First Meeting

"Don't let your guard down."

Mechamaru's cold electronic voice cut through the brief relaxation. "The timing of this special-grade cursed spirit's appearance is too perfect. This place was originally just a gathering point for second-grade cursed spirits."

Noritoshi Kamo nodded and glanced around. "You mean those people who attacked Jujutsu High earlier?"

"Who knows?" Shiyue Shuo replied lazily.

He knew this was most likely another test by Kenjaku. The other party had seen the power of the Horse and Sheep before in the basement and was probably trying to probe more of his hidden cards now.

"Search the area. See if there are any remaining cursed objects." Noritoshi Kamo gave the order.

The group spread out and carefully searched through the ruins.

Kasumi Miwa suddenly spotted something unusual beneath a charred steel beam at the edge of the enormous crater. "Everyone, come look. What is this?"

Everyone gathered around. On the inner side of the steel beam, warped by the intense heat of Dragon Breath, was an extremely tiny, twisted pattern.

"It's the remnant core of a Curtain." Noritoshi Kamo bent down and lightly touched the pattern with his fingertips. "Someone set up a small guiding barrier deep inside this factory beforehand, one aimed at a specific target. This newly born special-grade cursed spirit was kept here in advance."

Everyone's expressions immediately turned awful. If this had been a conspiracy targeting the Kyoto school students, then the information leak within Jujutsu High had reached a truly outrageous level.

"All right, the mission is over. Leave the cleanup here to the assistant supervisors." Noritoshi Kamo stood and regained his usual composure. "Shiyue, I'll report your performance this time to Principal Gakuganji exactly as it was."

"No, no, senpai. Just say I fainted from fright, and that Mechamaru showed off his divine might in the end." Shiyue Shuo hurriedly waved his hands. "I don't want that old man calling me in for another interrogation. My knees hurt for days last time."

Mai snorted. "You can't make anything out of mud."

On the way back, Shiyue Shuo deliberately fell behind the rest of the group.

Controlling the puppet, Mechamaru slowed down and walked alongside him. "Why didn't you expose me to everyone?" Mechamaru's voice was so low that only the two of them could hear it.

"Why would I expose you? Didn't you pass the Higher-Ups' questioning?" Shiyue Shuo looked at the teammates ahead of them. "Don't overthink it. I won't expose you. You're my ally."

Kokichi Muta fell silent. He looked at Kasumi Miwa's lighthearted figure ahead, then at the boy beside him, his fingers curling slightly.

Kyoto Jujutsu High, medical wing.

"So you really carried him all the way back like that?" Mai Zenin leaned against the doorframe, her arms wrapped around her signature custom revolver. Her tone carried a hint of teasing, but her gaze kept drifting toward the boy in the hospital bed.

"Shiyue did exhaust all his strength to save us." Kasumi Miwa carefully pulled the blanket over Shiyue Shuo, her tone earnest. "Without that attack, we probably wouldn't even have had the chance to stand here talking."

At the moment, Shiyue Shuo was sunk in deep sleep. Within his mindscape, the Horse Talisman emitted a soft milky-white glow, continuously repairing the damage to his body caused by forcibly bearing the explosive power of the Dragon Talisman.

He had gained a profound understanding of the limitations of the Twelve Talismans. He could only use one ability every two hours, which meant he was either a glass cannon or a meat shield—and sometimes, he could only be an outsider.

It'd be nice if I could use more than two talismans at once. I wonder what my Domain Expansion will be like. The thought flashed through Shiyue Shuo's mind before his consciousness sank completely into darkness.

"Let's go. Let him rest." Noritoshi Kamo looked at Shiyue Shuo's closed eyes and motioned for everyone to leave.

Who knew how much time had passed before the slanting evening sunlight in the medical room fell across the bedding.

"Hey, stop playing dead. Your drool is about to drip out."

A slightly husky, highly recognizable female voice sounded beside the bed.

Shiyue Shuo groggily opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Mai's pretty face, written all over with displeasure. She had changed out of her bulky tactical jacket, and a black camisole outlined her sharp yet graceful muscle lines.

"Senpai, the way you're peeling that apple always makes me feel like you're about to stab me with that fruit knife in the next second." Shiyue Shuo slowly propped himself up, grinning at her.

"Shut up." Mai casually stuffed an unevenly peeled slice of apple into his mouth. Her tone was stiff, but her eyes lingered briefly on his rosy face. "You're recovering awfully fast!"

"It's because senpai took such good care of me." Shiyue Shuo chewed the apple indistinctly.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside.

The door swung open, and Kasumi Miwa led in a slightly thin boy dressed in the Jujutsu High uniform. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and while his features were delicate, they carried the sickly air of someone who had not seen sunlight for years. Yet his eyes were astonishingly bright.

Mai's hand holding the fruit knife stiffened instantly, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

"Who are you? Ordinary students aren't allowed in a place like this."

"It's me, Mai." The boy's voice no longer had that hoarse electronic quality, but his distinctive manner of speaking instantly gave away his identity.

"Kokichi?" Mai shot to her feet in shock, and the half-peeled apple rolled from her hand onto the floor.

Kasumi Miwa stood nearby, at a loss for what to do. Her eyes were red, and she had clearly already cried once. "Kokichi, he... he suddenly appeared at the school gate. Senpai Kamo has already gone to report to the principal, but he insisted on coming to see Shiyue."

Kokichi Muta stood at the foot of the bed and gave Shiyue Shuo a deep bow.

"Nice to meet you, Shiyue Shuo." His voice was calm, as though they really were meeting for the first time.

"Nice to meet you too, senpai." Shiyue Shuo swallowed the apple in his mouth. "This body of yours is pretty nice. You'd be well suited to being a print model or something."

"What exactly is going on here?" Mai frowned deeply, her suspicious gaze sweeping between the two of them.

"It's a Binding Vow." Kasumi Miwa rubbed her swollen red eyes, her voice still slightly nasal. "Kokichi said he made a Binding Vow with the Jujutsu Higher-Ups. Although he has a normal body now, the price is that his cursed energy output for the next ten years has been completely drained away in advance."

Kokichi Muta still hadn't told everyone the truth. But he hadn't lied either; he really had made a Binding Vow. He simply hadn't told them the whole story.

After hearing that, Mai's grip on the fruit knife tightened, then loosened. She snorted. "Giving up the combat strength of a semi-grade one sorcerer for this body really is the kind of choice you'd make. You're truly a hopeless idiot." Though her tone remained harsh, there was clearly less wariness in her gaze toward Kokichi.

"Since you're awake, stop lazing around in bed." Noritoshi Kamo pushed the door open, several training manuals in hand and a stern expression on his face. "Shiyue, through this mission, everyone has seen the upper limit of your attacks. But right now, you're just an ordinary person with weak cursed energy. To keep anyone from casually taking you out during this gap in your cursed energy, starting tomorrow, the second-years under my lead will put you through special training."

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