The trio returned to Jujutsu High...
What happened next was no longer their concern—they just had to wait for the payment to come through.
Students at Jujutsu High were treated exceptionally well. Tuition was completely free, and during exorcisms, not only were they accompanied by a caretaker, but support staff also handled all logistical matters.
Each mission was a chance to gain real combat experience and earn a bounty, all without facing true danger.
Their only responsibility at school was to grow stronger.
This time, their caretaker was Sōjun Minamoto.
Normally, this would be the homeroom teacher's job... but unfortunately, their teacher wasn't exactly reliable.
The Fly Head returned to Jujutsu High, immediately taking off from Riko Amanai's head and zipping off toward the dorm.
No matter what, the attitude when admitting mistakes had to be sincere and proactive. This was the start of a new life—the future would be bright, but first, it had to get through this rough patch.
That was its most honest thought at the moment.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Riko Amanai reached out but only caught a handful of air.
She waved and was just about to chase after it when—
Kento Nanami stopped her.
Huh?
She turned around in confusion.
"Senpai helped us. Why don't we stop by and thank him?" Kento Nanami suggested.
"Then let's go," Riko said, turning to run.
Kento quickly reached out to stop her. "It's already getting late. Let's go tomorrow instead. And we shouldn't show up empty-handed."
"It's fine. He won't mind."
"...Still, let's bring a gift and make it official. We'll all go together tomorrow." He glanced at Yu Haibara.
Yu Haibara stepped halfway forward, subtly blocking the path. "Yeah, yeah, let's go tomorrow. It's pretty late now—wouldn't want to bother Senpai."
"Alright, fine."
Riko Amanai thought about it. Sōjun Minamoto had helped her a lot, and now that she thought about it, she'd never given him anything in return.
Might as well take this chance.
She agreed.
The Fly Head rushed back to the dorm. Just as it reached the door, a wave of anxiety hit.
How should it start?
It once read that in situations like this, you should show up with a thorn branch on your back, confess your mistakes, and beg for punishment.
It glanced around but didn't find anything suitable, so with a tight chest and gritted teeth, it pushed the door open.
"Ha... haha, I'm back!" it called out, voice smooth and lively like a natural-born announcer.
Sōjun Minamoto spared it only a glance.
The Fly Head had grown to about the length of an arm—its build showed some improvement over time.
Minamoto didn't say anything, just left it hanging there.
The Fly Head grew more nervous, its mirror-like surface quickly fogging up with beads of moisture as the pressure mounted.
Once the tension was just right, Sōjun Minamoto pulled a black strand from his right arm and beckoned the mutt over.
It hesitated, then slowly moved closer.
With a twitch of his brow and a flicker of thought, the Fly Head blinked through space and appeared before him.
He pressed the black mass into its forehead.
It was a fragment of the strength of Aragami.The Fly Head immediately began to change.
Its once sleek muscle lines swelled noticeably, now a bit bloated. Its height and bulk surged upward, nearly reaching Minamoto's thigh.
It dropped out of the air and hit the ground, movements sluggish.
The power now far exceeded what its body could handle—it couldn't keep up.
But as the strength surged through its limbs, that ache in its muscles carried a strange thrill.
It was addictive.
Just as it was immersed in the mix of pain and pleasure, it heard Sōjun Minamoto speak.
"I'm giving you one month to absorb this power."
It snapped to attention and looked up at Sōjun Minamoto—a bit of a struggle in itself.
"...In six months, I expect you to reach Grade 1," Sōjun Minamoto glanced at it, continuing, "by human sorcerer standards."
This wasn't an unreasonable demand. In fact, it was the normal pace of advancement. Though it was based on a benchmark he'd developed himself, even that was only about seventy percent of his own actual standard.
The mutt's body had gradually begun to resemble his through assimilation, which signified an increase in potential. Otherwise, that sudden mutation wouldn't have happened.
For a weak creature like Fly Heads, any kind of transformation was a good sign. On their own, they had almost no hope of progress—that was the typical fate of most Fly Heads.
Its opportunity didn't come from any special trait of its own, but because of the person it followed.
And the mutt knew that too. So it didn't argue—just hung its head and accepted the goal with a sulk.
Watching its reluctant expression, Sōjun Minamoto shook his head in exasperation.
Seeking strength is a basic instinct.
Countless sorcerers hit a wall at Grade 1, struggling daily to break through. But the Fly Head? Just riding his coattails, it bypassed the bottleneck as easily as breathing.
Even Sōjun Minamoto had paid a steep price to break through the limits of his own cursed energy.
What you can't have always stirs restlessness.
What's favored ends up taking it for granted.
This mutt... doesn't realize how lucky it is.
...
The next morning.
The trio arrived together.
Yu Haibara had just pressed the doorbell when Riko Amanai pushed the door open and walked right in.
They didn't waste time wondering why the door wasn't locked and hurried after her.
They immediately ran into the Fly Head, who was practicing martial arts in the courtyard.
Is it... different from yesterday? Kento Nanami instantly picked up on something.
Riko Amanai greeted the Fly Head in passing, then kept moving with the other two toward the living room.
This time, they saw the real deal.
Sōjun Minamoto sat with a snake, about as thick as a thumb, coiled around his arm. Its black body was marked with several golden stripes, its head lifted high, tongue flicking in and out.
"Ewwww... why are you playing with a snake?" Riko Amanai's voice came ahead of her, tinged with distaste.
Sōjun Minamoto looked up—at all three of them... or rather, at Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara.
The last time they met was outside the cafeteria, before he and Suguru Geto went on an Aragami mission. Before that, it had been at the Special Grade promotion gathering. They hadn't interacted much, but both had left a clear impression.
Yu Haibara had that upbeat, sunny vibe—your classic cheerful guy. The one beside him, Kento Nanami, always looked gloomy, like nothing interested him.
And yet, Yu Haibara loved dragging him along for all sorts of things.
Together, the two of them were like "No Brain" and "No Joy."
As for Riko Amanai, she could chat with anyone. She talked to people like old friends, and if it were a ghost, she'd still hold a conversation.
From what Sōjun Minamoto had observed, it wasn't even intentional. It was just how she naturally communicated—she probably didn't even realize she had that kind of charisma.
The moment she stepped in, she acted like it was her own home, brushing past Sōjun Minamoto, flopping onto the sofa, and waving to Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara.
"Don't be shy, treat this like your place. Sit wherever you want."
Sōjun Minamoto's forehead twitched as a vein pulsed.
Yu Haibara made himself right at home, lifting several packages and lining them up neatly on the table. He pointed at one.
"This is a thank-you gift for saving us."
Then moved his finger over.
"This one's a souvenir from our trip. And this... is a gift for Senpai's Cursed Spirit."
With that, he tugged on Kento Nanami's sleeve—it was his turn now.
Kento Nanami looked mildly exasperated. He'd been just about to step forward, and now it looked like he needed a nudge, like he was too shy to do it on his own.
He gave a small shake of his head to clear the thought, stepped forward, and placed his own gift on the table.
"Haibara already said everything that needs saying, so I won't repeat it."
Then he looked directly at Sōjun Minamoto.
"Senpai, if you have the time, would you consider teaching us jujutsu?"