Ryuji wasn't the type to jump into something for free. If no bes were mentioned, it was hard for him to agree.

  So, when Arisu added her family's offer, Ryuji smiled knowingly.

  "You should've just said that earlier!" he said with a hint of amusement.

  If she'd been upfront, he wouldn't have had to question her motives.

  Arisu, however, just smiled politely, clearly unfazed. She didn't really believe that Ryuji was ied in her family's offer.

  Given his strength and status, there were plenty of powerful families who would likely line up to do him favors. Even if the Sakayanagi family offered their help, they'd probably never make it to the top of the list.

  "Thank you, Ryuji-san," Arisu said politely before providing him with Shouko's home address.

  "Don't worry," Ryuji replied calmly.

  After hanging up the phone, Arisu turo the Nishimiya family, who were staring at her with hopeful yet anxious expressions.

  "Rex," she reassured them, waving her hand lightly.

  "If even this man 't solve the problem, then I doubt anyone in this world ."

  Her fiden Ryuji was unwavering. Even people outside the world of sorcery knew his reputation. He was widely regarded as the stro sorcerer alive.

  If this was beyond him, then no one else could help them. At least, that was Arisu's belief.

  "..."

  The Nishimiya family remained silent, processing her words.

  They didn't know much about sorcerers or curses. To them, these were distant, almost mythical things. They had always thought that if anything strange ever happehe best solution was to stay away from it.

  But now, something horrifying had eheir lives, and they were powerless to stop it.

  Just as the room fell into an uneasy silence, a voice suddenly broke through.

  "I didn't know Miss Sakayanagi had such faith in me," Ryuji said, his tone light and amused.

  "???"

  The ued voice startled everyohey gnced around, fused. They could hear him, but they couldn't see him.

  Before they could fully react, the air in the ter of the living room began to twist and distort.

  As the distortion grew, Ryuji's figure slowly emerged from the swirling space.

  This was his spatial movement teique, something he rarely used.

  "W-What is this?"

  "Ah!"

  The strange and sudden appearance made the Nishimiya family jump ba fright. Even Yuzuru, who tried to stay strong, clutched her sister's arm nervously.

  Kamuro, too, was visibly startled. She wasn't used to seeing something so bizarre up close.

  As for Arisu, she mao keep her posure, though her eyes betrayed her surprise.

  "You really live up to your reputation, Ryuji-san," she remarked with a small smile.

  Givehing she'd heard about him, this kind of dispy wasirely ued. If anything, it only reinforced her fiden him.

  "So, who's the one dealing with the curse?" Ryuji asked casually, gng around the room.

  It didn't take long for his eyes to nd on Shouko. Her timid and delicate demeanor stood out immediately.

  "Oh… the aura of a cursed spirit. A curse, huh?" he murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly as he sehe lingering energy around her.

  "Please!"

  Before Ryuji could say anything else, Yaeko suddenly dropped to her knees in front of him, her head bowed deeply.

  "Please save my daughter!" she begged, her voice trembling.

  The strong, cold demeanor she usually carried had pletely crumbled. Now, she was just a desperate mother pleading for her child's life.

  "Mom!"

  Yuzuru's eyes widened in shock at the sight of her mother kneeling. After a brief pause, she rushed forward and k beside her.

  Shouko, uo speak, followed suit. She k quietly, her face full of sorrow as she looked up at Ryuji.

  "Please save my sister! I'll do anything you ask!" Yuzuru pleaded early.

  Ryuji sighed and scratched the back of his head.

  "What do you think I'm here for?" he said lightly, his tone carrying a hint of exasperation.

  Even if they hadn't said anything, he had already decided to act. Otherwise, he wouldn't have e in the first pce.

  "The cursed energy surrounding her is growing stronger," Ryuji urning back to Shouko. "If this really is Sadako's curse, thebreak is probably just a few days away."

  Shouko nodded obediently, silently firming his words.

  "Alright, then tell me everything that happened," Ryuji said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

  On the phone, Arisu had given him only a brief summary of the situation. Now, he wahe full story.

  Yaeko and Yuzuru still didn't fully uand what was happening, but Arisu had a clearer picture.

  "I'll expin," Arisu offered, stepping forward.

  She could tell from Ryuji's rexed demeanor that this wasn't a particurly difficult situation for him. That realization put her at ease.

  Arisu began reting everything she knew about Shouko's curse, how it started, what had happe school, and the cruel as of her cssmates.

  After listening for more than ten minutes, Ryuji houghtfully.

  "I see," he said, his expression calm. "It's really stupid, isn't it?"

  The Nishimiya family froze, startled by his blunt remark.

  "To think she was framed and cursed by others, yet still tried to ha all herself," Ryuji tinued.

  "Her pn to make herself the final victim, breaking the curse that way… it's so naive. If it were me, I wouldn't care what happened after I was gone. If I died, the rest of the world could drown for all I care."