“I’m exhausted…” It was past nine in the evening.
The moment Mamoru entered his room, he slumped down near the entryway, slumping face-first without even taking off his shoes.
After leaving Arisu’s room, Mamoru had started from the rooftop, making his way down through every floor of the dormitory and patrolling the outer perimeter, all while setting up his Wedges.
And now, his work had finally hit a temporary stopping point, allowing him to return to his room.
‘I managed to set up the detection barrier inside the dorm, at least…
but seriously, those security cameras are a pain.’ Searching for camera blind spots and planting Wedges one by one didn’t pose a physical or Cursed Energy strain, but it accumulated a heavy amount of mental fatigue.
Furthermore, the barrier he deployed this time was designed merely to alert him if the level of a Curse reached a dangerous threshold.
It couldn’t pinpoint the exact, detailed locations of every Curse currently residing in the building.
In short, patrolling to exorcise Curses would remain a necessity going forward; his workload wasn’t going to get any lighter.
Therefore, even with this milestone reached, he couldn’t afford to be optimistic.
‘Still, with this many Curses popping up, it’s pretty strange that there are only low-grade ones around.’ While the exact conditions for Curse generation held unresolved mysteries, the general consensus was that the more Curses gathered within a confined space, the stronger the resulting Curse would be.
This state was likely because Jujutsu Sorcerers hadn’t stepped foot here for a long time.
Over time, negative emotions had gradually accumulated across this vast campus, resulting in low-grade Curses scattering over a wide area.
‘If that’s the case, at least the chances of the situation drastically worsening overnight are low.
That’s a relief.’ Thinking about it that way granted him a small margin of mental breathing room.
Perhaps because he relaxed his posture, a low rumble suddenly echoed from Mamoru’s stomach.
“I’m starving…” While the other students were eating in the cafeteria, Mamoru had been quietly doing his rounds in the dorms, seeing his task through.
No matter what kind of sorcerer you were, if you didn’t eat, you got hungry, and if you didn’t sleep, fatigue piled up.
Deciding to call it a night, Mamoru took off his shoes and stepped into the room.
Then, he formed a seal with his fingers.
“Open Gate.” The moment he muttered the words, a white wall materialized right in front of him.
Unlike the semi-transparent barrier he had placed outside Arisu’s room, this wall was stark white—so opaque that nothing on the other side could be seen.
Mamoru took a step forward into the wall, sinking right into it.
Beyond the wall, the scene unfolding before him wasn’t his dorm room, but a space composed entirely of pure white.
Wall, floor, ceiling—everything was white.
Strangely, despite the absence of any visible light source, his vision was completely clear, as if the space itself was illuminated from within.
“Even I have to admit, this ‘room’ gives me the creeps.” The space Mamoru referred to as a “room” was a pocket dimension constructed through his Cursed Technique.
Constructing space—hearing that might make it sound like world creation, a divine ability akin to a god’s, but in reality, it wasn’t anything quite so grand.
Building this space required a vast amount of Cursed Energy and incredibly precise energy control, expanding only by tiny increments even over long periods.
It was a painstaking, delicate task, like building a castle out of matchsticks.
Mamoru had expanded this space little by little as a daily routine since he was ten years old, yet to this day, he had only managed to construct an area roughly the size of two garages.
However, spending that much time and effort on this space was well worth it due to several functions—the most vital of which, to Mamoru, was spatial connection.
“Open Gate.” This space could freely connect to points Mamoru had previously marked with his Cursed Energy.
While Mamoru could perform spatial teleportation without passing through this room, doing so directly meant he could only jump to areas within the reach of his Cursed Energy perception.
However, using this room as a relay point made distance completely irrelevant.
He could jump anywhere in the world.
Mamoru stepped through the white wall that materialized once again.
The destination connected on the other side was a room.
A completely different layout from the student dormitory.
Beyond the open curtains lay a twinkling cityscape of Tokyo, glowing like a bed of jewels.
“…Ah, my actual room really is the most relaxing.” This was an apartment unit Mamoru had been using long before enrolling in the school.
This was the very reason he hadn’t spent a single point during his shopping trip with Arisu.
After all, for someone who could freely travel back and forth to his own room fully stocked with necessities, there was zero need to buy new living supplies.
“Can I still order delivery at this hour?” Feeling sluggish, Mamoru opened the living room door, intending to eat quickly and get some sleep.
“Ah, welcome back~!
You’re late!
Want a bath?
Want dinner?
Or…
a m-o-v-i-e?” Sitting on the sofa, eating pizza while watching a movie, was a white-haired, blindfolded man: Satoru Gojo.
“…Why are you here?” Perhaps because he was exhausted, that high-energy, familiar voice sounded uncomfortably loud in his head.
Mamoru pressed a hand against the bridge of his nose, squeezing out his question.
“Hmm~ I figured you’d be coming back right about now.
Oh, I ordered a pizza for you too, Mamoru!” “Ah, thanks for that…
Wait, no, what are you here for?
I’m exhausted and want to go to sleep.” His empty stomach briefly distracted him with the pizza, but he quickly snapped back and demanded an explanation.
“So cold!
I just came to hear about my cute little brother’s fun new school life~” “You’re not exactly in a position to be slacking off with that much free time, are you?” “No, no!
For my one and only sweet brother, I’ve got all the time in the world to spare!” Hearing him say that with unnecessarily crisp pronunciation didn’t make Mamoru feel happy in the slightest right now.
“…Seriously, I’m really tired.
If you have business, get to it.” “…You actually look totally wiped out.
What happened?” Seeing Mamoru genuinely exhausted, Satoru seemed taken aback, dropping his playful demeanor to ask back with a serious tone.
“That school is a total pain.
Too many security cameras.
Just planting Wedges around the dormitory took up my entire day.” Having known him for so long, Satoru could tell Mamoru was genuinely fed up.
He responded with a sympathetic tone.
“Seriously?
That sounds like a real nightmare.” ‘You’re the one who dumped this job on me, Bro!’ Mamoru cursed internally.
“…So, what do you actually want, Bro?” Having vented a bit of his built-up frustration, Mamoru calmed down slightly and asked Satoru again.
“Well, you see, the new first-years arrived at Jujutsu High too.
I thought you ought to know about them~” With that, Satoru handed over a folder.
Even for Mamoru, details about new Jujutsu High sorcerers were important information.
He accepted the file and opened it, revealing familiar faces.
“Huh, Maki-san and the Inumaki guy…” Maki Zen’in from the Zen’in clan—one of the Three Great Families alongside the Gojo family.
Toge Inumaki from a clan of Cursed Speech users.
Though he hadn’t spoken to them much, he had a passing acquaintance with both due to family ties.
Then came the third profile.
The moment he turned the page and saw the data, Mamoru’s eyes widened.
“Huh…
A panda?” The picture attached to the third profile was literally a panda.
Round eyes, circular ears, black-and-white fur.
Not a person who looked like a panda, but a photo of a genuine panda.
“Uh, wait, is this allowed?
Did it actually…
enroll?” “Yup, enrolled!” Mamoru’s surprise wasn’t about the fact that a panda existed.
He already knew this panda wasn’t just a regular animal.
In fact, if you worked as a sorcerer, you were bound to hear rumors about such a striking existence.
Principal of the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, Masamichi Yaga.
“Corpse Cursed Technique”—the leading authority on imbuing dolls with Curses to control Cursed Corpses.
And this panda was his absolute masterpiece: a Cursed Corpse with its own consciousness.
“I don’t have any prejudice, but…
I’m surprised the higher-ups allowed it.” Recognizing a Cursed Corpse as a sorcerer wasn’t something the conservative higher-ups—who were obsessed with tradition and bloodlines—would ever approve of.
Mamoru could guess how it was pulled off, but he aimed a questioning look at his brother anyway.
“A task of this level is as easy as making instant noodles for me!” ‘You just forced it through anyway, didn’t you?’ Looking at Satoru puffing out his chest proudly, Mamoru gave him a deadpan look in his mind.
“And well, I thought about having you meet the three of them properly, but…
guess that’s out.” Seeing how tired Mamoru looked, Satoru seemed to realize how busy he was, offering a rare moment of consideration.
“Hmm…
If it’s absolutely necessary, I can make time.” “Nah, it’s fine.
No need to rush.
I’ll introduce you once you’ve got some free time over there.” “Really?
That helps.” Mamoru was relieved from the bottom of his heart.
Between the mission duties and the school’s complicated system, things looked like a hassle.
Expecting a normal school life to be busy meant he wouldn’t have much free time to spare.
“So, how about you?
How’s the school?” “How is it?
Like I just said.” “Not that!
I mean, what’s ‘Japan’s top high school’ actually like?” “Ah…
about that, my contract says I can’t leak details about the school to the outside.” “Don’t be so rigid!
You can just tell me on the low~” “No way.
Contracts and promises carry heavy weight for sorcerers.
You’re the one who taught me that, Bro.” “So serious~” Satoru said that, but he was partly responsible for Mamoru growing up to be so serious.
He was the benefactor who had picked Mamoru up after he was cast aside by his family when he was young, training him up.
However, Mamoru had realized early on that he shouldn’t copy this man’s personality.
Satoru Gojo’s arrogantly free-spirited behavior was only tolerated because he was the strongest.
Mamoru knew he didn’t hold that same qualification.
As a result, his seriousness grew in direct proportion to his brother’s absurdity.
“Tch~” Despite being a full-grown adult, Satoru pouted his lips like a child.
Looking at Satoru like that, Mamoru suddenly recalled his conversation with Arisu from earlier that day.
“Genius, huh…” “Hmm?
Did you say something?” Muttered so quietly, the words didn’t seem to reach Satoru.
“Nah…
just thinking that sometimes, there are things people are better off not knowing.” “What’s with you all of a sudden?” ‘That girl seems to hold genius in such high regard…
I wonder what she’d think if she saw my brother right now.’ Thinking about that made him chuckle a little to himself.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Author’s Note: Yes, the “Room” introduced in this chapter is one of the overpowered elements of Mamoru-kun’s Cursed Technique!
That said, since there won’t be any combat scenes for the time being, it’ll probably be a long while before it gets its time to shine in battle.
Also, was Gojo-sensei’s way of speaking fine like this?
I feel a bit of a “this isn’t quite right” sensation myself, but expressing his high energy is tough for someone like me who isn’t great at wordplay.
Oh, and a setting detail for those who might be curious: The apartment unit Mamoru lives in is contracted under Gojo-sensei’s name.
Since Mamoru generally dislikes his main family home and Gojo-sensei is always busy, Mamoru basically lives there by himself.