As time passed, Akihabara, which would later be known as a holy land of anime culture, had begun to shine. There was no longer any sign that it had once been a street selling electrical appliances, and pedestrians streamed endlessly along its roads.
Tucked into one corner of the street was an unusual café, where the female servers wore tailcoats and the male servers wore maid outfits.
This unusual café was just one small part of the Gojo Clan's business holdings. Still, the clan's two Six Eyes Divine Children occasionally worked part-time there between Jujutsu assignments, treating it as a chance to gain a little experience in society.
The unusual café had plenty of servers on its staff, but if anyone stood out most, it was undoubtedly Chinatsu in her tailcoat and Satoru Gojo in his maid outfit.
Now fourteen, Chinatsu already stood over 170 centimeters tall. For a girl her age in this country, that certainly put her on the tall side.
She had worked hard to reach that height so Satoru Gojo wouldn't leave her in the dust. After all, he would grow to over 190 centimeters as an adult.
On top of that height, she had long, slightly wavy silver hair like snowflakes and clear blue eyes like the sky stretching into the distance. Her face alone was undeniably cute, yet when she stayed silent, she carried a faint air of cool aloofness.
She wore an exquisite earring on one ear, which was actually a special Cursed Tool.
Chinatsu wasn't particularly interested in it, but the Elder had spent a fortune buying it specifically for her at a Jujutsu Society auction, so she had put it on.
Dressed in her tailcoat, she might have seemed cold and distant, but there was still no end to the people captivated by her.
Gazes from all over the café settled on Chinatsu, from women as well as men. In response, she merely offered a faint smile.
It was super effective!
Satoru Gojo, by contrast, wore his maid outfit without the slightest embarrassment, entertaining the café's many customers with an attitude completely unlike Chinatsu's.
"U-um... could we take a picture together?!!!"
A girl pulled out her phone as she spoke, beside herself with excitement at the prospect of taking a picture with Satoru Gojo dressed like this.
Grinning, Satoru Gojo made an "OK!" gesture and took her phone. With a click, he snapped a picture of them together.
At the sight, the girls who had been hanging back could no longer resist. They rose from their seats and rushed to Satoru Gojo's side.
Both were very popular, but since they only worked there when they had nothing else to do, their hours were short. They didn't necessarily come in even once a week, and they never worked particularly long shifts.
During their break, Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo went to the staff lounge and took out their phones. As the times changed, both had switched from the latest old-style handsets to the newest touchscreen models.
Satoru Gojo browsed his phone, catching up on TV dramas and anime. Incidentally, Digimon was one of his favorite anime, but he never watched it-or many other shows-around Chinatsu.
Because...
"Oh, you've reached the SkullGreymon part. Let me tell you, this is actually a failed evolution. He'll evolve properly later."
"That Etemon isn't dead, you know. He comes back later, and he even gets a gold coating~"
"Oh, and two of the main group's Digimon can fuse!"
"..."
Spoilers were a crime!!!
Satoru Gojo had no idea how Chinatsu knew what happened later. At first, he had assumed she was just making things up to tease him, only to discover that the story really did unfold exactly as she had said.
Chinatsu hadn't originally spoiled things on purpose, but once she saw how effective it was against Satoru Gojo, the corners of her mouth curled into a devilish smile.
She had found Satoru Gojo's weakness!
Of course, this ability of hers only worked in the realm of anime. TV dramas were beyond her, but the psychological scars were there all the same.
With the latest Japanese drama playing on his phone, Satoru Gojo edged toward Chinatsu and asked, "You... haven't seen this one, right?"
"Nope. You can watch it without worrying."
Chinatsu couldn't help giving a rueful laugh. TV dramas really were beyond her, and she had already told Satoru Gojo that, but he was still nervous.
Only after hearing her answer did Satoru Gojo relax a little and lower his head to watch his show. Chinatsu likewise looked down at her own phone.
She wasn't watching dramas or anime, though. She was simply reading the news.
In recent years, both ordinary society and Jujutsu Society had grown increasingly unsettled. That was also an indirect sign that the main storyline of Jujutsu Kaisen was drawing ever closer.
Over the years, Chinatsu had already put together a rescue plan, working out whose tragedies she could help avert wherever possible.
Yet neither Chinatsu nor Satoru Gojo had managed to learn [Reverse Cursed Technique], hailed as the core of Jujutsu. It seemed they really did still need some kind of catalyst.
The Cursed Energy Jujutsu Sorcerers wielded was "negative" energy, so while they could use it to attack, they couldn't apply it to themselves to heal their bodies.
[Reverse Cursed Technique] applied the principle of "a negative times a negative makes a positive" to Jujutsu, turning Cursed Energy into "positive" energy. Jujutsu Sorcerers who mastered this skill could use that energy to heal their bodies and go on to learn a new skill called [Cursed Technique Reversal].
Still, Chinatsu and Satoru Gojo's constant competition hadn't been fruitless. Both had now perfected short-range Teleportation, and using it repeatedly was routine.
They could both use Blue, which they had treated as a finishing move at six years old, as casually as a basic attack-even firing it off repeatedly. They could easily trounce Special Grade Cursed Spirits at the lower end of the scale.
To everyone in the Gojo Clan estate, their growth was already nothing short of extraordinary. But Chinatsu knew it wasn't enough. They had to become stronger.
Chinatsu let out a breath and switched off her phone screen. Beside her, Satoru Gojo keenly picked up on the slight change in her mood and quietly turned to look at her.
Just as he opened his mouth to ask what was on her mind, the lounge door was pushed open from outside.
Ordinary employees who knew nothing of Jujutsu Society filed in. With no other choice, Satoru Gojo swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue and let the matter drop for now.
Before you continue