He was quite pleased with the benefits he had gotten.
By rights, Kana Shizumi should have gone back by now, since this was enough for him to conduct a test.
The reason was simple... elimination.
If Jail Mom turned around and asked why he had specifically made a trip to Sendai, Kana Shizumi would probably understand... the other party's surveillance methods likely operated something like a twenty-four-hour system.
If that happened, he might as well admit defeat. After all, with a thousand-year-old monster watching him, there was basically no possibility of turning things around.
But conversely.
If Kenjaku did not know Kana Shizumi's entire process and had merely learned some "fragments" of it, then things became quite interesting.
Because that meant Jail Mom's surveillance methods had loopholes...
As long as he found that trigger condition, Kana Shizumi could take the opportunity to free himself from the other party—or even turn around and make use of them!
Survival required gamesmanship.
After a brief sigh inwardly, Kana Shizumi composed his expression and raised his right hand in a pressing-down gesture.
The matter proliferated by the Abyss-Severing Blade would not dissipate naturally. It needed to be absorbed and refined with cursed energy before it could be completely cleared away.
—This was a school field, after all. What if some unlucky person stepped on it someday?
Anyone with even a shred of civic virtue would not litter.
With that thought, Kana Shizumi left the school... Seeing that it was already nearing midnight, he considered whether to catch a late-night bus back to Tokyo.
But before that...
He touched his somewhat sunken stomach and decided to head to the docks for some fries first.
After all, people were made of iron and food was steel.
Unlike the arrangements within the Tokyo metropolitan area, in relatively remote places like this, food and shopping were generally concentrated along the "shopping street" for the convenience of business and management.
Kana Shizumi searched around for a while before reaching his destination.
The moment he spotted a familiar twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurant, he happily rushed inside.
Couldn't help it. He loved this stuff!
While eating, Kana Shizumi was also waiting for a text... After all, he had no idea when Kenjaku would contact him, and it would have been a lie to say he was not nervous.
But even after he finished eating, the other party still had not contacted him. Kana Shizumi could not help revealing a subtle expression.
Did Jail Mom really not know he had "left his post"?
He was not sure...
He would have to confirm it after they met and see what the situation was then.
Kana Shizumi left the restaurant deep in thought, originally intending to rush back overnight. But before he could... he heard a wail from behind him.
"Damn it! I lost again! I don't even have next month's living expenses anymore!!!"
He watched a middle-aged man in a dress shirt kneel on the ground, shouting as he began rolling around wildly.
"My life is over!!!"
Two employees in short jackets rushed out of the store, hauled him up from either side while muttering things like, "You're causing us a lot of trouble," and "Please don't do this," then carried him out like a pig.
They directly transported him to the nearby station...
Quite a few people had stopped to watch, Kana Shizumi included.
—What was this guy freaking out about?
With a trace of curiosity, Kana Shizumi looked up, then could not help letting out a surprised sound.
A gaudy sign was covered in lettering of all kinds of colors, neon lights shining over it... forming an extremely eye-catching outline.
"Tiger's Den."
A pachinko parlor...
Kana Shizumi knew about these things.
Essentially, they were pinball machines, but because special methods allowed people to cash out, in a sense... they were gambling by another name.
Japan might ban this kind of money-based game on the surface, but people always found ways around it.
For example, when Higuruma tried Itadori in the original story, there had been a similar scene...
Yuji came out of a pachinko parlor and took the prizes he had exchanged for using the steel balls to a nearby third-party store, where he directly exchanged them for cash.
Because a third party was involved in the cycle, it legally circumvented the "ban."
Then why was Yuji still convicted?
Minors were not allowed to play pachinko, damn it...
That kid really had quite the addiction. He had not even reached the legal age yet and was already eager to play this stuff. In another sense, it was a delinquent hobby.
As he reflected on that, Kana Shizumi was about to turn and leave...
But he quickly stopped in his tracks.
"...???"
As though he had seen something unbelievable, he widened his eyes slightly and stared fixedly at a figure's back.
The other person was holding a cup of cola, wearing a hoodie, and sporting short pink hair... He had just walked out of a convenience store nearby.
He crumpled the receipt in his hand into a ball and shoved it into a trash can. As he straightened up, he popped the tab and took a sip.
Gulp, gulp, gulp...
"Phew-ha~"
The young man wore an utterly refreshed expression, as though pink cherry blossoms were drifting through the air around him.
He was literally "feeling too good."
Kana Shizumi watched him pass by and head toward the Tiger's Den...
"Um, wait..."
He called out instinctively.
The boy stopped, half-turning around as his gaze settled on Kana Shizumi.
As their eyes met, the boy gave an awkward smile, seemingly realizing something only after the fact.
As if to confirm it, he raised his right hand and asked softly, somewhat embarrassed.
"Um... were you calling me?"
Looking at that youthful face, Kana Shizumi was briefly at a loss for words.
He had imagined many possible scenarios for meeting him, but never at this time, in this place.
After quickly gathering his thoughts, Kana Shizumi blinked and slowly spoke.
"I'm not sure either, so please let me ask one more question..."
After a brief pause, Kana Shizumi slowly asked.
"Are you Yuji Itadori?"
"Oh, you know me?"
It really was you, you brat!!!
Though he had plenty he wanted to criticize, since this was their first meeting, he should at least reduce the other party's guard against him.
"No, I've just heard about you... A friend said there was a Tiger of West Middle School who was absurdly strong, and I've always wanted to meet you."
"..."
Itadori's smile froze on his face.
"W-W-W-West Middle something... th-that probably isn't m-me..."
He slowly turned his back, his voice trembling slightly.
Kana Shizumi stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder.
"Ahaha, just kidding, just kidding. That's all in the past—who would care about that?"
Leaning in naturally, Kana Shizumi lowered his voice.
"Anyway, weren't you just planning to go to the pachinko parlor? Itadori-kun, by rights, you're not an adult yet, are you?"
Talking about it was one thing.
But if he was actually playing pachinko, then Kana Shizumi would have to give him a proper grilling, wouldn't he?
Before you continue