Paimon scratched her head. "Hmm… is this really okay? According to what you said before, that guy, Gojo Satoru, is the strongest in this world. He tried to save humanity but ultimately failed, right?
All of humanity was wiped out. In the end, he made a wish to some unknown existence, saying he was willing to pay any price to save everyone. And then 'K' responded, rewinding the world back to before humanity's extinction."
"Yep, that's exactly what happened."
"Then since he's the strongest, shouldn't we be trying to get his help?"
Zephyr replied, "No, you're wrong. I never promised Gojo Satoru that I'd save this world's humanity. If I have the ability, I might lend a hand. But I don't have that ability.
My main goal is to help Lumine become stronger and reunite her with her family. That's my priority.
My secondary goal is to complete the main storyline. After all, thanks to that guy, we can't return home unless we finish it."
"Ohh… so that's how it is."
Hearing this, Lumine was touched.
"At the same time, I need to make Gojo Satoru understand—I'm not his student, and I'm not his underling. We need to maintain our mystery. He should be the one asking for our help, not the other way around."
"But… how does what you're saying connect with what you're doing?"
"With your IQ, it's hard to explain it to you."
Lumine couldn't hold back anymore. "Paimon, think about it. If Gojo Satoru is the strongest in this world, then if he didn't want us to leave—do you really think we'd have been able to?"
"He probably had something to discuss with his students, or maybe… he actually wanted to talk to us in private."
"Exactly. Don't worry. If we can't leave the school, then he'll have to come find us himself."
Paimon suddenly understood. "Oohhh! Paimon see now!"
—
One hour later…
Lumine stood in the cold, empty street, shivering in the wind.
"T-This isn't right…! Gojo Satoru isn't following the script at all!"
Paimon huffed. "Hmph! And you called me dumb? Looks like you guys aren't much smarter. You totally overanalyzed the situation!"
"This doesn't make sense! We still have Sukuna's finger, and yet he hasn't come after us!?"
Zephyr sighed. "Forget it. If he's not coming, then he's not coming. Let's focus on finding a place to stay first."
The mission happened at night, and now that it was over, he couldn't just let Lumine sleep on the streets.
Opening the mapthis was a major advantage. Any function that was available in Genshin Impact could still be used in this world, including the map. It was fully lit up and completely usable.
Zephyr quickly located a hotel.
As for money?
He didn't have any yen… but he did have Mora!
And what is Mora made of? Pure gold.
Solid, real, gold.
After the hotel staff tested it and confirmed it was real gold, their attitude did a full 180. Just one Mora was enough to have Zephyr treated like royalty.
—
Lying on a five-star hotel's five-star bed, Lumine savored a glass of five-star red wine, gazing down at the neon-lit cityscape below.
This… this is the life."
In this world, just one Mora had this much value. Compared to their previous rough, survivalist lifestyle… the difference was like heaven and earth.
Lumine shed tears of sorrow.
"I suddenly don't want to struggle anymore."
Paimon was sprawled across a massive steak—big enough to be a whole table. "Traveler, this thing called 'elephant meat' is so good!"
She patted her stomach, looking a bit defeated. "Paimon can't believe it… there's actually food that I, Paimon, can't finish! Fine, I admit it, this time Paimon lost. But next time, I'll be stronger! Paimon won't lose again!"
Lumine frowned. "Why are you talking to a piece of meat?"
Zephyr smirked. "You two seem to be living the good life, huh? Meanwhile, I'm stuck eating instant noodles."
"Instant noodles? What's that? Is it good?"
"Delicious. Next time, I'll trade it for your Paimon legs."
"No way!"
Lumine suddenly asked, "Gojo Satoru still hasn't followed us?"
"Who knows what's going on in his head. Forget about him."
As he spoke, he pulled out Sukuna's severed finger from his inventory.
"Ugh, Traveler! Why'd you take that thing out? It's ruining my appetite!"
Ever since they completed the mission, Zephyr had been rewarded with a dozen or so experience books. Opening the status screen, he checked—those books had boosted Lumine up by one whole level.
She was now level 16.
"I've… gotten stronger again."
"Just flirting with girls and looting stuff all day, and you're leveling up this fast? Big Sis, maybe I should just join the Abyss Order already."
Zephyr stroked his chin. You joining the Abyss Order? Perfect. Just pick a day and wipe out Mondstadt. Then I can take all the Genshin girls for myself!
Now that was an interesting thought.
Paimon groaned, rubbing her temples. "Ugh… my head hurts. Paimon keep hearing a voice talking inside my mind."
Lumine nodded. "I feel it too."
"What's it saying? Can you make it out?"
Lumine hesitated. "Not exactly, but… I think it's telling me to eat this finger."
Paimon shuddered. "Ew! Who the heck would eat something that disgusting…? W-Wait, why is it suddenly looking so appetizing…? No… Paimon can't hold back…!"
SMACK!
Zephyr sent Paimon flying with a single slap.
"Hey, Traveler! What are you doing?!"
"If I didn't smack you, you were about to eat that finger."
"What?! Me? Why would Paimon eat something that looks that disgusting?! There's definitely something weird about this thing!"
Zephyr nodded. "Of course there is. This is Sukuna's finger. If there wasn't something weird about it, that would be strange."
"Sukuna? That's such a weird name. So, what exactly is Sukuna? Something to eat? Something to use? Or is it the name of a person? A monster?"
Suddenly, the finger burst forth with a surge of pitch-black cursed energy.
But in the very next second, Zephyr casually tossed it back into his inventory.
Whew, that scared me… Wait, does this thing have its own consciousness?"
"Strictly speaking… yes."
"Huh?"
"Sukuna, simply put, is the remnant of a powerful Cursed Spirit. There are twenty of these fingers in total. They can't be destroyed—only sealed. Each one contains a fragment of Sukuna's consciousness.
If someone eats one, their body gets possessed by Sukuna. And if enough fingers are consumed, Sukuna can be fully revived."
"That's terrifying! W-Wait a second… did you say twenty fingers?"
"Yeah. Because Sukuna had four arms."
"...Uh. What a weird creature. What does he even look like?"
"That… I've never seen for myself. But just imagine a Hilichurl with four arms."
"Ugh… a four-armed Hilichurl? So scary!"
Lumine sighed. "Paimon, is there any monster you don't find scary?"
Then, she turned to Zephyr. "Since we've completed the mission, does this finger have any use for us anymore?"
"Actually, I tested something earlier—turns out, this finger can be used as fodder to upgrade artifacts."
"Fodder?"
"Material. Just one of these fingers can instantly level up a 5-star artifact to level 20."
Lumine's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?!"
Her expression turned radiant with excitement. "Sukuna was such a good guy, huh? He knew how hard it is to level up artifacts, so he generously grew twenty fingers just for us! What a great person!"
"...Good grief."
Lumine hesitated for a moment, then added, "But wait… didn't you say that, in the original storyline, this finger was supposed to be eaten by that Itadori Yuji guy? If we use it… won't that mess things up?"
//END