The price

"Little Ume said our whole family was going on a trip?"

Alluka tilted her head up, her bright blue eyes sparkling and her fair little face flushed with excitement.

"Yes. Is there anywhere you'd like to go, Alluka? You can pick anywhere you like~"

Uraume bent down and stroked Alluka's soft hair with a smile.

Everywhere except Sendai was safe now. With Kenjaku tipping them off, Uraume thought they had better leave as soon as possible.

"Then can we go to Tokyo?"

Alluka gave a bright, innocent smile and pointed at the television, which was showing a feature on the Akasaka Dinosaur Museum in Tokyo Metropolis, Minato Ward.

What Yuji had said earlier had left an impression on Alluka after all. Since Brother said he didn't want a real dinosaur, they could go to a dinosaur museum instead!

Uraume followed Alluka's finger and saw what was on the television, then glared at Wasuke Itadori through gritted teeth.

"You go ahead. I'll stay here. Someone has to look after the dojo." Wasuke Itadori scratched his head.

"Huh? If Grandpa isn't going, I don't want to go either."

Alluka pouted, looking a little sulky.

"Me too, me too."

Yuji couldn't help nodding along beside her.

"Grandpa has things to do. You two can go have fun with Uraume for a couple of days, then come home. I'm looking forward to the local treats you'll bring me!"

Wasuke Itadori's brow relaxed, and he reached out with his deeply wrinkled hands to pat his two little grandchildren affectionately.

"All right, then."

Alluka pursed her lips, looking reluctant.

But her expression soon changed. Yuji produced a handful of candy from somewhere, and as he coaxed her, the children's clear, giggling laughter rang through the living room.

Out of the children's sight, Wasuke Itadori grew serious. "You should leave as soon as possible. I suspect someone will come to investigate before long. If there's no one home, it'll only make the police suspicious."

Wasuke Itadori had lived for decades. His temper wasn't the best, but he was an upright man.

Although he had never done anything to trouble his conscience, Wasuke Itadori had felt particularly uneasy these past two days.

He knew Uraume and Alluka hadn't killed those people, but the appearance of those banknotes had led dozens of people to die because of human desire and greed.

Surveillance cameras were everywhere these days. Wasuke Itadori knew the police would come knocking sooner or later, and he had to stand between them and the children.

"All right, then."

Uraume gave the old man a surprised look, not expecting him to say something like that at a time like this.

Uraume bought tickets for the next Shinkansen departure, planning to travel from Sendai to Tokyo.

Although Tokyo was Jujutsu High's home base, it was a large city. Without Satoru Gojo there, hiding would actually be easy.

The two children were delighted to be going on a long trip, but while they were packing, an uninvited guest arrived.

The dark-haired young man named Toji Fushiguro pushed the door open as if he were entering his own home, strode in on his long legs, and found a chair where he lazily crossed his legs.

"What are you doing here?!"

The sight of Toji Fushiguro made Uraume's temper flare.

Most of the time, Alluka had no control over her demands. After Toji Fushiguro made that sort of wish, a blade had been left hanging over all their heads.

If Alluka carelessly made demands of their neighbors, then dragged their family into it through the time they had spent together, they would all be finished.

Uraume had noticed that Yuji Itadori held a somewhat different place in Alluka's heart. He seemed to be able to make wishes without paying a price, but what if something went wrong?

And now the culprit behind all this had the nerve to show up openly at their door. Uraume had never met anyone so shameless.

"Your cursed technique is pretty interesting."

Toji Fushiguro ignored Uraume, watching the child playing with a stuffed toy with keen interest instead.

He was speaking to Alluka, but she continued playing with the toy in her hands, ignoring him as though she hadn't heard.

Having gotten nowhere, Toji Fushiguro shifted his gaze to Uraume, who was glaring furiously at him.

"Do you know how many surveillance cameras there are in that subway station? I took care of all of them. Don't you owe me some payment?"

Toji Fushiguro leaned back and spoke with a teasing edge.

"Payment? Get out before I decide to kill you!"

Cursed energy surged, and a massive Ice Cone appeared in Uraume's hand.

In a fury, Uraume hurled the Ice Cone at Toji Fushiguro's head.

Toji Fushiguro tilted his head aside as though he had sensed it coming.

The Ice Cone traced an arc through the air and hit the floor at tremendous speed, shattering with a sharp crack.

"Didn't you promise to grant my wish? That money didn't all end up in my pocket. You need to reimburse me. Hmm, and as compensation, you need to let me make another wish."

Toji Fushiguro rested both hands behind his head and lazily narrowed his deep green eyes, utterly at ease.

Everything had happened too quickly that day. Toji Fushiguro had swiftly stuffed some of the money into the Inventory Curse Worm's stomach, but there had been far too much of it, and chaos had broken out almost immediately. Blending into the crowd, he had only managed to take a small portion away.

Most of the money had been confiscated by the police when they arrived in response to the reports.

That left him deeply annoyed.

If there had been a rating system, he would definitely have given that cursed spirit a bad review. Apparently, wishes didn't come with after-sales service.

Thinking of how many horse races he could have bet on with that money made Toji Fushiguro ache with regret.

"Have you no shame?!"

Seeing that the man actually expected them to reimburse him, Uraume completely lost composure, pointing at Toji Fushiguro and cursing without any regard for appearances.

"Another wish! Do you have any idea how much we have to pay for just one of your wishes?!"

The thought alone made Uraume's anger boil over.

If the house hadn't been an unsuitable place for a fight, and the timing hadn't been so bad, Uraume would have used every ounce of strength to kill Toji Fushiguro right there.

"A price?"

Noticing the opening in Uraume's words, Toji Fushiguro repeated it thoughtfully.

That day, he hadn't been able to tell how the child had produced those banknotes.

After returning, Toji Fushiguro had examined the numbers on the banknotes. Their serial numbers were genuine; they hadn't been conjured out of thin air. Every note was real, and some even showed signs of wear, as though someone had transported them from somewhere else.

Sure enough, Jujutsu Society's cursed techniques were fair. The ability to grant wishes came with a price.

He'd known there couldn't be anything without a cost.

"You want to make another wish?"

Uraume sneered, then half narrowed those purplish-red eyes.

"Then bring a sacrifice."

Noticing that neither the old man nor Yuji was paying attention to them, Uraume spoke with a dangerous edge.