Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

The carriage fell into a deathly silence.

Gojo Satoru's hand, which was resting on the car window, froze almost imperceptibly.

His eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, slowly widened. The relaxed smile on his lips froze on his face, and he stared blankly at the gentle-looking man holding the steering wheel.

What did he just hear?

Has Sumi Kichikawa been here before?

"At that time, my life underwent many changes because of some things."

Unaware of the turmoil churning within Gojo Satoru's heart, Kikkawa Sumi gazed at the winding forest path ahead, his voice low and soft, as if recalling a distant past.

"I was in a bad mood because I couldn't figure some things out. I missed my stop on the tram, and by the time I realized it, I was already here."

Gojo Satoru fell silent.

He leaned back in the passenger seat, his mind racing.

What kind of tram could possibly travel into other dimensions?

When did the JR Line launch the interdimensional travel service? How come he didn't know?

So... Xiao Cheng is not only completely immune to the attacks of cursed spirits, but can also travel through time and space without any warning?

Gojo Satoru's gaze fell on Kigawa Sumi's calm profile, and he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment, as if the clouds had parted.

That's exactly what I meant.

If someone is a completely ordinary person, how could they possibly get so entangled with themselves?

He should have thought of that sooner.

This realization miraculously relaxed Gojo Satoru's tense nerves, and an uncontrollable secret pleasure even welled up in his heart.

It was as if the chasm between them, which they had thought existed as "ordinary people and sorcerers," had largely disappeared at this moment.

And what Sumi Kichikawa said wasn't exactly a lie.

At that time, he had just left his identity as a mission taker and was extremely unaccustomed to the tranquility of ordinary life.

For hundreds of years, he had to think long and hard about how to get closer to his goal, how to guide the plot, and how to complete the mission perfectly.

Every step he takes is meticulously calculated, and even his emotions are a tool he can control at will.

But when he suddenly had free time, no longer had to act, and finally had the mental space to deal with his true feelings, he seemed so at a loss because of the long-term repression.

He felt empty, lost, and even had a sense of weightlessness and detachment.

It was around that time that he unknowingly came into this world while wandering aimlessly.

"The scenery here is beautiful, and the people are very nice." Sumire Kichikawa snapped out of her thoughts, turned to look at Satoru Gojo, a hint of expectation in her eyes, "Would you like to go for a walk? I can show you around."

Gojo Satoru looked at the gentle light in his eyes and felt the unfamiliar yet much cleaner and gentler aura in the air outside the car compared to the curse power.

"Okay." Gojo Satoru smiled, his smile returning to his face.

No matter what, he will protect Xiaocheng.

As I opened the car door, the early summer breeze, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, wafted towards me.

The two walked side by side on the forest path.

Sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees, casting dappled patterns of light on the soil.

Gojo Satoru walked with his hands in his pockets, his steps leisurely.

With its six eyes and 360-degree field of vision, it can occasionally spot some translucent, oddly shaped tiny creatures flitting among the trees.

They drifted around aimlessly, occasionally getting close to Gojo Satoru, only to be gently pushed away by Muji.

It is an unknown spirit.

Gojo Satoru observed Kikkawa Sumi without making a sound. Seeing that the person next to him was calm and looking straight ahead, seemingly unaware of the little things that slipped past his feet, he also pretended not to see them.

Since Xiaocheng can't see it, he'll just pretend he doesn't know.

A rare opportunity for a walk alone shouldn't be wasted.

"Um--"

Gojo Satoru stopped and stretched, his joints making a slight cracking sound.

"Xiao Cheng, it's so quiet here." He turned his head and looked at Qichuan Cheng.

"Mm," Sumi Kichikawa responded.

"It's completely different from Tokyo." Gojo Satoru took a deep breath, his tone carrying a rare hint of languor. "I feel much more relaxed now."

Sumi Kichikawa: "After all, it's the countryside, so it's quieter."

A mountain breeze blew by, making the white hair on Gojo Satoru's forehead and temples a little messy.

Kikawa Sumi raised her hand and gently brushed the few strands of hair that had been ruffled by the wind behind his ear.

"Your hair is all messed up." Sumi Kichikawa withdrew her hand.

Gojo Satoru chuckled softly, his eyes shining with an astonishing light: "So, what should we do next in this deserted countryside? Look for mushrooms?"

He seemed very interested, and actually bent down and started rummaging through the fallen leaves by the roadside.

Seeing his somewhat childish actions, Kikawa Sumi shook her head helplessly and slowed down her pace as well.

Not far ahead of the two, in the bushes, a small monster, only the size of a billiard ball and wearing a straw hat, was carrying a bag larger than itself, huffing and puffing as it hurried along.

Because its baggage was too heavy, it could only keep its head down and walk forward, without paying any attention to where it was going.

"Click."

The little monster crashed headfirst into a hard object, rolled backward, its bag flew out, and it fell flat on its back in a pile of fallen leaves.

It dazedly raised its head and looked up at the hard object—it was a pair of human legs.

"Eek!" The little monster gasped in fright.

Humanity!

As the human raised his foot to stomp down on it, the little monster closed its eyes tightly in fright, covered its head with its two little hands, and prepared to be crushed.

However, the expected pain did not occur.

The black-haired human's toes subtly deflected in mid-air, landing steadily on the open ground beside it, precisely avoiding it.

The little monster quietly opened one eye, looking at the shoe so close to its face, somewhat bewildered.

Whether it was its imagination or not, it always felt that this black-haired human was deliberately avoiding it.

Before it could even get up, it heard footsteps crunching on fallen leaves. It turned its head and saw another pair of long, slender legs walking towards it.

It was a human with short, silver-white hair.

This time, the little monster was ready and scrambled to its feet to run. But as soon as it took one step, the silver-haired human strode over.

"Let me see if we have any here—"

The silver-haired human, dragging out a lazy tone, suddenly squatted down and began searching through the fallen leaves.

The little monster hid behind the tree roots, trembling as it watched the two strange humans.

It discovered that the baggage that had flown out when it fell had landed right at the feet of the silver-haired human.

The little monster swallowed hard, cautiously poked half its body out, and prepared to sneak over and drag the baggage back when he wasn't looking.

Just as its hand was about to reach the edge of the bag, the silver-haired human suddenly stood up.

"Oh dear, it's not here either."

The little monster shuddered in fright and abruptly withdrew its hand.

The silver-haired human spoke as he walked towards the black-haired human. In the instant he turned, his toe subtly flicked the ground—

The heavy bag, which was originally some distance away from the little monster, seemed to have eyes. It rolled around a few times on the fallen leaves and came to a steady stop at the little monster's feet.

The little monster froze for two seconds.

Without further hesitation, it hurriedly ran over, picked up its pack again, hid behind the bushes, and peeked out with half its head to look in that direction.

In the sunlight, the tall, silver-haired human picked a pale yellow wildflower from somewhere.

He moved closer to the black-haired human and, with a smile, tucked the flower behind the other's ear into the hair.

The black-haired human stopped, raised his hand to touch the flower by his ear, and smiled helplessly.

The silver-haired man looked at him, his smile growing even more smug. He even bent down slightly, bringing his face closer, as if asking for some reward.

The black-haired man looked at the face that was leaning closer and raised his hand to ruffle the short, silver-white hair without any politeness.

"Reciprocity is key."

The faint sound of a black-haired human laughing drifted on the wind.

The two walked side by side into the depths of the forest.