"This thing really lags. Well, it is a phone made in 2016."
Dai Li bought the latest-model Apple phone at a phone shop.
"The SIM card cost a little extra, though. Whenever they needed ID, I told them I was a foreigner and had forgotten my passport, and they all gave me this knowing look."
"Money really does open every door. I'm finally starting to feel like someone who crossed into another world."
Dai Li had been living comfortably these past few days, staying in a hotel and wandering around Sendai whenever he had nothing to do, eating and drinking to his heart's content.
Still, none of his wanderings took him very far from Sendai, because he couldn't take the subway.
"Let's have sushi today. Let me look it up on my new phone."
"If you're looking for sushi, I'd recommend Jiro in Ginza. Their tamagoyaki is delicious."
"Ginza? That's a little too far. I'll stick with somewhere nearby and pick this Yoshiro Sushi place."
"Wait, who are you?"
Dai Li had kept his eyes glued to his phone as he responded to the passerby's suggestion, but suddenly, he realized the voice sounded familiar.
I don't know anyone here. Why does that voice sound familiar?
Dai Li turned to look. A tall man stood there, his short, layered white hair strikingly styled, with white bandages wrapped over his eyes. Most importantly, an aura of strength radiated from him.
"Satoru Gojo!"
"Oh, am I that famous? Well, I suppose that's no surprise."
"Not when I'm this strong and this handsome."
Although the narcissistic man before him had his eyes covered, Dai Li could still feel his gaze.
"Among jujutsu sorcerers, anyway."
"Great. Looks like I found the right person."
The man named Satoru Gojo walked oddly, his head bobbing and swaying. He seemed completely relaxed, giving off an easygoing impression.
But Dai Li knew perfectly well that Satoru Gojo wasn't easygoing at all. He simply feared nothing and no one.
"What do you want with me?"
It has to be about that incident. But I didn't expect them to investigate so quickly, much less send Satoru Gojo!
Stay calm. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm just a kind, righteous jujutsu sorcerer who happened upon a curse user openly committing evil and stepped in to stop him.
They might even give me an award.
"You fought the curse user Suguru Geto, didn't you? He's an extremely dangerous jujutsu sorcerer. Could you tell me the details?"
"Sure, on one condition: you treat me to a meal at that sushi restaurant in Tokyo you mentioned. We can talk while we eat."
Dai Li intended to seize the initiative. After all, this was Satoru Gojo. Refusing to talk probably wouldn't end well, so he might as well be cooperative and score a free meal.
"No problem. You seem like a friendly jujutsu sorcerer. I was just wondering what I'd do if you were difficult and refused to talk. That would've been a bit of a headache. Haha."
The man named Satoru Gojo said this as though trying to take back control of the conversation.
Is he reminding me that I'd have taken a punch if I'd refused just now?
Damn it. Could you stop being such a smug bastard at a time like this?
"But there's something I'm curious about. How did you find me?"
"I was already in Sendai before I received the assignment. Once the higher-ups contacted me, I headed straight for the scene."
"While I was flying there with Limitless, I detected cursed residue from a cursed technique. It came from the True Vegas Pachinko Parlor on Sendai's central street."
"Well? Does that name ring a bell?"
"Tch."
Dai Li turned his face away, avoiding Satoru Gojo's gaze like a student who had misbehaved and couldn't look his teacher in the eye.
"But it was an emergency, and the higher-ups were rushing me, so I left it alone and planned to investigate after I got back."
"And guess what?"
Satoru Gojo continued on his own, paying no attention to the change in Dai Li's expression.
"When I reached the scene, I discovered that the cursed energy residue left by someone other than Suguru Geto matched what I'd found at the pachinko parlor."
"Hilarious!"
Satoru Gojo actually burst out laughing right there in the street.
"Enough! I get it!"
Dai Li was visibly embarrassed. Even with his strong mental defenses, being mocked by someone like this was still humiliating.
I'm actually being laughed at by Satoru Gojo, the man known as the strongest of the modern era.
But he had nothing to say in his defense. Barely six hours after fighting the special grade sorcerer Suguru Geto, he had gone to a pachinko parlor to cheat with his cursed technique.
He didn't know whether to call Satoru Gojo childish or himself an idiot.
"Then let's talk about the rest when we get to Ginza."
Satoru Gojo seemed even more excited than Dai Li, his spirits high.
The two strolled leisurely down the street. Even just walking normally, Satoru Gojo turned plenty of heads.
Satoru Gojo thought nothing of it. He was long since used to it, as ordinary as looking up and seeing clouds in the sky.
I'd thought he might be some ancient monster. I never expected such a young sorcerer.
His reactions just now were normal, too. He gets embarrassed when he's mocked for doing something wrong. He's not one of those twisted jujutsu sorcerers.
And judging by those two elderly people's testimony, he probably fought Suguru Geto to protect them.
Most importantly, he's strong-a young, unaffiliated sorcerer who can hold his own against Suguru Geto.
Killing the higher-ups would only replace them, not change Jujutsu Society. Better to nurture strong, intelligent allies.
"By the way, what's your name? How old are you?"
"Dai Li. Eighteen."
"Are you from a sorcerer family or a jujutsu school? Not that we found anything."
I'd be amazed if you had. I crossed straight into this world.
Dai Li wasn't surprised by this questioning. He had already worked out what to say.
"Then are you an ancient sorcerer resurrected through incarnation?"
"No! I'm just an unaffiliated sorcerer with no legal identity."
The sudden question caught him off guard. For a moment, he thought Satoru Gojo had been putting on an act all along and was now about to tie him up for interrogation.
But Dai Li didn't bristle defensively and prepare to lash out. Satoru Gojo was different from Suguru Geto; there was no way he could beat him right now.
"Hahaha, kidding, kidding."
"Your cursed energy flow is far too crude. You struggle with even the most basic control. How could you possibly have returned as an incarnated vessel?"
"You'd probably accidentally blow yourself apart while trying to take over someone else's body."
"You're right, but that still pisses me off a little."
With his Six Eyes, Satoru Gojo easily recognized that Dai Li was essentially a novice jujutsu sorcerer. But the more he learned, the more interested he became.
Someone like this actually held his own against Suguru Geto?
He really is a diamond in the rough.
"Well, what are we going to do if you don't even have ID? We can't take the Shinkansen to Tokyo."
After all this walking, he was planning to take me on a high-speed train?
"Huh? You're Satoru Gojo, and you take the Shinkansen? Shouldn't you have your own private helicopter or something?"
"Nope. Nothing like that."
"What do you think I am, the emperor of Jujutsu Society?"
"Aren't you?"
Doesn't this bandaged show-off always act like he's the one and only supreme being in heaven and earth? And he doesn't even have a private helicopter.
"Looks like you've misunderstood me a little. You don't know much about Japan's Jujutsu Society, either."
Satoru Gojo sighed, thinking that he really needed to teach this guy the basics of Jujutsu Society.
"Whatever. The question is, how are we getting there now?"
"I'll call someone to drive over."
Satoru Gojo then took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello? Ijichi? Drive over here now. I've sent you the location."
"Right, right. That's all, then. See you in a bit."
Ignoring the confusion of the person on the other end, Satoru Gojo hung up.
"The sushi there is delicious, so you've got something to look forward to. Though I'm looking forward even more to hearing what happened between you and Suguru Geto."
Before you continue