Jujutsu High's Higher-Ups Have Their Problems Too...

After a little over ten minutes of walking, the three stopped before a Japanese-style room. Perhaps to make Toho Tetsu understand the severity of the situation, Yaga Masamichi had not said a single word to him along the way. Only now did he speak with a grave expression.

"Utahime, wait outside. The higher-ups may ask you some related questions later."

Then, he turned his gaze to Toho Tetsu.

"Are you prepared? Things won't be so easy from here on."

He knew he had no way out, so he could only nod.

The next second, the door to the Japanese-style room slid open, and a rotten, nauseating odor wafted out from within.

Yaga Masamichi went inside first, with Toho Tetsu following close behind.

Once the door closed, the dim surroundings and faint light made him blink instinctively before he could make out the room's interior.

The room was roughly square. Long tables stood to either side of the entrance, with all sorts of people seated behind them. Most were elderly men, dressed in clothing bearing intricate and peculiar family crests.

Directly opposite the door stood a separate table. Behind it sat an elderly man in a black kimono, with graying hair and a hunched body. His features were obscured by the darkness.

After entering, Yaga Masamichi whispered a few words to a middle-aged man in a suit standing nearby. The man then walked over to the elderly man and spoke to him in an extremely low voice.

Meanwhile, Toho Tetsu simply stood where he was, enduring the scrutiny of countless gazes.

Most of them made no effort to hide their feelings. Some were suspicious, some curious, and a few even displayed considerable hostility and malice.

But perhaps because the person seated in the main seat had yet to speak, they merely watched him in silence.

"Mm, I understand."

At that moment, the man in the main seat finished speaking with the middle-aged man in the suit and turned his gaze toward him.

"You said your name is Toho Tetsu?"

"Yes."

Toho Tetsu's heart tightened. He knew the formal interrogation was about to begin.

Sure enough, the elderly man in the main seat was nothing like Yaga Masamichi, who had spoken with restraint and gentleness. Without much thought after receiving his answer, he spoke in a tone of undisguised suspicion.

"Yaga asked you several questions just now, but the answers you gave were far from satisfactory.

"If there were not something sufficiently unusual about you, you would not be here to meet us right now. You would have been sent directly for execution."

As he spoke, the elderly man watched his expression.

When he noticed that Toho Tetsu was first stunned, then visibly uneasy and displeased, some of his thoughts shifted slightly.

Yet he did not jump to a conclusion. He merely cast a glance toward a middle-aged man hidden in a corner.

The man nodded, then unfurled a scroll in front of him. He dipped a brush into blood-red ink and held it suspended over the scroll.

The elderly man withdrew his gaze and looked at Toho Tetsu again.

"Next, I will ask you several questions."

His tone was flat, as though he were merely going through the motions, but his next words made Toho Tetsu's back tense slightly.

"But this will be different from before. We have a way to verify whether your words are true or false, so you had better think carefully before answering."

The elderly man did not explain what method they would use to verify his answers, nor did he say what they would do if they discovered he was lying.

The people behind the tables on both sides also fell silent.

"First question: Did yesterday's attacks at the various subway stations have anything to do with you?"

Toho Tetsu paused, not out of hesitation, but because Yaga Masamichi had already asked him that exact question earlier. His answer was naturally the same as before, but why was this man asking it again...

Wait, they had just said they had a way to determine whether his answers were true. So, in their eyes, his previous answer had been unsatisfactory, which was why they were asking again?

He had known long ago that the higher-ups of the Jujutsu Society were suspicious, but these people were a little too...

"No."

His answer was quick and simple. He did not deliberately offer an explanation as he had before, because the more he said at a time like this, the more likely he was to make a mistake. Since these people had a way to verify it, then let them verify it.

After recording the question on the scroll, the middle-aged man in the corner watched as a black answer appeared behind it, then nodded toward the elderly man in the main seat.

Noticing that tiny gesture, the others present could not help exchanging glances.

If the interrogation had not still been underway, they would probably have already begun whispering among themselves.

The elderly man in the main seat said nothing. He simply nodded and continued questioning him.

"Second question."

This time, he spoke more slowly and seriously than before.

"Were you sent to infiltrate the Jujutsu Society as a spy?"

Faced with a question even more absurd than the last, Toho Tetsu frowned. Just as he was about to answer, the elderly man raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't be so quick to answer."

He leaned forward slightly. The dim light fell across only half of his wrinkled, imposing face, creating a suffocating pressure.

"We can find no information on your identity. You suddenly appeared at the scene of an attack, and you just happen to possess immense cursed energy. I do not believe we are fortunate enough to casually stumble upon such promising talent. Therefore, there is a high probability that you were deliberately sent here."

The elderly man paused, his voice growing increasingly stern.

"Are you working for certain people?"

The Japanese-style room fell silent for a moment. Toho Tetsu seemed to hear the crackling of candle flames somewhere behind him, and his brow furrowed even more deeply.

Not because he felt guilty, but because this question was even more baffling than the previous one.

At least the previous question was understandable. He really had appeared suddenly at the scene of the attack, so it was normal for people to suspect he was involved.

But this? Sending someone who could not even use cursed energy here as a spy? And personally delivering him right under a cursed spirit's nose? What kind of organization would do something so nonsensical? Weren't they afraid of screwing it up?

He had almost blurted out, "Who do you think would send someone who nearly got killed by everyone to be a spy?" But he swallowed the words back down. This was not the time to win an argument.

He merely answered stiffly.

"No."

Upon hearing his answer, the middle-aged man in the corner looked at the scroll again. When he saw another black answer appear behind the question he had written, a hint of surprise appeared on his face, as though he had not expected this result.

Still, he silently nodded once more toward the elderly man looking his way.

This time, the others, whose thoughts had already been divided, could no longer hide their feelings. They began whispering among themselves, their expressions full of astonishment and disbelief. Some of their discussion even reached Toho Tetsu's ears.

"How could that be... How often does something like this happen?"

"Exactly... Could this really be..."

"The fate of the world is unpredictable. It is not impossible for something like this to happen..."

"So, do we really have to do that..."

Toho Tetsu paid no attention to the chaotic discussions. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the corner of the Japanese-style room.

Though it was so dark there that he could barely see anything, he keenly noticed that the elderly man in the main seat seemed to have looked in that direction twice.

The others present also seemed very concerned with that corner.

So, was the person—or thing—that could determine whether he was telling the truth over there?

As he thought and analyzed, the elderly man in the main seat gave a dry cough, and the atmosphere in the room instantly returned to silence.

But when Toho Tetsu looked at him, he could still detect a trace of contemplation in his eyes.

It seemed they really had confirmed that his answer was true, which was why they found it strange.

Soon, the elderly man regained his composure. Compared to before, however, he seemed somewhat less stern, and his voice was slightly more relaxed when he asked the next question.

"Then, third question: Are you willing to join Tokyo Jujutsu High, accept our supervision, and learn how to become an official Sorcerer?"