Chapter 19: Scared You, Didn't I?
Hearing this, Gojo Satoru's hand holding the cup froze for a second.
He hadn't expected the name "Tsuki" to spread through the underground world so quickly, even catching the Organization's attention.
Still, it made total sense.
The four cursed corpses he crafted by hand had each awakened their own unique innate techniques after two long years of practice and running in.
Tsuki's technique, "Paper Shikigami," used cursed energy to fold paper into human forms, controlling these paper shikigami that ordinary people couldn't sense to act on their own and share senses with him—a super handy tool for gathering info.
Hana's technique, "Heart Mirror," extracted parts of a target's memories and emotions through physical touch, like a low-tier mind-reading trick.
Yuki's technique, "Void Cicada," dropped his presence down to near nothingness, blending into his surroundings to pull off high-level stealth and concealment.
Kaze's technique, "Circular Barrier," unfolded a wide-range defense field that absorbed physical impacts, serving as an ideal shield to protect companions and civilians.
Since their cursed energy didn't come from inside themselves, the effects of their techniques were toned down quite a bit. Plus, all four of their techniques leaned toward support or defense. If they bumped into top-tier ability users, running away would probably be their best bet.
For a damage dealer like Gojo Satoru with maxed-out offensive power, though, non-combat abilities like these were precisely what he needed.
After all, to make a name for yourself in the Conan world, you had to be an intelligence master or a deduction expert—relying purely on brute force wasn't gonna cut it.
"Tsuki? Sounds like an interesting guy."
Gojo Satoru casually took a sip of his juice without showing a thing on his face, though his thoughts spun quickly.
If Gin met the cursed corpse and picked up on anything suspicious, things could get messy fast if a fight broke out.
Right then, an idea hit him.
"Tell you what," Gojo Satoru set his glass down, putting on a face that said "I'll reluctantly take this off your hands": "If this info broker has real skills, collaborating would naturally be great. How about handing this matter over to me?"
Gin looked quite surprised.
Having Caesar, who was always lazy and laid-back, offer to take on a task was a once-in-a-century sight.
"Since when did you get interested in tiny matters like this?"
"Ah well, Gin-chan, look at what you're saying. I'm a member of the Organization too, so sharing the load is only natural, right?" Gojo Satoru waved a hand, spinning an excuse on the fly: "If I step in, we can definitely negotiate way better. After all, I look way more amiable and friendly than you~ Right, Vodka?"
Vodka, suddenly put on the spot, shivered violently, almost dropping his fork straight into his soup. He could only squeeze out a clumsy smile that looked worse than crying, not daring to take the bait at all.
Whether it was the Boss or Lord Caesar, neither of them had anything to do with being "amiable and friendly," did they?
More like demons from hell!
Gin stayed silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing his options.
"Up to you," he agreed in the end: "Just remember, if he doesn't know what's good for him, or shows signs of going against the Organization..."
"Got it, got it, either collaborate or vanish, right? You can count on me." Gojo Satoru ran his little calculations in his head.
He and Tsuki were on the exact same team anyway, so whether they collaborated or not was just a matter of a single word from him. Down the road, he could use Organization funds to support his own crew out in the open, feeding them a few harmless scraps of info to profit from both ends—a guaranteed win-win deal.
With the task set, they exchanged a few more casual words as the food on the table dwindled down.
Gin checked his phone; the agreed hour was almost up.
"Time to take Sherry to the lab." He turned to signal Vodka: "Go call them out, and listen in on what they're talking about while you're at it."
Vodka nodded quickly and was about to get up when Gojo Satoru suddenly raised a hand like a kid rushing to answer a question in class: "Let me go, let me go!"
Gin was speechlessly staring at him with his dark green eyes, which practically read "you still claim you didn't take a shine to her" in big bold letters.
"Hey hey, don't look at me like that!" Gojo Satoru put on a totally innocent face: "I'm going to run reconnaissance and grab first-hand info. That's pure professional discipline!"
Yep, seizing every second to farm impression values off characters—that was his professional discipline as a host.
Gin: "...Then why didn't you let me monitor them from the start?"
Gojo Satoru blinked: "Because I was hungry. I gotta eat my fill to have the energy to work, you know."
What kind of logic was that? What happened to coming along just to catch up with him?!
Gin decided to stop wasting words with this guy and his bizarre logic, waving a hand to show he didn't wanna see his face anymore.
Gojo Satoru left the table in high spirits, heading toward the private room where the Miyano sisters were.
The hallway was laid with a thick carpet, making his footsteps practically silent. Instead of knocking right away, he stopped a few steps from the door, perking his ears up to listen stealthily.
Inside, the sisters' voices drifted out faintly.
"...So, Sis, you really don't have anyone you like?"
No matter how precocious Miyano Shiho was, when it came to topics about romance, she couldn't help showing a bit of curiosity like any other girl.
"Really, I don't." Miyano Akemi's voice sounded gentle yet helpless: "Dealing with people in the Organization normally is stressful enough, placing a heavy load on my mind. Though a few guys confessed to me during university, I haven't accepted anyone up to now."
"I see..."
The auburn-haired girl's response was surprisingly sharp: "Then it seems you really haven't truly fallen for anyone yet, Sis. Otherwise, you wouldn't have used the word 'accepted'."
"You caught me." Miyano Akemi let out a soft laugh, her tone turning a bit playful out of nowhere: "What about you, Shiho? Did you run into any outstanding or handsome classmates or older guys while abroad?"
"Sis!" Miyano Shiho said with shy annoyance: "What are you talking about? I'm only thirteen."
"I was just curious, that's all. Even my flower-on-a-high-peak Shiho is bound to hold good feelings toward the opposite sex, right?"
Miyano Shiho let out a sigh, saying the boys her age at school were no different from restless monkeys—either thinking they were geniuses or cliquing up, with nothing special about them.
She paused for a second, as if remembering something: "Though... I did know a pretty nice teacher. Even if his train of thought was hard to get sometimes, being around him felt really relaxing. So I guess he counts as a male I somewhat like."
Outside the door, just as a proud smile started to curve Gojo Satoru's lips, Miyano Shiho added as if it were nothing: "Come to think of it, that guy is already old enough to be a dad."
Miyano Akemi let out an "oh" like she just realized: "So he's a nice uncle! Does he have hair?"
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Apologize to all the balding uncles around the world right now, you sharp-tongued sisters!
"No," Miyano Shiho shook her head: "Not like what you're imagining, Sis. He's really young and tall... Plenty of girls at school liked him in secret, and he even had a fan club or something."
"By the way, he looks a bit similar to that Organization member we met today."
Miyano Akemi froze: "You mean that man wearing the black blindfold?"
Because the pressure coming off him was too strong, she had only stolen a quick glance before looking away in fear, unable to trace his features clearly.
Thinking carefully, though, the face hidden beneath that blindfold probably wasn't bad at all.
"Yeah, he's a codenamed member too." Shiho gave a soft reply: "I heard Gin call him 'Caesar,' but I'm not clear on what his actual role in the Organization is."
"Plus... he seemed to address the Boss as 'old man' or something..."
Miyano Akemi remembered a few rumors she'd heard before, her heart skipping a beat.
"If I'm not mistaken, his rank in the Organization might be higher than Gin's. I heard that gentleman has a few members he especially values and favors... This 'Caesar' guy could very well be one of them." She said worriedly: "Shiho, working in the lab from now on, you might cross paths with those two."
"Gin, as cold and ruthless as he is, as long as you follow him and don't break his rules, things generally stay peaceful. But Caesar..." Akemi took a deep breath: "I can't read him at all. Even though his tone is polite and he's always smiling, he gives off a totally unpredictable vibe. I even feel like if someone accidentally sets him off, he might just act on the spot without asking the Boss at all—"
"Shiho, promise me, if you see that man again, stay away from him as much as you can. Don't draw his attention, and definitely don't try to probe into anything. The further you stay from him, the better."
After a short silence, Miyano Shiho obediently agreed: "Got it, I'll stay away from him."
"Don't worry, I'll do my best to find chances to visit you later. Take good care of yourself."
"You too, Akemi-nee."
"Ah, time's almost up. We should head out, or it won't be easy to explain to Gin."
"Mm."
A rustle of clothes and the sound of chairs moving drifted out. Looks like the sisters were wrapping up their rare meeting.
The moment Miyano Akemi opened the door, a gentle look from saying goodbye to her sister still lingered on her face. In the very next second, she came face-to-face with a handsome, brightly smiling face right in front of her.
"My, my, what a coincidence! I was just about to knock." The white-haired youth wearing a blindfold seemed completely unaware of how terrifying he looked, even waving an imaginary watch on his wrist: "One hour—just right."
He had originally planned to knock early to remind them, but hearing them talk about him brought out a bit of playful mischief, so he waited specifically for this exact moment.
Sure enough, the result was fantastic.
Miyano Akemi's face drained of color instantly, her pupils shrinking slightly from shock, clearly terrified by this sudden encounter.
How... how long had he been standing here? And how much had he heard?
"Y-Yes. The timing is just right." She forced out a smile, her voice tight and unnatural.
[Ding! Impression value from plot character Miyano Akemi increases by 500 points! Analysis: Fear.]
[Ding! Impression value from plot character Miyano Shiho increases by 300 points! Analysis: Fright.]
Gojo Satoru was pretty satisfied with the outcome.
Except for the sister before him who had fallen into her own wild thoughts, and her younger sister behind her, who was trying hard to stay calm despite the raw, unhidden wariness in her eyes.
"Well then, walk out with me."
Miyano Akemi didn't dare say much, simply following beside him as she and her sister walked out of the room one after the other.
Miyano Shiho caught the slight curve of his lips by chance, quickly dropping her eyes again.
On the other side, Gin lit up another cigarette after a short while. Seeing everyone gathered, he walked out of the restaurant without looking back.
The black Porsche was parked not far off, radiating an aura that warned people to stay away, just like its owner.
"I won't be heading to the lab with you guys." Gojo Satoru stretched lazily, waving at the silver-haired hitman: "Bye-bye~ Next time there's a fun mission, remember to call me."
He knew the golden rule of not overdoing things. He'd earned enough impression value for today, and keeping a bit of mystery and distance for his persona was a great choice too.
Gin shot him a glance, gave a cold snort, pulled the car door open, and slid in. Vodka hurriedly hopped into the driver's seat. Miyano Shiho exchanged a look with her sister, stepping into the back seat with reluctance.
Standing by the car, Miyano Akemi watched Gin get in, bowing quietly toward the car.
"Thank you for your hard work, drive safely."
Her mind was still a mess.
On one hand, she felt relieved that this meeting ended safely, and her sister looked well enough; on the other hand, the fright Caesar gave her kept swirling in her heart. Hearing that he wasn't going to the lab made her scalp tighten even further.
Could he be staying behind because he heard those words and thought she was being way too rude and out of line, planning to have a "talk" with her?
It wasn't until the Porsche drove off into the distance that she straightened up anxiously, turning her head to whisper: "Um, Mr. Caesar, earlier I..."
Her eyes swept quickly across the spot where Gojo Satoru had been standing, only to find it completely empty.
She hadn't heard a single footstep leaving, nor had she seen which direction he went. The night wind blew through the street, kicking up a few fallen leaves.
"He's already gone? Does that mean he doesn't plan to pursue it? Or..."
Miyano Akemi stood frozen on the spot, all her thoughts turning into a quiet sigh and a softly muttered sentence.
"He really is... a person impossible to read."