Miwa Chisei's gaze lingered on the grinning silver-haired boy for a second before immediately shifting to the girl beside him.
Her brown hair, which fell just past her chin, looked neat and stylish, and a lovely beauty mark sat at the corner of her left eye. Shoko Ieiri's eyes tilted slightly downward at the corners, giving her a somewhat languid air.
But one glance was enough to tell she was a beauty.
Shoko Ieiri was puzzled by that faintly "burning" gaze and greeted the girl looking at her.
"Oh, you're the girl Satoru brought over that day."
Miwa Chisei nodded, a hint of respect showing on her otherwise impassive face.
That expression made Satoru Gojo feel sick. Why could I still see her expression when she was wearing sunglasses?
Seriously, so gross.
"Ieiri, I'm Miwa Chisei, a new first-year. Thank you for what you did last time."
Miwa Chisei's voice was calm, but Shoko Ieiri still thought she seemed like a well-behaved, honest kid.
So she waved a hand and smiled.
"No problem. As long as you're up and about."
Hearing that, Miwa Chisei marveled that there was actually a normal person around those two.
She took a few steps forward and offered Shoko Ieiri the cigarettes in her hand, her tone earnest.
"These are a thank-you gift."
That surprised Shoko Ieiri a little. Even juniors who knew she liked cigarettes wouldn't openly buy them as a gift for her.
And they were the most expensive brand available at the school shop. This junior was pretty great.
Shoko Ieiri reached out to take them and smiled.
"Thanks."
She had thought that would be the end of it, but Miwa Chisei hesitated for a moment before getting straight to the point.
"There's one more thing I'd like to trouble you with. Could you give me some pointers on the principles behind Reverse Cursed Technique?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Shoko Ieiri's eyes.
Reverse Cursed Technique wasn't exactly a secret. Its underlying principles could be shared with any jujutsu sorcerer, but almost no one could actually learn it. Even Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, who were hailed as geniuses, still hadn't figured out its mysteries.
It would probably be difficult for a student who had only just enrolled.
"I don't mind."
She was more accommodating than Miwa Chisei had expected. It seemed there were quite a few good people at Jujutsu High.
Satoru Gojo, who had been ignored the whole time, gave a disdainful little snort.
"If you can understand it, I'll make Suguru Geto sing for you while doing a handstand."
Suguru Geto, who was in the classroom, suddenly felt a chill run through him, as though someone had set their sights on him.
Miwa Chisei didn't respond, but a trace of distaste appeared on the visible half of her fair little face.
Shoko Ieiri caught it keenly, then waved her hand and said,
"Let's just find somewhere to talk, then. Want to listen too, Satoru?"
Satoru Gojo recalled Shoko Ieiri's abstract teaching style. He looked forward to seeing the stupid, bewildered expression on Miwa Chisei's face once she heard it.
So he happily raised his hand.
"Sure, sure!"
It was rare for him to be so enthusiastic. Shoko Ieiri gave him a suspicious look, bought another drink for Miwa Chisei, and the three casually found a patch of grass to sit on.
True masters didn't fuss over the details. Was this what that meant?
Shoko Ieiri took out the cigarettes Miwa Chisei had given her, slipped one between her lips, and lit it. After taking a deep drag and gathering her thoughts, she looked quite solemn.
"You just go whoosh and output the first portion, then go swoosh and layer on the second. That's all."
Miwa Chisei: ?
Even though she was usually expressionless, the confusion behind her sunglasses was practically spilling out now.
What was Ieiri talking about? What was all this whooshing and swooshing?
Satoru Gojo burst out laughing beside her, pointing at Miwa Chisei and mocking her mercilessly.
"You don't get it? What an idiot."
Miwa Chisei took a deep breath and glanced at Satoru Gojo.
"You understood it? You've learned it?"
Satoru Gojo coughed and looked away, a little awkward.
"I'm about to get it."
Which meant he hadn't learned it yet. What was the point of calling someone an idiot, then? Did he insult himself too when he went off the rails?
Miwa Chisei, however, was genuinely seeking guidance.
"Could you explain it in a little more detail, Ieiri?"
Shoko Ieiri propped herself up with one hand on the grass, holding her cigarette between the fingers of the other. Her posture was utterly relaxed.
It wasn't that she was unwilling to explain more. To her, that really was all there was to the principle.
Cursed energy was negative energy, so it could only cause harm, not heal the body. But a negative times a negative made a positive, so multiplying cursed energy produced positive energy.
Addition was easy enough to explain, but putting the concept of multiplication into practice with cursed energy was extremely difficult.
In any case, Shoko Ieiri had learned it just like that-snap-the first time she mobilized her cursed energy. If someone asked her how she achieved that "multiplication," that really was how.
"You go whoosh to release your cursed energy, then swoosh to layer more cursed energy onto it. You have to finish in an instant and fuse the two completely, without leaving even a trace of cursed energy uncovered."
That was the limit of what Shoko Ieiri could explain.
Miwa Chisei understood. No wonder there was currently only one user of Reverse Cursed Technique. It really was... too profound?
For Shoko Ieiri, it was something that came effortlessly, so she truly didn't know how to describe it.
Shoko Ieiri felt a little regretful. She turned to look at Miwa Chisei and said without malice,
"You don't get it? Looks like you don't have the knack either."
The other two who lacked the knack were Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.
Still, Miwa Chisei had gained a very important insight. In fact, Reverse Jujutsu worked by transforming the nature of the same cursed energy. The question was how to make identical things undergo a qualitative change.
For instance, if you poured water into another cup of water, all you got was more water. You couldn't compress two cups of water into the volume of one.
Wait, compression?
If I forcibly fused the atoms of two cups of water and changed its volume by increasing its density, could I get one cup's volume with two cups' weight?
So Shoko Ieiri had accomplished that step with ease.
Miwa Chisei's gaze grew a little more serious. As expected, someone who was in the same year as Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto couldn't possibly be an ordinary jujutsu sorcerer.
"Thank you, Ieiri."
The thoughtful look on the girl's face hadn't escaped Shoko Ieiri's notice. Watching Miwa Chisei leave after getting her answer, she couldn't help remarking to Satoru Gojo beside her,
"Our little first-year is pretty smart."
"Who knows what she's got stuffed in her head at that age."
Shoko Ieiri was already used to the garbage that came out of her classmate's mouth, but she couldn't resist needling him.
"She might learn something like Reverse Cursed Technique pretty soon. You'd better work hard, Satoru."
"What's that got to do with me?"
Satoru Gojo looked utterly baffled.
"Did I get the wrong idea? It feels like there's a little rivalry going on."
Looking at Shoko Ieiri's teasing expression, Satoru Gojo tapped his head.
"Shoko, cut back on the smoking. Your brain's going to rot."
So Shoko Ieiri expressionlessly put another cigarette between her lips and blew smoke right into Satoru Gojo's face.
Before you continue