An unfathomable smile appeared at the corner of Chingetsu's mouth.
He was neither a god nor a saint. He could not interfere with everyone's fate. He was in a good mood today, and saving Suguru Geto had simply been something he did in passing.
If Suguru Geto became his enemy in the future, he would not mind personally sending him on his way, either. After all, people were the most uncontrollable factor in this world.
Whether it was Suguru Geto or the members of those clans.
No amount of money can buy my willingness. Selfless people all become stepping stones on the road of the successful. Whoever wants to be a saint can go right ahead.
All I ask of this life is a clear conscience.
Of course, Suguru Geto had no idea what Chingetsu was thinking.
He only sensed how terrifying the other man was, through the whispers of the cursed spirits he carried. The cursed spirits he had subdued kept conveying the same message to him. Get away from this man. This man is extremely dangerous!
This is a dangerous man!
Facing Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto had felt only helplessness and resentment.
But facing Chingetsu, Suguru Geto felt fear rising from deep within his heart.
Especially those eyes of Chingetsu's.
Suguru Geto felt as though he were staring into an abyss, where the slightest lapse could leave him beyond redemption.
Like a frail human facing floods and savage beasts, it was an oppressive force that reached deep into his soul. "Are all the people from the Gojo Clan monsters?"
Cold sweat streamed down Suguru Geto's forehead, and he no longer dared look into Chingetsu's eyes. "By the way, how did you end up here?"
Satoru Gojo was a little curious. He could hardly be blamed for that.
After all, before entering the hospital, Suguru Geto had already lowered a "Curtain."
Ordinary people could not see a Curtain, while jujutsu sorcerers who saw one would understand that a colleague was handling something inside and would not rashly interrupt.
Only Chingetsu had charged straight in like a reckless rookie.
Why? To earn cursed energy points by exorcising cursed spirits and unlock new Stands, of course. Naturally, Gojo Chingetsu could not say that aloud.
Chingetsu took out his phone, opened a message he had saved beforehand, and waved it in front of Satoru Gojo's eyes. "Yamada Hospital paranormal incident. Reward: thirty million yen!"
Satoru Gojo read it out word by word. "You became a cursed spirit hunter?"
"What else? I no longer have anything to do with the Gojo Clan."
"If I don't find a way to make some money, do you think all the stuff you swipe from my bar every time just falls out of the sky?" Chingetsu mercilessly exposed Satoru Gojo's behavior.
"That's true."
Satoru Gojo did not feel there was anything inappropriate about his behavior whatsoever. They seem to be on very good terms...
Suguru Geto watched the two chatting happily, then glanced at the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit Chingetsu was using as a seat cushion. For the first time ever, Suguru Geto actually felt intense sympathy for the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit that had nearly killed him. You must be quite a failure to end up like this as a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit...
Chapter 21: Crooks Preying on Crooks?
As the Curtain outside Yamada Hospital was lifted.
Chingetsu and the other two appeared outside the hospital's main entrance.
"Mission accomplished! Geto, I'll leave the mission report to you!" Satoru Gojo slung an arm around Suguru Geto's shoulders and spoke as though it were only natural.
"Satoru, you jerk, when have I ever not written the report? Surely it should be your turn this time!" "Huh? Really? I don't remember. I'm counting on you this time!"
"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo's figures gradually receded into the distance.
Chingetsu glanced back at Yamada Hospital and began tallying his gains. First was the mission payment.
The thirty-million-yen bounty had merely been something to pick up along the way.
The greatest gain from this hospital trip was that Eight-Armed Cursed Spirit.
The Grade 1 Cursed Spirit had provided 300 cursed energy points, along with the points provided by a scattering of low-grade cursed spirits. This trip to Yamada Hospital had netted a full 552 cursed energy points.
With the 200 cursed energy points he had gained from wiping out the Q Organization's branch, Chingetsu's total had reached 8,940. That left him only 1,060 cursed energy points away from unlocking his second Stand, [Bites the Dust].
In other words, he only needed to exorcise four more Grade 1 Cursed Spirits to unlock [Bites the Dust]. Chingetsu looked at the system panel again.
First Stand: [Killer Queen (unlocked)], current development: 60%. Stand ability: "First Bomb," turns objects it has touched into bombs. Stand ability: "Second Bomb," Sheer Heart Attack. Second Stand: [Bites the Dust (awaiting unlock)], unlock requirement: 10,000 cursed energy points. Current cursed energy points: 8940/10000. Third Stand: [Unknown (locked)].
"Killer Queen's development has already reached 60%. I'm starting to look forward to how Killer Queen and Bites the Dust will work together once I unlock my second Stand."
As Chingetsu thought, he waved down a taxi. "Marui Department Store, thank you."
Chingetsu gave his destination and took a ten-thousand-yen note from his wallet.
Although Yamada Hospital was some distance from the department store, ten thousand yen was certainly enough.
Payment for this mission was to be settled face-to-face, and the agreed meeting place was Marui Department Store. Chingetsu sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting.
The fighting in the hospital had not been particularly intense.
Resting with his eyes closed was simply a habit of Gojo Chingetsu's.
Using a Stand's abilities was, in essence, the use of mental power.
Therefore, keeping himself in good mental condition was the key to maintaining his peak combat strength. Twenty minutes later, Gojo Chingetsu arrived at the agreed location.
He took out his phone and logged into the website where he accepted missions. He had accepted the Yamada Hospital mission there.
Whenever Chingetsu accepted a mission, he would give the listings a quick browse and pick out worthwhile jobs. However, the website did not only handle paranormal incidents.
All kinds of assassination bounties were brazenly posted on the website's homepage. Among them, Chingetsu even saw bounty missions related to the Three Great Clans.
No wonder cursed spirit rampages are becoming more frequent. Jealousy, greed, arrogance.
The overflow of these negative human energies gave rise to curses.
Even the Three Great Clans, the families at the pinnacle of jujutsu sorcerers, were not above such things. At the root of it all, humans truly were a breeding ground for curses.
Humans who were not jujutsu sorcerers could not control the cursed energy leaking from their bodies.
As long as negative human emotions continued to exist, cursed spirits could never be completely eradicated. This was also why Suguru Geto would come up with the idea of ending the age of monkeys and creating a paradise for jujutsu sorcerers.
But Suguru Geto, you overlooked something. Jujutsu sorcerers are humans, too. As long as someone is human, they cannot be without desires.
Just like now.
Chingetsu coldly watched the group of black-clad men slowly approaching him. "You're the one who accepted the Yamada Hospital mission?"
The tall man in black at the head of the group spoke.
Kusumoto Hajime looked at the young man before him with some suspicion.
The owner of Yamada Hospital was their boss, and Kusumoto Hajime himself was a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Although Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerers were small fry in Jujutsu Society, among ordinary people, they could still be considered master-level figures.
As such, Kusumoto Hajime, who had abandoned his dignity as a jujutsu sorcerer, was doing very well for himself. "Has the Yamada Hospital incident really been resolved?"
Kusumoto Hajime asked for confirmation again. Chingetsu nodded.
Kusumoto Hajime could hardly be blamed for being suspicious. The young man before him was simply too young. Moreover, he looked like a completely ordinary person.
Could an ordinary person resolve an incident that even he, a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer, could not handle? Naturally, Kusumoto Hajime did not believe it.
Either the other party was an impostor trying to swindle the mission bounty, or he was someone sent to collect the payment by the person who had actually resolved the incident.
But either possibility meant that this young man had come alone. Kusumoto Hajime felt the check in his pocket, and a trace of greed rose in his eyes. Thirty million. What right does an ordinary person have to take thirty million from a jujutsu sorcerer?
Chapter 22: Just a Clown
"Hey, brother, did you come alone?" Kusumoto Hajime was still relatively cautious.
If the jujutsu sorcerer behind the other party had accompanied this young man, Kusumoto Hajime did not think the group of ordinary people behind him, who were only there to make him look impressive, would be much use.
But if the other party had come alone.
Kusumoto Hajime would not mind showing this reckless rookie just how treacherous people could be.
No, no, no. Offering wealth to an esteemed jujutsu sorcerer is precisely what ordinary people ought to do. How could that be called treacherous?
"Interesting."
Watching the black-clad man's clumsy probing, how could Chingetsu not know what he was thinking? He was simply relying on his numerical advantage, thinking Chingetsu looked easy to bully and wanting to withhold the mission payment. In the end, it was nothing more than money stirring greed.
Seeing Chingetsu remain silent, Kusumoto Hajime felt even more certain of his judgment. The other party really had come alone.
Only then did Kusumoto Hajime relax and signal to the underlings behind him with a glance.
As people who frequently followed Kusumoto Hajime around, the underlings naturally understood what he meant.
The underlings behind Kusumoto Hajime exchanged looks. Seeing Chingetsu standing there as though frightened senseless, malicious smiles spread across their faces.
"Hey, silver-haired guy, how about making a friend?"
An underling with a mohawk walked up to Chingetsu with a nasty chuckle. "Me? You want to be friends with me?"
Before you continue