“Next time, don’t pause halfway through a sentence like that.
People are going to misunderstand you.” Togawa Sakiko turned her head away and spoke with an irritated glare.
Konoe Mayoru did not take the scolding seriously, but he still nodded with apparent sincerity.
“So, will you let me know your cursed energy?” “I just told you not to phrase it so suggestively!” Sakiko sighed helplessly.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘know’?” “I can tell you’re different from Kei and me, Great Sakiko-sensei.
You’re a properly trained, half-baked sorcerer!” “You can leave out the ‘half-baked’ part!” After snapping at him, Sakiko somehow felt even more exhausted.
“But I understand what you mean.
You want me to teach you the basics of controlling cursed energy, right?” “Honestly, you could have just said that from the beginning.
What kind of mindset made you choose the words ‘I want to know you’?” Great Sakiko-sensei was clearly still bothered by his confession-like phrasing.
Mayoru understood her feelings and behaved exceptionally obediently.
He even handed her a cup of coffee that was still warm.
This was another convenient feature of Vector Manipulation.
Heat was also something he could control.
Even without running water or electricity, Mayoru could still heat food and drinks through his technique.
Naturally, he gave Kei a bottle as well.
Since it required almost no effort, he opened a can for himself too.
He did not particularly like coffee, but he did not dislike it either.
“What a convenient technique.
You can even use it for something like this…” Sakiko opened her can with a hint of envy.
The instant the warm coffee entered her throat, she finally felt as though she had truly returned to life.
“So, you said you wanted to learn jujutsu.
What exactly do you want me to demonstrate?” Kei, who was sipping her coffee nearby, began listening seriously as well.
This concerned their future, so she could hardly treat it lightly.
“To be specific…
Great Sakiko-sensei, have you ever landed a Black Flash?” Sakiko immediately choked on her coffee.
After finally recovering, she stared at Mayoru in disbelief.
“I don’t know how you learned about Black Flash, but do you think it’s some cheap trick anyone can use?” Mayoru was genuinely disappointed.
From his perspective, Black Flash was the fastest way to adapt to his technique.
Unfortunately, not every random sorcerer could land one.
‘I miss you, Emperor Yuji.’ Since it was only November 1st, Emperor Yuji was probably outside the barrier helping Choso eliminate cursed spirits.
Mayoru was unlikely to encounter him anytime soon.
His disappointment soon vanished.
“No Black Flash is fine.
Just demonstrate how you summon and use cursed energy.” “For example…
reinforce your body with cursed energy.” Sakiko looked puzzled.
She did not understand what purpose that would serve.
Every sorcerer could sense the flow of cursed energy, but simply watching someone else use it offered very limited benefits.
Anyone could understand that coating a fist in cursed energy would make the punch stronger.
However, reinforcement depended heavily on instinct and personal sensation.
It was not something one could copy simply by observing it.
“That’s true.
Which is why I don’t only plan to watch.” “I need to touch your cursed energy.” Although Mayoru had awakened his technique less than a day ago, he had already developed his own understanding of Vector Manipulation.
The technique was frighteningly powerful in both offense and defense.
However, its most absurd feature might actually be its ability to learn.
Mayoru had realized this while standing inside the cursed spirit’s Domain.
A Domain came with a sealed barrier and a guaranteed-hit effect.
That meant Mayoru could directly “touch” the cursed spirit’s cursed-energy activation, circulation, and technique operation.
That was completely different from merely watching.
Through Vector Manipulation, Mayoru could thoroughly analyze those processes and imitate similar effects using his own cursed energy.
‘No wonder some people say Accelerator’s ability is essentially reverse calculation.’ ‘He analyzes a phenomenon, then uses his power to take control of it.
That is the true nature of Vector Manipulation.’ ‘That’s why Accelerator can reflect more than esper abilities.
Once he understands the principles, almost no magic can penetrate his defense.’ ‘In a sense, it resembles Mahoraga.’ ‘Analyze the flow of another person’s cursed energy, adapt my own energy to it, and eventually reproduce it.’ ‘That is the true nature of Vector Manipulation!’ After reaching that conclusion, the fastest method Mayoru could imagine for improving was stealing techniques from others.
Through physical contact, he could fully perceive another sorcerer’s cursed-energy circulation and understand every part of the phenomenon.
Naturally, once he understood the process, he could learn the corresponding skill.
However, that required touching the other person.
Vector Manipulation fundamentally required contact, though its definition of “contact” clearly extended slightly beyond his skin.
Otherwise, his clothing would be destroyed before reflection could protect him.
“So…
we need physical contact?” “Shaking hands is enough.
Though holding somewhere else would work too.” After understanding his meaning, Sakiko fell silent.
She did not intend to refuse.
She was not ungrateful.
The appearance of a special-grade cursed spirit meant Japan’s existing order had already collapsed.
Under those circumstances, Mayoru was probably the most promising person she knew and almost certain to reach special grade.
Still, she felt a little embarrassed.
She had never held hands with a boy her age like this before.
In the end, Sakiko agreed.
She could not detect even the slightest improper intention in Mayoru’s eyes.
He was a genuine seeker of strength.
His gaze contained nothing but hunger for power, without any other desire.
“So I only need to circulate my cursed energy and activate my technique?” Sakiko extended her small hand and quietly asked, suppressing her subtle nervousness.
“Of course.” Mayoru immediately grasped her smooth, pale hand and refined her on the spot— Naturally, he did no such thing.
Vector Manipulation activated.
Mayoru discarded every irrelevant vector and focused entirely on tracking the flow of cursed energy.
Setting everything else aside, her hand was cool and surprisingly pleasant to hold.
However, Mayoru had no interest in that right now.
All he wanted was to master Sakiko’s cursed-energy control.
He was going to study it thoroughly.
He was going to copy everything he possibly could.