Gojo Satoru was a bit puzzled by Zephyr's change in attitude, but he didn't dwell on it too much. He clasped his hands together and said, "Really? That's great, I truly appreciate it. Well then, let's go."
The two of them headed downstairs, where a designated car was already waiting for them.
Paimon muttered, "Why do I feel like we've been tricked…"
Once inside the car, they found a few familiar faces.
Fushiguro Megumi greeted them, "Hello, we meet again."
He nodded in response. Facing his benefactor, Fushiguro still maintained a respectful and friendly attitude.
Aside from him, there was another person in the car. The moment this person saw Lumine, they immediately shrank into a corner in fear.
Lumine sighed helplessly. "Am I really that scary?"
Itadori Yuji trembled as he stammered, "N-no… not at all…"
Paimon tilted her head. "What are you so afraid of?"
Fushiguro Megumi said, "Hello, cursed… mascot."
"You were about to say 'cursed spirit,' weren't you?! Damn it! Paimon has said it so many times already! Paimon is not a cursed spirit! Paimon is a fairy! If you call me that again, I'll eat you in one bite!"
"…You literally just threatened to eat someone. How is that not a cursed spirit thing?"
"Ughhh! Paimon is gonna lose her mind!"
Gojo Satoru tilted his head slightly, smiling. "Seeing how well you all get along puts me at ease. This car is here to take you to the school, but it will make a stop at the orphanage first. Well then, have a nice trip."
"Oi! Which eye of yours sees us getting along?!"
For that matter, both your eyes are covered!
"Wait, Gojo-sensei, aren't you coming with us?"
"Huh? I can run faster than the car, so of course I'm not going with you."
Fushiguro Megumi broke into a cold sweat. "Please don't say such ridiculous things like it's completely normal…"
Just then, Itadori Yuji, still trembling, hesitantly spoke. "B-Big Sis… are you thirsty? I-I have some tea here…"
Zephyr grinned. "Good! Not bad! Kid, you've got potential. I'll take you under my wing from now on."
She patted Itadori Yuji on the shoulder.
Though Zephyr felt good about herself, to outsiders, the scene looked more like a delinquent girl bullying a well-behaved honor student.
Even though the delinquent girl was a middle schooler… and the honor student was in high school.
Fushiguro Megumi sighed. "I have a cold and aloof image to maintain, can you guys stop forcing me to make sarcastic comments?"
Before long, everyone in the car had gotten comfortable with each other.
"You know, Big Sis, I heard that at this school, if you count both students and teachers together, the total number of people doesn't even reach twenty."
Fushiguro Megumi coughed and corrected him, "To be precise, the entire school doesn't even have ten people."
Paimon gasped. "Huh?! That's way too few! This really feels like a scam…"
"Well, we may not have a lot of people, but our quality of education is top-notch. Both the teachers and students are outstanding."
Paimon blinked and asked, "Do you mean the students getting absolutely wrecked by some low-level cursed spirit while the teacher hides and watches from the sidelines?"
A vein popped on Fushiguro Megumi's forehead.
Zephyr commented, "You sure talk a lot. Do you just really hate Fushiguro or something?"
"It's not that Paimon hate him—we just have completely incompatible personalities."
"Same here!"
Itadori Yuji tried to mediate. "Well, you know what they say—fighting means you care, and insults mean—"
Two icy stares immediately shut him up, making the poor tiger cub shiver and go silent.
Just then, Zephyr suddenly said, "Wait a sec, stop the car."
The vehicle came to an abrupt halt. Fushiguro Megumi frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I saw a Cursed Eye on the map. Gotta go grab it."
"…Cursed Eye?"
Everyone looked dumbfounded.
"What's that?"
"Even if I explain, you wouldn't understand. Just wait here for me." With that, she pushed open the car door and left.
The Cursed Eye was in an obvious location—perched on the rooftop of a temple. Its color was strange, mostly black, but with an iridescent white shimmer mixed in, creating an indescribable, mysterious effect.
Zephyr climbed up the roof with practiced ease and retrieved the Cursed Eye.
…
"That was fast."
"Yeah."
"What does this 'Cursed Eye' look like? Can I see it?"
"You can't see it."
"Huh?"
"I'm the only one in this world who can see it. Normal people can't."
Everyone gave her a look that said, I may not have studied much, but don't try to fool me.
—Several hours later—
"Sorry, I need to step out again."
Fushiguro Megumi raised an eyebrow. "Again? This is the fifth time you've done this. You go out for less than ten minutes each time and come right back. What exactly are you doing?"
Itadori Yuji snapped, "Shut up! Don't be disrespectful to Big Sis!"
"…"
"What are you looking at? Big Sis already promised to teach me how to get stronger. Sooner or later, I'll surpass you."
Despite Fushiguro's protests, the car stopped again, and Lumine dashed out.
What was she doing? Obviously, she was looking for Oculus!
Cursed Eye? Pfft, like renaming it would fool her!
After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived in Tokyo. The driver first took them to an orphanage, where Gojo Satoru was already waiting.
They went through a simple procedure, but unfortunately, there were no significant gains. After bidding an emotional farewell to the children, they left for the school.
Once outside, Gojo Satoru once again took off first, saying he wanted to go back early to eat some ice cream.
…
After several long hours of waiting, they finally arrived at the school.
Gojo Satoru was crouched on the steps, holding half a melted ice cream in his hand. He greeted them lazily, "Yo, you guys are so slow. I've been waiting forever."
"I've already eaten seven or eight ice creams, watched some TV, and you're only just getting here?"
He took one last bite of his ice cream and casually tossed the wrapper into the trash.
Itadori Yuji grumbled, "Why didn't you just come with us?"
"No! Way! I wanted to be first, duh."
"What are you, a grade schooler?"
Fushiguro Megumi frowned. "Why were we so slow?"
He shot a subtle glance at Lumine, as if silently implying it was all her fault.
"Fushiguro, you traitor! How could you betray us?!"
"Hah? Since when were we on the same side?"
"I'd like to report something! It was actually Fushiguro Megumi who kept stopping for bathroom breaks and then tried to blame it on Big Sis!"
"Huh?! What nonsense are you spouting?! You wanna fight?!"
"Bring it on!"
Gojo clapped his hands together with a grin. "Seeing you all get along so well puts my heart at ease."
Paimon deadpanned, "Where exactly are you seeing 'getting along' here?"
"By the way… are we in the mountains?"
"Bingo! Ice fruit for you."
"There are so many mountains. Is this really Tokyo?"
"The outskirts of Tokyo look like this too. Come on, let's go."
As they walked along, Gojo started explaining the school since none of them were familiar with it.
"You guys are all new students, so let me introduce you to our school. Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical High School—one of the only two institutions in the country dedicated to jujutsu education.
"Of course, that's just the real purpose. Officially, it's registered as a private religious school.
"A lot of jujutsu sorcerers graduate from here and continue their work, using this place as a base. It's not just about education—we handle missions and provide support. This school plays an important role in the jujutsu world.
"Anyway, Yuji, your first task is to meet with the principal. If things don't go well, you might not even get accepted. So do your best~~~"
EHHH?!"
Itadori Yuji panicked. "By myself?! What about Fushiguro and Big Sis?"
"Megumi is already a student here. He just came back because it was on the way."
WHAT?! You can do that?!"
Fushiguro Megumi scoffed. "Great. Now I don't have to see your dumb face anymore."
"Fushiguro, you bastard!"
"As for Lumine… well, I pulled some strings for her. Ehe~"
//END