"What do you need me for?"
Toji Fushiguro found an empty alley and lit a cigarette.
"Toji, did you forget something?"
Eiji asked.
"What?"
Seeing Toji turn his head with a confused expression, Eiji helplessly covered his face.
"You forgot Megumi Fushiguro, Tsumiki Fushiguro, and Minako Fushiguro."
Just in case, Eiji even specifically mentioned their full names, including the surname Fushiguro.
"Megumi?"
Toji's expression was blank, the kind that could be made into a meme.
Eiji became even more helpless.
So he drank that milk and forgot that kid, huh.
People often say there's great terror between life and death, and those who have experienced it don't dwell on many things.
And Toji Fushiguro was that kind of person.
The only problem was that he didn't dwell on too many things.
He never experienced parental love and responsibility as a child.
Toji Fushiguro didn't know what responsibilities a father should fulfill.
Perhaps it was because of this that Toji later chose to sell Megumi Fushiguro to Naobito Zenin.
But it was impossible to say that Toji Fushiguro didn't love Megumi Fushiguro.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have recognized Megumi Fushiguro and said: "You're not a Zenin, that's good."
And then committed suicide.
Shadow only remembered hearing a saying often in the past: the unfortunate spend their lives healing their childhood.
Toji Fushiguro was such a case.
Perhaps he would never understand the thoughts of a normal family in his entire life.
"He's your son."
"Ah, Megumi. Speaking of which, I was the one who named him."
At that moment, Toji Fushiguro showed a happy expression.
"Listen carefully, Toji."
"Huh?"
Toji Fushiguro turned his head, returning to that indifferent demeanor where nothing seemed to matter.
"Children need to eat to survive, and eating requires money. Even that trash heap, the Zenin Family, at least left you something to eat, didn't they?"
As he spoke, Eiji looked up and continued to provoke him.
"Are you even worse than that Zenin Family trash heap?"
Eiji knew that there were very, very few things in this world that could make Toji Fushiguro truly care about.
Megumi, whom he occasionally remembered, and...
The Zenin Family, which had left him scars for a lifetime.
"Tch."
Toji Fushiguro seemed to remember something, making an annoyed sound in his mouth.
"I know. I'll go back tonight."
Toji Fushiguro scratched his head.
"Do you still have money?"
Eiji asked with concern.
He was afraid Toji Fushiguro had gambled it all away.
Ever since Toji Fushiguro became the Calamity of Heaven, there was almost nothing that excited him besides games of chance like betting on sports or horse racing.
The key was that Toji Fushiguro didn't care about money.
"I do. If not, I'll just ask Chizuru for some."
"Chizuru?"
"Yeah, the woman you saw just now."
Eiji's mouth twitched.
As expected of you, to be so righteous about taking one woman's money to support another.
"Hey Toji, didn't you used to take a lot of jobs? You should find some proper work."
"Jobs? I haven't taken one of those in years. Besides, isn't work just a way to make money? Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"
Eiji was defeated by Toji Fushiguro's words.
As if sensing Eiji's thoughts, Toji Fushiguro continued.
"It's my life, how I want to live it. Why do I have to work according to someone else's demands?"
It was blunt, but also very real.
Toji Fushiguro's words reminded Eiji of a book he had read in his past life.
"Meaningless Work."
The book began by posing a question.
Does your work contribute to this world?
If you don't know, the author provides a simple, crude solution later on.
If your job were to disappear, would it have a significant impact on this world?
This makes the question you need to consider much simpler.
If farmers, doctors, sanitation workers, and other ordinary jobs were to disappear, our lives would certainly be greatly affected.
But if executives of foundations, investment assistants, secretarial leaders, and other top figures who we think make a fortune disappear, would our lives become unsustainable?
According to the author's viewpoint, the reason current jobs feel hypocritical and empty is that the core of work is no longer about improving efficiency and output.
Instead, it's about maintaining the existing order and established power hierarchies.
This is why work is causing increasing mental trauma to ordinary people.
The resentment of today's workers is greater than that of ghosts. I wonder how many evil sword immortals they could feed.
Toji Fushiguro doesn't have this problem.
Toji Fushiguro doesn't care about those rules; he only cares about survival and following his own heart.
Perhaps the death of Megumi Fushiguro's birth mother also played a part in this.
This young man lost the person he loved just as he began to understand what love was.
That's why his heart is even more closed off.
Eiji didn't know if he could kick open Toji Fushiguro's heart, but he knew someone who could.
Megumi Fushiguro.
This child who raised Satoru Gojo would surely be able to do it.
"Alright, remember to go see Megumi and the others when you get back."
On the way, Eiji had also learned about Minako and the other two's situation.
With raising children and living expenses, Minako was struggling to make ends meet.
If she didn't pay the rent soon, she might be kicked out of the two-story house they were living in.
This was only after the landlord had given her an extension, considering Minako was raising two children alone.
"Why don't you just buy the house? Because they didn't have money for rent, Megumi and the others almost ended up on the streets."
It was a bit of an exaggeration, but when Satoru Gojo found Megumi Fushiguro later, the situation for the siblings was indeed very bad.
"How much is that house?"
"...Let me check."
"Housing prices have fallen again. It's over 20,000 yen per square meter now..."
Ever since the island nation's real estate bubble burst more than a decade ago, housing prices had been steadily falling. However, Eiji remembered that the lowest point was still many years away.
The house was two stories, with a yard and a garage...
Eiji quickly estimated the price in his mind and gave the answer.
"Ah, it's ten million."
Toji Fushiguro scratched his head.
Forget it, I'll just ask Chizuru for more.
"Why don't you take on some exorcism jobs? You have cursed tools, so exorcising cursed spirits shouldn't be difficult for you. You can save up ten million yen in no time."
Back then, Suguru Geto saved up money by frantically exorcising cursed spirits to buy his dream weapon, Heavenly Restriction.
"Huh?"
Toji Fushiguro turned to look at Eiji.
"If I can make money comfortably, why would I go fight to the death?"
A look of "Is this kid's brain broken?" appeared in Toji Fushiguro's eyes.
Crack.
Eiji's face instantly contorted.
Damn it, I'm so envious... No, I must criticize!
This kind of unhealthy trend must be severely criticized and resolutely curbed.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com