Sunlight streamed through the blinds and spilled across the apartment as Natsuki sat at his desk, turning Mei Mei’s business card between his fingers.
The gold lettering glimmered faintly in the morning light.
“The Time Vessel Association…”
The mysterious “master” mentioned in the curse user’s notebook was most likely Kenjaku, the thousand-year-old sorcerer currently occupying Geto Suguru’s body.
That ancient monster had spent centuries conducting experiments and weaving one scheme after another, all in preparation for the Culling Game.
His phone chimed, and the screen lit up with a message from Megumi.
[Megumi: Amamiya, are you free today? Gojo-sensei wants to meet you.]
An address followed beneath the message.
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
[Natsuki: Two this afternoon.]
Megumi replied almost immediately.
[Megumi: All right. I’ll wait for you at the school entrance.]
Natsuki set his phone aside and went to wash up. In the bathroom mirror, three black tomoe slowly revolved within his crimson eyes.
The three-tomoe Sharingan was a considerable leap beyond the two-tomoe stage, enhancing his dynamic vision, perception, and illusion abilities by an entire level.
Even so…
“Still not enough.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Vignette stood outside holding a tray of freshly made pancakes, her face lit by its usual gentle smile.
“Good morning. I made breakfast, would you like to eat together?”
“Thanks.”
Natsuki accepted the tray.
The pancakes had been cooked to a perfect golden brown and topped with honey and cream.
“Where’s Gabriel?”
“She’s still asleep.” Vignette sighed. “I’ll drag her out of bed in a little while.”
They sat together at the dining table. Vignette took a small bite of pancake before looking at him with quiet concern.
“Natsuki-kun… have you been doing something dangerous lately?”
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. “What makes you ask?”
“I can sense it.”
With a soft pop, two small demon horns appeared on Vignette’s head, making her look far more adorable than intimidating.
“Demons are sensitive to negative emotions, and there’s a very strong… scent of battle around you.”
She paused, her expression growing more serious.
“You hide it well, but not well enough to fool my senses.”
Natsuki smiled. “As observant as ever, Vignette.”
“So you have been exorcising Cursed Spirits?”
“Yeah.”
Vignette set down her fork.
“Please be careful. Those creatures are dangerous!”
“I know.”
“And call me if you ever need help,” she added firmly. “I’m not especially good at fighting, but I can provide support and healing.”
Warmth spread through Natsuki’s chest.
“Thank you.”
Once they had finished breakfast, Vignette gathered the dishes and returned next door.
It was only nine in the morning, leaving Natsuki with five hours before his meeting at Jujutsu High, so he decided to visit a bookstore first.
The store was crowded that weekend.
Natsuki stopped in the light novel section and picked up a copy of The Metronome in Love.
“My, Natsuki-kun reads this too?”
He turned at the familiar voice and found Kasumigaoka Utaha standing behind him.
Her long black hair, wine-red eyes, and slender legs wrapped in black stockings were as striking as ever.
She happened to be holding a copy of No Game No Life: Zero.
Each of them had picked up the other’s novel.
In a way, that felt oddly fitting.
“Senpai.”
“What a coincidence.” Utaha walked closer. “Are you here to buy books too, Kouhai-kun?”
“Just browsing.”
“Then could you help me with something?”
“What is it?”
Utaha moved closer to his side.
“My editor asked me to write an afterword, but something about it feels off. Would you give me your opinion?”
“Sure.”
They took a seat in the bookstore’s café area, where Utaha opened her laptop and brought up the document.
Natsuki read it carefully.
The prose was elegant and the emotions sincere, but…
“It’s too formal,” he said honestly. “It reads like something written for strangers.”
“Eh?”
Utaha blinked.
“Most of your readers are young. They don’t want polite, distant remarks—they want to hear the real you.”
Natsuki pointed to one section of the screen.
“You could write about something funny that happened while you were working, or mention which character you secretly favor.”
Utaha’s eyes brightened.
“That makes sense…”
Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she began revising the document. Natsuki leaned back and watched her profile while she worked.
Utaha was particularly attractive when she was completely focused.
Ten minutes later, she stopped typing.
“Finished. Want to read it again?”
The new version was much livelier, filled with amusing stories from the writing process and playful complaints about her own characters.
“This is much better.”
Natsuki nodded.
“Thank you, Kouhai-kun~”
Utaha saved the document and closed her laptop before resting her cheek on one hand.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve seemed rather busy lately.”
“A little.”
“Working on your new book?”
“Something like that.”
Utaha narrowed her eyes with a teasing smile.
“Then perhaps you need some inspiration. I could provide material for you.”
“What kind of material?”
“For example…” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “A slice-of-life romance about a beautiful young author and her handsome kouhai?”
Natsuki laughed.
“Wouldn’t that make it an autobiography, Senpai?”
“Who knows~?” Utaha gave him a playful wink. “Art is inspired by life, after all.”
They continued talking until Utaha received a call from her editor and had to leave.
“See you next time, Kouhai-kun~”
She waved before heading toward the station.
Natsuki checked the time.
It was already noon.
Time to head for Jujutsu High!
…
Tokyo Jujutsu High was hidden among the mountains outside the city, protected by layer upon layer of barriers.
When Natsuki arrived at the entrance, Megumi was waiting for him in his Jujutsu High uniform with Itadori Yuji standing beside him.
“Amamiya!”
Yuji waved enthusiastically, his face bright with a cheerful smile.
“Hey.” Natsuki walked over. “Your arm feeling better?”
“Perfect!” Yuji swung it around energetically. “Thanks to your healing, there isn’t even a scar!”
Megumi gave him a shove toward the school.
“Stop shouting! Gojo-sensei is waiting.”
The three entered the grounds together.
Jujutsu High’s traditional architecture was completely different from that of an ordinary school.
Inside one of the offices, Gojo Satoru was lounging on a sofa and eating kikufuku.
The moment he saw Natsuki, he grinned.
“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Helpful Citizen~”
“Gojo-san.”
Natsuki took the seat opposite him.
Gojo pulled up his blindfold and revealed the Six Eyes, studying Natsuki with open interest.
“…You’re stronger than the last time we met.”
He leaned forward slightly.
“So, have you reconsidered joining Jujutsu High?”
“Not for now.”
“How cold.” Gojo spread his hands. “The benefits are great. Free room and board, a generous salary, and the complete employee package.”
“I’m already a student.”
“You can always transfer.” Gojo moved even closer. “Our curriculum is flexible, and you can make extra money by taking missions.”
Natsuki remained unmoved.
“I’d like to attend university.”
Gojo stared at him with a wounded expression.
“Get to the point,” Natsuki said.
He had no desire to watch Gojo act cute, especially when this was a man who would not hesitate to wear women’s clothing if the mood struck him.
Gojo sat upright, his expression becoming somewhat more serious.
“This is about the Time Vessel Association.”
He handed Natsuki a file.
Inside were records detailing the organization’s major members, known bases, and recent activity.
“They’ve been unusually active lately,” Gojo explained. “They’ve planted cursed objects in several cities and deliberately triggered outbreaks of Cursed Spirits.”
“I know.”
“Oh?”
“I encountered one of their curse users last night.”
Natsuki briefly explained what had happened at the abandoned factory.
Gojo listened while rubbing his chin.
“An experiment that forces Cursed Spirits to devour one another… That really does sound like something he would do.”
“He?”
“An old friend.”
Gojo’s tone became difficult to read.
“Though he isn’t my friend anymore.”
Natsuki understood that he was referring to Geto Suguru.
Unfortunately, the person currently inhabiting Geto’s body was Kenjaku—and as far as Gojo knew, Geto had already died after the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
…
After leaving Gojo’s office, Natsuki wandered around the school grounds with Yuji and Megumi while Yuji enthusiastically pointed out every facility they passed.
“That’s the training field! Gojo-sensei beats me up there all the time!”
“And that’s the cafeteria! The food the cafeteria lady makes is amazing!”
“Oh, and over there…”