Future Yuji Itadori Joins the Chat Group Chapter 20: Another Person With a Dysfunctional Brain!

"ili, thanks for your hard work."

Elsa stretched her body, the binding marks on her arms disappearing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Big Sister, what on earth happened? How did you get..."

ili's eyes widened as she looked at Elsa with a bewildered expression.

"I ran into a very strong fellow."

As Elsa spoke, she couldn't help but gently stroke her chest.

That was the spot where Yuji Itadori's Black Flash had landed.

This was the first ti Elsa had ever tasted such an attack. The pain surpassed everything she had felt before; it had even rendered her Regeneration-capable constitution useless.

It felt as though her soul had been attacked along with her body.

If it had been an ordinary person, that strike would have surely ground them to dust.

Even with Elsa's modified body, she had instantly lost consciousness.

But instead of fear, Elsa felt a certain attachnt to that sensation.

Only pain could make her feel truly alive.

"Was it that guy nad Reinhard?"

ili asked curiously. In her knowledge, only that man in the Lugnica Royal Capital could possibly push Elsa to such a state.

"No, it wasn't. His na is Yuji Itadori~"

Elsa narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of sothing ambiguous flickering in her gaze.

...

The next morning.

Sato Kazuma woke up from his hangover. A splitting headache made it take quite a while for him to regain his senses.

"Where... is this?"

Kazuma looked around in surprise. He was currently in a completely unfamiliar room, exquisite and luxurious.

Usually, he slept in a stable.

Where was this?

He yawned, struggling to recall what had happened yesterday.

"I was too happy yesterday and blacked out all at once... I don't rember a thing..."

Kazuma rubbed his head and walked out of the room into the main hall, only to see Aqua burying her face in a al.

"Kazuma, you're awake."

Yuji Itadori's voice rang out from behind him.

"Group Leader, wh-where is this?"

Kazuma looked at Itadori with an expression of shock.

"After the banquet ended yesterday, both you and Aqua were so drunk you were unconscious. I wanted to take you back to rest—"

The words stopped at Itadori's lips.

Yesterday, he had intended to take Aqua and Sato Kazuma back to their lodging to rest, but he didn't know where they lived. So, he went to ask Luna, who was more than happy to lead the way.

As it turned out, she led Itadori to a stable and even pointed out precisely which haystack the two usually lay on.

Itadori had thought Kazuma was using a hyperbolic description when he ntioned a stable before, referring perhaps to a house as run-down as one. He never imagined it was ant literally.

Just how miserable were these two living?

"Anyway, Luna said she had an extra property and that we could stay here for a while."

Itadori omitted the earlier details and only shared the conclusion.

After hearing this, Kazuma's heart felt like a ssy tangle of emotions.

Isn't the difference in treatnt a bit too much?!

Aqua and I can only sleep in a stable, hey!

Even though Luna knew, she didn't offer a thing!

"Hey!! Co eat breakfast!!"

Hearing the sound of their voices, Aqua, whose cheeks were puffed out like balloons, waved at them.

...

After tidying themselves up a bit, the three returned to the Guild.

There weren't many people today; most had headed out to execute requests.

After Aqua posted the recruitnt poster she had personally made onto the bulletin board, the three chatted while they waited.

—As a result, two hours passed, and not a single person was willing to join.

On the contrary, quite a few adventurer parties ca over to ask if Yuji Itadori wanted to join them.

However, Itadori politely declined all of them.

"Hey, hey, hey, why has nobody co after waiting all this ti?"

Aqua propped her chin on her hands, speaking with a dejected face.

"Isn't it because you wrote on there that they must be an Advanced Class!"

Kazuma sighed.

People capable of becoming an Advanced Class were rare to begin with.

Even if Aqua was an Archpriest and Itadori was currently a hot topic, there were simply too few people who t the criteria.

"So, I'm saying we should lower the class level restriction slightly."

"I have already looked over the recruitnt notice."

At that mont, a crisp voice rang out from behind them.

Itadori's gaze followed the direction of the voice. It was a petite girl.

She was wrapped from head to toe in a red one-piece dress with a dark cloak over it. A wide wizard's hat was pressed low over her forehead, revealing a small section of smooth skin beneath the brim.

The most striking thing was her left eye, which was covered by a cross-shaped eyepatch. Her visible right eye was a vivid red, like glowing coals, with a look of high expectation shining deep within the pupil.

Her face was small, her skin snowy white, and her features were cute yet carried a hint of immaturity, appearing to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.

Her fra was excessively slender; one could hardly see any curves beneath the cloak. Her right hand gripped a wooden staff wrapped in bandages that stood taller than she did.

"This encounter is a destiny chosen by the world. I have been waiting for people like you to appear! I am gumin, the one who commands Explosion Magic, the strongest of all powers!"

She suddenly threw back her cloak with her left hand and thudded her staff onto the ground with her right. Her single red eye stared straight at the three of them.

"My forbidden power, envied by the world for being too powerful—do you also desire to obtain it?"

"Huh?"

The only response she received was three bewildered faces.

"Then, prepare yourselves to peer into the bottomless abyss with ! When one peers into the abyss, the abyss also peers into them!"

The girl calling herself gumin continued to speak in that strange tone.

"Are you here to mock us?"

"I am not!"

"Eh?"

Aqua looked closely at gumin's eyes.

"Red eyes... Are you of the Crimson Magic Clan?"

"Correct! I am the foremost wizard of the Crimson Magic Clan, master of—"

Before gumin could finish her sentence, she suddenly lost her balance and nearly collapsed in front of everyone.

"Hey, hey, hey, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. I just haven't eaten for three days, that's all."

gumin's voice had beco weak and powerless.

"Then what's with your eye? If you're injured, the two people beside can help with the Healing!"

Kazuma said with so concern.

"Hmph. This is a magic item used to suppress my imnse magical power. If it were removed, it would surely bring a great catastrophe upon this world!"