"All of these?" Suguru Geto looked troubled. Even though he knew everything was already set in motion, he still found it hard to believe.
"Of course not all of them..." Sōjun Minamoto denied at once.
Hearing that, Geto's expression stiffened. He watched as Sōjun walked over, carefully picked out the two longest swords, hesitated, then added one slightly shorter blade.
"Alright, now that's all of them."
Geto stared at him with a blank face.
"Okay, okay, take it slow. It's not like it's mandatory. Just grab a few during missions if it's convenient—you don't have to go all out,"
Sōjun said with a chuckle.
"These Cursed Tools are all yours now. Use them however you like. You can even arm your Cursed Spirits with them to boost their power."
"Long-term cooperation, right? The bigger the investment, the bigger the return."
It was definitely a generous offer. Over 4,000 Grade 2 Cursed Tools flooding into the jujutsu world would stir things up, but for Sōjun, it didn't really matter. They weren't particularly rare, and they wouldn't cause him any trouble.
These thorny broken swords were faintly connected to his consciousness. As long as they stayed within a certain range, he could sense their positions clearly.
The main issue was the sheer number—he couldn't keep tabs on them all the time. Even if some shady people got their hands on a few, it was fine. They'd just be helping him collect curses.
Geto wasn't really upset. In fact, he even felt a flicker of anticipation. Once he collected them, the number of his Cursed Spirits would surge—and with it, his strength.
Sure, the curses wouldn't be top-tier, but that didn't matter. Quantity had its own power. Besides, he was close to completing the ultimate form of Cursed Spirit Manipulation. When the time came, all of them would be useful.
He was improving. That thought gave him a bit of satisfaction. He extended his right hand.
"Well then, looking forward to working together!"
At their feet, a bloated, human-headed Cursed Spirit lay sprawled on the ground, grimacing as it choked down the massive pile of thorny broken swords one by one.
Clack~
Sōjun grasped his hand and gave it a light shake.
"Looking forward to it."
The two of them smiled, watching the Cursed Spirit absorb the tools as Sōjun began explaining how to use them and what to watch out for...
"I told you we should do it here! Hahaha!" Riko Amanai's voice echoed from the tunnel entrance.
A few seconds later, the three-person team stepped into the tunnel.
"Hah! Geto's here too!"
Riko's voice was naturally loud, and in the narrow tunnel, it echoed so much it made everyone's head buzz.
"So many Cursed Tools!"
She said again as she approached, eyes shining with excitement as she scanned the pile, too dazzled to look away.
She didn't touch anything. After admiring them for a while, she finally turned to Sōjun.
"Got any extras? Sell me one?"
Since they were in the tunnel and the Cursed Spirit was devouring instead of spitting out, it was clearly one of Geto's. That meant the tools must belong to Sōjun.
From what she remembered, he wasn't the type to use Cursed Tools much, and he definitely didn't seem like a collector. Plus, he was a blacksmith. It was likely he'd made them himself.
The tools were all identical. Knowing his personality, he definitely wouldn't waste time crafting them one by one—it had to be mass production.
Mass-produced and easy to forge meant they had to be cheap. If she scraped together enough, maybe she could afford one?
Smart thinking, me!
She looked at Sōjun hopefully.
He nodded and was just about to hand her the shorter blade he'd picked out earlier, but then saw that she'd already turned around and was picking one up off the ground. He quietly put the one in his hand away.
Halfway through putting it back, Riko had already chosen hers. When she turned around, she caught the subtle motion.
She tossed the one in her hand back to where it came from, jogged over a few steps, and snatched the sword from his hand.
"Haha, so you were saving this for me?!"
This shorter sword was still a bit longer than the others on the ground, allowing it to contain more curses.
Seeing her act all touched and try to lean in, Sōjun Minamoto raised a hand and pressed it against her forehead to keep some distance.
"What do you want?"
She'd shown up saying, "Knew you'd be here," but hadn't actually gotten to the point yet.
After some consideration, Sōjun had decided to bring the trio into things. They were already second-years now, taking on more frequent missions. Though they were still only Grade 2 or 3 assignments, even small bites added up—and Sōjun didn't turn anything down.
This broken sword was indeed prepared for the trio.
Eventually, Yu Haibara stepped forward, gave Suguru Geto a quick greeting, then turned to Sōjun Minamoto.
"Senpai, we've got a Grade 2 curse subjugation mission tomorrow. It's pretty far away."
There was a faint smile on his face—maybe because he'd run into Geto.
"And?" Sōjun Minamoto's voice was cold.
"The homeroom teacher asked us to find you to be our caretaker."
"?"
Sōjun's expression cracked.
"Last time I really wanted to say something—making me your teacher, and now your caretaker? Isn't this exactly the kind of thing your homeroom teacher is supposed to handle?"
"Honestly, I haven't even met the guy yet. The least he could do is show up and explain things himself!"
Their teacher was a mystery. Ever since the Fly Head incident, it was like he'd completely dumped the responsibility on Sōjun. Every time there was an off-campus mission, he had the trio come to him.
Sure, the money always hit his account afterward—but that wasn't the point!
That guy, a proper teacher, had blatantly outsourced his own job.
And worse—
He outsourced it to someone on the school's upper management.
That's just wild.
"Also, you're second-years now. You don't even need a caretaker anymore, do you?" Sōjun added, suddenly remembering.
Only first-years, due to their inexperience, were assigned a teacher for a while. Once they reached second year, they were considered full-fledged sorcerers. There was no need to be babysat anymore.
"..." Riko Amanai hesitated. "We don't, but it's mainly..."
"Mainly because Amanai asked the teacher if someone could shadow us during the mission, and he agreed...
So he told us to come find you," Yu Haibara explained.
"Actually, we don't really care. It's Amanai—she's just super cautious."
"..."
"This is on you!" Riko Amanai turned to glare at Haibara. "You said once this mission's done, you're going back home to visit your sister. And that you've finally saved up enough to bring her the gift she's been wanting forever..."
"After putting up a flag like that, you really think you're coming back safe?"
She glanced around, then looked at Sōjun.
"Where's Mirror Face? Lend it to us again?"
Sōjun froze for a second before realizing she meant that damn mutt. He sensed its position—it was pretty far from Jujutsu High.
"It's not here. Aren't you guys just handling a Grade 2 mission?"
"It's a Grade 2 Ubusunagami mission," Riko clarified.
Hmm? Another curse religion case.
"It's fine. Just go," Sōjun said.
Riko finally relaxed.
"Alright then!"
Her mood shifted instantly, and she beamed.
"I'll bring you back some local specialties!"
"You too, Geto."
The three of them exchanged a quick farewell and turned to leave.
Sōjun thought for a moment, then called out one last thing.
"Don't forget to bring the broken sword. When you take down the cursed spirit, don't rush to exorcise it—use the sword for the final blow."
He wasn't telling them to collect curses out of some twisted faith, just reminding them to carry the thorny broken sword. That way, if things got dicey, he'd be able to step in right away.
Of course, regardless of what happened, the Ubusunagami could always be contained.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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