"Old man, are you serious?"
He really wasn't any good at mentoring juniors.
With that kind of time, he'd rather sneak off to Chingetsu's bar for a cup of coffee. "Gojo, you seem to have some objections to my arrangements."
A dangerous light flashed in Masamichi Yaga's eyes.
"It seems I need to teach you a little about a teacher's authority."
Watching Masamichi Yaga crack his knuckles, Satoru Gojo bolted out of the classroom. "That guy..."
Masamichi Yaga smiled.
Since Satoru Gojo hadn't refused him outright, he had tacitly accepted the arrangement. Though Satoru Gojo sometimes gave him quite a headache.
But in certain respects.
He trusted his student completely.
That was the trust he had built with his students. That familiar ceiling again.
Kento Nanami opened his eyes.
Beside his hospital bed stood a worried-looking Yu Haibara and Satoru Gojo, who was either eating or on his way to eat. "Nanami, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Noticing that Kento Nanami had woken up.
Satoru Gojo leaned closer with a mischievous grin. An odd silence followed.
Clearly, Kento Nanami had no intention of engaging with Satoru Gojo this time.
"Oh dear, Nanami, you've grown even colder. That's no way for a good junior to treat his senior," Satoru Gojo said, feigning hurt as he watched Kento Nanami's reaction.
"Junior?"
Kento Nanami keenly picked out the key information in Satoru Gojo's words. Come to think of it, Yu Haibara was here too.
Kento Nanami hadn't caught on at first.
But after seeing Yu Haibara, the question in his mind answered itself. He had actually passed the assessment.
Kento Nanami looked down at his hands, then at Satoru Gojo.
If he remembered correctly, someone had effortlessly blocked the final slash into which he had poured all his strength. And besides.
Yu Haibara's gaze was full of admiration as he looked at Satoru Gojo. He seemed to have become a complete fanboy of his. Putting all these things together.
If his guess was right.
The owner of that hand had to be Satoru Gojo. Kento Nanami grew distracted for a moment.
Tap, tap.
Light footsteps interrupted Kento Nanami's thoughts.
Chingetsu set the packaged ingredients he was carrying on the kitchen counter in the hospital room, then began cooking without a word.
Since it was a deluxe hospital room, it came with every facility. Besides the basic toilet and bathroom, it even had a kitchen.
Chingetsu had always been generous when spending money on his own people. Scalding hot.
The long, narrow kitchen knife fluttered up and down like a butterfly in Chingetsu's hand.
In the blink of an eye, several Japanese spiny lobsters had been neatly deveined. Next came butter and garlic.
Chingetsu deftly added various ingredients to the frying pan, finally pouring in half a bottle of white wine.
His movements flowed seamlessly, leaving Yu Haibara staring wide-eyed beside him and repeatedly exclaiming, "Amazing!" The rich aromas of wine and garlic burst forth, and a dish of Spanish garlic lobster was ready.
"Eat up. This is to celebrate your admission to Jujutsu High."
Chingetsu served a portion of lobster to Kento Nanami, then opened a can of cola and began drinking it. "Mr. Chingetsu..."
Looking at the Spanish garlic lobster before him, the usually composed Kento Nanami suddenly felt his eyes grow damp. Kento Nanami remembered clearly.
That first meeting between him and Gojo Chingetsu.
The other man had made Spanish garlic shrimp for him when he was down and out. Kento Nanami swore it was the best thing he had ever eaten. After that, he had become an employee at the Dawn Bar.
The story was that simple.
That was why he cared so much about Chingetsu, and so much about the Dawn Bar. "Hurry and eat. It won't taste as good once it gets cold."
Chingetsu glanced at Satoru Gojo and Yu Haibara, who were crouching in a corner fighting over the lobster. "Those two get along surprisingly well."
Kento Nanami slowly picked up his knife and fork, cut off a piece of lobster, and put it in his mouth. It tasted just as it had back then.
Cool yet fervent, plain yet passionate.
Perhaps this is what I want to protect. Simple, ordinary happiness.
"That's why I have to work hard to keep up with you. Mr. Chingetsu."
Chapter 55: A Hopeless Junior
"Chingetsu, is there anything you can't do?" Satoru Gojo licked his lips, still wanting more.
Yu Haibara beside him was even more dramatic, clutching his plate and refusing to let go.
"Boo-hoo, it's so, so, so good! It'd be even better with a bowl of rice." Yu Haibara vividly demonstrated what it meant for food to be so good it brought tears to your eyes.
"Hey, junior over there, mind your image a little in front of your senior, will you?" Satoru Gojo looked at Chingetsu with a hint of guilt.
After all, Yu Haibara was the junior he had brought along.
Yet the kid could eat even more than he could, as though he were a reincarnated hungry ghost. "But it's just so delicious!"
Yu Haibara looked at Chingetsu in admiration, as though gazing up at a god. "The one who passed the assessment with Nanami?"
Chingetsu glanced at Yu Haibara.
"Yep. This guy will be learning from Suguru Geto, while I'll be responsible for mentoring Nanami." Satoru Gojo gave a wicked grin, deliberately raising his voice.
Sure enough, Kento Nanami's hand paused almost imperceptibly around his fork, and several dark lines appeared on his face. "That's fine too."
Chingetsu fell silent for a moment.
The only people he could rely on at Jujutsu High were those in the main cast. And Satoru Gojo was the strongest among them.
"Speaking of which, what happens to the bar's business if Nanami leaves?"
Satoru Gojo casually picked up a can of cola from the drinks Chingetsu had brought and flicked open the tab with his index finger. "The bar won't close. I've been looking for suitable candidates lately."
"Something like a maid café."
"Besides that, I'll also need an 'old gatekeeper.'" "An old gatekeeper?"
A huge question mark popped up over Satoru Gojo's head. Seemingly noticing his confusion.
Chingetsu turned his gaze toward Kento Nanami on the hospital bed. "You mean there are still some idiots with a death wish?" A flash of murderous intent crossed Satoru Gojo's eyes.
Chingetsu nodded.
Though those people couldn't threaten him, they were still dangerous to the people around him. He wasn't all-knowing or all-powerful.
Though he knew the general direction of the plot.
As for certain things that hadn't been revealed, however. He still knew very little.
Or rather.
Only the tip of this world's iceberg had been exposed to him. Though he wouldn't go so far as to say he was treading on thin ice.
He still calculated the gains, losses, and crucial points of every step. Being laid-back didn't mean being careless, and being proud didn't mean being brainless. That was Chingetsu's personality.
"So, what are you planning to do next?" Satoru Gojo tipped his head back and took a gulp of cola. "Can you find someone to replace Nanami?" As for candidates...
Two small figures surfaced in Chingetsu's mind.
If it's them, they should still be suffering bullying and ostracism from the villagers right now. Chingetsu already had a plan.
Meanwhile, at Jujutsu High.
Utahime Iori held a can of beer, taking small, glum sips. "Shoko, why do you think this beer has lost its taste?"
"Huh, really?"
With her languid, cool air, Shoko Ieiri drank straight from the opening of the beer can without asking Utahime Iori's permission. "It tastes the same as always, Utahime."
Shoko Ieiri expertly lit a cigarette, the dark circles beneath her eyes appearing and disappearing in the smoke. "You must have something on your mind. That's why you think the beer has lost its taste."
Shoko Ieiri exhaled a cloud of smoke, a look of enjoyment on her face. "When it comes to understanding alcohol, you might not know as much as I do, even if you are my senior." "Drinking is all about your mood."
"When your heart's unsettled, naturally, the beer loses its taste." "Shoko, I've told you to stop smoking."
"Heh, sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself."
Shoko Ieiri reluctantly stubbed out her cigarette and looked at the somewhat distracted Utahime Iori. "If you ask me, Utahime, you're probably..."
Shoko Ieiri's expression suddenly grew serious. "Utahime, you're probably lovesick!"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Before you continue