In this nerve-racking standoff, Kamo Shizumi felt as though he could hear his own heartbeat.
What should he do?
How could he bluff his way through this?
Someone with Kenjaku’s personality would certainly not be easy to deceive, but Kamo Shizumi had no means of escaping at his disposal either…
Sigh, can we negotiate a peaceful settlement?
Just as those words were about to slip out of his mouth, another unfamiliar female voice came from behind Kenjaku.
“Are you not finished yet? If we delay any longer, we might attract the attention of jujutsu sorcerers.”
A humanoid creature with pale skin and an unusually tall build walked over.
Black patterns resembling branches and veins covered its entire body.
It had no lips and maintained a constant expression of baring its teeth.
One of the Four Disasters, Hanami.
Since it had no eyes, Kamo Shizumi had no idea where it was actually focusing its attention.
He only saw it look around for a while before speaking calmly.
“Now that he is awake, take him away quickly. Do not waste any more time.”
Jogo jumped down from the chair and walked at the very front without looking back.
Kenjaku tilted his head, then shrugged as though feeling rather helpless.
He shook his head and turned to leave as well.
That left Kamo Shizumi standing where he was, wearing a confused expression.
Huh?
Why did they suddenly stop “testing” me?
For no apparent reason, a cold arm wrapped around the back of his neck.
Mahito came over and casually tucked Kamo Shizumi under his arm.
This guy had no body temperature.
Once he got close, Kamo Shizumi could even smell a subtle and indescribable stench of decay.
“Sorry, sorry~ Did I scare you? Haha, your reaction just now was super interesting!”
Mahito’s right hand waved gently in front of him as he spoke teasingly, like an obnoxious child who had just successfully pulled off a prank.
“How could we possibly distrust someone recommended by Kenjaku? That was just a routine welcome for a newcomer.”
So…
“Let us get along well from now on, okay? I think I will get along pretty well with someone like you.”
Damn, he just shoved a horrifying face right in front of me…
Suppressing his inner discomfort, Kamo Shizumi forced a smile.
“I, I will try…”
“Haha, there is no need to be so formal~ Then I will follow Kenjaku’s instructions and finish my task first.”
As he spoke, Mahito brought both hands together and moved them toward Kamo Shizumi’s head.
Idle Transfiguration.
“…?!”
Holy crap, are you going to reshape me?!
“Do not be so nervous. Right now, your identity is merely that of a victim. Your entire family has died, and you are wandering around with the face of a sole surviving victim. Would that not cause a lot of trouble?”
So…
“I will lend you a hand.”
Mahito’s technique, Idle Transfiguration.
By touching the soul, he could directly twist or alter it.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary people would die from violent bodily modification, incompatibility between the soul and body, or similar causes…
Ordinary people generally could not perceive the soul.
The same was true even for jujutsu sorcerers.
Therefore, if someone merely reinforced their physical body with cursed energy while neglecting the soul, they could easily be killed instantly by Mahito.
There was no denying it.
This guy’s ability was absurdly insidious.
But Kamo Shizumi’s situation seemed somewhat different from that of an ordinary person.
“I see. The soul of someone who is half human and half cursed spirit really is somewhat special. I can feel that the shape of your soul is quite flexible too… Is this what Kenjaku was talking about, your ‘appearance from your previous life’?”
“Hmm. Then I will modify you according to this.”
Mahito gently pushed his palm forward, pressing down lightly as though he were kneading dough.
Then…
Kamo Shizumi felt his body begin to squirm.
Literally.
Flesh and skin twisted and rolled, bones warped, internal organs continuously contracted and contorted…
His entire body seemed to be instantly disassembled, then twisted into a specific shape with extremely crude movements.
“OK, take a look. Are you satisfied?”
Mahito waved his left hand, and the flesh on his forearm twisted and transformed into a flesh-colored mirror.
Looking at the familiar face from his previous life reflected within it, Kamo Shizumi’s mouth fell slightly open.
For quite some time, he could not say a word…
There were simply too many things wrong with this situation.
He did not even know where to begin.
“Thank you…”
“Haha, you are welcome.”
It turned out that normal humans really had a hard time understanding the thoughts of cursed spirits and thousand-year-old monsters.
Watching Mahito gradually leave as well, Kamo Shizumi realized that he had to follow them.
He stood where he was and looked toward the remains scattered across the floor.
They had suffered an unprovoked disaster for no reason.
But this was also the fate of ordinary people living in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen…
Kamo Shizumi silently brought his hands together, sighed, and bowed.
Namu San.
May they be reborn soon…
Following his memories, he returned to his room and packed a few things, taking some clothes with him.
Kamo Shizumi formally said goodbye to his past.
As he followed Kenjaku and the others away, he also listened to the conversation taking place ahead of him…
It seemed they were discussing where to send him.
“Although you are the one who brought him here, I still do not consider him a companion. Do not expect me to travel with him.”
“You are surprisingly stubborn…”
Kenjaku shrugged and then shifted his gaze toward the other two.
Mahito volunteered immediately, raising his right hand enthusiastically.
“Me! Pick me! Let me team up with the new guy. It sounds like it will be fun!”
Kenjaku’s gaze simply passed over Mahito and landed on Hanami behind him.
“Hanami, take him with you on this mission. Let the kid get a little training and see what he is really capable of. What do you think?”
The disaster, with its broad build and taciturn personality, merely nodded silently.
It seemed to have no objections.
Kamo Shizumi had no objections either.
Of course, from his perspective, it was simply because he felt there was no point in speaking up…
After all, when his loving mother had already assigned him a job, he only needed to accept it.
Being difficult at a time like this would be the worst possible choice.
“Then we will assign things like this. Everyone, any other objections?”
I have one!
Kamo Shizumi did not even know what he was supposed to do, so it would be a lie to say he was not nervous.
However, considering that his opinion probably would not be taken into account anyway, and saying too much might cause Kenjaku to notice that something was wrong, he ultimately gave up struggling.
I will just take things one step at a time.
“Here, keep your ticket safe.”
Looking at the paper ticket Kenjaku handed him, Kamo Shizumi saw the words “Direct to Kyoto” printed on it, and his expression became somewhat complicated.
The mission location is Kyoto?
No.
More important than that was another question.
“…Take, take a bus?”
Kenjaku gave him an expression that said this was obvious.
“Of course. Do you think I am going to magically teleport you there?”
He smiled and waved his hand casually.
“That would leave traces of cursed energy. There is still a troublesome individual active over at Jujutsu High right now… So we need to act cautiously.”
So this is why we have to travel by late-night bus?
Running errands for a thousand-year-old monster, and he cannot even provide private transportation?
What a failure!