Chapter 46: That Female Protagonist
Satoru Gojo's thoughts were racing.
As he heard the title "Mr. Suzuo," memories related to Kobe Suzuo began to play in his mind frame by frame, like an old movie.
From their bizarre "princess carry first meeting" to the dramatic encounter with Kobe Suzuo during a blind date, the inexplicable car accident, the daily rotation of different flowers.
And on the rooftop, there was that sentence that seemed to hide a confession: "I like you."
He remembered every expression of Kobe Suzuo, could "see" every change in Kobe Suzuo's heartbeat.
Satoru Gojo is a person with high emotional intelligence; he can keenly perceive the emotions of others and knows exactly what kind of reaction will satisfy them.
But most of the time, Satoru Gojo would not do that; he had his own judgment and acted according to his own whims, making his personality seem quite difficult.
Satoru Gojo knew that perhaps when Kobe Suzuo first saw him, a cliché emotion like "liking" his face had arisen, but that was limited only to the scope of "appreciation for beautiful things."
It wasn't until the time of sending hydrangeas that something else was finally mixed into this "appreciation."
Kobe Suzuo's "liking" is cherished, precious, protective, but never excessively intense.
Except for special moments when his [Passive] skill takes effect, Kobe Suzuo never actively crosses the line.
When Satoru Gojo sat on Kobe Suzuo's lap, hugging his neck and leaning into his chest.
Kobe Suzuo's gaze drifted, unable to look at him, his neck flushing a deep red, making the earlobe piercings that were usually hard to notice stand out, yet his hands remained obediently resting at his sides.
The words he spoke on the rooftop—"I like you, I will love you in the future"—were a truth more sincere than any other.
Yuki Tsukumo was not wrong to call Kobe Suzuo a closeted pervert.
In fact, it would have been better if it were a bit more passionate; that way, Satoru Gojo could have jokingly shouted, "Pervert!" and then, in various ways, pushed Kobe Suzuo away without leaving a trace.
Kobe Suzuo was a very strange person, like an alien from another world.
Even Merlin would have to give a thumbs up to that.
Perhaps because they have to be cautious in the world of business, the CEOs standing at the top of the commercial pyramid have eight hundred different schemes, every single one of them is difficult to guess.
Hard to read and tight-lipped, they are all mute.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been such a "chasing wife crematorium" scenario.
Satoru Gojo thought of those shojo manga again.
In the early stages of the male and female protagonists establishing their relationship, the female lead would always feel uneasy due to her lack of security in the relationship, which would then lead to a massive amount of internal monologues popping up around her head.
These monologues were long and voluminous, Satoru Gojo was too lazy to read them.
But at this moment, he understood to some extent what it meant that existence is rational.
This series of thoughts rushed through his mind just as Suguru Geto's voice fell silent.
Satoru Gojo checked the time; it was already five in the afternoon. Kobe Suzuo had not sent him any new messages, so he likely wouldn't be able to make it back today.
He pulled down his sunglasses, his brilliant blue eyes swept over his peers who were filled with anticipation, he cleared his throat.
Satoru Gojo stood up from his chair, floated into mid-air, and, in a posture that looked down upon the earth, announced:
“I'm not going to be the female lead anymore!”
Everyone looked up in unison, slowly pulling out their phones as if they were witnessing a divine manifestation.
Satoru Gojo continued, "I'm going to be an alpha!"
Nobara Iori, who had a broader range of knowledge, couldn't hold it in, with a "pfft," she sprayed out the juice she hadn't had time to swallow.
..
I say, everyone's gone, so why don't you just take off all those messy cursed tools you're carrying?
Zenin Naobito said as he pulled two cans of beer from the cabinet behind him, tossed one to Kobe Suzuo, cracked it open with one hand, taking two large gulps.
Looking at it makes me feel dizzy.
A mask that blurred perception, earrings that shielded the leakage of Cursed Energy, even that ring on the finger—if one stared at it for too long, they would feel their spirit growing dazed.
Even the Six Eyes would be stunned if he were to take a look at this outfit in person.
Kobe Suzuo swirled the can of beer in his hand, glanced at the origin and alcohol content, then set it down.
There are many people who hate me lately; I have to remain vigilant at all times.
Ha.
Zenin Naobito let out a middle-aged, boozy burp.
He muttered quietly, "Give me a break. There are plenty of people who know your status, yet you're the only one among all the former Directors who is so flashy."
Kobe Suzuo ignored his complaint and tapped his cane twice. "What about the matter we discussed last time? Have you given it any more thought?"
Zenin Naobito remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly:
I.. cannot make such a decision on behalf of the entire Zenin Clan.
Kobe Suzuo let out a soft, mocking laugh. "I had no idea you were such a hesitant and indecisive person."
Zenin Naobito applied pressure to his hands, crushing the empty soda can and casually tossing it behind him, where it clattered against a pillar.
He looked at the person sitting beside him—young, bold, brilliant, undoubtedly a reformer.
“What do you think the Binghe and Qu-ju Team is? They are the Zenin Clan's greatest reliance, having only accepted deployments from the clan since their inception—"
Kobe Suzuo interrupted him, speaking with deliberate sarcasm:
And then, after being turned upside down by Zenin Toji all by himself, you've been haunted by the fear of death, unable to let it go for a long time?
The Zenin Clan has been closing its doors to cultivate its own internal strife for so many years that not only have they seen no progress, but they have actually been in a state of constant decline.
In this generation, with the Six Eyes of the Gojo Clan standing by for comparison, the heir is like a general plucked from a crowd of dwarves.
After much difficulty, a Zenin Toji finally appeared—a powerful Heavenly Tyrant who, aside from having slight deficiencies in exorcising Cursed Spirits, was specialized in combat against humans.
As a result, a bunch of fools looked down on him, the entire family was beaten up, leading to a complete fallout.
It would be better to send the people in the family out to work; at least it would be some form of income.
Issued in the name of the Director from the Jujutsu Director's Department, with intelligence provided by Changxia and technical support provided by the Kobe Family.
Everyone knew how powerful the Kobe Family's technology was; it looked like a deal where they would only gain and never lose.
There was only one thing: once the contract was signed, the Zenin Clan would be siding with Director Kobe.
According to the original intention of the Director's Department, no matter what, the next Director would never be Kobe Suzuo.
Zenin Naobito sighed:
The situation with the Zenin Clan is different from the Kobe Family; it will be very troublesome.. there will be many unforeseen changes.
More troublesome than the Inumaki Family?
Kobe Suzuo's lips curled upward, exuding an aura of someone who already held victory in his grasp.
Considering you are a rare normal person among the Three Great Families, for the sake of our friendship, I'll let you in on some special news—the Inumaki Family has already agreed to cooperate with the Kobe Family.
That outlier of the Jujutsu World, the one who drives away clan members who awaken their Cursed Technique—the difficult-to-deal-with Inumaki Family.
Sign the contract, Zenin Clan Head," Kobe Suzuo said in a slow tone. "The Jujutsu World will change sooner or later. If you are one step late, you will be one step behind, by then, you will only be left being trampled under the feet of the Gojo Clan and the Kammo Clan.
Fine, fine, I agree, stop talking nonsense.
Zenin Naobito said impatiently, "The Kammo Clan is the one that wants you, the Jujutsu Director, dead most of all right now."
When the time came, Cai Ming brought the Zenin Clan representative to the main hall and handed a contract to everyone.
With Zenin Naobito present, no one dared to say anything; they signed the contracts with varying expressions and then departed.
Among these people, the financial manager Zenin Risaburo was the happiest; he read through the contract carefully and made a point of being the last one to stay behind.
In front of the Family Head, he acted sycophantically for a while, before leaving, he even took great care to close the door properly.
One last thing, I will arrange for one of my sons to attend Tokyo Jujutsu High later; I'll ask you to look after him a little.
Zenin Naobito, worried that Kobe Suzuo would have no influence over Zenin Naoya, specifically helped recall the matter.
It was at the last banquet, that blond kid who was with Risaburo—I reckon he isn't much to your liking; the brat has a terrible personality.
Kobe Suzuo's earrings swayed, even through his mask, his astonishment was evident: "You know he has a bad personality too?"
Zenin Naobito scratched the back of his head, looking quite embarrassed. "Sigh, it's just that he was a late-born son, he happened to be the most successful one."
The filters were applied a bit too heavily; after spoiling him, he turned out a little crooked, haha.
How can you laugh about that.. I don't really understand you Zenin folk.
Kobe Suzuo thought of Zenin Naobito's sons, who had been raised without much supervision, his lips twitched. "It seems you have quite a bit of experience with raising蛊 as well."
"Eh." Zenin Naobito shook his head with the tone of someone who had been through it all, his antenna-like tufts of facial hair swaying up and down.
You're too young to understand; you'll know once you have children of your own.
Kobe Suzuo had no interest in discussing parenting with the middle-aged man.
As long as the World Consciousness doesn't go insane and create some bizarre plot like a pregnant woman running away or a three-year-old child being a prodigy, he and Satoru would not have any biological children.
Wait.
Kobe Suzuo's movement of checking the signatures one by one paused, he turned his head to look at Zenin Naobito. "In the history of the Jujutsu World, there shouldn't be any records of men giving birth, right?"
Zenin Naobito actually scratched his chin and thought about it seriously, "Hiss—I don't think there are any records of a male giving birth, right? But there are records of Cursed Spirits and humans breeding.
Kobe Suzuo's heart skipped a beat, his worldview was once again shattered.
You people in the sinister Jujutsu World.
Kobe Suzuo took off the ring, golden Cursed Energy burned at his fingertips like fireworks; constructing a Binding was already a skillful feat for him.
He thought for a moment, then pressed further, "Are you referring to that incident with Kammo Kenrin?"
Regarding this extremely evil Sorcerer from 150 years ago, the Kammo Clan and the Elders Council have concealed most of the information, making it very difficult to investigate.
No matter how many times he witnessed Kobe Suzuo's Cursed Technique, Zenin Naobito would find it incredible; once the golden flames branded his name, the invisible Binding was established.
“Yes.”
Since they were already in a cooperative relationship, Zenin Naobito felt there was no need to keep this information to himself and revealed everything he knew.