"Satoru, what do you think of my proposal?"
Seeing Gojo Satoru fall silent, Natsuki Subaru took the initiative to press for an answer.
"And what about me?" Gojo looked at Subaru speechlessly, pointing at himself.
"We're partners! I'd never forget you. Of course we'd do it together!" Subaru declared. "And if Felt and Old Man Rom are willing, I think we could let them—"
Before Subaru could finish, Gojo hooked an arm around his neck and gave Emilia a quick wave.
"Sorry, Emilia, I need to discuss something with this guy."
With that, Gojo forcibly dragged Subaru away, leaving Emilia and Puck to stare at each other in confusion.
"What gives, Satoru? Was there something wrong with what I said?"
Subaru, still being hauled away, looked genuinely bewildered. Seeing that expression, Gojo rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Aren't you supposed to be the hero who saves the world?"
"Yeah."
"Then why the hell are you suddenly thinking about becoming a servant?"
Subaru's face reddened slightly as he tried to find the words. "Actually, I feel like... if I could spend the rest of my life with Emilia, that wouldn't be a bad choice at all."
Love-brain.
The term flashed through Gojo's mind. In truth, Gojo didn't have many strict requirements when it came to his standard of living. Before crossing over, even with the full resources of the Gojo clan at his disposal, he hadn't lived a life of unimaginable decadence. After arriving in this world, he had adjusted perfectly fine to living in the slums with Felt.
But that didn't mean he was willing to be a servant. If it were for a laugh, or if the whim struck him, maybe—but right now? He had zero interest in Subaru's suggestion.
"You could just choose to be a guest and do nothing, couldn't you?"
"If I do nothing, I feel like my image will suffer in front of Emilia-tan. This way, at least I'm relying on my own hard work..."
"Baka."
Gojo sighed, reaching out to ruffle Subaru's hair into a mess. Subaru, much like Felt, still had no idea what kind of leverage they actually held.
"Forget it. We'll talk about this later. For the next few days, just enjoy yourself here."
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean? Don't leave me hanging!" Subaru was utterly perplexed.
"I'll find time to talk to you and Felt. Until then, just be patient for a bit," Gojo said with a smile, leading him back toward Emilia.
"Seriously, guys like you who only tell half the story are the most annoying characters in light novels," Subaru grumbled.
"Oh, right! There's something I forgot to mention. You might be interested."
"What is it?"
"When I woke up this morning, I opened a door and found a little girl inside. Apparently, she's Puck's sister—also a spirit. The place was packed with books..."
"A spirit guarding a forbidden library?"
Hearing Subaru's description, Gojo actually felt a spark of interest. Granted, the Supporting Character System offered spells he could master instantly through exchange, but those were low-level in both effect and power. He wasn't particularly interested in them.
However, if there was a way to actually learn them, that was a different story. He was quite willing to see what the magic of this world was really like.
"If I can learn magic, that would be perfect."
"Magic? Are you two interested in magic?"
Puck flew over at that moment, circling the pair.
"Having never touched it before, I've got plenty of interest," Gojo replied.
"If you want to learn magic, I might be able to help out a bit!"
"Ooooh!!! Really? I've finally reached this day!" Subaru was instantly ecstatic. He'd had the mind to learn from Gojo before, but so much had happened that he'd kept forgetting. Now, he had a new direction.
"Puck, I knew you were a good cat." Gojo scooped Puck into his arms, speaking affectionately.
"Wait, don't get ahead of yourselves. To learn magic, we first need to determine your affinities," Puck said seriously, using his tiny paws to push Gojo's leaning face away.
"Then let's start right now!"
Two minutes later.
"Yin affinity, huh?"
"Both of you are Yin affinity. That really is rare," Puck said, looking surprised after testing them.
"Yin affinity is quite uncommon. Most people generally fall into the four basic elements," Emilia added, taking the initiative to explain when she saw that the two weren't quite sure what that meant.
"Is Yin affinity strong?"
Meeting Subaru's expectant gaze, Emilia tilted her head in thought. "Generally, it's for obscuring vision, cutting off sound, things like that. As for high-level Yin magic... I don't know too much about it."
"If I remember correctly, can't it banish people to a different dimension?"
Gojo, recalling things he'd seen in the System Shop, looked at Puck.
"Exactly! But magic of that level is very difficult for ordinary people to cast, you know~"
"Now, do you want to try casting? I can assist you," Puck said, flying between them. "Of course, I can also let you experience the most basic one first: Shamak."
"I'll leave it to you then, Puck."
In the blink of an eye, Gojo had already sat down on the grass like a schoolboy, raising his hand obediently.
"Leave it to me, meow!"
Puck let out a cry, and a burst of black smoke erupted instantly. Gojo silently deactivated his Infinity (Limitless), allowing the black mist to approach.
As the mist enveloped him, a bizarre sensation washed over him. He could still feel his individual body parts, but he lost all perception of his surroundings. No sense of touch, no sense of smell—he couldn't even feel the ground beneath his feet, as if he were standing in a void.
Only his Six Eyes remained normal.
He could still see everything within that black mist clearly. He could even see a specific type of energy flowing within the smoke, ultimately constructing this sensory-deprivation field.
Sensory interference, huh?
Gojo felt it out silently, a hint of surprise in his heart. Compared to the descriptions in the shop, the actual effect was significantly more impressive.
The strange sensation came quickly and left just as fast. In an instant, it vanished.