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His long legs took big steps, the soles of his expensive and shiny shoes stepping on the ground full of leaves and small branches, creating a pleasant crunchy 'rustling' sound. The dry air and stable temperature calmed the tall man's mood somewhat. From the gait, one can immediately see that the arrogant aura is leaking more strongly because the owner's mood is not good. One hand in the pocket, the other hand scrolling on the phone screen to find the famous sweet shop in the nearest radius.
“Strawberry Dorayaki? That sounds delicious~”
Today is not a very good day. In the morning, he was unable to go to the airport to pick up his beloved student who had just returned from a mission abroad, he also planned to buy a round-trip plane ticket to go home with his student. At noon, he wanted to go to the family restaurant that his student especially liked to buy salted cabbage with sesame oil and lunch to eat with his lovely student after many days of not seeing him. How come that restaurant is closed today! No, if they don't eat food here, they can eat it somewhere else. There's no need to be angry to make his mood worse.
No no, the world seems to want to fight against the strongest sorcerer. What was worse after that was that his student called him to inform him that he had an urgent assignment so he couldn't come to the meeting place. How can this white-haired man complain when his obedient student keeps apologizing over the phone looking extremely pitiful?
When doing the last mission in the evening, the special grade sorcerer asked the assistant director to leave first, he would go home on his own after completing the mission. The assistant director was secretly happy because the special grade sorcerer in front of him was in a very bad mood, his heart was about to fall out of fear.
...
The white-haired man decided to go to the store that sold strawberry Dorayaki and then buy dinner at the convenience store next door. His large and manly hand placed it on his neck and gently shook it to ease the tension in his body. The 28-year-old man had just yawned loudly when his surroundings suddenly turned into four dark blue walls. The surrounding forest was completely invisible, and even the leaves and small branches that he had just crushed under his feet were not even in sight.
The special grade sorcerer yawned again while scratching his head.
“Isn't work time over yet? ~”
The eyes covered by the black blindfold glanced across the room and examined what kind of technique this was. There seems to be no sign of an attack, is this some kind of confinement technique? Maybe some kind of trap?
“Does it have the same effect as a ‘curtain’? There must be something unfinished.”
‘Poc’
The lights in the room flickered out and immediately lit up again, Gojo's eyes became a little more alive as he looked at the newcomer who was also 'trapped' into this place. The boy wore a wide, eye-catching white uniform and carried a sword bag on his back. The neutral face was surprised to see the teacher he hadn't seen in several months.
“Sensei!”
‘So much like a puppy. As soon as we met, you were already wagging your tail ~'
The two didn't seem to care that they were in a strange space, the student trotted over to his sensei like a puppy that hadn't seen its owner in a long time. The strongest sorcerer in modern times couldn't hold back his happy mood and stroked the boy's neat black hair. The boy was very obedient and smiled happily when he let the teacher ruffle his hair until it was messy.
“Yuta, welcome back”
“Yes, I'm back”
The lights in the room flickered off and then turned on again as if to draw the attention of the two special grade sorcerers away from each other. The feelings of two teachers and students who had just reunited after many days of not meeting each other really made this room feel self-pity. There was a sound like typing, and right in the middle of the wall opposite them, a line of text was gradually appearing on the black screen.
“…It seems that even two special grade sorcerers cannot destroy this curtain…”
Yuta read the strange text on the screen and muttered.
“Is this really a ‘curtain’?”
Yuta had also guessed that this room was similar to a 'curtain', however it had a few improvements compared to a regular 'curtain'. Perhaps this is a slightly higher level technique than 'curtain', but its properties are still similar to a variation of 'curtain', which is to restrict individuals from entering and exiting a specific area. Yuta still hasn't made a move because this room doesn't seem dangerous, everything strange is probably the words on the screen. As for Gojo, he seemed quite curious about what the person who wanted to lock up the two special grade sorcerers really wanted and how much confidence he had to do so.
Screen: “...Ahem, okay, let's get to work…”
Gojo began to feel like he might have been in on a joke that wasn't funny at all.
Screen “…This is a closed room with no door or exit, destroying it is useless…”
Yuta's puppy eyes frowned fiercely, his slender hands silently took a stance and reached for the sword bag on his back. Yuta looked at the teacher who was calling him in surprise and saw the teacher raise his index finger and 'shush' as if to tell him to calm down and try to continue monitoring to see what this room wanted.
Screen: “...The room will only activate the ‘lock’ only when 2 people enter the ‘curtain’…”
Does it mean that only if there are 2 people entering this room can they leave the room under certain conditions? That is the lock.
“This room likes literature, right?”
“Sensei..”
Yuta frowned and looked at his teacher. Sensei still seemed very interested in this so he did not take any action but continued to wait for the text to appear on the screen. Gojo noticed that his student seemed a bit rushed even though he tried to hide it.
“Yuta, what is it? Do you want to go to the bathroom?”
Yuta blushed with embarrassment and spoke a little loudly.
“N-it's not like that!”
Gojo chuckled and patted his student's head. This time Yuta seemed to resist a bit and tried to push the teacher's hand away, probably embarrassed at being teased.
Screen: “...Do you two really want to go out? Stop flirting with each other..."
Yuta frowned deeper as he read the words that appeared on the screen.
“We're not flirting! Is this really just a technique? It was like someone was watching us…”
Gojo placed his hand on Yuta's shoulder as support and enjoyed looking at the words on the screen, this was like a TV game show.
“But there is no loss, directly experiencing the technique is also an effective learning method, Yuta.”
Screen: “...As I said, there are already 2 people in the room here enough to create a 'lock'. So I will reveal what the ‘key’ is…”
That screen kept stopping in the middle as if wanting to see their reaction, it was so annoying. Yuta was impatient and grumbled.
“Please hurry up, I don't have much time to play around.”
‘Sensei looks like he really wants to play’
Yuta looked a little annoyed and looked at his teacher. He clearly knew that Yuta was in a hurry but just calmly waited to find out why the mastermind used this technique to lock them up.
Screen: “...I will put 3 questions on the screen. Both of you must answer honestly, otherwise the number of questions will increase…”
Gojo tilted his head while touching his chin in thought.
“Heh, that sounds a bit more boring than expected, right?”
Screen: “...Then later I will let you two make another request as a 100th pair promotion, okay?…”
“Wait–eh?? No way!"
Yuta looked even more impatient, normally he didn't mind letting in to his teacher's jokes. Because even though sensei seems to be playing, in fact Yuta always learns something serious every time he does a mission or experiences with him. But now it's not okay, there's something extremely important!! This matter cannot be told to Gojo, so it is even more urgent. The room, in times of rebuttal, acts like a mindless and jokeless algorithm.
Screen: “...Question 1: What kind of person do you think the other person in the room is when he falls in love?....”
“Is this really some kind of game show? Is there a camera filming us?”
Screen: “...It would be great if we could record it…”
Yuta warily looked around to see if there was any kind of mini camera or even an advanced camera. Gojo tapped his fingers on Yuta's shoulder while his hand still rested on his student's shoulder. Yuta understood what his teacher meant that there were no cameras around.
“Okay, I will answer first. I've seen him love and then suffer, love and then make mistakes and love and then fix it. If Yuta loves someone, he will cherish and give his whole heart, regardless of the other person's appearance or personality."
Yuta looked up at his teacher in bewilderment. Even though he was wearing a blindfold, Yuta could still feel his sensei's seriousness and sincerity when talking about Yuta's first love. That's right, sensei witnessed it from beginning to end, helping Yuta every step of the way as he corrected his mistakes and his life.
“Being this boy's 'important person' is the luckiest thing any girl can receive.”
“Ah…”
The ocean in Yuta's eyes rippled and sparkled as the sunlight shone on the ocean surface. Even though he was embarrassed, Yuta couldn't take his eyes off that sincere look. Surely any girl would be touched if Gojo used that look to confess his love. Yuta had always felt that his sensei was very handsome, but to be complimented so seriously by him like this was really embarrassing, especially when there was someone else present, well that thing wasn't really a person.
“Yuta, it's your turn”
Gojo's voice returned to its usual joking and cheerful tone, making Yuta sigh in relief. Sensei like this is the best, just now was so dangerous, Yuta's heart would jump out of his chest if sensei continued to do that.
“Um, what kind of person…sensei is very funny and always likes to joke, so his girlfriend will always feel very happy, but sometimes if he jokes too much, it's not good.”
Gojo blinked and looked at Yuta strangely, did Yuta just praise or criticize him?
“Even though my teacher looks frivolous, he is actually very hard-working and serious in his work. That's why he's so busy that he sometimes can't answer calls or messages in time, and his dating time is also limited."
“Yuta?”
Gojo looked at his student, who was praising as if he was punching and rubbing in a very natural way without showing any guilt. Yuta squeezed his cheeks and thought seriously.
“Gojo-sensei is also very handsome, so there will be many girls coming to give him chocolate on Valentine's Day non-stop, and his girlfriend will fall into a situation where she feels insecure and always jealous.”
The strongest sorcerer in modern times gently pulled his student's shoulder so he could look straight into his eyes. Actually, he's wearing a blindfold, so whatever.
“Yuta, do you really think I am like that??”
Yuta tilted his head and wondered if he said something wrong.
"Yes?"
Gojo made an exaggerated distorted expression and clutched his chest as if in great pain before falling to the ground. Yuta hurriedly supported his teacher who was sitting on the ground while blinking his eyes innocently.
“So in Yuta's heart, when I became a lover, I would be such a bad person! I thought Yuta would be different from the others, but I was wrong!!”
Gojo spoke loudly and made an exaggerated look of being deeply hurt. Yuta laughed helplessly while sweating profusely. He held the teacher's hand to pull him up and defended himself.
“Sensei, what I said is not necessarily saying that you are bad...everyone has their own shortcomings, the important thing when loving each other is that two people can sympathize with each other and try to change for the other. The feelings from both sides must be feelings that fit like two pieces of a puzzle, it cannot be just feelings from one side."
Gojo looked at his student and couldn't help but feel that this was the true pure love expert.
“What an experienced person sounds so philosophical~”
Gojo teased a bit, making Yuta smile shyly. Yuta almost forgot why he wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible. The black screen made a 'beep' sound and then created electronic animations like fireworks.
Screen: “...Congratulations to the two special grade sorcerers who have passed stage 1, their answers are very truthful. And both of their performances were also great, thank you!..."
The number 3 marked in the right corner of the screen is also changed to 2 after the pass notification disappears. Yuta felt more reassured because the question seemed a bit embarrassing but wasn't the type of question that Yuta didn't know the answer to.
Screen: “...Question 2: After confessing your love to the person you like, what will you do?…”
Gojo thought back on his love history and felt less than impressed. Gojo usually lets the other person decide whatever they like. Usually after the other person confesses and Gojo agrees that if he is in the mood, they will go to a restaurant or shopping mall. But if he himself chooses, what will it be? Gojo looked at his student seriously thinking, if he dated Yuta, what would he do first?
"Kiss-"
“Hah?”
Yuta looked up and accidentally made their eyes meet, Gojo still didn't look away and muttered his true wish.
“I will kiss that person first, because I will explode with happiness if I don't let go of that joy.”
Sky-colored eyes covered by a blindfold stared at the student's lips, parted in surprise, what did it taste like? Gojo looked away and cleared his throat to escape his strange thoughts. He only intended to use Yuta as an example to easily imagine what he wanted after confessing his love, but that fantasy went a bit further than he expected. Gojo scolded himself in his head, who in the world would use a student as an imaginary date??
Yuta felt his ears heat up when he heard his teacher's words, so he was going to kiss after confessing his love..?
'Gojo-sensei is really an adult... just hearing that makes me feel embarrassed.'
The screen announced that Gojo's answer was valid, Yuta also hastily answered so he could get out of here early.
“Well, mine isn't that special. Well, after successfully confessing, I want to go with my partner to a familiar restaurant where we often eat together. After that, we walked side by side on the way home, that was happiness. That alone is good…”
Yuta felt a bit awkward with his general answer after hearing his sensei's mature answer. This trivial answer wasn't embarrassing, it was just embarrassing to say in front of Gojo. Yuta also doesn't understand why he feels like that...
Screen: “...The second level has been completed, you have gone more than half way to get the key! The performance of the two of you in this round is much better than the previous round!!..."
'Performance? Surely someone must be watching…'
Gojo thought and saw the number 2 in the right corner of the screen replaced by the number 1, leaving only 1 last question.
Screen: “...Question 3: Do you like the other person in the room?...”
Gojo frowned a bit, he got carried away by this game and actually answered the previous two questions quite honestly because those questions were more like comments and expressions of wishes, it doesn't matter how they answer. The third question is different, it can change even a pure and comfortable relationship.
If Gojo had to comment, this technique is quite interesting, it even has the ability to detect whether people in the room are lying or not. The room is also very special and cannot be easily destroyed by a semi-grade 1 sorcerer. Gojo wonder if the person who trapped the two special grade sorcerers with this technique was too confident or had some other intention. Gojo still couldn't feel any magic power approaching, so the guy who created this nonsense still refused to come forward.
Up until now this room had only asked critical questions, and no one was stupid enough to use a psychological attack on that special grade sorcerer, right?
“I like him. I like Gojo-sensei”
The brain of the most powerful sorcerer in modern times paused for a few milliseconds as the idea of stopping this strange game was running through his head. What did his student just do? confession? What should Gojo do? Refuse and apologize? Given their current position and Yuta's age, it's obvious. But Yuta is one of Gojo's most precious students, this kid also experienced a cursed first love, it was Gojo who paved the way for Yuta to 'live' again.
Emotionally and logically, the fact that this student developed feelings for him is not at all strange but very reasonable. And Gojo also admitted that he was very handsome…ahem…it wasn't uncommon for students to have feelings for him. In his heart, Gojo didn't want to refuse this kid, was it because of guilt or some other reason?
Screen: “...Valid answer. Please answer the second person..."
Gojo clicked his tongue and glanced at the lifeless black screen, which only made things more and more complicated. Hell, they couldn't even pretend that statement was a joke anymore, the game that Gojo thought was fun was now feeling so annoying. But Gojo couldn't just destroy this room and pretend to ignore the current situation, it wasn't that simple.
“Sensei, just one more question and we can go out!!”
‘Eh, Yuta?? What is so urgent that you don't look the least bit embarrassed about confessing your love to your sensei like that?? How much do you not care about yourself to look like you can accept any answer??'
Gojo's head felt like it was about to explode, but his student just looked at him with pleading eyes saying 'hurry up, sensei!'. Gojo himself didn't quite understand how he should answer, so what should he do?
'Tsk, let's risk it'
“I also like Yuta”
Gojo secretly glanced at his student, who seemed touched and extremely happy, flowers seemed to be blooming around him, so adorable. This is getting weirder and weirder but at least it came out the best it could.
Screen: “...Congratulations, you two have successfully passed 3 questions. The performance of the two of you was so fun to watch, hahaha…”
Yuta changed his attitude as he looked at the screen in the middle of the wall and spoke in a cold voice.
“So we have the key, right? Release us quickly."
Screen: “...Eh? I said earlier that there would be a promotion for the two of you..."
Gojo felt a bit tired after this game because unnecessary events had happened, and he had not been properly recharged after the mission. But the special grade sorcerer has already played it to the end, adding one more won't be a problem.
“Okay, what is it?”
Yuta could only sigh and wait when his teacher agreed to the game. Yuta also knew that this looked like a game but it was also an unexpected mission, he could learn many things about this technique. Yuta was distracted by personal matters so he couldn't blame anyone...
While Yuta was distracted by his thoughts, the room with four dark blue walls that trapped them burst and collapsed and then the broken brick walls turned into ash and gradually disappeared. Yuta frowned and observed closely but couldn't see any of the masterminds. Was the thing that talked to them from beginning to end just a simple technique? It is also possible that the cursed spirit or the curse user who activated the technique died from Gojo's attack.
Yuta looked at his teacher's angry looking face, that expression disappeared instantly and returned to his usual demeanor.
“Okay, everything is over here, let's go home Yuta ~”
Yuta called Gojo back.
“Sensei, you obviously wanted to wait and see what that room wanted, why did you suddenly attack like that?”
The strongest spellcaster in modern times shrugged.
“I'm no longer interested, with six eyes I've already figured out how that technique works. Everything it says from the beginning is its technique. Two people need to enter the room to activate the algorithm and the key is for those two people to do what the room asks. This type of trap is more psychological, it's simple but can cause future problems between the two people in the room."
Yuta listened attentively like a diligent student and nodded.
“Heh, but it's still possible to destroy it from the inside if we're strong enough, right?”
Gojo nodded and patted his student's head.
“That's right, if you use that technique more skillfully and powerfully, you can create stronger rooms. There is a high possibility that he will create rooms such as neutralizing curse energy, neutralizing curse techniques... then this technique will be more difficult to deal with."
Yuta felt that this time was not bad because he was taught something directly by his teacher after a long time. Yuta wants to grow up so he can help his teacher, but he also wants to be taught by him. Because they are both special grade sorcerers, the opportunities to be together are fewer and fewer. Actually, at the end of the urgent mission, Yuta immediately asked his assistant where Gojo's last mission was and immediately went there himself. At noon Gojo invited him to lunch but he couldn't go... Yuta felt he had to do something. Yuta suddenly remembered why he was in such a hurry when locked in that room, Gojo also spoke up.
“Yuta, don't you have something to do? You were in such a hurry just now, is there still time?"
Although Gojo really wanted to talk about the "Third Question" earlier, it seemed Yuta had urgent business to attend to. Yuta immediately quickly grabbed his teacher's hand and ran. Yuta seemed to be in such a hurry that he didn't notice that Gojo was infinitely turned off, their hands were touching directly.
Gojo saw Yuta leading him to the place he had marked on his phone before the incident. His student's neutral face lit up when he saw that the Dorayaki store was still lit. The smaller hand dropped the teacher's hand and rummaged through his wallet to take out the gift certificate. Gojo looked over Yuta's shoulder and saw that the gift certificate was almost all stamped, only the last spot remained.
Yuta hurriedly went inside, the wallet improperly stuffed into his pocket slipped out of Yuta's pocket. Gojo easily grabbed it for his student and accidentally looked inside the wallet, there was a photo of the entire second year group and another small photo of the first year group. A corner of another photo is hidden under the other two photos. Gojo knew he shouldn't rummage through other people's belongings, but he knew whose photo it was, so he cleverly pulled it out: it was a photo of Gojo without a blindfold and smiling at the camera.
Gojo thought for a moment and remembered that this was the photo Yuta took at the party celebrating his return to special grade. That day Yuta said he wanted to capture everyone's moments. Gojo put the photo back and went into the store and looked at Yuta's back.
“You bought Dorayaki? Sensei also planned to come here after that mission.”
Yuta smiled brightly and was very happy because it seemed he had made the right choice. Then the black wallet with light blue outlines gently tapped Yuta's head.
“It's just buying sweets, why are you in such a hurry that you dropped your wallet?”
Yuta embarrassedly took back his wallet and smiled apologetically. After Yuta took two bags of hot Dorayaki, they both left the store. They walked side by side back to school, Yuta gave his sensei a large bag containing a Dorayaki 5 times larger than normal.
“Uwa, there's also this kind? I just found out.”
Yuta smiled proudly when he saw his teacher's surprised face.
“When I heard that you were on duty near this area, I remembered that before going on a business trip, I had collected nearly enough stamps of the famous Dorayaki store nearby, so I wanted to give the special edition Dorayaki to sensei.”
Gojo laughed and patted his adorable student's head.
“Shall we eat this after dinner?”
Yuta nodded and couldn't hide his extremely happy smile all the way. Gojo remembered something and didn't know whether to ask or not.
“Yuta, this, do you really like me?”
Yuta blinked in surprise when Gojo asked about what happened earlier. Is Gojo the type of sensitive person who cares about other people's thoughts about him? Yuta nodded confidently.
“Yes, I like sensei. Sensei didn't give up on me and it was you who brought me into this world, it's all thanks to you.”
Gojo smiled as he looked at the kid he had placed his hope in and felt very lucky to have this kid by his side.
“And since sensei is my sensei, I naturally like you. Maki-san, Inumaki-kun, Panda-kun and the first years definitely like you too, they're probably a bit embarrassed so they don't say it.”
His long legs stopped, Gojo looked up at the dark starry sky and then looked down at the road as if thinking about life. After all, from just now until now, why did he have to think so much about it?
“When you said you liked me, I was so happy ehehe”
Gojo looked at his student's happy face as if he was about to melt, then just sighed and ruffled his white hair. Anyway, everything worked out, even though there was a misunderstanding, this was the best result so that their relationship could still be as peaceful as before, but for some reason, Gojo felt a little disappointed in his heart. Gojo put his own disappointment aside. He put his hands in his pockets before continuing to walk.
“Shall we have ramen for dinner, Yuta? I will treat you.”
Yuta also started walking parallel to his teacher's pace, he no longer made Gojo pay attention to slow down for him. Yuta smiled brightly.
"Okay!"
“I heard that restaurant has delicious cabbage remen, Yuta want some?”
After confessing, they went to a small restaurant to have a meal and then went home together. Isn't this Yuta's answer to the second question? Yuta's wish after confessing his love was fulfilled, but unfortunately Gojo's wish still could not be fulfilled. Do your best, Gojo-sensei!
...
Taking a step back, the reason Gojo had suddenly destroyed the front room earlier was because Gojo-sensei didn't want his underage adorable student to see the promotion request of that damn room.
Screen: "...If two people in the room don't have s-?-x with each other, they can't get out of here..."
—End—