"Satoru, what do you think of my suggestion?"
When Gojo said nothing, Subaru pressed him.
"And what about me?"
Gojo stared at him, one finger aimed at his own chest.
"We're partners! I'd never forget about you. Obviously you'd come too!" Subaru's face lit up. "And if Felt and Old Man Rom are up for it, I think they could also..."
Before he could finish, Gojo hooked an arm around his neck and called over to Emilia.
"Sorry, Emilia. Need to talk something over with this guy."
He dragged Subaru away without waiting for a response, leaving Emilia and Puck to exchange bewildered looks.
"What's going on, Satoru? Was something wrong with what I said?"
Subaru twisted in his grip, confused.
Gojo let go and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Weren't you supposed to be the hero who saves the world?"
"Yeah."
"Then why are you volunteering to be a housekeeper?"
Color crept into Subaru's cheeks. He took a second to gather his words.
"I mean, when I think about it, spending the rest of my life alongside Emilia doesn't sound like a bad deal at all."
Love-brained idiot.
The phrase flashed through Gojo's mind like a neon sign.
Truthfully, he'd never had strong opinions about living standards. Back before the crossing, he'd had the full resources of the Gojo clan at his disposal, and even then he hadn't lived some unimaginably lavish lifestyle. After landing in this world, roughing it with Felt in the Slums had suited him fine.
But none of that meant he wanted to be somebody's servant.
If there were entertainment value in it, or if the mood struck him, maybe. Slim maybe.
Right now, though, Subaru's proposal held zero appeal.
"You could at least negotiate to be a freeloader. A guest retainer. Do nothing at all."
"If I'm doing nothing, it'll look bad in front of Emilia. At least this way I can say I'm pulling my weight through honest effort..."
"Idiot."
Gojo sighed, reached over, and ruffled Subaru's hair into a disaster.
Just like Felt, the kid had no idea what kind of bargaining chips he was holding.
"Forget it."
"We'll table this for now. Enjoy the next few days. Take it easy."
"Wait, what does that mean? You can't drop half a thought and walk away."
Subaru's frustration was plain.
"I'll find time to explain everything to you and Felt both."
"Until then, sit tight."
Gojo smiled and steered him back toward Emilia.
"Seriously, guys who leave sentences unfinished are the most annoying characters in light novels," Subaru grumbled.
"Oh, right. There's something I forgot to tell you. You might find it interesting."
"What?"
"This morning when I woke up, I opened a random door and found this little girl inside. Apparently she's Puck's sister, also a spirit. The room was packed with books..."
"The spirit who guards the Forbidden Library?"
Subaru's description piqued something genuine. Gojo's interest sharpened.
The Supporting Character System's shop carried magic he could unlock outright, sure. But everything available was low-tier, weak in both effect and power. Nothing worth getting excited about.
A proper learning path, though? That changed the equation entirely.
He was more than willing to study how magic worked in this world firsthand.
"If I could actually learn magic, that'd be ideal."
"Magic?"
"You two are interested in magic?"
Puck floated over, orbiting the pair in lazy circles.
"Never had a chance to try it, so yeah. Pretty curious."
"If you want to learn, I might be able to help."
"Yes! Are you serious? I've been waiting for this!"
Subaru's entire body vibrated with excitement. He'd wanted to learn from Gojo ages ago, but one thing after another kept getting in the way and it had slipped his mind completely.
Now a new door was opening.
"Puck, I always knew you were a good cat."
Gojo scooped the little spirit into his arms, cradling him with open affection.
"Hey, hold on. Before you can learn magic, we need to figure out your attributes first."
Puck pressed a tiny paw against Gojo's face to keep him at bay, tone serious.
"Then let's start right now!"
Two minutes later.
"Yin Attribute, huh."
"Both of you are Yin Attribute. That's genuinely rare."
Puck finished the assessment, surprise written across his small features.
"Yin is uncommon," Emilia chimed in, seeing the blank looks on their faces. "Almost everyone falls under one of the Four Basic Attributes."
"So is Yin any good?"
Subaru's eyes were bright with hope. Emilia tilted her head, thinking.
"It's mostly things like blocking sight and cutting off sound."
"As for advanced Yin magic, I don't know much about that either."
"If I'm remembering right, the higher-level applications can banish people into a separate dimension."
Gojo recalled what he'd browsed in the system shop and looked to Puck for confirmation.
"Exactly right!"
"Though, magic at that level is extremely difficult for most people to cast."
"Now then, want to try channeling some? I can guide you through it." Puck drifted between them. "Or if you prefer, I can start by letting you experience the most basic spell, Shamak."
"We're in your hands, Puck."
Even as he said it, Gojo had already planted himself on the grass cross-legged, back straight, one hand raised like an eager schoolkid waiting to be called on.
"Leave it to me, meow!"
Puck let out a chirp, and a cloud of black smoke erupted outward in an instant.
Gojo quietly deactivated his Cursed Technique and let the dark fog wash over him.
As it closed in, a strange sensation took hold.
He could still feel his own body, every limb and joint accounted for. But everything beyond it vanished. No touch. No smell. Even the ground beneath his feet ceased to exist, as if he were standing in a void.
Only the Six Eyes remained unaffected.
Through the black fog, his vision cut clean and sharp. He could see everything within it, and more than that, he could trace a current of energy threading through the darkness, weaving the spell's structure into being.
Sensory deprivation.
He sat with it, quietly impressed.
Compared to the description in the system shop, the real thing was noticeably stronger.
The sensation came fast and left faster. In a blink, it dissolved.