Next Target, 400PS!!
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Hearing these words, Kai looked over as well.
[Mother-Daughter Donburi]
[Put a collar on Sayuri Sawamura]
[Experiment with the art of bondage on Sayuri Sawamura]
[Make her call you Daddy]
[Have Sayuri Sawamura take a walk outside in a maid outfit]
[Goddess-tier feet! Goddess-tier feet!]
[...]
Before he even fully processed the person, a barrage of system quest prompts popped up.
Just looking at these tasks, Kai instantly knew her identity. Eriri's mother, Sayuri Sawamura, was one of the few highly popular young mothers in the anime world.
"Hello there!" Noticing Kai's gaze, Sayuri smiled and waved.
"I'm Eriri's older sister, Sayuri Sawamura."
"Mom!"
Eriri blushed and frustration as she heard her mother introduce herself as her older sister, despite her promise not to say anything strange.
"Alright, alright!" Seeing her reaction, Sayuri simply waved her hand. "You two go ahead and chat. I won't bother you. I need to head back to my room to rest anyway!"
With that, Sayuri dragged her exhausted body up from the sofa, preparing to retreat to her room. Even if she couldn't sleep, just lying down would be nice.
Eriri breathed a sigh of relief.
She was just about to explain to Kai that her mother's 'boyfriend' comment was just a joke, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. Even if Kai really was interested in her, accepting it just like that would make her look way too easy.
However, at this moment, Kai's attention was entirely focused on Sayuri Sawamura.
On one hand, when there was a Plus version right in front of him, who would care about the smaller one? On the other hand, Kai sensed something very interesting clinging to Sayuri.
"Hold on."
So, before Eriri could say a word, Kai spoke up, stopping Sayuri just as she was about to leave.
"Hmm?"
Not just Eriri, but even Sayuri—who was halfway to her room—stopped in her tracks and looked back with a confused expression.
She then teased, "Don't tell me you're not interested in Eriri, but actually have your eyes on her mother instead?"
Although it was a joke, there was a hint of probing in her gaze. When it came to her daughter's partner, Sayuri didn't care about matching social status. Even if he was just an ordinary person, as long as her daughter liked him, she wouldn't try to tear them apart.
But if the guy had a flawed character, that was an entirely different story.
"You jerk, don't tell me you really..."
Even Eriri was starting to get suspicious. But before she could finish...
Smack!
Kai casually raised his hand and flicked Eriri right on her forehead.
"Watch your tone when speaking to me, Kashiwagi Eri."
"NOT THIS AGAIN!"
At school, she could tolerate it, but this was her house! Her mother was standing right there! Hearing Kai's threatening tone, Eriri bared her snaggletooth in anger, though she didn't dare actually throw a tantrum.
"..."
Watching this unfold, Sayuri couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. 'Goodness. Has my daughter already been trained to be this obedient?'
"So, is there something you need?"
However, Sayuri could also tell that this boy probably didn't have any unsavory intentions toward her. After all, the look in his eyes lacked that disgusting, lustful undertone. When it came to reading people, Sayuri was quite confident.
But she clearly didn't realize that not everyone wore their innermost desires plainly on their faces.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kai."
Kai straightened his sleeves and looked at Sayuri with complete seriousness.
"..."
His sudden formal posture left Sayuri a bit flustered.
"Uh, hello. I am Sayuri Sawamura, Eriri's mother."
"Hey!"
Eriri elbowed Kai in the side.
"What are you trying to do? Are you going to look at the illustrations or not??"
"The illustrations are important, but I imagine your mother's life is a bit more important to you right now."
"Huh? What the heck are you talking about??" Eriri was instantly shocked. What kind of nonsense was he spouting? Of course her mother's life was more important, there was no arguing that. But the way he phrased it made it sound like he was cursing her mother to die.
"Don't say crazy things."
"Don't you see that your mother isn't denying it? If you have questions, just ask her yourself."
Kai shrugged, looking entirely relaxed.
"?"
If Kai hadn't pointed it out, Eriri genuinely wouldn't have noticed.
Upon hearing Kai's words, Sayuri's expression first went blank, then morphed into sheer disbelief, as if her deepest, darkest secret had just been exposed.
At that moment, even the naive Eriri realized something was horribly wrong.
When she looked at her mother, her tone was noticeably laced with panic. "M-Mom, it's not true, right? Mom, you..."
"..."
Sayuri looked at her daughter with a complex expression.
After a moment of silence, Sayuri raised her hand and slowly took off her sunglasses. "I'm sorry. There were some things I originally didn't want to tell you."
Under the glasses, Sayuri's eye sockets appeared sunken, encircled by dark circles. Her eyes expressed extreme exhaustion, radiating a haunting aura like a flickering candle nearing extinction.
"Mom!"
Realizing her mother was genuinely in danger, Eriri threw her tsundere act out the window and ran over to hug her tightly.
Sayuri gently patted her daughter's back to comfort her, then looked up at Kai.
"Just who are you?" Sayuri clearly understood that this boy's identity was quite complex. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to instantly sense that something was wrong with her, much less realize she had little time remaining.
"A Jujutsu Sorcerer. As a prominent family, the Sawamuras must have heard some rumors about Jujutsu Sorcerers by now."
Even Sakiko Togawa's grandfather had received the intelligence. The Sawamura family might not be on the Togawa conglomerate's level, but they shouldn't be too far behind.
"...I'm only from a branch family of the Sawamuras."
Clearly, even if the main family had been informed, she as a branch member would be the last to hear. Nevertheless, this exchange was sufficient to show that the young man before her possessed real power.
"Mom, what exactly happened?" Eriri looked up, her eyes filled with desperate anxiety as she stared at her mother.
Kai crossed his arms and didn't interrupt. He had already noticed that Sayuri was engulfed in a specific type of Cursed Energy. It seemed she had been targeted by a Cursed Spirit.
It was very similar to what happened to Kiyotsugu Togawa. No, it was significantly worse than his case.
But as for the exact cause, he needed Sayuri to explain it herself.
"..." Looking at Eriri in her arms, and then at Kai standing nearby, Sayuri hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Eriri, do you remember that box Tomoya Aki dropped off a few days ago?"
"?"
Eriri looked up in confusion, not understanding why her mother was suddenly bringing this up.
In her naive state, Eriri didn't even notice that her mother—who usually called him 'Tomoya-kun'—was now using his full name. In Japan, using a full name like that was reserved for highly estranged or hostile relationships.
——————————
"WHAT?? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
After hearing the explanation, Eriri instinctively denied it.
On one hand, she had assumed her mother contracted some sort of terminal illness. She never expected it to be caused by something completely unscientific. It felt like her entire worldview was under attack.
On the other hand, she and Tomoya Aki grew up together. Why would he try to kill her mother?
"Eriri!"
Knowing exactly what her daughter was thinking, Sayuri looked down at her with a serious expression.
"That box... Tomoya originally intended to give it to you. Do you understand what Mom is saying?"
She understood her daughter was naive. Though her tsundere demeanor suggested otherwise, Eriri was deeply kindhearted. Sayuri had always wished to safeguard her daughter forever, but now she saw that Eriri needed to mature rapidly. She knew she couldn't remain completely oblivious any longer.
"G-Give it to me?"
So... the person Tomoya Aki actually wanted to kill was her?
Suddenly, the events of that day replayed in Eriri's mind.
It was her. If it weren't for her, her mother never would have watched that tape. She was the one who doomed her mother.
"Mom! It's all my..."
"It has nothing to do with you."
Gently stroking her daughter's hair, Sayuri spoke with a tender voice. "If something had happened to you instead, Mom would have suffered a fate worse than death."
"WHERE IS TOMOYA AKI?? MOM! I'M GOING TO GO FIND HIM!"
The realization only made Eriri's fury burn brighter. She felt the bitter sting of being betrayed by someone she trusted.
"Mom already looked for him all day today, but I couldn't find him anywhere."
"But..."
So that was why her mother had gone out today—she was hunting for Tomoya Aki. If her mother couldn't find him, she definitely wouldn't be able to either.
"Then what do we do?? Mom, you can't die. I..."
"Alright, calm down."
Seeing Eriri in such a panicked state actually made Sayuri feel a lot more relaxed.
"Did you forget who noticed my condition in the first place?"
'This silly child. It's like her brain completely shuts down the moment she panics.' Thinking of this, Sayuri looked up at Kai with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry. Eriri has always been a bit slow since she was a child. Please take good care of her in the future."
The way she phrased it sounded exactly like a mother entrusting her daughter's future to him on her deathbed.
However, glancing at Eriri—whose brain was clearly overloading—Kai just smiled back at Sayuri.
"Please rest assured and leave it to me."
"Mom! You two..." How could they still be in the mood to joke around when things were this dangerous??
Not knowing how to retort, Eriri stomped her feet in sheer frustration.
"You silly girl!"
Could she really not see it? If Kai still had the leisure to make jokes, it meant that to him, this situation wasn't a difficult problem to solve at all!
Sayuri shook her head helplessly and looked back up at Kai.
"I leave it in your hands."
This time, she clearly wasn't talking about Eriri, but about her own life.
"It's nothing. Besides, I'm actually quite interested in Imaginary Cursed Spirits born from urban legends like Sadako."
In truth, Kai had only recently discovered something fascinating.
Normally, when a Cursed Spirit was consumed via Cursed Spirit Manipulation, its strength was locked. It wouldn't grow weaker, but it wouldn't grow stronger either; it remained exactly as it was when it was eaten.
He didn't know if it was because he possessed the perfected version of Cursed Spirit Manipulation, but there was an exception.
While ordinary Cursed Spirits had their strength locked, Imaginary Cursed Spirits—born from humanity's collective fear of urban legends—continued to grow even after he consumed them.
As long as their urban legend persisted in the outside world, and as long as people continued to fear them, that fear would constantly feed their growth.
It was just like the Spider Woman he had 'eaten' not long ago. Initially, it only had the strength of a regular Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. But recently, its power had already climbed to that of a mid-tier Grade 1.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before it awakened a Domain Expansion and evolved into a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
"Um..."
At that moment, Eriri finally grasped the situation. Ignoring her embarrassment, she looked at Kai with hesitation.
"Is this problem... difficult to fix?"
This entire situation completely shattered her understanding of reality. Having zero knowledge of Cursed Spirits or Jujutsu Sorcerers, she genuinely had no idea just how dangerous this was.
"It's not really a hassle."
"I just didn't expect that I'd run into something like this when I came over to check on your illustrations."
"Illustrations?" Sayuri looked at Kai strangely, then looked down at her daughter.
So they weren't in the kind of relationship she imagined?
"Alright, we can talk about everything else later. Let's deal with the problem attached to your mother first."
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