The apples on the fruit stall were large and plump, bright red, and looked very appetizing.
The stall owner behind them was a middle-aged man wearing a black open-chested short robe, a black bandana tied around his head, and a hideous scar on his face, looking like someone who was a bit hard to talk to.
"Young man, buying apples?"
Gojo reached out and picked up an apple from the stall, squeezing it with his fingertips; the flesh was firm and elastic, full of moisture.
Without asking for the stall owner's permission, Gojo directly took a bite.
The sweet and sour juice exploded in his mouth, carrying a fresh fruity aroma; the taste was even more stunning than the Strawberry Cakes he usually ate.
"Mmm, tastes good."
Gojo narrowed his eyes and nodded in satisfaction, preparing to go look at other places.
"Hey!"
"Kid, you dare to steal?!"
The fruit stall uncle noticed Gojo's actions and glared at him, his eyes wide with anger.
He was about to rush out from behind the stall, looking like he wanted to teach him a lesson.
"Ah-re."
Gojo raised an eyebrow, "Then I'm really sorry."
He fished a few coins out of his pocket and casually tossed them onto the stall.
The coins landed on the stall with a crisp "ting-a-ling" sound.
Having done this, Gojo continued munching on the apple and turned to leave, but once the boss saw those coins clearly, he became even angrier.
This guy had gotten some metal scraps from somewhere and wanted to fool him by using them as money—preposterous!
"You bastard, pay me properly!"
The fruit stall uncle swung his fist and rushed toward Gojo.
"So the setting is the hot-tempered type."
Gojo muttered.
The fruit stall uncle's fist approached rapidly, yet when it was about to land on Gojo, it simply could not get any closer no matter what.
"Wh-what's going on?"
The fruit stall uncle looked at the close-at-hand Gojo in shock, only to find that no matter how much force he used, he couldn't take another step forward, let alone touch him.
Such a bizarre scene was truly astonishing.
Right at that moment, the fruit stall uncle saw two patrolling guards walking not far away and quickly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Guards! Someone's stealing things here!"
"Tsk."
Gojo saw the two guards' attention being drawn as they walked toward them.
He unhurriedly bit off the last mouthful of the apple, and then, while the fruit stall uncle was shouting at the guards, he stuffed the apple core into the man's chest pocket and gave it a light pat.
"See you later."
With that, Gojo's figure flickered and he swiftly vanished into the crowd.
He wanted to observe this interesting illusion more and had no intention of wasting time here.
In the blink of an eye, Gojo's figure appeared at the corner of an alley.
Standing in the alley, Gojo listened to the hurried footsteps passing by outside and couldn't help but chuckle.
"I didn't expect the NPCs in this illusion to be so dedicated."
After the commotion outside subsided.
Gojo leisurely walked out again.
Not long after.
Gojo appeared several streets away.
The recent encounter made him increasingly interested in this illusion.
This time, he planned to go see those oddly-shaped beastmen.
"Dog-type beastmen? They don't seem that cute."
"Bastard!"
"Are you looking to die, you jerk!"
The beastman, whose head was being ruffled by Gojo and who Felt humiliated, roared loudly, baring sharp fangs, looking as if he wanted to devour him alive.
"Dogs that like to bare their teeth aren't very likable."
A smile playing on his lips, Gojo ran off, disappearing from sight in no time, pursued by the beastman behind him.
Not long after.
When Gojo appeared again, he was already inside a blacksmith's shop.
He hadn't been inside for long.
Before the shirtless blacksmith, wearing a thick apron, could angrily charge out wielding his hammer.
All that was left for him was Gojo's figure fading into the distance.
Scenes like this kept happening repeatedly in the following time.
General store, bookstore, inn...
Wherever Gojo went, he caused quite a ruckus.
Several consecutive disturbances gave Gojo a deeper understanding of this world's "realism."
Whether it was the texture of food, the feel of objects, or the emotional fluctuations of people, everything Felt unnervingly real.
Leaning against a large tree, he reached up and adjusted his Sunglasses, revealing ice-blue Six Eyes, the patterns on his irises clearly visible.
His gaze swept over everything around him, yet there was still no trace of Cursed Energy fluctuation.
This feeling of "absolute blankness" gave rise to a sliver of doubt in his heart for the first time.
He had seen countless sophisticated illusions or domains. Even innate domains capable of simulating reality or manifesting a person's inner world would leave traces of Cursed Energy in the details.
Moreover, what they could manifest was always just a very partial aspect.
Yet this "world" Felt unnervingly real—whether it was touch, taste, or the emotional fluctuations of those people earlier, there was no difference from the real world.
This was something an innate domain absolutely could not achieve.
"Could it not be an illusion?" Gojo tapped the wall lightly with his fingertip, his brow slightly furrowed. "But if it's not an illusion, then what is it? That so-called 'world crossing'?"
He muttered to himself, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness. "This so-called 'world crossing' is much more interesting than I imagined."
And that strange system that could pop up "popularity points" prompts.
If this truly was him arriving in a completely new world, and not some illusion caused by Forbidden Technique influence.
Then the method of investigation needed to be adjusted slightly.
Previously, thinking it was an illusion, he had acted quite recklessly.
But he wasn't someone who liked to cause trouble for ordinary people.
"For now, let's treat this place as a real world."
"If it's a real world, then having no money won't do."
Gojo Felt his pockets, which contained only some leftover Japanese yen coins from buying drinks, clearly useless in this world.
Theft or similar actions were directly out of the question.
As for getting a job, that was even less of a consideration.
"This really is a troublesome matter."
Although Gojo said this, judging from the amused glint in his eyes behind the Sunglasses, it clearly wasn't a real difficulty for him.
[Twenty-four hours until the protagonist of this world, Natsuki Subaru, crosses over.]
[Please prepare to welcome the protagonist, supporting character, and strive to gain popularity.]
"Here it comes again."
Seeing the words "supporting character" appear before his eyes, Gojo ruffled his white hair.
"supporting character, huh? They really are looking down on people."
"With twenty-four hours left, it seems there's something to look forward to."