Lately, I had developed a few new ways to use shadows.
It was a coincidence, really. Fighting Satoru Gojo had taught me a lot.
Besides the Rabbit Escape I had summoned in desperation, I had also unexpectedly discovered how incredible shadows really were. I could use cursed energy to change them in all sorts of ways, however I wanted.
It was like a piece of exceptionally resilient wood. As long as the carver was familiar with the object they wanted to carve, they could use their skill to shape the wood into whatever they wanted.
How closely the carving resembled the original depended on how skilled the carver was.
-That was how my shadow worked.
During our fight, the Divine Dogs, as shadow shikigami, also counted as my shadows. Coming into contact with Satoru Gojo's cursed energy was equivalent to "getting to know the object I wanted to carve."
Once I understood it, I could carve and disguise my shadow as "a shadow carrying Satoru Gojo's cursed energy."
Through the resonance between identical cursed energy, I could enter my own shadow and then emerge from his.
The technique wasn't permanently effective, though. Just as a wooden carving could become damp over time, my shadow only imitated the surface appearance. The longer it lasted, the less stable it became.
-But no one except someone with the Six Eyes could tell.
That was good enough.
It couldn't have been better as a simple "portal."
It was just that my skill as the carver wasn't quite polished enough yet, so little, harmless errors tended to crop up when I teleported.
-For instance, when the cursed energy my shadow imitated wasn't stable enough, I ended up on a street in Tokyo instead of beside my target.
Yes, that was right. Tokyo.
...I wasn't even in Kyoto anymore.
Me: "..."
Well, uh.
Since I had never imagined something like this would happen, I hadn't brought any money.
...When I was taken to the police station and an officer asked for my family's phone number and my home address, I stammered for ages without managing an answer.
"Sweetie, what's your name? Do you remember your daddy's or mommy's phone number?"
A policewoman crouched down, patted my head, and even gave me a piece of candy.
Me: "I don't know... I don't think my dad has a phone. My name is Kamu Zenin."
I genuinely didn't know.
There wasn't even a cell tower where the Zenin Clan lived. They were so stuffy and old-fashioned that they still relied on letters to pass messages along. Where would a phone come from?
The jujutsu sorcerers on the fringes of the clan, who frequently had to go out on assignments to make a living, might get phones to contact their assistant managers while away.
...As for my father by default?
He probably wouldn't have one.
The policewoman froze.
After a moment, she reassured herself: it was all right. The child probably just couldn't remember her father's phone number and didn't know how to explain herself clearly.
Who didn't have a phone these days?
So she asked again, "Then do you remember where you live?"
I was a little uncertain. "In Kyoto... somewhere in the mountains, I think."
As for which mountain, I honestly hadn't paid attention.
The policewoman's smile froze.
It wasn't just her. The other officers present all fell silent when they heard that.
...Things got awkward for a moment.
This child...
When they looked at me again, their faces all held a subtle mix of emotions.
Me: "..."
I knew they must have misunderstood something, but being looked at like that was so awkward!
Their pitying expressions practically had "this poor little child" written all over them!
I felt... utterly embarrassed.
The policewoman quickly recovered, patted my head, and reassured me. "It's all right. We'll definitely find your family."
I hurriedly spoke up. "Actually, I just remembered. I think I know an uncle's number."
On my earlier outing, the jujutsu sorcerer who had negotiated a deal for recipes with the dessert shop owner had given the owner his number before leaving. I had overheard it, which at least offered a way out of my current predicament.
-But luck wasn't on my side. At this hour, he was probably at the main estate...
Because... the call wouldn't go through.
Oh, I get it.
-Deep in the mountains.
-No signal.
Me: "..."
I had fallen speechless more times today than in an entire year before this.
Fortunately, half an hour later, several jujutsu sorcerers from the Zenin Clan found the police station.
They had probably noticed I was missing and followed my cursed residue all the way here.
The good news: I could go back.
The bad news: I had died of embarrassment.
I would probably never forget how those jujutsu sorcerers bowed down before me and said, with expressions that screamed "I deserve death," "Miss Kuang Wu, we have failed in our duties"-
Or the prickling sensation down my back when everyone present turned to stare at me in unison.
Once I got back, I absolutely had to make my father by default get internet installed at home.
Absolutely!
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