Satoru Gojo, the Source of All Evil

The cohabitation of two men began.

It had to be said that ever since Akesato had transmigrated, he had basically always lived with women.

At the Kamo family estate, maids waited on him and took care of him impeccably. Setting everything else aside, that alone kept his attitude toward the Kamo family from becoming too harsh—when had he ever enjoyed treatment like this in his twenty-six years of his previous life?

After leaving home, Akemi was female, and Gardevoir was female—thank the system for clearly displaying gender markers. Otherwise, a certain Mr. Akesato would have felt rather conflicted. A Gardevoir with a big stalk... tsk.

Then he went to High School and began living collectively, only to find it was not much different from home. The people he was closest to at school still were not men—among the four first-years besides Akesato, Yuta Okkotsu had arrived late, Toge Inumaki could not speak, Panda was not human, and Maki was female.

As a result, Akesato had not truly lived with another man in quite a long time.

This long-lost feeling... was actually pretty great!

Don't get the wrong idea. Mr. Akesato was a proud straight man and had not suddenly bent that way. But men did indeed have fewer reservations when talking among themselves, especially since Akesato and Kento Nanami had quite a lot in common.

For example, they were both working stiffs, both close-range fighters, both highly self-disciplined, and both the sort who knew a little about everything, making life all the more colorful.

Without fail, they got up at six every morning.

After that came an intense bout of hand-to-hand combat—some passionate fencing.

Ahem. Akesato's Cursed Tool was a sword, while Kento Nanami's was a machete several dozen centimeters long. Japan did not really distinguish between swords and blades, so fencing was no problem at all.

After morning training, Kento Nanami would make coffee and prepare breakfast, while Akesato would go out to buy the newspaper, then turn on the television and tune it to NHK.

During breakfast, the two would browse the news while chatting about anything and everything.

Astronomy and geography, international affairs, culture and philosophy... They did not necessarily know much about any of it, but it was just chatting. As long as they had something to say, the level of discussion did not matter.

Of course, what they talked about most was economics—how to make money.

After Kento Nanami realized Jujutsu Sorcerers were bullshit, he had set himself a small goal—achieve financial freedom, cast aside all burdens, and properly enjoy life.

Although he had ultimately discovered that ordinary work did not pay as much as being a Jujutsu Sorcerer, that goal had not changed.

Coincidentally, it was Akesato's goal as well.

They were both the sort willing to study things and put them into action. They were evenly matched, like a worthy opponent meeting a worthy rival.

Kento Nanami taught Akesato about venture capital, futures, and securities, while Akesato told him about cryptocurrency, real estate, and the general direction of the next golden age being in China.

This was no ordinary speculation.

Though neither said it outright, they had already decided that even after their cohabitation ended, they would keep in close contact. Wasn't making a little cash together a wonderful thing?

Even if neither of them currently craved financial freedom that strongly, and even if neither had any plans to retire for the time being.

Japan's Jujutsu world was fairly disconnected from ordinary society. People like Akesato and Kento Nanami, who paid attention to the mundane world, were instead in the minority.

The simplest example was those incredibly dangerous Special Grade Cursed Objects that could not be destroyed. The Jujutsu world's customary method was to seal them within Lord Tengen's Tombs of the Star Corridor, where the defenses were at their strictest.

Akesato thought that approach was stupid. Wasn't that just a living target?

If they truly wanted to solve the problem once and for all, they should strap them directly to one of Elon Musk's rockets and launch them into outer space. Go on, find the Cursed Objects in space if you can—preferably right beside Kars-sama.

As for differences in opinion on certain matters, both of them remained restrained and sought common ground while setting aside their differences.

Just as Akesato had realized before, he had been "lonely" for a long time, and Kento Nanami's presence filled that "loneliness" very well.

They had clearly only lived together for a few days, yet it felt as though they had known each other for ages.

Japan had strict rules prohibiting drinking before the age of twenty. Otherwise, the two would have long since shared drinks and enjoyed each other's company.

This was the friendship of working stiffs.

Interestingly, on the fifth day the two working stiffs lived together, a third working stiff arrived.

Tokyo High School's Assistant Supervisor, Jitako Ijichi.

When Akesato saw him, he was standing outside Kento Nanami's residence, clutching a stack of documents. He wanted to ring the doorbell but did not quite dare to, looking thoroughly timid.

"Mr. Ijichi."

"Eeeeh~~~~~" Jitako Ijichi jolted violently, nearly dropping the documents in his arms. It took him a while to recover. "S-S-So it's Classmate Akesato. Don't scare me like that..."

"Sorry, sorry. I just got back from exercising and didn't notice."

Naturally, he could not practice Black Flash at home. There was a professional training ground near the Nanami residence, and Akesato had been practicing there lately.

Every day, he threw thousands of punches in pursuit of that flash of inspiration.

"Were you looking for Mr. Nanami? He went out to sweep the streets. He's expected back at five."

Street sweeping was a term the two working men used. They regularly patrolled designated locations to clear out Cursed Spirits. Aside from Prefectural Jujutsu High School students, nearly every Jujutsu Sorcerer had an assigned area.

This was also the most routine work of a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

If it had been classmates like Maki or Panda, Akesato would have gone along and let Gardevoir or Playful Panda farm experience. But Kento Nanami was different. He took his "proper duties" very seriously, so Akesato could only let it go and settle down to practice Black Flash.

At most, he would prepare lunch and dinner as rent and tuition.

At the mention of Kento Nanami, Jitako Ijichi shuddered again, shaking his head haphazardly in a way that made it impossible to tell whether he was nodding or refusing.

Seeing this, Akesato sighed. There was only one person capable of forcing the most mild-tempered and honest of the supervisors, Jitako Ijichi, into such a state.

"Did Teacher Gojo ask you to do something difficult again?"

Ijichi said nothing. Even with Satoru Gojo absent, he would not utter a single bad word about him, even if it was the truth.

Satoru Gojo was incredibly lucky to have such a hardworking, uncomplaining support staff member.

"Anyway, come in and sit down. I'll get something to eat. Tea or coffee? If you don't mind, stay for a simple meal. It's rare to have some free time—get some proper rest. Once you're rested, you'll have the energy to deal with someone's oppression."

Used to being bullied and exploited, Jitako Ijichi nearly burst into tears upon receiving such "generous treatment." "Th-thank you, Classmate Akesato."

The sight made Akesato shudder. How much unfair treatment had this guy suffered? Satoru Gojo, you demon king—you're absolutely the root of all evil.

Once they were seated, Jitako Ijichi finally handed over the document pouch he had been clutching tightly. "These are the materials on Q that Mr. Gojo asked me to give Mr. Nanami. Since Classmate Akesato is also participating in the mission, you can take a look first."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Akesato nodded, took it, and quickly opened it.

As a veteran support staff member, Ijichi's professional competence was beyond doubt. The documents were organized exceptionally neatly: Shoko Ieiri's investigation report, Jujutsu High records from ten years ago, and internal police files.

But the contents and conclusion of the report—

"Alright, I'm sure of it now. That demon king Gojo is the 'root of all evil.'"

PS: Thanks to Sushi Pork Treasure, Osiris Forever, Where Is Purple Mom, and reader 151013183757556 for the donations. Still asking for the triple support.