It was already late at night when the gathering ended.
The group walked along the road back to Kyoto Jujutsu High.
Momo Nishimiya walked at the front of the group. She glanced back at Utahime Iori, who was walking beside Wangchuan, and that familiar gleam lit up in her eyes again.
"Ms. Iori, are you heading back to Jujutsu High too?"
She deliberately drew out the last word.
The knowing tone in her voice made even Kasumi Miwa, who was walking beside her, press her lips together.
"Then where is Teacher Wangchuan staying?"
Momo Nishimiya's voice carried a cheeky hint of laughter.
As she spoke, she nudged Aoi Todo beside her with her shoulder, as though looking for an ally.
Utahime Iori faltered in her steps. She turned to look at Momo Nishimiya, her brow twitching slightly.
"...Shut up, Momo."
"One more word, and you're cleaning the entire school tomorrow."
"Aww~~ I'm sorry, Miss!"
Momo Nishimiya quickly ducked her head, stuck out her tongue, and hid behind Aoi Todo.
Aoi Todo burst into unabashed laughter, the sound carrying far down the nighttime street.
Even the normally quiet Noritoshi Kamo's lips curved slightly, and he lowered his head to hide that trace of a smile.
Utahime Iori shook her head a little helplessly at her students' antics, then turned to glance at Wangchuan.
"Chuan."
"It's too late to go back to the hotel now."
Her tone was deliberately casual as she said it.
"Kyoto Jujutsu High has faculty housing. A few units are empty."
"We're all teachers at sister schools anyway. Principal Gakuganji probably won't refuse."
Looking at her expression as she tried hard to act as though she was merely offering a convenience, Wangchuan's lips curved slightly.
"Sure."
"Then it's settled."
Utahime nodded and looked away, saying nothing more.
Just then, a voice came from the back of the group.
"Ms. Iori, let me take Teacher Wangchuan to the housing."
Mechamaru stepped forward from the back, his tone steady and polite.
"It's on my way. My dorm is right beside the faculty area."
At his words, Utahime Iori visibly froze for a moment.
"Huh?"
She opened her mouth, as though about to say something like, "No need, I'll take him myself."
But with the words on the tip of her tongue, she glanced around at the students all watching her intently.
In the end, she swallowed those words and replaced them with a somewhat dry response.
"...All right."
"Take him over, then."
"The third building on the east side. Just give my name to the gatekeeper for the key."
"Understood." Mechamaru nodded, then turned sideways and gestured for Wangchuan to go ahead.
"Teacher Wangchuan, this way."
Wangchuan glanced at him.
Beneath the streetlights, Mechamaru's metal face shone with a soft, cool gleam. His gaze behind the lenses faced straight ahead, his bearing respectful without being servile.
Something stirred faintly within Wangchuan, but he showed nothing on his face and merely nodded to Utahime.
"I'll head over first, then."
"Mm. Get some rest."
"Bye, Miss! Good night, Teacher Wangchuan!" Kasumi Miwa waved from behind them.
Momo Nishimiya added with a grin, "See you tomorrow."
Aoi Todo shouted, "Brother, come to the training grounds tomorrow!"
Only to be silenced by a sharp glare from Utahime.
Wangchuan waved to them and followed Mechamaru onto the lamplit path through Jujutsu High's side gate.
The two walked side by side for a while.
Mechamaru walked steadily, his pace unhurried.
Wangchuan did not hurry him either. With his hands in his pockets, he casually surveyed the outlines of the school buildings, quiet in the night.
After a while, Mechamaru spoke.
"Teacher Wangchuan."
"Hm?"
"Earlier... I heard from Miwa and the others that you healed the scar on Ms. Iori's face."
He sounded as though he was trying hard to stay calm, though a hint of nervousness was still audible beneath his voice.
"With... with something like magic."
Wangchuan turned to glance at him.
There was little change of expression to be seen on that metal face beneath the moonlight, but he could feel the weight of the gaze directed at him.
"You could say that," Wangchuan answered softly.
Mechamaru remained silent for several steps.
Then he suddenly stopped.
Wangchuan stopped as well.
Mechamaru turned to face Wangchuan, his metal face reflecting a cold white light beneath the moon.
His gaze behind the lenses held an undisguised longing he had never shown anyone before.
"Teacher Wangchuan."
His voice was a little lower than before, restrained, as though he was voicing something he had kept hidden for a long time.
"I... there's something I'd like to ask you."
Wangchuan looked at him without pressing him, merely giving a slight nod.
"Go ahead."
Mechamaru fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"You probably already know."
"I was born with a heavenly restriction."
He raised his right hand and held it out before himself.
Moonlight fell on the metal joints, reflecting a faint, cool gleam.
"My condition..."
He paused, his voice growing a little softer.
"You may have heard about it. It's different from the heavenly restrictions of those two from the Zenin Clan."
"They sacrificed cursed energy for the pinnacle of physical ability, while I paid with my body in exchange for a cursed technique range covering all of Japan and an enormous cursed energy output."
He lowered that hand, his gaze settling on Wangchuan's face.
"It isn't an illness, an injury, or the lingering effects of a curse."
"It's a contract inscribed into my very existence."
After saying this, he paused for two or three seconds, as though making sure he had explained himself clearly.
Then his voice trembled slightly, carrying an emotion it never had before, as though he was bringing something out from his deepest depths to show another person.
"Teacher Wangchuan..."
"That magic you used to heal Ms. Iori's scar..."
"Could it... treat my problem?"
Wangchuan looked at Mechamaru.
That metal face remained calm beneath the moonlight, but he could sense something trembling violently, almost soundlessly, beneath that cold mechanical shell.
It was the kind of tremor that came only after being trapped for a very long time and finally seeing a possible way out.
Wangchuan remained silent for a while.
Then he spoke, his tone a little more serious than before, but without any oppressive weight.
He sounded as though he was stating a fact, rather than offering comfort or evading the question.
"If it's the kind of magic I used to heal Utahime..."
"It can't treat your problem."
"It can't...?"
As those words fell, Mechamaru was like a lamp whose power had suddenly been cut.
He stood there in silence for a long time. The gaze behind his lenses dimmed for an instant, as though something had slipped away in that moment.
But only for an instant.
Because he noticed the qualifier in Wangchuan's words.
If it's the kind of magic I used to heal Utahime.
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze focusing on Wangchuan's face again, a light rapidly kindling within it.
"Teacher Wangchuan, do you mean..."
The curve of Wangchuan's lips deepened slightly.
Rather than answering directly, he raised a hand, extended a finger, and lightly flicked Mechamaru's forehead.
Clang!
The metal surface gave a clear ring, like a bell being struck.
"What I used to heal Utahime was only ordinary physical restoration magic."
He withdrew his hand and slipped it back into his trouser pocket.
"But your problem isn't with your body..."
"It's with your soul."
Before you continue