Leaving aside Satoru Gojo slipping away on a mission and Ijichi openly skipping work on the flimsiest pretext, undercurrents began stirring throughout the upper ranks of Jujutsu Society.
Just as Ijichi had said, he really had not done much. A few casual remarks while gossiping with his colleagues had achieved exactly the result he wanted.
After all, the assistant supervisors responsible for clan jujutsu sorcerers were each more cautious than the last. If a precious sorcerer from one of those bloodlines suffered harm under their watch, they would be held accountable.
When it came to keeping their heads down and staying alive, they were professionals.
Those who had originally been slow to pick up on the shifting winds secretly contacted the sorcerers in their charge almost immediately after Ijichi's seemingly offhand reminders, keeping the information strictly confidential.
After all, for someone to rise, someone else had to fall. To keep their own clan sorcerers from coming in last, the assistant supervisors and sorcerers who understood the problem tacitly agreed to stay silent.
This was unprecedented, after all. Naturally, they would let someone else test the waters and step on the land mines.
Amid this apparent calm and hidden turbulence, the final day of the quarter passed.
On the first day, everyone cautiously guarded against a surprise attack from Suguru Geto, but nothing happened.
By the second day, they had relaxed considerably. Some even openly mocked Suguru Geto for failing to keep his word, calling him a coward.
By the third day, even if they did not say it aloud, everyone had decided Suguru Geto had the desire but not the guts. One after another, they lowered their guard and returned to their usual routines.
But as the saying went, once or twice, perhaps, but never a third time. Suguru Geto