Special Grade 1 Sorcerer with No Cursed Energy?

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Click."

The door opened, and a head poked out from inside. "Uncle's here!"

Tsumiki Fushiguro's face lit up, and she quickly opened the door.

"Happy New Year, Tsumiki."

"Here's a red envelope for you."

Shinsuke Zenin handed her a red envelope.

"Thank you, Uncle! Happy New Year!" Tsumiki said politely.

"Hello, Uncle."

Megumi Fushiguro stood behind Tsumiki with his hands clasped together. He echoed her greeting, looking at Shinsuke with an expectant glint in his eyes.

"Here, kid. This is for you."

Seeing the look on his face, Shinsuke knew the boy wanted a red envelope too. The kid was already acting all aloof at such a young age.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

A hint of delight flashed in Megumi's eyes as he hurriedly accepted the envelope.

When Shinsuke stepped inside, Toji was already wearing an apron and cooking. He had clearly gotten used to being a househusband.

"Where's my red envelope?"

Toji poked his head out of the kitchen and, for once, joked around.

"You want a red envelope? You're the one who should be giving me one."

Shinsuke shot him a glance.

He was the elder, so giving the kids red envelopes was only natural. Toji was already an adult, so he should be giving his older brother a red envelope instead.

"No red envelope, but I did bring a cake."

Shinsuke raised the cake he was holding.

"Please. I'm not a kid."

Toji glanced at the cake in his brother's hand, froze for a moment, then haughtily pulled his head back and went on cooking.

"Wow! It's a cake! Is it someone's birthday today?"

Tsumiki and Megumi stared at the big cake with sparkling eyes, their mouths already watering.

"That's right. Guess whose birthday it is today."

Shinsuke set the cake on the table and asked them.

"Hmm... It's not my birthday, Megumi's was a week ago, and Uncle's is in summer. So today must be Dad's birthday!"

Tsumiki figured it out in no time.

Megumi looked thoughtful. "So Dad's birthday is close to New Year's."

Last time, Toji had taken Tsumiki and Megumi to Shinsuke's place to celebrate his birthday. This time, it was his older brother's turn to come over and celebrate Toji's birthday with the two little ones.

They could celebrate New Year's together too, and make it livelier.

That evening, the four of them celebrated the arrival of the new year. Tsumiki and Megumi leaned against the window, watching the noisy fireworks outside.

"So, how is it? Your life's a lot better than it used to be, isn't it?"

Shinsuke looked at Toji.

"What are you talking about? I used to be free as a bird."

Toji refused to admit it.

Compared to a year ago, Toji's carefree, devil-may-care air had faded considerably. Maybe that was the power of raising kids.

"You're the one who's almost thirty and still doesn't have a girlfriend."

Toji began attacking Shinsuke over his age.

He was the younger brother, and he already had two kids. Meanwhile, his older brother didn't even have a girlfriend. How was that fair?

Sure enough, at the mention of that topic, Shinsuke's mouth twitched. For some reason, Yuki Tsukumo's face surfaced in his mind.

He quickly shook his head. Why was he thinking about that woman?

"Come talk to me when you've brought Tsumiki's mom back."

They were both bachelors. Having kids didn't make him hot stuff.

"..."

At that, Toji fell silent.

"Ding."

A message notification came from Shinsuke's phone. He opened it and saw that Yuki Tsukumo had sent him a picture.

It was a selfie, with a snowman that looked just like someone beside her.

Yuki Tsukumo: "Happy New Year! [Cute]"

Shinsuke Zenin: "Nice snowman. Don't make another one next time."

Yuki Tsukumo: "What do you mean? You don't think it looks like me? [Hand over mouth, smiling]"

Shinsuke Zenin: "...Do I really look that ugly? [Angry]"

Before long, a new year arrived. As if caught in a loop, Shinsuke resumed his day-in, day-out training.

Whenever he heard about a Cursed Spirit ranked Grade 1 or higher, he would head to Jujutsu High and take on a mission as a team leader.

He reaped the rewards while killing Cursed Spirits and improving his strength.

After several experiments, he had figured out the conditions under which the scripture absorbed and converted energy.

It only worked on Cursed Spirits he had killed with his own hands.

And the Cursed Spirit had to be at least Grade 1.

Year after year passed. Satoru Gojo and Shoko Ieiri graduated from Jujutsu High and became teachers without a hitch.

They graduated straight into jobs—a perfect transition.

After them, Kento Nanami and Riko Amanai graduated as well.

Nanami chose not to work as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Instead, he entered the workforce and became an ordinary corporate drone.

Riko stayed at Jujutsu High and chose to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Every now and then, she also dropped by Shinsuke's place to freeload on food.

After all, Shinsuke occasionally took them along on missions, so he had at least become a familiar face to the people at Tokyo Jujutsu High.

"Hey, Uncle, getting your workout in? I'm here for another free meal."

Riko Amanai appeared in the courtyard.

She had grown out of her youthful innocence and matured considerably.

Her long hair fell to her shoulders, and she wore a yellow jacket. She chewed bubble gum, looking as if she had gone from an innocent girl to a gyaru.

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but to Shinsuke, Riko did look a little like a gyaru now.

A tattoo and a different hair color, and she'd have the whole look down.

"Riko! Why are you freeloading at my brother's place again?"

Besides Shinsuke, who was training, the two little ones who were always there were in the courtyard too.

Maki and Maki were like permanent residents, showing up right on time every day. No one in the Zenin Family dared stop them.

The two of them had grown from tiny little girls into little girls. Aside from getting a bit taller, they hadn't changed much.

"I can't help it. I'm the only one at Jujutsu High. Gojo's out on a mission, Sister Shoko's not around, and I'm bored to death with no one to keep me company. So I came to see you guys."

Riko said it as if it were only natural.

These few were pretty much her only friends.

Nanami had become a working stiff, and Kuroi wasn't around either, so she could only come to this homebody uncle's place.

"Maki and Maki both call me 'big brother,' so why do you keep calling me 'Uncle'? Do I really look that old?"

Shinsuke had been annoyed by Riko's choice of address for a long time.

Riko looked utterly unconcerned. "Come on, Uncle. You're thirty. What else should I call you? Should I call you 'big brother' like these two little ones do?"

"Eugh."

Even Riko got goosebumps as she said it. She couldn't stand the way it sounded either.

"..." Shinsuke.

On second thought, he didn't mind being called Uncle. At least it didn't make him cringe.

"What's so strange about it? Big brother is big brother."

Maki couldn't understand why Riko refused to call him big brother too.

"Oh, right, Uncle. Based on your performance over the past few years, it seems the higher-ups have classified you as... a special Grade 1 Sorcerer with no Cursed Energy!

"You're a sorcerer now too, and a special one at that~"

Riko passed on what she'd heard to Shinsuke.

Over the past few years, he had indeed completed quite a few missions as a team leader. But the highest-ranked curse he'd encountered had only been Quasi Special Grade.

That had led Jujutsu High to assess his strength as being on par with a Grade 1 Sorcerer.

Shinsuke couldn't care less.

What good was being a sorcerer? He'd rather have some money.