The Era of Adults Is About to Change

Underground experimental area of the Eastern Folklore Research Institute.

Eiji was listening to an Old Professor report on the recent research progress.

"Speak plainly."

After listening to the Old Professor recite incomprehensible jargon for over ten minutes, Eiji finally could not take it anymore.

The Old Professor paused after Eiji interrupted him and instinctively looked into Eiji's clear yet foolish... bewildered eyes.

"Sorry, I forgot you haven't gone to university yet. I got excited and used quite a few technical terms."

The Old Professor scratched his head sheepishly. It was not just because Eiji was the financial backer funding their research, but also because he had actually treated a Child as someone he could speak with on equal terms.

Whenever Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were not around, Eiji often displayed a maturity that did not match his age. Coupled with his relatively rapid development, if not for his overly youthful face, no one would have considered Eiji a Child.

He opened his mouth, wanting to retort that counting his previous life, he might not even be younger than the Old Professor. But after thinking about it, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?

Eiji helplessly closed his mouth.

This made the Old Professor chuckle, evidently imagining Eiji's attempted rebuttal as nothing more than a stubborn Child being contrary.

"Simply put, we discovered one property of Cursed Energy: it is idealistic."

After saying that, the Old Professor's body trembled slightly.

This Old Professor had originally conducted research into energy weapons. Later, because the Island Nation's Dad gave the order, the Island Nation had no choice but to cut numerous projects.

The Old Professor's research project had also suffered massive funding cuts.

Disheartened, the Old Professor chose to retire and live out his remaining years in peace.

When Eiji unexpectedly learned of this, a strange thought surfaced in his mind.

Energy? Weapons?

Cursed Energy should count as a form of energy, right? A form of energy for individual combat, while cursed tools counted as weapons that used this energy.

Once that thought appeared, it lingered in Eiji's mind. Later, Eiji simply prepared a pair of glasses like Maki Zenin's that allowed ordinary people to see Cursed Spirits and paid the Old Professor a visit.

The Old Professor, idling at home with nothing to do, was deeply frustrated. Whenever he cooked, he either cut the potatoes too thick or cut his fingers. Whenever he cleaned, he left water streaks everywhere and even accidentally broke a Flower Vase.

Under his wife's disdainful gaze, the Old Professor could only drink tea and read the newspaper every day.

Go out and have fun?

Having spent his whole life doing research, the Old Professor did not even know what there was to do for fun.

His children had jobs of their own, and he was too embarrassed to disturb them.

Then, a strange young man came to him and showed him a world he had never encountered before.

That immediately piqued the Old Professor's interest.

After speaking with Eiji in depth, the Old Professor immediately agreed to help him research Cursed Energy.

At first, Eiji had been delighted, until he saw the equipment procurement list the Old Professor handed him.

Trembling, he took out the bank card Satoru Gojo had given him years ago. Looking at the balance, Eiji, who had not smoked once since his rebirth, suddenly wanted to light a cigarette to calm himself down.

That was also why Eiji began taking on large numbers of Cursed Spirit Extermination commissions.

Scientific research truly burned through money. Fortunately, Cursed Spirit Extermination also brought in money quickly.

After studying the equipment with his underlings, Eiji directly called Satoru Gojo.

There was no helping it. Some items were restricted, while others required connections.

Once the equipment was ready, they recruited plenty of assistants. Eiji did not need to worry about that—the Old Professor found all the people himself.

They captured several Grade 4 Cursed Spirits for research, bought several sets of Cursed Spirit restraint devices, and hired two low-ranking Jujutsu Sorcerers to manage the Cursed Spirits.

After all that, the money spent nearly made Eiji want to wash his hands of the whole thing.

"Cursed Energy was always idealistic. Otherwise, how could we control it?"

Eiji looked at the Old Professor speechlessly.

After spending so much money, this was all you discovered?

Hearing that, the Old Professor sighed softly.

"Yes, Cursed Energy has always been idealistic. What are people like us, who spent our whole lives studying materialism, supposed to make of that?"

As he spoke, the Old Man dejectedly stroked the Jade Dog beside Eiji.

The worldview and values he had believed in for decades had been shattered just like that. It had taken the Old Professor quite some time to adapt.

"You can see it now?"

Eiji was somewhat surprised. Though the Old Professor wore glasses, they were nearsighted glasses, not cursed-tool glasses for observing Cursed Spirits.

"That's right. That is also why I said Cursed Energy is idealistic earlier."

"Once I subjectively understood Cursed Energy, I gradually became able to observe it."

Eiji did not quite believe him. If understanding Cursed Spirits sufficiently allowed someone to observe them, why did Maki Zenin in the original story still need to wear glasses to see Cursed Spirits?

She had received education related to Cursed Spirits and slain countless Cursed Spirits. Could anyone claim that Maki Zenin did not understand Cursed Spirits?

He summoned Round Deer from his shadow. Sure enough, the Old Professor did not notice that another Shikigami had appeared before him.

It was only the Jade Dog's reaction that made the Old Professor notice something unusual.

"Judging by the little fellow's behavior, did you summon a new Shikigami?"

"That's right. If, as you said, understanding Cursed Energy lets you see Cursed Spirits and Shikigami, then why can't you see Round Deer?"

"Because I do not know Round Deer's appearance, size, or Cursed Energy properties. I cannot imagine what Round Deer looks like, so naturally I cannot observe it. But I already knew what the Jade Dog looked like when we first met."

Hearing this, Eiji recalled Nanami teaching Itadori how to observe Cursed Remnants in the original story.

The Cursed Remnants had always been there, but Itadori could not see them before Nanami taught him. Once Nanami did, he could see them.

"Kid, have you heard of Schrödinger's Cat?"

"I have."

"When you have time, you can look into that. For now, come see the results of my research."

With that, the Old Professor led Eiji to a Lab.

Inside the Lab was a metal box. A Grade 4 Cursed Spirit emanating a frigid aura was confined inside it.

"Matsushita, begin."

"Yes, Professor."

With that, the Researcher named Matsushita flipped a switch.

The space inside the box seemed to ripple slightly. Eiji could see the air inside it distort faintly.

The Grade 4 Cursed Spirit radiating cold began to howl in agony.

"This is?"

"An electromagnetic wave."

"Electromagnetic waves?"

"That's right. You can understand it as us using these electromagnetic waves to heat the experimental apparatus."

"An induction cooker?"

No, the thing inside was a box.

"A microwave oven?"

"...Not quite, but you can think of it that way."

Seemingly noticing Eiji's confusion, the Old Professor continued.

"At first, we had a question. Why could Cursed Spirits pass through matter, yet also physically strike and damage matter?"

Eiji recalled the Cursed Spirit that had come down through the ceiling and injured Megumi Fushiguro at the beginning of the story, then recalled the Cursed Spirit that had appeared through a wall before grabbing a Child and threatening Nobara.

"After a young Researcher proposed an idealist perspective, we quickly tested it and discovered that Cursed Spirits also observed themselves through this 'idealistic' method."

"It believed it could pass through walls, so it passed through walls. It believed it could touch things, so it could touch them. Later, we conducted another test. A Researcher not wearing cursed-tool glasses fired a gun, and the bullet passed straight through the Cursed Spirit. But when an observer wearing the glasses fired, the bullet blasted a hole in the Cursed Spirit's head."

"This made us even more certain that Cursed Spirits and Cursed Energy existed in an idealistic form."

"But this idealism has major limits. It cannot exceed their understanding. Otherwise, the Cursed Spirit cannot maintain its own body and collapses."

"By studying the Cursed Remnants left behind after Cursed Spirits dispersed, we discovered the special energy that formed Cursed Spirits."

"Later, we began studying this special energy and found a way to interfere with it."

"Take this Cursed Spirit, for example."

The Old Professor pointed at the Cursed Spirit in the Lab, which had already begun to disperse.

"According to the Cursed Spirit Illustrated Guide you gave me, this Cursed Spirit was born from people's aversion to bitter cold. Through repeated experiments, we discovered that, while observing it, carrying out... electromagnetic heating could destabilize its energy structure and kill it."

After thinking about it, the Old Professor abandoned the technical terminology and explained it in terms of the microwave oven Eiji understood.

"You didn't use Cursed Energy?"

"We didn't use Cursed Energy."

After receiving the Old Professor's confirmation, and seeing that there truly were no Cursed Energy fluctuations inside that oversized "microwave oven," Eiji believed him.

They really had found a way to use science to harm Cursed Spirits without using Cursed Energy.

No matter what, it was a good start.