Seeing her short dagger and the money she had worked so hard to steal taken by Satoru Gojo, Felt ground her teeth in frustration, yet she did not dare do anything reckless.
She could only glare at him, like a feral kitten whose food had been stolen.
"That's money I barely managed to steal, and I didn't even take anything from you!"
"You… how can you act like a robber?!"
Felt knew stealing was wrong. But for her dreams, for her future life, she had always scraped and saved every coin she could.
Having all of it taken away by Gojo made her heart ache.
What made it worse was that this guy was clearly strong, obviously not some ordinary person, yet he still went after her tiny bit of money.
Shouldn't someone like him not even bother looking at it, let alone touching it?
"Robber?"
Gojo laughed as he stuffed the money into his pocket, even giving it a deliberate pat, as if to show it was safely tucked away.
He then squatted down in front of Felt. "You're the one who tried to steal from me first. I'm just collecting a little interest."
As he spoke, he reached out and tugged at her cheek, then ruffled her hair into a complete mess before standing up, clearly satisfied.
"Next time you steal, make sure you check whether it's someone you can afford to mess with."
As he said that, he slipped a piece of candy from his own pocket into hers, then turned and walked away.
Felt stared at his retreating back, teeth clenched, powerless to do anything about it.
She could not beat him, so all she could do was swallow the loss.
Just as she was about to leave, she noticed her short dagger lying quietly at her feet, as if it had been placed there at some point without her realizing it.
She quickly picked it up and fastened it back at her lower back.
When she looked up again, Gojo was already gone.
Felt pulled out the candy he had left in her pocket.
Pretty wrapping, a faint sweet scent.
She had never seen this kind of candy before, but she still recognized what it was.
She pressed her lips together, slipped it back into her pocket, snorted softly, then stepped out of the alley and merged back into the crowd.
With the money he had taken from Felt, Gojo headed straight for a bookstore.
Having money made everything easier, no matter the world.
He bought a beginner's book on the local writing system and asked the shop owner to briefly explain the meaning of each character.
The total cost was one silver coin.
That was enough for Gojo to gain a basic grasp of the written language.
A photographic memory was nothing special to him.
Now that he could read, after asking the owner a few questions, he bought a history book as well, then left the shop.
The total expense came to one silver coin and twenty-three copper coins.
The currency here was divided into four tiers, from lowest to highest: copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and holy gold coins.
Each tier had an exchange rate of one hundred to one.
Flipping quickly through the books in his hands, Gojo gained a much clearer understanding of the world.
"So it really is just like one of those fantasy light novels."
He sighed as he read.
The world itself was fairly complex.
There were four countries in total.
Lugunica, Vollachia, the Kararagi City-States, and the Gusteko Holy Kingdom.
He was currently in the royal capital of Lugunica.
Lugunica was a nation with over a thousand years of history and a population of around fifty million. Its territory contained many different climates and a wide variety of demi-humans and other races.
Magic and dragons, classic fantasy staples, also existed here.
Beyond that, there were witches.
According to legend, four hundred years ago, the Witch of Envy swallowed half the world.
In the end, she was defeated by the combined efforts of the Sage, the Divine Dragon, and the Sword Saint, saving the entire world.
After finishing this so-called history, Gojo felt like he had just read cheap throwaway fiction.
A painfully standard hero-saves-the-world story.
The only difference was swapping a demon king for a witch.
"The only things that are even a little interesting are Divine Protections and Authorities."
According to the book, Divine Protections were something anyone in this world could potentially possess.
They were blessings granted by the world at birth.
Some Divine Protections were unique to specific races.
Most people were born without any Divine Protection, while those who did have one would instinctively know what it was without needing to be told.
Authorities could be seen as either the opposite of Divine Protections, or a superior replacement.
No Divine Protection could ever surpass an Authority.
However, Authorities only manifested in those who had absorbed Witch Factors.
In other words, witches.
Both of these powers were incredibly strong.
"By this world's standards, my Six Eyes would count as a Divine Protection unique to the Gojo family."
Gojo quietly analyzed things based on his own situation.
"All in all, it's not a boring world."
He had long since lost interest in jujutsu itself.
Even now, he already stood near the very peak of the jujutsu world.
Given just a little more time, he would unquestionably stand at the very top, becoming the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer.
But Magic, Divine Protections, and Authorities were things he had never seen before.
The unknown was always more intriguing.
If possible, he wanted to see them for himself, to observe them through the Six Eyes and see what made them different.
After sorting through all of this, the brief spark of motivation he had felt faded, and Gojo slipped back into his usual lazy state.
"Alright, time to go try this country's specialty desserts."
He could not be bothered to overthink the rest.
He would take things as they came.
Besides, that so-called protagonist had not even appeared yet. This was basically free time.
With the mindset of a tourist, Gojo began searching for sweets that caught his interest.
By coincidence, he passed the fruit stall again.
The scar-faced middle-aged vendor immediately scowled when he saw Gojo.
Before he could say anything, Gojo tossed four copper coins onto the stall and picked up an apple.
"Your apples are great."
"I really like them."
The vendor froze for a moment. Seeing Gojo's raised thumb and the four copper coins, the anger on his face faded.
He snorted, pocketed the coins, and gave Gojo a short nod.
Biting into the sweet, juicy apple, Gojo disappeared into the flow of people in the blink of an eye.