[Supporting Character Popularity Supremacy System successfully bound!]
The pale blue script floated abruptly in the center of his vision, resembling a phantom image projected by someone's Cursed Technique, carrying a somewhat cheap, electronic texture.
Satoru Gojo blinked his eyes, which were hidden behind black sunglasses, a flash of genuine interest flickering within them.
"Tch."
He let out a small click of his tongue, characterized by a teenager's typical nonchalance.
Satoru Gojo swirled the iced drink in his hand; the orange liquid traced shallow arcs against the transparent plastic walls of the cup, and cool condensation slid down the sides, dampening his fair fingertips.
"Jujutsu sorcerers these days are truly a bit clueless, aren't they?"
He drew out his words, as if speaking of something amusing.
"Huh?"
Suguru Geto, who was walking half a step ahead with a slight slouch, paused at the sound and slowly turned his head.
His long black hair rested on his shoulders, and the stray strands on his forehead glowed slightly under the sunlight. The gaze he directed at the person behind him was filled with confusion: "What are you suddenly talking about out of nowhere?"
Satoru Gojo tilted his head back and took a massive gulp through the straw; the sound of "gulp, gulp" swallowing was exceptionally clear on the quiet street.
The icy sweetness slid down his throat, dispelling some of the afternoon heat.
Hearing Suguru's question, he drained the rest of the drink in one go. With a slight application of force from his fingertips, the empty plastic cup was crushed with a "snap."
With a flick of his wrist, the crumpled plastic mass flew out with a faint whistle, accurately crossing a distance of over ten meters before landing deep inside a roadside trash can with a "clatter."
"It's nothing~" Satoru Gojo waved his hand at Suguru, his palm tracing a relaxed arc in the air, his tone remaining careless. "Just some guy who doesn't know his place used a strange Cursed Technique on me, that's all."
He tilted his head slightly, and his tone finally carried a hint of genuine dissatisfaction: "To actually call me some kind of supporting character or whatever... it's really a bit annoying."
A Cursed Technique? A supporting character?
Suguru Geto frowned and scratched the back of his head, a peculiar expression appearing on his face.
To dare make a move on Satoru Gojo—was this person perhaps not right in the head?
"Then they've certainly picked the wrong opponent."
Suguru shrugged, his tone carrying unabashed confidence.
He knew Satoru Gojo's strength all too well. Forget some unknown technique; even if a Special Grade cursed spirit came knocking, the only one who would end up suffering was the opponent.
Having said that, he didn't care to pay any more mind to such a bizarre trifle. He turned back around, slouching as he continued toward the dessert shop ahead—after all, the original purpose of coming out to shop was to accompany Satoru to buy the limited-edition strawberry cake.
As for Satoru Gojo, if he were to worry about anyone, it certainly wouldn't be this guy.
"Let's see what gave you the courage to use me as an experiment."
Satoru wasn't exactly angry; instead, he felt a bit of novel interest—after all, as his strength grew greater and greater, things that felt "interesting" were becoming fewer and further between.
However, just as he was preparing to get a bit serious and find this "hide-and-seek" culprit to give them a proper "education," the pale blue text before his eyes transformed once again. New lines of script appeared one after another.
[Would you like to travel to the first world to carry out the Popularity Supremacy mission?]
[The popularity points earned during this period can be used to exchange for any item from your current world or any world you have traveled to.]
"Hmm?" Satoru Gojo raised an eyebrow, and his hand, which had been hanging loosely, paused. "Travel to another world?"
He took two steps forward, reaching the spot where Suguru had just been standing. His gaze swept over the shops on both sides of the street, his tone carrying a hint of playful laziness: "Sounds pretty decent, though it feels a bit like false advertising from a TV commercial."
His fingertips brushed through the white hair near his ear; the texture was soft and smooth. Satoru Gojo gave a great big stretch, his joints letting out a soft "click." His entire being radiated a relaxed, "just woke up" vibe: "Well, whatever."
"I'll know once I try."
He tilted his head, and a light of keen interest flashed within the Six Eyes behind his lenses. His tone carried a hint of mischievous threat: "I hope you won't disappoint me, otherwise, I'm going to give you a good spanking~"
The moment he finished speaking, the pale blue text before him flickered violently several times, as if responding to his words.
[Confirmation request received. Commencing travel to the first world... Target world confirmed... "Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World"... Commencing crossover... Crossover successful!]
The text before his eyes flashed.
When his gaze finished reading all the content and moved away from the words "Crossover successful," he suddenly discovered that everything around him had changed.
Satoru Gojo stood somewhat blankly on a completely unfamiliar street. Surrounding him were European-style buildings he had never seen before, and the sounds of bustling conversation reached his ears.
In just an instant, everything had changed.
"Oh my?"
Faced with such an abrupt and startling change, Satoru Gojo recovered his composure very quickly.
He looked at the surrounding environment and the figures coming and going on the street, then reached out to push the sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.
"The details of this illusion are actually done quite well."
Satoru Gojo casually picked up a pebble from the ground, gently toyed with it.
The sensation coming from his fingertips was terrifyingly realistic.
He dropped it and crushed it lightly with the tip of his shoe; a crisp "crack" traveled up from the sole of his shoe.
"To actually be able to simulate such realistic touch and sound, this is quite an interesting technique."
"And it's such a distinctive, magical world."
Satoru Gojo looked at the crowds passing by on the street not far away. Among these pedestrians, besides humans, he even saw many existences with quite strange appearances, like the beastmen found in fantasy novels.
In addition, there were many horse-drawn carriages and the like traveling on the road, but what pulled the carriages were not horses, but some lizard-like creatures that appeared roughly the same size as a horse.
Everything looked so novel.
Satoru Gojo, who had originally intended to simply deal with this so-called "technique" in passing, now found himself significantly more interested.
"Since it's an illusion, it's impossible for it to be perfect in every aspect."
Satoru Gojo moved his wrists, preparing to have a good look around this peculiar illusion.
Like a tourist, he was full of desire to explore everything around him.
Soon.
He saw something familiar by the side of the road.
It was a fruit stall, and if he wasn't mistaken, the items on it were precisely apples.
"Are there still apples in a different world like this? That's a bit too lacking in rigor."