Aoko had little interest in the card magic Kaito often performed for her; instead, her gaze was drawn to a square bronze mirror hanging in the corner. She stood still, head tilted back, observing it intently.
"Such an old mirror... but it's so unique."
At first glance, it wasn't particularly striking, yet it seemed to carry the weight of countless years. The faint patina covering it was like a delicate veil of green gauze, surrounded by concentric circles of golden grape patterns that radiated a singular, otherworldly texture.
"That is a relic passed down from the Heian period. It's said to be a bronze mirror once used by Abe no Seimei himself."
The magnetic voice of a stranger made Aoko turn her head.
"Quite interesting, isn't it?"
The man leaned lazily against the doorframe. With snow-white hair and cerulean eyes, clad in a traditional haori, his features were more stunning than anyone she had ever seen. He was exceptionally tall; she had to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his waist. His large hand gently stroked the fur of the cat in his arms, coaxing satisfied purrs from the creature.
"Eh? You are..."
The maids quickly scattered. Failing to hide their roses in time, they bowed flusteredly, "Lord Head!"
"You all seem to be having a lot of fun," Satoru Gojo said with a beaming smile. "Alright, let me entertain these two little guests now~"
"Yes, then we shall take our leave."
Aoko's eyes widened. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that the "strange head of the family"—whom she had pictured kidnapping children to sacrifice to evil gods—would look like this. A person like him couldn't possibly be associated with the word 'evil,' could he? He was... he was just like the legendary Onmyoji Abe no Seimei, radiating a sense of security that felt as though he could ward off evil spirits just by being near.
She really wished she had such a handsome uncle.
[Ding! Impression points from story character Nakamori Aoko increased by 500! Analysis: Admiration.]
Hearing the crisp, melodic system notification, Satoru Gojo gave Aoko a mental thumbs-up.
Seeing him, Kaito Kuroba gave a somewhat stiff greeting: "Great-uncle." Noticing Aoko was still in a daze, he stepped in to introduce her: "This is my childhood friend, Nakamori Aoko. She's the daughter of Inspector Nakamori from the Police Department. She's nine, same as me."
"Ah... nice to meet you! Please take care of me!" Aoko snapped out of it and spoke politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Gojo."
"Miss Aoko, there's no need to be so formal."
Satoru Gojo bent down to meet Aoko at eye level, his azure eyes twinkling. He produced a piece of konpeito candy out of thin air and handed it to the nervous young girl.
"This is for you. Now we're friends."
[Ding! Impression points from story character Nakamori Aoko increased by 200! Analysis: Closeness.]
The white-haired, blue-eyed young man seemed very easy to get along with. Aoko couldn't help but let her guard down, happily changing her form of address: "Thank you, Brother Gojo!"
"Aoko!" Kaito Kuroba's expression was one of shock as he reminded her, "What are you saying? My great-uncle is so much older; you should call him 'Uncle' at the very least, otherwise the family hierarchy gets all messed up."
"Eh, is that so? Uncle Gojo?"
"..." Satoru Gojo's smile cracked slightly. Seeing the poorly hidden schadenfreude in the boy's eyes, he knew Kaito was doing it on purpose. This brat... my psychological age might be high, but I definitely don't want to be called 'Uncle' by a little girl. Youth is eternal, dammit!
Satoru coughed. "No need. Stick with 'Brother.'"
Before Kaito could speak again, Satoru took the initiative: "Does Kaito hate me that much?"
"Huh?" The boy reacted quickly, putting on an innocent face. "Absolutely not!"
"Then why did you just call me 'Great-uncle'?" Satoru said sorrowfully. "I held you when you were born! Is our relationship really that shallow?"
"It's not like that!"
Kaito really wanted to scream—you ARE just my great-uncle! And that bit about holding me was definitely made up on the spot; Mom said she'd never even met you before!
"Kaito, call me 'Uncle.'"
"Well..."
"Waaaah, you really do hate me." He was about to throw a tantrum!
Feeling as though he were being teased like a pet hamster, Kaito's lip twitched. With zero sincerity, he muttered, "Uncle."
"Eh~" Satoru said with satisfaction. "Good boy."
Every time he saw Kaito's slightly spiky black hair, he got a sense of deja vu, like looking at a mini version of Megumi Fushiguro's sea-urchin head. Even their expressions of utter exasperation were identical—it felt strangely nostalgic.
Since it was Aoko's first time here, Kaito proactively suggested they explore the Gojo estate. "Then Uncle can go get busy, we'll just go on our own..."
"That won't do. Without your uncle leading the way, you two might get lost, you know?"
One had to admit, the Gojo estate might lack many things, but it was undeniably massive.
Kaito Kuroba: ...This is bordering on inhumanly wealthy.
"It's fine, my sense of direction is great."
"Well, if you say so." Satoru's expression turned regretful as he remarked casually, "By the way, there are koi ponds all over our estate. Their scales are so beautiful; you really must take a close look at them..."
Koi ponds?! And they're everywhere?! This is literal hell on earth!
Kaito squeezed out a "cute" smile. "Uncle... I suddenly feel like we should spend more time together. What do you think?"
Satoru Gojo: Yes! Just as planned!
After walking for over an hour, the scenery was a blur of elegance.
Kaito felt like his legs were about to snap, whereas Aoko was still full of zest. Having warmed up to his "cheap uncle," she spent the whole walk skipping along and asking all sorts of questions about the Gojo family.
Kaito hadn't intended for this to become such an intimate "trio." Initially, bringing Aoko here was just to satisfy her desire for an adventure.
Well... though he had to admit, he was a tiny bit curious about this "cheap uncle" himself.
Satoru Gojo was humming some nonsensical tune when he noticed Kaito's distressed expression. He said knowingly, "Oh dear, is Kaito tired? Should I carry you on my back?"
The half-joking, half-serious tone startled Kaito.
Wait... come to think of it, with Satoru Gojo's superior height, if I were on his back, I'd definitely be able to see much further than usual.
That might actually be pretty cool. No, he didn't want to get close to this guy. Kaito quickly shook off the fantasy and shook his head, shouting, "No thanks, Gr—Uncle!"
Aoko looked at him and spoke up, "Actually, I'm a bit tired too. Brother Gojo, can you take us to rest for a bit?"
Kaito mentally cheered for his considerate childhood friend.
"Since little Aoko said so, of course we can."
Satoru led the two children to a deserted small pavilion beside a bamboo grove. Four dark brown wooden pillars supported a bluish-grey tiled roof, with eaves curving upward like the curled tails of squirrels.
This was a pavilion Satoru often frequented when he was slacking off; the view was wide and the air was fresh, making it perfect for reading manga and eating snacks.
While Kaito and Aoko were finding their seats, Satoru's mind stirred. He pulled several boxes of chocolate purchased from the system mall out of his inventory and placed them on the table for them to try.
However, as the son of Toichi Kuroba, Kaito's natural powers of observation were top-tier.
"I remember there was nothing there just a second ago. How did they suddenly..."
He realized the previously empty table now had food on it. He rubbed his eyes to make sure it wasn't a hallucination.
"Hmm? Weren't they there from the beginning?" Aoko tilted her head.
"Well..." Satoru hadn't intended to hide it too much anyway, so he admitted grandly, "I made them appear. Impressive, right?~"
Kaito Kuroba's eyes went wide.
"...Is Uncle a magician too?"