A way! A demon's body!

Mechamaru stood there, his gaze behind his lenses shining as though it had been set alight.

He opened his mouth.

In the end, he merely repeated that word, his voice carrying a cautious certainty.

"The soul..."

"That's right. The soul."

"I've browsed some ancient texts about Cursed Energy and souls in my spare time."

"A contract on the level of the soul and damage to the body are two different things."

"The body can be repaired, cells can regenerate, but a mark carved into the soul..."

Mechamaru did not finish.

He suddenly raised his head, his voice brimming with excitement that had finally found an outlet after being suppressed for so long.

"Mr. Wangchuan, then you..."

Wangchuan raised a hand, signaling him to stop.

"Yes, I have done some research into souls."

But inwardly, he silently added something.

Obviously. I'm using the Moon Demon template now.

If a demon hadn't studied souls, could he even be called a demon?

That's a basic skill.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Mechamaru seemed to have been lifted by something.

His mechanical body leaned forward slightly, his voice more urgent than before.

"Then, sir... I..."

"Would it be possible to..."

Wangchuan interrupted him, his tone still steady, but his meaning clear.

"But, as you know."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Mechamaru did not feel discouraged upon hearing that.

Instead, he kept repeating in his mind that Wangchuan had said it was possible!

He hurriedly nodded, his metal joints clicking faintly with the motion.

"I know, Mr. Wangchuan."

"I understand how you do things."

He straightened, his hands clenching slightly at his sides as though he had made a decision.

"I'll work hard to earn money. Please..."

He paused, as though searching for the right words, but in the end, he merely nodded firmly.

"Please wait patiently for me."

With that, Mechamaru had already turned and run toward the dormitories in long strides.

"Huh?!"

Wangchuan watched his figure vanish into the night, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He looked down at the hand he still had outstretched, silently withdrew it, and slipped it back into his trouser pocket.

"...I hadn't finished talking."

He muttered softly, a trace of helplessness in his voice, though the corners of his mouth curved involuntarily.

"I haven't even told you the price."

He shook his head and added another remark.

"Why is he just like Yuta Okkotsu?"

He stood there in silence for a moment.

He remembered Mechamaru in the original story.

To escape the ravaged body imposed by his Heavenly Restriction, he had worked with Mahito and Kenjaku, selling information about everyone at Jujutsu High just to obtain a healthy body.

In many people's eyes, that had been an unforgivable choice.

But he also remembered what happened later.

In the end, Mechamaru had left a contingency behind.

A failsafe would activate automatically when Gojo was sealed.

It would inform everyone at Jujutsu High that Gojo had been sealed, along with crucial intelligence about the Cursed Spirits' side.

He had not backed down in his one-on-one battle against Mahito.

He had known he would be killed, yet he still wanted to clean up the mess he had created.

Though he had ultimately died at Mahito's hands.

Wangchuan drew his gaze back and looked up at the moon overhead, fragmented by the branches and leaves of the osmanthus tree.

"Besides."

"The original story is the original story. Now is now."

"The Mechamaru of today hasn't reached that point yet."

As he was thinking, he suddenly tilted his head slightly, glancing toward the old osmanthus tree behind him.

The tree's trunk was about as thick as two people could encircle together, and its shadow cast a broad swath of deep darkness across the ground.

The curve of Wangchuan's lips deepened a little.

"Come out."

"I noticed you ages ago."

The shadows beneath the tree remained quiet for two or three seconds.

Then a figure slowly emerged from behind the trunk, her movements carrying a reluctance at being discovered and an attempt to conceal it.

Utahime Iori.

When she emerged, a small fragment of osmanthus leaf still clung to her hair. Clearly, she had been pressed quite close to the tree.

Her expression was that of someone trying to remain composed after being exposed, though a little discomfort still showed in her eyes. She folded her arms across her chest and gave a huff of feigned displeasure.

"Seriously... You even noticed me there."

Wangchuan looked at her and smiled.

He said nothing, instead stepping forward, raising his hand, and naturally draping it over her shoulders, gently drawing her toward him.

"Miss me?"

Utahime's shoulders tensed slightly when he put his arm around her, but soon relaxed.

She turned her head and glared at him, though that glare probably had only enough force to drive away a mosquito.

"Oh, please. I was just... passing by."

"Passing behind a tree that just happened to be big enough to hide someone?"

"Could you stop being so annoying?"

Wangchuan chuckled and did not expose her any further.

The two stood beneath the moonlight like that, very close together.

Utahime looked past Wangchuan's shoulder toward where Mechamaru had vanished, her expression thoughtful.

After a while, she spoke, her voice softer than before, carrying the seriousness that came once the joking had been set aside.

"Do you really have a way?"

Wangchuan followed her gaze toward the empty path, then brought his eyes back to her face.

After all, Mechamaru was her student. There was no way she would not care.

"Yes."

"More than one, in fact."

He silently added to himself.

Although this human body of mine really can't directly touch anything on the level of the soul, my other body, the Moon Demon's body, is different.

For a demon, touching souls is no different from eating or drinking.

Utahime listened quietly to the end.

A few seconds later, she asked softly.

"Why did you study these things?"

Wangchuan fell silent for a moment.

"I suppose I felt."

"There are so many people in this world who have no control over their lives. They're thrown into fates they can't choose, still carrying unresolved regrets until their very last moments."

"So I want to change everything I want to change."

Utahime turned her head slightly to look at him.

Moonlight reflected as two faint glimmers deep in her eyes.

Wangchuan drew his gaze back, glanced at her, then curved his lips and reached out to flick her forehead lightly.

"What are you looking at?"

"Come on. Let's go inside."

"Hey! Why did you flick me?"

"Payback for that punch you gave me."

"How long ago was that?! Why do you hold such grudges?"

Wangchuan had already taken two steps toward the teachers' quarters. Hearing her voice follow him from behind, his smile deepened a little.

He kept walking, merely raising a hand and waving it at her.

"Holding grudges is one of my virtues."

"That doesn't count as a virtue at all, idiot!"

"I wasn't finished talking!"

"Wait for me!"

Footsteps caught up with him, and then a hand tugged at the hem of his clothes from behind.

Wangchuan did not turn around, but he slowed his steps a little, letting her catch up and walk beside him.

The door closed softly behind them.