The cloth covering Shogen Ikuma's face made it impossible to see his expression, but Kayo Senju knew him well enough to tell that he was thoroughly embarrassed right now. He probably wished he could find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
"Actually, I think you have a point."
"If intelligence can't be directly converted into strength, then having a high IQ doesn't seem all that useful..."
Shogen stared at Betty and spoke with extreme caution, afraid that one wrong word might make her turn him into a pincushion. His voice was quiet and almost flattering, a complete contrast to how worked up he had been moments earlier.
As for everything else, he could only wrong Kayo for the time being. He trusted that she would understand.
Kayo, however, didn't seem to care about what Shogen had said. Instead, she stared at the arrows surrounding him with considerable interest.
Curiosity filled her eyes as she reached out a slender finger and gently touched the nearest purple arrow.
The arrow didn't attack her. It only trembled slightly, emitting a faint purple glow.
"How fascinating. Is this also an ability used by an Onmyoji?"
Kayo raised her head and looked at Satoru Gojo, her eyes shining with curiosity. She had never encountered such a strange power before, and the desire to understand it was written plainly across her face.
"An Onmyoji?"
Gojo smiled when he realized that Kayo had misunderstood because of his Shikigami.
"This isn't an Onmyoji ability. It's Magic, like the magic you see in fantasy novels."
"And I'm not an Onmyoji, either. I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer."
"Jujutsu Sorcerers rely on Cursed Energy to fight. We can use various jujutsu techniques and summon Shikigami, while Magic relies on Mana. They're fundamentally different systems."
The more Kayo listened, the brighter the curiosity in her eyes became.
Her fingers tapped lightly against her tablet as her mind raced, processing everything Gojo had told her. These were fields she had never encountered before, filled with mysteries she desperately wanted to explore.
"So? Interesting, right?"
Sumire Muroto stepped forward with a smile.
"Why don't you come to my research institute and work with me? If you join us, you can study Magic, jujutsu, or whatever else you want."
"Even Stage 5 Gastrea wouldn't necessarily be out of your reach."
She made the offer with complete seriousness, throwing out both her own invitation and the tempting prospects Gojo had promised her.
Her eyes were filled with anticipation as she looked at Kayo as though she had discovered a priceless gem and couldn't wait to bring her back to the research institute.
However, when faced with Sumire's invitation, Kayo didn't hesitate. She simply shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm suited for a place like a research institute."
Her voice was calm but firm, making it clear that she had already made up her mind.
"Besides, if I'm not around, someone might make another reckless mistake..."
As she spoke, Kayo glanced at Shogen beside her, her eyes carrying a mixture of helplessness and tenderness.
"Hey, hey, I can't pretend I didn't hear that."
Shogen immediately caught the implication and hurried to protest.
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice, but he wasn't angry in the slightest. Instead, an almost imperceptible smile appeared on his face.
He knew that Kayo had rejected Sumire's invitation because she couldn't bring herself to leave him behind.
Seeing this, Sumire threw out an even bigger offer.
She stepped closer to Kayo and leaned toward her, lowering her voice as she spoke in a tempting tone.
"If you join the research institute, we can also help you with your Corrosion Rate. We can reduce it to somewhere in the teens and make sure it never crosses the danger threshold..."
At that moment, Sumire looked like a suspicious old man trying to lure a little girl with a lollipop. There was something almost comically devious about the way she was going about it.
A sly glint flashed through her eyes. She knew that the Corrosion Rate was the greatest pain in the heart of every Cursed Child, as well as their greatest weakness.
If she could solve the problem of their Corrosion Rate, she was confident that almost no Cursed Child would be able to resist the temptation.
Kayo had barely begun to speak when Shogen abruptly cut her off.
He leaned forward slightly, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists until his knuckles turned white. The urgency on his face was impossible to hide, and even his voice carried a faint tremor.
"Is that really true? You can actually lower the Corrosion Rate?!"
As soon as he finished, he seemed unable to believe what he'd heard and pressed for confirmation, staring intently at Sumire as though he could find the answer he wanted on her face.
"Isn't that supposed to be impossible? Even Suppressants can only temporarily stop it from increasing. They can't actually lower it."
There was confusion in his voice, along with a hope he couldn't conceal. The words "Corrosion Rate" were like a sword hanging over Kayo's head, threatening her life every moment of every day.
"You've seen Shikigami before, haven't you? Technology can't achieve something like this either, can it?"
Sumire folded her arms, a playful smile spreading across her face as her gaze shifted between Shogen and Kayo. With an almost effortless tone, she redirected the conversation toward Gojo, presenting her argument as though everything had already gone according to plan.
"If that's true, then I'll make the decision. Kayo will join your research institute."
"Wait, I haven't agreed to..."
Kayo hurried to object, her brows drawing together as clear resistance appeared in her eyes. She had never considered leaving Shogen. Even if the research institute could lower her Corrosion Rate, she still didn't want to go.
"I'm your Promoter. What I say goes."
Shogen cut her off sharply. The urgency vanished from his face in an instant, replaced by icy coldness. His voice became harsh and grating, every word sounding as though he had forced it through clenched teeth.
"You're nothing more than a tool that can be discarded whenever I want. Kayo Senju, as your Promoter, I order you to join the research institute. From this moment on, we're ending our partnership."
His words were cruel to the extreme, devoid of even the slightest warmth. Everyone present felt a pang in their hearts upon hearing them.
Yet despite the harshness of his words, everyone could clearly hear the concern for Kayo buried beneath them.
They all understood why Shogen had said such horrible things. He was doing it solely to force Kayo into joining the research institute.
He knew that only by keeping Kayo beside Sumire and the others could she receive the help she needed to lower her Corrosion Rate and escape the fate of eventually becoming a Gastrea.
Otherwise, Kayo's only future would be watching her Corrosion Rate rise day after day until she finally lost all reason, transformed into a Gastrea driven only by destruction and slaughter, and lost the person she once was forever.
Sumire watched the scene unfold, her smile growing wider. She gave Kayo a mischievous wink.
"Well? Your Promoter has already said so."
Kayo lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting a faint shadow across her face. How could she possibly fail to see through Shogen's intentions?
His refusal to admit how he felt, his coldness, his cruel words, all of it was an act. He was doing everything he could to make sure she survived.
But that was precisely why she found it even harder to let him go.
She couldn't abandon this hardheaded man with a soft heart, the Promoter who had silently protected her all this time.
Kayo raised her head, her eyes filled with both helplessness and determination.
"Do you really think I can leave you here and not worry about you?"
Shogen was clearly the mature adult between them, yet the way Kayo spoke and looked at him made her seem like an exasperated mother who had no idea what to do with her troublesome son. Her concern was impossible to miss.
Sumire couldn't help laughing.
She walked over and gently patted Kayo on the shoulder, patiently trying to persuade her.
"It's fine. Joining the research institute doesn't mean you can't go out on missions."
"Besides, you Civil Security contractors don't have missions every single day, do you?"
She paused, a hint of appreciation flashing through her eyes before she continued.
"If you're worried about making a living, he can come work at our research institute too. That way, you won't even have to separate. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
Sumire was genuinely interested in Kayo as an assistant and as a promising researcher. She could see that Kayo possessed extraordinary talent, and if she could keep her at the research institute, Kayo would undoubtedly be able to make far greater use of it.
While Sumire was completely focused on "kidnapping" Kayo into joining her research institute, Gojo was leaning against a thick tree trunk some distance away. He leisurely pulled out his phone, preparing to call Seitenshi.
He looked around at the desolate wilderness and frowned slightly.
"I wonder if there's even a signal out here."
There was no complicated reason for his call to Seitenshi. He wasn't calling to complain about how troublesome the mission was, nor was he asking for reinforcements.
He mainly wanted Seitenshi to mobilize the satellites and check whether any Stage 5 Gastrea were approaching the area around Tokyo.
As for the mission itself, Gojo already knew that it had failed.
There was no doubt about it, and there was nothing they could do to salvage it.
He didn't particularly care, though. The failure wasn't really anyone else's fault. The problem was that the information they'd received had been far too late.
They had rushed here as soon as they received the news, but by the time they arrived, the mission item had already been taken. There wasn't even a trace of it left, and they didn't know when the other party had taken it.
The only thing they could determine from the wounds left on the Gastrea at the scene was that the item had probably been taken at least half a day earlier.
At the thought of that, Gojo curled his lip in disdain.
This was entirely the fault of those so-called Higher-ups.
It was the same situation as before. How had something so important been stolen in the first place? Because of the Higher-ups' negligence and concealment.
Someone had undoubtedly deliberately suppressed the information at first, then secretly sent people to take the mission item. Only after everything had settled down did they reveal the information to the people actually carrying out the mission.
Put simply, they were nothing more than pawns in the hands of the Higher-ups. They were used when they were useful and discarded when they weren't.
"Had I known, I wouldn't have bothered coming all this way. What a waste of time."
Gojo pulled a strawberry-flavored lollipop from his pocket, tore off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth. His expression was lazy, but the impatience in his eyes was unmistakable.
If he had a choice, he'd much rather live that kind of carefree life. Eat lollipops every day, lie around in the sun, avoid dealing with troublesome affairs, and stay away from all these irritating people.
His phone screen remained lit as the call interface continued loading. Leaning against the tree, Gojo chewed on his lollipop and waited idly, occasionally glancing at the screen with growing impatience.
After a short while, the screen flickered.
The call connected, and Seitenshi's image appeared on the display.
Compared to the clear image she usually appeared through, the connection was noticeably unstable this time. Static appeared intermittently across the screen, and her voice kept cutting in and out.
Gojo didn't pay much attention to it. They were in the middle of nowhere, so poor reception was hardly surprising.
He waved at the phone.
"Hello, Seitenshi. Do you have a moment?"
"If you do, mobilize the satellites and check whether any Gastrea are approaching Tokyo, especially Stage 5s."
On the other end of the call, Seitenshi's expression changed immediately. The warmth in her eyes gave way to tension and concern as she leaned forward.
"Gojo-sensei, did something happen with the mission?"
She knew that Gojo would never ask her to mobilize the satellites without a reason. If he was making such a request, then something was clearly wrong.
"Yeah, you could say that."
Gojo casually answered while chewing his lollipop.
"When we arrived, the mission item had already been taken. I'm guessing that someone on your side was behind it. The information we received was delayed."
Seitenshi's brow furrowed immediately, and her face paled slightly as her heart sank.
That familiar sense of helplessness swept over her once again.
If that really was what had happened, then no matter how hard they tried, there was nothing they could do to change the situation.
Even as the nominal Seitenshi, she had no way to intervene. She knew better than anyone that she was little more than a puppet controlled by the Higher-ups, with no real authority and no power to make decisions.
She remained silent for a moment, forcing down the bitterness and helplessness in her heart before answering firmly.
"I understand."