A Backstab Against My Rebellious Teacher

A week later, Tokyo Jujutsu High, principal's office.

Mizuki Makoto stared at the recommendation letter on the desk, stamped with the fiery red seal of Jujutsu Headquarters. His eyelid twitched as rapidly as a machine gun firing wildly.

"Makoto, congratulations!" Gojo Satoru, wearing an outrageously punchable Hawaiian shirt, lounged against Principal Yaga's desk. "I got Kusakabe and Nanami to jointly recommend you for promotion to Grade 1 Sorcerer. So? Can you feel your teacher's weighty love?"

"All I feel is a weighty curse." Mizuki Makoto weakly adjusted his newly replaced monocle. "Gojo-sensei, setting aside Kusakabe-sensei, whose attitude is basically 'anything is fine as long as I don't have to work,' how could someone as rigorous as Nanami agree to recommend a 'speculator of Jujutsu Society' like me?"

"Oh, Nanami's exact words were, 'Since Mizuki likes money so much, promoting him to Grade 1 early so he can take high-difficulty missions will greatly help stimulate Jujutsu Society's GDP.'" Gojo Satoru imitated Nanami's dead-fish tone, then flashed a wicked grin. "But you know the rules—recommenders can't serve as proctors. Thanks to your 'brilliant performance' in Kyoto, plenty of Grade 1 Sorcerers are avoiding you like the plague. In the end, I had to pay a 'small' brokerage fee to hire her—"

From the shadows of the office came the crisp sound of high heels tapping against the wooden floor, their rhythm elegant as someone calculating an account.

"Makoto, we meet again."

Mei Mei, her long pale-blue hair flowing down her back, tilted her head slightly as she swung that enormous battle axe in her hand. A perfectly professional smile hung on her lips. "I heard you're being promoted to Grade 1. To make sure you'll have more money to pay my 'consulting fees' in the future, I turned down three high-paying jobs to accompany you in this promotion game."

The muscle at the corner of Mizuki Makoto's eye twitched—turned down three high-paying jobs? Wasn't the implication that her proctoring fee started at one hundred million yen?!

"Oh right, I almost forgot." Gojo Satoru added, looking like Mizuki Makoto had successfully pulled off a prank. "This time, it's a two-person team format. Besides you, another Grade 1 candidate who received a recommendation will be joining the mission."

"Who?!" Mizuki Makoto's heart skipped a beat, his sense of foreboding instantly hitting maximum capacity.

"It's me! Brother—!!!"

Boom—!!

The office door was violently smashed open. Todo Aoi's tower-like body charged in with the scorching scent of sweat, his explosive muscles squeezing the last traces of oxygen from the room.

"To answer the 'soul of Azure Fury' you displayed during the Exchange Event, I also applied for early promotion! Brother! This is fate itself—the second collaboration of us best friends!"

Mizuki Makoto looked to his left at Mei Mei, the "money-grabbing maniac," then to his right at Todo Aoi, the "muscle maniac." His hands trembled as though he were fluffing cotton.

"Gojo Satoru... are you serious? One wants my money, the other wants my life. Are you trying to promote me to Grade 1, or send me straight to heaven on the spot?"

"Oh, don't put it like that." Gojo Satoru draped an arm around Mizuki Makoto's shoulders and breathed softly into his ear. "If you can keep your wallet safe from Miss Mei Mei and keep your waist safe from Todo, then you'll be a genuine Grade 1 Sorcerer."

Feeling Todo's grip on his shoulder, strong enough to crush rock, and meeting Mei Mei's deep gaze, which was already calculating his current worth, Mizuki Makoto finally rolled his eyes and asked from the depths of his soul:

"Sensei, is there perhaps an option where I keep my waist safe from Miss Mei Mei and my money safe from Todo?"

"Oh? Are you saying you want to sell your body to Miss Mei Mei, then go rob Todo?" Gojo Satoru covered his mouth in mock surprise. "That kind of flexible thinking—just as expected of my student. Amazing!"

"I'm complaining! Do you even understand what complaining is?!"

[Mission Grade: Semi-Special Grade / Grade 1]

[Mission Location: Kyoto, ancient temple "Bliss Temple"]

[Mission Target: Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit · Wild Buddha]

[Proctor: Grade 1 Sorcerer · Mei Mei]

"Let's go, Makoto, Todo." Mei Mei turned around, her tone as leisurely as if she were discussing afternoon tea. "If you die in the ancient temple, I'll remember to put my name down as the beneficiary of your insurance."

In the corridor leading to the Shinkansen, Mizuki Makoto was being held in a chokehold by Todo Aoi for a so-called "baptism of the soul," while Gojo Satoru, light as a cat, deliberately lagged half a step behind and sidled up next to Mei Mei, tirelessly smearing his own disciple's good name.

"Miss Mei Mei, come to think of it, Makoto really hasn't had it easy getting where he is today." Gojo Satoru's voice was neither too loud nor too quiet, just enough for the victim up ahead to hear every word clearly.

"Oh?" Mei Mei tilted her head slightly. "Are you referring to his innate technique talent, or his novel methods of making money?"

"No, no, no. His 'artistic motivation.'" Gojo Satoru adjusted his sunglasses, a thoroughly malicious smile curling his lips. "You may not know this, but Makoto once confided in me privately. He said his one and only ideal partner in this world was a mature, powerful, beautiful woman like you, Miss Mei Mei."

Mizuki Makoto stumbled, nearly getting dragged down by Todo. "Sensei! Shut up! That was a self-introduction template you forced me to write!"

Gojo Satoru completely ignored his disciple's wail and instead raised his voice.

"And that Gojo Mai going viral on social media? When Makoto created her, he drew heavily from your dashing bearing when you wielded your battle axe, Miss Mei Mei. He even wrote something in his draft notebook like, 'Miss Mei Mei's bloody figure as she cleaves through flesh and bone is the ultimate destination of aesthetics.'"

The air in the corridor instantly dropped to freezing point. Mei Mei stopped walking and slowly turned around, her slender beautiful eyes locking through the air onto the "pitiful" student attempting to bury his head in Todo's bicep.

"Ideal partner?" Mei Mei repeated the phrase, her tone carrying the chilling sound of an abacus clicking. "Makoto, regarding 'portrait usage fees,' 'reputational damages,' and 'romance consultation fees,' I think after this mission, we'll need to carefully settle each item against that hefty Grade 1 Sorcerer stipend."

"No, that's slander! Defamation! He even forged that draft paper on the spot yesterday!" Mizuki Makoto roared hysterically.

"My brother!!" Todo Aoi actually smashed the corridor railing with an emotional slap. "So you've gone this far for Miss Mei Mei? It doesn't match my preferences, but that determination to earn money—die—for 'love' is too blazing! I'll lend you a hand in this mission too!"

Mizuki Makoto stared expressionlessly at the bright sunshine outside the window.

—I finally understood. The most dangerous thing about this mission wasn't Wild Buddha at all.

With Miss Mei Mei, my waist might be safe for now, but my money would definitely be gone without a single yen left. With Todo, my money might be safe—because I wouldn't have any left—but my waist would probably really be wrecked on the spot.

The most dangerous thing was that if I came back alive, I might have to work for Miss Mei Mei for the rest of my life to repay this utterly fabricated "romantic debt."

"Is this what you meant by 'the resolve of a Grade 1 Sorcerer,' Gojo-sensei?"

With dead eyes, Mizuki Makoto looked toward the white-haired man who was laughing so hard he was nearly out of breath. His right hand tightly gripped the bank card in his pocket, which held only a few thousand yen, as he stepped onto the road to death leading to Kyoto.

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