Chapter 49 : What does leaving mean
The Geto Suguru here didn't massacre the village and kill relatives like in the original work, so his mental state was relatively more stable. However, his determination to pursue [righteousness] had become more resolute in some ways.
It was most likely related to the Supervisory Committee's ideology that had been managing him since childhood. Jiang Lai thought. Part of what Geto Suguru had said earlier should have been the Supervisory Committee's influence.
So the formation of Geto Suguru's thoughts wasn't actually instantaneous, but gradually accumulated under certain foundational premises.
Regardless, after the other party had made his final decision internally, words of persuasion were useless. No matter how reasonable the arguments, the other party would only strengthen what he was already determined about.
Therefore, Jiang Lai said nothing more.
Just let Geto Suguru follow his own ideas and go make mistakes. He thought. Accumulate as much experience as possible before the second playthrough began.
Jiang Lai believed in the existence of a second playthrough, partly as a result of analyzing all previous intelligence, and partly related to a vague intuitive feeling in his heart: [Clock]. He recited this term again in his mind.
Beside him, the boy with the bun hairstyle stood next to Jiang Lai, watching the sunset sink beyond the horizon together. After the mountains blocked the last ray of light, Geto Suguru patted his sleeves and said: "I'm leaving."
Jiang Lai turned his head, paused for two seconds, but still said a few final words: "Although you've made up your mind, but walking this path, many developments might not be under your free control."
Hearing Jiang Lai's words, Geto Suguru was stunned for a moment, then turned and smiled softly: "...I'm not very free to begin with."
This phrase was like a dragonfly touching water, light and quick as it passed, yet leaving ripples spreading outward.
This phrase...? Jiang Lai's heart paused. Was it an unconscious revelation, a kind of confession or cry for help that even Geto Suguru himself hadn't realized?
The pattern on his forehead, or something else, in any case Geto Suguru should be under some kind of constraint beyond himself.
The boy with the bun hairstyle withdrew his gaze, finally waving his hand, his figure swaying slightly as he walked toward the distance. He walked steadily, but his back looked desolate and lonely.
Geto Suguru walked toward complete darkness, melting into the boundless night.
…
When Jiang Lai returned to Jujutsu High, it was already several days later.
Because the adoption process for Mimiko and Nanako was quite complex, requiring repeated confirmations and contract signings. During this period, Jiang Lai also used his hacking skills to create quite a few well-founded fake documents.
Logically speaking, in real society, Japan in principle rarely implemented adoption systems, and children without relatives would usually be sent to welfare institutions for unified care.
But in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, because missing person cases occurred frequently, leading to an increase in orphans, the adoption system had also opened up considerably.
However, just these few days weren't enough to complete the adoption process, plus the village incident hadn't been completely handled yet. In summary, adopting Nanako and Mimiko still required some steps.
After handling the initial parts, Jiang Lai planned to leave the subsequent matters to specialists at Jujutsu High.
Therefore, after returning to Jujutsu High, he first briefly explained to the management personnel there, handed over the materials, and asked them to submit everything to Night Moth-sensei.
Then Jiang Lai walked toward the dormitories, preparing to see Gojo Satoru.
Very coincidentally, when he stepped into the dormitory corridor, the white-haired boy had just opened his dorm door, yawning as he walked out.
"Satoru." Jiang Lai stopped, handing over the small bag of black sesame cookies, "For you and Shoko, one each. This is what Suguru-kun sent for you both."
"You're back? Even though it was just in Tokyo, how come you returned later than me? I didn't expect that village place to have local specialties?" Gojo Satoru reached out to accept it, his tone rising casually, "Thanks, thanks! I also brought back some Osaka things for you all, they're all in my room."
"Come on, come on, let's go eat first. Didn't we agree to eat steak together when we got back?" Gojo Satoru laughed cheerfully, stepping forward, "Where's Suguru?"
Jiang Lai paused, answering: "He didn't come back."
"Didn't come back?" Gojo Satoru blinked, his left hand resting under his chin, "Oh, I know, he went to find Night Moth-sensei to submit the mission report, right? No worries, no rush, we'll wait for him to come back before we leave."
"Suguru-kun isn't at Jujutsu High."
Gojo Satoru was slightly stunned: "Not at Jujutsu High?"
"And he won't be coming back either." Jiang Lai added the final sentence, his warm brown eyes calmly observing the person before him.
Gojo Satoru's form froze. His face showed obvious confusion and incomprehension as he repeated: "...Won't come back, what does that mean?"
"Literal meaning." Jiang Lai sighed lightly, saying, "Simply put, Suguru-kun chose a new path. He plans to go make mistakes on his own, so he won't be coming back anymore."
"..." Gojo Satoru's blue eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn't understood, "What?"
"Geto Suguru has left Jujutsu High." Jiang Lai hesitated, but ultimately didn't use the word "defected."
"No, no, wait, wait wait." Gojo Satoru muttered subconsciously, then reacted, striding forward and inevitably raising his voice, "What does leaving mean?! Where exactly did Suguru go??"
Jiang Lai looked back at Gojo Satoru before him, his expression still calm: "He left, but there's no specific location. Suguru-kun said he wants useless people to pave the way for useful people, to create a world with only sorcerers. So he went to pursue his own [righteousness]."
The air was quiet for a moment.
"Create a world with only sorcerers?" The white-haired boy was first stunned for two seconds.
After the silence, he then pulled out an especially exaggerated smile. He waved his hand with a rather carefree gesture:
"Haha, I know now, Lai, you and Suguru conspired together for a prank, right? Really now, I'm impressed with you two. I'll treat you to ten big meals, okay? Stop playing this game."
Jiang Lai blinked slowly, maintaining the same expression as before: "Satoru."
He called out the other's name quietly, saying nothing more, but his demeanor already explained everything.
This single call seemed to reveal the truth. Gojo Satoru's waving motion froze, and he slowly lowered his head, falling silent again.
Actually, he could see the serious expression on the dark blue figure before him. It was just that emotionally, he couldn't accept the information coming from Lai no matter what.
Jiang Lai waited quietly for two or three seconds, then again held out the small bag of black sesame cookies: "Suguru-kun asked me to bring these to you and Shoko before he left. Please accept them."
"..." Gojo Satoru didn't take them, standing frozen in place like a wordless stone monument.
After half a second's pause, the white-haired boy's voice emerged dully from his throat: "...What does that mean?"
As if ice suddenly cracked and accumulated snow collapsed, he suddenly raised his head: "What does won't come back mean?! What's this about pursuing righteousness?! We clearly agreed before we left, agreed to have dinner together when we returned, that he'd eat me into bankruptcy. What's this running away at the last minute?! If he doesn't want to eat, he doesn't have to, if he doesn't want to gather, he doesn't have to, he could have just said so...!!"
Gojo Satoru's final words focused on that last promise, as if he was deliberately concentrating his attention on that one small point.
Because this way, he could set aside everything else and not think about it, could turn those incomprehensible, irreconcilable so-called [righteousness] into small matters of friends having conflicts in daily life.
Though such self-deception was essentially useless.
After venting those words like an outburst, Gojo Satoru clenched his fists, his beautiful blue eyes piercing straight through his sunglasses: "...It's a lie, right? I'm really angry. I don't like this kind of joke, you can stop now."
"Clearly Lai, you were there, you left together with him, you were at the scene... Suguru couldn't have just left like that, right?" The white-haired boy moved forward, as if grasping the last straw, "You were there, Lai. If he was going to leave, you definitely would have stopped him. Right?"
Jiang Lai shook his head gently: "I didn't."
"You can tell me! No matter how, contact me, I'll go find Suguru! What exactly is he thinking?" Gojo Satoru pulled off his sunglasses, revealing those sky-blue eyes directly, "As long as I can delay until I get there—"
"He's already made up his mind. This isn't something anyone can change." Jiang Lai said, "That's why I didn't stop him, because it would be meaningless. Even if you went, it would be the same."
"...How could it be meaningless?! Lai, why did you let him go! Suguru must be confused from sleep, he—"
"He was clearheaded. You should accept this, Satoru." Jiang Lai's voice was gentle, his brown eyes always calmly watching, "You could also sense that Suguru hasn't been in good condition lately, couldn't you? He's been thinking for a long time, and this time he made up his mind."
Hearing these words, Gojo Satoru seemed to have his mute button pressed, opening his lips but making no sound. After several seconds, or perhaps tens of seconds, he finally said:
"...I know. I don't know."
This sentence sounded somewhat contradictory. After a moment's pause, the white-haired youth continued speaking.
He gripped his sunglasses tightly, and the expensive custom sunglasses made creaking sounds under the pressure. Gojo Satoru's voice was low and muffled: "I know he wasn't in good condition, I could tell. But I don't know what he was thinking. He didn't say... he didn't tell me."
"But if he doesn't say, how could I possibly know what he's thinking?! Why didn't he tell me?!"
Gojo Satoru raised his voice, and the sunglasses in his hand were finally cracked by his fingers' force.
"You didn't persist in asking either, did you?" Jiang Lai replied softly, "You never told him that you were his best close friend, that you could shoulder things together, that you would think of solutions together and ultimately find suitable answers. You never said these things, did you?"
"..." Gojo Satoru's lips moved, his glass-bead-blue eyes churning with intense emotions. He turned his face away, as if speaking from inside a cardboard box, "...I never said them."
"But we've always been best friends, he knows that. This doesn't need to be specifically stated, he knows it." The white-haired boy didn't stop, continuing to squeeze out sounds from his throat in low tones, "Why didn't he tell me what he was thinking? Why?"
Jiang Lai paused for a few seconds, comforting him: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Actually, Geto's concerns weren't just a day or two old. He's used to digesting things himself, and there might also be external factors influencing him."
Like the Supervisory Committee. In Jiang Lai's speculation, this organization made up a large proportion of Geto Suguru's troubles.
Gojo Satoru took a deep breath, raising his eyes: "I don't know what's wrong with him. What bullshit idea is creating a world with only sorcerers? That's completely impossible! I'm going to find him."
He met Jiang Lai's gaze, was silent for two seconds, then couldn't help but let slip: "...Why didn't you stop him, Lai?"
"You have to experience it once to know what kind of path is suitable." Jiang Lai said, "If he's determined to go, then let him go make mistakes."
"This kind of thing... how is he going to create a world with only sorcerers?! Kill all ordinary people?? This kind of thing, once practiced, there's no coming back—"
"I couldn't hold back the current him, it's too late." The black-haired, brown-eyed youth said calmly, "But perhaps if there's another time, you could."
"..." Gojo Satoru's face showed brief confusion, not understanding Jiang Lai's words.
Gojo Satoru was about to ask more questions when heavy, urgent footsteps sounded from outside the dormitory corridor.
This immediately attracted both their attention.
They saw Yaga Masamichi striding from the entrance with a stern expression.
Jiang Lai originally thought he was coming to ask about Nanako and Mimiko, since he had just asked the staff to submit materials to him.
But then he keenly sensed the emotional fluctuations from Yaga Masamichi, clearly not positive emotions.
...What happened? His heart paused.
Gojo Satoru's gaze fell on Yaga Masamichi approaching with large strides. He was just about to say he wanted to leave school to find Geto Suguru when the man walking toward them spoke.
"The village where Suguru went to execute his mission, the villagers..." He paused here, then took a deep breath to speak, "All the villagers were killed. According to cursed energy residue testing, there are traces of Suguru's cursed energy at the scene."
Hearing this, both Gojo Satoru and Jiang Lai widened their eyes in disbelief.
Wait, how could—?! Jiang Lai was most shocked of all.
Several days ago, when Geto Suguru parted with him at the village edge, Geto at that time seemed to have given up on the village massacre idea, only expressing half-helplessly and half-determinedly that he was going to pursue his own righteousness.
There was no reason for Geto Suguru to return and kill people. Jiang Lai's fingers moved slightly within his sleeves. And most importantly, those key people were still at the police station... Why would such a thing happen to the village??