[You read "Circulating Corridor" from that Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.] ["Circulating Corridor": expends cursed energy to create a looping barrier in suitable settings, such as enclosed spaces like caves, tunnels, or rooms.] [The spaces it can connect, its resistance to destruction from within, and its effects on the flow of time inside all depend on your proficiency and cursed energy.]
[On Jujutsu High's basketball court, Satoru Gojo easily tossed the basketball into the hoop, then asked you, who had failed to stop him.]
["Speaking of which, Shunchen, why are you so obsessed with putting up Curtains? You're making it hard for me to tell whether you're a student or an Assistant Supervisor."]
[You answered somewhat helplessly.]
["Isn't that because someone keeps ditching the Assistant Supervisors, leaving them no chance to put up a Curtain before someone destroys the cursed spirits in some over-the-top way?"]
["That stuff doesn't matter. Even if ordinary people see us, it's no big deal. They can't see curses or cursed spirits anyway."]
["Of course it matters."]
[Suguru Geto dribbled the ball as he took your place and continued.]
["The best way to suppress the birth of cursed spirits is to keep people's minds at ease."]
["For that reason, even threats they can't see need to be concealed as much as possible. And that's not all..."]
[Clearly, Satoru Gojo didn't like listening to Suguru Geto's lectures and interrupted him outright.]
["I get it, I get it. Looking after the weak sure is exhausting. Seriously..."]
[As Satoru Gojo spoke, he snatched the basketball from Suguru Geto's hands, then sank a beautiful three-pointer.]
[Suguru Geto continued speaking earnestly to Satoru Gojo.]
["The weak should be able to survive. That's how society ought to be. Curb the strong and support the weak. Listen, Satoru, Jujutsu Sorcerers exist to protect non-sorcerers."]
[Satoru Gojo chuckled.]
["That's what passes for a proper, reasonable opinion, huh? Me, I hate that kind of preaching more than anything."]
["...What did you say?"]
["Forcing reasons and responsibilities onto someone else's strength is what weak people do. Stop getting off on all that 'Jujutsu Sorcerers are so great' crap! Ugh..."]
[As Satoru Gojo spoke, he deliberately made an exaggerated show of vomiting.]
[Shoko, standing nearby, had already sensed something wrong with the atmosphere, so she chose to slip quickly out of the gym.]
[But as you watched the two argue, you murmured softly, recalling terrible memories.]
["Jujutsu Sorcerers exist to protect non-sorcerers..."]
[You thought of Sato. You thought of Naoya. Just like Satoru Gojo, you found those words utterly laughable.]
["Forcing reasons and responsibilities onto someone else's strength... is what weak people do..."]
[Then you softly repeated Satoru Gojo's words. To you, that reaction and those remarks weren't much better than Sato's and Naoya's. That same condescending arrogance filled you with instinctive disgust.]
[In truth, you didn't agree much with Suguru Geto's current stance either, because during the previous simulation, you had already seen how his talk of protecting the weak would ultimately become twisted all the same.]
[Suguru Geto's expression turned serious. He used Cursed Spirit Manipulation to summon a cursed spirit and spoke earnestly to Satoru Gojo.]
["Let's talk outside, Satoru."]
["What, are you that afraid of being lonely? Go by yourself."]
[You watched the tense standoff between the two with cold indifference, without the slightest desire to step in and break it up.]
[You knew that although those two disagreed on certain issues, that didn't stop them from getting along well. Things wouldn't get too out of hand. At most, they would have a fight.]
[In the past, even knowing that trying to stop them was useless, you would still have said a few words for form's sake.]
[But today alone, you didn't even feel like doing that, because you were different from them. Not long ago, you had been one of the weak people they were arguing about, and even now that you had become a sorcerer, you still hadn't reached a level equal to theirs.]
[You refused to settle for being weak, nor did you intend to beg for the charity of the strong's protection. You strengthened your resolve to stand at the very pinnacle one day.]
[At that moment, Suguru Geto noticed you standing a short distance away. In a rare occurrence, he caught a trace of anger on your face, which greatly surprised him.]
[As far as he remembered, he had almost never seen you get angry over anything.]
[So Suguru Geto mistakenly thought you were also angry about Satoru Gojo's excessive remarks just now, and he called out to ask you.]
["Hey, Shunchen, you think what Satoru said was awful too, right? What do you think about this?"]
["I..."]
[But before you could speak, Satoru Gojo spoke up.]
["Why are you asking Shunchen? If you want to argue back, come up with something yourself. Don't force a problem that has nothing to do with him onto him."]
[Although Satoru Gojo had probably meant to keep you out of this, the unconscious way he excluded you still made you feel somewhat uncomfortable.]
[Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, to the point that the two might even clash inside the gym, Masamichi Yaga slid the door open and entered.]
[Masamichi Yaga looked at the two, who had crowded so close together that their faces were almost touching, and shouted.]
["How long are you going to keep playing around? Where's Shoko?"]
[Noticing Masamichi Yaga's arrival, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto immediately moved apart.]
[The tension between them instantly dissipated as well.]
[The two switched to doing warm-up exercises, as though nothing had happened.]
["No idea."]
["Maybe she went to the bathroom?"]
["Never mind. I have a mission for you two."]
[The moment they heard that Masamichi Yaga had come to give them a mission, both of them deflated in unison, showing none of the energy they had displayed when they were about to fight.]
["What's with those looks on your faces?"]
["Nothing."]
[Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo answered in unison.]
[Then Masamichi Yaga looked over at you a short distance away. After thinking for a moment, seemingly somewhat uneasy, he said to you.]
["Shunchen, you come along too."]
Before you continue