Consider Me!

Geto Suguru didn't know what he liked.

Back when he carried out missions with Satoru Gojo, he hadn't felt so lost.

Not until Gojo kept moving farther and farther ahead, gradually leaving him behind.

Not until he could no longer understand himself.

"Why would you say something like that? Aren't you worried he'll go astray?"

In a quiet restaurant, Yuki Tsukumo happily munched on a chicken wrap and questioned Shinsuke Zenin.

"Compared to what I said, your words are more likely to mislead him, aren't they?"

Shinsuke rolled his eyes at her.

What was wrong with doing something you liked? Nobody was born to save the world, and besides, not everyone had the ability to do so.

"That's harsh! I was just sharing my opinion. How could I mislead him?"

Yuki protested.

Her conversation with Geto had only been an exchange of opinions. The final choice still depended on his own judgment.

She believed that a Special Grade Sorcerer, even while feeling lost, would make a choice he wouldn't regret.

"Heh."

Shinsuke only chuckled. Under normal circumstances, he was right; a few words of casual conversation couldn't have that much impact.

But Geto was still only a teenager. With everything piling up, a few words could easily become the spark that set things off.

Still, none of that had anything to do with him.

As a specially appointed teacher, he'd already counseled Geto and had more or less fulfilled his responsibility. He wasn't concerned about what happened next, nor was he interested.

"Oh, by the way, I'll owe you for now. Money's a little tight lately. I'll pay you back in a while."

Yuki said it without a care, as though she were already used to borrowing money and never paying it back.

At that, Shinsuke's cheek twitched. He'd known it—she was just as shameless as he was.

So this trip had been for nothing. He hadn't gotten his money, and he'd even ended up paying for a meal?

At least he'd gotten to enjoy riding a motorcycle.

"Who are you mooching off these days?"

Yuki asked, getting to what she really wanted to know.

"Don't talk nonsense. Do I look like the kind of person who mooches off people?"

Shinsuke replied, perfectly straight-faced.

Yuki looked unconvinced. "Don't tell me you've turned over a new leaf?"

"I'm currently working as a specially appointed teacher at Jujutsu High. I don't need to mooch off anyone anymore."

Besides, not mooching off people was clearly a return to the right path, not a fall into depravity.

"Hahaha! Don't make me laugh. You and I both refuse to take missions. Does Jujutsu High's salary even come close to what you used to make in a day?"

Yuki doubled over laughing. She didn't believe a guy who'd mooched off people for seven or eight years could suddenly turn over a new leaf.

How could a man who'd made easy money ever settle for Jujutsu High's lousy salary?

Shinsuke didn't argue. He just ate in silence.

"Wait, you're really not mooching off anyone anymore?"

Seeing his calm expression, Yuki was stunned. Was this really the same money-grubbing man?

Shinsuke, for his part, insisted he'd never been greedy for money. It was just that he'd needed it for all sorts of things while he was overseas.

Like a little gambling for fun.

But that life of indulgence was over for now.

When Shinsuke nodded, Yuki's eyes shifted. "So, does that mean I have a chance?"

If he wasn't mooching off anyone, that meant she had a chance.

"A chance at what?"

Shinsuke didn't understand what she meant.

Yuki gazed at him with wide eyes. "If I remember right, you're already twenty-six this year, right? Twenty-seven by the traditional count, nearly twenty-eight by the way people round it up. By that reckoning, you're practically thirty!"

"You can't stay single at your age. So, what do you say? Have you thought about getting a girlfriend? Why not consider me?"

Yuki planted both hands on the table and leaned toward Shinsuke, batting her eyes.

If she could win this man over, she could keep working on her first plan. After all, once they were dating, she could enjoy his body for free—and wouldn't have to spend a cent!

It was the best of both worlds!

Shinsuke stared at Yuki as she tried to catch his eye, then frowned. "Don't think you're getting out of paying me back! I'm telling you, you're not wriggling out of this."

As if he couldn't see what she was up to. She wanted to get something for free again.

And this time, she had her sights set on his body. That woman was wicked!

"Ah..."

Yuki sighed. "You saw right through me."

What an idiot.

Cursing him inwardly, Yuki went back to her chicken wrap.

After getting a free meal out of him, Yuki hopped onto her little motorcycle and said goodbye to Shinsuke.

"See you! Don't miss me too much."

She'd come and gone in a flash, and now Yuki was off again to search for a way to save the world.

She'd already decided that if he still didn't have a girlfriend by the time she came back, she'd have to take a more forceful approach.

He might be strong, but she was a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer, no less. Taking down someone without a Cursed Technique should be a piece of cake.

Watching Yuki leave, Shinsuke had a feeling getting his money back was going to be difficult.

He had no idea she'd already set her sights on him.

And so Shinsuke returned to his peaceful life once again.

Before long, he learned that Geto Suguru, a Special Grade Sorcerer at Jujutsu High, had massacred a village.

Without a doubt, even with this butterfly's slight interference, he still hadn't managed to prevent it from happening.

The Jujutsu World's higher-ups declared Geto a Curse User and sentenced him to death.

Shinsuke didn't pay much attention to Geto's choice. He simply continued living his peaceful life, day after day.

In the courtyard.

Shinsuke hoisted a boulder weighing several tons and rapidly did squats. Steam poured off his body, making him look like he'd just stepped out of a sauna.

"Whoa—Big Cousin's turned into Steam Man! That's so cool!"

Mai Zenin clapped excitedly from a distance, her eyes sparkling and her mouth hanging open in awe.

Maki was nearby, copying the movements of her future teacher. She held a wooden board over her shoulders and exercised.

She hadn't officially become his student yet, but she came here to train almost every day so she could learn real skills sooner.

She watched her cousin carefully, trying to figure out exactly how he'd gotten so strong.

Mai had originally sworn she'd never come to this courtyard again, but her sister ignored her pleas every day and came here to secretly train.

Without her sister, she felt lonely. She could only force herself not to be afraid. With her sister here, her scary big brother wouldn't eat her!

At first, she hadn't dared come. Then she'd watched her sister train with him from far away. Now, she wasn't afraid of him at all.

She was beginning to understand that he wasn't some monster in human form—he was her and her sister's big brother.

And he didn't bully them like everyone else did.

Mai had gone from being scared enough to cry when she first saw him to becoming his number-one fan.

After all, just knowing that other people wouldn't dare bully her and her sister whenever they came here was enough to make her look up to him.

"What's Steam Man? Keep talking and I'll eat you."

"Bleh! Mai isn't scared!"