By the time Utahime Iori returned to Jujutsu High, evening was already approaching.
The glow of the setting sun spilled across the quiet campus, lending the unusual school a gentle warmth.
She returned to her dorm, casually tossed her luggage into a corner of the room, tidied herself up a little, then quickly headed toward the training ground.
Knowing a certain someone as well as she did, she figured that if she went there at this hour, she would probably find the two of them still training.
“I wonder how that guy’s been doing with Mei Mei.
Mei Mei isn’t nearly as easygoing as I am.
What if he doesn’t learn properly and ends up embarrassing me?”
As she grumbled inwardly, her pace unconsciously quickened.
There was a lightness to her steps that even she failed to notice.
At the same time, she tightened her grip slightly on the package in her right hand, wondering what she should say when she saw the person she hadn’t met for three days.
But when she stepped onto the training ground, ready to greet the two people she expected to find there, she realized that the place was completely empty.
Even the training equipment looked as though no one had touched it in quite some time.
She stood there in confusion for a moment.
Just then, an assistant manager happened to pass by, so she quickly walked over and stopped him.
“Excuse me, has no one trained here today?”
After recognizing her, the assistant manager greeted her first, then scratched his head in confusion.
Once he realized who she meant, understanding dawned on his face.
“Ah, Utahime-san.
You mean that new probationary trainee, right?
He hasn’t really been using the training ground these past few days.
I heard he’s been doing practical combat training with Mei Mei-san on the back mountain.”
Utahime Iori froze.
The back mountain?
Practical combat?
Wait.
She knew Mei Mei would teach him some actual combat skills, but why had they already started fighting Cursed Spirits?
Shouldn’t he have spent a few days practicing against training dummies first?
Wasn’t that a little reckless?!
Seeing her suddenly stop short, the assistant manager also gave a somewhat impressed sigh.
“Still, I have to say, their training has been pretty intense.
The number of Grade 3 and Grade 4 Cursed Spirits in the forest on the back mountain has been dropping sharply these past couple of days.
They’ve saved us quite a bit of work.”
To an assistant manager, Grade 4 Cursed Spirits could be dealt with easily, and even Grade 3 Cursed Spirits weren’t much trouble as long as they took them seriously.
But regardless, clearing them out was still part of their work.
Having someone else share the burden naturally made things easier.
Utahime Iori, however, had no interest in any of that at the moment.
After thanking him, she turned and headed toward the back mountain.
She didn’t even know exactly what she was worried about.
She knew Mei Mei’s abilities better than anyone. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
With Mei Mei watching over him, there shouldn’t be any serious problems.
But…
it was still the back mountain.
The Cursed Spirits there might not be particularly high grade, but there were plenty of them.
And that was without even considering how complicated the terrain inside the forest could be.
Before she could enter the back mountain, however, two figures emerged from the entrance.
Mei Mei walked in front, her pace as calm and unhurried as ever, her high ponytail swaying gently in the evening breeze.
Walking beside her was Tōru Azuma.
Utahime Iori’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before her brows drew together.
Several claw marks had torn through his uniform.
Part of one sleeve was ripped, and there were a few obvious scrapes on his face.
None of them looked particularly serious, but they were clearly fresh.
Her first instinct was to rush over and ask what had happened.
Before she could, however, their conversation drifted toward her on the breeze.
Without thinking, she took a step back behind a nearby tree and hid herself from view.
“That last strike was good.
You cut through the core very precisely.
But some of your dodges in the middle were still too close.
You’ll need more training in that area.”
There seemed to be the faintest trace of concern hidden beneath Mei Mei’s words, though it was hardly obvious.
Tōru Azuma smiled helplessly.
“I couldn’t help it.
I had no idea that Cursed Spirit could suddenly increase its strength.
I’d already tested roughly how fast and strong it was before that.”
“So you forgot what I told you earlier?
Once Cursed Spirits reach Grade 2, they’ve already begun developing the ability to think and act deliberately.
Some can even make use of tactics.”
“If you hadn’t reinforced yourself with Cursed Energy in time, that attack probably would have injured you.”
After several days together, Mei Mei had become somewhat more talkative than she had been at first, and her expression was no longer quite so unreadable.
Tōru Azuma nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s still thanks to your teaching, Mei Mei-senpai.
Without you, I wouldn’t have learned localized Cursed Energy Reinforcement this quickly.”
After three days of study and training, his progress in actual combat had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Not only had he gained a rough understanding of how much he needed to reinforce his body against Cursed Spirits of different grades, he had also learned localized reinforcement and how to layer small areas of defensive reinforcement.
The claw marks on his clothes had been left by a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit during its desperate final counterattack.
Because he had reacted quickly and layered his Cursed Energy Reinforcement in time, the attack had only torn through his clothes without injuring the body beneath.
Even so, it had taught him a valuable lesson.
For someone as inexperienced as he currently was, a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit still posed a serious danger.
He could never afford to let his guard down.
She couldn’t quite describe what it was.
There was just an inexplicable sense of disappointment and bitterness.
What was this complicated feeling…?
But she had no time to dwell on it.
She quickly stepped out from beside the tree and walked toward the two of them, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at a certain someone.
“You…
what happened to you?
Weren’t you supposed to be training?
Why did you come back looking like this?”
When Tōru Azuma saw her, he froze for a moment before his face lit up with pleasant surprise.
“Senpai, you’re back.”
The moment Utahime noticed the happiness in his eyes, the complicated feeling in her chest somehow faded considerably.
She had no time to think about why.
Instead, she stepped closer and carefully looked over the torn sections of his uniform and the scrapes on his face.
Only after confirming they weren’t serious did she finally relax, though her voice still carried some displeasure.
“Of course I’m back.
It’s already been three days.
I finished the mission a while ago.
But what happened to you two?”
Mei Mei watched Utahime’s reaction from the side, a trace of amusement flashing in her eyes, though she said nothing for the moment.
After hesitating briefly, Tōru Azuma explained what had happened.
“It wasn’t anything major.
We just ran into a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit and had a tough fight.”
Utahime’s eyes widened, and her voice rose slightly without her realizing it.
“Grade 2?
Don’t tell me you went deep into the forest?”
Seeing the disbelief on her face and worried that she might misunderstand, Tōru Azuma hurried to explain.
“We’d already cleared out most of the Grade 3 and Grade 4 Cursed Spirits around the outer area over the past few days, and I felt like they weren’t giving me much training anymore.
So I asked Mei Mei-senpai to accompany me so I could challenge a higher-grade Cursed Spirit.”
Even after hearing that, Utahime Iori’s tightly furrowed brows didn’t relax.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and her expression was full of helpless frustration.
“Why are you in such a hurry?
There’s nothing wrong with taking your time.
Couldn’t you have waited until I came back, and then we could have gone to the back mountain together for practical training?
“Then I could’ve helped you too…”
Her voice gradually grew quieter.
It was as though she had suddenly realized just how much concern she had revealed, leaving her feeling both awkward and embarrassed.
But before Tōru Azuma could say anything, Mei Mei stepped into the conversation.