Satoru Gojo panted heavily, irritably brushing his bangs aside, deployed the Limitless technique once more before Yuki Tsukumo's Shikigami's attack could reach him.
He controlled the output of his Cursed Energy, keeping "Infinity" contained within his palm and neutralizing the impact before it could smash into the building behind him.
Satoru Gojo turned around and looked through the window at the luxurious decor inside the room. The exquisite Kobe Suzuo sat on a single sofa before the coffee table, with an equally exquisite, fairy-tale-like dessert tower placed before him.
Like Princess Rapunzel.
The white-haired youth floating before the fourth-floor window knocked politely on the glass.
As Kobe Suzuo looked at him, Satoru Gojo smiled and pushed open the window, then, with a stride of his long legs, casually flipped through the window into the room.
Satoru Gojo didn't even glance at Fushiguro Toji, who was slumped on the sofa in the corner; he walked straight to the coffee table, leaned over, snatched the butter cookie from Kobe Suzuo's hand.
The rich aroma of butter and sweetness filled his mouth, the sugar soothed his gluttonous brain, lifting Satoru Gojo's mood slightly.
Licking the crumbs from the corners of his lips, he pushed his knees against Kobe Suzuo's thighs to make some room, then sat down heavily in the squeezed space.
He took a quick glance at today's afternoon tea, pressed his hands together and said, "Itadakimasu," before enthusiastically beginning to raid the overflowing dessert tower.
Satoru Gojo arrived at just the right time today; the scones were still steaming after being broken apart, soft and flaky, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes in delight as he ate them with jam and cream.
The teenager's stomach was like a bottomless pit, his eating habits were clean and pleasant to watch.
But he ate very quickly, one could even say he ate in a rush, as if he were always in a hurry, making people a bit worried about his digestion.
Kobe Suzuo sighed, wanting to change sofas to make room for Satoru Gojo.
As soon as he made a move, a leg immediately blocked his path, dominantly cutting him off.
Satoru Gojo casually pretended not to notice the gaze Kobe Suzuo cast at him, tasting each of the imaginative new creations from the Kobe Family's pastry chef.
The coffee beans were bitter and aromatic. Satoru Gojo swallowed the small cake and then picked out one of the same kind, pushing it toward Kobe Suzuo:
“Give it a try? Suzuo should like this flavor.”
Kobe Suzuo stopped her instinctive backward recoil and reached out to take the cupcake, "I'll do it myself.."
“Eh~”
Satoru Gojo drew out the end of his sentence, the "madness" stirred by battle hidden beneath a bright, smiling face.
He tilted his head, his beautiful, unobstructed eyes looking pitifully at Kobe Suzuo.
“Don't you want to be fed by my own hands, Suzuo? Don't you like me anymore?”
As Satoru Gojo said this, he subtly moved the cake in his hand a little further away.
Kobe Suzuo snapped back to reality from those eyes that seemed to contain magic.
With eyes half-closed, he leaned forward and bit into the small cake that was said to suit his taste, but he only tasted the chocolate on the surface, the flavor of cocoa beans staining his lips and teeth.
Satoru Gojo looked down at him, "Do you like it?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, Satoru Gojo stuffed the cupcake, which had only sustained "minor abrasions," into Kobe Suzuo's hands, performed a final sweep of the dessert tower.
Thanks for the treat!
Satoru Gojo, fully restored, stood up to stretch his limbs, waved at Kobe Suzuo, climbed out through the same window he had entered from.
He even remembered to help close the window.
On the dessert tower, cocoa-flavored treats had been specially left out.
Author's Note:
Toji: Tired, going to lie down for a bit.
Satoru: I'm tired, time to recharge some energy.
Yuki and Geto: Where did everyone go? They just disappeared in the middle of the fight.
Chapter 37: That Emotion
Satoru Gojo laughed heartily and left through the window.
The joyful laughter sounded somewhat foolish, yet it carried an obnoxious quality that made one want to punch him.
[CG Afternoon Tea]
Merlin scanned the recent fluctuations in favorability, looking deeply worried:
Young Master, I have no intention of undermining your confidence, but.. don't you think Satoru-kun's attitude toward you is a bit strange?
Kobe Suzuo looked at the remaining desserts on the dessert tower and hesitantly picked one up.
The rich aroma of cocoa intertwined with the bitter taste of coffee beans, neither overly sweet nor lacking in complexity; it was indeed the flavor he liked.
What's strange about it?
Kobe Suzuo poured herself a cup of black tea. "He knows my taste, understands my affection for him, has even been taking the initiative to get close to me lately."
Having never had even a shred of romantic experience, a person who was even somewhat dull in certain aspects crossed their legs and declared with solemn certainty:
Progress is moving at lightning speed!
Merlin scanned the fluctuations in favorability once more, after deep thought, attempted to offer a tactful admonishment:
“Indeed, if Satoru-kun had a personality like a cat's, the image of you in his heart right now would probably be that of a somewhat strange but good person who loves cats very much.”
Perhaps he has already placed you within the protection of his feline circle.
Kobe Suzuo fell silent for a moment, then placed the teacup back on its saucer. "That's not so bad, is it? The King of Cats likes me, so he is willing to protect me."
Merlin was left speechless by Kobe Suzuo's stubborn attitude.
It was a mere artificial intelligence; was it perhaps too difficult to try and make humans wise?
“Stop staring at that Favorability System, Merlin. Aside from the CG photo album, the rest of that module is complete garbage.”
Kobe Suzuo wiped his hands and stood up to adjust his cuffs.
“Human emotions are complex; even with True Love helping to refine the system, the data obtained is not necessarily accurate.”
Merlin's code hesitated, wavered, finally decided to stick to the truth of its non-human nature:
But! There is absolutely no passion between you and Satoru-kun!
Wh.. *cough, cough!*
Kobe Suzuo nearly tripped, stumbling over his own feet as he sat down at the desk, pinching Merlin's communication headset in disbelief.
Was it infected by a virus from some lewd little website while connected to the network?
No, in this era, there shouldn't be anyone capable of hacking into Merlin's system.
He said in disbelief, "True Love even made you pay attention to this?"
What kind of perverted World Consciousness would pollute the pure AI he created? That's terrifying!
Merlin immediately cleared his name:
No, Young Master, this is simply normal physiological knowledge that the system automatically learned because you lacked relevant experience. The information sources are official and legal; I wasn't watching some bootleg little porn.
Merlin turned the tables on him: "Besides, Young Master, your reaction is far too intense. You're really losing face for a CEO."
I'm sorry, I'm just a pure soul.
Kobe Suzuo remained expressionless:
The one I find most disgraceful is you, Merlin. Sooner or later, I will have to stand in the rain, weeping and begging for Satoru-kun's forgiveness because of you.
This scene description is a bit too detailed..
Merlin spoke again in a stiff, mechanical voice: "Thanks for the invite, but I am just an emotionless artificial intelligence."
An AI that has absolutely nothing to do with humanity and lacks even a self-emotion simulation program, what kind of plain talk was it speaking?
Kobe Suzuo almost couldn't help but roll her eyes.
He said faintly, "But with your current shady status, you are destined to play the role of the villainous supporting character who tries to destroy the relationship between Satoru and me."
Until the highest technology in the Jujutsu World reaches the level of the True Love world, Kobe Suzuo will not fully reveal an out-of-this-world product like Merlin.
Even the core members of the research institute could not say for certain just how far the artificial intelligence Merlin could go.
It was certain.
No matter how recklessly the CEO spends money, he will never truly go bankrupt, causing the world to fall into a terrifying financial crisis or any other kind of disaster.
Because the protagonist can either handle massive messes on their own, or luck will happen to help them resolve those crises.
The endings of these kinds of stories should always be a Happy End where everyone eats dumplings and sushi to be reasonable.
In general, it was a cheat-code life that was a bit twisty but ended with everything being "all good" in the end.
For the chosen one, Kobe Suzuo, to a CEO from another world,
It wasn't difficult to use technology far ahead of its time to cause a little harmless mischief and successfully cover it up.
Kobe Suzuo only suspected that Satoru Gojo might already know what kind of existence Merlin was.
Satoru Gojo is different.
Kobe Suzuo usually wore headphones to disguise her calls when communicating with Merlin, she didn't bother to avoid others.
After all, compared to an AI capable of independent communication and computation—the kind that only appears in movies—people would much rather believe that the person on the other end of the headset is a real human being.
But last time on the rooftop, Satoru Gojo's action of reaching out to remove both Kobe Suzuo's glasses and headphones was far too deliberate.
You act like you know everything, you clever little kitty.
Perhaps the technology for capturing CG images within Merlin's Affection System had already been discovered by those miraculous eyes.
But by now, Satoru Gojo had asked nothing, could only seek to help Kobe Suzuo hide this matter.
Merlin knew Kobe Suzuo's constitution all too well.
Based on the development of their relationship and the various characters who have appeared around them so far.
If a major plot point that pushes the progression of their relationship were to truly occur, Merlin, who had spent the most time with Kobe Suzuo and whose identity was the most ambiguous, might actually be cast in the role of the "third party."
[Who is that person exactly? Why do they know so much about us, why won't you say anything at all?]
Rather than me, you prefer communicating with him, don't you? You two are the ones who are truly inseparable.