Time flowed by, and soon two hours passed.
After cleaning the room, Sakiko took money to buy ingredients outside and made a plate of Mapo Tofu, placing it on the table.
"How does it taste?"
"Very ordinary."
Tatsuma put down his chopsticks and commented, "The seasoning is slightly lacking, and the spicy flavor isn't prominent enough."
Sakiko lightly bit her lip and lowered her head in apology. "Sorry, my skill is a bit lacking."
As a young lady from a prominent family, she had never lifted a finger in the kitchen before, and her cooking skills were zero. This plate of Mapo Tofu was something she had only learned in the past few months.
The reason she learned it was its cost-effectiveness. She could alternate it with dishes like egg-fried rice and wouldn't get tired of eating it.
"Don't be nervous, I didn't say I was going to fire you."
Tatsuma took out a bank card and asked, "I see you seem to be very short on money. Are you interested in a part-time job?"
"What kind of part-time job?"
Sakiko asked cautiously, deciding to run away immediately if Tatsuma said anything inappropriate.
However, just then, a scene that shattered her worldview appeared. She saw Tatsuma's back suddenly sprout a pair of black wings, and scarlet flames appeared in his hand.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am actually a Devil."
"...Is there still time for me to resign now?"
Tatsuma smiled. "Of course there is, but your memory will need to be erased."
Sakiko's expression froze. "Let's talk about the part-time job content first."
"Accept my power, and then train and become stronger according to my arrangements."
Tatsuma pushed the card forward and said, "There is ten million Japanese Yen inside. The faster your strength grows, the more money you can get."
Sakiko was tempted. "Is that all?"
Tatsuma nodded. "That's all."
He was preparing to further test the effect of the new function.
Yuuto and others all trained in private. Tatsuma wasn't clear on how much improvement they gained from training for how long, or how much benefit he could get from it.
Finding a test subject to get stronger from scratch by his side was more convenient for him to obtain detailed data.
"If it's just like this, then I'll take this part-time job."
In Sakiko's view, this job wasn't difficult. Just training to become stronger and getting paid was simply too easy.
With this thought, Sakiko accepted the part-time job Tatsuma had prepared for her.
Then, when Sakiko regained consciousness, time had already arrived at the next day. Getting up from the sofa, she looked around with a confused expression.
"This is..."
"This is my home."
Tatsuma's voice sounded.
Sakiko's body trembled, and fear showed in her eyes.
She remembered.
Yesterday, she trained according to Tatsuma's requirements, but ended up collapsing from exhaustion midway.
Tatsuma said, "You're quite a weakling. You trained for two hours and slept for a whole night, and you even woke up later than me."
"It's a good thing I have a good temper. If it were someone stricter, you'd be fired on your second day of work."
Maybe you should just fire me.
Tatsuma said, "This is yesterday's salary, totaling fifty thousand Yen including the improved strength. Take it."
"Thank you, boss."
"Boss sounds a bit strange. Just call me Master."
"...Thank you, Master."
'Life is not easy.' Sakiko sighed.
...
Twenty days later, Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"Huh? Tatsuma, why are you here?"
Yuji had just finished training when his eyes lit up, and he waved towards his companion not far away to greet him.
"Here to collect the reward." Tatsuma took the Cursed Corpse from Satoru's hand.
Because Sukuna's finger had been transferred, the number of cursed spirits near Kuoh Town had dropped sharply.
In order to get more traits, Tatsuma contacted the Jujutsu higher-ups through Satoru. The higher-ups were naturally very welcoming towards Tatsuma.
Compared to the continuously appearing cursed spirits everywhere, the Jujutsu sorcerers' manpower had always been insufficient.
After negotiating the terms, Tatsuma established cooperation with the Jujutsu higher-ups. They provided information, and he provided combat power.
After dealing with the Cursed spirits and getting traits, he could also collect a reward along the way.
Putting away the Cursed Corpse, Tatsuma looked towards Satoru. "Why do I feel like the missions I've been receiving recently are all very simple? Aren't there any Special Grade Cursed Spirits for me to fight?"
Satoru shrugged, "There are some, but I've basically cleared them all out."
Tatsuma: ?
Satoru said, "Don't look at me like that. It's just that your asking price is too high."
"Since there's enough manpower, the missions for Special Grade Cursed Spirits naturally fall on me."
"Alright then."
Tatsuma was a bit helpless.
He wondered why the strongest missions he received were only Grade 1 Cursed Spirits. It turned out that Jujutsu High handed all the Special Grade Cursed Spirits to Satoru to handle in order to save money.
Tatsuma said, "Next time there's a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, you can call me. The price will be calculated based on a Grade 1 Curse Spirit."
Satoru raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden big discount? This doesn't align with your Devil's concept of equivalent exchange, does it?"
Tatsuma said, "I'm not a Pure-Blooded Devil, so of course there's no need to abide by that concept."
"Anyway, let's swap missions in the future. You go deal with Grade 1 Cursed Spirits, and leave the Special Grade Cursed Spirits to me."
"No problem." Satoru agreed.
Although Special Grade Cursed Spirits weren't strong for him, constantly running around was quite troublesome. Tatsuma being willing to help share the burden was a good thing in his eyes.
However...
Satoru asked, "With your strength, you won't gain much improvement even fighting Special Grade Cursed Spirits, right?"
"Why are you so fixated on Special Grade Cursed Spirits? Normally, shouldn't you be challenging me?"
Tatsuma casually replied, "Now is not the time."
Perhaps due to the fusion of worldviews, Satoru's strength was greater than in the original story. If they fought now, Tatsuma only had an eighty percent chance of taking down Satoru, which wasn't stable enough.
It wouldn't be too late to wait another month to develop and then beat Satoru when he had a hundred percent certainty.