"My name is Rika Orimoto. Thank you for saving me!"
"My name is Yuta Okkotsu. Thank you for saving Rika!"
Inside the fast-food restaurant, Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto bowed to Gojo Sawa in thanks, their attitudes utterly sincere.
If they hadn't been holding hands, Gojo Sawa might have been happier.
Even the taro pie in his hand seemed tainted by the sour stench of romance, and Gojo Sawa set it down in disgust.
"You're welcome. After all, we're distant relatives, Yuta."
"Distant relatives?"
Yuta Okkotsu was stunned.
Looking at Gojo Sawa's striking white hair, it was obvious he was mixed-race. When had Yuta gotten a relative like this?
"Gojo."
Gojo Sawa pointed at himself. "My surname is Gojo. Your parents should have told you about it!"
Only then did Yuta Okkotsu recall that his father had indeed mentioned the surname. Supposedly, the Gojo Clan was a wealthy and powerful family.
"The Gojo Clan and the Okkotsu Clan are both descended from Sugawara no Michizane. We're rather distantly related, but no matter how you look at it, we still count as relatives."
"Sugawara no Michizane?"
"Yes, the Sugawara no Michizane who was one of the four great vengeful spirits of ancient times."
"Speaking of which, all three of the Three Great Families are descended from vengeful spirits. Mahoraga, the inherited technique of the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows Technique, originated from the vengeful spirit Taira no Masakado, while the Kamo Clan's Blood Manipulation came from Emperor Sutoku."
"The descendants of vengeful spirits now make a living exorcising Cursed Spirits. What irony!"
Yuta and Rika couldn't understand a word Gojo Sawa was saying. They even thought he seemed a little unhinged.
Yuta scratched his head. "Those all sound like vague, baseless legends, though?"
Gojo Sawa smiled and looked around. "Let me see... Not here. Wait here for a moment."
With that, Gojo Sawa walked out of the fast-food restaurant.
Yuta and Rika were just starting to think that he had skipped out without paying when—
Two minutes later, Gojo Sawa returned to the restaurant.
At the same time, he seemed to be carrying something in his hand.
To everyone else, however, he was merely holding up his arm and carrying nothing but air, making for a very strange sight.
"Look at this!"
Gojo Sawa raised the "thing" in his hand in front of Yuta Okkotsu.
"Ah!"
Yuta Okkotsu was startled by the "monster" in Gojo Sawa's grasp, and his cry drew confused looks from everyone in the restaurant.
Rika looked at Yuta in confusion. "Yuta, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly get so worked up?"
Yuta Okkotsu pointed at the Cursed Spirit in Gojo Sawa's hand. "A m-monster!"
"A monster?"
Rika looked again and again, but in her eyes, Gojo Sawa was merely holding a palmful of empty air.
Gojo Sawa gave a cheeky grin. "This thing is called a Cursed Spirit. It's a creature formed from Cursed Energy generated by humanity's negative emotions. Only people with talent for Jujutsu can see them."
"Here, aside from you and me, no one else can see it—not even Rika."
"A Cursed Spirit?"
"Looks like your family never taught you anything about this!"
Gojo Sawa spread his hands. "Then let me give you a lesson. Listen carefully..."
(10,000 words omitted)
Rika Orimoto was filled with amazement at the "strange tales" Gojo Sawa recounted, while Yuta Okkotsu wore an expression of utter disbelief.
But no matter how hard he tried to deny it, the bizarre "Cursed Spirit" in Gojo Sawa's hand was flapping around right before his eyes.
What was more, he could even sense the so-called "Cursed Energy" radiating from the little monster.
"So, you..."
"That's right!"
Gojo Sawa crushed the Cursed Spirit in one hand, scattering it. "I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer. You can think of us as a special group that protects humanity from Cursed Spirits."
"You have potential in this area—enormous potential. So I want to take you on as my disciple. What do you think?"
"Well..."
Yuta Okkotsu fell silent.
To be honest, a stranger had suddenly appeared and told him that monsters actually existed in this world, then invited him to fight monsters alongside him and protect world peace.
It sounded, more or less, like the ravings of a lunatic.
Although the facts were right in front of him, Yuta Okkotsu was still only an elementary school student—one in his first year, at that.
"I... I'll go home and discuss it with Mom and Dad..."
Gojo Sawa thought for a moment, then took out his phone. "Hello, put me through to the head of the Okkotsu Clan. I have something to tell him."
Before long, Yuta Okkotsu was holding the phone, his little face filled with shock.
On the other end of the line, his parents wholeheartedly agreed. In fact, they fervently hoped that Yuta would become Gojo Sawa's disciple.
A Special Grade Sorcerer!
Among Gojo Sawa, Suguru Geto, and the others in their circle, the title might seem commonplace.
But in Jujutsu Society, its status was no lower than that of a country's defense minister.
"And Rika, too. I don't want to be separated from Rika..."
"I've already bought the school you two attend."
"..."
Yuta Okkotsu's little head was filled with huge question marks.
Only then did he understand what his parents meant by the "wealthy and powerful" Gojo Clan.
"Then... all right!"
Gojo Sawa revealed a faint smile.
The smile made Yuta Okkotsu feel a chill run down his spine, and he suddenly regretted agreeing to him.
"Excellent, Yuta! From now on, I'm your Jujutsu teacher!"
"Let's feel the burning fire of youth together!"
"..."
Before you continue