Inside the interrogation room, Yoshino Junpei sat with his head bowed, his expression hidden from view.
But he hadn’t been interrogated right away.
After being brought here and locked into the interrogation chair, the group had simply left.
No one had come to see him since.
When he had first been captured, he had been terrified—terrified of being questioned about his connection to Mahito, terrified of dying without ever understanding why…
His mind had spiraled in countless directions.
He thought about that disgusting teacher.
He thought about the ones who had bullied him.
He thought about Mahito—the one who had discussed the soul with him, discussed human nature, taught him about curses, helped him awaken his technique and grasp power…
Mahito-san was indeed a bad person.
He had killed many people.
He toyed with human souls.
But he understood me.
He helped me.
He gave me power—the power to take control of my own fate.
He pushed open the door to a whole new world for me!
I haven’t done anything wrong.
It’s those bullies who deserve to die.
And that revolting teacher too.
If it’s Mahito-san, he would surely understand me.
He would agree with me.
That’s right.
Mahito-san is the only one who supports and understands me!
So I must not betray Mahito-san!
In the end, he reached this resolution, repeating it over and over in his heart to fortify his conviction.
I must not betray Mahito-san!
I must not betray…
Creeeeak.
The old iron door slowly swung open with a sharp, grating groan.
A figure cast its shadow across his face, backlit by the light from outside.
Someone’s come?
I must not betray Mahito-san.
Repeating his vow one more time in his heart, Junpei slowly raised his head to look at the visitor—and then froze on the spot.
“Mom…?”
“Junpei…”
Nagi’s entire voice trembled.
Seeing her son bound to the interrogation chair, the mask of strength she had worn all this time shattered in an instant.
Tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.
She rushed forward with everything she had and threw her arms around her child, her voice frantic with concern.
“Junpei, are you alright?!
Are you hurt?!
What on earth happened?!”
She scrutinized him from head to toe, checking for any signs of injury.
And then, she suddenly noticed that his bangs—usually so neatly kept—were now disheveled.
Through the messy gaps, something seemed to be hidden.
“!!!”
Nagi’s hand trembled uncontrollably.
With the utmost care, she ghosted her fingers over the scars concealed beneath his hair, terrified of causing him pain.
As a long-time smoker, she recognized these marks.
They were scars from cigarette burns.
She had some herself, from times she’d accidentally been burned by her own lit cigarette.
But on Junpei’s forehead, there were nearly ten such scars, clustered densely at the corner of his brow—ugly, hideous.
These were absolutely not marks that could come from mere “accidents.”
“…Junpei.
What is this?
Has someone been bullying you?
Why…?”
Why didn’t you tell me?
Why didn’t I notice sooner?
The moment Junpei saw his mother, his mind went completely blank.
He could only stare at her face, dumbstruck, unable to react, unable to think.
He didn’t know how long it was before he gradually came back to himself.
By then, his mother’s face was completely streaked with tears.
Her beautiful features now looked utterly haggard.
Her gentle hand carefully, tenderly touched the scars at the corner of his forehead.
With a voice full of sorrow and guilt, she said to him, “Junpei…
I’m sorry.
I haven’t been a good mother.”
In that instant, he broke.
“Please, I’m begging you—don’t hurt my mom!”
“My mom is innocent!
She doesn’t know anything!!”
“I’ll tell you everything!
I’ll say anything!
I’ll do anything you want!!”
“Please, just don’t hurt her!
Please!
I’m begging you!”
“Uh…”
Watching the chaotic scene before them, everyone exchanged glances, at a loss for words.
Why was it that, despite having done absolutely nothing, they were being treated as though they had committed some heinous, unforgivable crime?
They were the ones on the side of justice here, weren’t they?
Nanami spoke to Gojo.
“So this was the real reason you broke protocol and brought her here.
It seems there’ll be no need for an interrogation now.
He’ll talk willingly.”
“Do I look like the kind of person with ulterior motives?
This was clearly just a coincidence,” Gojo replied with a grin.
“Though, it did save us a fair bit of trouble.
Yuji watched the two—mother and son—both clearly emotionally unstable inside the interrogation room, and asked with some concern, “Are they going to be okay?
Should we go in and explain?”
Nanami shook his head.
“No.
It’s best they sort it out themselves.
If we step in now, it really will look like we’re coercing him.”
With that, he turned to Gojo and adjusted his glasses.
“I didn’t expect this case to be resolved so quickly.
I only submitted my report this afternoon, and you dealt with that Special Grade cursed spirit by tonight.”
“Though I am curious—how did you know it would go after Yoshino Junpei’s mother?”
Ritsuka stood quietly to the side, looking for all the world as though she were simply listening in.
Gojo grinned.
“Because I’m the strongest, of course—just kidding.”
“Call it intuition.
The report mentioned Yoshino Junpei might be connected to that Special Grade cursed spirit, so I swung by that area on a whim.
Turned out I just happened to run into it.”
He spread his hands with a helpless shrug, as if bemoaning the cursed spirit’s rotten luck.
Gojo’s eyes were still firmly hidden behind his black blindfold, but Ritsuka could feel his gaze shift toward her.
She looked back at him, and they exchanged a knowing smile.
She was a hidden trump card that Gojo was keeping up his sleeve.
It wasn’t time for her to be revealed yet.
For now, she was merely an unremarkable Grade 3 sorcerer—naturally incapable of slaying a powerful Special Grade cursed spirit.
So the credit, and the story, had to be dumped squarely onto Gojo.
They had also asked Nagi to help conceal the truth.
That had been one of the conditions for allowing her to see Junpei.
What had surprised Ritsuka a little, though, was how readily Gojo had agreed over the phone.
She’d assumed it was all above board.
As it turned out, it absolutely wasn’t.
To this, Gojo had merely laughed it off dismissively.
“Break the rules?
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve broken the rules.
It’s no big deal.”
“Those old fossils—you think they’d dare to pass judgment on me?
Don’t make me laugh.”
Arrogant.
And entirely reasonable.
The recovered Sukuna finger had already been fed to Yuji by Gojo.
Yuji’s review: it didn’t taste like much, but it was still edible.
Inside the interrogation room, Junpei’s sudden outburst had startled Nagi.
But once she understood what he had mistakenly assumed, she hurriedly explained the full truth of what had happened.
Junpei’s expression shifted continuously as he listened to his mother’s account.
In the end, he fell into a quiet silence, his thoughts unreadable.
Seeing that the commotion inside the room had gradually settled, the group exchanged glances.
Nanami took the lead and walked in, addressing Junpei directly.
“Well then…
is there anything you’d like to say?”