The Trap in the Question

Toho Tetsu did not need to hesitate or think about this question at all.

Because his answer was exactly the same as when Yaga Masamichi had asked him before.

For the characters he liked and the stories he wanted to change, to avoid that nightmare and the inevitable ending, he had only one answer.

"I'm willing."

After saying those three words, he no longer paid attention to what was happening in the room.

It was not because the words sounded like some sort of vow made in a strange setting, making him feel embarrassed—though... that was a small part of it.

More importantly, he had already said nearly everything there was to say. He was at their mercy now, with nothing else he could do but wait for the outcome.

This time, the middle-aged man in the corner nodded to the old man at the head of the table without waiting long at all, and the air in the room once again sank into silence.

Toho Tetsu might not have understood, but everyone else knew exactly what those three exchanges of glances and nods meant.

The old man at the head of the table also fell silent. His fingertips tapped the tabletop again and again, as though he were using the motion to focus himself for some important deliberation.

After roughly a dozen seconds, he stopped and looked at the boy standing there.

"I have received your answer. Now, please leave for a while. We need to discuss how to deal with and arrange you. Remember, don't even think about running."

Toho Tetsu froze for a moment and instinctively looked toward Yaga Masamichi nearby.

After receiving a signal from his eyes, despite the strange feelings still lingering in his heart, he merely nodded, pulled open the door, and walked out.

When the door closed again, the oppressive silence in the Japanese-style room vanished instantly.

Behind the long table on the left, an aged voice rang out impatiently.

"So all three times? All three answers were genuine?"

The speaker sat in the middle seat on the left. The family crest on the back of his kimono depicted some kind of coiling, winding snake. Though his voice was not loud, everyone present could hear him clearly.

"An ordinary person of unknown identity possesses an enormous amount of cursed energy. He even landed a Black Flash in his very first battle. He isn't a Curse User, nor is he a spy planted by outsiders, and he genuinely wants to join us. Do you really find that believable?"

Hearing this, the slightly plump old man seated opposite him merely snorted.

"What? Are you questioning the Truth-Telling Scroll?"

"I didn't say there was a problem with the scroll. I'm saying that if there's no problem with the scroll, then the problem must lie with this person!"

The old man with the snake-patterned crest did not change his tone, but the plump old man opposite him seemed to be arguing in earnest as he replied in exasperation.

"You've said everything yourself. There's no problem with the scroll, and there's no problem with the person. Then what problem could there possibly be?"

"You..."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, the middle-aged man seated at the far end of the left table hurriedly cut in. However, his tone was rather complicated.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. This matter is certainly very strange, but I think the principal must have his own considerations. After all, that third question didn't sound so simple, did it?"

At his words, those who had been watching the show or lost in their own thoughts all turned to look at the old man seated at the head of the table.

And indeed, the other man opened the eyes he had kept shut ever since Toho Tetsu left. He answered in an indifferent voice.

"That is indeed the case. Compared to the first two questions, the third was more of a trap."

Having prevented a possible argument, the middle-aged man secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he continued naturally.

"Then could you explain it to me? I truly can't see any issue with it."

"I asked whether he was willing to join Jujutsu High. There were three possible combinations between his answer and his actual feelings.

"The first was that he said he was willing while unwilling in his heart, or said he was unwilling while willing in his heart."

After a pause, he explained.

"The reason I put these two cases together is because both mean he was hiding something from us. Otherwise, he could simply say directly whether he was willing or unwilling."

Some of those who were slower to grasp the deeper meaning behind the question could not help smacking their lips.

The middle-aged man who had asked first apparently had not considered that angle either. He looked somewhat surprised before asking uncertainly.

"Then what if he said he was unwilling and was unwilling in his heart as well?"

The moment the words fell, the old man at the head of the table fixed him with a cold, stern gaze, his voice taking on a trace of cruelty.

"With an enormous reserve of cursed energy, an unknown origin, and a refusal to accept supervision, does he have any path other than sealing or execution?"

The Japanese-style room fell silent.

Because everyone now understood that although the question appeared lenient, the instant it was asked, the boy had only two paths: join Jujutsu High or accept his fate.

After a while, someone finally broke the silence.

"So, have you made your decision?"

The middle-aged man who had been hiding in the corner stood up at this point, but his face looked remarkably pale, as if he had just suffered some tremendous blow.

He had already put away the scroll and taken the empty seat at the old man's right hand.

"All three questions have been asked, and we have our answers. Are you going to use him, or dispose of him immediately?"

The old man at the head of the table let his gaze fall on the door. Only after more than ten seconds of silence did he speak.

"Observe him for now. Fabricate an identity for him and enroll him. Then assign someone to monitor him and report to us regularly."

The old man with the snake-patterned crest on the left frowned.

"That's it?"

"Since he passed the test, he should be given a chance. Besides... isn't there a saying among civilians that the power of Sorcerers and cursed spirits is balanced? Perhaps he will become a very useful blade in the future."

Hearing the old man's final decision, the people at the long tables on both sides stopped speaking, as if they had silently accepted it together.

Though the old man on the left still wanted to say something, he swallowed his words after thinking of certain matters.

Seeing that no one objected, the old man at the head of the table shifted his gaze to the people standing by the wall.

"Yaga."

Yaga Masamichi, who had stood there without speaking the entire time, stepped forward only when he heard his name.

"Yes."

"You heard everything just now. You will decide Toho Tetsu's supervision plan and who will be responsible for it. Once you have decided, submit the plan to me."

He nodded, without any unnecessary expression or words.

The old man at the head of the table withdrew his gaze and placed his hands before him again.

"Go."

After nodding once more, he turned and pulled open the wooden door, leaving the Japanese-style room that made him feel somewhat suffocated. When he saw Toho Tetsu waiting beside the door and Utahime Iori standing farther away looking in this direction, he thought for a moment before speaking.

"You two, come with me."

Watching him turn and leave after saying that, Toho Tetsu felt more than half the weight in his heart lift.

Because if they intended to execute or seal him, there would definitely be more than one person coming. It seemed he had temporarily cleared this hurdle.

With that thought, he followed Yaga Masamichi's footsteps. After hesitating for a moment, Utahime Iori followed as well.