How Do You Con a Nonhuman?

"What a guarded kid."

Suguru Geto watched Aikawa Kaze walk away, then turned to Satoru Gojo.

"But his abilities are excellent. You got lucky."

"Haha, thanks for the compliment. I really am just a billion times luckier than you~~"

Satoru Gojo waved dismissively, though inwardly he felt a little helpless.

He hadn't actually meant to chase Kaze away. He had simply spent a little too long facing off with Geto, and hadn't expected the kid to "considerately" leave on his own.

It wasn't as though Kaze absolutely had to be there, but this had been his idea in the first place. What was the point of abandoning it halfway through?

Satoru Gojo rubbed his head. He had to admit he'd taken on another troublesome student, but Jujutsu Sorcerers all had their issues, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

It seemed Panda's "grand friendship campaign" still had a long way to go!

Still, the most important thing right now was Suguru Geto's plan.

Satoru Gojo wasn't indecisive. He knew perfectly well that Suguru Geto was the sort who wouldn't turn back until he hit a wall, who wouldn't give up until all hope was lost.

Geto wouldn't let it go without trying to follow his idea through.

In that case, rather than wait for him to bottle things up and unleash something drastic at some unknown point, it was better to do as Aikawa Kaze suggested and agree on rules and boundaries beforehand.

"Forget it, Geto. Let's talk about our Binding Vow first!"

Meanwhile, by the time Kaze returned to Jujutsu High after having dinner with Panda, Yuta Okkotsu and Toge Inumaki had also successfully completed their missions. Only poor Maki hadn't returned yet, thanks to the mountain of assignments Satoru Gojo had dumped on her.

A day of running around had been exhausting enough, so they decided to leave sharing their experiences until tomorrow.

Their individual dorm rooms were all next to one another on the same floor anyway. After agreeing to have breakfast together and chat the next morning, they each returned to their rooms to rest.

Ever since dinner, Panda had looked as though he wanted to say something, dawdling as if he were waiting for something. Yet Aikawa Kaze showed no intention of bringing up what had happened earlier.

Watching the perfectly calm Aikawa Kaze open his dorm room door, Panda finally lost his patience and blocked it just before it closed.

"Kaze, do you really have nothing to say to me?"

"Yaaawn~~ Didn't we agree to talk tomorrow? (~O~)"

After eating and drinking his fill, on top of a whole day of running around and racking his brains, Aikawa Kaze was so sleepy his eyelids kept drooping. He looked blankly at Panda as he yawned.

His meaning was clear enough: couldn't whatever it was wait until tomorrow?

"But..."

Panda opened his mouth, then finally sighed and gave up on saying more. He merely muttered under his breath.

"I thought... you'd at least ask me to make a Binding Vow with you."

After all, Aikawa Kaze had said far too many shocking things. Even a few stray words leaking out could have terrifying consequences.

While Aikawa Kaze had been talking with Suguru Geto, Panda and Satoru Gojo had been eavesdropping from the roof. A certain shameless teacher had picked out a spot and made preparations well in advance, removing who knew how many roof tiles.

With the sharp hearing and keen eyesight of Jujutsu Sorcerers, they had enjoyed someone's brilliant performance from beginning to end.

Although Panda himself had been won over by Aikawa Kaze despite himself... was it really okay to be this unguarded?

"Oh, that's what you meant... It's fine. I trust you, Panda, and I trust Gojo Sensei too."

"Kaze!"

Moved, Panda wrapped his fluffy body around Aikawa Kaze in a hug. He said nothing more, only nuzzling Kaze's cheek.

"I'll definitely keep it secret!"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Aikawa Kaze couldn't resist stroking Panda's fur, then smiled as he said goodbye.

Only he knew why he felt so comfortable trusting Panda. For one thing, he trusted their friendship and Panda's character; a betrayal was almost impossible-but that was only one factor.

The more important factor was that Panda was a "mutated Cursed Corpse."

Even if Panda really did report him, who would the higher-ups trust more: a nonhuman or a human?

Aikawa Kaze believed that with his silver tongue, even if Panda actually exposed him, he could turn the accusation back on him.

As for Satoru Gojo... he was The Strongest anyway. If he really wanted to do something, Kaze couldn't resist.

Besides, although Aikawa Kaze didn't trust the bond between Satoru Gojo and himself, he did trust the friendship between Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.

In that case, as long as his plan could make Suguru Geto less extreme and let everyone benefit from working together, he was safe.

"Argh! Having to think about all this is such a pain."

After seeing Panda off, Aikawa Kaze couldn't help rolling around with a cushion in his arms, looking thoroughly miserable.

He loved the two-dimensional world because its romance never changed, while anything in the Third Dimension could come crashing down at any moment.

But now, even the two-dimensional world seemed unsafe.

No, more accurately, once the initial excitement of crossing worlds wore off, what remained was mostly a headache.

Once the two-dimensional world became the Third Dimension, there were far more things to consider.

On the one hand, he couldn't help being influenced by the images of anime characters he'd once known. He liked them on an emotional level and instinctively wanted to get closer to them.

On the other hand, he had to force himself to remember the difference between reality and anime. He had to be calmer, more rational, and more objective.

Although it was nice to see his favorite anime characters walking around right in front of him, the unfortunate part was that he also had to account for real-world logic and the changes in people's hearts.

Before crossing worlds, he would have trusted Panda and Satoru Gojo without hesitation. After all, that was how those fictional characters were written! They would never switch sides; they would always be shining beacons of righteousness.

Now, however, he could only prepare to assume the worst of the characters he'd once loved.

Because they were no longer flat, two-dimensional characters. They were real "people."

He believed in people's goodness, but he never underestimated the evil in human nature.

Despite feeling exhausted and sleepy, Aikawa Kaze tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. In the end, he got up and decided to do something productive.

Aikawa Kaze stepped onto his small private balcony and gazed at the sky.

"Hmm, the moon's nice and round tonight. And this position... the timing looks good!"

[According to the system's calculations, the current timing is excellent and the location is favorable. A summoning performed now will have a high probability of producing a good result.]

"Really? My gut tells me I can't summon a Heroic Spirit right now. I don't want another pile of useless junk."

Seven bottles of "Love Potion" were just too much!

Thinking about it afterward, Aikawa Kaze had found the number seven rather suggestive too-there were exactly seven notable people at Jujutsu High right now: his four classmates, plus the three teachers, Satoru Gojo, Shoko Ieiri, and Masamichi Yaga.

But surely he wasn't supposed to actually drug them!

[Analysis indicated that the transmigrator wished to gain the affection and trust of important characters. The system therefore provided assistance items.]

The system's AI had stopped pretending.

Since the transmigrator already knew it was a gift from the World Consciousness, it spoke much more bluntly.

It had only issued those affection-boosting items out of a desire to help, yet Aikawa Kaze had been utterly disgusted and had even stopped "summoning." The system had to admit it was rather hurt.

However, the World Consciousness seemed rather guilty lately too, apparently having made a mess of things despite good intentions. So no matter how upset the system was, it could only bottle it up.

"Thanks to you, I can't even relax and enjoy myself anymore!" Aikawa Kaze looked unhappy as he said casually, "I like playing games. My Switch, 3DS, PSP, and PS4 are all in my old world. I poured my heart and soul into those save files!"

[...]

"Because of you, all those saves I spent ages grinding away at have gone to waste. I want to keep playing, but I've lost all motivation, and now I'm not happy at all-so you get it, right?"

Aikawa Kaze sighed and helplessly spread his hands.

"I don't expect mobile games to have cross-world servers, but giving me my console games isn't too much to ask, is it?"

The system fell silent for a while, hesitated, then finally offered a tactful hint.

[Now is a good time.]

Aikawa Kaze blinked, quickly got up, went to his desk, and took out one of the many summoning circles he'd prepared in advance.

One minute later...

A complete collection of So○y and Ninten○o consoles and game cartridges filled the room, covering all sorts of platforms.

"That's more like it. I can keep summoning tomorrow."

Aikawa Kaze put his treasures in order, hesitated over a few games, then finally picked up his Switch and inserted the Pokémon cartridge. He took the console to bed and began playing.

The system breathed a sigh of relief. At last, it had satisfied this little tyrant.

Although it felt that, given human physical needs and sleep schedules, Aikawa Kaze ought to obediently go to sleep now, it didn't want to annoy him. So it chose to obediently keep quiet.

Aikawa Kaze opened the Pokémon game. Looking at those familiar, adorable creatures, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. The screen's multicolored light reflected on his face, casting his expression alternately into light and shadow.

"Yeah, it really is the same."

His game progress, the Pokémon he'd caught, their training and hidden stats, and even the number and placement of his items were all exactly the same.

He had chosen the Pokémon cartridge because even the faint mark he'd accidentally scratched into its label with his fingernail was identical, down to its length and angle.

Sure enough, the system... or rather, the World Consciousness could connect different worlds and transfer things between them.

If it could transport objects, that meant it could transport living things too, right?

He glanced at the friends he'd added to trade Pokémon with. As expected, all their icons had turned gray.

Aikawa Kaze played casually, an uncertain light flickering in his eyes.

At first glance, it seemed to be light reflected from the game screen, but a closer look would reveal the emotions roiling beneath it.

Calm. Patience. Restraint.

Those were all he could manage right now, because he was still far too weak.

Why he had crossed worlds, whether there was some purpose or conspiracy behind it, whether he still had a chance to go home-all those questions were still far beyond his reach.

Huh? Did the friend-online notification I just set up pop up?

Aikawa Kaze dismissed the notification without hesitation and pretended to remain absorbed in his game, but inwardly, he couldn't help growing excited.

Every friend on his list was someone he knew from the Detective World!

No, be rational. It might not be a bug.

The system seemed to be watching him at all times. Checking now could expose him. Besides, what if this was a trap set by the system?

Aikawa Kaze wrestled with his thoughts. Under his haphazard commands, his Pokémon actually got knocked out by a wild encounter along the road.

"Nope, I'm too sleepy. I'll have to play another time."

Aikawa Kaze yawned, casually set the console on his bedside table, then lay down and closed his eyes.

Whether this was a trap or not, he wanted to try.

First, though, he had to find a way to escape the "system's" constant control.

How do you con a nonhuman artificial idiot?