Awesome, Pachinko Balls!

"Phew... phew..."

Dai Li was practically collapsing from exhaustion.

No reward for winning that fight, System? I don't even have the strength to talk now.

[No, but the system can offer you advice.]

You never give me anything. What good is your advice? I might as well just lie down here and give up.

With that, Dai Li stretched out his limbs and lay on a patch of ground that had remained relatively intact after the fight.

[Would you like advice?]

Go on, then. Go on.

[The host can use binding vows not only to increase combat strength in battle, but also to reduce it. Vows established through your cursed technique that reduce your cursed energy reserves, cursed energy output efficiency, and so on do not consume cursed energy.]

"Pfft." The system's words made Dai Li laugh in exasperation.

Wow, what useful advice. You're just amazing, System.

Dai Li turned sarcastic.

[Winning a battle while under binding vows established through your cursed technique during combat to reduce your combat strength will earn you a reward. This application also qualifies as a Cursed Technique Extension.]

[This reward is issued directly by the system.]

[Note: Only one reward opportunity is available per day.]

"Holy crap! I knew you wouldn't leave me hanging, System, my bro!"

"Love you! Mwah!"

Dai Li's attitude changed in a flash, and even his voice grew louder.

"Oh, right, System, what's that Random Reward?"

[Unknown.]

"You really can't give me even a little hint?"

[Unknown.]

"Fine, fine."

"I should get out of here now. Sure, whoever shows up next should be a proper jujutsu sorcerer rather than some curse user."

"But there's no question that the higher-ups of Jujutsu Society right now are a bunch of stubborn old geezers. Those old bastards sentence anyone they don't like to death."

"I don't want them deciding I'm Suguru Geto's accomplice and executing me on the spot."

"Most importantly, I only have a little cursed energy left. It'll be two months before I can recover it on my own."

At the very least, I should wait two months, until my cursed energy recovers and I have some strength again, before talking to those people.

"It's only sixty days. When I think about how fast those people in Jujutsu Society find anyone, I should be fine. Besides, there aren't any security cameras nearby."

When aliens invaded, everyone went out looking for the Tiger Heavenly Emperor and still couldn't find him. Meanwhile, he was playing pachinko at the parlor right outside, thinking an alien invasion wasn't a big enough deal for anyone to come looking for him.

The only witnesses were the Sawadas. He hoped those people from Jujutsu Society wouldn't give them a hard time.

Dai Li used his meager remaining cursed energy to boost his speed and flee the scene, heading toward the town ahead. He planned to go straight to central Sendai City; the bigger the crowd, the easier it would be to hide.

Dai Li didn't get careless when passing through places with security cameras, such as the town. He deliberately stayed in their blind spots.

The town's security cameras couldn't cover everything.

Once he reached somewhere like central Sendai City, he wouldn't need to hide anymore. There would be too many people for anyone to check everyone coming from this direction.

About ten kilometers left? If I had money, I could take a bus. Looks like my first priority after reaching Sendai really is making money.

Dai Li didn't stop, nor did he stop using cursed energy. If he did, his body in its current state could never carry him all the way downtown.

Releasing cursed energy wasn't a cursed technique, so it wouldn't leave cursed residue. As for running into a jujutsu sorcerer who noticed him releasing cursed energy along the way, he wasn't taking that possibility into account.

There's no way I'll run into a jujutsu sorcerer on the road. If I do, fine, they can have me.

Meanwhile, at the place where Dai Li and Suguru Geto had just fought.

A crowd had gathered, but they weren't there to sightsee. Instead, they seemed to be searching for something.

Most wore suits and ties, giving them a highly professional air.

"Have you confirmed it?" asked one man in a suit who had just arrived.

"Confirmed. One set of cursed energy residue, along with the cursed spirit residue, establishes that the special grade curse user Suguru Geto fought someone here."

"It couldn't have been long ago. The cursed energy residue is still fresh."

"Since there was no Curtain, the fight between the two probably broke out suddenly."

"The other set of cursed energy residue is unidentified. However, a nearby member of Window who rushed over after detecting the cursed energy fluctuations reported that, in the clash between those two enormous reserves of cursed energy, this person held their own against Suguru Geto."

The man in the suit's colleague gave an accurate account.

"In that case, this case involving a special grade curse user will be handed over to Satoru Gojo, who is also special grade. Those are the higher-ups' instructions."

"I'll call Masamichi Yaga and let him know."

About an hour later, Dai Li finally reached central Sendai City.

"Phew... phew..."

"Finally made it! Sendai!"

That really wasn't easy. The Fully Automatic Cursed Energy Control I took out a loan for expired halfway here, so I had to walk the rest of the way. I'm exhausted.

Still, if he had to be honest, his cursed energy control seemed to have improved by more than one level after that battle. He could probably manage if he used it, but he would likely waste some cursed energy. For now, the right choice was to avoid using it whenever possible.

Cursed energy was a precious, nonrenewable resource for him right now.

"Let me think. Sendai's most famous local specialty has to be that!"

"Edamame Cream Kikufuku, personally vetted by our doomed teacher."

"Apparently, that's what people offer when they burn incense for him later on."

That was only according to unofficial accounts, though.

"I want some right now! But I have no idea where the shop is. More importantly, I don't have any money!"

"Money really does matter. Even the greatest heroes can be brought low by an empty pocket."

Dai Li walked along, thinking about ways to make money.

How am I supposed to make money? I don't have a legal identity right now. Don't you need identification even to get a job?

Taking commissions as an unaffiliated jujutsu sorcerer wouldn't work either. He had neither credentials nor cursed energy, and he was still in danger of being tracked down.

"Whether in this world or the other one, I've never earned any money."

Dai Li let out a long sigh.

Just then, though, he seemed to step on something.

"What's this? It's digging into my foot a little. A pebble?"

"No, that rounded shape, that pure shine!"

"It's a pachinko ball!"

Dai Li turned his head and realized he was standing beneath colorful neon lights. The shop was full of pachinko machines.

It was a pachinko parlor, a very common sight in Japan.

"Awesome! Pachinko balls!"

There were only three pachinko balls, worth roughly twelve yen.

But in my hands, these three are worth more than twelve yen. If I can trade for anything, luck should be an option too.

Having apparently lost his mind, Dai Li was actually planning to use his cursed technique, "Life and Binding," to play pachinko. Had he forgotten that using his cursed technique would leave cursed energy residue?

Of course I haven't forgotten:

A single jackpot on a pachinko machine pays out about 1,500 pachinko balls. That's six thousand yen.

But a jackpot can trigger consecutive wins, bringing the total up to 9,000 pachinko balls! That's thirty thousand yen.

Win a few more times, and I'll have enough to cover my living expenses for a while.

Let's go. On to the next battlefield-

The pachinko parlor!