That night, Hayashi slept soundly. The room's soundproofing was good, and the couple next door didn't do anything out of line.
Although Hayashi was only fourteen years old, he was already 182 cm tall. To outsiders, Hayashi might just seem like a teenager, but they definitely wouldn't believe he was only fourteen. Who at fourteen or fifteen could be this tall?
Even Fushiguro Megumi at fifteen was only 175 cm. Standing in front of Fushiguro, Hayashi would look like the older brother.
But in front of Gojo Satoru… well, Hayashi would still be the younger one.
Hayashi spent half the day finding a place to live near a big company. The rent wasn't inflated just because of the nearby convenience or the company's presence.
The main reason was that some supernatural events had happened at this big company in the past, which led many of the nearby residents to move out. Only in recent years, when the rent dropped, did a few more people start moving back in.
Hayashi wasn't concerned about any so-called supernatural events. If anything, he was hoping for them. Nine times out of ten, they'd be related to Cursed Spirits or Curses.
After receiving the rent from Hayashi, the landlord gave him a simple warning to avoid going out at night, then quickly left, as if afraid Hayashi would change his mind and move out.
Hayashi found it amusing, watching the landlord hurry away like that.
"Looks like this area really isn't very peaceful. Only two of us living in this whole building, huh?" Hayashi suddenly became curious about the other tenant. Before he moved in, this person had been living here alone. Were they brave, or maybe not an ordinary person?
Knock knock knock~
Hayashi lightly knocked on the neighbor's door, but then he remembered—it was Monday. If the person was an office worker or a student, they were probably out.
He went back to his own room, which was just the right size for one person—about forty square meters, with a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
The place was clean, probably because the landlord often tidied up. After organizing his belongings, Hayashi went out to buy some supplies.
The transportation in Sendai City was convenient, much better than the Hijikata Crematorium where Hayashi had spent the last three months. That place was practically in the wilderness, and you had to take a bus just to buy anything.
Of course, Kanagawa was quite developed; it was just that the crematorium's location was remote.
After purchasing household items and food at a large supermarket, Hayashi returned home, noticing the odd looks people gave him along the way.
He was carrying bags upon bags, almost buried under them. Although he was tall, it looked like he couldn't possibly manage all those things. In reality, Hayashi was only mildly strained; it wasn't too hard for him to carry.
Buying everything in one trip was satisfying for him. He didn't like making multiple trips, so it looked a bit strange.
After putting everything away, Hayashi stored all the food in the fridge. Now he had pots, pans, and dishes, so he could cook at home.
When he had more money, he could go out to enjoy the local cuisine. With money, there was no food he couldn't taste.
With nothing else to do, Hayashi thought about checking out the nearby big company, but decided to assess his strength first.
"Right now, I can use Black Flash six times. If all hits land on a Cursed Spirit, even a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit would be killed. But if I miss a few, it'll be tricky." Hayashi understood his weakness.
If all of his Black Flashes connected in a fight, that would be ideal. But if the opponent was agile and dodged his attacks, Hayashi would find himself in a dangerous situation.
However, that worry had been eased by his newly acquired Cursed Energy Armor. Hayashi knew just how powerful this armor was. First of all, the reason it was called Cursed Energy Armor was because it was primarily focused on defense.
The defense level could block simple attacks from Grade 1 and Grade 2 Cursed Spirits, which was good enough. After all, Hayashi wouldn't always be in a position where he was just taking hits. As long as he could defend against a Cursed Spirit's attacks for a short time, it would be his turn to counterattack.
Of course, the Cursed Energy Armor wasn't only for defense—it had some incredible features that even shocked Hayashi.
The Cursed Energy Armor could absorb a portion of Cursed Energy and convert it into defense. This effect was permanent. In other words, as long as Hayashi used the Cursed Energy Armor during battles with Cursed Spirits, its defense would permanently increase. The speed of improvement depended on the Cursed Spirit's grade and the duration of the battle.
The final feature of the Cursed Energy Armor was that Hayashi could draw upon its defensive power to fuel his last one or two attacks when he was out of energy.
Each time Hayashi used the armor's defense to convert into Cursed Energy after being drained, the armor's defense would decrease. So this was a last resort, to be used carefully.
With these three major advantages, Hayashi was overjoyed. Sitting back in his chair, he felt incredibly relaxed. Now he just needed to defeat one more Grade 4 Cursed Spirit to claim his next reward.
Cursed Energy Output.
With this reward, Hayashi figured his attack range would expand, and his control over Cursed Energy would become more refined. As long as he didn't run into Special Grade Cursed Spirits or particularly powerful Grade 1 Cursed Spirits, he was quite safe.
In this world, it wasn't just Special Grade Cursed Spirits that needed to be feared, but also evil Jujutsu Sorcerers and Cursed Tools. Encounters with these were troublesome.
That's why Hayashi intended to keep a low profile. Until he fully matured, it was best not to attract too much attention, lest he be targeted by strong enemies and get taken out prematurely.
Of course, with Yuji Itadori, the vessel for Sukuna, out there, most evil forces would be focused on him, reducing attention on others.
Besides Yuji Itadori, there was also Gojo Satoru, a top-tier jujutsu sorcerer. Most evil forces were trying to figure out how to deal with this cheater of a being. How would they have time to bother with Hayashi?
After analyzing his situation, Hayashi felt much more relaxed. He didn't need to cater to anyone, nor did he need to avoid anyone. He could simply follow the world's natural course.
As for any unexpected developments in the future, he'd deal with them as they came. The world was full of unknowns, and it was those unknowns that provided the motivation to keep going.
Click~
"Someone's back?" Hayashi's sharp ears caught the sound of someone walking upstairs. It had gotten dark outside without him realizing it.
Hearing the footsteps, Hayashi decided to go out and see who this bold 'neighbor' was.
The footsteps soon reached the fourth floor. Hayashi pretended to be heading downstairs, and finally saw the mysterious neighbor.
"It's a girl?"
Hayashi paused, one foot still on the stairs, staring at the girl coming up.
Yes, the person in front of him could indeed be called a girl. She couldn't have been more than two years older than Hayashi, standing at around 160 cm. She wore well-fitted dark blue clothes, but the most striking thing about her was her orange hair and her delicate face.
"Who does she remind me of?" Hayashi thought he had some impression of her, but seeing her in person made her seem a bit unreal.
Nobara Kugisaki had already noticed Hayashi, but now that Hayashi was staring at her so directly, she frowned.
"Is this guy a creep?" Nobara wondered, but shifted her gaze away from him. She hadn't lived in this place for long, but she knew that it was the kind of place where hardly anyone would choose to live.
Cheap rent was one thing, but no matter how cheap it was, not many people would stay here. She had chosen this place for its peace and quiet, as well as for handling some personal matters.
So why was this boy here?
"Is he investigating me?"
"Is he following me?"
"Or is he really just a pervert?"
Nobara furrowed her brow as she continued walking upstairs, her right hand already clenching into a fist. If this guy made one wrong move, she'd beat him up on the spot!