This Guy’s Called Little Handsome

Yaga Masamichi didn’t know what kind of face he should make for a moment.

If it wasn’t his technique going haywire…

Then it meant, while Gojo was freaking out about something bad happening to Lin Ge, the guy was just chilling in some cool spot, playing games?

That didn’t seem too great.

He nervously glanced at Gojo Satoru, who’d been radiating a low-pressure vibe since earlier, gave a fake little cough, and said tensely, “Uh… well, you can relax now.”

The dude was straight-up living it up, forgetting all his worries.

No way, he really wanted to laugh.

Hold it in, gotta hold it in!

Seeing Gojo Satoru not responding, Yaga Masamichi ran through every sad memory he could dredge up from his life to barely keep from cracking up. He put on a serious face and said, “Since we’ve confirmed he’s safe, should we stop the detection?”

It was eating up a ton of cursed energy, after all.

Yesterday, after wrapping up Yuji Itadori’s entrance test, Gojo Satoru had come to him to “custom-order” that rabbit plushie, asking him to hand it over to Lin Ge when he saw him later.

Though he was curious, Gojo Satoru always had his own reasons for doing things, so Yaga Masamichi didn’t think much of it and just made the thing.

It was a small task for him.

As long as he didn’t activate his technique, the rabbit was just a cute little decoration. Infuse it with cursed energy, and it could toddle around like a wind-up toy.

But if he triggered the pre-set technique on the rabbit, he could sense its location—like it came with a built-in GPS.

And if someone poured cursed energy into the rabbit while he was using the technique, he could even see what was happening through its eyes in real-time.

When he finished making it, Yaga Masamichi felt like an absolute genius.

Under the man’s gaze, after a few seconds of silence, Gojo Satoru didn’t get mad. Instead, he let out a super cheerful chuckle. “Where’s he at?”

Got played, huh.

Hearing that, Yaga Masamichi hesitated a bit before testing the waters. “Can’t get an exact fix on him. Keeps moving…”

Wow.

Not only was he not mad, he was laughing.

Had he lost it?

But… it was kinda weird. Was Lin Ge on a high-speed train or something?

The visuals didn’t look like that, though.

Clearly, he was in a garden or courtyard.

Full of flowers and grass.

Stopping Yaga Masamichi from keeping the technique going, Gojo Satoru’s face showed no emotion at all. “That’s enough. No need to waste more cursed energy.”

With that, he got up and left.

Seeing him off, Yaga Masamichi said, “…Alright.”

Sigh.

Lin Ge, buddy, you’re on your own now!

—

Honmaru No. 666.

Dropping his phone like he’d just lost everything, Lin Ge could hardly accept this outcome.

Lost… he lost.

His big flex failed!

And it failed right in front of his new colleagues!

The other team was there to stomp noobs too!

Since he’d said not to push, the tsukumogami listened real well, instinctively standing by the enemy crystal to taunt and recall. But then the revived enemy jungler came in with one scythe swing per head, wiping them all out and fattening himself up.

What ticked him off even more?

The mage Lin Ge had killed the most typed out a line just as their crystal was down to its last sliver of health:

“What’s the point of killing me?”

That one sentence made Lin Ge so mad his hair practically exploded.

Talk about a low blow!

Calming himself down, he put his phone away and said to the tsukumogami staring at him eagerly, “You guys go have fun for now. I’ve got some stuff to handle. We’ll play again later.”

Yamanbakiri Kunihiro had been clutching the rabbit plushie and watching them for ages. If they kept going, Lin Ge would start feeling shy himself.

What could a Saniwa be busy with?

Probably just sortie business.

The tsukumogami exchanged looks, glancing at each other with those big, sparkly eyes, not doubting him one bit.

Hirano Toushirou and Kashuu Kiyomitsu even told him not to work too late.

Lowering his head and grabbing Midare Toushirou’s sleeve, Gokotai stole a quick glance at Lin Ge, his face turning almost as red as a tomato.

His lips moved a few times, but in the end, he couldn’t say a word.

He always stammered when nervous, something the previous Saniwa really disliked, treating him pretty harshly because of it.

He was already shy to begin with, but after that, he spoke even less, sometimes going a whole day without a single word.

Holding Gokotai’s hand back, after a moment’s hesitation, Midare Toushirou put his slightly warm phone on the stone table and spoke up. “Um…” He pressed his lips together, trying to act normal. “If you need us for the next sortie, feel free to put us in any formation…”

At first, he thought the new Saniwa would be just like the last one.

But the new Saniwa was easy to get along with… not only did he clean up after meals, he even played with them.

Super friendly, nothing like what he’d imagined.

—

Midare Toushirou had a super slender frame, and he was pretty, with long hair and a preference for more feminine skirts.

If Lin Ge hadn’t seen his profile on the forums, he might’ve mistaken his gender.

Lin Ge was stunned for a sec.

He really didn’t expect his new colleagues to bring this up on their own.

He wasn’t playing with them to trick these pure-hearted tsukumogami into working harder for him. He just thought getting along better would make his stay here more fun.

He’d even planned to handle the next sortie himself.

It’d fill his belly and knock out the assigned tasks at the same time—win-win.

But this was an unexpected kindness, and for a moment, his heart felt all warm and fuzzy. He couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, thanks, you guys.”

He didn’t know what they liked yet. Maybe he’d check the Saniwa forums later, and after selling some watermelons, he could buy them something.

Such great colleagues!

—

After parting ways with his new colleagues, Lin Ge followed Yamanbakiri Kunihiro through a series of left and right turns, passing several small paths, until they reached a place he’d never been before.

His shoes crunched on the stone steps, where fallen leaves and dried branches had piled up, untouched by anyone, forming a brittle carpet that crackled with every step.

At the top of the steps, a massive withered tree came into view.

It looked like it had been dead for ages, its shriveled branches drained of their last bit of moisture under time’s relentless grind, though its twigs were still sharp, pointing straight toward the sky.

“This is the Yurei Tree. When it blooms, it’s kinda like cherry blossoms, so we just call it the cherry tree,” Yamanbakiri Kunihiro said, placing his hand on the tree’s dried-up trunk, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

“It’s got a lot of uses—restoring spiritual energy, nurturing the land, and its fallen branches can be used as tokens for contracts…”

“Huh?” Lin Ge felt like a total noob. “That’s so badass.”

There was stuff this awesome?

He really hadn’t browsed the forums enough!

Such a huge tree going dead was a real shame.

Letting out a helpless chuckle, having already guessed how he’d react, Yamanbakiri Kunihiro wasn’t surprised.

He pulled his hand back and set the rabbit plushie, infused with spiritual energy, on the ground nearby.

“That was all in the past…” He gathered his courage before continuing, “Ever since the last Saniwa left, the cherry tree withered away…”

Lin Ge nodded vaguely, half-getting it.

Sounded like the last guy was a real jerk, pouring boiling water on the tree before he left and killing it.

Wasn’t that like wrecking company property?

By the one-for-ten compensation rule, shouldn’t that guy have to come back and plant a whole forest to make up for it?

But Yamanbakiri telling him this wasn’t much use—he didn’t exactly have the power to bring a dead tree back to life.

Mulling over why Yamanbakiri had brought him here, Lin Ge looked left, then right, but couldn’t figure out what the deal was today.

Was he just feeling emotional and wanted to come here to reminisce?

As he was thinking, he heard the faint rustle of fabric brushing together.

Following the sound, he saw Yamanbakiri Kunihiro suddenly drop to one knee, facing straight at him.

Lin Ge: “!”

o.O!

Oh no!

He’s coming for me!

—

He hurriedly reached out to help him up. “What’re you doing!”

It’s not New Year’s yet, no need for this!

I’m not giving you red envelope money!

People might see and get the wrong idea!

Shaking his head to refuse Lin Ge’s attempt to pull him up, Yamanbakiri Kunihiro felt his heartbeat slow and heavy.

“Would you…” He looked up, his eyes slightly red at the corners, his handsome face earnest and gentle.

“Form a contract with me?”

He held out his hand, a lone, dark brown branch of the Yurei Tree lying in his palm, making his skin look even paler.

Rubbing his hand on his pants, Lin Ge let out a sigh of relief.

Oh, that’s all? A contract, huh.

Wait.

…A contract?

What contract?

His gut told him now wasn’t the time to ask.

He quickly said, “Sure, of course… get up first.”

Yamanbakiri wouldn’t hurt him, so getting him to stand was the priority.

The corners of his lips couldn’t help but curve up. Hearing Lin Ge agree, this time Yamanbakiri Kunihiro didn’t refuse his hand.

As their hands touched, the withered branch was pressed into Lin Ge’s palm.

A strange sensation hit him, and dazzling golden light burst from his hand, so bright he could barely keep his eyes open.

The branch dissolved into specks of light, vanishing into the air.

At the same time, Lin Ge felt something new inside him.

He couldn’t see or touch it, but his body felt oddly fuller.

Was this the “contract”?

He looked at Yamanbakiri Kunihiro.

It was like an invisible bond had formed between them, closer than before.

Clenching and unclenching his fingers a few times, Lin Ge suddenly got it.

Golden specks of energy gathered in his palm, glowing with a warm light.

“This is spiritual energy,” Yamanbakiri Kunihiro explained softly.

Lin Ge was floored. “Whoa!”

From now on, was he gonna be some kinda overpowered triple-threat dude?

Oh, right—after eating Strawberry Shortcake’s technique, he’d already gained weight. Now that he was a triple-threat, didn’t that mean…

Heh heh…

“Am I, like, even more handsome now?” Lin Ge asked Yamanbakiri Kunihiro eagerly.

Yamanbakiri Kunihiro: “…”

His first concern was that?

Classic Saniwa style.

Not bad, though.

His eyes crinkled, and he studied Lin Ge seriously, his gaze sweet as honey. “Yup, a lot more handsome.”

Lin Ge went quiet: “…”

Why’d it feel like a dad proudly watching his son finally make something of himself?

—

Holding up his phone, Lin Ge snapped a dozen selfies from different angles.

Look at this, just look!

Wasn’t this the chiseled, CEO-worthy… no, knife-carved profile?

Hmm, maybe he should start going by Little Handsome from now on?

“Sigh…”

Hugging his phone, once the excitement wore off, Lin Ge started feeling down again.

Strawberry Shortcake still hadn’t replied.

Why not?

Should he quietly wait for Strawberry Shortcake to hit him back?

No way.

Jolting upright like he’d been shocked back to life, Lin Ge quickly typed out a message on his phone.

“AA Desert Lone Wolf: So quiet. I thought we’d always have stuff to talk about.”

If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain!