Chapter 15

Hiroyuki's CE pool has the potential to be so large that it can probably cover half of the city if he let it simply spread out.

A pretty ridiculous idea that can only exist in someone's dream, one could say.

But that's what makes it scary because it's a ridiculous idea that is not impossible to achieve. Thanks to his Heavenly Restriction, if enough people were made known of it, such a feat is not far-fetched.

However, as good as it sounds to be, it's not really something that Hiroyuki wanted to happen. 

Well, just from a couple of people, his CE recovery already became so slow to the point that once he fully exhausted his CE pool, he had to wait almost a day or two just to get it all back.

It became THAT slow just from five people knowing it. 

So if that hypothetical future were to actually happen, at that point, his CE recovery rate would surely be non-existent already. He'll probably die of old age first before he could even generate at least ten percent of his entire CE pool.

That's why back then, when he first found out about this, Hiroyuki did everything he could to stop the information from spreading around. Because at that time, he was still not ready.

Even right now, given the years that have passed, Hiroyuki is still not ready. And it would probably take him more time to be so.

Actually, he didn't plan or doesn't want to make such a thing happen in the first place cause that simply sounds like a lot of stress.

But he doesn't have any choice. 

The moment he found out about his Innate Curse Technique, he already knew that his Heavenly Restriction was given to him for a reason. 

In any case, he wanted more time first before proceeding with that kind of ridiculous plan. This kind of thing is simply not something to be taken lightly unless he wants to hinder his growth.

Unfortunately, it seems that this plan won't happen anymore because the thing that Hiroyuki was trying to prevent, already happened.

Currently, the fact that Hiroyuki possessed such Heavenly restriction was already made known to the entire Gojo clan.

What's more unfortunate is the fact that, when this happened, Hiroyuki wasn't home. So when the information was spread around, nobody had a way to make sure if the rumors were true or not. 

So for some time, everyone believed it. And just like any scandalous news about famous celebrities, it was spread around the entire clan before anyone could even react.

Of course, Hiroyuki was instantly made aware of it.

Well, out of nowhere, his CE pool started surging and growing uncontrollably. When that happens, he doesn't even need to ask to find out what was the reason behind it.

That's why, as fast as he possibly could, he quickly went home, in hopes that he could still do some damage control.

Giving credit where it's due, he acted pretty fast and got back home in under an hour, given the huge distance between his previous location to their house, which normally takes an hour or two to travel.

Sadly, such an effort was futile. As he predicted, it was already too late. 

Everyone already knew his secret. 

The only good thing was that the rumor was contained inside the clan and didn't get out to others anymore. 

That's simply because, the moment he got home, the rumor quickly died.

Logically speaking, since the entire clan was already aware of his HR, his CE pool should've been so massive already. Or some slight changes were at least made. 

But the level of CE that everyone saw when he got back home, was still the same. Not even a slight change was made.

This led everyone to believe that the rumor about Hiroyuki's Heavenly Restriction, was nothing but fake news.

Well, Senjumaru was the only one who knew about the existence of the Cursed Heart. 

The massive CE that everyone expected to see was there, it's just that, Hiroyuki hid most of it and only revealed a normal amount for the others to see.

Well, none of this matters that much anymore anyway. This is simply an act to stop making matters worse.

Regardless, the damage has already been done.

What matters now is finding out the culprit for this. 

That's why, wasting not even a second upon arriving, both Senjumaru and Hiroyuki immediately went around and did some investigation in regards to such happening. 

Well, "investigation" is kind of a stretch really. In the first place, all they had to do was find those who first knew about Hiroyuki's HR.

Meaning, the three maids.

But, before they can even ask them, Hiroyuki already knows that the chances of them being the culprit are extremely low. 

Not because Hiroyuki trusts them that much but because... they simply can't.

At first, Hiroyuki hesitated because as he said before, he didn't want to subject the three to some weird stuff, over some problems that he himself caused.

But after much conclusion and realization of how much stake was there had they truly opened their mouths, he went back to them and put them in a Binding Vow.

Forcefully keeping them from opening their mouths in regards to Hiroyuki's information.

So to make matters short, it wasn't them... Or at least, that's how it is supposed to be. Because trying to find the three, strangely enough, they only found two.

The last one was missing.

No matter how hard they try to search, they simply can not find her whereabouts. Even after days of waiting, she did not appear. 

So the conclusion for this is simple... she was kidnapped by someone.

Even the members of the clan who immediately made some investigation upon becoming aware of the situation thought the same. Nobody even thought of the possibility that she might've just run away.

All the clues that had been gathered pointed to one thing. Someone took her.

But who? That's everyone's question. Unfortunately, no one can come up with an answer. But the motives for it are pretty obvious.

It's to target the Six Eyes.

But, since the security around is much tighter than ever, the kidnappers probably decided to not risk it and simply gather crucial information instead.

Due to that, they got the missing Maid.

Obviously, Hiroyuki was pretty worried that one of the Maid who was close to him was kidnapped and that someone was actively targeting Satoru now.

But right now, he has bigger things to worry about.

Initially, after stopping the rumors around the clan, Hiroyuki thought that it was already over. That he managed to somehow stop it.

But it's been days now since then and his Curse Energy Pool showed no signs of stopping from growing. It's to the point now that it's already at a pretty alarming level.

If it weren't for the Cursed Heart, the entire house where Hiroyuki stays at and everyone inside it would've probably been engulfed by his surging CE already. That's how massive it has become.

Hiroyuki didn't know what methods the Kidnappers used but one thing was for sure, it was very effective that they managed to also get the information about him as well despite the Binding Vow's existence.

Of course, Hiroyuki is aware that Binding Vows, at the end of the day, are just another form of agreement. And just like any agreement, regardless of the punishment for breaking it, it can be broken. 

But given the Maid's personality, which Hiroyuki knows well, she would most likely choose to just die rather than spit even a single piece of information about the Clan.

So the fact that the current situation turned out like this is really a surprise.

In any case, the fact that the kidnappers managed to dig so much information that they were even aware that spreading Hiroyuki's Heavenly Restriction would give him more bad than good is pretty concerning.

That's why Hiroyuki and Senjumaru immediately started preparing to take action as a response. 

The preparation, given how the security around the Clan became tight again, became a little bit slower. But after a couple of days of work, it's finally finished... or more so, 'found'. 

Hence, on a certain day, the moment midnight hits, both Hiroyuki and Senjumaru suddenly disappear from their respective rooms. 

And the next place they were actively seen, was on the outskirts of Shinjuku, all while running across to the now-emptied streets.

Now the reason why they are here is because of the fact that, in the past, apart from the Binding Vow, he also asked Senjumaru to mark the three maids with her Technique.

Just in case they decided to run away or something like this were to happen. Which goes to show Hiroyuki's undying cautious nature.

So basically, wherever the Maid got dragged into, it was bound to leave some residuals on the way.

Of course, residuals can be easily hidden, any experienced Sorcerer can do such a thing. 

Fortunately, Senjumaru's technique is pretty unique. They can cover it up but they wouldn't be able to get rid of it. Not to mention that Senjumaru possesses extreme sensitivity to Curse Energies, so much so that even Hiroyuki himself described it as borderline ridiculous.

Still, whoever the kidnapper was was skilled enough to hide the residuals so well that it took them days before finally getting the lead.

But now that they finally got a scent of it, uncovering the rest is pretty easy. 

So to make the long story short, currently...

They're on a hunt.