must also conceal his identity when you are outside, and don't say any lines that ordinary fans would only hear."
Kazuma Hatake: "..."
He didn't go on any secret missionary mission; he just went and sang a song.
But this wasn't a big deal. Kazuma Hatake was in a hurry to settle accounts with that cult leader, and didn't care how Ayako Sakami planned to reprimand these followers of the "House of Stars".
Older parishioners don't pay attention to new things, let alone popular music that is so contrary to the style of their time.
Those words were all spoken by their children or grandchildren.
This religion has existed for so long that many people have devoted their entire lives to it and even their descendants to it, thus imprinting the shackles of obedience and blind faith into their minds long ago.
The same applies to Ayako Sakami—except that she holds a higher position and has access to more secrets.
"Don't let me hear you disrespecting His Holiness the Holy Son again, understand?"
I'm so sorry!
Even though Kazuma Hagoromo's identity as the "Holy Son of the Pansei Cult" is merely a means to attract believers to join the cult, Ayako Sakami still treats the "Holy Son" with due respect in front of the lower-level followers.
But when she turned to look at the black-haired boy, she found that his face still showed no emotion, as if he didn't care about these frivolous words at all.
Despite being only 16 years old, his temperament and composure far surpass those of adults.
...And when he speaks, he can easily infuriate her to death, yet she can't do anything about it.
Sakami Ayako pursed her lips and stopped in front of the heavy palace door, giving him one last reminder.
"The president is also inside, so watch your words."
Kazuma Hatori frowned slightly, but still nodded, letting her push the door open.
Sonoda Shigeru, whom he had met before, was now sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
Next to Shigeru Sonoda sat a middle-aged man whose appearance was unfamiliar, with a small mustache that was not very noticeable on his upper lip.
As for Kazuma Hatake, he thought he would be sitting on the other side of the sofa where the patriarch was sitting, but there was no one there.
There was only a cell phone sitting upright on the coffee table, its screen lit up, seemingly in the middle of a call.
"You're back?"
Chairman and Representative Director Shigeru Sonoda spoke first, inviting Kazuma Hatori, who was standing at the door, to come and sit down.
"You've been making quite a stir in both the sorcery world and ordinary society lately, even attracting the attention of the Pope."
Seeing that Sonoda Shigeru didn't intend to introduce the cell phone and the man with the mustache, Hato Kazuma simply sat down on the empty sofa as he was told.
"Oh...this is the [Holy Son]?"
The man with the mustache opposite him spoke first, his gaze unabashedly landing on Kazuma Hatake's face as he scrutinized him closely. "You've grown up. You look quite intimidating."
Kazuma Hatori nodded and took the initiative to say, "Hello."
The other person replied with "Hello," and seemed to subconsciously reach into their pocket for a cigarette, but then gave up halfway through.
Instead, Shigeru Sonoda smiled and replied, showing considerable politeness towards the mustachioed man.
"Haha, after all, Mr. Kong was only seven or eight years old when he last saw him, right? We raised him well, didn't we?"
This time, the system seemed to automatically fill in his character's backstory before entering the game, making it no longer as abrupt as the first playthrough, where the past was a complete blank.
Yuqu Kazuma listened attentively to their conversation, and casually opened the [Social] interface to glance at the person's name—Kong Shiyu.
Is he also on the villain's side?
"Yeah, you were really efficient. After that, no one dared to take the job anymore."
After chatting for a few minutes, Kong Shiyu turned the conversation to Yuqu Kazuma and said to him with a smile.
Kazuma Hatake knew that some of his missions were definitely orchestrated by that patriarch—especially those involving curse masters.
Therefore, he didn't react much to Kong Shiyu's words, and simply replied with a single word.
"You flatter me."
Kong Shiyu was stunned for a moment by the answer, then let out a pleasant laugh.
Sonoda Shigeru was a little angry and began to scold Hatake Kazuki for being ungrateful.
"You've really mastered the disguise; you killed the people the Pope arranged without hesitation!" he said. "And recently, you've been doing that... with that [Six Eyes]..."
"Hey, don't talk to the child like that. Isn't he doing a great job right now?"
Kong Shiyu waved his hand, then took out a cigarette, but only put it in his mouth without lighting it.
Seeing that Sonoda Shigeru really didn't continue, Hato Kazuma looked at the unidentified Kong Shiyu—who simply smiled at him and took the initiative to introduce himself.
"I'm just a middleman trying to make a living, nothing important."
Hagoromo didn't quite believe it, but he nodded in agreement nonetheless.
"I heard that His Holiness the Pope wanted to personally assign me a task and specifically asked me to come back... But I didn't see His Holiness the Pope here?"
After hearing the door slowly closing behind him and confirming that no third person would come in, Kazuma Hatori simply brought up the reason for his return.
"Yes, it was me who called you back."
The cell phone, which was always on a call, emitted a human voice... or rather, a processed human voice, so that the gender of the voice was not clearly discernible.
However, there are significant differences between Japanese in the gender distinction of personal pronouns for men and women, as well as in the usage of conjunctions and ending particles.
Therefore, even if a person's voice is difficult to distinguish, it can usually be identified from their choice of words and sentence structure.
The words used by this cult leader were clearly in a feminine sentence structure.
Or at least, the other person pretended to be a woman in their speech patterns.
—If this cult leader insists on speaking to him with one male verbal tic and one female verbal tic to prevent anyone from recognizing his gender, then Kazuma Hagoromo can only be speechless and helpless.
"I was worried that your mission might fail prematurely."
Fortunately, the patriarch spoke in a completely feminine style from then on, and did not seem to expect Kazuma Hatake to explain.
However, Kazuma Hatake did not see the true form of this cult leader, so he could not learn "her" name through the [Social] interface—unfortunately, the other party was very cautious.
“But I have high hopes for you now, not only in terms of awakening techniques—but especially in interpersonal relationships, you’ve done a really good job.”
The other party even praised Kazuma Hatake, without mentioning at all the trouble he had caused "her" during this period.
In his public pronouncements, this cult leader did indeed present himself as exceptionally kind and approachable, without employing any condescending or harsh language.
Just as Kazuma Hatori was about to answer, Shigeru Sonoda beat him to it.
Perhaps worried that Kazuma Hatori might say something inappropriate, he hurriedly replied, his face beaming with a fawning smile that made his wrinkles crease.
"No, it's all thanks to your brilliant plan that this kid can also benefit from it and avoid causing any major trouble."
"Don't say that, he has surprised me time and time again."
This sentence doesn't reveal whether "she" is satisfied or not, but the voice coming from the phone carries a slight laugh, with clear pronunciation and a steady pace, and it doesn't reveal any of her true thoughts.
Even Kazuma Hatori wasn't entirely sure how much information this cult leader actually possessed, or how much of it was true or false.
"In that case, I will entrust you with an important task, Ichijin."
She called out Kazuma Hatori's name affectionately, as if she really wanted to entrust him with an important task.
Facing Sonoda Shigeru's sharp glare that demanded a proper answer, Hato Kazuma remained unmoved, merely uttering a soft "hmm" to indicate that he was listening.
Sonoda Shigeru was so angry that he tried to stand up, but Kong Shiyu pulled him back down to sit.
Besides the tasks of [preventing Tianyuan's assimilation] and gaining Xia Youjie's trust, what else is there for him to do?
Moreover... Hatake Kazuma inexplicably felt that the cult leader's tone of voice, some pauses, or the way he pronounced syllables were subtly similar to [Natsuyuki], whom he had seen in the previous playthrough.
He decided to listen to what the other person planned to do first.
Whether or not to do it is up to the players, not the NPCs.
And so, Kazuma Hatori heard every single word coming from the phone's receiver, crystal clear.
"I want you to find an opportunity while carrying out the plan to [stop the assimilation of the Heavenly Origin]..."
“Kill Gojo Satoru.”
——.
In that instant, Kong Shiyu, who had dealt most with curse masters and assassins, sensed a sudden, chilling killing intent emanating from him.
He bit down hard on the cigarette butt stuck between his teeth, staring intently at the black-haired boy sitting opposite him.
But the 16-year-old Kazuma Hato—said to be a pseudonym—was far more composed and calm than he appeared.
“I don’t quite understand. Last time you said that winning over [Six Eyes] was a good idea.”
The black-haired boy's face remained expressionless, and he spoke slowly, without any apparent abnormality.
"May I know the reason?"
If it weren't for that fleeting, sharp killing intent, Kong Shiyu would almost have thought he was just an obedient puppet trained by the Panxing Sect, with little personal will.
Hmph... Turns out, the misjudgment was quite serious.
Kong Shiyu leaned back on the sofa, her gaze fixed on Yuqu Kazuma.
"It's not that I can't tell you. After all, the assimilation preparations for Tianyuan will probably begin next spring."
On the other end of the buzzing phone, the [Cult Master] leaned back on the wooden couch, his head propped up by one hand. He spoke gently, but his expression was quite intriguing.
"Tengen himself possesses the technique of [immortality], but he is not immune to aging."
"In order to prevent Tianyuan's magic from reconstructing his physical body when he ages to a certain extent, the world of sorcery needs to send a suitable [Stardust Body] to Tianyuan every five hundred years or so, and use the physical information of the [Stardust Body] to refresh Tianyuan's physical information."
"In this way, the world of sorcery can successfully prevent Tengen from becoming a higher-dimensional being separate from humanity."
This seems to be one of the brainwashing tactics used by the Panxing Cult followers. Kazuma Hatake noticed that Shigeru Sonoda's reaction had become noticeably agitated. He seemed very angry that the Tengen-sama, whom they worshipped as a god, was going to assimilate with ordinary humans, as if he were mixing base impurities into that pure nobility.
But what does that have to do with him? Anyone who dares to plot against him will die.
Kazuma Hatake thought to himself, his face expressionless.
"So, my goal is to prevent Tengen from assimilating with the [Gastroma]? What does that have to do with Gojo Satoru?"
"[Six-Eyed] is also one of the causes and effects that constitute this chain of curse power."
The patriarch continued, seemingly unconcerned about revealing this secret to Kazuma Hagoromo.
"If you want to prevent Tianyuan from successfully assimilating with [Star Magma], you must find a way to deal with this generation of [Six Eyes]."
"Otherwise, [Six Eyes] will surely appear beside [Star Essence] on the day of assimilation and send her to the location of Tianyuan."
“Killing [Six-Eyed] or [Stardust Body] in advance will not sever the chain of curse power. No matter when you make your move, [Six-Eyed] and [Stardust Body] will still appear on the day of assimilation. This is called the cause and effect of curse power.”
"This is also the foundation upon which the power of incantation has developed and circulated over the past thousand years, and it cannot be easily shaken."
At this point in the explanation, the voice on the other end of the phone stopped, as if waiting for Kazuma Hatake to process what he had just learned.
"Hearing you say that, it seems I have no need to kill Gojo Satoru,"
After a moment of silence, Kazuma Hatori pointed out the key point in what he had just said: "Whether I kill him or not, [Six Eyes] will definitely reappear."
"Of course, according to the usual practice in the world of sorcery over the past thousand years, this may indeed be the case."
The voice on the other end of the phone held a slight smile, and became even clearer, "But you are different, Yizhen."
“The grown-up [Six-Eyed] is extremely difficult to kill, but simply killing the young [Six-Eyed] is not enough to break this chain of causal relationship of curse power.”
“I originally wanted you to find a cursed artifact that could seal him. But now it seems you finally have the weapon to kill him.”
Kazuma Hagoromo frowned: "What?"
The Pope smiled and replied, "You have finally awakened the technique, [Ten Directions Maha]. Otherwise, why would I have designated you as the [Holy Son]?"
"[All Buddhas of the Ten Directions and Three Times, All Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas]. Leaving aside your origins for now, your techniques alone possess boundless potential and are your only reliance for killing [Six-Eyed].
The patriarch, who spoke in a feminine voice, uttered a Buddhist phrase whose meaning Hagoromo Kazuma did not understand, and then spoke to him with a final word that seemed to be encouragement.
"And this is another task I'm entrusting to you, one that is just as important as preventing the assimilation of Tianyuan."
[Currently triggered hidden commission:]
The patriarch's instructions: Successfully kill Gojo Satoru within the specified time.
Current progress: Incomplete.
Reward: Unlocks the skill [Reversal Spell].
Kazuma Hatori stared at the line of commissions, his dark eyes dull and lifeless, all his emotions submerged beneath a surging, turbulent undercurrent, like a massive, earth-shattering tornado about to descend.
The reward is a reversal technique that even Gojo Satoru at this point in time has not yet mastered.
Therefore, Kazuma Hatake knew exactly how generous this reward was; it was equivalent to having an infinite healing skill built into him.
As long as he has enough mana crystals, he can almost kill all the bosses and complete the game without taking damage.
His spells might actually be able to do this—forcibly terminate the enemy's spell effects, inflict massive damage on the target, and even include the [No Limits] of enlightenment.
However, the price was that he had to kill Gojo Satoru.
Kazuma Hatori stood up from the sofa, giving the phone no further attention.
"I see."
As he turned to leave the empty room, only one thought remained in his mind.
The only one.
He will kill this cult leader; this is definitely the first time around [Xia Youjie].
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