An invitation from the Fujiwara Clan

Suppressing the urge to strangle this lunatic, Ashiya Xia Xia held back the killing move he had been about to unleash.

There were hardly any decent people in the Fujiwara Clan either, but in this era, they were still something of a colossus. He would put up with them for now and see what they wanted.

"Lord Dōman, please take the invitation out yourself. Your chains have me restrained, so moving is a little inconvenient~"

"My body is bound by your passion, by your infatuation with me. I don't know why, but my breathing keeps getting faster, and my heart and head feel so hot, as though they're about to burn up. Did you do something to me? I love it~"

Even wrapped up like a rice dumpling in black cursed energy chains, Yorozu could still send Ashiya Xia Xia's blood pressure soaring with her antics.

Your heart and head feel hot because you're hanging upside down and all your blood has rushed to your brain. More broadly speaking, it's because you're sick in the head.

If I tighten these jujutsu chains a little more, your eyeballs could pop out of their sockets, and your lips and tongue would turn purple. You'd make a fine hanged ghost...

This madwoman had actually tucked the invitation representing their alliance into her cleavage, purely to disgust him.

You win.

I should never have asked your name. Why did I have to bother? If I'd just used a killing move to divide you into three equal pieces from top to bottom, you might have behaved yourself.

Unfortunately, he couldn't take it back.

Not killing nobodies meant that if someone had no backing or influence, he could kill them without a second thought. If they could give him a recognizable name, they probably had some connections, and he needed to assess the situation first.

Using his cursed energy chains to pluck the still-sweaty invitation from Yorozu's chest, Ashiya Xia Xia fought down his disgust and scrubbed the brocade twice with cursed energy. Only after confirming that nothing strange remained on it did he bring it before him.

The Fujiwara Clan still used the same person to write their letters. The handwriting was elegant and neat, betraying the writer's meticulous personality.

Just an old dog set in his ways...

With that thought, Xia Xia continued reading.

The opening was earnest and respectful, following the standard format for court correspondence to the letter. The Millstone Kingdom might have been one of several small states, but it was at least respectable enough that the Fujiwara Clan had to approach an alliance as official business.

The middle devoted a considerable amount of space to the life and exploits of the "demon god," Ryomen Sukuna. Though the writer's fear was evident, Japan's traditional logic of overthrowing one's superiors still held true.

The letter portrayed Sukuna as a great Demon who committed every conceivable evil, whose crimes were too numerous to record-the embodiment of all malice in this era. Unfortunately, it still understated things. Sukuna had done far more evil than that. He didn't kill people whenever he was unhappy; he was unhappy whenever he wasn't killing people.

Sukuna genuinely found life boring if he wasn't eating people.

That made the Fujiwara Clan's intentions quite clear.

The clans and kingdoms could no longer tolerate an existence as far beyond reason as Sukuna looming over them. They had resolved to unite and teach him a lesson.

At the very least, this battle had to secure a mutual nonaggression pact with Ryomen Sukuna and impose some restraint on him, bringing his atrocities to a temporary halt. If they failed, they would have to offer up their lives, along with young boys and girls, to please the great Lord Sukuna.

"Are they out of their minds?"

Xia Xia frowned.

You spout a bunch of high-minded nonsense out of nowhere, then expect me to fight Sukuna for you?

Do you really think I don't count as one of the higher-ups? That I'd swallow your empty promises?

We're not children anymore. These days, forming an alliance without offering money or manpower, then expecting someone to risk their neck for you, is a fucking joke.

If we win, I gain nothing. Once Sukuna dies, you'll dispose of the hounds now that the hare is dead. The participants and heroes of this special operation are destined for a bad end.

If we lose, Sukuna will slice me into a fruit platter. He might even fire up a wok, pour in some oil, and turn me into stir-fried pork...

What the hell is the Fujiwara Clan thinking? Do you really think everyone's a hero who'll join your charity campaign to slay the Demon King???

The rewards don't come close to the risks. No deal.

Let me say it again: there's something seriously wrong with you.

Xia Xia turned the cloth over. There was more writing on the back.

"For Lord Dōman's esteemed consideration..."

Hmm. When official channels don't work, you turn to a private arrangement following the trade's unwritten rules. That fits my stereotype of Jujutsu Society's higher-ups perfectly.

But whatever.

Offer a high enough price, and this Great Onmyoji isn't above taking freelance work. The Millstone Kingdom really is poor. If you can get me something good, we might have a deal.

"Lord of a Hundred Demons of the floating world, True Lord of Naraka and the Yellow Springs, Venerable Ashiya Xia Xia, this unworthy one humbly offers his utmost respects..."

Seeing that name made the hairs on Xia Xia's back stand on end.

Well, well. You've got some talent, Fujiwara Clan. After all these years, you actually managed to dig up my identity.

In theory, everyone who knew that name should be dead. Back then, aside from the ordinary towns under the Ashiya family's control, I left no survivors. I personally scoured every inch of the main estate more than a dozen times. I didn't even spare the dogs, and I split the earthworms lengthwise. Where could a survivor have come from?

Are there jujutsu specialists in intelligence gathering these days?

"By your gracious favor, may these words serve in place of a meeting. Owing to certain unavoidable circumstances, your younger brother, Lord Natsunari, and his wife have accepted our master's invitation to stay briefly with the Fujiwara Clan."

Xia Xia closed his eyes in resignation.

Good for nothing but ruining things.

Let's say that again.

Natsunari, you're no good at accomplishing things, but you're more than good enough at ruining them.

Natsunari, that 'accomplishment' in your name really is inspired. It makes me think sparing you back then was a mistake. Instead of obediently hiding away in the mountains, you actually dared to come out and swindle people using my name. You really deserve to die.

Fine. I'll read a little more.

At worst, I'll pay the Fujiwara Clan a visit and wipe them out down to the roots. That would put a tidy end to my old oversight. If you're going to do something, you have to finish the job.

The Fujiwara Clan got lucky finding Natsunari, but I'm not close to that bastard. You don't seriously think threatening me with him will work, do you?

Dream on.

"To subjugate Ryomen Sukuna, we have recruited talented individuals from far and wide. Among them is one whose cursed technique is called 'Bloodline Severance.'"

"Once a blood relative of the target has been secured, the technique can be forcibly activated at the cost of that relative's life, inflicting an unconditional Cursed Execution directly upon the chosen target."

"Lord Natsunari's precious person..."

Let me say it again.

There is definitely something seriously wrong with the Fujiwara Clan.

If persuasion doesn't work, you resort to threats? Is this really an invitation method a human being could come up with? Your family needs an expert. Listen to me: make three circuits around Kantō, and if you run into a Great Onmyoji named Seimei, get on your knees and tell him you're possessed and need an exorcism.

Bloodline Severance? Even the name sounds awkward, and its effects are downright bizarre. One look tells me it's some unaffiliated jujutsu sorcerer's technique. I've been a state preceptor for years, and I've never even heard of it.

But let me be fair.

Wouldn't you be better off saving a skill that powerful for Ryomen Sukuna? With such a ridiculous Cursed Execution effect, instead of using it on Ryomen Sukuna, you're using it against me???

What have I, Ashiya Xia Xia, done to deserve this honor? Based on the information available to you, everyone I've killed put together wouldn't amount to a fraction of Sukuna's yearly total. I'm truly honored that you think so highly of me... My thanks to your whole fucking family.

Aren't we allies?

Shouldn't negotiations between allies involve appealing to emotion, reasoning things through, and offering benefits? Whatever the outcome, both sides should win and feel they haven't lost out. Only when the time is right do you invite them to dinner, cut off their heads, and take them in as dogs...

Why are you threatening me with a killing move right out of the gate?! That's not how jujutsu dating sims work! You're supposed to befriend me step by step, give me gifts to raise my affection, and only then think about using me. Why is it that when I talk to you, my affection meter doesn't budge, but my health bar keeps plummeting?! You're not pursuing me. You're attacking me!

That's not how jujutsu dating sims work. I refuse!!!

Besides, if this Bloodline Severance is that absurd, aren't you afraid he'll get hold of any member of the Fujiwara Clan and curse your whole family to death?

You actually dare employ someone like that???

If you wield such a sharp blade without restraint, you'll only end up hurting others and yourself.

The Fujiwara Clan really has nerve.

How bizarre. Let's read a little more.

"Of late, Sukuna's behavior has grown ever more rampant. He has become a walking natural disaster whom the world can no longer tolerate, leaving corpses strewn wherever he goes. He has now arrived at the Fujiwara Clan's seat."

"Whether for the so-called greater good or for the selfish safety of ourselves and our families, we have gathered here to undertake an unprecedented feat, to turn back the raging tide and prop up the collapsing edifice."

"We hereby respectfully invite you to join us, so that together we may end this curse that should not exist in this world and erase that two-faced, four-armed calamity within the Fujiwara Clan's territory."

Right. They're acting this insane because Sukuna has come knocking on their door. If they don't act now, they have no idea how many of them will survive. A cornered dog will leap over a wall. That explains it.

Well, well. No wonder you're unafraid of death and still dare to disgust me. You're at the end of your rope. Xia Xia gloated as he read the letter's final lines. Watching the higher-ups fight for their lives like stray dogs was as delightful as fine wine.

"The bearer of this letter is Yorozu, a guest jujutsu sorcerer of our clan who has long admired you. Her jujutsu is powerful, and her features are lovely. Hearing of your deeds, she felt herself fall deeply in love and volunteered for this assignment."

"A gentleman does not take another's beloved, and the Fujiwara Clan has always been happy to help others find fulfillment. Whether or not you agree to the alliance, she belongs to you, to do with as you please. We hope you will treat her well."

"Lastly, we respectfully await your arrival, Venerable One."

Stupid woman. You've been sold off, and you're still helping them count the money.

Xia Xia looked up at Yorozu, who was still hanging upside down before him. Her expression had grown increasingly strange, edging ever closer to enjoyment. Helplessly, he released the chains and let her hit the floor with a dull thud.

"Oww..."

"You're so rough. Are you the type who's mean to the person he likes? That's all right. I love that too!"

Enough already.

The reason these chains were so hard to escape was that they constantly drained the captive's cursed energy to feed and strengthen themselves. A normal person restrained for this long would either run out of cursed energy and faint or simply suffocate to death.

The fact that she had lasted so long showed that both her cursed energy reserves and physical strength were monstrous. The Fujiwara Clan's letter hadn't merely been boasting about its own wares.

"Hey, idiot on the floor. When does the Fujiwara Clan plan to make its move?"

"Hmm? Are you talking to me? I'm so happy. You've already given me a pet name on our very first meeting~♡"

"Shut up. That wasn't a compliment."

He should never have opened his mouth to ask her. Then he wouldn't have had to suffer another bout of disgust. The woman really was good-looking, so why was her personality so irritating?

Once he had squeezed every last bit of use out of her, he could turn her into a cursed spirit. That would be a fitting reward for all her joy and one-sided devotion.