Let's Have a Heart-to-Heart

"What's going on? My body's suddenly gotten sluggish."

After Dai Li successfully projected Aoi Todo's "Boogie Woogie," the cursed energy circulating inside him began to falter.

"My cursed energy, too. It feels like two streams of cursed energy are fighting inside me. This is really uncomfortable."

Dai Li quickly figured out what was happening to his body. These changes were undoubtedly related to his Projection Cursed Technique.

"Projecting someone else's cursed technique requires spending a huge amount of cursed energy to project an interface for it first. Only then can I spend my own cursed energy to project its effects. The conversion efficiency is extremely low."

"It feels like it probably costs about as much cursed energy as creating an object with the Construction Technique, and this is only a single-use technique."

"The first time I analyze and project someone else's cursed technique, I have to spend a huge amount of cursed energy, and the cursed energy inside me goes a little out of control."

By now, however, Dai Li's body had returned to normal. The process apparently did not last very long.

As Dai Li examined the changes in his body, someone gently pushed open the iron double doors behind him with a creak.

"Oh, so you're up here on the roof. What a coincidence."

Satoru Gojo poked his head up from the stairs below. This time, he had removed the white bandages wrapped around his face, revealing his deep, brilliant blue eyes. He wore a blue casual outfit that looked like expensive designer clothing.

"Stop lying. You clearly came up because you sensed my cursed energy fluctuating."

"Ah, you caught me."

Satoru Gojo's plan to break the ice with a "what a coincidence" had failed.

"Let's have a heart-to-heart. How does it feel to have gotten stronger?"

"How does it feel...?"

"Fighting felt great. Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one."

Dai Li still remembered the memories he had of this bandaged Jiahao.

"Ahem. That certainly counts, but that's not what I meant."

"That binding vow of yours caused you to lose part of your soul."

"Huh? My soul?"

Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes could detect even the slightest changes involving cursed energy, and could even assess the state of someone's soul.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it missing. It looks pretty complete, but part of its core is gone.

"If I had to describe it, it's like the missing part of your soul has been filled in, but not with the original piece."

"I see. I think I know what happened. I gave up my memories as the price."

After speaking, Dai Li picked up the orange can beside him and slowly sipped the liquid inside.

Satoru Gojo was not particularly surprised by this answer. As far as he knew, Dai Li had always been bold to the point of recklessness.

"Memories, huh? Just how important must those memories have been to bring about the changes in you now?"

"So, do you regret it?"

Satoru Gojo questioned Dai Li. He had once told him that with "Life and Binding," he always had to consider the price first.

"No. As long as I become stronger, I can protect other people. I know you're here, with your ridiculously overwhelming strength, but I'm selfish."

"I don't want to be someone who has to grow slowly under other people's protection. I want to become a dependable sorcerer who protects others."

"I did it simply because I could. It wasn't a matter of the Goodwill Event being just a sparring match and not worth going all out over. I just wanted to let loose."

He raised his right hand again and drained the can.

"Why do I smell something fermented? Are you drinking alcohol?"

"That's right. It's a new orange-flavored canned cocktail."

"I won't regret my decision, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on my memories completely."

Satoru Gojo's brilliant blue eyes watched Dai Li, who now rested both hands on the rooftop railing and gazed up at the sky. Having heart-to-hearts with students was an essential part of becoming a good teacher.

"It seems I left some kind of backup plan before losing my memories. I must have imprinted something deep in my soul that only comes back when certain conditions are met. That doesn't conflict with losing those memories as payment, so it wasn't erased along with them."

"For now, I'll just take things one step at a time. I value the present more than the future."

"I see. You want to become a 'knight' who protects others. You're starting to sound like a teacher. Is your dream to join the teaching staff at Jujutsu High?"

Even though Dai Li was still a first-year student, Satoru Gojo already thought making him a teacher at Jujutsu High sounded like a good idea, tying him firmly to their side.

"Who knows?"

Deep in the wooded mountains on the outskirts of the city, a brand-new Japanese Temple stood silently in the night.

Unlike old temples whose wooden pillars had yellowed with age, this temple's buildings looked strikingly new.

Its vermilion pillars bore no trace of weathering. Wind chimes hanging beneath the eaves swayed gently in the night breeze, their notes clear yet hollow.

There were no worshippers nearby, nor any monks.

Only dim lights illuminated the stone path through the spacious courtyard.

Normally, a temple this far from the city should have been a reassuring place.

Yet at that moment, an unsettling sense of oppression hung in the air.

In the center of the courtyard.

Several ordinary people knelt on the ground, their faces filled with confusion and uncertainty.

"Don't worry."

Suguru Geto sat before them with a gentle smile on his face.

His voice was as calm as ever, even carrying a reassuring warmth.

If one ignored the writhing black cursed spirits behind him, anyone would have mistaken him for an ordinary young monk.

"You should feel honored."

Suguru Geto slowly rose to his feet, his long hair swaying gently with the movement.

"After all, you're people who can help me accomplish something great."

The ordinary people could not understand what he meant. They merely stared at the man on the platform in growing confusion.

Suguru Geto paid them no mind.

His gaze passed over them and settled on the few cursed spirits floating in midair.

The hideous monsters bared their fangs and claws, yet remained quietly in place under his control.

"How ironic."

Suguru Geto spoke softly.

"You can't even see cursed spirits, yet you create curses every day."

"You know nothing, yet take the world protected by jujutsu sorcerers for granted."

He held out his hand.

One by one, the cursed spirits drifted toward his palm, turning into smooth spheres.

"Well? Your bodies should feel much lighter now."

The ordinary people below the platform moved around, shaking their arms and kicking their legs.

They discovered that the strange symptoms they had suffered had vanished completely, leaving them feeling more energetic than ever.

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank you for exorcising the spirits for us."

"Come here, sweetheart. Thank the venerable monk."

Suguru Geto felt no joy at their praise, only disgust from the bottom of his heart.

He simply kept that hollow smile on his face as he watched the "monkeys" below the platform.