Xia Chuan looked over.
Utaha Kasumigaoka had just stepped out of the bathroom.
Her long black hair was still damp, and the warm steam had left a faint flush on her face.
She was wrapped in a loose bathrobe.
Utaha turned her head while drying her hair with a towel, looking at Xia Chuan as though there were nothing unusual about the situation.
“Are you going to take a shower, Xia Chuan-kun?”
Even the way she addressed him had changed.
Seeing her so casual about everything, Xia Chuan was momentarily stunned.
Was his senpai really this bold?
“Senpai, you’re not planning to go home tonight?”
Utaha blinked.
Then she answered calmly,
“I’m not going home tonight.
Is that a problem?”
“I’m usually a well-behaved girl.
And ever since I started publishing my novels, my parents haven’t interfered with me very much.”
“So you don’t have to worry about the police showing up or anything like that.”
“I wasn’t worried about that.”
Xia Chuan smiled.
“In that case, I suppose I’ll accompany you tonight, Senpai.”
Since Utaha had already made her intentions clear, Xia Chuan decisively stood up and went into the bathroom.
Not long afterward, he came out after washing up, wearing a bathrobe.
By then, Utaha was already lying on the bed.
When she saw Xia Chuan emerge from the bathroom, his naturally handsome appearance after washing up caught her attention for a moment.
After hesitating briefly, Utaha raised her chin.
“Then, about what we were discussing earlier…
Come over and tell me what exactly happened today.”
Hearing that, Xia Chuan took her invitation at face value and sat down beside her on the bed.
The moment he moved closer, the pleasant scent of her shampoo reached his nose.
Unlike on the bus, when he had only occasionally glanced at her without thinking much about it, Xia Chuan could now clearly see Utaha at close range.
Her delicate features carried a mature charm, while her fair complexion made her look almost unreal.
Utaha Kasumigaoka truly was an exceptionally beautiful girl.
Under Xia Chuan’s gaze, Utaha suddenly felt as though she had become prey being watched by a hunter.
She shifted slightly beneath the blanket, leaving enough space for Xia Chuan to lie down.
Seeing this, Xia Chuan couldn’t resist teasing her.
“You’re wrapped up in the blanket while I’m supposed to lie here with nothing but my bathrobe?”
Utaha gave a soft snort.
“You can worry about that after answering my questions.”
That didn’t sound like an outright refusal.
Xia Chuan’s spirits lifted.
He lay down beside her.
“Senpai, knowing about these things isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Utaha remained silent for a moment.
Then she spoke.
“Whether it’s good or bad, I only know that my curiosity won’t leave me alone.”
“I want to know what kind of world I actually live in.”
Xia Chuan smiled.
“You were terrified earlier, and now you’re risking your peace of mind just to satisfy your curiosity.”
Utaha’s face reddened slightly after being called out.
She reached out from beneath the blanket and lightly pushed him.
“That’s because you’re here.”
“Now hurry up and tell me.”
Seeing that Utaha’s curiosity wasn’t going away, Xia Chuan finally decided to tell her about the hidden side of the world.
…
The truth of the world.
There were cursed spirits and evil spirits invisible to ordinary people.
There were jujutsu sorcerers who were fundamentally different from normal humans.
And every human possessed at least some amount of cursed energy.
“So the world is actually like this?”
Utaha’s eyes widened.
“Then does that mean I could become a jujutsu sorcerer too?!”
After hearing that people could possess supernatural abilities, she suddenly became excited.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Senpai.”
Xia Chuan mercilessly shattered her hopes.
“While there are ways for someone to become a jujutsu sorcerer later in life, your cursed energy is basically at an ordinary person’s level.”
“Jujutsu sorcery is an extremely talent-dependent profession.”
“A sorcerer’s strength is largely determined by what they’re born with.”
“So whether someone has the potential to become a jujutsu sorcerer—and how powerful they can ultimately become—is largely determined from birth.”
“You’re much better suited to becoming a great light-novel author, Senpai.”
Utaha clicked her tongue.
She hadn’t expected even the world of jujutsu to be this brutally realistic.
Then she looked at Xia Chuan.
“What about your innate technique?”
Since he had already told her the truth about the world, Xia Chuan decided there was no longer any reason to hide his own ability.
He removed his contact lenses.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan immediately appeared before Utaha.
Looking into those extraordinary eyes, Utaha felt a faint chill.
Yet despite that, she couldn’t help murmuring,
“They’re actually pretty beautiful.”
“There are even more impressive versions.”
“They just need some time to develop.”
With that, Xia Chuan deactivated the Sharingan.
Utaha remembered the strange man in the Buddhist robes from earlier.
“So you’re actually planning to meet that strange man?”
At the mention of Suguru Geto, Xia Chuan thought for a moment before nodding.
Now that he knew this world also contained the jujutsu world, he felt a greater sense of urgency.
This world was far more dangerous than he had initially imagined.
The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, the Shibuya Incident, and other large-scale disasters were all potential catastrophes.
There were also the Disaster Curses and monsters such as Sukuna.
And although Suguru Geto was undeniably dangerous, as long as Xia Chuan didn’t openly oppose him, Geto’s hostility was primarily directed toward non-sorcerers.
More importantly, Geto possessed countless cursed spirits.
If Xia Chuan could somehow benefit from the energy released by those cursed spirits, evolving his Sharingan to the Mangekyo stage—or even beyond—might become considerably easier.
Seeing Xia Chuan nod, Utaha recalled her impression of Suguru Geto.
Although he had appeared friendly, something about him had frightened her from the moment she saw him.
“That man looked like a bad person.”
“‘That man’?”
Xia Chuan laughed.
“That’s fair.”
“He really isn’t a good person.”
“He’s a lunatic who wants to exterminate humanity.”
“Senpai, you basically walked through the gates of hell twice today.”
Utaha’s expression changed.
“Wait…”
“Come to think of it, the incident on the bus was probably his doing too.”
“There are actually people that insane and hostile to humanity?!”
Utaha clicked her tongue in disbelief.
Then she looked at Xia Chuan with concern.
“And you’re still planning to meet him?”
“We simply want different things.”
“At least for someone like me—a jujutsu sorcerer—he’s relatively friendly.”
After hearing Xia Chuan’s answer, Utaha didn’t say anything more.
She simply stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Learning that ghosts and cursed spirits truly existed in the real world was already enough to shake her.
Learning that there were also lunatics who wanted to exterminate humanity was something else entirely.
Xia Chuan could sense the fear hidden beneath her silence.
So he spoke reassuringly.
“That’s why I said that knowing too much isn’t always a good thing.”
“But you’re an ordinary person, Senpai.”
“As long as you don’t deliberately go to dangerous places, you’ll generally be fine.”
“Those cursed spirits and evil spirits tend to prioritize people who can actually perceive them.”
“And besides, I’m here.”
“I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
Utaha rolled her eyes at him.
But she didn’t argue.
Instead, she quietly loosened the blanket and opened up a space beside herself.
“If you’re cold, you can come under the blanket.”
She hesitated.
“…Consider it a reward for answering my questions.”
Utaha didn’t need a mirror to know that her face had turned completely red.
She was thoroughly embarrassed by what she had just said.