After Shirou finished explaining the operating model and potential profits of “freelance sorcerers,” the room fell into brief silence.
He looked at Zenin Toji and waited for the reply of this “Heavenly Tyrant.”
At that moment, Zenin Yukio, who had been quietly listening the whole time, suddenly spoke.
His voice carried the crispness unique to a child, “Bro, this actually sounds pretty good!”
He grabbed Toji’s arm, eyes shining.
“Anyway, we can choose what jobs to take and when to take them.”
“We can specifically target people who really do bad things and deserve to die.”
“That way we make money, but it’s not really falling into corruption, and we can also…
mm, keep a bit of our humanity?”
Shirou looked at Yukio in surprise.
Normally, according to the rules, a kid this young shouldn’t hear this kind of “industry” talk.
But Toji had already said from the start, “My little brother can listen.”
So he didn’t say anything.
Now it seemed…
this brat’s mind was pretty active.
After hearing Yukio’s words, Toji rubbed his chin.
‘A little interested, but not much.’
Out of habit, he wanted to delay it, “I’ll think about it.”
“Come on, bro!”
Yukio immediately increased his “offensive.” His little mouth kept going nonstop, “You have to think about the future!”
“You’ll get married and have kids someday, right?
By then you’ll need money to give your wife and children a good life.”
“Besides.”
He patted his thin little chest.
“Don’t you still have me?”
“When the time comes, I’ll go on missions with you!”
“When brothers work together, nothing can stop them!”
Hearing that, Toji burst out laughing.
He reached out his big hand and messed up Yukio’s hair.
“You?”
“A little brat who’s never even killed a fish wants to go on ‘missions’ with your brother?
Kill people?”
Beside them, Shirou also got amused and shook his head.
This kid had courage, but he was too naive.
Yukio puffed up his cheeks unhappily, but a cold glint flashed through his black eyes, one that didn’t match his age.
“Who are you looking down on!”
“When it comes to bad people, I definitely won’t go soft.”
Toji knew that after all these years of training, Yukio’s physical abilities far surpassed kids his age, even stronger than some adults.
But in the end…
he was still only six years old.
Toji put away his joking expression, and his tone became more serious.
“The adult world isn’t as simple as you think.”
“It’s cruel.”
He turned to Shirou and held up two fingers.
“Leave your contact information.”
“If I need something, I’ll contact you.”
Shirou understood the situation well.
After leaving his business card, he got up and left.
Only the two brothers remained in the room.
Toji crossed his arms and looked down at his little brother.
“Alright, brat.”
“Why do you want to work with me?”
“Don’t give me fake reasons.”
Yukio raised his little face, his eyes clean and direct.
“We’re brothers!”
“Think about it.
In the future, the two of us dominating the professional sorcerer…
ah no, the ‘freelance sorcerer’ industry!”
“People calling us the ‘Strongest Twin Stars’!
Isn’t that cool?”
Toji curled his lips and mercilessly exposed the truth.
“I think you just want to get involved so you can take a share of the mission money.”
“Hehe…”
Having his thoughts exposed, Yukio wasn’t embarrassed at all.
He scratched his head and laughed foolishly.
“You figured it out anyway.”
Toji went silent for a few seconds, seeming to seriously think about it.
Then he suddenly spoke, “It’s not impossible.”
“Taking you out to see the world wouldn’t be bad.”
“But…”
He patted his pocket, where the “emotional damages” from earlier were stored.
“There’s no rush for now.”
“We’ve got 1.5 million yen right now.
That’s enough for us to live comfortably for a while.”
“Let’s go home.”
The two walked out of the temporary meeting room one after another.
On the way, Yukio suddenly came up with another idea.
“Bro, when we really start taking missions, shouldn’t we get code names first?”
“Hm?”
Toji didn’t even turn his head.
“Reason.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Yukio spoke seriously, imitating the tone people used on TV.
“I saw it on TV.
People with special jobs like this all use code names!”
“That way it’s safer and won’t affect normal life.”
“No one knows who we are.
We just take the money and do the job, quick and clean!”
Toji’s footsteps paused slightly.
He felt…
this brat actually had a point.
“I originally planned to go back and rest…”
Toji suddenly turned around, a somewhat dangerous smile appearing on his face.
“But I changed my mind.”
“Aren’t you always saying you want to ‘fight side by side’ with me?”
“Then let me first see exactly what you’re capable of.”
He pointed at the faint scar at the corner of his mouth.
“Know how I got this scar?”
“Back then, those old bastards threw me straight into a pile of curses.”
“At that time, I wasn’t much older than you are now.”
“But I fought my way out.”
He bent down and looked directly into Yukio’s eyes.
“So now, if I let you deal with a low-level curse by yourself…”
“That won’t be a problem, right?”
Not only was Yukio not afraid, he puffed out his chest instead.
Fighting spirit lit up in his black eyes.
“Of course there’s no problem!”
“Then let me see.”
Toji straightened up, his tone casual, “First step, keep up with me.”
The moment he finished speaking, his figure flashed out like a cheetah.
His speed was extremely fast, though not at full power.
He deliberately controlled the pace so Yukio always felt “just a little more and I can catch up,” but never quite could.
It was a silent form of encouragement and testing.
After passing through several deserted streets, they arrived at an abandoned old district.
Toji stopped in front of an old building that looked abandoned for a long time, its walls cracked and worn.
Not long after, Yukio ran over to his side, breathing slightly.
His little face was red from running, but his eyes were still bright.
Toji was secretly surprised.
‘This brat’s speed and endurance…
really did far surpass kids his age, even many adults.’
It seemed the potential of Heavenly Restriction had already started showing itself.
Yukio looked at the abandoned building in front of him that gave off an ominous feeling, and wrinkled his little nose.
“Bro, there’s a curse inside here, right?”
“I sensed it.”
“But…
I can’t tell what grade it is.”
Toji walked into the building first, his voice echoing through the empty hallway.
“Curse grades go from weak to strong, Grade 4, Grade 3, Semi-Grade 2, Grade 2, Semi-Grade 1, Grade 1, Semi-Special Grade, Special Grade Curse Womb, and…
Special Grade.”
“How do you tell them apart?”
Toji paused, then said something that made Yukio want to roll his eyes.
“First, you need to get familiar with the aura of each grade of curse.”
“Grade 4 is the weakest.
Slightly stronger than that is Grade 3, and so on.”
“As for the rest…
experience.”
“See enough of them, and you’ll naturally know.”
Yukio went speechless.
“That explanation was basically useless.”
“So what grade is the one in here exactly?”
Toji stepped onto the stairs leading to the top floor, his tone relaxed.
“Grade 4.”
“But…
it looks close to reaching Grade 3.”
Yukio’s steps paused, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Hey, hey…”
“You’re my actual brother!
I’m not your enemy!”
“This is my first real fight and you’re giving me this kind of thing?”
Toji got a little less confident after being questioned and rubbed his chin.
“Uh…
probably?”
“The strength of its aura is right.”
He pulled out the black short blade, Little Demon Slayer, and tossed it to Yukio.
“Take it.”
“You don’t have cursed energy.
Normal methods can’t kill curses.
You need a cursed tool.”
Yukio caught the short blade and took a deep breath.
All the joking, nervousness, and hesitation disappeared from his face.
What replaced it was a level of focus and calmness completely mismatched with his age.
Fully focused, he stared at the curse that had sensed the presence of living humans and was now letting out low growls as it charged toward them.
BOOM!
The curse smashed one fist into the spot where Yukio had been standing a moment ago.
The cement floor instantly cracked apart, rubble flying everywhere.
Yukio had already jumped away ahead of time, sweat appearing on his forehead.
‘What terrifying strength!’
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous in his first real fight against a curse.
But he forced himself to stay calm and didn’t attack recklessly.
Instead, relying on his agile movements, he continuously dodged, observed, and tested the curse’s attack patterns and rhythm.
After dodging several pounces and arm swings from the curse…
A sharp light flashed through Yukio’s eyes.
‘An opening!’
He lowered his body and slipped through the gap between the curse’s swinging arms like a wild cat.
The short blade in his hand drew a cold black flash.
Puchi!
Accurately, it stabbed into the relatively weak connection point of the curse’s neck from the side.
The curse let out a shrill scream, its movements stiffening.
Yukio didn’t hesitate at all.
His wrist twisted with force and slashed sideways.
Shhk!
Purple-black filthy blood sprayed out.
The curse’s huge body twitched violently several times before crashing to the ground.
Then it turned into a mass of black smoke that slowly faded away.
The entire process lasted only two or three minutes.
Toji, who had been watching from the side, had a trace of surprise and…
approval flash through his eyes.
‘This brat…’
His speed, strength, reactions, and combat instincts were all far beyond expectations.
Bold, careful, and decisive at critical moments.
The only weakness…
Was the “martial arts” he figured out himself.
It was honestly painful to watch.
Full of openings.
He was relying entirely on raw physical ability to force through it.
“Huff…
huff…”
Yukio breathed slightly and shook the nonexistent filthy blood off the short blade.
Inside his head, ten thousand grass mud horses were stampeding past.
This was way too disgusting.
He turned around, that smug smile returning to his little face as he lifted his chin at Toji.
“So?”
“Did I scare you?”
Toji walked over, reached out, and took back his short blade, casually wiping it on his pant leg.
His face still carried that lazy expression.
“So-so.”
“Your martial arts are trash.”
“When there’s time, your brother will teach you some real stuff.”
Yukio’s little face instantly collapsed.
The thing he feared most was training.
But the next second, it was like he suddenly sensed something.
His expression abruptly froze.
Deep within his black eyes, a dark and hard-to-read light flashed.
“Brother…”, He called softly.
Toji’s steps paused.
In his memory, this brat either called him “bro” or “oni-chan.”
He rarely used such a formal “brother,” one that even carried a trace of dependence.
Toji turned around.
“What is it?”
Yukio raised his head.
Strange light flickered in his black eyes, and his voice carried uncertainty and…
excitement?
“I think…”
“After killing that curse just now…”
“I awakened some kind of…
inborn ability?”
Toji’s brows instantly tightened.
“Ability?”
“What ability?
Try it.”
Yukio nodded and turned around, walking to the spot where the curse had disappeared.
A faint trace of cursed energy residue and shadows still remained there.
He closed his eyes, seeming to sense something.
[A Few Seconds Later]
He opened his eyes, and dark currents seemed to flow deep inside them.
He stretched out his little hand toward the shadow and shouted in a low voice, “Stand up.”
The moment the words fell…
The shadows on the ground began to move unnaturally…
like living creatures.