While Rentaro and Enju had not yet started their classes, Gojo looked toward Kisara.
"How is it? Do we have any missions today?"
"Today?"
Kisara thought for a moment.
"We haven't received any mission requests for now."
"Looks like another peaceful day. That's nice."
Gojo relaxed in the office chair, casually resting his legs on the desk.
"Eh, there are no missions today? That's great."
Before they even saw Enju's figure, they heard her voice coming from outside.
The moment she finished speaking, Enju hopped into the office, with Rentaro following behind her.
"No missions?"
After hearing that, Rentaro fell silent for a moment before looking at Gojo.
"Gojo-kun, can I take some of yesterday's ingredients with me? I want to deliver some to someone."
"Sure. There's more than enough anyway, and new ingredients will arrive today as well."
"Are you going to give them to Miss Muroto?"
Enju clearly knew exactly who Rentaro wanted to visit.
"Yeah."
Rentaro turned toward Gojo and explained.
"Miss Muroto is a scientist. The Suppressant Enju uses is something she makes herself, and it's slightly cheaper than what you can buy on the market."
"Besides, Enju is about due for another Corrosion Rate examination..."
"No problem."
Gojo waved his hand casually.
"It's only some ingredients. I don't care about something like that."
"Since we don't have anything else to do today, I'll come along too."
"Maybe I can help with something."
Rentaro was slightly surprised that Gojo would be interested in something like this.
However, for him, it was not a big deal.
If it had been someone else, he might have refused. His friend's identity was rather sensitive, and he did not want too many people finding out about her.
But Gojo was different.
Compared to his friend's situation, almost anything about Gojo was far more shocking. Rentaro was certain he would not care about something so minor.
"Alright."
"Then let's head out now."
Rentaro was never the type to waste time, so he immediately prepared to leave with Gojo.
After informing Betty, the group set off to visit Rentaro's friend.
First, they returned to pick up the lunchbox Rentaro had prepared along with some fruit before heading out again.
Since the distance was not far, the four of them decided to walk instead of taking a vehicle.
"Now that I think about it, Betty and I haven't really explored this city properly."
As they walked, Gojo looked around curiously at the "future" city that existed decades later.
"There's honestly not much to see."
Rentaro spoke calmly.
As a Civil Security member, he had already traveled through this city countless times. He was extremely familiar with every corner of it.
Given the state of the world, Tokyo was one of the few cities that had managed to preserve much of its former prosperity.
But beneath that appearance of prosperity, Rentaro had witnessed far too much cruelty.
Especially after becoming a Civil Security member and meeting Enju, after coming into contact with the Cursed Children, he gained an even deeper understanding of that reality.
"Compared to wandering around outside, I prefer staying home and doing things I'm interested in."
"Because you don't have money?"
Rentaro looked at Gojo speechlessly.
"Do you always have to hit people where it hurts when you talk?"
"That's part of it."
"But more than that, I just don't think this city is very likable."
Rentaro's eyes lowered slightly, as if he had remembered something unpleasant.
"Is it because of the Higher-ups?"
Gojo thought of Seitenshi.
From his short interactions with her, Seitenshi was actually a pretty good person.
It was obvious at a glance that she was innocent and kind.
But because of that, her position felt less like that of a ruler and more like a figurehead.
Gojo had already reached that conclusion the first time he met Kikunojou Tendo.
"No. It's not only the Higher-ups. The people here also don't like children like Enju."
"Sometimes, the things that happen are just..."
Rentaro stopped himself halfway through his sentence and let out a quiet sigh.
This world, protected by the Cursed Children, was far more cruel than most people realized, especially toward those very same children.
Gojo remembered the figures he had seen in the ruins before and glanced at Enju.
He already understood what Rentaro meant.
The mood became slightly heavier after that conversation.
Fortunately, their destination was not far away.
However, when Gojo looked at the school in front of him, he became confused.
"Your scientist friend is in a school?"
"Yeah."
Rentaro seemed to realize how strange that sounded and quickly explained.
"Her identity is a little special, so she chose to hide her name and stay here."
As he spoke, he led Gojo and the others toward one of the school buildings.
After entering, they did not go upstairs toward any classrooms or offices.
Instead, they headed down a staircase.
Eventually, they arrived at a corridor that looked more like a storage area. Rentaro stopped in front of a door and knocked softly.
"It's me, Rentaro."
The sound of his knock echoed clearly through the dim hallway.
However, after the knocking stopped, there was no response from inside.
Even with Gojo's enhanced senses, the only thing he could hear was the faint sound of something like a computer fan running.
Rentaro did not seem surprised at all. He only shook his head helplessly before opening the door himself.
The room beyond was dark as well.
The only source of light came from the computer monitor on the desk.
Using that faint glow, Gojo could clearly see the state of the room.
One word.
Messy.
The computer desk was covered with scattered documents and beakers filled with strange-colored compounds whose contents were impossible to identify.
Not far away was a long table covered with petri dishes, beakers, test tubes, and various mechanical components.
Looking at all of this, it was difficult to imagine what kind of scientist the person living here actually was.
"Click."
Rentaro reached along the wall and found the light switch with practiced familiarity.
The room immediately brightened.
He walked inside and easily pulled out the chair in front of the computer desk.
A gloomy woman wearing a white lab coat over a black shirt and skirt appeared on the floor.
"I knew it would be like this."
Rentaro sighed and walked over helplessly to pull her up.
The room was not large. Right beside the computer desk was a simple single bed.
After placing the woman on the bed, Rentaro grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.
"Miss Muroto?"
"Miss Muroto?"
He called her name for a while, but she showed no signs of waking up.
Gojo stepped forward to take a look.
The woman's chest was still rising and falling. She was alive, but her complexion was pale, and she looked extremely weak.
"Let me take a look."
Rentaro moved aside slightly.
"Gojo-kun, do you know medicine?"
"No."
"But I know a little about treatment."
As he spoke, Gojo placed a finger against the woman's forehead.
Reverse Cursed Technique activated.
Cursed Energy flowed from his finger into her body, spreading through her limbs.
As the energy passed through her body, Gojo quickly understood her condition.
There was nothing serious.
She had only fainted from hunger.
Besides that, she had a few minor health problems caused by poor living habits, such as stomach issues.
The Cursed Energy swept through her body, fixing those problems instantly while forcibly waking her up.
"Alright."
Only two seconds later, Gojo withdrew his hand.
The woman on the bed slowly opened her eyes.
"Rentaro?"
"Did I faint from hunger again..."
She muttered in a daze.
However, after sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she saw Gojo standing in front of her.
Her expression froze.
"Miss Muroto, you really need to pay more attention to eating properly."
Rentaro sighed.
"This is Satoru Gojo, my friend. He was the one who woke you up just now."
"Woke me up?"
Sumire Muroto looked confused.
She had only fainted from hunger. It was not exactly the first time this had happened.
"Your body was already quite weak. Looks like you were unconscious for a while."
Gojo casually explained.
"I shook you for quite a long time, but you didn't wake up."
"Gojo-kun, this is Sumire Muroto. She was the scientist who modified my body back then, and she was also the person in charge of the New Human Creation Plan."
While speaking, Rentaro did not forget to introduce Sumire to Gojo.
"Nice to meet you."
When Gojo heard about the New Human Creation Plan, he looked at her a little more carefully.
The New Human Creation Plan was the Mechanized Soldier modification project. Being the person in charge of a project once considered the future of humanity showed just how impressive her abilities were.
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
"I actually prepared something to eat too, but I hadn't gotten around to eating it before I passed out."
Sumire was completely calm about her embarrassing situation, or rather, she was already used to it.
She pointed toward the beaker on the table.
Gojo looked at the deep purple liquid inside.
It resembled some kind of magical potion brewed by a witch in a cauldron.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
After traveling through several worlds, he had seen countless strange things.
Yet somehow, the suspicious liquid in front of him was supposedly food?
"This is something you eat?"
"Of course. This is my Taro Soup. The color is a little strange because I added some vegetable juice and fruit juice, but the taste is actually pretty good."
As if wanting to prove her words, Sumire picked up the beaker and prepared to take a sip.
"Miss Muroto, I brought you a lunchbox. Maybe put that down first."
Rentaro quickly stopped her and took away the beaker before opening his own lunchbox.
"Whoa."
"Did you get rich, Rentaro?"
"Where did you get so many expensive ingredients?"
Although Sumire normally did not care much about food, something that was obvious from her Taro Soup, that did not mean she could not appreciate delicious meals.
She ate Taro Soup because she did not want to waste time on things she considered unimportant. Eating was just something she needed to do to avoid starving.
But Rentaro's food required no effort from her at all.
She only needed to eat.
And since she was already extremely hungry, Sumire immediately threw herself at the meal and began eating without caring about appearances.
"Mmm. Rentaro, your cooking has improved a lot. This tastes so much better than the bean sprouts you used to make."
"Is it possible that it's not my cooking that improved, but that these ingredients are simply better than bean sprouts?"
Rentaro replied helplessly.
Previously, he brought food because he was worried Sumire would faint from hunger and something might happen to her.
So every few days, he would come by to check on her and remind her to eat.
After all, for such a long time, she had helped Enju with free medical examinations and assisted him with maintaining his Mechanical Prosthesis.
Those things might have been simple for her, but they were still favors.
Rentaro could not accept them without giving anything in return.
So he chose to help in whatever ways he could.
Just like now.
"You still haven't explained where these ingredients came from."
Even while shoveling food into her mouth, Sumire's speech remained perfectly clear.
"These are thanks to Gojo-kun."
"Oh? So this handsome young man is rich?"
Sumire turned toward Gojo with a smile, rice grains still stuck to her face as she teased him.
Given their ages, Sumire was much older than the two of them, by around ten years. Teasing them felt completely natural.
Gojo only shrugged and did not deny it.
The entire lunchbox was finished in a matter of minutes.
Only after swallowing the final grain of rice did Sumire lean back in her chair and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ah."
"I haven't eaten this much in a long time."
She rubbed her stomach with a satisfied expression.
"Miss Muroto, eating so quickly isn't good for your stomach. Did you already forget about your stomach problems?"
"Oh, right. I almost forgot because you reminded me."
"But strangely, I don't seem to feel anything today."
Sumire looked down at her stomach in confusion.
"Ah, your stomach problems? I treated them when I examined your body earlier."