No One Cared About Satoru Gojo

"That axe was pretty good, though I think I dulled it. I'll get you another one next time."

Shinsuke Zenin returned to Meimei and the others, handing back the dulled axe.

They stared at him blankly for a moment. Then Meimei came to her senses and waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. It's just an axe."

She liked money, but that didn't mean everything could be measured in money.

"Then thanks."

Shinsuke didn't bother to refuse. He didn't have the money to buy a new Cursed Tool to repay her anyway.

"Gulp... We can go back now, right?" Utahime asked cautiously.

To be honest, she was a little afraid of Shinsuke now, but even more than that, she was shocked.

His way of exorcising Cursed Spirits had been somewhat brutal, but taking out so many with such ease proved that he was on a completely different level from them.

"I guess so? The mission's over, after all. Though I wouldn't mind spending a few more days on the school's dime."

Shinsuke was in a good mood and, for once, cracked a joke.

"Haha, that might not be very appropriate, though, right?"

Kusakabe tamped down his astonishment and played along.

He hadn't done much on this mission either. He'd feel guilty about taking a few days off for free.

"Well, it looks like you've completed the mission without a hitch. I knew I could count on you!"

Satoru Gojo finally showed up. He'd only been able to come over after Geto's group had withdrawn.

There was nothing he could do about it. The other side refused to fight him head-on and just wanted to keep him occupied. It was incredibly annoying.

"Gojo! Couldn't you have gotten here sooner? Do you have any idea how close Meimei was to—"

Utahime glared at Satoru Gojo, clearly angry. With his speed, he could have gotten there as soon as he received the message.

"Uh... I was tied up by the enemy, okay? Sorry, sorry."

Satoru Gojo scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"But you're all fine, so I take it everything's been taken care of?"

"Yeah. To be precise, Teacher Shinsuke took care of everything by himself. We couldn't even get involved."

Kusakabe gave him a brief account of what had happened.

After hearing the details, Satoru Gojo regretted not getting there sooner. If he'd known the Cursed Spirit was that strong, he wouldn't have bothered fighting those guys.

He should've just used Domain Expansion to take them out and rushed over.

It was all Geto's fault for making him hesitate. Next time something like this happened, he couldn't afford to go easy on them. Sooner or later, something would go wrong.

"By the way, you really are strong. Why don't we take this chance to have a proper fight?"

Satoru Gojo looked at Shinsuke Zenin. He clearly hadn't gotten his fill of fighting earlier.

"Idiot..."

Shinsuke ignored Satoru Gojo's challenge, took the battered Play Cloud from Kusakabe, and headed out of the curtain.

"Hiss—what does that mean? Does he not want to see how he stacks up against the Strongest Sorcerer?"

Satoru Gojo tried to figure out what Shinsuke was thinking.

"Ahem. Maybe Teacher Shinsuke just isn't interested in you."

Kusakabe patted Satoru Gojo on the shoulder and tried to console him. "From what I've seen, Teacher Shinsuke seems to prefer fighting Cursed Spirits."

"Hey, hey, hey! What's that supposed to mean? Am I not even as good as a Cursed Spirit?"

Satoru Gojo couldn't take that. Shinsuke was eager to fight Cursed Spirits, but couldn't be bothered to fight him.

Was he looking down on him?

"Let's go, Strongest Sorcerer."

Utahime helped Meimei and followed the others out of the curtain.

"..." Satoru Gojo.

No one cared whether he measured up to a Cursed Spirit.

The mission was over, and they could head back. As for the remaining work, the other Grade 2 Sorcerers could take care of it.

A few days later, Shinsuke Zenin discovered that he'd acquired a new nickname: Cursed Spirit Killer.

No one knew who'd come up with it, but given the reputation he'd developed at Jujutsu High, everyone had accepted the name.

Now the brothers had matching titles: one was the Sorcerer Killer, and the other was the Cursed Spirit Killer.

In the courtyard.

Shinsuke Zenin lay back in a reclining chair, idly basking in the early morning sunlight.

Training wasn't doing much for him anymore, so he'd gradually shifted his focus to hunting powerful Cursed Spirits.

There just weren't many Cursed Spirits around that met his standards yet.

He didn't pay it much mind. There'd be more of them in a few years, and then he could have a great time leveling up.

"Big Brother, look! I'm almost there!"

Maki was straining so hard that her face had turned red. Her whole body tensed as she pressed her palms together. A thread of Cursed Energy gathered between them, coalescing into a tiny stone made of Cursed Energy.

"Big Brother! I really did it!"

Maki beamed and hurriedly held out the little stone in her palm for Shinsuke to see.

But as soon as she turned around, her strength gave out. Her vision went black, and she toppled forward.

Smack.

Fortunately, Shinsuke reached out and caught her. Otherwise, she would've fallen flat on her face.

The little stone, brimming with Cursed Energy, slipped from her hand and hit the ground, dissolving into Cursed Energy.

"Tsk, tsk."

Shinsuke carried Maki over and laid her down in the chair. Then he looked at Maki, who was sweating profusely beneath the tree, and sighed. "You two sisters really are hopeless, each worse than the other."

Just as expected of the Twin Curse.

The two of them shared the talent of a single person, making it incredibly difficult for either of them to grow stronger.

Unless they both worked hard together, they might have a slim chance.

When it came to strength, each of the sisters was holding the other back.

Maki was short a little Cursed Energy, while Maki had a little too much.

That kept Maki's Construction Cursed Technique from reaching its full potential, and it also left the physical enhancement granted by Maki's Heavenly Restriction pitifully weak.

To fix this flaw, one of them would have to die.

But if they could transfer the tiny amount of Cursed Energy inside Maki into Maki, that might also be enough to undo the Twin Curse.

Shinsuke didn't know whether Maki could cultivate blood-and-qi energy.

After all, blood-and-qi energy and Cursed Energy were polar opposites. Only one could exist inside the body at a time.

They'd have to wait until Maki was physically strong enough and give it a try. The Cursed Energy inside her was faint, so it might work.

"Eh... What happened to me?"

A little while later, Maki woke up and realized she'd claimed her brother's seat. She looked completely confused.

Hadn't she been training her Cursed Technique?

"It's like that the first time. Just keep practicing and you'll get used to it."

Shinsuke explained.

"All right. I guess I'll have to keep working hard."

Maki fell for his explanation, assuming everyone felt that way the first time they used their Cursed Technique. She didn't think anything was wrong.

After all, her brother would never lie to her.

Seeing that, Shinsuke reached out and ruffled her hair.

Actually, it was fine if she didn't work hard. The flaw was still there, and if they couldn't fix it, working hard might not make her any stronger anyway. At least she'd be more comfortable if she didn't push herself.

If he hadn't had his cheat, he'd probably still be lazing around now, living off someone else's money.

When he couldn't see where hard work would get him, he usually chose to find another path—a much easier one.