The Resolve to Leave

-I wanted to leave.

Although I had never told anyone, I had always wanted to leave.

In the Zenin Clan, I received lavish treatment as the bearer of the Ten Shadows Technique. My food, clothing, housing, and transportation were not merely less meager than they had been at the orphanage in my previous life-they were a thousand times better.

Not only that, many people watched their words and actions around me, bowing and scraping, but... I wanted to leave.

After all, that was only because of the Ten Shadows Technique, not because of who I was.

Without my Cursed Technique, being an illegitimate daughter, having my charcoal allowance withheld, the small trees in the courtyard that had been dead for a year without being replaced, the legitimate children's mockery and humiliation, the instructors' and stewards' whips...

-all of those would have become part of my everyday life.

I could not bear my life before awakening my Cursed Technique, nor could I grow accustomed to my life afterward.

In a place with such vast differences in status, everyone dutifully followed these antiquated rules. They all took them for granted, and I alone did not fit in.

I was not used to it, and I did not like it.

The more privileges I enjoyed, the greater the price I had to pay.

Taking Jujutsu and martial arts lessons, sparring with Satoru Gojo... these were all things I had no choice but to do as someone who lived in the Zenin Clan and had awakened the Ten Shadows Technique.

No matter how unwilling I was, I had to compromise.

If this world had consisted of nothing but a backward, feudal Jujutsu Society, I could only have adapted to my role.

But...

It was different outside.

Life outside was closer to my previous life.

Only when I went out did I feel as though I had returned to the world of my previous life, with its bustling streets and dazzling nightlife.

It was noisy, but it had the familiar warmth of everyday life.

-So what if it was the Zenin Clan? So what if I had the Ten Shadows Technique?

I could only remain imprisoned here, forced to adapt to the rules of Jujutsu Society. I longed for an ordinary person's life, but with my current identity, I could no longer fit into ordinary society.

Yet now, the head of the Zenin Clan, Naobito Zenin, sat before me and asked that question.

What did Naobito Zenin mean by that?!

Would he... let me go?

I forced down my excitement and spoke with difficulty. "What if I said... I wanted to leave?"

Naobito Zenin shook his head. "Unfortunately, if you want to leave, that isn't my decision to make."

When it came to the Ten Shadows Technique, his promise carried no weight.

If the bearer of the Ten Shadows Technique really left because he gave his permission, then as long as the other higher-ups in the Zenin Clan refused to agree, the clan would relentlessly track her down and bring her back.

Disappointment washed over me. "Then why did you ask?"

Naobito Zenin said, "Because in three days, you'll officially become the young heir of the Zenin Clan, known throughout Jujutsu Society. Leaving Jujutsu Society after that will be impossible."

He picked up the tea on the table, which had already gone a little cold, and took a sip without a care.

I said nothing.

Naobito Zenin sighed. "But if you want freedom, it isn't as though there's no way..."

I snapped my head up to look at him.

He said, "As long as you're strong enough to stand at the pinnacle of Jujutsu Society-then neither the Zenin Clan, nor the Six Eyes, nor even all of Jujutsu Society will be able to restrict you."

He was right.

-Within the rules of Jujutsu Society, only by growing stronger could I break free of those shackles.

I had to become stronger.

Three days passed in a flash.

At the ceremony, my so-called father led me out to make an appearance. Afterward, I was taken back to my courtyard and placed under protection-to prevent anyone with malicious intentions from assassinating the bearer of the Ten Shadows Technique.

The rest of the time was devoted to the adults' social obligations.

The cherry blossoms in the courtyard had begun to wither, and those still on the trees were especially fragile. A breeze swept past, sending blossoms fluttering down to carpet the ground. Even their fragrance had faded.

I sat in my room and summoned my shadow.

During those three days off, I had worked hard to master my shadow's teleportation ability, and my efforts had begun to pay off.

I could hardly wait to test my latest progress.

Now then... where would Satoru Gojo be?

I stepped into the shadow.